Deviation from the Norm N. Ching

Deviation From the Norm

Excerpt from a longer work by N. Ching, Grade 9 Author Note: A tragic story about a cyborg girl who is seeking answers to her past. The theme is that unnecessary investigations could sometimes lead to danger or misfortune, or the proverb, 'Curiosity Killed the Cat. ' Being too inquisitive of topics you should not try to find out can lead to trouble, so it is detrimental to be too nosy.

Millions of images flashed through Marcella’s head with barely enough time to register the feelings of apprehension and anxiety associated with them. A hurricane of emotions haunted her in her dreams with snippets of her horrendous past buried amongst the memories forcefully implanted into her artificially advanced brain. An enraged man snatching a baby out of a sobbing woman’s arms. The quick exchange of money between greedy hands. The sharp needle-like pain of an agonizing surgery. The dull throb of her temples from the bright lights located on the ceiling of a lab. The grueling training she had endured while her teammates dropped dead like flies. But how many of those recollections are real? Or are they all just hallucinations hand-crafted by the pretentious scientists who ruthlessly tore apart her humanity and replaced it with mechanical parts? It was a question Marcella originally asked herself often, and she always came up with no answer. Over time, however, she stopped being so concerned about her past. So what if her birth parents ruthlessly sold her to scientists for experimentation? It didn’t matter to her now anyway, and she wouldn’t benefit from finding out either. After all, it was curiosity that killed the cat, and she had learned enough from her training to not snoop into things she didn’t need to know. At least, that was what she wanted herself to believe. Beep! Beep! Beep! Marcella Flynn. Beep! Beep! Beep! Wake up. Emotionlessly, she sat up and shut off her annoying alarm clock. Rubbing her temples in hopes of clearing the remnants of her nightmare, she slid out of bed. What was in the past, stays in the past. There is no reason for her to be tormented by what happened before. After making her bed, Marcella freshened herself up before wearing her earpiece. “452, Marcella Flynn, up and ready. What is the task today?” She asked in monotone, locking her taser and revolver into place along with the various other weapons she owned on the utility belt that accompanied her suit. “452, report to headquarters. General Aiden would like to see you.” The platinum-blonde girl strolled confidently down the steel hall, boot heels clicking on the cool metal floor. She stops at a smooth marble door and closes her heterochromatic eyes, taking a deep breath before she gazed expectantly at the facial recognition device on the side of the door. The scanner examined the strikingly beautiful girl’s face, giving her access to the room after a few seconds. Marcella wasn’t exactly classified as hard to identify. Only a few people can look elegant with a piece of metal grafted onto their face, and she was one of the blessed ones. As Marcella gracefully stepped into the room, the marble doors fell back into place noiselessly and she smiled. This was perfect. This is the last day her superior would remain breathing since Marcella is looking for answers, and she will not stop at anything until she gets them.