[Location: Xellene, Unit 4, Cell of Test Subject No. 0604]
It was dark when I woke up, though this was nothing new. The cell was always kept dark since I had photophobia, a condition which made me extremely sensitive to light. Normal people would've found it uncomfortable to spend hours in the darkness, but I thought otherwise. I got up and walked to the corner of the room where there was a table with a jug of water and some snacks. I gulped down the water straight from the jug and went back to my bed.
Days like these were hard to come by, usually I would be training with some robots that tried to kill me. The rooms where test subjects like me were contained in are built quite simply. We only had a bed and a small table with snacks placed on the other side of the room. Nothing more, nothing less.
'It's almost time for lunch.' I thought staring into the distance. 'In three, two, one-' Suddenly the intercom came to life, a robotic voice announcing, "No. 0604, allowing access to lunchroom now".
The door in the middle clicked open after the announcement and I walked in. My lunch awaited on the table; it was spaghetti with meatballs. I took a seat but had no appetite to eat at all, I was still tired from the electroshock therapy I received yesterday. "No. 0604, incoming call from Dr. Wilson." the robotic voice came to life once again before I heard the familiar voice of the man in charge of me, Blake.
"Hel, are you there?" He spoke in his usual business tone. I couldn't be bothered to answer so I just walked back to my bed and laid there, thinking of nothing in particular. The food was left untouched for the fourth time this week. "Hel?", he asked again, this time turning on all the lights, much to my dismay. "Ah, there you are." He stated. "You could've just answered, you know?".
I stared at the monitor on the top corner of my room, knowing that they had recently installed a camera there to watch me. "As expected, you found the camera." Blake said sounding more excited than worried. "Your observation skills have grown significantly, impressive." He stated before I heard him write something down. "You said there were no other tests for me today." I spoke up, wondering why he was here.
"Ah yes, I did say that didn't I?" He laughed although there was no humor in the conversation. "I hate to break it to you but there's been a change of plans." He sighed dramatically. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do Hel but I know you'll understand."
Shortly after he said that there was a familiar click from inside the room. I didn't even have a chance to react when I felt a sharp needle stab me on my neck, injecting its powerful contents into my bloodstream.
I fell to the floor, my nostrils filled with the coppery scent of my own blood dripping from my neck. The room oddly felt foreign now, my vision slowly getting blurry as the sedative did its work. The door on the left opened to reveal several guards ready to restrain me.
'He lied again', I thought as my mind faded into unconsciousness.
[Location: Xellene, Meeting Room 001]
"My name is Liam Wright, and it is a pleasure to be able to work here." He introduced himself in front of the entire research team of Xellene. Loud cheers and excited applauses shortly followed as he flashed a shy but stunning smile, making the all the women present in the room swoon. twenty-three-year-old Liam Wright was a fresh graduate from Stanford who was recently gaining fame in the science industry as a young genius psychologist. He was a tall man with a charming face that often got him mistaken as a celebrity. That also seemed to be the case here as majority of the female staff members had their gaze fixated at Liam like hungry hyenas.
"It seems that the Xellene staff members are also pleased to have you here with us, Dr. Wright." Said Mr. Manson, the head executive of Xellene. He was referring at how happy the female staff looked to finally have a fine young man here instead of another cranky old man. "The honor is mine." He replied, shaking hands with the director before he walked back to his seat beside Max, his college mate. He felt relieved to be out of the spotlight and next to a familiar face. The stares he felt on him onstage were extremely, unsettling.
The venue looked almost like a boardroom, except this was exclusively for research members to meet and discuss their weekly findings. Liam used to work for Recel before this and despite being extremely young, he was a senior member there. Much to the board members' surprise, Liam was the one who requested the transfer here due to an unfortunate accident that had happened at Recel.
Today was his first day inside the impressive establishment and he couldn't find his mentor anywhere. He was the main reason why he decided to come to Xellene. 'Is he busy?', he thought before Max interrupted.
"So, any idea which department you're going to?" His buddy asked. Liam shook his head. "I haven't even met Blake yet and he's the one that's supposed to tell me all that." He replied, occasionally glancing at the gigantic front door of the room.
"Hm, he's probably at Unit 4 again." Max sighed, shaking his head. "That old geezer's obsessed with 0604".
"You mean Hel?", He asked, having heard rumors of the incredible abilities she had. "Yeap, that's her." Max confirmed. "Hel, named after the mythical Norse goddess of death, couldn't have given her a better nickname."
"Have you seen her before?" He asked, curious. "I heard she was pretty."
Max smiled slyly at the remark, "I've only seen her once because of your petty mentor but I'll admit, she's hot." He looked around sneakily before adding, "If it wasn't for her murderous intent, I would definitely date her."
Liam rolled his eyes at his perverted friend. 'She's not even human.'
"If you need it, I can get you to Unit 4 after this whole meeting is done." Max offered. "It's been a while since I've last seen her." He smirked as he said that. "She's the only decent looking being besides myself in this whole institute."
"I often wonder how the hell you managed to graduate with that dirty mind of yours, Max." Liam confessed truthfully, laughing at his absurdness.
"Because I'm a fucking genius." Max replied sarcastically. "But enough about me." He turned his attention to me and away from the boring speech the executive was giving.
"What happened back at Recel man?" He asked with a worried look, "You made me anxious as hell when you suddenly disappeared after the accident."
'A lot happened, that's for sure.' He thought but decided to tell Max another day, when it was just the two of them. "I'll tell you when I'm ready Max." Liam patted him on the shoulders before turning back to the director whose speech had fortunately just ended. "You may now get back to your respective departments but please be aware that test subject No. 0604 will be out of her cell for testings."
The whole room seemed to have stilled at the mention of the so-called goddess of death. 'Is she that bad?', Liam thought, wondering what she had done to make so many professionals fear her. "What great timing." Max looked at Liam with an evil grin plastered on his face.
"That is it for the announcements and once again, let us welcome our newest recruit, Dr. Wright to Xellene."
Loud cheers interrupted once more before Mr. Mason headed out the door along with several of his personal guards.
Everyone got up at the same time and rushed to the front door, leaving Liam and Max behind. "Where are they all going?", Liam asked Max who was waiting patiently for the traffic of people to subside.
"Who? Them?" He pointed to the crowd, "Well, some are planning to lock themselves up in their offices while the others try and get a glimpse of the legendary beauty."
"And you and I are going to do the second option." Max smiled at Liam who was getting nervous, "Which is to get front row seats to the show."
"How exactly are we going to do that?", Liam challenged, raising his well trimmed eyebrows. "Simple!" Max exclaimed, "I have Dr. Wilson's number one most favorite pupil with me so it's going to be easy as saying ABC."
"You better not make me regret this Max." Liam begged closing his eyes frustratingly. "I don't want to ruin my first day of work with something stupid."
"Oh, please!" Max rolled his eyes, "The moment you lay your eyes on No. 0604, you'll be as astonished as I am." He gave Liam a hard pat on the back and got up from his chair, "Now let us begin the tour, shall we?"