The night was cold and unforgiving as a little boy sat on the bare concrete floor of a large empty room. He held a filthy teddy bear in his hands and giggled as he spoke to himself, playing with it. He was so engrossed in his playtime that he hadn't noticed that the usually locked metal door of his room was now wide open. His golden eyes sparkled with joy, lighting up the darkness along with his shining snow-white hair. He was only pulled out of his imagination due to the sound of footsteps approaching him. He turned around curiously only to see another person. It was a woman that he didn't recognize. She had long black hair that reached her ankles and shiny golden eyes that mirrored his own. He tilted his head in confusion. She seemed familiar but for some reason, he couldn't recognize her. He moved to open his mouth before he realized that he couldn't. In fact…he no longer had a mouth at all. His breathing quickened as he began to panic. The woman placed a hand on his shoulder, a warm smile on her face. Was she comforting him?
"D_n't Wo_ry ____. I'm ______! ______." The black-haired woman tried her best to speak but no matter what she said, he couldn't understand. The woman's words seemed illegible to him. Though he couldn't understand her…her words seemed to comfort him. He was about to attempt to speak again but everything froze as the woman looked past him, her face twisting in fear.
"Zero?"
The boy could hear a voice callout to him but he couldn't turn around to see who it could've been. He wasn't sure why but the voice filled him with fear. His body trembled once he learned that he couldn't move at all. The only thing that he could do was sit there as he blacked out.
Zero sprung up, his body dripping in sweat. He gripped the thin sheets that covered him so tightly that his knuckles started to turn white.
"...Zero? Are you alright? Did you have that dream again?" A man asked, his voice smooth and kind. Of course though, Zero knew well of how deceiving that voice was. He stayed silent as he tried to process his thoughts before he turned his head away from him, refusing to speak. The man released a heavy sigh at Zero's rebellious act.
"This again…Zero, I've told you many times that experiments are necessary. I know that you don't like them but it's imperative."
The man shifted his weight on his right foot as he let out a sharp exhale, adjusting his glasses. The man had long sandy blonde hair that he kept tied in a low ponytail, and black rectangular glasses. The blonde's pale dead-looking eyes narrowed in frustration. Zero couldn't help but clench his fists closed even tighter.
"Experiment this, Experiment that…you always say the same thing. You've already done these experiments on me before! It's nothing new! You always do the same thing to me! Do you do this to the others as well, Dr. Listin!?"
Zero yelled out, his voice echoing through the large empty room. Listin stared at him for a moment in silence before he turned to walk away, picking up a clipboard.
"You don't have the luxury to worry about others subject Zero. Now…tell me about your dream and I'll finally free you. That's what you want, isn't it?"
The man's voice was as honeyed as ever but for some reason, Zero felt hopeful. His eyes widened in shock.
"You'll….free me?" He asked, his voice lowering into a whisper. He only received a nod in response. He'd feel doubtful but…this was the first time that the man had said something like that to him. That meant that he was telling the truth…right? Dr. Listin was someone who had been by his side for as long as he could remember. He was kind at times but…that was usually only when he needed something from him. He learned early on about the give-and-take system of his 'home'. The doctor gives you a piece of candy, and in order to repay him, you'd have to allow him to rip you apart limb by limb. Unfortunately Zero didn't have the luxury to doubt him and miss the only opportunity that he may have had to escape. After a short pause, he finally decided to speak again.
"Yes…it was that dream…" He mumbled out finally, digging his long nails into his arm anxiously. The dream felt so simple, happy even, and yet…it made him feel such negative emotions.
"I see…well…will you describe it for me?" Listin asked, writing a few things down on his clipboard. Zero shot him an annoyed glare.
"You know it already! You wrote it on your stupid clipboard last time, and-!"
"Zero."
"..."
"I…was playing with my bear and…a woman with black hair walked in. She said something to me and then she suddenly got scared. I heard a voice but I couldn't turn around…Then I woke up…" He whispered, his voice soft and trembling. It sounded as if it could break at any moment. He stared down at his sheet after he finished. The only thing that he could hear was the familiar sound of scratching against a piece of paper. The silence was eating him up from the inside out. After a few minutes, Dr. Listin finally lowered his pen.
"Continue with your day. Your breakfast should arrive shortly.."
"Huh? Wait but what about-"
Before he could finish his sentence, the man was already gone, the door slamming closed behind him. Zero stared at the now-sealed door blankly before he sighed, standing from his bed. He moved over to the single window that he had in his room. It produced artificial sun, or moonlight based on the time of day, and the illustrations also tended to change. There was a time when he thought that what he was seeing was real, but after overhearing some of the other 'doctors' he learned about how wrong he was. He stared out at the large circular sun and the vibrant green hills. The sky consisted of the prettiest shade of 'blue' that he had ever seen. Way better than the old faded blue color of his worn-out, filthy clothing. Of course though…after being stuck there for so long, he had started to become bored of it. What did the real sky look like? Was it just as vibrant? Was the sun really that big? How long had it been since he was created? Three thousand years had passed by so agonizingly slow. His eyes couldn't help but wander over to the scratch marks he had carved into the wall, each one signifying the days that had passed. He started doing it due to a suggestion from one of the doctors but he had lost count a long time ago. He felt as if he was going more and more insane the longer that he stayed in the concrete box, staring blankly out of the window.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of the loud metal door opening back up again. Two masked individuals rolled in a cart and began to place a plate on an old wooden table. Zero had pushed it against the wall in an attempt to break out through the roof. Though, of course, his plan didn't work, the spot stuck. The two masked figures left just as quickly as they arrived but somehow…it was strange. Something was different from usual and he couldn't seem to put his finger on what. Was it because of how quickly they had left? Or maybe…it was because his food had some kind of silver dome on top of it? He recognized it from one of the various picture books he had been given at a young age. He slowly moved to the table, taking a seat. He stared at his warped appearance reflected on the cold metal surface. He had long white hair that poked out in every direction and tired golden eyes. His hair hadn't been washed but it shined as white as snow regardless. It was very out of place for his otherwise filthy display.
He poked at the dome suspiciously before his hand wandered up to the handle on top of it. He slowly lifted it up, his eyebrows furrowing at the sight. It seemed like food but…it was a lot more than usual. Meat and diced potatoes were all stacked up on top of each other in a small dish. It had the same content as usual but a lot more. He was usually yelled at whenever he asked for more food. Was this their way of saying sorry for everything that they had done to him? Was this their goodbye gift? Were they actually going to release him? The corners of Zero's lips slowly twitched into a smile. It was the first smile that he had in what felt like centuries.
"Maybe…they aren't so bad after all, huh?"
Zero hummed happily. He was giddy almost. They had never given him a genuine gift before. Of course, he had no way of knowing if that was actually the case but…he preferred not to think about the possibility that he might've been wrong. He decided to break out of his thoughts, wanting to eat before it got cold. He hadn't been fed in a while due to the new experiment. They called it 'starvation'. He didn't like it very much. The doctor had always told him that the experiments were for the greater good but…why did he have to feel pain for the greater good? If good things were supposed to be painful then…maybe it was better to have bad things. He had already gotten through half of the pile of food when he started to feel weird. For some reason, it was starting to become difficult to control his body. His eyelids were heavy and he could barely lift his fork to eat.
"H-Huh?...What…What's going on…?" He whispered under his breath, looking down at his food, only to find out that his vision was now warped. It looked as if his hand was twisting and bending in an inhuman manner despite the fact that he hadn't been moving at all. He dropped the fork and attempted to stand up, his weight immediately collapsing beneath him. A loud crashing sound could be heard as the chair that he had been sitting on fell onto its side. He couldn't move at all. The only thing that he could do was stare at the table leg as he trembled uncontrollably. He flinched at the sound of the metal door opening again. Who was it? What was happening to his body? Why couldn't he move? His questions were left unanswered as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, his vision going black.