Chapter 3: A Friend
2 Weeks Later.
In the capsule, 002 remained being experimented as she still keeps getting injected with a strange purple liquid and being electrocuted whilst being under the water of the humanoid-sized capsule.
Her body kept twitching and flinching and she could only helplessly clench her fist and grit her teeth, closing her eyes tightly as she thought, 'No matter how many times I go through this process, I will never get used to the pain it gives me.'
--
Back in her prison-like room, a tray of food which was only a gooey melted rice and hard pork chops was served to her room by an enforcer and she took it and ate with her bare hands as they were never given spoons or forks.
As she chewed and swallowed the food, she couldn't help taking out her tongue in disgust as her face scorned.
"Still not used to it." She mumbled as she heaved a deep sigh. With that, she continued eating until it was finished.
****
1 Month Later.
As 002 got out of the capsule, her hands were chained to her back and as she looked around with her eyes secretly whilst continued walking back to her room be the enforcers, she counted the people that walked along with her.
'Another six children gone huh?'
'There are only 31 of us remaining, including me.'
'If I recall correctly, I heard the scientists say that there were a total of 150 children in this batch of test subjects. To think that barely half of us remained alive is absurd, but at the same time, not as I think about it since the experiments they do to us are unbearable.'
Just as they were walking, a man in dark robe appeared and said something to the main enforcer leading 002 and the others.
Just as 002 wondered what they were talking about, she saw the man clad in dark robe turn around and walk away and the leading enforcer ordered for them to follow him as they walked in the same direction as the man in dark robe.
As they waited before a giant futuristic double door, it opened on its own as they slid towards opposite direction. What revealed was an enormous white room filled with long tables and chairs as there was a big counter filled with trays of different foods.
"A- canteen?" 002 couldn't help muttering in stupefaction. She then narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she thought, 'What are they plotting? Suddenly bringing us to such place...?'
Lost in thought, they all walked forward when their chains suddenly broke and the enforcers said, "This will be where you eat from now own."
Everyone looked at each other in confusion and the enforcers seemed to be able to tell their thoughts and said, "Do not ask insignificant questions, just remember that if anyone dared to cause ruckus, punishment should take place."
After that announcement, some of the enforcers left the canteen whilst some remained to surveil the surroundings.
Hesitantly, the test subjects looked at each other before they walked forward and found their place as some immediately sat down and some ordered food at the counter.
002 on the other hand, didn't have the time to appreciate this sudden change as the first thing that caught her attention was the vents on the surroundings along with some hallways leading to unknown destinations.
Seeing this, 002 thought of something before she went towards an enforcer near her.
"E- Excuse me, may I ask if we could go through those hallways?" She asked, stuttering.
The enforcer looked at her and after some silence, they replied in an electronic voice, which was the first time 002 have ever heard an enforcer talking.
"Yes. And if you are wondering where they lead to, it is towards the other batch of test subjects." They replied.
"I see." 002 said, nodding her head in understanding before she finally asked what she was aiming for.
"And-! Last question, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to, I-I just wanna asked if what are those vents for and where it leads to?"
Hearing her question, the enforcer suddenly froze and turned their head abruptly towards her, startling 002 as she wondered if she got caught in her plan.
Unexpectedly, the enforcer did not found out about her plan and instead just scoffed, "You don't know what a vent is for?"
002 ofcourse knows it, but she still had to nod and pretend she doesn't in order to get the answer she wants to. Lowering her head, she answered in a meek voice as she shook her head. "No..."
"Well, a child is a child still." The enforcer muttered with a laugh in their voice before they said, "Those vents are to control the indoor air by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants, and if you are wondering where they lead to, there is a lot but I can say that the vent over there-" Pointing at the vent near the counters, they continued, "Leads to the garden room of the lab, most says that it is more of a jungle though."
002 nodded before she asked, "Then are there other vents too in that room?"
"Obviously. Without ventilation those plants would've died way back then." They said.
Riing Riing!
Suddenly, there was a noise coming from the side of the enforcer and just as they picked up what is causing that noise, 002 found that it was an old fashion steampunk phone.
The enforcer frowned as they looked at it before waving their hand to her, "You go back to your own thing, I gotta take care of something kiddo." they said before they left along with some other enforcers.
The moment they left, 002 stared at their fading back before lowering her head as she mumbled, "Is that so? Thank you for the information."
After that, 002 went to the counter and was about to buy some food when she bumped into a person walking out from one of the hallways.
"I- I'm sorry..." Just as she apologized, she heard a familiar whistle that made her eyes widened in horror as her pupils shook greatly.
Her heart pounded wildly while her breathing turned rugged. Beads of sweat unconsciously dripped from her forehead and as she looked up slowly, she found that it was the same scientist that first brought her to this place.
"Oh! What do we have here? It seems that you were able to survive this long huh, little murderer?" That was what 'that' man said the moment he saw 002's face.
"How have you been? Are you living much comfortably now than before with your parents?" He asked with a smile in his eyes.
002 was still frozen, unable to breath normally as her feet and hand both felt numb.
After taking in a deep breath, she forced a smile and said, "I'm fine."
The scientist narrowed his eyes at her for a long time until a man in dark robe arrived beside him and whispered something to him.
After hearing what the man in robe said, the scientist squinted his eyes before he said, "Alright, tell them I'll be there in a minute." saying that, she passed by 002 but paused for a moment as he whispered, "I hate children who lies." before finally walking away.
The moment 002 could no longer hear their footsteps, she slumped on the ground as she held her chest and head. Gradually, she couldn't bear it anymore and tears streamed down her eyes, both out of fear, sorrow, and hatred.
Standing up, she did not walk and instead ran towards an unknown direction at one of the hallways but stopped in a dead end.
Crying she leaned on the wall on the side but suddenly as her hand was placed on the wall, the sound of mechanical voice echoed in her ears.
[New Host has been detected! Preparing to open the passage!]
Just as she moved away from the wall, she saw a small hole that is made for a 10 years old below kid to fit in appear out of thin air.
"What is- this?" She wondered and was hesitant but in the end, she boldly crouched and crawled inside the 'passage'.
The moment she got out, she touched a familiar sensation and noticed it at first glance.
"Grass?"
Suddenly, her heart pounded wildly in an instant as she stood up and looked forward with hope in her eyes.
'Is this the way out? Can I finally manage to escape this place?!'
Just as she was looking forward to it, her pupils instantly contracted as the smile on her lips froze.
Indeed there were grass all around the floor, but that was it as this leads to a cliff with a single pink coloured tree, and below it were purple and white flowers that she has no idea of the name is.
Thud!
As she fell on her knees, 002 punched the ground as she shouted, "Why, why, why?! Why do you have to do this to me!"
She doesn't know anymore on who to blame, if she should blame her parents who gave her this life, the scientist who brought her to such a hellish place, or God who was watching all of her suffering from above.
In the end, she could only cry and cry while screaming in agony.
****
3 months later.
April 16, 4183.
At the canteen, 002 found her spot at a corner and placed her tray of food on the table.
"Happy birthday to me I guess" She muttered in a hoarse voice before eating.
--
As she walked on the hallway leading to what she now uses as her secret hideout, which is the cliff with a tree on it, she paused and hid behind a corner as she heard some voices.
When she sneaked a glance, she found that there were three children surrounding another one, all of them were males and the three were bullying the child as they kept kicking him.
002 was ofcourse mad at their actions, but she doesn't know what might be the consequences if she takes action right now and so just hid there with gritted teeth, cursing herself for being so weak.
Just as she closed her eyes and had to hear the child getting beaten, she finally heard footsteps fading and she peaked, she found that the child that was being bullied was the only one remaining, still crouching as they covered the back of their head.
The moment she could no longer feel the presence of the bullies, she hurriedly rushed towards the child and asked if he was alright.
The child did not spoke and just raised his head at her. The moment he did, 002 was startled. Because the colour of the child's irises were crimson.
He just looked at her silently before he stood up and was about to walk away when 002 shouted "Wait" and grasped his wrist.
The child surprisingly stopped and did not moved, seemingly waiting for her to speak. 002 hesitated for a moment, but after a while, she took a deep breath before she asked, "Do you- do you want to escape this place?"
The child flinched and looked back at her slowly. 002 took this chance and said, "I'll tell you all the details later, follow me first." The former looked at her silently before he nodded.
--
The moment they arrived at the wall the child was puzzled as he looked at 002.
002 on the other hand just grinned as she crouched and said, "Follow me" before crawling inside the hole which ofcourse, seemed like she crawled through a wall for the child as he could not see it, only 002 could.
As he groped around the wall, his hand went passed through a part of it and there he decided to crawl forward too.
--
The moment he got out of the hole, he was stunned as he saw a cliff and a tree, along with the clear blue sky which he had long forgotten what it looks like.
002 then took this chance and said, "You see, this is my- well, you can call a hideout."
"And I- I just thought that you might also want to escape this place, which I have a plan!"
The child looked at her and 002 hesitated as she asked, "Can you not speak?"
The child was silent for a moment before he raised his hands and made a sign language, which surprisingly, 002 understood.
"Oh, so you are mute?" She asked.
The child nodded and made another sign language which says- "Why did you show me this? Even going so far as to telling me this?"
002 smiled and said shyly and honestly, "I- I want to escape with someone, I don't want to be alone..." at her last words, the smile on her face faded and turned grim and sad.
The child was silent for a long time before he approached the tree. The silence lasted for over a minute before he made a sign language that made 002 widened her eyes as a smile appeared on her face, tears gradually welled up in her eyes.
"Thank you." She said.
Because what the child said was- "Then I'll come with you so that you won't be alone anymore."
This was the start of their friendship, and when 002 finally found hope again.
Albeit unbeknownst to her, this was also the start of another tragedy.