The moment Arlo said that, Varelius forcefully shoved me down. Zarina wrapped her filaments around me. I struggled in my seat, kicking my feet in the air.
I leaned to the front, wiggling around,
"Arlo ! Tell them to—"
IRIS slapped my face again, followed by Zarina's filaments being wrapped around my mouth. Arlo took my hand and raised the machine.
I tried to pull my hand away but Varelius held my hand tightly, ensuring I don't disturb the medical process any further.
Arlo turned the machine on, the brush spun around with a loud whirring. I flinched slightly, folding my thumb a little. Even with the numbing serum, it felt like my thumb was being tugged deeply.
He pulled the brush away, shutting it down as he let go of a paddle trigger. Zarina released the filaments that were surrounding me.
I raised a finger, pointing at Arlo's machine,
"What's that ?"
He handed the machine to me,
"This ? It's called the GR-TECH. It's literally printed on the machine."
I flipped the machine around. Indeed, there was a small logo written "GR-TECH" resting above a paddle trigger.
Varelius poked the paddle trigger,
"Do you simply press that thing for it to turn on ?"
Arlo nodded, snatching the machine away from my hand,
"Yes, and please don't touch it."
He wiped the paddle trigger with his clothes. Varelius pressed his palms against his chess, turning away from Arlo's view. I couldn't help but laughed slightly.
Arlo headed to a nearby bin, struggling to take the brush off. He let out a soft grumble, hopping around on one leg as the brush won't budge off. He bit on the brush, trying to let the brush off.
Varelius chuckled and patted Arlo's head,
"Woah, calm down little one. You don't have to bite it off. If you need help, I'll be there."
Arlo glanced up, releasing the brush and handing the machine over for Varelius. He smiled at Arlo and retrieved the machine, helping him to take the brush off.
Varelius pulled the brush slightly,
"Trust me. I can do it."
It wouldn't budge. Varelius squatted and let out a growl. He tugged the brush for some times, it didn't shift a single inch. He looked at me and told me to help.
I grabbed the brush with my right arm while Varelius held on the trigger's part.
Arlo lifted his hand, showing the number three,
"Three... Two... One !"
Both Varelius and me gathered our strength to extract the brush from the machine. We tried once, it still didn't move. Twice, still nothing progressed.
I gritted my teeth, attempting the third try. Arlo widened his eyes and jumped in excitement. The brush finally shifted a little.
As we expected the brush to finally come off, the brush came to a forceful stop. We tried to twist it, wiggled it, and much more. But in the end, the result was the same, it is still intact.
Zarina tilted her head and smiled,
"What are you three doing ? If you don't mind, I can help a little bit."
Arlo snatched the machine from us and handed it to Zarina. She traced the machine with her fingers, stopping at the brush.
Arlo tapped on the brush and stared at Zarina,
"Can you help me pull this ?"
She chuckled and tried to pull it out,
"Of course I can."
Varelius snickered and observed from afar,
"It's impossible Zarina. Me and Aléssio didn't—"
A satisfying POP sound echoed through the room as Zarina managed to separate the brush from the machine. She passed the machine to Arlo as he bowed a thank you.
He looked at us and pointed,
"Weak."
Varelius sniffled, clenching his chest and fell to the ground,
"Oh Arlo ! How could you hurt my feelings ? I just had a fight with my little brother and you hurt my heart again ?"
Arlo took the brush and threw it to Varelius' head,
"Clean the brush by opening the small lid on that handle."
Varelius rubbed his head, sighing while opening the small lid. He strolled to the bin and threw all the micro-glasses that were inside.
Arlo signalled me to get closer while being bossy with Varelius,
"Varelius, help me grab the stitching thing. As for the brush, place it at the empty place in my Medical Crate."
Varelius raised a brow and crossed his arms,
"And why should I do it ?"
Arlo coughed and placed his hand on his forehead,
"Oh no ! It seems that I am sick !"
Varelius sulked and shrug his shoulder,
"Alright little one. Consider yourself lucky that a wealthy person is helping."
He boastfully puffed out his chest and grabbed the needle. Positioning the brush in the Medical Crate, he then marched to us with the needle.
I placed my hand in front of Arlo. As he retrieved the needle and installed the needle to the machine, a small screen lit up.
He noticed my curious glance and tapped the screen,
"This thing is the one that helped me know when to stop. That's why during the cleaning process, I didn't get too deep because it told me to stop."
I glared at the machine as Arlo pressed the paddle trigger. The machine made a bunch of strings that binded my wound. In a second, my wound was sealed perfectly.
I twisted my arm and observed my newly stitched thumb,
"Is it done ?"
Arlo shook his head for some moment,
"No. Just one more step."
I sighed, trembling as Arlo gripped on my hand. Zarina rested her hand on my shoulder, looking happy to reassure me.
She laid against the wall,
"You know, the moment I went into my house again, it felt so familiar yet without them... it felt so... quiet."
I opened my mouth slightly, recalling the memory of that house we inhabited,
"Well, let it all out if you want. I'm all ears."
She lowered her head,
"Did all of you stay at that house ?"
I stuttered before nodding as my voice cracked,
"Yes... We did. It was indeed quiet and abandoned."
Varelius scratched the back of his head, adding up to what I said,
"The moment we arrived that house, Skov immediately noticed a picture of your family. There are two girls, an old man, and an old woman."
She slumped her body forward, turning her head away from us,
"I have a sister. She has been gone for longer than I can say."
I widened my eyes, now the note finally clicked in. The food we ate at that house was her sister's. I lowered my head. I shouldn't have eaten it... but it's also important for my survival.
Arlo titled his head up and withdrew his hand,
"It's done. I have sprayed it with the BioSeal Spray too."
I sighed and grabbed my ChronoLume,
"Thanks a lot Arlo."
The screen lit up, I swiped down on the screen to check the date. It went black before numbers slowly re-formed themselves. [11/11/2115] it shows on the screen.
The stinging punch of hers. My parent's betrayal. Her distant shouting to vent her rage. All of them surged in like a tide of waves.
I gripped the ChronoLume tight, touching my cheek on where she punched,
"15 years had past..."
Arlo sat on the floor, crossing his legs and looked up at me,
"15 years ? What happened ? How old are you now ?"
I shaped my hand to show him that I'm twenty six. He raised his hands, opening and closing it. He counted slowly, closing his hands until it finally showed five.
I put a hand in front of my mouth, sniffling the laughter that got out a little.
Arlo pumped his cheeks and crossed his arms,
"I'm not wrong right ?! You were five, am I right ?!"
Varelius cackled loudly, placing a hand on his thighs,
"Little one, you counted wrong ! Also Aléssio, what time is it now ?"
I swiped my ChronoLume to the right, showing [13.45] to him. Varelius nodded and placed an arm on Arlo's head. Arlo yelped and swatted Varelius' arm.
Without any words, Arlo lunged and bit Varelius' arm. Varelius shrieked and swung his hand up and down to let go of the biting Arlo.
Varelius tried to push Arlo's head away,
"Little one, get off ! You're going to make me bleed !"
But Arlo didn't let go, he continued to hang onto Varelius' arm. IRIS landed on Zarina's shoulder, letting out a soft BEEP with its "ಠ益ಠ" expression. I placed a hand on my forehead, I can never imagine Varelius producing or even protecting a kid now.