Chapter 23.5 Interlude: The Fall of Marijuana.

  “Maybe… Maybe it's okay to cry, only once in a while.”

  August 28th, 1991.

  His clock read 10 PM.

  Somewhere in Alaska, buried within the snow was the official government rehabilitation center for robots like Samuel.

  Samuel sat in his room yet again, filled with shame and guilt for staying this long to finish some “treatment” instead of fighting back.

  Lying on the bed below him, the hard metal mixed in with the cloth of blankets.

  Feeling like a joke to Samuel.

  As he sat in thought.

  “Man… when are they gonna release me?

  I wanna come back home to Link, but guess he wouldn't care if I died or not.

  I mean, I treated him like shit, hit him even, yet he cleaned up my messes besides his own.”

  Reminiscing on how Link II cleaned up the weed and cigarettes left behind by Samuel.

  During his self pity, his door rang.

  “Hello? Sam? Are you busy doing rehabilitation habits like the nice officer said you were?”

  Hearing the voice of his robotic mother.

  Soon she entered, the door creaking loudly while her feet stepped on the carpet one by one.

  Like a fragile old grandma.

  Having the stiffness of a robot, each step making a creek.

  The air filled with vulnerability right after she got near.

  She then sat right next to him.

  Asking.

  “So… tell me, Samuel, why are you really here?

  Are you here to actually get away from the marijuana, or are you doing it for a selfish reason like a bitch?”

  Samuel sighed, annoyingly nodding, admitting to the second option.

  Knowing that all of his reason for choosing to be here was to become better for Link II.

  While Samuel's Mother sighed in disappointment.

  “Jesus fucking christ Sam, what the hell is wrong with you?

  I taught you better, I taught you to learn from your mistakes and not beg pathetically towards anybody-”

  Samuel spoke, interrupting his mother.

  “So what then now mother?

  What then am I supposed to choose then?

  I'm a terrible person, I literally hurt a boy over some ingredient I can buy at the store…

  I don't deserve anything but to rot in this place.”

  Samuel's Mother sighed in annoyance, knowing her son got defensive of himself and his marijuana habits.

  She spoke yet again.

  “Wait, you have a boy?”

  Samuel spoke abruptly.

  “N-No… No I don't…”

  Samuel panicked, realizing he told somebody about the boy he was supposed to keep secret.

  While sighing, she realized that Samuel was lying again like his father.

  “Really Samuel? You don't have a kid?

  Then why did you say that you deserve to rot here?

  It isn't because you think you deserve it, it's because of guilt.

  I know you Samuel, and the one thing you always do when you get upset is give up and quit like a little bitch.”

  Samuel's body started to flame up as an emotional response to anger.

  His mother's rambling continued.

  ”When are you gonna become an adult, Samuel? You have stuff to take care of now, you can't just constantly smoke weed 24/7, 365.”

  The rambling when on.

  Samuel thought to himself.

  Always being annoyed with his mother, even if she tried to be supportive to him.

  Always needing a cover to excuse his problems.

  Marijuana, sex, anything to get away from reality.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Yeah? So what's your point? You're saying the same things that you said hypocritically.”

  Samuel spoke, stopping his mother for what felt like a breath.

  “Samuel. You do realize that a majority of the time, I did all the work for you? I paid the bills, paid for food-”

  Samuel blurted out, yelling.

  “Oh shut up, old woman!

  Don't you realise that I already know that?!

  Why the hell do you think I'm here in the first place?!”

  Stopping for a moment felt like death, taking another breath as he continued.

  “...you try and fix yourself for a kid that probably is not gonna care if I died anyways, he’s got his abilities that do the job for him.”

  As she asked.

  “Then who is the kid?

  Is he adopted..?

  Because if i know you right, you'd prefer someone else's kid over your own.

  You don't want to see yourself with your own kid.

  It'd feel wrong to continue a bloodline of selfishness and tragedy, right?”

  As Samuel spoke, calmer than a dollar bill.

  “Yeah, it's adopted.

  His name's Link.

  I found him in an alleyway after my crash of marijuana, it had a few notes, detailing his documents and all that shit…

  The funny thing is, when I fell asleep, I kept dreaming of this goddess that forcefully gave me the boy…

  I don't remember much of what happened anyways, but I do know there were a few gangsters nearby.

  I couldn't just leave him there, so I took him in.”

  Samuel's Mother slapped him in the face with a loud metallic clank.

  “So you adopted a baby from the dumpster?!”

  She asked again, checking if he was lying or not.

  Only tears came down from Samuel’s face thereafter.

  Speaking again.

  “Oh shit… you really did take in a dumpster baby and treat him worse than you found him.”

  They both took a breather to calm down.

  Samuel's flames dimmed, comparable to that of mint chocolate.

  The smell of it illuminated the room in a comforting minty smell.

  Samuel's Mother moved right next to him, lying her head on his shoulder.

  “Sam. I know… that you're angry with me.

  And I get it, but you can't leave a child behind.

  No matter what the shit you do to them, you always come back to their aid.

  Even if they hurt you, even if you hurt them.

  You should always be eager to take care of them, I made that mistake with your sister.

  She treated me like a bitch, remember when we had to fight against her in court just to keep that crappy house?”

  Both chuckled at the somber joke.

  Samuel looked up to his mother, tears felt behind whatever metallic face he had.

  Holding back tears of regret.

  “Oh the things I've done mother… I still regret slapping him when he was only 4 years old.

  While accidentally leaving the door unlocked.

  I've hurt him in more ways than one, and I don't want to hurt him even more.”

  With a breath, Samuel's Mother began speaking, this time in faith.

  “Sam, do you really think I wanted to hurt you even more?

  I wanted you to be tough against the world, Samuel.

  I wanted you to have the strength to be vulnerable but still have the strength to kill a man.

  I gave you tough love in the wrong words, Samuel.”

  Speaking yet again after a breath.

  “Samuel, can we have a prayer?”

  He nodded, as they began.

  While she spoke, Samuel sensed something was off.

  He never usually got to say a prayer with his mother.

  “If I die, before I wake, pray the lord sees my soul to take.

  If I die today, pray that the kids will be safe.

  If I die today… pray.

  Pray that we can heal and love.

  I pray for you, that seems like the best way to say these words lord.

  But for the men and women looking for guidance right now, just look at where you started.

  Give them faith to come onto you.”

  As she fell to the floor with a metal clank.

  The sound of death for a robot.

  Engines ran dry.

  Parts dislocated.

  The slow process of metal collapsing.

  Thereafter, Samuel cried tears near his mother, hugging his mother tightly.

  Whispering near her dead and still body.

  “I'm sorry.

  I'm sorry for everything.

  Guess it's hard seeing your own son and daughter disobey you after you gave them love.

  But I'll miss you, in another lifetime or whenever our fucked up family reunites.”

  As his mother's corpse delved into more disconnected parts.

  The emotion from her face faded into metal darkness, gone by millions of metal parts.

  Samuel's glass eyes broke from the containment of liquid.

  Weeping openly in human tears for the first time.

  Crying as he learned one last lesson before she died.

  Samuel sat near his mother for about 30 minutes.

  Wailing uncontrollably in grief.

  Falling teardrops rained onto the corpse of his mother.

  While an officer had secretly hid into the room, ready to tackle him for a bet.

  A dare from his coworkers to bully the mentally unwell, and this was their 20th trip.

  As the guard prepared to strike, his hand trembled due to nervousness from peer pressure.

  The recruit could just hear the whispers of the other coworkers.

  “Is he actually doing it? That's crazy if he actually hits the druggie.”

  As the recruit swung at his head… something stopped it.

  There Samuel stood, completely unfazed by his attempt to club him.

  Whispering out of anger and grief, his eyes saying everything for him from just the contact.

  “...you're fuckin dead, kid.”

  And within seconds, he completely destroyed the recruit, jabbing him once in the eye.

  Leaving him unconscious with a nasty bruise.

  The coworkers followed soon after, rushing to try and avenge their fallen comrade.

  Samuel socked them out too.

  Within seconds too small, each one down within a single hit.

  No matter how big or strong they were, one good jab was enough to knock them out cold.

  By the time he was done, every guard was cold.

  Each groaning from the pain that was from the amount of force into his jabs.

  Seeing the aftermath, Samuel quickly ran out of the facility, deciding one thing.

  He wanted to raise his kid properly, never wanting to abandon somebody else again.

  Running out of the room, his feet stomped the floor.

  Sounding like the thumping of an elephant.

  The alarms blared in hallways.

  Stored Swat soon began to show up.

  The sounds of stomps filled the hallways.

  Samuel desperately looked for any exit that wasn't automatically sealed from the lockdown.

  Glancing backwards in the hallway, he saw one of the knocked out guards having a keycard to the exit.

  Rushing towards it like a crackhead to weed.

  But hearing the stomps getting closer…

  And closer.

  And closer.

  Having to choose between grabbing the key and risk getting caught.

  Or abandon the keycard and hide somewhere.

  Looking around, he noticed the armory.

  Bolting into the room and hiding quietly while he secretly put on armor and grabbed weapons.

  The guards arrived in the main center of the facility, they stopped for a moment.

  Taking more cautioned steps towards the armory.

  The stored group of swats went into the armory, knocking over the unloaded guns.

  All while Samuel slowly crawled over them all, secretly stealing armor.

  During his crawl, the guards found him, aiming their guns.

  Their weapons ready for fire…

  Yet when the bullets shot, they reflected against the metal.

  Dying from the reflected bullets lodged into their skulls and chests.

  Repetitive thumps filled the room as bodies fell.

  Meanwhile Samuel just hung onto the vent, awkwardly confused as to why the bullets didn't kill him.

  Remembering the stolen piece of armor combined with his own metallic skin, making it easily reflect.

  And so, Samuel awkwardly fast walked out of there in shock and awe that his idea worked.

  Opening the facility doors to the outside, all he could see was piles of hail.

  The cold air of snow reflected against his metallic skin.

  All flowing towards nothing like a lost toy.

  As Samuel confidently stepped outside into it, ready to find his way home even without guidance.