Chapter 12

Arcelia

"Come on angel, I won't let him hurt you." He crooned and I still stood there, unyielding.

We were at the front of the hardware store. Just as Experiment Varian had gotten near the door I had frozen and wouldn't move.

"That's not my name." I replied, looking at him. He sighed once again, running a hand through his hair.

"We can't go anywhere with these things on. They could be tracking us with them." He explained but that didn't convince me in the slightest.

Suddenly the door opened, a bell ringing as it did, and a man came out. I froze, wanting to dart away. But where would I go?

"Either come in or leave." He grunted, looking directly at Experiment Varian, not noticing me.

"We're going in." He replied calmly before his hand grabbed mine and pulled me to him. I tried struggling but it was pointless.

"What do you want?" The man asked, sounding unfriendly. My eyes darted towards the door but Experiment Varian pulled me to his side.

"A little courtesy to start off." Varian replied and I tensed at the harsh whip in his voice.

"There isn't courtesy anymore boy. Tell me what you want or get the hell out now." The man replied before grabbing a towel and spitting in it. I just watch, terrified and fascinated by their tones.

Varian's jaw was clenched and I saw he wanted to argue more, but he studied my frightened face before letting out a sigh. "We need these taken off." He started before gritting his teeth. When it was silent for a few moments, Varian sighed.

"Please." He forced out.

The man looked amused by the 'please' but he came closer, looking at the shocker around Varian's neck. He stared at it before moving to his desk and sitting there, not acknowledging us.

"So?" Varian asked impatiently, annoyance laced into his voice.

The man rubbed his jaw before shaking his head. "No." was all he gave us.

"Why not?" Varian snapped, walking over to the man. I just stood there, still watching.

Lab coats were neutral. They never were angry with experiments, only neutral. Rarely, they would let excitement slip through when something new was discovered. It was odd seeing them both openly show vivid emotions without care, when I'd spent most of my life with people who were always indifferent.

"Because I know exactly what those damn things are. I'm not going to get killed for helping you test subjects." He said, spitting in the towel once again.

"They won't kill you if they don't know it was you." Varian said, trying to keep calm again.

"No? How do I know she won’t tell them?" He asked casually and both pairs of eyes turned to me. I stilled, but stared back.

"She won't tell. She-" Varian started but the man interrupted.

"I'm not kept in the dark boy. If you watch any television you’ll know who she is." He said, his eyes on mine still.

"I'm on television?" I asked, tilting my head. I knew what television was because it was one of the Forbidden Items. We weren't allowed near it because they didn't want to risk our intelligence. Except, He’d let me watch the television occasionally with Him, but I’d never seen myself on it. I knew I was successful, but why would they broadcast it to the world? What plans do they have for me?

"You sure are. You’re almost in every commercial that the Lab puts out." He said, looking amused once again and I wrinkled my nose. I didn't want to be on television.

"Can we take me off of the television?" I asked and the man looked at me for a minute before rubbing his jaw.

"They really kept you in the dark didn't they?" He muttered and Varian found his chance to speak again.

"They did. She doesn't know a lot about the world outside the Lab. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know anything about it." He said, sounding slightly angry.

The man stared at the two of us and I wondered why he stared so much. Did we remind him of something?

"Tell you what." He said, standing up once again. "I'll help you two out, but only because I don't agree with what the Lab does to people like her."

Varian visibly eased up and the man disappeared behind the shelves. I could hear him banging around in the distance.

"After this we'll get clothes." Varian murmured to me, looking down at our sterile white gowns. What was wrong with them?

I didn't ask though because Varian seemed to know what he was doing. He seemed to know about the Outside more than I did.

"After we’ll drive to my area and stay there for a little while." He added and I tilted my head.

"Drive?" I asked and his eyes flickered before he sighed again. He seemed to like sighing.

"You'll see." He said just as the man came back with a box of clanking tools.

"Okay, if none of these work then that thing isn't ever going to come off." He grunted, dumping the tools onto the table and they clattered together.

I went closer, fascinated by their appearances. In the Lab there were only shiny tools, all covered with a layer of something that made them look brand new. There wasn't a tool in there that held age. But these clearly did.

Some of the tools were speckled with dark orange spots and none of them had a shine. A few looked dull, while some looked like they had been re-sharpened. They were a hard gray color that revealed the numerous years in the discolored spots.

I reached out to touch one and paused, drawing my hand back. I didn't want to risk touching it. What if I messed something up? I would get in trouble and earn a punishment.

"Ready?" He asked and I nodded. But Varian stepped in front of me, pushing me slightly behind him.

"I'll go first." He said firmly and I could detect the wariness in his voice. He didn't trust this man.

"I want to go." I said and Varian's body tensed.

"Absolutely not. I'm going first." He said and I wanted to argue. But arguing would get us nowhere. So I tried another tactic, one that had gotten me what I wanted before, with Him once.

Once, after I’d finished running, I saw Him standing there with a cake. They never let me have cake in the fear that my figure would get ruined. I was on a strict diet, consisting of food that was carefully picked out by a team of dietary specialists.

I’d asked Him if I could have a small piece, just a crumb. He’d just laughed at me, telling me getting fired would be the least of His concerns if He did that. I’d put my head down, but a selfish need had went through me. I wanted a piece of the forbidden cake, badly.

I went over to Him, still looking down. He’d shifted slightly, showing I was affecting Him. When I realized this, I’d reached out to touch Him, but He’d jerked back, setting the plate on the table before rushing out of the room. It turned out that I didn’t even like the cake.

I leaned against Varian's back, feeling his muscles cool for a second as my arms wrapped around his torso. I could hear his heart beating unsteadily and I laid my head on his back.

"Please Ducky?" I asked and he didn't reply, just stilled. I stroked his chest with my finger tips and his heart started beating faster.

I don't know why I wanted to go first so badly but I did. I didn't want to go next or last. I found it important to go first.

"You need to decide now." The man said loudly, breaking the silence. Varian and I jumped apart, startled. I'd forgotten there was someone else in the room.

Varian's eyes were cold as he stepped back, trained on the man the whole time. The man looked amused by his reaction.

"Okay, let's get this over with." The man said as he picked up one of the old tools and started working on the shocker.

I would’ve rejoiced when the shocker clicked apart, but I couldn’t, because the second it did all I felt was pain. Indescribable pain was coursing through my body, taking away my sight and my ability to move.

I could hear Varian’s yelling and his snarling at the man who was swearing. Then the next second someone was applying pressure on me. I think they were carrying me because I could feel the pressure under my knees and at my shoulders.

It was quiet for a while, so quiet. But I wanted there to be noise to distract me from the indescribable pain that was still searing my body. I wanted to black out from the pain and feel nothing but no matter how much I wished for it to go, it wouldn’t happen.

I could hear someone whispering to me, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying. I only knew the voice sounded soothing, that the voice comforted me in a way. So I focused on the voice, not on how long the silence lasted.

But the silence was interrupted by a loud booming sound that I was sure was a gun. The lab coats had used a gun once, but tried not to. An experiment had gone rogue and had almost made it out. He would’ve been the second experiment to ever leave the Lab, but the lab coats didn’t want something like that to happen again. It would’ve ruined them completely, and had the Lab shut down for good.

Therefore, one of them pulled out a gun and shot the experiment. I could still remember the splatter of red that painted the sterile walls. I had been on my way to do a daily checkup when it happened. I remember feeling hope for him, hoping that he would make it out. But that hope had died the second he had.

My thoughts were scattered as I was lifted again. I could feel every step they took, their feet thudding against the hard floor. Then I felt the temperature drop and the wind seemed to shove against us, trying to push us back. But the person carrying me kept going, not staggering once.

We were walking and walking for what seemed like days. The person who was carrying me, who I now assumed was Experiment Varian, would stop every once in a while and then continue. I could tell he was getting tired because the stops were becoming more frequent and longer.

Finally I felt him lower me to the ground and I immediately noticed the pain had gone away, but I couldn’t yet open my eyes. I also realized I could hear clearly.

“We’re going to take a rest stop angel.” Varian said, his voice seeping with exhaustion. I could hear his movements as he crawled down to the floor and sighed heavily. I realized how close he was when his breath swirled around my neck, light and warm.

I could feel his hand brush against my forehead, sweeping away the loose strands of hair. I wasn’t sure what I would’ve done if I could see or move. Part of me wanted to move away, but another part of me, a small part, wanted to lean into his touch and savor it.

“Night, angel.” He whispered and I felt something else brush against my forehead, but I couldn’t process what it was as the darkness finally took me into a state of oblivion.