Free Monster Republic by Ben Horton

ahead of him. He lowered his head and stomped through, into a narrow corridor, biting his tongue as he went.
    Slater led him down the corridor and into a side room jam-packed with desks piled high with jumbled equipment, like some sort of electronics lab. In the middle of the chaos sat an old leather dentist’s chair, with a collection of cables and wires running off it.
    A small boy with spiky blond hair and glasses popped into view from behind the chair, where he had been fussing with some of the electrics. Of all the faces Cameron had seen so far, this kid’s features were the most normal. But they twitched spasmodically, as if he was being electrocuted. His whole body was constantly in motion: his head jerking this way and that; his eyes flicking about like a bird’s, focusing on something different every second.
    Although never on Cameron’s face …
    Slater marched Cameron over to the chair and patted the seat with a twisted smile. As he sat, Slater looked down at him for an instant as if he was a bad smell, before turning back to the other kid.
    ‘He’s bugged, Tink. See what you can do. Don’t worry, I’ll be just outside.’ Then hemarched out.
    The twitchy kid moved in closer, his lips moving. Even with his enhanced hearing, Cameron could only just make out what he was muttering to himself.
    ‘Divinity Project, Subject Number Five-Oh-One. Human cyborg. Partial titanium exoskeleton. Internal power supply. Weapons capability unknown.’
    Cameron gritted his teeth. Good to meet you too, Tinker – my name’s Cameron , he thought bitterly.
    With a look of intense concentration on his always-moving face, Tinker rummaged through some of the tools on the nearest desk. He pulled out a large, vaguely gun-shaped device, which he began to run over Cameron’s head and torso.
    As he did so, Cameron noticed that while Tinker’s face was still a mass of tics and twitches, his hands were suddenly as steady as rocks. When the scanner reached Cameron’s right shoulder, it suddenly started emitting frantic bleeps.
    ‘Automatic tracking device,’ muttered Tinker. ‘Internally mounted.’
    He nodded, entirely to himself, and reached for another tool. Then, without a word, he pulled down the neck of Cameron’s T-shirt and flipped open a panel on his shoulder, the new instrument poised to begin poking around inside.
    ‘Hey!’ snarled Cameron, leaping to his feet with clenched fists. ‘What do you think you’re doing? I’m not just some faulty toaster!’
    Tinker backpedalled, knocking a pile of equipment to the floor with a crash. He stared directly at Cameron for the first time, his wide, scared eyes blinking rapidly, while his facial muscles went into all sorts of new spasms.
    ‘Keep your tools to yourself!’ Cameron shouted.
    In a flash, Slater was inside the room.
    ‘What did you do?’ he demanded, squaring up to Cameron.
    ‘Nothing,’ snapped Cameron. ‘It was him .’
    ‘What’s going on here?’
    Rora stood in the doorway, hands on hips.
    ‘He attacked Tinker,’ replied Slater, his eyes never leaving Cameron.
    ‘N-n-no, he didn’t,’ stammered Tinker. ‘It was m-m-my fault.’
    ‘What happened?’
    Cameron scowled. ‘He started messing with my arm.’
    Rora sighed impatiently. ‘How else do you think he’s going to get the bug out? Were you expecting him to say, “This won’t hurt a bit”?’ Her sarcasm stung.
    ‘I didn’t come here for this,’ growled Cameron. Even as he spoke, he knew it was a feeble line. He wasn’t sure why he had come here.
    ‘I’d sit still if I were you. Tinker knows what he’s doing. Tinker always knows what he’s doing – and we need that thing out of you as soon as possible. Trust me.’
    Cameron rolled his good eye, but sat back down anyway. There didn’t seem to be a lot of choice.
    ‘And you can go, Slater,’ continued Rora. ‘I don’t think Tinker really needs your help. I’ll stay.’
    For a moment Slater glared at Rora, chewing the inside of