Cybersix covered her ears and winced at the sound. Kayla's cry was bone-chilling and high...and it would not cease, even as she began falling, sustenance pouring from the broken tank. There was a crash, as the glass from the skylight trembled and broke at the sound of her high, clear voice. She rushed to protect her sister from the shower of falling glass. Lucas ducked under the electrical generator, trying to protect his vulnerable back. The glass made a tinkling sound as it fell all around them, like rain. As Cybersix held her wet, trembling, naked sister in her arms, despite the rain which poured through the broken skylight, and the gloomy surroundings, she made soothing noises to calm her sister down, as if she was a child. Kayla was alive.
They sat around a fireplace in one of Jose's vast rooms... it didn't matter which one. Kayla had been cleaned up and wrapped in a thick blanket. Her hair was still wet and bedraggled, but it shone with a certain healthy, alive-y quality. Cybersix handed her a cup of cocoa which she accepted. She had not uttered a word since her scream of birth. Is she all right? She was looking at the ground, one bare feet emerging from the folds of the blanket, kicking at the tufts of the carpet. Cybersix looked at her uneasily. She was alive again, brought back from the dead, and they could only hope that there were no side effects. Finally, Cybersix could not take the silence. "Sister?" She looked up. Cybersix tried again, tentatively. "H-hello." She stared at her blankly. Please don't tell me the experiment damaged her mind! "Hello," she replied quietly, as if unsure how to use her mouth. Cybersix sighed in relief. If she could speak... she was all right! She went over to the chair where her quiet sister was sitting and hugged her tightly, refusing to let go. The girl stiffened. She felt so fragile... it was hard to believe that she had the strength to pummel her if she wanted to.. and she did once, thought Cybersix ruefully. "You're probably still confused. I know it must be a big shock to you. I'll try my best to explain what's happened..."
"You died, when Jose shot you in the back. It's been two years, but we found this.. we found this book by your grandmother, Marryn. She had written all her lab notes in it in German, that's why it took so long for me to bring you back." She was still silent, staring at the carpet again. Cybersix continued. "We used her notes to perform the experiment again.. to bring you back... from the dead. Kayla, do you remember anything that happened after your death? Were you in heaven? Did I.. did I do right?" Cybersix was nearly in tears. She was silent, biting her lip. Cybersix brought her chin up, so that her eyes met hers. Their eyes were so alike, thought Lucas, same shape. Same color. They were really sisters... although Cybersix was now two years older, and Kayla had not aged since the day she.. She spoke again. "I died?" Her voice was so soft and uncertain. "Yes, you did," said Lucas quietly. Her eyes glanced sideways and looked Lucas up and down. He shifted uneasily. There was something.. off about her. Granted, he didn't know what she was like before, but there was just something..different. "Kayla." That was Cybersix again. "Are you all right?" She looked up to meet Cybersix's concern-filled gaze. She touched her face, again, uncertainly, then reached up to touch Cybersix's. She looked at her shapely hands, and then at Cybersix's. When she spoke again, her voice was faltering and confused. "Am I Kayla?"
Cybersix was alarmed. "What do you mean?" That quiet, unsteady voice again. "You call me Kayla sometimes, I think. Is that my name? I don't... I don't remember my name." Oh no.. "What do you remember?" Cybersix's voice was still gentle, but there was tension in it. "I.." She paused, considering the question. "I can't.. I seem to know how to do math, and I know how to program computers, and speak proper English. I'm speaking right now, aren't I? But I.. I can't picture anything. It's like I only started living this minute. You.. you look like me, but I don't remember ever meeting you.." Cybersix's heart sank. She doesn't remember me. She doesn't remember anything. She saw her sister looking at her with the calm, innocence of a child in her eyes, undisturbed, and she couldn't bear to look at her.
"It wasn't perfect, of course. For one thing, when I was reborn, I was helpless as a baby. I couldn't talk, or walk, or feed myself, even if I was nine years old. I had no memory. I couldn't remember everything that happened to me. So Marryn taught me these things, as if I were a baby, and named me. Kayla."
When she and Lucas were preparing the experiment, they knew that the experiment did not restore everything completely. But Lucas had taken it to his scientist friend and together, they worked out a new set of formulas that would, in theory, restore her memories. But they didn't know for sure if they would work. They told her as much. Their modifications had failed. Or at least partially... it seemed that Kayla retained her intellect. But her memories, her personality, who she was... they were all gone. No, she told herself severely. Kayla was not gone. She should not abandon her sister so easily. Besides, it might be temporary. Even before, Kayla had eventually regained all memories.. even if it had taken ten years. But maybe this time was different. Maybe all it really needed was a nudge, a prod, a push. Something to stimulate her memory by... So many maybes. Now was not the time to think about them. Kayla had had enough for one day. They all had. Cybersix sighed, and said, "You've had a long night. Rest for a while. Maybe... maybe you'll remember something in the morning." Her tone was doubtful. "Stay here tonight. There are a lot of rooms in this mansion and nobody will disturb you here. Don't go anywhere, I'll come back for you in the morning." She rose, and stroked Kayla's fine hair. Lucas watched Kayla stare at the wall uneasily. Yes, there was definitely something... off about her. Personally, he was uncomfortable with the idea that she was once dead.. like a walking corpse, even if she was a pretty corpse. He was a friendly man, even if Cybersix described her sister as extremely difficult.. but he loved Cybersix, and he knew that this woman meant a great deal to her. She didn't seem difficult now; actually she didn't seem anything. She was a ghost, thought Lucas, in a place where she didn't belong. "I'm going to get your things and bring them here," continued Cybersix, "You.. you had a lot of things. Go through them. Maybe it will help you remember." Silence. That same damned expression she has! thought Lucas. "Is there anything you need? Anything... wrong?" "My back hurts," she whispered. Lucas nodded. "Your back will hurt from time to time. That was where you were shot." Silence. Lucas turned red. Cybersix didn't seem happy with him. He fidgeted. "Maybe we should go." "All right." She turned back to Kayla. "Good night. It's.. It's great to see you again." She stared at them. "Okay," she whispered. They left.
She was filled with a heavy hollowness inside as the door downstairs shut. She was all alone, in this strange place, with the things of a dead woman who they said was her. But I am her, she thought, Even if I don't remember. She watched the flames lick the log as she tried to listen to her thoughts; they seemed so strange, so loud in her empty head. It wasn't as if everything was hazy, or fuzzy; they just weren't there. She didn't even remember her rebirth: it was as if it never happened, although it did; the broken glass was still downstairs. What will become of me? They said she was a fighter. Would she fight? She tried; with all her heart she tried, but she couldn't remember what it was like to fight. She didn't even know if she knew how to. Was it instinctive or was it something stored in memory? She watched the flames dance and dodge until they blurred, and she drifted off...
"A PRETTY TOY?!" she roared. "Do you have any idea who I am?!" The four boys- Their faces were twisting and melding together- were not frightened. They continued laughing, slapping their knees, laughing... She launched herself like a tiger, and soared into the air- I love it, I love it, the wind, the freedom! -and landed behind the biggest boy, and obviously the ring leader. She grabbed him- I've done this before, haven't I? The boy... he's nobody.. she's laughing inside at him... -and bent him down so hard, she heard the sickening crack. The boy screamed in pain. "Now," she said ever so sweetly- How can she be so cheerful? -"I know not all of you are human. Oh yes. In fact, only three of the four of you are human, and you fools don't have a clue who your precious leader is. I know who you are, even if you don't know who I am." "What-" quavered the boy in her iron grip. "What are you?" "Oh, smart boy." Sarcasm dripped from her voice. "Not who, but what. He didn't tell you new kids- technos, is it?- about me, did you? He told you about us; about our fates, but not me? Oh well. Better that way, I suppose." "STOP IT!" sobbed one of the younger ones- human, of course. He looked 15. 15! Pervert. "Yeah, I guess your right. Best get to business. Now you know there are two ways I can deactivate your scum." At the word "deactivate", the boys paled. The leader made a gasping, strangling noise. The other boys ran away. She let them go. They were only human. Who is she? How could she be so ruthless? -"I can kill you swiftly, and take the vial that you leave. Or I can suck it out of you, and every one of your disgusting blood cells." She yanked his neck back. "This I'm going to enjoy!" No! No! She can't! She wouldn't! -She wrapped her lips around his vein and sucked. Blood, strange blood, dark with a green sheen, dripped down her neck-
I've seen that blood before...
-Hands. Blood on her hands. Pain. Black. Stars. Intense pain. Cold. Rushing, her life force was rushing out, through the wound. No. "Help me."
She screamed. Her hands were twisted in the blanket as she tried to remember where she was. She had fallen asleep. She sat up and tried to calm her beating heart. She shuddered. Within that heart was the dark blood in her dream. Or was it?
She got up, wrapped the blanket around her and sat in front of the fire. Was it just a dream? A product of her subconscious in tatters after all the shocks she went through that night? Or.. She shivered, in spite of the warmth from the flames. She scanned her mind for a shimmer, an echo, anything. But there was nothing. Only her dark, silent thoughts. Even the dream was beginning to fade away. Why did this have to happen? her mind screamed. Silent tears poured down her cheeks. Why did she bring me back with this broken, useless, mind? The hopelessness seemed to crush her. She didn't know anybody. She didn't even know who she was. She had nothing to fill the years behind her and nothing to look forward to.
She says she'll take care of me, but how do I know for sure? I don't know her. What if she gets tired of me? I'm useless. A burden. If I were her, I'd abandon me too. She traced the profile of her face, the tears, trying to familiarize her with her body. I can't trust anyone. I can't even trust my mind. Her eyes lowered to her arm. There were words permanently stitched into her skin, black markings: CYBER 338. She said this was what I was. I believe her. This feels more like my name than Kayla. Kayla is dead. No, no, she was Kayla, her logical side whispered. But who was Kayla? Cybersix thought she was a beautiful, free spirit. It was possible that even she, her sister, didn't know her. She was a killer. I am the killer. You don't know that for sure. But what did she know? She grabbed her head in frustration. Stop crying. I will not cry. I refuse to be this.. weak and useless thing! She didn't want to be weak and useless. But she didn't want to be this person they forced on her either. She didn't want to wait around until she remembered who she was supposed to be.. if she even could. I don't have a life; or memories... maybe I should create new ones.
Cybersix wept on Lucas's shoulder. He patted her back gently. "It's like I've lost her all over again. I know it's wrong to think this, but, what will we do with her if she never remembers? How will she live?" "Shh..." he whispered. "We knew the risks of the experiment. We knew there was a great chance of this happening." "I know," she sobbed, "But Kayla-" "-is still Kayla, even if she doesn't know it. It isn't permanent. Remember, she eventually remembered her childhood after ten years. Who knows? Maybe it won't even take that long. She's an amazing girl."
She was fully dressed in minutes. When she opened the suitcase with her clothes, the thing on top was a black vinyl suit with matching short gloves, two long strips of black cloth, a double belt, and boots. She looked at them and hesitated. This was "her outfit" as Cybersix said; the thing she wore at night when they fought. She couldn't wear it. Not yet. She had chosen, in the end, a simple hooded sweatshirt and comfortable loose jeans. The rain had cleared. Eyes narrowed and keen, she found her bank and credit cards. The accounts were still open, Cybersix had said. Just waiting for her to use them. A good lump sum, she decided. It will help me start off. Eventually she'll make money on her own, maybe. She grabbed her bags with conviction. I don't need anyone but me. Not Cybersix...and not Kayla. Still, the voice persisted, You are Kayla. You have always been her, and she will always be a part of you. It was strange how light the bags seemed. They were big, and had many things inside, but she picked them up as if they were nothing. Oh well. Better that way, I suppose. She kicked the door open. It splintered off its hinges at the force. The night was cool and hinting at dawn. She inhaled the sweet cool air. It didn't seem familiar, but why should it? It was a big city. Pretty too. Somewhere, out there, she would find an apartment, a job. A life. She couldn't stop to think about it. In the morning, Cybersix would come back. Her feet began to move like dancers. She soared away from the mansion, as if she had wings.
