Warning ⚠️: This book contains graphic content. Viewer discretion is advised.

Fear shot through the young girl's veins as she realized despite her eyes being open, all she could see was darkness. She could feel the fabric resting just above her nose, shielding her gaze from the surrounding area. The sterile scent of harsh chemicals and sanitizers reminded her of a hospital, her fear momentarily easing as she realized she had probably just gotten hurt.

The beeping of machinery around her as well as the occasional muttering of someone close to her side had been what caused the young girl to jolt awake in the first place. But now she wondered why exactly she was in a hospital when the last thing she remembered was walking into the woods at camp...

No... The throbbing in her head was a painful reminder of an intense pain in the back of her head that had caused her to pass out.

Had she been hit with a softball? Again? Man, Kent really needed to work on his aim... At this point it was starting to get personal.

Joelee released a low breath to clear her thoughts before she moved her arms, beginning to panic once again as she realized the coldness around her wrists were metal restraints that made a loud clack as they caught against the table, signaling she was stuck there.

Joelee began to squirm, now painfully aware that she was strapped down around her waist and legs as well, ankles contained within the same restraints as her wrists.

"Ah, you are awake. Finally." A bright light flashed into silver/blue eyes when the blindfold was ripped from her face, the light obstructing her vision and keeping her from seeing the source of the high pitched and grating voice that had spoken.

As the dots cleared from Joelee's vision, she turned her attention to her surroundings, trying to gage where exactly she was. Her eyes landed on the male that had removed her blindfold as she took the time to study him. His eyes were a dark brown, contrasting against his incredibly pale and sweaty skin. He was rather short standing next to the metal table she lie on, his stout and rather portly form being concealed beneath a large, white, lab coat.

"You slept for quite a long time, Miss Lowell." The man continued as he gave her a smile, revealing his blinding white and perfectly straight, teeth.

Joelee stayed silent, glaring at the short, balding, man, her strawberry blonde hair shielding her eyes from the older man's probing stare.

The harsh lights above them caught a name tag that was attached to the man's white lab coat, drawing her attention to the shiny, silver, plaque.

Her eyebrows arched as she read the plaque which simply held the name; Dr. B. Banner.

'As in The Hulk?' Joelee thought to herself, silently snorting in amusement at the thought of the shorter man turning green and going on a rampage.

"My name is Doctor Banner, do you know why you are here?" The annoying little man asked, pulling out a clipboard as he gazed at the blonde woman curiously.

"Is it because I stole The Hulk's chips? And I can read, you know. I'm not four." Joelee muttered sarcastically, her fingernails tapping against the cold, metal, table that she lie on as she attempted to steady her nerves with the droning metallic sound.

Doctor Banner let out a high pitched laugh that made Joelee flinch at how loud and sudden the almost grating sound was as it seemed to echo around the room.

"You are funny, I assume that joke is because of my name... But I assure you, I am not The Green Hulk." He said, his thin lips spreading into a blinding grin once again which only annoyed the younger girl at his amusement.

Joelee rolled her eyes as she gritted her teeth, trying to make her hands smaller to see if she could slip from the restraints to no avail as they were secured rather tightly around her wrists.

"But back to my original question, do you know why you are here?" Doctor Banner asked again, jotting down his question on his thick, black, notebook.

Joelee released a low sigh, realizing the more the older man spoke, the more annoyed she grew at his mere presence.

"No. Was I in an accident or something? Where are my parents?" Joelee gritted out, eyes boring into the small male in front of her but he seemed unfazed by her hostility as he wrote down her reply.

"Well then let me explain. You see... You were chosen by a robotic intelligence agent to receive tests to give you abilities beyond your wildest dreams." Doctor Banner smiled as though he had just delivered the most amazing news to the young woman, completely ignoring both of her questions but Joelee brushed it aside as she stared at the man in confusion.

It was official. This man was definitely not a doctor and probably killed the real Doctor Banner.

"Robotic intelligence? Why me? I'm only fourteen years old! What could you possibly need me for!?" Joelee snapped, not fully understanding where she was or how exactly she had gotten here. But playing along with the crazy man while she was stuck there would probably be the best decision until she figured out an escape plan.

"Because your genetic structure is compatible with the tests we are running. Children and younger adults are more susceptible to taking to our tests. It also gives us more time to experiment." A beautiful woman said as she stepped into Joelee's line of sight. She was petite in stature with a curved figure and black hair that was pulled into a tight bun, only a single wavy strand escaped to hang just in front of her ear. Her eyes were a darker honey color, matching the shade of her skin which was dotted with light freckles.

"What tests exactly?" Joelee asked suspiciously, her eyes switching between the two "doctors" as she spoke.

So, he had an equally crazy yet hot accomplice. This could complicate her very complex escape plan.

"That's not important." The woman snapped, her back turning to the young girl as she approached a large computer.

"Where did this... Robotic... Intelligence... Whatever... Find me exactly?" Joelee asked, gathering as much information as she could so that she could tell the police all that they needed to know when she escaped.

"Church camp." Doctor Banner answered simply, seemingly unfazed by the amount of questions she was asking.

Joelee glanced over at the balding man in shock, ignoring her unease at his willingness to answer her questions as though it didn't matter.

But, he was crazy so that probably explains why he was being so open about his crazy thoughts... But he knew about her church camp.

"What do you mean!?" Joelee's voice trembled a bit, seeming significantly less confident than her voice had been previously as she began to slowly realize that she had more than likely been kidnapped.

If they knew so much about her but yet refused to tell her the truth, there was no way this was a hospital.

"Church camp. We found you at church camp using an Android by the name of..." Doctor Banner trailed off and paused to check his handy-dandy notebook.

"Connor." He continued as he lifted his gaze to the young girl once again, seeming to study her face for any emotions his revelation may have revealed.

Joelee's eyes narrowed at the male and she shook her head, hands clenching as she dug her fingernails into her palms in an attempt to keep calm.

"You're lying. Connor is my friend. He would never-" Joelee began to argue before the woman scientist cut her off, seeming to grow tired of the young girl's constant questions.

"He is far from your friend, my dear." The scientist snapped as she turned the screen to reveal what appeared to be security footage somewhere within the building.

"Connor..." Joelee murmured as she stared at the screen, watching as a lean male casually walked down the halls of what looked to be a hospital wing.

The boy ran a hand through the shock of silver on the top of his head before he ran both hands over the black, shaved down sides of his head. The last time she had seen him, his hair had been a bright neon blue so she wondered just how long she'd been here. Rather than the black, ripped, skinny jeans and Edgar Allen Crow shirt he had been wearing previously, he now wore what appeared to be a black jumpsuit with flaming orange cutting down the sides of his legs and arms. The back of his jacket sporting a pair of what appeared to be orange butterfly wings that leaked down his back.

"Mister Days." The woman said into a microphone on her desk, causing the male on the screen to pause mid-step.

"Miss Rue?" The male's... Connor's, slightly higher voice questioned through the intercom, his casual appearance replaced by the stance and formal tone of a soldier.

"Smile for the camera." Doctor Rue said with a malicious grin, eyes turning to Joelee now who looked almost desperate for him not to smile.

Connor's deep brown gaze turned to look at the security camera that hung just in front of him. He flashed a cheeky smile at the camera before he continued on his way, his casual stance returning as though someone had flipped a switch in his head to make him appear more approachable.

"No...." Joelee whispered, her heart constricting from the betrayal she felt. Connor was Joelee's friend, they'd met about two years ago at a church camp that her friend Alyssa had forced her to attend.

There was no way he had any involvement in getting her kidnapped... But yet the evidence was there.

"Yes." Rue smirked before turning the screen away from the strawberry blonde haired girl, typing a few notes into her computer before she turned her gaze back on Joelee who was shaking her head angrily.

"No, you're lying. He probably has no idea that you're holding me captive. I know him. He wouldn't do this." Joelee snapped, fingernails leaving half crescent marks on her palms at how hard she was digging them into her hands now.

"Whatever helps you sleep tonight, my dear. I couldn't care less what you forced yourself to believe as long as I can complete my work." Doctor Rue murmured, rolling her beautiful lighter brown eyes before she pressed a few buttons on a keypad next to her computer.

"Enough stalling, let's hurry up so I can review the testing on the others." Doctor Banner said to Doctor Rue who nodded as she lowered a crown like array of metal spikes just over Joelee's head, the sharp metal ends barely touching her forehead but Joelee knew they were very sharp just from the small pinprick.

"Others? Who do you-"Joelee started to question but was interrupted by a very loud whirring noise.

"What's-" Joelee began to question before Doctor Rue wrapped a light blue tourniquet around Joelee's bicep, revealing the blue veins in her forearms. Doctor Rue prodded at her arm for a moment before she rubbed an alcohol swab along her chosen area, gently stuck a needle into Joelee's now exposed vein, making Joelee flinch at the sharp pinprick.

A clear liquid began to travel through the tube that was now connected to her arm, Joelee watching with ever growing panic as it approached her veins.

"What the heck is tha-" Joelee cut herself off with a shrill scream as the liquid entered her veins though Doctor Rue didn't seem affected as she snapped the tourniquet loose before tossing it into the trash.

Joelee's nerves felt as though they had been subjected to acid. She could physically feel the liquid coursing through her veins with an intense flaming heat that flooded through her bloodstream almost like an infection.

Another shrill scream escaped her lips, echoing through the vents to reach the ears of a certain black headed boy.

The male's green eyes shot open and he struggled furiously against his own metal shackles, gasping for breath as he stared around the room frantically.

"Joe?! Joelee are you okay?!" He yelled but received no reply as the sound of machines drowned out his yells.

Another scream of pain echoed through the vents, into the room that he was held in which caused a gasp of recognition to escape his parted lips.

"Kent!" The boy yelled at the familiar sound of his childhood friend, his heart pounding frantically in his chest as he struggled to get his bearings despite not having any clue where he was or how he got there.

A chorus of screams met his ears causing his own yells to fall silent as he began to hyperventilate.

A whirring sound drowned out the deafening screams of the boys friends as a scientist emerged from a door to his room.

"Nathan Spencer? Welcome to The Monarch." The scientist teased as he approached, tapping the boy's forearm before sticking the needle into his exposed veins.

                             _ -*- _

A woman with blood red hair watched from a two way mirror, her dark green eyes cold and calculating as she watched the experiment in the room in front of her.

She was a rather beautiful woman, surprisingly tall with a thin and yet curved figure. Her face was slightly aged, showing her maturity through the lines along her mouth and eyes. Her stance was formal and held a regal air to it as she gazed through the mirror at the test subject within the room.

Her dark green eyes glanced in the direction of a failed test subject and an angry sigh escaped her dark red lips.

"Dispose of it." She murmured to the male behind her, glaring at the ugly creature in disgust before she turned, deciding that she did not need to watch any further.  It was after all, a waste of her time now. She had more important things to attend to.

"Yes, ma'am." A young man said quickly as he darted over to the failed test, pressing a button that sent the humanoid creature down to the disposal cage.

The man frowned as a screech was heard from below, signifying the creature had landed rather painfully. But now was not the time to be sentimental... After all, it had not been his failure of an experiment.

The handsome male walked over to a girl with blonde hair, his greyish-green eyes darting over her file carefully. He would not make the same mistake as his fellow scientist had, he knew all that was riding on his experimentation being successful.

"Alright, Alyssa Baxter... Let's get started. I'd rather do this while you're sedated so it doesn't hurt as badly. It's against protocol but you'll be scared enough as is..." The young man said before pushing a button that sent a clear liquid into Alyssa's arm, taking care to make sure he taped down the IV line so it wouldn't move while she was sleeping.

"I know you can't hear me but I want you to know... I hope you survive these tests." He whispered before pushing a button that sent an electric shock into her brain.

Four Years Later.

Joelee paced the small cage that she was in. Her naturally strawberry blonde hair had since darkened to a dark, reddish brown color from the years she spent in the darkness of this dreaded place. She never saw the sun, that much was apparent by her incredibly pale skin. As a child, she was always a bit on the chubbier side but her form had since thinned out a bit from lack of food and she held a more womanly, curved, figure rather than the childish chub she had before entering The Monarch.

Every day they ran new tests and had new forms of torture for the now seventeen year old girl.

She missed waking up every day, knowing she would choose how it would go... Not how her scientist said her day would go. She missed her freedom, she missed feeling safe as she lay in bed.

She missed her friends, and all the memories they had shared over the years. She missed her parents, despite not remembering their faces or what their voices sounded like.

But it would be a crime if she didn't admit she missed pizza. Delicious and cheesy, pizza. They truly were monsters for not allowing her the fantastic food that was pizza.

A loud screech made her jump in surprise as she looked at the small slot just below her door that had been pushed open to reveal a large metal plate.

"Calm down, I'm just bringing you food." The guard muttered, sliding the plate of the slop which the guards had the nerve to call food, through the slot.

"Thanks." Joelee said rather sarcastically, not touching the disgusting stuff as she eyed him cautiously, noticing that she had not seen this particular guard around this cell block in quite awhile. She'd grown to recognize each guard for her own safety, some guards had a habit of being a little overbearing and rough with the captives but this one seemed almost shy in nature. She recognized his voice almost immediately despite the fact it had been almost a year since his last rotation within this block. His familiar thin almond eyes with their deep brown color peered at her through the window but he seemed to be in a rush as he turned away rather quickly after that.

The guard kept his head low, his black hair slightly longer than she'd remembered but she guessed that a high and tight haircut in comparison to the buzz cut most guards sported was probably a welcome change to him... He definitely looked better now. He was silent as he stood, walking away from her cell without another word, the bright orange melting butterfly wings on the back of his uniform that she had grown accustomed to slowly disappearing from her view.

Joelee waited until he was out of sight before hesitantly taking a bite of the gross, green stuff, gagging a bit at the bitter and overly salty taste.

"I miss pizza so much." She groaned, not necessarily intending for anyone to hear her as she pushed the food aside.

"Me too, lass." A girl with a light Scottish accent said from the cell across from hers, Joelee immediately getting to her feet as she glared out the window.

"Who's there?" Joelee snapped, keeping a harsh glare in case the woman was a threat... But it's not as though the girl could harm her from a completely different cell.

"Calm down I'm not gonna hurt ya. I literally can't." The girl snickered as she watched Joelee through the barred window, causing Joelee's face to immediately flush red in embarrassment.

Joelee hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not she should even be talking to this girl. Especially since she couldn't trust anyone or anything  here, not even her own mind. But she was lonely, what harm would come from just talking to this girl for a bit.

"I suppose you're right." Joelee muttered after a moment, silently cursing herself for wanting to be social after years of being overly awkward and antisocial.

" I am. I'm Mary. I was transferred to this cell block yesterday." The strange girl said with a oddly chipper tone, Joelee being confused by the fact that someone within a place that was worse than school could be cheerful.

She was probably one of those peppy girls who found school entertaining and a considered it a place she enjoyed more than home.

Joelee snickered before she realized that she had yet to answer this probably cheerleader, taking a moment to clear her throat before she thought of a reply.

"I'm... Sam." Joelee lied, frowning a little at the old name. Sam had been a friend she had made about a year before she even met Alyssa, Sam had been at the church camp with her when she was kidnapped despite the fact they really didn't want to go.

She hated using her old friend's name but using an alias when talking to someone she didn't exactly trust seemed to be the smartest thing to Joelee... Especially when there could be power in knowing someone's name.

"Nice ta meet ya, Sam." Mary said with what Joelee recognized as a smile in her voice, though her social skills were a bit rusty so she could've been wrong.

"I guess... It's... Nice to meet you too." Joelee said awkwardly, she was more reluctant to talk to anyone in The Monarch... Even if Mary was another prisoner.

"You guess? That's kind of rude." Mary huffed, slightly messing with Joelee at this point but Joelee couldn't recognize the humor in Mary's tone as she scratched the back of her neck.

Joelee paused awkwardly, taking her time to choose her next words carefully, knowing that she would probably mess up her wording anyway so there was no point in planning out what she'd say.

"Sorry... It's just... It's hard to trust people... Especially in this place." Joelee began slowly, pausing occasionally to choose her words carefully. It'd been so long since she'd talked to someone without the intention of only bullying and berating them. After all, her only company was usually scientists and guards, so she didn't have very much practice being nice anymore.

"I understand. I was just messing with ye." Mary laughed heartily as though she were the funniest thing in the world but her amusement only confused Joelee further.

"Oh... Okay." Joelee muttered, not seeing the humor in Mary's teasing but then again it'd been a long time since she found anything amusing... Aside from when her scientist, Doyle would accidentally hurt himself.

"Hey, can I have your... Food? I lost my eating privileges when I bit my scientist." Mary asked as she peeked through her window, the shadows hiding her face from Joelee's sight but she caught a glimpse of untamed, fiery red, curls.

Joelee couldn't help the soft chuckle of amusement that escaped her lips as she grinned. Her eyes widened and her hands shot up to touch her lips, smile widening as she realized how long it had been. Maybe she was still slightly human after all.

"Yeah, sure." Joelee pushed open the slot to her door, angling it just right before she slid the food towards the small slot in the girl's door. Pale, nimble fingers pulled the slot open enough for Mary to pull the plate into her cell.

"Thanks." Mary said before going silent as she closed the slot in her door, the only sound now being the distant beeps of a laboratory and snoring of inmates around them.

Joelee let out a soft sigh closing her eyes as she lay on her bed. She wouldn't sleep though, she hadn't slept on her own for three and a half years. The only rest she ever got was when they sedated her for tests. The nightmares were just too much, she had a fear in her mind that she'd get trapped in her nightmares and wouldn't be able to escape back to the waking world. At least here she was safe from...

Joelee shook her head, pushing him far from her memories as she thought about her family instead.

Memories flooded through her brain making her feel happy, depressed, and angry all at once.

Joelee thought about her family trying to remember what her parents looked like... But all that she could remember was the eyes.

The mismatched crystal blue and brown of her mother and the ocean blue eyes of her dad.

She released a soft sigh as tears rolled down her cheeks.She remembered the day she was taken, she remembered everything that had happened in The Monarch...

But her happy memories were beginning to fade. Four years was a long time to remember something, especially when you didn't have any reminders like pictures or seeing them every day. So their faces were like shadows in her head but she still remembered how she felt about them and she remembered getting pushed on her swing by her father while her mother watched from where she sat in a bench with her book.

She remembered chasing after her friend Kent for calling her short. She remembered staying up late with her friend Killian just to talk and enjoy life. Memories of sitting around the bonfire at camp with all of her friends, enjoying the warmth and company... It was bittersweet now.

Joelee gritted her teeth as she rubbed the side of her index finger with the tip of her thumb, fighting back the tears her memories brought as she forced her breathing to remain steady.

" I miss you." She murmured, smiling sadly before she went silent again, trying to force the memories of her family and friends to stick in her mind. She couldn't lose them. They were all she had left now.