Not too far from Reyna Shaw stood her husband, twirling a beaker in his hand. The light green chemical within it started to glow and heat up. Quickly, he placed the beaker onto the table before he could drop it. The solution began to foam up and change colors before settling down. The used-to-be green chemical was now a lavender color.
"After the countless experiments using rats, we finally found a serum that's safe for any animal testing. Today will be the initial beginning of human testing for Project Kratos. Project Kratos is focused on enhancing a human body's strength by genetically fusing an isolated gene from a rhinoceros and apes, which gives them their robustness, with the human subject's gene," the husband laid out their whole research while recording his voice.
To his left, he moved to grab a new syringe from inside the drawer and imbibed it with the serum. He turned to look at Ares, who stared back at him, petrified, at the sight of the syringe, and spoke, "Now, we shall begin Project Kratos."
With the start of the new Project, Ares will once again have to go through a different kind of hell. Countless days and nights, they had her undergo major tests, so she rarely had any real rest. Compared to Project Aja, Project Kratos was more dreadful.
To test whether the serum worked or not, she had to carry heavy objects that would be humanly impossible. They even engineered a human-sized car compactor to test her strength. With every breakthrough, they continue to add more and more weight.
"Get stronger every time or die getting flatten." Were the couple's favorite words of encouragement to her.
Experiment after experiment, her strength became insanely stronger. The same goes for her heart. The little girl who had a thread of hope that she will not have to go through that hell anymore only a few months ago now has a fortitude of a statue. The ability to be scared, to laugh, to cry, to scream, to feel happiness, love, to feel anything in general, was no longer there. Although she lost her feeling of anything, she still has a little light left in her that wants to live, that wants to see what exactly was beyond the door that she repeatedly watches the couple come in and go out as they please.
Like a cold statue, her face never distorts or cringes from pain during an experiment anymore. Ares did not know when, but one day she just fully lost any feeling of pain in her body. The ache in her muscles and the pain from any minor and major injury were completely gone. The only thing that's left was a stoic face and a body that feels nothing. She unquestionably became more like an empty vessel rather than a human.
Experiment after experiments and after more experiments, she became stronger and her healing ability was, once more, improved to the max. Even with her inhuman strength, Ares just did not have the spirit to free herself. She had lost track of how many projects she had to go through as a test subject. Unfortunately, she survived and became a successful test subject throughout various projects.
Project Aja
Project Kratos
Project H
The many experiments they put Ares through. Cutting her open, dismembering her limbs, dumping heavy objects that could flatten a normal human on her, and et cetera. The two geneticists, physiologists, and biomedical scientists have become increasingly mad the more their experiment meets a discovery. Their urge to prove their worth as the world's top scientists to the military was also a part of the stimulus of their psychotic break.
They have successfully concluded three big Projects and gained significant results from all three of the final serums. But their appetite to create more miraculous outcomes just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
With the completion of the last project, it took a toll on her body, molding her entire appearance into a whole new person. Now not only has her whole human physiology changed but also her appearance. But all of this was not noticed by her because she never knew what she initially looked like.
At this time, Ares has finally given up on hope. That small spark in her eyes, which was barely burning, was completely smothered by the blood she bled since the day all of it started. Now, no matter how strong she has become, she was wholly made into a hollow puppet that follows where her strings are pulled to and does whatever she was told without putting up a fight.
NOVEMBER 21, 20XX
Months have passed but for Ares, it felt like time never moved because every day was the same for her. TORTURE. Day in and night out, she can sense a part of her being torn away from her soul. But she continued to remain motionless without resisting.
Although she gained inhumane powers, it did not make up for what she lost. Her capability to have any feelings, her innocence, her childhood, was all lost the day she was born, and today was just like any other day.
Or so she thought.
As you walk down the stairs to the basement a single light bulb hangs down from the ceiling that was only a few feet high. A thick stench of blood still lingers in the air. The room was the same. A table of computers, medical monitors, and labware was just right in front of the stairs. To the left of the room, you can find a metal cabinet in the corner, the tilt table in the middle of the room, and beside it were four welded leather straps on the ground. Although a single scream cannot be heard from outside. But the sounds of voices carry easily down to the basement.
"How about a chameleon?"
"Mmhmm, that sounds very interesting! Go on."
"What if this time we isolate the gene in a chameleon and merge it with the test subject?"
"Why? Why a chameleon?"
"Why not? Within the genes of a chameleon, its DNA holds cells. Those cells contain different pigments that give the chameleons their ability to camouflage. If we were to fuse that gene with the test subject's genes, there's a possibility that the test subject would be able to gain the ability to camouflage or better, the ability to be invisible if we can enhance the chameleon's genes."
"Well? What are we waiting for? Let us start the preliminary tests," his wife stated with a look of satisfaction.
Ares, who was strapped to the tilt table half-conscious, overheard their conversation. Her lifeless eyes slowly opened and stared at the ceiling. For as long as she could remember, the ceiling was the only view she had seen. She stared at it intently as if her gaze could burn through it.
The idea of another project underway left her helpless. She had already given up on the hope of escaping this hell and just accepted the fact that she will always be a human test subject. Now she just lays there drearily and waits for the day where she will die during an experiment.
CLICK. CLICK.
The sound of the door open and close echoed through the room.
"I already have the initial serum ready so all we need right now is a chameleon to extract its gene."
"I'll go ahead and get the test subject ready. You go and get the chameleon," the wife said.
Ares persistently peered at the ceiling while listening in on their conversation. "I'll be right back," the husband said lovingly and left the room. With her husband gone, Reyna Shaw continued to set up cages that contained their animal test subjects.
SQUEAK. SQUEAK. SQUEAK.
The rats cried while running around inside the cage. "There, there. Settle down now. You will need your strength once we start," muttered Reyna Shaw while playfully tapping the exterior of the cage.
Ugh! Ares, who was now fully awake, turned her head to the side watching Reyna Shaw giggling at the sight of the petrified mice.
Just who am I? Who was she? Who was that man that was always with her? Why do they hurt her? What are they using her for?
Questions like these have been occupying her mind from the moment she could understand anything. But she never voiced her queries. A young girl who should be laughing, giggling, and talking never once spoke a word. The only time she had ever opened her mouth was when she used to scream, pleading for the pain to stop.
The moment their eyes met a chill started running down Ares's spine. Out of nowhere, her vision started to blur. It was like her consciousness was being sucked into something.
All of a sudden, her view shifted, and she was now staring at the walls, standing. She slowly spun around, waving her hands before her eyes. She was in a daze to see her hands, not in shackles. Aside from not being detained, her surroundings did not seem to have changed. But in her line of sight, she saw a girl strapped down to a table. The girl she was looking at was none other than HERSELF.
This was the first time she had ever seen herself. For as long as she could remember she has never seen what she looked like. The color of her eyes. The size of her nose. The clear, sculpted lining of her face. It was all so unfamiliar and familiar at the same time. She knew in her bones that this was her.
Her eyesight was still a bit blurry, which made her feel like she was having a hallucination.
"Aaaahhhh! Aaaaaahhh! Aaaahhh" The sound of screams drew her attention away from the sight of herself. She stood in the middle of the room like a spirit hovering around as if she was a bystander looking in from the window.
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
BOOM! BOOM!
The sound of explosions and wood-burning could be heard in the background. The room was entirely lit up and the walls of the basement continued to quickly burn away.
"Aaaaahhhh! Aaaahhhhh!" The screams of a man and woman pitifully filled the room. She watched as two silhouettes, smothered in flames, ran wildly around the basement. Running did not seem to help, so the figures started flailing around on the cement floor like dying fishes.
The flames grew as the stock-still figures on the ground started to burn to ashes. Ares's spirit watched them slowly burn to death unaffectedly. In a matter of minutes, the entire basement was soon engulfed in flames.
The scene shifted and what seems to be after images of Reyna Shaw's life flashed before her eyes. More scenes started rolling in. All that knowledge, those memories Reyna Shaw gained throughout her life, filled her mind as if they were her own. Every memory and every moment Reyna Shaw experienced, she experienced it all in a matter of seconds. She even learned that Emma and Ryan Cox weren't even their real name.
"Here are the chameleons you ordered," Andrew Shaw announced, entering the room while holding the cage of chameleons high up with a diabolical smile on his face. The couple went ahead and started their work, undistracted.
The sound of Andrew Shaw's voice caught Ares's attention, regaining consciousness. With Ares's consciousness back to normal, her awareness of her surroundings did too. Her thoughts were endlessly filled with questions of what she had just witnessed. Just what exactly was it? Even with her many doubts, she continued to lie there frozen.
The day ended and the sun was just around the horizon.
03:59:55 AM
03:59:56 AM
03:59:57 AM
03:59:58 AM
03:59:59 AM
04:00:00 AM
"Aaaaaahhhhhh! Aaaaaahhhhh! Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"
As if on cue, all hell broke loose. Ares, who was still strapped down, gazed at the burning sight of the couple. What she was currently witnessing was the same event she envisioned. The floorboards above her went up in flames. As the flames continued to engulf her like a caged animal.
WAAAAHHH! WAAAAAHHHH! WAAAAAHHH!
WEEE-OOO! WEEE-OOO! WEEE-OOO!
With the walls incinerated, Ares could hear sounds of sirens from a distance fill the night. Countless people from the whole neighborhood surrounded the burning house. Police, firefighters, and paramedics flooded the roads. Right outside the house, a group of law enforcement gathered to plan out their rescue.
"House belongs to a couple, Ryan and Emma Cox. The car is still in the driveway. Neighbors said that no one left the house. Rescue Team One head out!"
With a pickaxe in one hand and an oxygen tank on their back, firefighters poured into the burning house while the rest attempted to put out the fire.
"Mr. and Mrs. Cox! Shout so we know where you are!"
"Mr. and Mrs. Cox!" The firefighter's shouts echoed through the house.
"I found someone! Down the basement!" One of the firefighters shouted.
"On our way Dave!" While others continued the search, the rest rushed their way down the basement.
BOOM! Another explosion went off.
"What the hell!" The first firefighter that arrived exclaimed with a horrified expression. He stopped at the last step of the staircase.
"What? What is it?" Another firefighter came down the basement stairs, asked. At first, all he could see were flames until he set his sight to the middle of the room. Until he caught sight of it. "What the f**k!" He said, petrified.
The two firefighters stared at the sight of a girl wearing nothing but a simple gown that was stained, strapped onto a table. They were terrified.
"Dave, what are you doing?! Get the girl!" The first firefighter that arrived last yelled, coming back to his senses.
They hurriedly rushed over to the table and started unstrapping the girl. "Come on! Get her on your back," the other firefighter ordered Dave. Dave, with Ares on his back, and the other two firefighters scampered their way back up the stairs, exiting the basement.
CLANG!
BANG!
CLANG!
BOOM!
More explosions went off. Despite the hard effort of the other firefighters to douse the flames, the house went up in smoke and quickly collapsed. Just in a nick of time, the rest of the firefighters made it out.
"I need a medic!" Dave shouted, rushing towards an ambulance.
"Lay her down here! Hurry!" The paramedic said, pushing a gurney towards Dave. Dave carefully laid the girl on the gurney and threw a blanket over her lower body. Another paramedic arrived on the scene, helping push the gurney with Ares on into the ambulance.
Dave stepped out of the way and let the paramedics do their job. He watched as they placed an oxygen mask over the girl's face. When he first found her, he couldn't see her face clearly with all the flames. Now he got a clear look of her and his heart ached at the sight of the girl. Her skin was almost as pale as her silver hair. It was like her skin was never touched by the sun.
A few moments later...
Ares, who was half-conscious, squinted her eyes from the bright lights above her. Having been imprisoned in a room that barely had any light, her eyes were having a hard time adjusting. She slowly pushed her upper body up in a sitting position, removing the oxygen mask from her face. Her sight was still blurry but with her ability, her eyes quickly adapted to the light. Again, she closed her eyes and registered the voices in her surroundings.
"How is she?" Dave asked.
"She inhaled a lot of carbon monoxide, but she'll survive. And that is not all. I had a good look at her teeth which gave me a good idea of how old she is," the medic explained.
"Well, considering her height, she should be around 14 or 15-years-old. But even her age cannot be entirely related to her height. For a 15-year-old girl to be about 5-feet and 8-inches, it must be in her genes," Dave tried to deduce.
"Yeah? But what if she's 9-years-old?"
"What? 9-years-old? That cannot be. How can SHE be a 9-year-old!? Look at her!?" Dave roared. Because of Dave's outburst, the surrounding people began to loudly whisper amongst themselves.
A child rescued from a burning house that belongs to a couple who has no record of having or adopting any children.
A child who they found strapped to a table like a hostage.
A child who was supposedly a 9-year-old with long grey hair and was 5-feet and 8-inches tall.
When people continued to group around the scene, Ares had opened her eyes and turned her head to gaze at them lifelessly. She watched and listened to their endless chattering until something else caught her attention. Steadily, she got up and walked out of the ambulance. She walked to the center off the street, away from the tree's overshadow.
She took a deep breath with her eyes closed. She stood there as people ran past her. Leaning her head back, she unhurriedly opened her eyes to gaze at the scene above her. For the first time in her life, she has seen the open sky. The night sky was especially dark that night. But to Ares, she has never seen anything so bright and beautiful. She took in the view until her field of vision tilted sideways. Her body collapsed with a loud thump, but her gaze was still focused on the sky.
After talking with the paramedic, Dave went back to check up on the girl. He arrived at the ambulance and found her missing. His body went stiff for a moment. He rushed over to the paramedic that was supposed to be watching her, shouting, "Where's the girl? WHERE IS SHE!?"
"I don't know. She was just here a minute ago," the paramedic answered.
"Useless!" Dave shoved the paramedic to the side. He hastily scanned the crowd in search of the girl. Amongst the crowd, he found her tilting her head back as if savoring the open air. Her stunningly silver hair draped her body and the small tip of her nose stuck out. It was like he was watching a picturesque model posing. He couldn't help but stare at her, feeling his heart beating harder and harder. Despite being covered in soot, it didn't cover her alluring charms beneath it.
Dave walked towards her with leaden steps, watching her expression closely. Right then he noticed her body swaying, almost on the verge of fainting. He gradually picked up the pace to close the distance between them, but the girl suddenly collapsed.
"Hey, I need help over here!" Ares could hear someone shout before losing consciousness.
What she saw tonight was different. But what she knew for sure was that she would continue to get a glimpse of the world she missed out on.