At the end of the slowly dragged footsteps, he reached a ruined building he had found a few days ago, when he first arrived in the city. The door was never locked—probably because there was no one left to lock it. When Raven stepped inside, cold, damp air hit his face. The dust-covered floor crunched faintly beneath every step he took, like forgotten echoes of the past.
Just behind the door stood a cabinet, its surface covered with broken panels. Raven tried to drag it in front of the entrance for extra security, but his strength hadn’t fully returned. his hands trembled, and he could barely stay on his feet. As he tried to push the cabinet, he lost his balance, and the thing toppled over with a clanging crash of heavy metal. The door was now effectively sealed, but the cabinet was also too heavy to move again.
He was trapped. At least, until he healed.
Without bothering with the scattered objects around, he moved through the dark room. He passed rusted metal desks, toppled shelves, and beams of light slipping through cracked windows. He arrived at a small room in the back. A ceiling fan still trembled overhead, but it had long since stopped working. In the corner of the wall, he pried open a ventilation grate. With a metallic creak, it came loose, and from inside he pulled out a black, dust-covered bag.
He sat quietly in the corner. Placing the bag in his lap, the blood on his hands stained the fabric, but he didn’t care. He unzipped it.
From inside, he took out a thick, pen-like device. Then a few sealed packets and a knife. He took a deep breath; his chest tightened with pain. He pressed the device against his ribs. Clenched his lips. And pressed the button.
The needle instantly pierced to the bone. His body tensed, his teeth clenched, but a groan still escaped his mouth.
“A foreign substance has been injected into the body. Chemical composition of the substance is unidentified. Beginning scan… Active nanite unit insufficient. System cannot operate at full capacity.”
ION’s cold, mechanical voice echoed in his head. Raven didn’t respond. He reached into the bag again. This time, he tore open a small packet. Inside were a fluid-filled spray and another pen-like device.
He grabbed the spray. Sprayed his open wounds. Each burst burned like fire. His skin felt like it was sizzling. But Raven made no sound. He had grown an inner hatred for pain—he didn’t suppress it, but accepted it.
After the spray, he pressed the second device against the wound. He moved it gently across the deep gash on his shoulder. Then pulled the trigger.
Click.
A thin wire emerged from the device and began stitching the edges of the wound. Raven shifted the device slightly and pressed again.
Click.
The wound slowly began to close. The device embedded metal pins and stitch threads. His movements were slow but focused. He was still alive. And he had to keep surviving.
“Host-02! Please specify the contents of the substance you injected into your body.”
Raven clenched his teeth. Said nothing. From another packet, he pulled out black, plastic-like wraps and began binding them around his wounds. Every movement made his body throb.
“Host-02! Please specify the contents of the substance you injected into your body.”
This time, he wanted to silence the voice. Raven struck his forehead with a single, sharp motion. The noise echoed through the room.
“Oh, shut the hell up already!”
But ION continued with unflinching calm:
“Host-02’s health status is below ideal parameters. Mute command not accepted. Please refrain from self-harm and specify the contents of the substance you injected into your body.”
Raven understood he couldn’t shut ION down. With a tired, defeated tone, he lowered his head. The words slipped through his teeth:
“Painkiller and disinfectant.”
Silence. Raven raised his head. He thought it was finally over. For a moment, a strange peace filled his. But that peace didn’t last long.
“Basic first aid procedure detected. Host-02 possesses emergency response knowledge. Data updated. After stabilizing your injuries, calorie intake is required. ION system needs biological energy to continue functioning. Current power level at 8%. Estimated operation time: nine hours. Treatment—”
Raven clenched his teeth. He shut his eyes. The rage inside him was growing like a storm. He hit his head again. This time, harder.
“Quit dumping every damn detail on me—you’re messing with my head! Just shut up and let me focus on patching myself up!”
The only sound Raven could hear in the room now was his own breathing. He closed the bag and placed it back where he got it from, then leaned against the filthy wall and tilted his head back. The knife he had taken out of the bag was resting in his lap. He fell asleep.
“Host-02, please wake up! Please wake up.”
Raven opened his eyes. His mouth was dry and an awful taste lingered on his tongue.
“What do you want now? Don’t you want me to heal? Then let me fucking sleep! How am I supposed to recover if I can’t even rest?”
He was still tired and clearly not happy about being woken up.
“Energy has reached a critical level. The nanites’ energy reserve is nearly depleted. You must consume calories immediately for the treatment process to continue.”
Raven paused for a moment. He needed to use his limited food supply sparingly. But he also knew the machine wouldn’t shut up until he did what it wanted. He reached out toward the ventilation shaft again. But this time, something was different. The pain he’d felt before falling asleep had diminished considerably. He thought for a moment. Before sleeping, the ION had said it had nine hours of energy left. Now it was saying the energy was nearly gone. Yet most of his wounds barely even hurt anymore, when they should’ve taken weeks to heal. He spoke as he opened his bag.
“Wait… you healed me?”
“Yes. I previously communicated this information. System data on Host-02 has been updated.”
Raven was curious about what kind of update had been made about him, but didn’t ask. He was impressed. With proper medicine, he could’ve healed fast—but he didn’t have any. Even so, this thing talking in his head had healed him in a very short time. The pain in his ribs, however, was still there. He took a few sips from the metallic-colored package with a straw at the end that he pulled from his bag.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
“What are you exactly?”
“My name is Intelligent Operational Nanite. ION for short. I’ve also provided this information before.”
Raven shook his head.
“Hey, I didn’t ask for your damn name—I asked what the hell you are. And why the fuck you’re in my head.”
The metallic voice responded.
“I am a nano-support system designed for the Western Union Special Forces Command. My mission is to provide support to Special Operations Unit personnel.”
Western Union? Raven had never heard of such an organization. ION continued.
“The last known location of the transport capsule matches the scrapyard you were previously located in. The capsule, through unknown means, made physical contact with Host-02. Additionally, inconsistencies have been detected in the navigation data. According to current data, we are underground. However, no underground settlement exists in the system archives for these coordinates. Please confirm your current location.”
Raven was confused. Grimhaven had been around for a long time. Besides, there were no cities above ground anymore.
“We’re in Grimhaven.”
After a brief silence, ION spoke.
“No settlement named ‘Grimhaven’ exists in the system data. A mispronunciation is assumed. Scanning for similar names… No match found. Such a settlement does not exist. Please confirm your location.”
Raven couldn’t help but think the machine treating him like an idiot was the real idiot. “What do you mean there’s no such place as Grimhaven?” he thought.
“The official name’s Delta-7. Try that, genius.”
Silence again, followed by the metallic voice.
“No match found. Host-02 appears unable to determine current location. This may be due to cognitive impairment resulting from cranial trauma and a low IQ level. Please verify your current location using environmental data as soon as possible.”
Raven stood up. He went to the sink to drink some water. When he pressed the button, a stream of pitch-black water came out first. Then slightly cleaner water followed, though it still looked dirty. Raven didn’t care and took a few sips. The water had a metallic taste.
“First of all, the name’s Raven Karr—not Host-02. Second, my brain works just fine, thanks! We’re holed up in some shitty abandoned building in Delta-7, Grimhaven!”
“Your data does not match the persons recorded in the system under the name ‘Raven Karr'. No matching identity found in the Western Union’s civilian or military databases. The user may be experiencing memory loss. A detailed health scan has been initiated.”
“Shut the fuck up, you dumb bot! I know my name. And what the hell even is this ‘Western Union’ crap?”
After a brief pause, the metallic voice responded.
“The Western Union is a superstate encompassing the continents of Europe, North and South America, and Africa. Its form of government is representative democracy. Since the year 2058, it has been at war with the Eastern Nations Alliance and the South America Freedom Movement.”
Raven was now convinced the thing in his head was broken. He had never heard of any of the things ION mentioned. And 2058? That was over a hundred years ago.
“It’s 2189, you walking relic. Sounds like your info’s a bit outdated.”
This time, the silence lasted longer. Raven pressed the water button again and washed his face with the dirty stream.
“Host-02 is not registered in the population database. Displays signs of severe physical trauma. Is unlawfully residing in an abandoned structure. Individual’s cognitive level is low. Information provided by Host-02 will be treated as low-reliability data. Attempting connection to Western Union Special Operations Communication Network… Connection failed. Retrying… Connection failed.”
Raven smiled as if he had just won a battle.
“That’s what happens when you try connecting to something that doesn’t exist, dumbass! Maybe you’re the one with the ‘low IQ level’, huh?”
Raven waited a few seconds, but this time ION didn’t respond. He looked at himself in the mirror. Apart from the scar under his chin, his face was smooth. His black hair was cut in a military style. He went back to his spot to rest. He sat down and laid his knife across his legs, then drifted back to sleep.
ION // SYSTEM FEEDBACK — [Session: 002 | Operator: Host-02]
Interface: ION_v4.6.1_β // Connection Stable [?]
[?] [MRS-09] Molecular Restoration System
- Operational Efficiency: 9.2%
- Primary Function:
→ Facilitates tissue regeneration via nano-scale biosynthetic repair protocols
→ Applies localized reconstruction on muscle, epidermal, and limited neural tissues
→ Simulates auto-fibrin production and coagulation to suppress superficial bleeding
→ Engages limited immunosuppression to minimize infection risk
- Critical Limitation:
→ In cases of major tissue disruption or internal organ trauma, system enters “Hemostatic Mode”
→ Prioritizes active hemorrhage control; regeneration rate significantly reduced
→ If operational load exceeds 60%, system may enter temporary shutdown
System Notice: Stated efficiency percentages apply only under conditions of full, synchronized nanite allocation to each individual module. Partial or multi-tasking deployments may result in fluctuating efficiency levels.
Raven // BODYCHECK
→ Gear:
? Still garbage
→ Weapon:
? Left Hook of God? (Cool, huh?)
? [NEW!] Combat Knife [Model: M-12] (Worn grip. Still cuts like betrayal.)
→ Additions:
? Bad vibes (Persistent)
? [NEW!] Stolen e-Wallet – Balance : ??? (Lifted from some drunk corpo in a back-alley pit.)
? [NEW!] Old Canvas Bag (Stains, holes, and secrets. Could be junk. Could be something worse. You never check—on purpose.)
? [NEW!] Packaged Rations (Technically food. Realistically? Packaged vomit with a label.)
? [NEW!] VX-21 Commlink (Wraps behind the ear, hugs the skull like a leech. Last missed call: None.)
? [NEW!] Field Medkit [Mk.0, expired] (Half-stocked. Half-trustworthy.)