A buzzer.
𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉'𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒸𝓊𝑒. Quickly, I made my way to the exit after stopping to put my tray in the incinerator. I didn't even get to finish it as well. I would pay the price for that later, my stomach grumbling at the emptiness. 𝒰𝑔𝒽, 𝐼'𝓂 𝓉𝑜𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝒹𝒶𝓂𝓃 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹.
"Leaving so soon?" A voice called out from behind me, as I escaped through the double doors. "I was enjoying the show."
Recognising the lilt of the teasing tone, I turned around with a smirk to meet Andreas' gaze. Looking down at me from between his thick dark lashes, he cocked his head slightly to the side, his hair falling slightly in front of his eyes. I ached to brush it away as my teeth sank into the flesh of my bottom lip. The look on his face made me smile, one of satisfaction and ease. He knew no one could sneak up on me in this place; I could sense everything. Nevertheless, he kept me on my toes, moving quicker and more quietly than any human I'd ever known.
"I'm sure you were." I chuckled, wiping my bloody hands on my off-white lab dress that now looked like the canvas of a toddler's finger painting.
"Gotta be careful though." He muttered, tucking in some loose tendrils of hair that had escaped my ponytail. "Eyes and ears are everywhere. You don't wanna land yourself in solitary now do you?"
A slight frown overtook my sharp features as I pouted. 𝒮𝑜𝓁𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜 𝒻𝓊𝓃. I sighed, leaning against the wall beside him as I batted my long lashes. He responded as I knew he would, caging me in with his strong arms either side of my head. My eyes sharpened to tunnel vision as he rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes with a sigh. Thoughts of my isolation running rampant in his mind were clear as day in the tight fist he had unknowingly made.
"Boo, you know I'm a sucker for a good show." I mused, grabbing hold of his hand and unmaking his fist, finger by finger. He stared at me with a slight smile, knowing that I knew.
𝐼 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌.
"With you mi 'lady, it's the greatest." He whispered alluringly as he kissed my bloody knuckles.
Winking at his face, now beginning to flush, I pulled him closer to me. Close enough to taste the mint on his breath and the smooth aftershave on his skin. Giggling at his proximity, I felt his blood begin to rush in a way that was all too familiar.
A battle ensued with both opponents fighting for a dominance neither was willing to give. Commencing the tango him and I had practiced to perfection, I let my fingers disappear into his stubborn curls as his arms banded around my tiny waist. I could taste blood on my lips as his tongue slipped past them but we didn't care.
For as long as the laws of time allowed, I disappeared in all that was Andreas, leaving the world behind. For a second, a minute, an hour, I forgot what it was like. To suffer. To hurt. I forgot what it was like to be a Subject, a Prototype. All my worries, all my sorrows, all my everything drowned in an ocean of Andreas and his lips and his touch and his smell and hi– Ahem, a throat was cleared.
We snapped apart.
Our relationship was one that was hinted but never stated, implied but never mentioned. Our secrecy was key as knowledge of our rendezvous would solicit a separation that neither of us could bare. Tension rippled through his sinewy muscles and I held my breath as Andreas' shoulders slowly shifted, giving way to our spectator.
The newbie stared with wide, curious eyes, his mind grappling with the sights before him. I could practically read the rules flitting across his eyes, damning us to hell. Swishing around in his mouth, words failed him, his tongue flailing in disbelief. I smirked at him, putting a finger to my lips as my eyes changed to a compelling mixture of blue, purple and silver, drawing him to nod his head in agreement. Andreas slowly relaxed, mimicking my movements as he walked away from me, leading us all out of the cafeteria.
Within the walls of this dull place, I struggled to find something that excited me. Something that made my blood rush and my muscles tense. Something that drove me wild. My life was a succession of aptitude tests and lessons at the same time of every day, monotonous like the ticking of the clock. A merry go round where I was a plastic horse instead of a child for the ride. I couldn't get off. Stifled by boredom, I was robotic in the purest sense of the word until I met Andreas - my breath of fresh air in the tiny stuffy room I was cramped in. He filled my lungs with the breath of life, rejuvenating an untapped youth I never knew I had. And it all began one sweltering day in July.
My birthday.
The first time I saw him, he was magnetic. Only a young boy then, and still bold, fearless. Hypnotic. He was the most beautiful human I had ever seen, with a grace and courage that put me to shame. From the top of his head to the tip of his toes, the way he walked, the way he spoke, everything made me believe in God. Such a person could only be made by hand to have achieved such perfection.
He was waddled in guard uniform, the tight black trousers, white shirt and black tie, fitting him in a way that made my mouth water. A badge sat on his right peck and he fiddled with his belt buckle; he looked bored. A raw, unkempt emotion balled up in my chest as I found myself unable to look away from this ball of light. He hadn't noticed me yet, busily conversing - or rather - being told off by someone. In an attempt to distance himself from the verbal onslaught, he let his eyes wander. And they met mine.
Euphoria.
A scent of cinnamon, honeycomb and Christmas flooded my nostrils as I inhaled deeply in shock. Rampant flushes made my hands clammy, as my eyes rounded to the size of ping pong balls. He froze in the same manner, expelling more of his intoxicating scent the longer he stared. I gulped nervously, intense feelings of attraction, lust and need rushing to my head in the form of a scarlet blush. My lips parted, allowing my breath passage as my heart rate spiked.
A word flitted past my eyes, it felt like a torrential downpour as our minds opened to each other. His emotions amplified my own, the reverse working the same as we both shuddered. His voice in my mind's eye gave me shivers; my nature, my instincts told me to run to him. To never let him out of my sight. My rational brain struggled to comprehend what was going on, fighting against my own skin to keep me rooted to the spot. A split second, and the exchange was over, our gazes disrupted by the previous aggressor.
I had to have him.
With my newfound interest, I studied the pair, day after day. Watching through the hatch, catching glimpses of him whenever I possibly could. The feeling of heat rolling over my skin like a blanket signified his arrival, my entire being craving his eyes on me. He carried himself so well, confident and energetic, I couldn't help but stare as did others. He was a beacon. His father, one of the scientists that worked here, was the opposite. He was the darkness I was used to, a power hungry shadow in his eyes. A demanding, abusive type with a God complex; a typical Institute worker. My heart clenched for my poor Adonis every time I heard his father speak to him like he could force him into any mould of his choosing. So much so, that one day, I interfered.
"Doctor Evergreen, my collar is loose." I whispered, interrupting his berating of his son, who looked at me like I'd grown three heads.
"Subject Xero, please, allow me." He muttered, silently sulking at the fact that I was to be treated with respect at all times. He didn't have the authority to deny my request, nor the clearance to push me away.
As I turned around for him to busy himself with my metal restraint, I stared up at the Adonis. Exchanging thoughts in a way I didn't think possible, his voice an intimate caress on my mind, we finally spoke. And I learned his name.
Andreas.
After the cafeteria stop, I was once again escorted by my two favourite people, down several glass corridors as we boisterously bantered. Turns out, Newbie's name is Ezra. 𝐻𝑜𝓌 𝒸𝓊𝓉𝑒? Turning a corner, I caught sight of the dreaded room. Recognition of our destination made me shudder, decapitating my good mood.
The Clearing.
Otherwise known as hell on earth, a nickname used by more than just myself. It was where I was tested, where I was created. It was the Genesis of every Prototype whether they were human to begin with or not. Everything changed in here. Needles, blood and pain were all that ran through my mind when someone mentioned the place. Bristling slightly at the bad memories that plagued me, I walked up to the large, titanium vault door.
"Subject Xero." A lanky man with short, chocolate brown waves approached me. Through his thin rimmed glasses, he peered down at me with a calculated, inscrutable expression. Standing to his full height, he adjusted his white lab coat with a familiarity that reminded me of someone completely in their element. 𝐻𝑒 𝒾𝓈.
Andy immediately tensed beside me. The hand he had kept loosely around my waist solidified to an iron grip. I smiled slightly as I caressed it with my thumb, until he let go. Ezra took everything in with wide Bambi eyes as he assessed the unfolding events. He knew something was up. The tension in the air gave the game away.
"Doctor Shaw." I sneered, not bothering to mask my hatred of him. I didn't find it particularly hard to hate but hatred for him without a doubt came easy. The way he spoke, so condescending, like he was the puppet master with all the cards in the deck. The way he cut me off like my words weren't even worth the oxygen that carried them. The way that he loved to preach about how he could see right through me. God, I 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 him.
"It's time. Are you ready?" He said with a cunning smile, reaching for the keypad by the side of the door and placing his hand on it. It quickly scanned his flesh and the door unbolted with a groan of heavy metal. I gritted my teeth.
𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓈𝒶𝓎 𝒾𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝒾𝒻 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝒸𝒽𝑜𝒾𝒸𝑒. I sighed harshly, my eyes piercing as I played with the hem of my lab dress. The itchy off-white, short sleeved dress was getting on my nerves more than it usually did, the dried blood now scrunching it in shapes against my skin. Or maybe it was Shaw. He managed to get on my nerves 24/7.
If you looked at the two of us from a distance, you'd see no similarity. Take a few steps closer and you'll notice the little things. The long fingers, thick plump lips, long eyelashes, a small flat button nose, dark freckles across the bridge of our noses and under our eyes. Little things we had in common. Even though my eyes were vibrantly coloured and his were a dull, blackening brown; my hair was the darkest of raven while his was chocolate brown and he towered over me at 6'1, the similarities could not be ignored. We were related.
He was my 𝓊𝑔𝒽 father.
If I could have any wish of mine granted, I'd wish he wasn't. I'd wish that I was never born so that he wouldn't be a father to anyone. I wish I didn't have to see his smug face every day as he injects me with things from a classified chest of draws under lock and key and 24 hour surveillance. I wish I didn't have to hear his harsh words, merciless tentacles feeling for my failures. I would wish for another life, in another body, with another soul. I don't wanna be me.
𝐼 𝑔𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝐼'𝓂 𝓉𝑜𝑜 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒶𝓁 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉.