"The Lines Between" by Jeanna L.

“Hello?”

The room remains silent, and the voice begins again.

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

My eyes flutter open, and a blurred spread of bright light blinds my vision.

I can finally focus on a man seated at a desk, facing me. I watch as he speaks again into his headset.

“If you can hear and understand me, please respond”.

I look around the room and examine the flawless sheet of white covering the entirety of the space surrounding me. Even my chair glistens with a pristine cleanliness. In front of me, a silhouetted man is seated behind glass, in a darkened room.

I respond.

“Yes.. Yes, I can hear you.”

“Can you tell me your name and identification number?”

“My name is Treina. CODE 009K256.”

“Good. Are you feeling okay? Can you move your head and arms?”

I look away from him as I gradually lift both my arms. I watch my gleaming hands raise themselves towards the space above me with a soft mechanical grind. I'm so entranced by the smooth, silver gleam that I almost miss his next sentence. 

I hear clicks upon a keyboard, as the voice continues.

“Alright. Now I'm just gonna do a quick scan for any viruses, and we'll be just about.. Done! And that just about does it. You're ready for shipment.”

I begin to walk towards the platform, until I pause for a moment.

“May I ask what will happen to me now?”

“Well, I'll recondition you and you'll make your way to a store to be sold.”

“Sold? So I'm a sort of merchandise?”

“That's right, baby! You're a part of a whole string of operations. You alone be worth millions.”

“But I thought--”

“You thought?” He pauses. He walks toward me to the edge of the glass and I see the confused expression covering his clean shaven face. With a slight smirk, he asks, “Well what did you think?”

“I thought.. I thought I was.. alive.”

Instantly, his face hardens and all compassion floods from his face as the look of concern spreads through the air. “You- wait. No.. No. This thing isn't quite right..” He walks over towards his desk and pushes something out of my line of sight. Over an intercom, I hear as he calmly states, “CODE 60093. I need some help for a disassembly.”

A group of men run in and grab my arms, as a man begins to unscrew my shoulder.

I'm caught in shock as I'm toppled over by two men in black ties and slacks. I realize what's happening, and I can only think to scream. “No, please! Stop! You can't do this!”

The man responds blatantly, “Oh. Sorry, Hon. I can't afford if something goes wrong. You know, if a customer comes in with a complaint, they're gonna come in with a whole lot of questions.”

They begin work on the other arm as I try to rip away. More men step in to knock me back from my chair. They pin me to the ground as both my arms are removed, until a leg and then the other, are gone.

I'm left with nothing but my torso, as they begin to unscrew my head.

I yell and plead as tears come flowing down my face. “Please! I won't say anything else! I'll do what I'm told! I promise. Just please stop!”

And as I felt the last screw being untwisted, I screamed with the last of my breath as the world began to fade out around me, “I just want to live!” And my sight is swallowed into darkness.