February 1, 3070

"I have figured it."

I look up from the stack of rough, brown papers that I've been analysing from the past hour. It's a true surprise that this organisation along with its institution continued its 'experiments' for this long under the facade of a Research Centre. "Do we have any commonalities between them?"

Shraddha nods and I push my chair backwards, the wheels rolling soundlessly and stopping right besides the similar black ones. Glancing at the papers laid on the table - that are no doubt records and test results of the captives - has my heart clenching in hurt. I wish I'd known about it sooner. Before things went wrong. "They were referred to as subjects and each of them was assigned a code."

I figured that. The scientists and researchers must have considered the possibility of anyone outside The Lab going through these documents. But what they were not the least bit prepared of was it happening under a condition like this. "Subject? They didn't even think of them as humans, did they?"

She doesn't bother hiding her grief, her eyes becoming slightly watery. Filtering the information to me is one thing, but to have gone through each and every word, through each and every pain of these fifteen captives must have been difficult for her. I rest my hand on her back, giving her the only comfort I am capable of offering. "So, what did you find?"

She takes a deep breath and continues. "I took note of the date and time of all the experiments conducted on each of them from Day 35 to Day 50 and Mayank was right. Three captives were given seven doses each on a daily basis. I believe the doses made them unconscious because it says they were placed in a cell together after that. A conscious person would have fought."

"Or maybe their will to live died as the days passed."

"Probably. It then mentions that they were then subjected to radiation and they went feral. They would first start running towards the people around the cell - casualties as they termed it if they killed anyone - and after that go on to attack each other", she turns the page of the small diary filled with her scribbled notes and looks at me again. "If any one of them died, which was usually the case, sometimes two and sometimes even all three, they would be taken to 17U59."

I believe I read or heard it somewhere. "Not much information ahead about it but if one of the captives survived", she takes a pause before continuing. "The ones who survived were kept in the cell for three more days, the only thing fed to them was...", I pat her back lightly, noticing her tense shoulders.

"You don't have to say it", I read it already from her notes. She nods and resumes telling me the number of times they were injected with doses, times when they lost control and times when they remained immobile. The reports describe it as 'Neutral' but no one could have been fooled. They must have simply given up.

The pain I feel deepens.

No one deserves to go through this. Something so cruel, it makes even the moments you use to live disappear. A reality so painful, it scares away your illusions, leaving you in the dark.

No hope.

No life.

"Then I stumbled upon Subject 15A6", she closes her small notebook and pulls out a paper that was kept separate from the rest. "This paper was kept separate from the rest in this pouch", my sight moves to the red pouch she points at that is placed on the chair beside her, "And it's a single paper. A single test result of Day 100. And 15A6 is the only one with a single sheet that mentions the test result of Day 100. Rest of them are a bundle of fifteen papers for each captive attached together and it's from Day 35 to Day 50. I searched for the rest of the test results of 15A6 and found nothing. Even this pouch was kept at the far corner of the shelf. Had I not pulled out the bag of documents, this pouch would have remained unknown. The test results after Day 50 of the rest of the captives are missing too."

My eyes narrow slightly and I nod. This is out of the blue. Seems on purpose but why. "Why Subject 15A6?"

She slid the paper to me and I furrowed my brows, going through it. My eyes widened and I looked at Shraddha to find her staring at a distant. "This one was different from the others. This sheet gives minimum information but it is enough to distinguish this one from the rest of them. While the others exhibited aggressiveness after they were fed, this captive neither ate nor showed any movement. Just sat there looking straight at the exit door."

She looks at me and sighs. "But this can be due to the difference in days. This report is half way ahead than the rest and thus, I find it hard to compare it with others. The only reason for this captive to be different from others is because the test result was kept secluded but even that assumption can be based on my desperation to find a lead."

"I understand. But let's not completely disregard it", she nods and I draw back my hand that was resting on her back. I stretched it out as much as I could and hope she received the comfort I was trying to give her. I curse myself again for being so...alexithymic. Hopefully, I make some progress in the future. "I was going through some papers earlier. I must resume it and you should probably take some rest."

She nods and looks away. "I just don't understand why they did this? These poor people must have begged them to show mercy and...", she inhales a shaky breath and my palm balls into fist. She wipes her tears off her cheeks and takes a deep breath in. "He will be here in a while and we might have to leave right away. I better take some rest."

"Yes", she gets up and heads off to the small couch in the corner of the room. Straightening my back, I resume my previous analysis of the brown folder. It was kept under three folders; three folders which I already went through and found nothing but the fake lies crafted with the lives of these people to elevate their reputation in the media.

The Lab has played a major role in discovering many antiviruses and also holds the record for being the only Research Centre to have found the cure of two hundred and seventeen diseases and viruses, including P-175 - the deadliest virus of 3017. It's been years now but I have my suspicions that the virus itself was released by this very organisation.

And just like the other three folders, I find nothing but the information on their institution NEUN - Cartex which they had inaugurated concurrently in Cartex city in the same year it made headlines. It was all just a mask that covered their flawed characters. I also understand now why the access to The Lab was never granted to us interns and the students. Even the veterans were only allowed inside till Section VI. Rest was forbidden.

It was right there but no-one suspected anything. Only because they contributed to society.

The same society who now struggles to fight a virus a million times worse than P-175.

The same society to whom the myth of pretence has always been a mask of irrelevance.

I close the folder after what feels like hours and it shows. The sun has set, cool breezes entering our place of refuge through the open window and I close my eyes, my mind wandering to all the reasons for fighting to survive. I need to find her; no matter how gruesome this gets. She is the one with answers to all my questions, with solutions to all the riddles I've played a part in.

My eyes open on hearing the three knocks on the door and I turn around in my chair before my body relaxes. I glance at my weapon just in case if needed. The door opens slowly, revealing the grinning man. His blue eyes glisten with amusement and I make a face. "Miss me, cupcake?"

I feel my cheeks get warm slightly but quickly recover. To think I would have been used to this by now would be an understatement. This man is like a dictionary of endearments. "You found something?"

"A lot", he takes a seat in front of me, his black shirt putting emphasis on his muscles as he stretches and groans. "I hate this so much. I was calmly sitting in a corner before a group of them charged towards me. I had to lock myself in a dark room for an hour before going back to the Security Room, all the while looking over my back and being cautious as hell. Do you even know that the Security Rooms consist of servers designed explicitly for accessing The Lab's covert web system? Of course you don't. Will you even be able to survive without me for a minute?"

A reluctant smile pulls at my lips, his rambling amusing me. His dark hair falls in front of his eyes, adding to the charm he already has in abundance. I would have called him adorable if he would just listen to me and drop the endearments. But the sky would fall off before that ever happens. His words, not mine. It's his love language, he says.

"So I hacked into their system and found some disgusting things", he looks back at Shraddha, who looks peaceful in her slumber. But when Mayank turns to me, I know he isn't playing around this time. "They were involved in the Smith Family's case."

My stomach drops as ice floods my veins. "That's horrible."

"It is. They also had contacts with the Carn Cartel, infamous for human trafficking might I emphasise. This organisation bought children from them and kept them in their NovaPort centre. They have seven centres all around the world but that centre is a mystery. It was kept unknown for a long time too. I couldn't trace the location as it keeps on bouncing. Either they invested deftly on their defence system to protect that particular centre or someone is messing with it. The only success I feel I got by risking my life on the line was because I fucking found the records and test results of all the fifty captives!"

"That's great", a sleepy voice with a smiling face says and she comes to sit besides him, stretching slightly. She looks at Mayank with pride. "I'm proud of you."

"Did you sleep well?", he asks softly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiling. The kind of gentle he is towards her is enchanting. I don't dare interrupt their moment. Shraddha nods and he grins before looking at me.

"I doubt there were only fifty captives though."

He sighs, his hands running through his hair. "Fifty Captives from Section 10. We know the Sections before that and there was no record on the rest of them."

"God knows how many more Sections heard all the screams."

Mayank's hand instantly finds Shraddha's and she shakes her head. "I don't know whether you noticed or not but we are in chamber number 14. The last chamber of this Section. Security Room is Section 11. There is this door equipped with high-tech security just besides the end of the Security Room. Tomorrow morning, we can leave."

I nod. My eyes instinctively go to my weapons, a plasma torch which is currently getting charged and my guns placed neatly at the window.

"Here are the documents," he turns his computer to us and I scroll down the list of downloaded files. They're from Day 1 to Day 1825. "They were tortured for five years."

I swallow and mentally shake myself, refusing to let the ice cloud my vision. As the sounds from outside subside, I feel content knowing that they reaped what they sowed. It doesn't make it hurt less but it does make the pain bearable.

"Subject 15A6."

My eyes find the distant ones of my best friend's who is sat quietly on her chair. This must hit home to her, especially the trafficking part. I know she heard all of it. My father was a cruel man, the kind who did not believe in love and despised vulnerabilities. He wanted me to be like him and hence, trained me brutally. He prepared me for something he mentioned as the 'Time' and up until the age of twenty three, I was the water who bended according to his will and broke when he asked.

But one of the things he taught me for which I am grateful for at a time like this was to always be aware of my surroundings. I'd noticed her brushing away the tear that had managed to escape her hold before. I feel pity for her but don't dare show it knowing it's the last thing she seeks.

"Oh, so you know huh?", one look at Mayank and I know he has some very keen understanding of this captive. "I thought I would bring it up after a short nap but anyways, tell me what you know about her."

He pays attention to every word that parts my lips, nodding ever so slightly. But there is not one hint of surprise or curiosity on his face when I mention that her test result was kept secluded. "That's all. There were no more physical records."

"Interesting", he pulls out a bottle of water and drinks some from the red bag that contains all the hard drives and eatables we stole from the shop across from this centre. "I feel bad for what this one must have gone through but it's intriguing enough that I literally sat in that fucking stinky Security Room for twelve hours to read all that I could get. They did not just keep this one away from the rest of the captives but also injected many viruses inside the captive's body. Viruses which were obviously, purposefully kept hidden and have weird freaking names."

"Tell us whatever you know", Shraddha says, her eyes trained on him.

And as he continues telling us everything, I can only wish for Subject 15A6's soul to have found a place in heaven, even though I don't believe in one.