"Ashley, huh?" She asked as the lady sat down, "Is that name supposed to mean something or..."

Ashley gave a short laugh, "Well, I'd hoped it meant something to you. Considering everything."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing. Don't worry about it. Now, tell me, how's your mother doing?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't seen her in person in, what, 5 years? Plus however long I've been here."

"In your time, that'd be around 4 days. Don't worry, you're not missing much."

"If I'm not missing much, why are you so worried about me?"

Ashley's small smile seemed a lot more sinister now, "Well, we all need ways to survive, don't we?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many people have you seen here?" Ashley paced as she spoke.

"I don't know. Maybe 10?"

"10. Only 10. And do you know how many people are here? How many people I need to watch over?"

"I'm guessing a lot?"

"To be exact, 319. besides myself, of course. I watch over all of them. I protect them, give them food and shelter, give them jobs to do. I am the creator of this society. And do you know why any of these people are here?"

"...because of project H.A.R.P."

"Correct." Ashley spread out her arms as if she were gesturing at the entire floating island, "Everyone here. Every child. Every teen. Every adult. Everyone. They were all subjects to project H.A.R.P. And each and every person here died because of it. Thanks to your father, half the people here—the UNBORN CHILDREN THAT POPULATE THIS WORLD—are stuck here. They can't rest in death. And while that may seem great to some, to the people here it's a prison, even more than the one you were kept in. There's no escape from here. And, as you've seen, this island is crumbling below our feet. Once the last piece falls into the void, we go down with it. We can't die. So we'll be stuck in the void surrounded by whatever's left of our world."

"Why does this matter?"

Ashley's smile looked forced, like it didn't want to stay there, "Because, Harper Annesley, you were supposed to come 13 years ago. Our world is almost completely gone because you came far too late."

"You think I knew that? I was 5! I didn't even know my father was a scientist until I was 13! I didn't know that was was the last subject my parents tested on! I was completely clueless to all of that!"

Ashley paused, "Harper Annesley, you are wrong."

"About what? My lack of knowledge?"

"No, no, you were right about that. I understand. A 5 year old shouldn't be expected to know any better. No, you were wrong about something else. Two things, actually."

"And those are?"

Ashley looked her dead in the eyes, with was disconcerting considering how hollow her face looked. She messed with the sleeve of her white jacket and sighed, "Harper Annesley, you said you were the last subject to be tested on. This is incorrect. You were subject #317, but there were 320 subjects total. In fact, subjects were tested in groups of 10 after unborn children started being tested on. You were the 1 in 10 chance of your group. 3 other subjects came after you. All of them died."

"Okay, fine, I was wrong about that. What's the other thing?"

Ashley hesitated a moment, "You also said that your parents tested on you. Parents plural. That... that would be wrong."

"But-"

"Let me explain, Harper Annesley." She took a deep breath before continuing, her smile still stuck on her face, though it wavered slightly, "While it's true, your mother did consent to the testing, she never tested on you. If she had, she would've been monitoring you more closely, not treating you as she treated Bailey. Your father, however, was the one and only person who watched you in a purely scientific way."

"And that's why my mother kicked him out?"

"She was trying to protect you from someone who only loved you from a scientific standpoint." Ashley sighed, but her smile stayed, "Harper Annesley. Had the experiment gone as planned, you likely wouldn't even be here presently. The experiment was meant to last five years. After that time, your ability to reach this place would fade, and you'd live a normal life. However, your father was reckless. He modified the experiment to line up with preexisting DNA in hopes that making it specifically for you would keep you alive. While it did work, all reckless actions have consequences. If your father wasn't a quick thinker, the serum—which bonded to your DNA due to the modifications—would've killed you."

"Hold on. How did he have my DNA? I wasn't born yet."

"Well, your DNA is mostly just a combination of your parents DNA, is it not? And he had access to both Isabelle and himself. So I don't see where the issue is here."

"Yeah, but... why would it take so long to kill me? And why didn't it?"

"Your father is the answer to both questions. When he modified the experiment, he modeled it after the polar opposite of your projected genetic makeup. While it didn't seem like it'd work, he somehow managed it. Something involving a bond between the proteins or whatever. I don't know for sure. I've only heard little bits and pieces over the years. But it bonded directly with your DNA, so as it started dying and fading, it started impacting you. When your father realized this, he created a new serum. A "booster" if you will. It lasted about 3 years, and then he made another that lasted 5. He only came back to give you another one, and he succeeded when you were taken to his lab."

"But since I haven't had the booster in 5 years..."

"The experiment will kill you." Ashley tapped her fingers on the back of her chair as couple times, "That is unless you kind find people who know how to extract it or change it. If only you were talking to a former part of the project in its creation." She shrugged and turned around.

"Wait. You were part of project H.A.R.P.?"

"I was. Not in the way you're probably assuming, though. In reality, the project was started for me. To get me out of here."

"If the project wasn't what brought you here, then what was?" She asked.

"My own ignorance. I was trying to find a way to easily travel from place to place through astral projection. In the process I got myself stuck between the astral plane and reality. It was then that the project was changed from discovering a proper navigation of the astral plane to a search-and-rescue mission for me, or rather, my knowledge."

"So the hundreds of people here died to save you? Who would do that? Who would kill that many people to save one person?"

Ashley's smile became sad, "The first person who volunteered. Fortunately for her, your father kept her from actually sacrificing herself for the project."

She paused, processing, "You're... you're kidding, right?"

Ashley shook her head, "Isabelle Annesley. The founder and first volunteer of project H.A.R.P. She never forgave herself for the sacrifice she made, and, if you don't help me, she'll regret it even more."

Wow. I did it. And this time I was only a month late!
I've actually regained some motivation because there are a lot of stories I want to write but I refuse to write them until I finish this, so hopefully I'll update more with that mindset.
So, we've learned a little more about Ashley and project HARP in general now. And there's still a little bit we don't know (just wait, you'll see. I promise. I'm just trying to keep people intrigued hehe-)
If you have any questions, let me know! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see y'all later! Bye!