Re-Wired by Greg Dragon Page A

room and sat on his bed, then powered herself down.
    She awoke to a strange signal that droned loudly inside of her skull. It was as if someone had turned something on inside of her to make her aware, and when her eyes flicked open, she was in the bed with Brad. Her robe was on the ground, and he was asleep and shaking. The way he shook frightened her, and sweat covered his naked, muscular body. She had learned that the human body could be damaged repeatedly to evolve into a stronger, more attractive version of itself, but she had never seen Brad lifting weights or running to achieve the body he had. She could smell the alcohol on him, and it was obvious that something had happened while she was recharging on his bed. She felt his arm and it was cold and clammy, and he did not seem well at all. She laid back down next to him and powered herself down, hoping that when she woke up again, he would be okay.
    “Morning, Trish,” Brad said after he got up, showered, and walked out into the living room. His eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed relaxed and happy in comparison to how he’d been the day before.
    “Good morning,” she responded. “I have a question for you.”
    “Sure thing. What?”
    “You seemed sick last night when you were sleeping. I’ve never seen you that way. You were cold and shivering, and your skin felt the way plasticine does when I am powered down. You also—”
    “I know, and I’m sorry. That wasn’t right. See, the pills have a bad side to go along with the good side. I’ve been hallucinating and having dizzy spells. To counter the effect I’ve had to take other drugs, and let’s just say that last night I felt as if I wanted to die.”
    “Have you run an analysis on the pills you have been taking? What if they contain something that could cause long-term changes—”
    “Hey, Trish, let’s not go there. I made a deal with the devil and I’m going to stick with it. Knowing the details is not going to make this any easier for me, so I would rather not, okay?”
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    A few weeks later Brad made a love connection. Her name was Priscilla White and she was a dancer. She had reached out to Brad after she recognized him from the coffee café, and they’d begun calling one another every day.  She was a performing artist who specialized in ancient African dances and she invited Brad to see her perform. He thought about taking Tricia but worried that it would confuse things for Priscilla, so he went against his earlier promise and powered her down before locking her away in his closet. Priscilla was brown-skinned and had short curly hair. He found out that she was from Trinidad, in the West Indies. She liked watching horror movies as much as he did, and they shared a love of coffee.
    The show was at the performing arts center at the University and Brad felt embarrassed at having to return there. He hoped he wouldn’t run into anyone that he knew. If they realized he was no longer a student, they might wonder why he was still hanging around the campus. He tried to put it out of his mind as he sat in an empty row towards the middle of the auditorium. There weren’t many other people there to watch the performance, so he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to sit directly next to strangers.
    The show started and a number of girls came out to the music, kicking high and shimmying this way and that. He didn’t see Priscilla so he opened up the program that had been handed to him at the door and scanned the names to see if he could find her. Priscilla White was the last name on the list, and so he tolerated the show for a few more minutes. As soon as he was at his breaking point and was ready to get up, she appeared onstage. She was dressed in an outfit that made the other performers look like nothing and the people in attendance clapped loudly. Apparently this particular show had her as the main event, so he was happy to see her, even though it meant he had to sit through the entire dance