7295 let out a shaky breath, lifting their head up, peering over the old desk. Nobody was there anymore. The group of staff that came through here for a short cut had already exited the room. Thankfully, nobody noticed 7295 following them in. It would have ended badly for them.
They are called "Special Test Subject 7295. Apparently that was the name the Head Scientist-Doctors and his all male Assistants gave them. 7295 didn't question it. Never did. Probably won't ever in this case. There isn't much to say, do, or think, because they didn't know very much. A lot of different foods, the feeling of materials or whatever.
There wasn't much to say about 7295's life, except being in this Facility for most of their life.
7295 liked being in the labs. Watching whatever work the Scientist-Doctors were doing. Sometimes they would show them what they were doing and how they were doing it. Other times, 7295 wasn't allowed in the labs at all during an experiment or testing.
7295 was surprised at how well they treated them.
Anyways, 7295 is half male and half female. Nobody can tell which they are more of, not even the Head Scientist-Doctor. Although, he thinks 7295 is female, so he chooses to call them so.
7295 don't have a mother or father, but if they did, they never knew them. Honestly, about that. they stopped worrying about it after it was confirmed 7295 never had any. Nobody gave birth to 7295, or pushed them out of a womb or something. So 7295 was told they were grown from the inside of a test tube. 7295 remembered a few things before falling out of the growth tank and two Scientist-Doctors catching them.
Ever since the growth-in tank, 7295 always had trouble speaking. 7295's vocal cords weren't fully developed. Every time they spoke, all that came out were screeches. It became troublesome for the Head Scientist-Doctor and his Assistants to search for a proper Speech Teacher or Speech Therapist for them.
7295 darted around the corner at their left once the room fell silent. 7295 turned right and ran down a short hallway-like area and slipped through an old door on their right, entering a small room.
The door wasn't operable, so there was no need to reach up to press a button or pull a lever
7295 cautiously moved across the room, in which they always did this, because there was a fence across from them, and one near one of the doors that went out of the room they were in before.
In front of 7295, and also just in front of the fence that separated the other room from the one they were in. 7295 would always have to press a button that turned green, to open the door that was right outside the second fence. That was the exit. Every time that button would be off, every time they went into this room. It was an old room, and 7295 kind of used it as their quiet place. Even though 7295 wasn't supposed to.
Once 7295 hit the button, it flicked from red to green. Then they hurried out of the room. 7295 would usually stay and sit next to the second fence in the corner to mess with little parts and wires that they found around in the old room to put something together, but this time, they didn't. 7295 was finally getting put on a unit, so there was no time to.
7295 hurried past the desk they hid behind before, then past the first fence and turned left. 7295 quickly went through the door.
7295 would always go through that room as a shortcut, instead of having to go through hallways. Just as those staff did. 7295 came from a lab that they always stayed in before. The Scientist-Doctors told them before they left, that they were always welcome back there anytime.
After slipping through the heavy metal door, the caged light above flickered red. 7295 looked around to see if anyone saw them coming through.
7295 turned right, and passed a bunch of staff and guards who just came from down the metal platform.
Everybody knew 7295 by my number and nobody bothered them.. or Dr. Frentz, the Head Scientist-Doctor, the man who first spoke to 7295 after coming out of the tank, who was always there with 7295 and for 7295, would remove them from the Facility if staff, Scientist-Doctor, Guard, or severely put down a test subject.
-
"I need those samples, where are those samples?!" The Head Scientist-Doctor barked at the people sitting at the single line of one desk, that was at the right side of the room. I carefully came into the office type lab.
I looked up at Dr. Frentz and kind of watched him. He noticed me looking and opened his mouth to say something, but one of his staff members jumped in front of him and began screaming at me as if I did something wrong.
"YOU!! GET BACK TO YOUR UNIT, RIGHT NOW, YOU LITTLE RUNT!!"
This made Dr. Frentz's blood boil. He quickly grabbed the man's shoulder and pulled him back, "That is 7295. How dare you speak to her that way?"
"That's..." He began to ask.
I moved my arms close to my waist, almost hugging them with my head down. This was one of the "signs" I made whenever I was upset.
"...A girl?" The man finished his question.
"Yes," Dr. Frentz explained, "We can't say for sure if they are male or female, so we just go by the shape of their head."
"She's very fragile, so could you please take over for me while I take her to her unit she just got assigned to." He nearly slammed a clipboard full of papers against the staff's chest, "And do not ever raise your voice at her again, or I will have you forcefully removed from this Facility." He gave him a warning glare before escorting me into the hallway.
"How is your day... besides what happened a moment ago?"
I could tell he was still a bit angry.
I gave him two nods before waving my right hand out in his direction. This was a "gesture". I was asking how he was also doing, and he knew this, of course.
He smiled and nodded again, "It is all right... getting by."
I smiled a little.
We turned a corner and it seemed we were walking onto a completely different part of the Facility. The area looked completely different. We were in this huge tall tower, which meant we were in the very center of the entire Facility.
I looked around at the staff and guards who went this way and that way across the four bridges that ran across the area.
I looked up at the very tall pillar that held up these bridges. My eyes became fixated on it. I couldn't stop staring at it... as if it meant something to me...
Then suddenly, Dr Frentz grabbed me by the upper arm and pulled me to the right. He pulled me across the bridge. At the end, he raised his right arm after pulling his tag from the inside of his suit under his lab coat. He hovered it in front of a small scanner. He waited until a green light scanned the barcode.
After it was scanned, he placed it back on the inside of his suit. He seemed to have hidden it under his tie.
The elevator doors slowly slide into either side of the walls. Dr. Frentz pulled me inside.
No words were spoken on the way down. He released my arm, letting me stand on my own. He trusted me enough to do that. I looked up at the doctor for a few seconds before looking back at the elevator door. I was a little nervous being this close to him, but it was probably worth being here with him, other than with another person. It wasn't long before the elevator came to a stop. The doors slid open and we stepped through.
"Only frozen memories fill up this empty world"
We went down another long hallway. I was eventually getting tired of walking, but of course, I had no words to tell.
Could these insufficient forms be enough to make a whole?
We were met by another door, but this one looked completely different from the others back above. This one had two lights that showed red and it was marked with SL1. I wasn't sure what it stood for.
I looked down, knowing this was my unit. I kind of had a sad look on my face.
Dr. Frentz didn't really notice this until I said something.
"Do you think they'll like me...?" I shakily asked. My voice sounded like a soft screech.
Dr. Frentz felt thankful to hear me speak. He smiled and nodded and reassuringly said "I'm sure of it."
I smiled.
He gently took my left wrist and placed it in front of a scanner that was near him. A hologram of green appeared and scanned my wrist.
Dr. Frentz let go of my wrist and glanced at me. I held my wrist close to my chest, feeling a bit weird that he grabbed my wrist without asking. He usually asks before grabbing me.
"Sorry..." He quickly apologized.
"Special Subject 7295..." A feminine voice came out from somewhere that echoed out in the hallway. "All Security Level 1s have been opened." Then the two red lights flickered green a couple of times and the double doors slid open into either sides of the walls.
"Remember," He began, waving a finger at me, "You are only allowed to be on SL1, which is your unit. Nowhere else. Wouldn't want you to be sedated or put down..."
I nodded and we proceeded into the hallway. To my surprise, you could only fit one person through...
"Just on our left, there is a door with blue lights. That is where you will be sleeping." He explained before stopping at our left. "The blue lights are where the unit group's sleeping area is located. The doors are color coded. If you come across any doors with red lights, you are not allowed through them! The green ones, you can."
I nodded again, letting him know that I understood.
Once he got close to the blue light coded door, the lights flickered green and the double doors slid open after a few seconds.
A group of boys looked directly at the door. Some stood up cautiously, and the rest stayed seated on their beds. The room only had 8 beds. All fabrics colored in white. Just four beds on either side of the large room.
"Dr. Frentz." A tall masculine black male with a shaved head greeted.
"Yep," Dr. Frentz greeted back, "Just came to drop Special Subject 7295."
"Hold on, who?" One of the boys asked.
"Yep, it's her." Dr. Frentz responded.
"That's a girl?" Another boy asked.
"We can't say for sure... we just go by the shape of their head... you all know how she was created." Dr. Frentz let out a sigh. It seemed like he didn't want to be there any longer.
"Then why put her on the boy's unit?"
"That's confidential information." The Head Scientist-Doctor stated without the slightest hesitation.
"Confidential, my ass!" The boy next to the black male smarted off. He stood up and began stepping towards the Head Scientist-Doctor, "We should know this!She's on your unit--"
"Please, step off before I have you sedated." He threatened the boy. He looked at him with a warning glance. That was the last warning he was going to give to the boy.
Nobody dared to try this man. Everybody stayed silent, and they didn't move. As if they did move, Dr. Frentz was going to call in his guard dogs.
Dr. Frentz began explaining, "7295 is a mute, so she and I have created gestures, singals, signs, whatever you want to call them. I'm sure you'll know what the easy ones are, such as nodding or shaking head, but most importantly; do not use her in anyway. We will have you put down, maybe the entire unit. Capiche, everyone?"
The boys all nodded in response.
"Good." He said, "I will be back down here later, before dinner." Just before turning to head out the door, he turned around and said to me, "Let me know if anything happens."
I nodded.
Blue lights flickered green and he went out the door. The doors closed, and at that, everybody went back to what they were doing before.
I looked at the empty bed that was at the end of the room on my left. I figured it was supposed to be mine, so I went to it. There was an Asian boy sitting in the bed next to mine, and he was looking at me.
I glanced at him before getting onto my bed to sit down. The boy just turned after staring at me for a few moments, and layed down.
I found that I fell asleep and was woken up by a rather loud noise before there was a blinking sound from the lights on the door. The doors slide into either side of the walls.
"Okay boys, dinner time! Let's go!" A staff member who came in, ordered the eight of us. I figured he didn't realize there was a female in the room. There were two guards standing behind him.
I quickly sat up, which I was the last one to do. When the staff saw me, he corrected himself.
"And uh... girl..."
My unit and I followed the staff and the guard that was behind him, out into the hallway. The staff and guard led all of us forward down a curvy, narrow hallway. It didn't take that long to get to a large cafeteria that was right outside the unit. We were seated at a long table, and trays of food were set in front of us. This was almost like poison.
I wasn't feeling very hungry, but I ended up force feeding myself. It was only to make these people happy. The Special Test Subject must stay healthy. The staff liked to see me eat. Especially me. As healthy as can be.
"Hey." Whispered the Asian boy, who was sitting next to me. "I'm Skyler. What's your name?"
"7295." I answered without hesitation. They boy seemed surprised to hear me screech this.
"Is that all they call you?" He asked.
The smell of food began wafting the inside of my nose. I almost sneezed from this.
Skyler grinned a little. He thought it was a little cute. Referring to my sneeze.
"Skyler!" The black male in front of us whispered. "You're going to get all of us in trouble if you keep talking."
"All I'll tell them is that their mother did great last night."
The black male almost spat out his food after hearing this. "The hell is wrong with you?"
"No talking!" A guard nearby ordered.
"Pfft." He ignored the guard and looked back at me. "I'm Brian. This is my dumbass friend."
Skyler shot him an ugly glare.
I tried my best not to giggle.
After all of us finished eating, we were taken back to the unit to take showers.
The Head Scientist-Doctor never came to see me. I was still convinced he was going to come. So I continued to wait.
We were all getting ready to take showers, some boys were talking about the guards for some reason and they talked about how they were going to escape this place.
Nobody took the two boys seriously. So everybody just let the boys talk. I never really thought about leaving the Facility. Honestly, where would I go? And what will I do? I had a place here, was I going to have a place somewhere else? I never really thought of it.
"My head is on fire, and my intestines are exploding." Tyler, one of the boys squatting in front of his nightstand, said out loud.
There was a sudden pause.
I blinked, not understanding what he just said. I was confused.
Brian, standing next to the doors, but just where they couldn't detect him, looked over his shoulder. "Run that by me one more time!"
Then the room erupted in laughter.
I was the only one who didn't laugh. I was still confused at the random statement or comment. Whatever it was.
"Oh come on, girl!" The boy next to Tyler called to me, "Do you not understand what he said?"
Brian and Skyler jumped up and ran towards him. They certainly didn't like what they heard him call me.
I lowered my head, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Dude. Seriously!" Brian yelled, "You tryna get us all put down?! Seriously! The staff and guards don't like that! Especially to her!"
"I... didn't mean anything by it..." He turned his head to the side, feeling a little bit like crap. He shouldn't have called me something he shouldn't have. The guards and staff, or whoever would take that to offence. "She just doesn't have a nam--"
"Call her by her Subject Number!"
"Uh... got it!"
"7295." Skyler reminded Tyler's friend.
"Right... 7295..." He looked over at me, apologizing, "Sorry... 7295..."
All I did was nod. Honestly, I didn't really care what people called me. I just didn't have a name. Just a number. Tyler's friend was right about that.
"Get in the shower, ya little bitch!" Brian ordered sarcastically to the boy.
-
I turned the knob clockwise and watched the water go off. I looked to my left and took a bottle of lotion off the dividing wall. This lotion was the Head Scientist-Doctor's orders. I was told to apply this to my skin each and every time after a shower. It was called "Ultra-Brizzle". Whatever that meant. The name confused me, but I didn't question it.
I clipped open the cap and turned it over to squeeze some into my left hand. I applied it onto my upper right arm, then the rest of my limbs. After that, I set the bottle back down to leave it where the staff could find it. The staff would always come pick it up and put it where and bring it back to me every shower. Every other day I had to take one.
I reached an arm behind the shower curtain that shielded my naked body from the others who were going to come in. I felt for my towel. Once I found it, I took it and patted myself dry. When I finished doing that, I wrapped it around my body and turned. I pulled the curtain away from the dividing wall and walked to the other end of the room.
The boys were already coming through the door, but that didn't matter to me. I passed them and went through the door. I thought I saw Skyler look back at me. I didn't want to be wrong, though. So I paid no attention.
I went to this long table where the staff put my clothes. Every time I took a shower, I would have to remove my clothes and put them in this crate. Staff would take the crate and put my clothes in the wash. It would always be done and clean after a shower.
Now that I think about it... I have always worn the same underwear and gown since I was 12. Dr. Frentz never thought about getting me a second pair of clothes. I guess these clothes were entitled to me.
-
In the morning, I sat up in my bed, immediately realizing Dr. Frentz never came last night. Sounds of the boys moving around slowly brought me back to reality. I sat there, blanket barley over my arms. I stared down at the sheets between my legs intensely. I was feeling very strange.
I think I had my first dream.