AfterStorm

AfterStorm prolongs after the original novel, Storm. The story is half completed and it's up on Wattpad and on Quotev. I was going to finish it and published it, but now no. I might finish it in the future. I hope you enjoy the read.

Collette Digit’s Point of View

What if I tell you that I am conformed to my own planet’s society? First of all, you will probably scan me with your curious eyes and tell me that I’m lying. When I was young, doctors were ecstatic to have me alive, mostly for test data. Human flesh with blue machine markings can give you a dead giveaway that I am a cyborg; half human and half machine.

If you don’t know what type of machines are running upon my planet, Stormalite, let me give you a reminder. There are three types of machines on Stormalite: Cynoids, Robots, and Droids. Hard to memorize? Well, let me tell you because once you figure out, there are many differences between them.

Cynoids are machines made for the military and law. They appear as an athletically built human; however, the skin was crafted by coated bismuth or lead. During daylight hours, their skin appears to be shinier than humans. They have glowing blue synthetic markings. Their eyes also glow blue. My father, Erzo, is a cynoid. He used to be a captain in the astronomical military for Stormalite. He fell in love with a human on Ry-2, which was my mother, Zephyrine. After they got married, he retired to have a family with her.

Before you begin asking, is it possible to mate with a human? Yes. Having a child between a machine and a human? They will be lucky if they live past five years old. It was so common that Stormalite’s government almost banned machines reproducing with humans. It was only vetoed because numerous amounts of divorces came from machines and humans alone.

Robots are machines that work on a specific task. They appear to be pale and cold workers. Let’s face it, it’s hard to make them reveal emotions. My best friend, Rayla, is a robot. Our friendship made her humane. She races me to my old academy and chats with me while we are walking home. I’ve seen her cold side before, but only towards my other friend, Sunny. Sunny is a human with Aspergers and barely hangs out with Rayla; hence, Rayla's apathy towards Sunny.

Droids are the fashionable geeks on Stormalite. They are superior to technology and beauty. All humans and bots envy them because of their model looks. They have glowing red eyes; however, one was special. It was my old companion, Astral Leenoid. She was Stormalite’s Defender, Flight Officer, and a member of 2AS.N. Her tasks only made her more special along with her glowing purple eyes. She is the only one with purple eyes. She didn’t even have any flaws in her code; she was born with it. In this time, machines can reproduce. Stormalite’s government made it clear that all machines have the same strength as humans; thus, we can have the power to overthrow them.

“Collette Digit, we are ready to commence the experiment,” a scientist, Dr. Phal informs me while I am sitting in the room that reminds me of confinement. I have never been to prison; however, this hints me towards it. Steal walls with no windows and the only furniture in the room are uncomfortable chairs.

I glare at him for a moment, but it feels like a minute until I finally walk towards him. “Everything is ready; we just need you for the final examination,” he tells me.

I nod. I am just pretending to comply with him. He leads me out of that prison of a waiting room down a bright white corridor. Once again, I am in a science laboratory. Ever since I’ve survived my infant and childhood years, I became a breakthrough for humans and machines across the Milky-Way. I figured out the reason why I am still here before doctors can snap to it. Other than bismuth is the less radioactive metal than lead, the communicators between my machine and the human side are alike. Other cyborg infants die from lead poisoning, radiation, and hormonal miscommunications.

What intrigued them more is what happened to me in my sophomore year at Stormalite Senior Academy. A student, Aral Phise, slapped me with electric jolts because I defeated her in a school race by a few inches. She burnt half of my face. The high jolts also resulted in a flaw in my code; my strength increased supernaturally. It went past human strength and continued to grow.

Thanks to it, I have to spend the rest of my high school education online, instead of classrooms. I was delighted that Rayla, Jose, and Sunny stopped by and gave me company. Doctors and authorities feared that one day I will snap and murder somebody. That did happen to those that threatened my family.

“Are you excited, Collette?” The doctor snaps me out of my thoughts, bringing my concentration towards him.

“Yes,” I lie, “hopefully, the experiment will go smoothly as planned.”

“There are a lot of things that can happen during the five decades time,” Phal implies, “Some good and some bad.”

“Couldn’t be as bad from what I faced years ago,” I comment dryly.

Without my strength, Wyan Quidust will still be conquering planets and hijacking machines. On Earadon, machines have twice the human strength. That’s a fatal error that resulted in a major decline in the human population and the rise of killing machines. It wasn’t an evil bot that started an uproar; it was a wise-old-man. Humans are still monsters in their nature. I might be calling myself a half-monster; however, I’ve seen what it will unleash when provoked. I should’ve unleashed it to the real antagonists. The ones who purposefully gave my father to Earadon, in order to make me join the war: Stormalite’s military. His old friend, Commander Shallow, knocked him out. My dad almost got killed by the hijacked cynoids, droids, and robots.

For the ones that made me save my family, I lost trust for them. They used my strength for their own selfish greed. I dreamt about saying it to their faces after my father figured out who knocked him out. As the goodie-bag I am, I kept my mouth shut. Spoiling it, aren’t I? I didn’t spill out what happened during the war, which molds me into a piece of an experiment. Stormalite forced me to go to war. Now they want me to freeze me for fifty years! I am not excited, nor curious. Curiosity crushed me during the battle and training with Major Frainist. I am just eager to get this experiment done and I go home in time wasted.

The experiment room is white and bright. The temperature is freezing cold. What lies ahead of me is a technical tomb. I can see the white foggy air emitting from it as if it contained liquid Nitrogen. I guess this is where they are going to set my body in.

The doctor orders me to get dressed in a patient gown that monitors my vitals. Thank goodness, they left me alone. Despite it being cold as death, I find it peaceful. Machines already achieved immortality while humans are still mortals. Perchance, my machine side gives me a dose of immortality or slow aging.

The peace adjourned once Dr. Phal emerged back into the room.

“Does your machine side match with your human side?” He asks.

“If I didn’t die from radiation and nerve miscommunications, perhaps, yes.” I shrug while avoiding eye contact. My eyes study the technical tomb. I can tell it was crafted by metal. Metals endure really low temperatures.

“We will drain your battery, putting you to sleep. The doctors will closely monitor your signs and your strength. Hopefully, the cold will contract your strength a bit,” he informs.

In the seasons here and on arid Earadon, my strength continues to grow as if it were a virus. Without further ado, I lie inside the tomb. It is more freezing than the outside. I let myself relax because I have nothing to fear anymore because death always held a grudge against me. He rejected me in my baby years, my electrocution, and the war. I don’t think he will change his mind about this. I am starting to believe that he loves my suffering.

I see Phal closing in on me with a vaccine like a creepy doctor. My trust issues make me paranoid as I glare at the doctor. He walks beside me.

“See you in fifty years,” Phal says to me.

“Are you sure you are going to be alive?” I insult with amusement. My dad was right; I am a smart aleck.

He smirks. “Sheesh, Collette, I am old, but not ancient like machines,” he returns the favor. I can find it as the truth. Bots may be immortal, but they’re older than humans.

With it, he injected the vaccine through my neck. Everything became heavier. A dead-battery alert emerged into my vision. Soon, darkness arrives and corrupts my sight. Eventually, it became all I see and feel nothing.

2872

Everything didn’t go as I anticipated. My first sight in 2872 was myself placed in a dull confinement room with only a Bed Pod. Bed Pods is what the machines use to charge themselves up. They are like beds that charge them up. This dark place of a prison results in me being fraught with such annoyance.

“Dark and desolate room, really?” I scoff out loud. If there is surveillance in this room, I wanted them to hear this from me, “I am definitely not a prisoner.”

Neither a lab rat, I finish in thought. All they want from me is data and experiments. What is next? Transforming myself into a human-robot-animal hybrid? That will be a bad move on their part!

The automated doors slide open. My mom, Zephyrine, walks in. We look at each other intently for a long moment. She looks older than the last time I saw her. Mother and I were born twenty-two years apart. I was frozen at age twenty-one. Now after many decades, she can be my great-grandma.

In the silence, my soft and emotional side takes over. I weakly collapse into her arms with tears in my eyes. I can hear my mother sobbing too.

“I miss you, Storm,” my mother whispers to me. I shake off that she called me with my hackneyed nickname. I was called that because my survival took the worlds by storm. I wish it was the reason that I was fast as lightning and as loud as thunder. Despite my abilities, I am still as soft as the rain.

“I, too, miss you,” I begin in a whimper, “Although it only felt like minutes ago.”

“I thought you would never make it,” she admits. My face quickly focuses on her eyes. I see the worry, grief, and pain.

“I am here…” I told her softly. “Hopefully, they will leave me at peace.”

My mother quickly assists me with getting changed back into my clothes. As much as her being old, she is still durable as a human. The irony, it was me who is slow as an elder. Perhaps, it’s the medicine fading.

Mother filled me in about what happened during the fifty-year span. Father and her divorced because of her age downfall and dad still looks like a fountain of youth. She wasn’t too upset about it; they still live together. Father also works as a bodyguard for the governors in Nahlia Sector: A sector part of Stormalite and where my home town, Elite Town, is located. They had moved into a more luxurious house. Mother chided that she has missed the absence of a child; therefore, they’d adopted a boy, Blade. I am actually happy that I have a new brother.

That they never told you about, my brain mumbles.

Oh! Hush! You were an ice cube when it happened.

“Blade can’t wait to meet his only sister,” my mom chimes.

“Collette has the same emotion back,” I comment with a smile. “How old is he?”

“Uh-Eleven,” she hums. I can tell she is having blank spots in her memory.

The new home was a five-hour drive. My new home…captivating! The overwhelming feeling takes over my relaxed body. It has a secured gate with an indoor parking garage. The front yard contains lush-filled grass and a fountain blowing jets of water up towards the night sky. The house appears to be a beautiful beach-looking house. I can tell it was built out of marble stone.

Honestly, I was happy with my old home. The living place was comfortable and capacious. I didn’t complain about a house in a suburban area of Elite Town. This villa in Karon Hills blows the house right out of the water. It’s going to take forever to explore this place and to clean.

I guess that is the award for being a very trustworthy family. Reputation replaces money in currency. No more debts and less chaos. The exodus from Earth centuries ago was very expensive; therefore, they canceled out money. Currently, behavior, trust, and deeds make the world go round. If someone ever goes to prison, they have to work their way out. When they leave, their slate goes clean and they’ll be helped to prosper again. On the contrary, if someone ever has done something so immoral, they will never get out. Best of luck to them! Not...

There are more cars in the garage than usual. “We are not the only ones in this house or dad is now a car enthusiast?” I ask flatly.

Mother doesn’t answer, instead, she just hums.

Mother guides me to the elevator that is in the underground parking garage. “How long have you been living here?” I ask again.

“Forty years after you were frozen in time.” Mother replies, so she means they were here for about a decade.

“Since when did we obtain enough reputation for this house?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, “Erzo was offered to be a bodyguard for government officials and they gave us a place to stay. I can tell you, darling, that your father is highly respected; they bestowed us this mansion. At first, I almost had a heart attack. Erzo and I planned it out. We stay only in a part of the villa and only explore fully when we only have to clean. We do have maids that come here to clean.”

“Every month?” I guess.

She lightly nods.

The moment that the elevator doors open, I was blown away by the surprise greeting by so many familiar faces. The elevator lifted up to a game room with a bar. My father stands by my old friends: Jose, Sunny, and Rayla. My goodness! Jose and Sunny had really gotten old!

“Stormy!” Sunny screamed as she hugged tightly. The last time I saw her was her in her early twenties.

“Sunny!” I beam,” always shining as usual.”

“I have been through so much since you were gone,” she starts, “I am an astronomer!”

“Oh, Sunny, you haven’t changed a bit!” I compliment. Her smile widens.

“Other than her age…” I hear Rayla mumbled. I wince at her. Her facial expression shifts from cold to delightful. “Hey, Storm,” she greets politely.

“Hello, Ray, I will forget the fact that you’ve just insulted Sunny,” I exclaimed. Sunny glares at her for a moment, but then, she smiles. She has probably gotten used to Rayla’s detached habit.

“And you didn’t say hi to me,” Jose buds in.

“That is because I haven’t gotten to you yet,” I reply as I hug him.

My dad later steps in. I can hear the nervousness in his voice: “Sorry to burst your bubble, but some people are present to see you.” The smile dies from my face. Everybody is here to see me. Oh, I mean everybody…

“Ms. Digit,” Shallow steps in beside dad with other familiar crewmates: Racole Shez, Tselynn Frainist, Astral Leenoid, and my old romantic interest, Nimbus Acxzen. I never loved him ever since what happened after the war.

My mood turns sharp as a knife in a matter of milliseconds. Everyone winces at me when the lights flicker uncontrollably to my hidden anger. They all know I have jamming powers ever since Aral Phise almost killed me. I can jam any electronic device within one touch. After fifty years, I can jam everything within my radius from my anger.

“Hello, Shallow,” I growl.

“Collette, that was fifty years ago. Get over it!” Tselynn snarls. I guess her hard shell never faded away.

“Fifty years was only like seconds for me,” I state coldly, “I can forgive you, but never trust you the same way from my old naive self years ago.” The flickering starts to pick up intensity. All of them expressed a heap of worry and concern.

“Collette, we are not forcing you again,” Astral confesses, “we are here to say that after the assassination of Wyan Quidust, Earadon has improved and reconstructed dramatically. Nimbus and I felt so bad for what Shallow has done to you. Tselynn also felt horrible for hiding the truth as well. Please, try to forgive us. We know that placing your family was immoral! We were desperate during that time and stupid…”

A big breath exhales from my nostrils with fury. I digested the words Astral has said to me. I kept focusing on my breathing until I was calm enough to not attack them. The lights stop flickering. The room turns at ease. I walk to them with a heavy sigh.

“You are forgiven,” I say plainly. My voice turns harsh, “but don’t fool yourselves; you are no longer to be trusted. If you ever again threatened my mother, my father, or my brother,” I grimly say as I point to my family behind me, "You will have to face a nemesis much worse than Wyan.” My direction glares directly at Astral. “You know what happened to the machines that took away my father? I have chucked them high across the room. Imagine my strength has increased from that point. Traitors hurt more than enemies.”

I can taste contempt on my tongue. It tasted cold, bitter, and deadly. Everyone looked at me with horror. I can’t believe it! The most honored people in the world brought the worst out of me. Mother has never seen the beast within me. They broke me out of my shell and reformed me into something else. To them, I am no longer their war-hero; I look like the villain.

Well, killing kindness does awaken the beast within.