Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum

Author:Gregg Rosenblum [Rosenblum, Gregg]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 9780062125989
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2013-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

NICK OPENED HIS EYES AND STARED AT A WHITE CEILING. HE COULDN’T move, couldn’t even look to his left or right; he was dizzy and nauseated, and every inch of his body hurt. It felt like he had been run over by a wagon—his muscles ached and throbbed, and he doubted he could even lift his hand he was so weak. His shoulder, where the Petey had touched him, burned like it was on fire. After a few minutes his head cleared a bit, and it suddenly registered that he was naked, and cold, and lying on a metal table with nothing but a thin pillow under his neck.

He rolled onto his side, slowly, groaning. He put his hand on the table, took a deep breath, braced himself, then with a grunt of pain and effort managed to push himself upright into a sitting position. The room he was in was small, ten feet by ten feet. The walls and ceiling were blinding white, the floor a gray metallic tile. There were no windows, just a door with no visible handle. Nick felt a momentary rise of panic.

“It’s all part of the plan,” he said out loud. “Just keep it together.” Wonderful, he thought. I’ve been locked up for five minutes and I’m already talking to myself.

The only furnishings in the room were the freezing cold table, a small gray chair, an empty shelf, a toilet in the corner, and a black vid screen on the wall next to the door. On the chair was a gray jumpsuit and a pair of sandals. He felt a rush of satisfaction—it was the same type of jumpsuit he had seen the prisoners wearing the other day.

Nick stood gingerly, keeping his hand on the table a few moments to make sure he wasn’t going to pass out or throw up, and then shuffled like an old man to the chair. With his bad wrist on one arm and the blistered shoulder on the other, he could barely even pick up the clothing. He sat down in the chair and slowly, carefully, managed to step into the jumpsuit, zip it up, and slip on the sandals. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily from the effort.

He heard a soft click, then felt a gentle whir of air, and he opened his eyes and scrambled painfully to his feet. The doorway was open, and in the entrance stood a bot, different from any Nick had seen. It was shaped like a small person, about five feet tall, with slender limbs that seemed too long for the small torso. The fingers were elongated and graceful. The surface of the bot wasn’t metal—it seemed softer—but it wasn’t quite flesh either. More like a dull plastic. It was a too-pale white, the same color as the walls, like the belly of a fish. Atop a long neck, again, almost humanlike but just a bit too long, rested the bot’s head. It was the same pale plastic-flesh as the rest of the body, but colored black on the top and sides, almost like crew-cut hair.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.