AKIO DRAWS MANGA: By Sean Monaghan
Monday, December 6th, 2010Akio scratched the name off the badge they’d glued to his vest. George Bright was not his name, even if that was what they called him. Then he scratched in the four letters of his chosen name. His nails became chipped and cracked.
Alistair brought him lunch and smiled. “Whassup, George …” he said. “Akio.”
“I need pens and paper.”
“Now you know I can’t do that.”
Dinner was bread with corn slop, in a pressed potato fibre bowl with a pressed potato fibre spoon.
“Better eat that fast,” Alistair said. “The bowl will dissolve pretty quick.”
“I won’t hurt anyone.”
“I know that.” Alistair bent close. “But since you put your brother in hospital with your drawing kit, the people in charge here say ‘no pens’.”
“I’m going crazy without being able to draw.” Akio reached up slowly and pulled a pen from Alistair’s shirt pocket.
“You should talk to Dr Patterson about that tomorrow. Three o’clock, I think.” Alistair checked his clipboard. “Three fifteen. I’ll be sitting in on your session too.”
Akio drew on the back of his own hand. Kana the cyborg frog-leopard, in manacles, spinning and slicing the terrified Dr Patterson.
Then he grabbed the intern’s hand and drew quickly. Kana helping Alistair’s sister out of a car wreck.
Alistair jumped, but Akio was as fast as time and the drawing was done.
“What the hell?” Alistair said. He clutched his hand.
Akio capped the pen and laid it on the floor, stepping away. “Guess I should eat my soup and bread.”
Alistair picked up the pen. “What is this? This drawing?”
“Your sister should take care.”
“My sister? How would you-”
“Probably tonight, or maybe in the morning. Bad accident.”
Alistair frowned, glanced at the door. “Geor … Akio? How do you know I have a sister?”
“Some of those Colorado roads are really slicked-up with ice. Easy to lose control.”
Alistair’s face paled. “She’s on holiday there. Skiing.”
“First time,” Akio said. He sat back on the bed. “Jasmine doesn’t drive so well.”
“Just got her licence.”
“Maybe give her a call. Don’t let her drive in a blizzard.” Akio crouched and picked up the bowl and spoon.
Alistair didn’t say anything as he closed the door behind him.
While Akio ate his soup he looked at the drawing on his own hand. He stroked it carefully and the image changed. A bisected Dr Patterson flipped back, his torso falling separately from his legs.
Akio knew that Alistair would be confused now, but would he talk to Dr Patterson, or would he call his sister? Akio just wanted to help, wanted to help the good people. Dr Patterson had brought him here, locked him away. Akio didn’t like that.
He finished his soup, then snapped and crumbled the parts of the bowl that were still friable. He used the fragments to build some new pictures across the floor in the corner of the cell. Kana triumphant over Dr
Patterson’s body. Kana fleeing to another galaxy.
Akio scraped the handle of the soft spoon to a point. He tested it against his arm, but it was too brittle.
Not even strong enough to scratch a picture on his soft skin.
He kept changing the pictures on the floor. Dr Patterson reanimated himself and had to be vanquished again. It took all of Kana’s ingenuity.
Later he heard the key in the lock and Alistair came in. “I’m not even supposed to be here,” he said. “But I called her.”
Akio sat on the bed watching. Alistair didn’t have the pen in his pocket anymore.
“She let her friends go down from the chalet in the car, she didn’t need anything anyway, so she stayed on the phone to talk with me.”
Akio smiled a little. Kana was victorious. The sister was saved.
“She just called me back,” Alistair said. “Their car … you were right. How could you know?” Alistair looked at the picture still on his hand.
“Kana knows,” Akio said. He fingered the tip of the sharpened spoon. In Kana’s hands, anything was a weapon.
“Anyway,” Alistair said. “I’m going to put in a good word for you with Dr Patterson. He won’t believe the story, but I’ll just let him know you’ve shown improvement and maybe he’ll let you go home sooner.”
Akio nodded. It was a simple thing really. And if this did not work, Kana would destroy Dr Patterson and
Akio could go home when he pleased.
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Copyright 2010 Sean Monaghan
Sean Monaghan’s stories have appeared before in Flashes in the Dark, and also in Bewildering Stories and Static Movement, amongst others. More information at his website www.venusvulture.com
