Chapter One: Almost Normal

The lights were too bright, shining down into his eyes. Where the hell am I? he thought. On the wall next to him was a poster about the dangers of smoking with an animated man blowing a puff of smoke out of his mouth with a cigarette in his hand. Next to it was a box on the wall with a red cross on it. Something about the safe use of needles was scrawled upon the front. Besides that one wall, the rest were bare and white. Next to him was a woman sitting there writing on a clipboard. She was wearing a white gown and a stethoscope around her neck. Damn! I’m in the hospital.
“Oh you’re awake,” the nurse exclaimed. “I better go alert the doctor. Stay here.” The man groaned. The doctor, a young man of maybe twenty-five walked in.
“So you’re Ray Blethan?” he asked.
“Yes,” the man replied in a strong deep voice. Actually his name was John Blethan, but because he was an agent for the Strange Happenings Agency he was not allowed to reveal his real name.
“Hello. I’m Doctor Freddie. You were found outside during that awful storm last night in a pool of blood. Next to you was a human arm lying on the ground. This was shown to be yours, and where the arm belongs was a mechanical one. You know that prosthetics now perfectly mirror normal arms. If you wanted one you should have come here instead of doing it in a back alley during a storm. Now I’m going to have to perform some tests-“
“Doc, I feel fine. Let me go.”
“The tests are quick and painless-“
“But time consuming. Let me go.” John leveled the man with a steady stare.
“Just let me see-“
“Let me go!” John shouted as he leapt up out of the hospital bed. Instantly all of the monitors spiked. “I feel fine,” he said, calm again. “Let me go.”
“But it’s my Hippocratic Oath to-“
John picked up the doctor and slammed him into the wall. “I don’t care about your god damn oath! Let me out of here!”
“R-r-right away sir. Th-this way.” The doctor led John through an intricate maze of white hallways and stairs, each one ending in at least two more paths. Good thing he’s cooperating, John thought. I never would have been able to find my own way. After ten minutes of winding in and out of hallways, they reached the lobby.
“G-g-goodbye Ray.” John just stormed off. On his way out he glanced at his reflection in the glass door. He stood tall at six feet six inches, and he was very muscular at the age of thirty two. He had short blonde hair and tanned skin, but his right arm was all wrong. Where there should have been a normal flesh and blood arm there was a mechanical one instead. He ran back to the counter.
“Get me Doctor Freddie.”
“We’re sorry. He had a patient that just left in a huff. Didn’t care for the arm he left, so the doctor is disposing of it.”
“That’s me you idiot, and I care very much about that arm. Stop him!”
“Right away sir.” She pressed a button on the desk and spoke into it, too quietly for John to hear. “Here he is. You can speak to him now.” She turned the computer she was working on so that John could see. There was an image of the doctor on the screen.
“I want my arm back,” John said.
“I’m sorry,” Doctor Freddie said. “It was just incinerated. There’s nothing I can do.”
“What!”
“Your arm is gone. You’ll just have to be almost normal.”
“Damn you.” He stormed out of the building slamming the door on his way out in the face of another employee at the hospital, spilling hot coffee all over the front of her. She started shouting at him, but he didn’t care.
He took a look around to get his bearings. John was standing in the middle of a 3999’s New York City. Hover cars choked the streets. Each building was covered in advertisements for increasingly obscure companies. There was a company selling mops that didn’t even have a name, just a phone number. There were other advertisements for more prominent businesses, though. Two giant, golden arches advertised McDonalds in bright gold and red. Beneath the bright colors and cheesy slogans were solid metal walls. In the right light they gleamed bright silver, completely obscuring the advertisements. The once shiny sidewalks were now coated with a thin layer of grime and litter.
John plowed his way through the crowd, pushing the people in his way to the side. He checked his watch. It was 11:23 in the morning. Maybe he could find something to do at the Headquarters for the SHA.
He hailed a taxi, and one quickly arrived. John climbed in and sat down in the ripped leather seats that smelled like sweat. “SHA,” he told the driver.
“Sorry, can’t go ‘round there,” he replied. “Don’t wanna’ get mixed up in nothin’.”
“You’ll drive there, and when we get there, maybe you should meet some of my friends. They love a criminal on the loose.”
“I ain’t no criminal.”
“Yes you are. You’re sweating too much. You’re gripping the steering wheel a little too hard. Arteries are standing out on your arms, showing increased blood flow. Now drive.” John was an expert at things like that. It came with the job. The SHA was an agency consisting of the best crime fighters in the world. Agents at the SHA worked on cases that no one else could solve. If a murderer left no evidence behind, they were called in. The agency’s jurisdiction was the entire country, allowing them to investigate any case. They found the right answer ninety-nine percent of the time.
The cab pulled up to the building. No advertisements were shown on it, making it stand out like a sore thumb. SHA was shown in giant letters that jutted out from the front of the building. These differences made it look like the building was saying, “I’m different. Now what are you going to do about it.”
“Okay. We’re here. Can’t you let me off?” the cab driver attempted.
“No. You get out first.”
“Okay.” As soon as he stepped out of the door, the black kid ran off. His jacket flapped behind him, and he held his hat so that it didn’t blow away. Before he had taken five steps, John seized him by the back of his jacket and threw him to the ground.
“Don’t try that again,” John growled.
“How’d you do that, man?”
“I got out at the same time you did. Up.” John pulled the guy up and led him into the building. Two guards showed up as soon as they walked through the door. “Take care of him.” John shoved the guy onto the floor and continued walking. A group of guys were drinking coffee in some chairs off in the corner.
“Hey John,” one of them called. “You’re back early. Someone who loses that much blood don’t get up and walk the next day. Man, we thought you were a goner.” John just walked right by them, not even acknowledging them. “Hey, a thank you would be nice.” He pushed the button on the elevator. “We saved your life. C’mon.” He boarded the elevator and closed it, staring straight ahead. “Now that was rude.”
On the level with his office, John stepped out. A chorus of, “Hey John, glad you’re back,” sounded from all of the other agents on that floor. These people all knew his real name, because they also worked for the SHA. John didn’t reply to anyone. He just walked off to his own little office on the other side of the room.
In his office were only a desk, two chairs, a computer, and one photograph. He sat behind the desk and gazed at the photo. It was a picture of him and another man having fun at the other man’s house. He was wearing a little birthday party hat. There had only been the two of them, joking and having a good time there.
The other guy had chin length black hair that always got in the way of his eyes. His hair contrasted with his skin, which was as pale as the moon. He was tall and lanky, which disguised his unusual strength. The guy was always out to have a good time, with an infectious laugh that left everybody lighthearted and happy. He had a joke for every occasion. Scrawled on the front was a note. “From your brother in all but blood-Hubble.”
“Not anymore,” John muttered to himself. With that he took the picture and smashed it, scattering glass all over the desk. He found a note lying on his desk. “Today at twelve. I’ll be waiting- Madeline.” He checked his watch again. 11:37, just enough time to pick her up.
He stormed out of his office, slamming the door with his right arm. It burst from its hinges and flew across the room. “Hey, what was that?” one of the other agents asked. “Call a repair company.” John kept walking. “I’m talkin’ to you.” John didn’t even acknowledge the other agent’s existence. The agent got up from his desk and put a cell phone right in front of John’s face. John grabbed it, snapped it in half, and threw in a nearby garbage can. “Hey, you’re gonna’ pay me for that.”
“It’s not my problem,” John growled as he fixed a stare at the other agent. He then boarded the elevator.
“He’s been that way ever since his best friend Hubble died,” an onlooker said when John had left.
Down in the lobby, the same guys were still there finishing their coffee. “Hey John, what’s with the arm? Think it makes you popular?” John grabbed the guy by the front of his shirt and picked him up. Then he shoved the guy against a pillar in the center of the room.
“What do you know about it?” John growled.
“Nothing, I swear it.”
“Liar!” John yelled. “Tell me what you know!”
“I don’t know anything.” John pulled a knife out of his belt and he held it to the man’s throat. “Okay. Okay. Last night, when we were looking for that shadowy guy, everyone in my part of the group saw a flash of light. We ran as fast as we could and found you lying in a pool of rain and blood. The arm was already there. We didn’t have anything to do with it. That’s all I know, I swear.” John let him fall to the ground. He was shaking as he got back up. By the time he was on his feet, John was leaving the building.
A light drizzle had started while John was inside. Grey clouds obscured the sky. He had started walking out of the city as soon as he had exited the building, heading for a mansion in the suburbs. That was where his girlfriend Madeline lived.
She was a woman who considered herself above almost everyone else. Madeline hated waiting for inferiors to catch up to her. She had the one of the highest IQ in the world, making her known by all of the scientists. She was the CEO of the amazingly successful medical company, Aquarius, which made her millions of dollars a year. One of her greatest strengths was her ability to manipulate people. She always got her way, because she knew how to play on people’s hopes and fears. Most of the time, though, she remained intellectually aloof from everyone else.
John walked the whole way to her house, lost in his thoughts. He walked up to the front door and knocked. A beautiful woman answered the door. She had long, dark black hair that contrasted with her extremely pale skin. Her eyes were an icy blue and seemed to stare straight into your mind. She was about six feet tall, and very thin, but healthy.
“Ready?” John asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “Where are we going?”
“I was thinking Shokumotsu.”
“Let’s go.” They walked side by side, not speaking, until they reached the Japanese restaurant. They sat down quietly and waited to order their food.
“So, anything going on with Aquarius?” John asked.
“Yes, today we had a huge order of the medical bonding agent that we created a few months ago, the one that can seal any wound.”
“Someone was hurt that badly?”
“Not someone. Apparently, some huge structural flaws have been found in the foundation of the Empire State Building. Cracks had started forming in the metal and spreading. While you were in the hospital, the entire building was evacuated. Now the city is scrambling around like they’re on fire, trying to find the solution. My stuff would only affect the cracks on the surface so they need to find a way to get at the ones in the middle. Frankly, it’s very amusing.”
“How did you know I was in the hospital? No one should’ve except the agency.”
“I work at a medical company.” John just grunted.
A waiter walked over and the two ordered their food and drinks, remembering their favorites from past visits. John ordered teriyaki chicken, chicken in a sweet sauce, and Madeline ordered a few sushi rolls.
“So,” John began, “how did you know that I would be out of the hospital. You’re a medical expert so you know that any normal person who loses as much blood as I did shouldn’t just get up and walk away the next day. “
“Because you’re not normal. You’re almost normal. You’re the best.”
“Sometimes the best isn’t good enough.” An awkward silence, followed by the food coming, ensured.
“John-“ Madeline started.
“Don’t use my name out here.”
“-how did you get your arm?”
“Last night I was put on a mission to chase and capture some dark figure. The guy slipped, and I almost got him. Then he took a sword out from somewhere and cut my arm off. After that all I remember is the pain. It was agonizing, and blinding. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Some of the other agents out last night said that there was a flash of light near where I was lying. They ran to find me in a pool of blood and rain with the arm already there. That’s all I know.”
“Any idea who attached it to you?” Madeline continued between bites.
“It had to have been the guy I was chasing. No one else was there. Hey, I can’t find my knife. Must have lost it last night.” John searched all of his pockets. “Damn, I don’t have it.”
“John, look at your arm.”
“What the hell.” His robotic arm had started shifting. The fingers were suddenly narrowing and the joints were fusing. His thumb slid into his hand. When the transformation was complete there were four claw-like pieces of metal sticking out of his hand.
“Damn it!” John shouted. “Why do I have to have this arm? Why do I have to be almost normal?” John took his claws and slammed them into the metal table. They slid clean through it.
“What are you doing to the table?” the manager of the restaurant yelled. “You’re going to have to pay for that.” The manager walked right up to John.
“Leave me alone!” John shouted at him, and he punched the manager across the face with his left hand.
Madeline got up and put her hand on John’s shoulder. “Go John. I’ll handle this,” she said with a wink. He stormed off, punching a pillar on his way out. The rain had stopped.
John had walked all the way back to his apartment, fuming. After Hubble had died he was no longer able to control his anger. Anything that would normally just annoy made him explode. He hated it all.
Back at the apartment, he threw himself down on his bed and took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. The room was sparsely decorated. There was a bed and a nightstand, nothing else. There was a book lying open next to him. It was his journal of the days when he and Hubble had been training for the SHA. He flipped through it.
“Today the teacher was droning on about the same old thing that they had learned already. Hubble got up and asked if he was in the wrong class. I started laughing and we both got to do extra exercises in front of everyone else… Yesterday Hubble and I celebrated his 27th birthday. We stayed up all night and missed some of the morning classes sleeping. The teachers weren’t happy…” John flipped to the back. “Today we finally graduated from the SHA training. The graduates were supposed to shake hands with the teachers, but Hubble and I took some bows to the small group of people watching. We almost had to repeat the year, but Hubble and I reminded them that we were the best of the year, despite our fooling off. Whew…”
John then grabbed the journal and ripped it in half. Instantly he regretted it, because it was his only record of those days. He placed the two halves on his desk in the room and lay back down on the bed. He just wanted to fall into oblivion. Finally he fell into a light sleep.