ACT I
Chapter One
File 1 - Carter Smith
A log crumbled underneath its weight in the furnace keeping the cabin warm. One of the children in the house, a 14 year old boy, put on his fur coat and grabbed a basket to go retrieve more wood. Winter was thawing and flowers were starting to bloom, but the air hadn’t started to warm up yet.
As Carter was putting on his gloves and about to leave, his younger brother, who was 11, grabbed his basket and looked up at him, eager to help. Carter sighed, “Felix, I’m glad you want to help, but I don’t want you getting sick.” He could see the bags under Felix’s eyes already. Felix retaliated, “I’m sick of being cooped up in this house! I’ve been inside all winter, and it’s spring! Can I please help? I’ll stay awake as long as I can and we will bring home hundreds of sticks!” Carter sighed and chuckled, “As long as it’s okay with Mom.”
After a few minutes of pleading with their protective mother, they left the cabin to gather twigs, sticks, logs and limbs. Felix admired the wildflowers blooming between the patches of melting snow as he collected fallen limbs. He was happy to be awake, but he could already feel his eyelids becoming heavy again and he sighed.
“Carter.. We need to go home..” Carter had just filled his basket halfway. He looked at Felix and noticed his drowsiness. That sleeping condition of his seems to be getting to him more nowadays. “Can you carry your basket?”
Felix shook his head as a lengthy yawn escaped his mouth. He couldn't keep his eyes open much longer. Carter decided he would take Felix home and come back for the twigs. He picked Felix up and left their baskets under a tree before walking back home, helping his brother out of his coat and boots, and into their shared bedroom. Felix got the closer bed for obvious reasons. Carter tucked him in before leaving the bedroom. On the way back out of the cabin, his father stopped him. Father had a sort of.. cautionary glare. “Son.”
“I need you to find that friend of yours, and.. and watch out for each other, okay?”
Carter furrowed his brows a bit. “Is something going on?”
“No.. well, I don’t know. Do you remember the Crusaders I told you about?”
It took him a moment, but he did remember. The Black Crusaders. They are a large and private militia that works for the kingdom and protects outlier villages like the one they lived in, at least, that’s what their posters say.
“I think so, they’re like knights or something.”
“That’s what they want you to think.. Son, if you see any of them. Anyone that you SUSPECT is one of them, run away. You’re a human, you can’t defend yourself against magicians.”
“What are you talking about? They just.. chase thieves off and keep villagers safe, right?”
“I wish that were the case. They use that ‘excuse’ to-”
Mother cut him off, “Stop it, you’re going to give him nightmares with your conspiracies. Carter, go. Have fun. Be a kid.” Carter slipped out of the door before his parents started fighting and followed the cobbled path back over the hills to grab his wood baskets. He found that they were missing and groaned, before he noticed a note in their stead, “I stole your baskets dummy! -Leo.” Carter sighed in relief. He felt stupid for thinking that the baskets would be safe from theft for as long as it would take to get back home, carrying Felix. He was just glad that Leo found the baskets before some other kid did, his mother’s woven baskets were highly sought after for their quality. What was he thinking leaving them out in the open like that?
Carter walked into the village, to Leo’s family’s flower shop. The place was swarming with people. Spring had sprung, and The Dimitri’s Florist shop was packed with people trying to buy Spring’s freshest flowers for their beloveds and et cetera. Leonidas walked out from behind the counter, holding a bouquet of assorted flowers that was twice his size. His eyes lit up when he saw Carter and he put the bouquet in its designated vase in the main area. “Hey! You finally showed up! How’s things?” Carter gestured for him to come outside the shop. There were WAY too many people in there. Leo and Carter walked outside the flower shop and stood in front of the window. Leo spoke, “Now, as I was saying..” Carter laughed, “I’m doing alright. Thanks, Leo. This is the busiest I have ever seen your mother’s shop.”
“I know right! I’ve been on my feet all day. Glad to get out of there for a little bit. How’s Felix?”
“He’s sleeping. Probably going to stay asleep until Mom wakes him up for dinner, then he will go right back to sleep, as usual.”
Leo sighed and spoke after a moment, “Read anymore of your nerd books?” Carter chuckled, “Not lately, I’ve been too busy helping Mom weave baskets. They're coming up to market next week.”
“I see.”
Carter’s attention started to drift off to the busy street. There were humans, nymphs, and sylphs roaming about. For sylphs and elves, it was typical for them to celebrate the first day of Spring as a holiday. They would give each other gifts to celebrate rebirth.
The nymphs would celebrate the first day of spring as it was a war victory from thousands of years ago against the sylphs that saved their species from extinction. They called it Salvation Day. Carter chuckled. He was a nerd after all. He found comfort in the fact that both races celebrated the day together now, as the date had become twice as significant over time. Humans were kind of just, stuck in the middle, but celebrated with them anyways. They had fought alongside the nymphs all those years ago, after all.
Carter noticed a group of uniformed men at the blacksmith’s shop across the street. There were two cloaked men with the Black Crusader’s emblem on the shoulders of their squared capes. They looked like they could be brothers. He noticed their long pointy ears, they were nymphs. Carter felt his heart drop as he recalled what Father was talking about before he left that morning.
Leo noticed Carter’s fear and curiosity and investigated the shop as well. There was a group of masked individuals wearing a similar uniform, except with bird-like masks that covered their eyes and stuck out at their noses, and shorter capes that did not bear the emblem. Those two in the front must be special.
Leo smiled with excitement “Let’s go talk to those Crusaders over there Carter! I think that one is the leader, he has stars on his collar!” Carter gripped his fist. “What if.. they aren’t who they say they are?” Leo noticed that Carter had genuine fear towards them. He was trembling a bit. “Carter? You should probably go home. You look pale.” Millions of thoughts were racing through Carter’s mind. What if Father was right? Should he even be afraid? No.. His father has had conspiracies like this before. Surely, this was another far fetched idea of his. “N-no, I’m fine. My father had some crazy conspiracies about the Black Crusaders, but they have protected our village for so long, I think we should at least wish them a good Salvation Day.”
The two of them walked into the shop. Carter noticed the blacksmith was bartering with the taller one. The one with four stars on his collar. The other one, the one with five stars eventually approached them and looked down at them. “You boys look a bit young to be buying weapons.. At least weapons this size. That broadsword over there probably weighs more than you two combined.” His voice was soft but authoritative. It was raspy from smoke and there was alcohol on his breath. Carter was frozen in place. His attention turned toward one of the bird-masked people. He noticed one with.. it took him a second to remember the medical term, heterochromia. Her eyes were two different, distinct colors. Blue and Orange. He read about that in one of his father’s books. Very rare.
She noticed Carter’s attention, grinned and waved before the four star guy glared at her. She looked away sheepishly. Carter furrowed his brow before Leo spoke to the man that approached them. “My name is Leonidas Dimitris and my family owns the flower shop across the street! This here is my friend, Carter, and his mom sells high quality, hand-made baskets and boxes and such from her house up the hill. We wanted to wish you a Happy Salvation Day!” The man was a bit stunned by Leo’s chatter. He smiled a bit. “Thanks. I honestly forgot that was today. That must be why the streets are so busy… Hand-woven baskets you say?” Carter nodded and spoke. “Y-yes. It’s a weaving method kept within my family for generations on my mother’s side. My father is a doctor.”
The man smirked a bit, “I see. I might pop in and buy some. My travel bags are starting to wear, I might try some human technology instead.” He gestured to the pack on his leg and it clearly had a few loose seams and tears. There were glass items on the other side of the cloth, Carter noticed through the thinning fabric. They looked similar to the vials that his father used for medicine.
The man paused. “A-actually, here,” The man handed Carter a small, but heavy, bag of gold coins before he finished speaking. “Head home and tell your mother I’ll buy everything she has. Whatever I don’t use, my regiments definitely will.” Carter’s eyes lit up. This was probably enough gold to buy cattle and feed for a whole year! They would eat well in the coming months. “Y-yes sir.” The man shook Carter’s hand and paused before he spoke. “Pleasure doing business with you.” The taller man chuckled and looked over at them.
The two left the shop as Carter put the coin bag in his pocket. Leo chuckled, “Yeah, I think your dad has finally lost it. They were pretty nice! How much gold do you think he gave you? Can we count it at least?” Carter spoke, “No no, this is for my mom. All that hard work she’s put in through the winter is finally paying off. No one touches these coins except Mother.” Carter was proud, and relieved. He had gone directly against his father’s wishes, but it paid off, so he wouldn’t get into trouble for disobedience. He smiled a bit. “Wanna come home with me? The flower shop closes soon anyways, right?”
“Yeah! Oh, let me grab your stick baskets first. I’ll catch up with you!” Leo ran back into the flower shop as Carter started to walk home. He watched the sun’s beams on the trees begin to turn orange then red as the sun set behind him as he followed the cobbled path back to his family’s cabin.
File 2 - Marx Ivanov
"...Baskets? Really?" Natz remarked, "Oh wait, excuse me, hand woven baskets."
"Yes. Really. You saw the look that kid gave us?"
"No? Who gives a shit?"
"He was afraid."
"So?"
"These villagers are supposed to like us, Natz." Marx sighed, "Just grab the damn swords. Zeph, gather the leathers and pay the blacksmith please."
Zephyr grabbed the leather rolls as he dropped a sack of coins on the counter, and Cat helped him carry. Natz remained still, still skeptical of Marx. "Fucking baskets. Since when do we use little human woven baskets?"
"Since your wife doesn't know how to sew, Natz."
"Shut the fuck up." He grabbed the sword rack to load onto the cart.
They both chuckled as they left the blacksmith's shop. It was all in good fun.
"Please don't tell her I said that."
"Why the hell would I do that? I like having you around. Less work for me too."
"Says the person carrying the sword rack."
File 3 - Leonidas Dimitris
Leonidas had to stay at the flower shop a bit longer than anticipated. His mother scolded him for just running off because she needed his help with the shop. The sun had already set completely before Leo finally made it out. He had both baskets of sticks with him as he followed the cobbled path towards Carter’s family’s cabin.
The air was very cold, and Leo had stupidly forgot to put on a coat. He looked forward to finally getting into the cabin as he approached it. He noticed the lights were dim in the cabin, and realized that they needed the wood he was carrying. Of course! If Carter was collecting these limbs in the morning, then they definitely needed them by the night! He quickened his pace.
When he made it up the hill and to their door, he was about to knock, but he noticed the door was ajar. He found it a bit strange and opened the door, “Hey Carter, you left the door open-”
Leonidas froze and dropped the baskets he was holding. Carter was staring at Leo from across the room, it looked like he was tied up. He kept gesturing him to leave with wide and shocked eyes. Leo went over to him silently and began to untie him from the table as a glimmer from the candlelight revealed one of his parent’s lifeless hands on the floor, detached from their body. Leo froze and started to panic.
Carter stared at the horror in his friend’s eyes. He wished his mouth wasn’t bound so he would listen to him! He thought, maybe, if he concentrated on the message enough, just maybe it would get through to him.
_Get out of here before they find you and take you too! Escape! Run!
Please?
It was no use. Carter didn’t know any magic at all. It was pointless. Leo was just stuck, panicking and trying to calculate his next move.
This is all my fault. I should have listened to my father. Now both of my parents are dead. I just hope Felix stays asleep so that he will survive. Why won’t you leave Leo? Save yourself!
Carter started to tear up. He was such a fool. He closed his eyes tightly as one of the men approached Leo from behind.
“Ahem,”
Leo screamed in terror and was about to run, but the man grabbed his leg. “I’m sorry kid, but I can’t have you running off and telling everyone what you’ve seen here.”
Leo began to beg, “I-I won’t tell a-anyone, I don’t even know who you are! I s-swear!”
“I know you talk too much and don’t mind your own business. I saw you in the blacksmith’s shop earlier.”
Leo didn’t look at the man until now, and even though he was masked now, he knew who this was. There were five golden star pins on the collar of his uniform. His eyes widened. He had blabbed his mouth too much and told these monsters where his best friend had lived without a second thought!
This was all his fault.
Leo gave up, his spirit was broken. Marx shrugged, “That makes things easier for both of us, I suppose.” He tied Leo up next to Carter and continued looting the house. He didn’t bother putting a cloth in his mouth, he knew the kid wouldn’t run his mouth anymore.
Another voice rung out from across the house, “Who’s the kid? Must be a heavy sleeper, slept through all that racket we made earlier!” Carter shot up and started to struggle.
“Wake up, brat.”
Felix opened his eyes drowsily and noticed the man holding his body was a stranger. Someone he had never seen before. He spoke feebly, “What’s going on?”
The stranger chuckled, “Are you sick or something? How was your nap, sleeping beauty?” Felix looked around and noticed his brother and Leo across the room, tied to the table. That can’t be right, he must still be asleep. “This must be.. a dream..hmm..”
Carter was yelling through the bindings on his mouth, in anger and desperation, at the man holding his brother, the same man who killed both of his parents. The man growled a bit, “Shut up, kid, there’s nothing you can do. Tranq' them already, would ya?” He kept struggling and trying to break free, but he felt Marx poke his neck with something sharp, and he began to fall asleep almost immediately. He did the same to Leo, who still showed no struggle. They both blacked out. As Carter's eyes grew heavy, he watched the two nymphs rush to his brother, as he started to seize.
He felt.. warm.
File 4 - Carter Smith
Carter woke up not soon after. He was accidentally given a smaller dose. He and Leo were alone in a section of a carriage, tied up, but their mouths weren't covered. Carter soon began to feel that he was in pain. He was covered in soot and burns, and Leo was too. He could smell smoke.
He tried nudging Leo awake, but it was no use. He was out cold.
He began to hear a conversation on the other side of the divider.
"I'm not taking my eyes off this..kid for one second."
"I'm surprised you didn't retaliate. Shit... you've never been able to produce flames that hot, or big, or bright, or-"
"Shut up Natz. I get it. You can pick on me later. Jeez. "
Natz chuckled. "I'm gonna go steal a horse and get back to base. Have fun with your eh.. sleeping beauty."
Natz's voice was very cynical of the other. He hadn't figured out his name yet.
"I know you're awake in there. One of you at least. I heard you shuffle when you woke."
Carter froze up.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Well.. I'm not,, but that's besides the point."
He kept quiet. The man replied to his silence after a moment, "You're smart. You should understand by now that you are completely vulnerable to whatever the hell I say, no?"
...
"You aren't going back home. You have no home to go back to, and soon, you will have no memory of it. If you cooperate, you will have a much easier time in the future. I only wish to speak with you for now. We can take turns asking questions, if you'd like."
Carter took a few breaths, "Fine. What do you want from me?"
"I collect human children.. for science. basically. My turn. What condition does your brother have?"
"He has a sleeping disorder called narcolepsy. He basically recovers little to no energy from his sleep."
"...It's your turn to ask a question."
Carter scoffed "Why are you being so nice to me now?"
"Well, we are going to be working together now, and besides, its more fun this way. This is a long trip. Ask whatever questions you want. I don't care. You'll forget this anyway."
"Was my father right about you knights? Do you and your 'knights' feign good intentions? Just to get us vulnerable?"
"To answer all three of those questions, yes. The only reason my ranks do bounties and simple labor is to get on the good side of human villages. Has your brother ever... made a deal with a nymph, or sylph, o-or anything?"
"What? What kind of stupid question is that? We are basket makers"
"Yes or no." There was a sort of.. fear and sincerity in his voice.
"No."
...
"What's your name?"
"My name is Marx Ivanov. Sergeant Marx Ivanov."
"And that other guy?"
"General Natz Ivanov."
"Brothers?"
"Correct."
"Of course." Carter slumped back in the carriage. The rickety wheels kept bouncing over the loose cobblestones and whining with wear. He looked between the boards beside him to watch the trees go by. Marx asked his next question, "Are your parents both human?"
Carter sat up, "What the hell happened back there? Is something wrong with Felix?"
Marx hesitated before replying, "Your brother set your entire house on fire with magic I have never seen before."
That's.. impossible.
"You're lying. Just tell me Felix died instead of pulling my leg." Carter's heart sunk as he was reminded of his parents. He choked on his tears and closed his eyes. Marx opened the door that Carter thought was a wall, that he was leaning on, and he fell onto the floor, still tied up. He saw Felix was tied up, quite tightly, and his eyes and mouth were bound as well. They were very paranoid of him.
"I don't kill children. Believe it or not, I have a daughter of my own."
Carter felt a bit of relief. At least he, Felix, and Leo were alive, and together, for now.
"Well, you clearly have no idea what that could've been, so your question time has run out. Sorry kid. Can't have you trying to figure out where we are headed."
Carter looked back at Marx before he administered a full dose of tranquilizer, putting him into sleep, correctly this time.
Chapter Two
File 5 - Carter Smith
Carter woke up alone in a windowless room. It was dimly lit, just enough to see the reflections on the blank walls, no.. mirrors. He saw his reflection across the room. He was thinner than before.
How long have I been out?
Carter got up feebly. He was cold, and very hungry. He noticed a cutout on one of the mirrored walls. The exit. There wasn't a handle on this side, and the door jam was completely flush. The only way out would be if someone opened it, or if he broke the door.
He put his ear against the door and knocked softly. He heard a mellow thump with each knock. The other side of the mirror was stone or metal. He would not be able to break this door. Carter backed away, and he felt a weight form in his chest. He sat in the middle of the room and stared at the door, at himself in the reflection.
Oh god.. Why.. Why did I.. Why couldn't I just listen to my father?..
He began to lose hope. He looked at the corners of the ceiling, and the tiling on the floor. He put his ear to the floor and knocked.
The floor is hollow. There is space beneath him. His mind began to run at a thousand miles an hour. How would I even break the tiles? There is definitely some sort of support holding up this room..
He began to keep knocking on the floor softly, trying to find where any support beams or struts would be, so he could determine the weakest point in the floor. After a few minutes dragging his ear across the filthy tiles, trying to find the supports, he began to hear someone approaching from vibrations in the tile.
He quickly sat up and looked at the door. He tried to listen to whatever kind of locking mechanism held the door shut. There was a dragging... then the creak of a knob. The door opened out from the room and was barred shut, but was opened by a simple door handle.
Someone wearing a beaked mask and hooded black cloak stood in the doorway. They were holding a tray with a bowl and a glass of water on it. Carter did not realize until now just how hungry he was. He feigned complete weakness and looked up at the stranger feebly. He noticed their eyes.. huh. Two different colors. Wait.
This is that girl from the blacksmith shop!
His eyes widened a bit with realization. She seemed to notice. The door was closed by someone else. Carter groaned a bit, realizing his window for escape had closed.
The girl sat beside him and put the tray down. "I'm sure you are very hungry. You have been kept asleep for a while, and fed out of a tube."
"..What are you talking about? How long have I been asleep? Where are my friends? Where's my brother?"
The girl looked at him blankly, surprised by his sudden questioning. "I.. unfortunately have no answers to give you. I only tend to the captives and do as the Sergeant asks."
Carter pulled the tray towards him. The bowl had some sort of soup with rice, but had no utensils. He began sipping the broth, and was a bit surprised that it didn't taste like shit. Actually, it tasted pretty good.
"This is pretty good soup.."
The girl's face lit up, "Thank you! I try to make these times just a bit better-"
Carter began to sob. The girl's expression saddened. "I'm sorry that you're here, but I am fortunate to have been able to meet you before you change. You seem like a very caring and smart human."
"..before I what?"
The girl was about to continue before the door opened again. Natz was standing there. "Get out, Cat."
The girl, "Cat," stood up and looked at Carter with a worried expression before she left the room swiftly.
Natz shut the door and looked down at Carter. "Marx says you're smart, so I've taken extra measures to keep you contained. I've listened to you knock on the walls and floor for a few minutes. I'm sure by now that you have discovered the floor is hollow."
He smiled slightly. Carter bit his tongue. He hates this guy.
"Beneath your cell is the laboratory. You'll end up there soon anyway, so dig through the floor all you like."
"Where are my friends?"
"The crybaby or sleeping beauty?"
"They have names you know."
"I don't care much for your uninteresting human names. They are being kept in cells just like you. They are being treated the same as you are. Except.. I think the sleepy one could already be in the lab by now.."
Natz smirked. That disgusting, malevolent smirk..
Carter stood up and clenched his fists. "I ought to wipe that smirk off of your face."
He looked at Carter and laughed.
He fucking laughed.
"You can't do anything to me that would change the fate of your brother."
Why am I so powerless? Why can't I do anything?
Natz saw his mental defeat and chuckled. "I'll retrieve you when it's your turn downstairs." He turned back and was about to be out the door before Carter threw his bowl of hot soup at the back of his head as hard as he could. Natz growled in pain and glared at him before slamming the door as he left. He heard Natz yelling at some people, but couldn't quite understand what he was saying.
Quite soon after, the door opened again, and a bird-masked guard with huge red eyes marched in and directly towards Carter. Carter back up. "Who are you?"
The man just smiled and punched him in the gut. Carter yelped, fell over, and gripped his stomach in pain. His vision began to fade because he was so weak. He felt himself lose the strength to hold his head up. The man started to drag him by the back of his collar down the hallway.
It would be so easy to run now.. I could get up.. and find Felix.. and Leo.. and go back home..
His eyelids became heavier and heavier. He fell unconscious from his pain and hunger after only a minute or two.
File 6 - Leonidas Dimitris
Leo kept his eyes open, despite his pitch black surroundings. He was afraid he wouldn't wake up if he gave in to sleep.
It was getting more difficult to breathe.
The air was dense and humid, and he felt weak from fatigue and hunger. He felt the rope tied around his chest and tried moving it down so he could take deeper breaths.
It was futile.
He sighed and rubbed the bandages on his neck. He had bandages all over his body, but only this one bothered him. The burn must've gotten to one of his nerves or something. He would have to ask Carter about it if..
If he ever got to see him again..
He was starting to feel a bit dizzy and nauseous.
Dammit.. If only I could just get out of these ropes..and..
I could kill them. Easily.
...
Why am I thinking like that?
Leo once again tried to push the ropes down from his chest. He had no idea why they left his arms unbound, but it seemed he wouldn't be able to escape anyway. The ropes were far too tight.
If only he could just move them slightly down.. He could breathe more.
His vision was weakening as he continued to grasp for breath. Struggling with the ropes had raised his heartbeat and made his breaths more shallow. He focused on trying to calm down.
He heard the door unlock and open. His heart began to race. The lights turned on, but they were very dim. It was just bright enough for him to be able to make out a figure entering the room. She was pushing a small cart that had glassware on it, judging from the clinking sounds it made when it stopped beside him. He pretended his arms were tied. Maybe he could fight back this time.
A soft, almost alluring feminine voice broke the silence, "Your bandages are dirty. You've been messing with your injection wound."
Leo's heart began to race. What the hell did they give me?
"I'm.. pleasantly surprised that you are still alive. You seem to have had a positive initial synthesis. There are some unusual physical side effects that I will note."
The lights slowly got brighter. He could see colors again.
The woman was tall and slim. She wore a black dress shirt and nice pants and shoes, with a white lab coat. Long, thin, straight white hair flowed behind her. He almost didn't notice it's considerable length, as it matched her lab coat. She got on her knees in front of him and shone a light in his eyes.
It hurt. Bad. He couldn't help but yelp a bit when his eyes couldn't adjust to the sudden light.
"Sclera is normal. Pupils.. unilateral dilation.. unusual.. Narrow slit pupils.."
He then noticed a masked person by the door, scribing everything the woman said.
He clenched his fist. He realized that he was merely a guinea pig to them.
Could be worse.
The woman looked at Leo. "How well can you see this room?"
"..I can see perfectly normal."
"What color is my scribe's cloak?"
What a stupid question. "Brown."
She looked back at her scribe, "Increased vision." The scribe nodded and wrote.
He was getting annoyed. His eyes wandered the room before his focus shifted to the cart beside him. The woman kept talking, but it was muffled by his sudden terror.
Scalpels.. Syringes.. a hammer.. flowers?
The woman grabbed his arms, pulling him out of his daze and putting his attention on her. He stared up at her. She chuckled a bit. and belted his wrists to the arms of the chair.
"Eventually, we are going to amplify the effects of your new abilities with some.. medicines. But I have to make sure you are loyal to us." She grinned. "You are a breakthrough. I should thank you, but you won't remember any of this."
She injected something on his arm, despite his struggling. His body began to grow weak, but he was still awake. He couldn't move at all.
The woman grabbed a large, thin needle and put one of the vials on the end, before aligning it on the inside of his eye socket. Leo was trying to struggle, to scream for help, or beg her to stop, but he was trapped. Spectating his anguish. She hammered it in, and he felt a cold rush in his head, before he fell unconscious.
File 7 - Carter Smith
Carter opened his eyes. He was laying on the floor of a glass room. There were many white coats on the other side of the glass. The laboratory was huge. He had a splitting right-side headache around the bridge of his nose, and his right eye was sore.
His nose was running profusely. He wiped it with his arm, and noticed blood, but it was thin. There was a clear liquid mixed with it, and he could smell a strong chemical.. and..
He got up to observe his reflection. He saw a pierce through his eye socket.
He remembered something from one of his father's books. There was only one operation in which the eye socket would be pierced.. but that was impossible. Lobotomies injure the frontal lobe, and he still had all of his motor skills, and he could still think coherently.
Did their lobotomy fail?
He gripped his stomach as he was suddenly overcome with severe hunger. He sat down and leaned on the glass.
We could escape easily. They're bound to feed you soon, you'll have the energy to break the glass. Easily.
Carter realized his thoughts were not his own. he rubbed his eyes. Get a hold of yourself, Carter Smith. You can't lose your mind in here.
A voice whispered nearby, "Is that your name? Hm." Carter flipped his head around, looking for the voice's source, but the glass was thick enough to be soundproof, and no one else was in the room with him. That voice was.. impossible.
He heard it again, "Yeah. You're losing it."
He looked at the ground. *I must've developed some sort of mental.. medical condition after whatever they may have given me after I was knocked out..
"You've been knocked out since I got here, so that is entirely plausible."
Carter was beginning to be nervous. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes. He tried to meditate, or something, to calm down.
There was finally quiet for a few minutes, before someone entered the glass cage somehow. He heard their footsteps. He opened his eyes. There was a long haired woman standing before him. "This one's already been lobotomized? Good.."
Carter realized he had to pretend they were successful, or they'd do it again, and likely wouldn't make the same mistake. How do I act.. lobotomized?
The disembodied voice returned as the woman got n her knees to see him at eye level, I was conscious. They used an injecting device when they tried to lobotomize you. It was.. that clear liquid.
Carter realized that they must've injected that substance into his nasal cavity instead of his frontal lobe. Interesting..
How did I know that?
"You didn't know that, I did. Idiot."
The woman shined a flashlight into his eyes. Carter winced a little. The woman spoke, "What is your name?"
"Car.." Carter bit his tongue. That was almost a huge mistake. He pretended to slur his speech. "Carn..Connor.."
"Motor skills less than average.. Memory is altered. The lobotomy was successful.. however, he seems mostly unchanged, compared to Leo."
Carter's heart began to race. What are they doing to him? What are they doing to Felix?"
He saw curiosity appear in the woman's eyes. She put her hand under his chin and rubbed his neck slightly. Carter whimpered a bit and winced, as he felt a sudden pinch. He instinctively grabbed her hand to make her stop, but she wasn't pinching him. She smiled, "Amazing. We finally perfected synthesis." Carter let go of her hand and watched her get up and leave. Before the worker closed the door behind her, they put a tray of food on the floor.
"So is your name Carter or Connor? You keep confusing me."
I guess its Connor now. At least, until I figure out how to escape this place. He reached over and pulled the tray of food closer so he could eat. There was a spoon this time. He was reminded of that girl from before he was knocked out. This soup smelled delicious, just like before. He smiled a bit, and his eyes welled up with tears.
He couldn't eat much.
File 8 - Felix Smith
I don't know how long I've been asleep. I've been dreaming for a while.
Felix walked around his dream. It was his family's cabin, and outside was and endless grassland. There were no trees, and the grass made pleasant brush noises as the wind gave them sway. He could almost feel the sun on his skin, but it was all only a dream.
He was starting to grow a bit weary of this landscape. It felt like he had been here for weeks, which meant he had probably been asleep for days, at least. There was no way he could tell for sure until he woke up.
If he woke up.
He sat in the grass and watched the clear sky, half-hoping to conjure a cloud, or rain. Nothing would happen. He sighed and laid down, with his arms spread in the reeds. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to relax. He tried to forget what was waiting for him in the real world.
He felt something crawl on his face. He opened his eyes and saw a small spider on his nose. He yelled a bit in surprise and brushed it off swiftly before standing back up.
"Maybe I shouldn't lay in the grass.."
The spider crawled up one of the reeds. Felix noticed it had two small, golden, beady eyes. He observed closer.
"Are you Felix?"
Felix's eyes widened. "You can speak? Hm. Maybe my dreams get weirder the longer I'm asleep."
"....Are you Felix?"
"Well.. yeah. I mean, you should know that, since you're just a figment of my imagination that I have made up in this dream somehow."
"Wait, I'm made up? I'm pretty sure I'm real. Wait.. Am I? How do I know if you're real?"
Felix was a bit astounded, and he couldn't help but laugh. "I'm just a human and you're a talking spider."
"What is a spider?"
Felix picked the spider off of the tip of the reed and put him in his palm as he walked back to the cabin. "A spider is like a bug, but it isn't. Bugs have six legs, and you have eight."
"But you only have two legs."
Felix laughed again, "I'm a human."
"Oh right. So.. what are spiders with three legs called?"
The spider bounced a bit in his hand. He was clearly enjoying the conversation. Felix smiled and sat at the table with him. "Spiders can't have three legs.. I mean, unless they lose five legs somehow."
Felix kept talking to the spider for hours, telling him about the world beyond the dream. This was the first time that he had enjoyed one of his dreams in a long time. He learned that the only thing that the spider really knew was that his name was "Pheren."
He was starting to feel smart compared to Pheren. He was then reminded of Carter. He knows so much more about the world than Felix. His expression darkened a bit.
Pheren noticed, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know if my brother is safe. Before I fell asleep, I think we were kidnapped by.. I don't know who, but I assume bad people."
"If you learned all of this stuff from him, then he must be really really smart."
"Heh, yeah. I suppose. Maybe he knows how to get out of this."
....
Felix almost didn't want to wake up. He had never been able to have long conversations like this.
Pheren continued to inquire about everything in the outside world, and Felix answered all he could.
He began to hear other voices. "Pheren, I'm waking up soon. If you're not real, I will miss you."
Pheren chuckled, "I'm not gonna run away or anything."
Other voices, though muffled, became more clear. The logs of his home turned into metal panels, and he was facing bars from across the room. He was leaned on bare metal, and his bones ached from laying in that position for so long.
"Geez, it looks kinda sad in here compared to the cabin."
"Pheren? You.. You're real?"
"I'm real? Woah! Wait, does that mean you aren't?"
"No, I'm real. I'm.. really hungry actually." He got up and stretched.
"*what do humans eat?"
"Oh, lots of things. We eat soup, bread, tomatoes, porridge.. Oh! Steaks. Steaks are really good too.."
He walked to the bars to see if he could fit through them, while he kept listing his favorite foods for Pheren. It helped ease his hunger, surprisingly.
He wasn't paying attention enough to notice a man had entered the hallway, or whatever kind of room he was in. He kept listing foods, and describing them.
The man interrupted, "Who are you talking to?"
Felix flinched. He had almost forgotten that the world was bigger than him and Pheren.
"Er.. myself."
The man stepped closer and unlocked the cell. "Come here."
He cautiously obeyed. The man almost seemed afraid of him. He gestured in front of him, "Walk with me."
Felix noticed that the hall was really just a corridor. The only other thing here was the door out.
The man opened the door. It emptied into a room, no, a study. While the walls were still metal paneling, it was cleaner and well decorated. There was a nice wooden desk in the center. He walked over and sat at the desk. Felix just looked around the room. The man snapped his fingers, and a person, supposedly a servant, who was wearing a hooded cloak and a mask that reminded him of a plague doctor's pulled a chair up to the desk, opposite the man. Felix sat down and observed the man closer.
"You have burns on your face, what happened?"
The man's eyes widened a bit, before he rubbed his chin. "You don't remember what happened, huh?"
"Is..Is my brother ok? What's going on?"
He thought for a moment and looked down. "There was a fire at your cabin. Both of your parents passed away, unfortunately, but your brother and his friend made it out safely. Think of this place as a home for.. misplaced children." The man had a somewhat solemn expression.
It took Felix a moment to realize what he had said. He felt his heart beating in his ears. "M-my parents are gone?"
Pheren chimed in, "Who are your parents? Are they like your brother?"
"Y-yeah.." A tear streamed down his cheek. "They.. were really important to me, just like Carter is."
The man raised an eyebrow, "You're talking to someone. You.." He got up abruptly.
Felix cowered a bit. "N-no I just.."
He had a somewhat crazed look in his eyes. "No, this is great! Surprising, but great news."
"What are you talking about..?" Felix yawned.
"Hm.. Don't worry about it for now. I'll see that you are taken to your brother." He glanced to the servant, who gestured Felix to walk in front of him. He wiped his eyes and did so. They walked down what seemed like a labyrinth of halls with many turns and doors.
After about 10 minutes of walking with the servant's guidance, they made it to a large set of doors. There was a laboratory inside.
Felix walked inside. There were maybe a dozen doctors or scientists.. smart people, buzzing around the lab. He saw a glass room near the center of the large room and.. His brother. Carter was in there!
He ran over and looked inside. He wasn't wearing a shirt. He had green scales all over his back and neck, and his hair was lighter than before. He wasn't sure this was his brother until his face turned towards him, and their eyes met. Carter looked away swiftly and held his legs to his chest.
"Your brother is very.. strange. He doesn't look much like you. Are you sure you two are related?"
"Yes Pheren. He must be.. sick or something." He yawned. "P-probably caught something while he was helping Father."
The servant had caught up to them. He took his mask off. He was very pale, and he had sleek black hair. His eyes were black, except his white irises. He put his hand on Felix's shoulder and spoke softly. "Sergeant Marx has instructed me to inform you that your brother is gravely ill. However, I have begun to see the error of our leader's ways, and I am obliged to tell you the truth. These men are not to be trusted."
A tall man with red eyes and brownish hair walked up behind them. "This is the sleeping beauty? Huh. He looks different than before."
The servant put his mask back on. "Sergeant Marx has appointed me as Felix's surveillance. Where shall the boy be kept?"
"Geez, if you're gonna be all tight assed with the titles, at least call me General Natz. No one does anymore."
"Y-yes sir.. General Natz."
Felix noticed that people were uncomfortable around this 'servant.'
"His room is behind the smokers. Give him a mask." Natz watched them both as they turned and walked to the room.
The servant did so, and led Felix to a bedroom, that was inside the lab. He shut the door behind them. "They put me here to keep an eye on you. Do not be fooled. And try to avoid inhaling the smoke from those furnaces. They are toxic to humans. The furnaces are not operating at the moment, however, here is a respiratory protection unit. Be sure to utilize this device when you leave this room, as to protect yourself from the fumes that may escape the smoke chamber."
He handed him a gas mask, and showed him how to operate it, before he spoke once more, "If you need anything, just find me. I am named General Zephyr."
"Can you bring some food?"
There is a meal waiting beside your bed already. I must leave now, I have other matters to attend to. Do not speak of my advice. I am merely.. an item to them."
"You seem pretty important around here though."
"Well. I have big shoes to fill I suppose."
Zephyr left the room, and shut the door behind him. Felix sighed and sat on the bed. There was a bowl of some sort of beef stew with rice, and a few rolls beside it. It was still hot. He picked it up and ate some. He chuckled to all of his friend's inquiries, "Pheren, this is beef stew."
"And that is bread."
"The white stuff is rice. It's a type of grain."
His soup was cold by the time he finished it, because of their chatter, but he didn't mind. Pheren was great company. He put his dishes back on the nightstand before he laid down to sleep. He hadn't been awake for this long in a while, too.
Chapter Three
File 9 - Connor Smith
Connor paced within the confines of his glass prison. They are still watching intently. You look like a freak.
He looked at his reflection and felt his face. The scales had begun to make his skin rough, almost as though it was chapped, near his mouth and nose. His throat was a bit sunken in, partially from starvation, but mostly because of whatever the hell they had done to him.
He saw Natz walk up to the other side of the glass. He felt his blood begin to boil, and his vision started to tunnel. The room was brighter.. No, his vision was better, and he could hear better.
*What are you going to do?
"I don't know." He noticed it almost hurt to speak, so he decided to stop. It felt as though his neck's skin was very thin, and it would tear if he spoke too loudly.
Well, there isn't anything YOU could do. Pathetic worm.
Connor tried ignoring his thoughts. He had to keep it together. Natz walked up to the glass and knocked a bit. "You can hear me, right twerp?"
He furrowed his brows a bit and looked at him. Natz chuckled, "As I'm sure you have noticed, our experiments have been very successful. We will soon move on to the fun part. We are basically about to get you so doped up that you won't have any choice but to do what we say."
He clenched his fists and closed his eyes tightly.
Just give up. Make things easier for both of us. He sat down and rested his head on the cold glass.
Natz kept talking shit, but he didn't listen..
Until he heard his brother's name.
Connor and Natz's eyes met, and Natz continued speaking. "He doesn't know I'm the one who killed your parents. Marx has been taking good care of him the past few weeks." Natz smirked, "He's almost like his son now-! He follows him around like a lost duckling~"
Natz smirked as he watched Connor lose himself to rage. He bashed his fist on the glass, and felt something in his hand break, but he didn't care. Natz was initially shocked, but he laughed.
He fucking LAUGHED.
'He sees me in ANGUISH! AND HE FUCKING LAUGHS???'
There is nothing you can do.
'NO. There IS something I can do.'
Connor stood and threw himself through the glass, shattering it as though it were just a sheet of paper. He grabbed Natz's throat and started beating him, but was very soon swarmed by scientists with their needles. He tried throwing them away, but Natz had one of his own. Connor caught a glimpse of his terror and ruffled hair before he blanked out, and chuckled weakly.
You're so stupid.
'I know.'
...
File 10 - Leo
They led me to a large room. There were many clanks and scrapes from people scraping sludge from their plates and bowls. I could tell just from a glimpse that the food they were handing out was miserable. It smelled like lard and soured meat.
I waited in line after those guards finally let me be. I gripped my stomach. The hunger pains were now accompanied with nausea. The smells.. noises.. lights.. everything made my head and guts upset. When it was my turn to grab a tray, I did so. The man on the other side of the bar tossed a dented metal bowl onto my tray and hastily ladled a heaping scoop of god knows what into my bowl. It made a heavy, sticky noise and my bowl sit tilted on my tray. I sighed and moved on after filling the canteen they gave me.
I walked to the table closest and sat down. For a very short moment, I actually considered shoveling that gruel into my mouth just to get it over with, but I laughed at the thought. I laughed again when I realized that the slop had begun to change color with aeration. Disgusting.
The hum of silverware and chatter was interrupted by a voice beside him, "Chili night is always the worst, but don't worry, this is the worst it gets."
The boy looked beside him, a woman about his age with short, dusty brown hair. She was staring at her plate and moving the 'chili' around with her spoon like it was modeling clay.
"This is supposed to be... chili?"
The girl laughed. "I think so. You must be one of the kids from the fire, right?"
The fire? "I don't know what you're talking about." She turned toward him for the first time. He could see her full face as she observed his. One of here eyes were red, and had an old scar on her eyelid that went all the way down her cheek. He lost his train of thought for a moment as he admired her features. She spoke, "I see.. you've been lobotomized. You have a scab on your inner eyelid.. Near your tear duct."
He felt his eye. She was right.
"Do you remember your name? Or where you are?"
He thought for a moment and felt a weight fill his chest as his mind remained blank. "I.. have no idea."
"Someone around here probably knows. You've just been lobotomized so you've come from the lab. Here, I have high clearance, so we can go together!"
He looked at her blankly. She chuckled, "Unless you plan n finishing that chili, we can go right now."
"Oh.. alright."
The boy got up. The woman grasped his hand gently but firmly to lead him. "My name is Amanda. I'm umm.. pretty important around here. If you ever need anything, just find me! You're part of my new squad."
"Squad? What do we do?"
"I.. don't exactly know yet. But I figured I would get a head start on getting to know my people. Come, this way."
They walked for a few minutes, through what felt like a labyrinth of turns through metal plated and concrete halls. The tiles needed sweeping. The laboratory had large locked doors. The posted guard had already began to unlock the door when he saw Amanda, and they went in without speaking a word to him.
The lab was buzzing with whitecoats. It was quite a racket, something must have happened. He saw many glass containers holding snakes of many varieties. There was a large glass box in the center of the room with medical equipment and carts of tools surrounding it. He couldn't see past all of the people and equipment, but it seemed very.. interesting, and piqued his curiosity. Amanda led them to a woman with long white hair, who was sitting at a desk and looking through many files and recording data. She looked pissed.
"Can I help you?"
"Yes. I was wanting to know more about my new recruit."
The woman gave Amanda and the boy a soft glare, as though she was annoyed but forced to oblige. Without looking down, she opened a drawer and plopped a file on her desk near Amanda.
"All of your recruit's data is in this. Get out of my lab."
"..Thanks." Amanda let go of his hand to pick up the file and began to flip through it as she walked back to the door. The boy followed her, and looked behind them at the rude woman as they left. She scoffed and left her desk.
...
Amanda took him to a bunkroom. There were ten beds, a common area, and a bathroom. Luckily, cleaner than the average room in this place. Amanda, whose eyes were still glued to those files, told him, "Pick any bed. I'm still reading up.. Oh! Here's your file."
He took the file from her. "Just give it back when you're done, I get in trouble if I don't keep up with these."
He opened the file and was immediately greeted with a picture of himself. He was asleep or unconscious in the photo, and his hair..
He felt his hair and looked at it. His hair was now longer than before and.. purple. It used to be brown. And his name...
"My name is.. Leonidas?"
"That's a cool name. Can I call you Leo? I'll let you call me Amy~" She chuckled.
He couldn't help but laugh a bit too. "Sure. Leonidas sounds a bit weird and formal anyway."
He thumbed through the file for only a moment more before finding pictures of a house. No.. a cabin. His head began to hurt, like it was being pounded by a hammer, and he dropped the file. Amy noticed and went to him. "Maybe you shouldn't read too much. You're probably still healing from.. whatever they did to you."
"I suppose you're right.. I'm just.. going to rest for a bit."
"Go ahead. As far as I'm concerned, we are basically on break until further notice, so.."
She paused for a moment. "Wait just a bit longer before sleeping though, I'm gonna go find us some food."
"Oh no.."
Amy laughed, "Don't worry, not cafeteria food. I have a friend here who loves to cook."
File 11 - Connor Smith
He kept waking up. He caught glimpses of rushing doctors, dozens of syringes, and a couple familiar faces. He was in a metal room that was poorly lit.
...
There were snakes. He could hear them on the floor, in the walls.. the ceilings.. Hissing. Biting. Talking.
You have completely lost your mind.
'Have I? I still have coherent thoughts apparently.'
Connor felt multiple pricks in his thigh, chest, and upper arms. He felt a sudden rush of energy, then immense pain. He could feel the blood pumping at the ends of all of his veins, arteries, capillaries. His skin was on fire. His head felt like it was going to explode with pressure, and he could only see white smears of vision every few seconds. Connor tried to focus on his breathing to try to slow his excessively high heartrate, but the snakes were too loud. He could feel them all over him, Biting him. Slithering beneath his skin. He looked around desperately. His vision flashes showed him the snakes slithering on the walls.. no, the walls were made of snakes! Giant snakes. They were falling from all of the cracks on the ceiling, hammering his chest and making it harder to breathe.
He closed his eyes tightly. There was no way this was real. He could still hear it happening, but not seeing it helped... somewhat. His skin still burned like hell. He opened his eyes slowly, trying to ignore anything that could cause hallucinations again, and looked at himself. He was tied down to a metal table, and the places they injected him looked darker, almost necrotic. They must've poisoned him.
He began to see reptilian patterns in the corners of his eyes again, and closed them tightly. If he stays sane, they will not win.
After a while of opening and closing his eyes to ignore the patterns, he must've fallen asleep, because he couldn't feel the pain anymore. But, he was still seeing snakes, or rather, just one snake. A green bush viper. It was resting in a spiral on the guardrail of his cabin's porch. A dream of home.. hm.
The snake's bright yellow eyes met Connor's. "The fool finally shows himself."
He realized immediately. This was what had been whispering doubts from his shoulder. A personification of his illness.. or something more.
"I can assure you that I am very real. You cannot hide your thoughts from me."
Connor clenched his fists, "How are you here? This is my dream."
"Our dream. I am part of your mind now, Carter. Connor. Whatever stupid name you've decided to call yourself."
No. This is.. They must've put this creature in my head. It's the only explanation. "You're only here to drive me mad."
"I'm here to become you. I can be better. Stronger."
"That will not happen."
"We'll see."
Connor was about to reach for the snake but the dream abruptly ended. He tried to sit up, but he was tied to the metal table. He groaned a bit and pulled with all of his strength, which turned out to be a lot more than he thought, because the leather binds broke very easily.
He wasn't hallucinating anymore. He could see.. very clearly. His head still hurt though, and he was starving.
He got up and rubbed his wrists, noticing they felt very different. The scales had reached the tips of his fingers, and his nails had begun to turn into yellowish, reptilian claws.
He sighed with annoyance. The door opened soon after, and someone walked in, not noticing he was standing yet. He caught a glimpse of very colorful hair under the black hood of the masked servant. She looked at Connor, and he immediately recognized her blue and orange eyes. He smiled a bit in relief, "I remember you- your name is Cat, right?"
Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "You do? That is excellent news! I learned you had some outbursts, so they brought you back here. I'm entrusted with keeping you fed and otherwise taken care of."
That's right.. this is the same room he was first kept in. Before they tried to lobotomize him. Heh. He realized he must've been here for weeks. He then realized he hadn't seen Leo the entire time he had been here.
"Do you know if Leo is still here?"
Cat's smile faded. "He.. is here, in this hall, yes. That is correct. I fed him today. He, um.. He.. looks a lot different than before."
Connor looked at the floor as his head filled with fears. What had they done to him? Was he changing too?
Did they lobotomize him?
Cat put a tray of food on the table and bowed before she began to leave, but Connor spoke, "Wait, please. If you have nothing else to do, can we talk?"
"About what? Do you require more answers?"
"N-no, well, maybe.. I just.. I don't want to be alone right now."
Cat took her mask and hood off and looked at Connor. He noticed she was sickly pale, and she had makeup that made large, colorful polka dots on her cheeks, and some blotches on her neck as well. Her hair was large and curly, and dyed many colors, but the roots were pure white. Her natural hair color was.. unnaturally white. He was a bit stunned by her colorful and unusual appearance, and Cat noticed and became a bit sheepish. Connor stuttered, "Sorry, I've just never seen someone so.. colorful."
Cat giggled, "Thank you. They told me I had to pick a color but I couldn't decide which one I liked more. General Zephyr chose to keep his natural black, and Birde chose red of course.. Oh, you haven't met them I suppose."
"The people here, they've changed you too, haven't they?"
Cat nodded. "Well, we were 'born' here. My squad, we.. I don't know what we are. We have no mothers, fathers, or any hint to our creation. We may not have even been born like you humans or nymphs. I've always looked 'sick,' but I have never had any symptoms of illness, except that my temperature remains abnormally low."
Connor felt her forehead, and was a bit shocked. She was very, VERY cold to the touch. "Do you feel cold?"
"Not at all. I don't feel pain either."
"...Fascinating.. And General Zephyr and Birde are like this too?"
"Indeed. I believe we are not meant to exist."
"Don't say that, if you weren't here, I.. I probably would've lost my mind by now. I mean, I cannot believe I'm still somewhat sane. Look at me."
"It is acceptable to be defective." She grabbed his hand and looked at his scales. "Your colors are very interesting. I might ask for green and yellow hair dye too next time I get a chance."
Connor chuckled, "..Thanks?" He adored the way her eyes followed his scales. For the first time in a while, Connor didn't feel like a monster.
Marx opened the door, and Cat stood up abruptly and put her mask on, "Sergeant Marx, I was just-"
Marx interrupted, keeping his eyes down. "It's okay Cat, I know you really care for the subjects. Just get your cloak and leave. I need to have a chat with Connor."
"Yes sir." She bowed and left.
Connor stared at Marx, recalling that Natz told him that he had manipulated Felix. He tried to keep his head.
Marx shut the door and sighed. "You beat the shit out of my brother, but I'm sure he deserved it. He likes to push buttons." He glanced at Connor's eyes. "The lobotomy failed, didn't it? Otherwise, you wouldn't even remember your brother's name."
His eyes widened. It was over. He wouldn't escape. They would lobotomize him again, and he would just become one of their mindless grunts.
Marx saw his panic, and chuckled, "I'm not going to lobotomize you. I actually never approved of that. However, I do need some more competent scientists in my labs. Is there anything I can do to make you cooperate?"
"I would never willingly help you after what you did to my home."
He seemed to have struck a nerve. Marx's expression darkened.
"If you cooperate, your brother will not suffer."
Connor clenched his fist. "There is nothing useful I can do. I'm just the son of a basket-weaver."
"Heh. No, you're not. Your father was a doctor, and you read plenty of his books. I saw them in your room before, well, you know."
Fuck.
Marx walked a bit closer. "As I'm sure you've noticed, my research department is.. anemic. I am prepared to give you complete freedom in the laboratory, with guidance of course. I will guarantee your brother's safety if you give me some breakthroughs. I might even release you if you do well enough."
"How can I even trust you?"
"You have no choice."
He was right. Either I would get trucked from room to room after aggravating some servant, or Natz, and drugged, or I would work for these bastards. Either outcome is awful, but if there was even a small chance he could protect his brother..
"Fine. I'll do it. Just.. tell me what you want me to do."
Marx couldn't hide a slight smile.
File 12 - Yakushimaru Mirei
Mother sat at one of her thrones, watching me train. Her eyes were glued on me, as usual.
I hate her. I hate that I look like her. I hate that I even share a name with her. I hate the looks she give me when I make the slightest mistake during training, or the sneers when I dare to try getting a glimpse of the outside world, or anything that deviates from her soulless, selfish routines or ideals. I don't even know her first name, all I know is the surname I share with her. The Yakushimaru clan. I am Yakushimaru Mirei, (unfortunately.) I am an object, a trophy, even. One that, in her eyes, needs rigorous buffing and polishing.
I get knocked down almost constantly. Every time I get an edge on whoever she hires to beat me up in the guise of "training," she hires someone more skilled. To "keep me humble." I doubt I will ever have to defend myself from any hyper ninjas in the near future. This is just some of her usual cruelty.
Eventually, the sun finally set below the wall of the training yard. My 'master' bowed and took his leave. I watched him open the gate, and tried to see past him, on the other side. I didn't get a good look, unfortunately.
"Go to your quarters and reflect on your training, Mirei. You clearly need to study."
...
Mirei was alone in her room. She was reading, curled up on her bed, enjoying one of the few freedoms she ever gets. As she turned pages in her fantastical novel, her woes melted away, if only for a moment. She wasn't even supposed to have books, she had to hide them from her mother,
One of her mother's servants barged into her room and Mirei stood after tucking the book away. She expected a lack of privacy at this point, so she wasn't surprised. She was still annoyed, of course.
The servant began taking measurements of her body with a ribbon measure. She sighed, "What is this for?"
The servant didn't respond. Didn't even acknowledge the question.
"Lift your arms."
She did so after a moment and looked down. "It's another gala or something, isn't it?"
".."
"Oh, of course. I'm not even a person. Don't bother talking to me, I guess."
"..."
Mirei couldn't help but laugh. This life was pathetic. "Get off of me."
The servant retracted their measuring ribbon and looked up at Mirei, taken aback by Mirei's behavior. She walked out of the room after pushing the servant out from in front of the door, and immediately beelined for the storage room to loot around for some booze.
She was tired of being pushed around. Everyone has pushed her around her entire life.
Its not like she could do anything about it though.
After breaking another one of the new locks they put on the storage room, (she has snuck wines and whiskeys from the cellars for a while,) she snuck in and closed the door softly. Inside, lit by only a few candles, were maybe a dozen different casks, barrels, et cetera. She smiled a bit and investigated all of the barrels, then found the decanters in the cabinet in the back of the room. The first one she opened had such a strong smell that she recoiled from the bottle at first. Then she smiled a bit when she recognized it.
This was some fine Eastern brandy. Probably from the other side of Aniseglen.
She started to drink from the bottle, only enough to loosen up a bit, before she heard the door creak open. She closed the decanter.
"You are a disgrace Mirei. You know, I never had to lock this door until you started becoming a filthy drunk, you know that, right?"
She didn't even have to turn around to know it was her "mother" scolding her. She could feel her eyes piercing the back of her head.
"Maybe I wouldn't drink if I could leave this god forsaken place every now and then."
"Mirei.."
"Or, Maybe I wouldn't drink if I had my own life!"
"Face me when you speak, Mirei."
She turned, "Or, MAYBE, I wouldn't have to drink if you-"
Her mother slapped Mirei's face hard enough to knock her over, dropping and breaking the decanter of brandy. She was struck with silence.
"I hope you will be more civil after this."
"...I'm just glad that you won't get any of that brandy now."
She smirked, "Have your jokes, and your fun, for now, Mirei." She turned her nose up before she turned and left the cellar.
Mirei rubbed the mark on her face and sat up. She gritted her teeth and stared down.
File 13 - Zephyr
vi is a piece of shit. i hate the way everyone treats me. IM NOT HIM etc.. X bg. birde and cat introduction. Lab explanation
get your hands off of me.
tired of having to put vi and birde in their place; cycle of pestering and egging on that zeph ends with an explosion of rage basically. magic related. veterans of the organization are very weary of him.
birde goes away on a trip thats at least a month or so after marx recieves a letter from the courier, Creek.
I feel cold again. I'm just.. tired.
"I need you to guide Felix around. Pay attention to him, take notes, whatever. I want to know about ANYTHING out of the ordinary."
Sure, boss. Whatever you say.
I've begun to see the err of their ways. Their weaknesses. I can use that, I suppose. Marx is too focused on his plans to notice the problems inside the house. Natz is too self-absorbed to think about anything other than benefiting himself. Felix is too young. And Connor is too smart. Far too smart.
Felix is being lied to. How can I even help him without endangering myself?
Endangering Cat? Felix?
I can't risk losing my rank. It's how I can protect them.
...
Zeph walked down the corridor leaving Marx's office. His squadron's quarters were not far from the sergeant's. As he walked in, he met eyes with Birde.
He was sharpening his spears on the bed. His expression was completely neutral, almost a frown. After acknowledging Zeph with his stareish red glance, he went back to his weapons.
Cat wasn't here. She was probably out helping the prisoners or something, and Zeph smiled slightly as he sat down in his bed across from Birde, taking his cloak off and folding it, before putting it in the drawer beside his bed. Birde made a sort of "huff" as he rotated his spear, sharpening the other side.
"What are you getting all fancy for, all of a sudden?"
Birde shot him a look and snickered, handing him a handwritten order from Natz. He was being sent to Aniseglen for a material pickup. New recruit. One of the far eastern chapters was dropping someone off at a meeting point.
'Of course Birde would be sent to retrieve them. What better way to give them a taste of the abuse they will endure here. Whatever.'
Zeph tossed him back his orders, and got back up. "I'll leave you to your spears."
As he was walking out, avoiding Birde's large, following red eyes, he ran into Victoria, who was waiting at the door, staring at Zeph with the same following, red eyes.
"Hey cutie."
"Leave me alone, Victoria."
"I just want to see you again. Please hug me at least!"
"Victoria.." Zeph pushed past her. She followed him to the laboratory.
Chapter Four
File 14 - Felix Smith
Pheren begins to show a humani=oid form
felix basically gets to explore the bunker freely. blissfully unaware that Leo and Connor are trapped.
connor has to pretend he doesn't know felix because he is being watched, and doesn't want to risk being lobotomized. Felix is heartbroken, and connor's will begins to deteriorate.
Felix was dreaming again. Pheren was nowhere to be found.
Felix explored the cabin, and the field outside.
"Hey.. Pheren?"
No response.
He could tell he wasn't gone. It was a strange feeling. He could just.. tell that Pheren was near. He was a part of him now. Imaginary friend, perhaps?
File 15 - Victoria Ainsworth
scouting mission. brief encounter with alex on the way back, len. "You dont have to work for them you know" "but i want to/i love what i do"
"Birdy Birdy Birdyy!! Cuckoo Birde!"
"...."
Birde showed annoyance in his demeanor. Victoria didnt care, and continued.
"Chick! ... Redbird? Cardinal? Beak?"
He shot her a glare, but couldn't help but smile a bit. Vi giggled. "I'll find you a nickname eventually, brother."
"...."
"So. Just Birde for now I guess."
He nodded.
....
The pair of them continued through the streets of Siverial. Birde was buying supplies for his upcoming mission, and Vi was just tagging along. Birde was one of the very few people who tolerated her.
They walked into the local apothecary shop. Birde needed supplements and stimulants for the journey, and this was his usual place, but the shop was ckearly abandoned for a few weeks. A shame.. this guy was very thorough. He just grabbed what he needed from the shelves and keft behind some coins in case he came back.
He changed his mind and grabbed the coins back. Some other chump would probably walk in and take them anyway. Heh.
Vi grabbed some of the teas. "Where's the doctor guy at? He was the only one on this side of town right?"
"....."
"I see. Well I don't think he would miss this ginseng! Or this oolong! Or this.. oh you get it! I love teas! Hehe."
"..."
"Fine. Let's go then."
They left the shop before turning down the main street. The town was buzzing with chatter and cheers. There was a festival in the street for the autumn equinox. Annoying.
Of course, Vi took this opportunity to pickpocket some drunken strangers. Birde just stood there and waited for her to finish her shenanigans. He put his supplements in his satchel and sat on the sidewalk, covering his ears to drown out the deafening enviroment while Vi continued her chirade.
File 16 - Connor Smith
Natz was chuckling and standing over Connor, "You pissed me off. How has your confinement been going? Hm?"
Natz kicked the chair that Connor was tied to over, and Connor his his head on the floor. He grunted and clenched his fists.
"What, got something to say?"
"I'll say something to you if you untie me and face me like a man."
"Nice try. I can keep my temper under control, unlike you."
That son of a bitch..
"What, no snappy comeback?"
...
"That's what I fucking thought."
Natz threw a cigarette on the floor and stomped it out before walking towards the door. "You won't see much more of me. And I'm glad I don't have to look at your horrific face anymore. Bye."
...
The silence of the cold metal room, the dirt on the cold metal floor, the smell of burnt cigarette..
The color grey on the walls. The color grey on the floors. The itching rope on my wrists.. and ankles.. The.. Oh god.. I'm losing my mind.
I can almost hear a buzzing sound. It's just white noise. Probably just my imagination trying to fill in blanks at this point. A hallucination from sensory deprivation. Ha.
I have dozed off a couple times.. How long has it been? I'm not too hungry so no longer than a day. Right?
This is all your fault.
No.
You should've listened to your father. You shouldn't have let Leo tell them where you lived.
No. There was no way to foresee this.. it isn't anyone's fault.. I..
You deserve this.
Oh God.. Why am I having thoughts like this?
Leo.. Felix.. Cat.. Somebody please walk through that door.. I can't be alone right now..
Connor was almost in tears. He was scared. He was in pain. He was stuck in his head.
After some time, the metal door opened, and the sound of the latch breaking the silence abruptly cause Connor to startle, almost jumping. He was in fight or flight, but couldn't do neither.
The woman in the doorway looked down at him with negligent pity. He had never seen this woman before.. wait. He has seen her around the laboratory. She never actually interacted with him.
She picked up the back of his chair and sat him upright. Connor's neck hurt from the awkward position he was forced to lay in for however long. Her red eyes pierced his own. "Listen to me well, Connor."
....
"My name is Estelle. You will call me Mrs. Ivanov. I am now your supervisor. Basically your babysitter. I'm going to take you to your laboratory, explain your materials to you, and you are going to do the tests we want, and you will give us results."
"How are you going to make me give you results? You can't force me to be smart for you. I could be dumb from the lobotom-" Estelle beat the side of his jaw with immense strength and he was stunned by the sudden attack.
"Ask for permission to speak to me."
Connor stared at her in terror. Who the fuck does she think she is?
She beat him again on the other side, Connor felt his teeth shift and he groaned in pain. "That was an order."
"Mrs. Ivanov.."
"Good."
She put a chain on his leg before untying him from the chair.
"I will escort you to the laboratory now."
She looked back at him with an expecting look. Connor began to brace for another hit. What now? What does she want? What did I do?
Estelle pulled the chain attached to his ankle hard and he slipped and landed on his hip. He yelled in pain.
"Say thank you, Mrs. Ivanov, for letting me leave my cell."
Connor stared at the floor. He was trembling. "T-thank you.. Mrs. Ivanov."
She kicked him in the gut hard enough to make him start dry heaving and gasping for air.
"LOOK AT ME WHEN YOU SPEAK!!!"
He glared at her as he gasped for breath. "Thank you. Mrs. Ivanov." He clenched his fists more, trying to make the room stop spinning, trying to lower his heartrate.
"Finally. Some decent respect. Get up."
He did so. He was so pissed he could almost see red. He followed her down the halls, so deep in thoughts and planning, trying to memorize the route they took.. Trying to ignore his visceral agony.
Could be worse.
File 17 - Yakushimaru Mirei
I sold you, mirei. You no longer bear the family name.
Mirei denounces her mother and actually attacks her in a fit of rage "You cant do that. i don't belong to you." Her mother grabs her long hair and chops it off with mirei's inherited blade and destroys the blade.
Birde. Apatheurgy. long ass trip.