4) National Scientific News 

I had been pondering the possibilities of my life ever returning to its normal state, concluding that the chance was rather slim, when it happened.

"Finally!" Levi shouted and I didn't have to turn to know there was a wide grin on his face, just as there was everyday.

I could hear light cheering from the twins, spiking my curiosity. I turned, glancing in their direction to find them all huddling around a battered television, Cowen along with them.

After speaking to him, I'd decided that the Experiment Cowen I had known no longer existed. He had been torn apart and thrashed, leaving behind a hardened, vague version of his former self. I then felt it was best to stop calling him by a name that was a constant reminder of a past he clearly did not want to relive.

Since before my arrival, or that was what I was told, Levi had been working on the television, attempting to repair it. I thought his attempts were both futile and idiotic, however persistence was on his side. The television was now lit up, the pixelated screen displaying poorly portrayed people.

The twins were amused nonetheless, chirping to one another like birds, debating what channel they would spend the evening watching. They both wanted a channel that differed from the other, causing frowns to grow on their faces as their discussion became heated. But none of that mattered because it was neither of them that possessed the remote capable of controlling the said television.

Xena held it in her hands, close to her chest as if she was afraid someone would take it. But there was no emotion on her face that conveyed anything similar to fear. She had a mask that even the lab coats would be proud of. But it wasn't enough, not for an experiment.

I could see through it, as I'd been taught to read people. I knew she wasn't afraid, but perhaps recalling a memory connected to televisions. The distant look soon disappeared as she looked back at the television, pressing the buttons of the remote.

Everyone chattered, some complaining. But it was Cowen and I who went silent, both of us instinctively curling against ourselves at the logo.

The screen was white, as white as the room I had once called home. But you could see the transparent logo, even if you were human. The three letters turned on a point, allowing you to see it from every side.

He had once told me it was symbolic when I first asked about it, saying it showed that the Lab coats and labs themselves were open and held no secrets. I'd laughed only to earn a strike from Him, causing me to learn from the mistake.

Xena had picked the NSN channel, although I wasn't sure why. Everyone hear held grudges against science in general and despised everything the lab coats did, whether good or bad. I wasn't able to understand this, but I only kept the opinion to myself, not wanting to earn punishment.

The National Scientific Channel was the most watched channel in the world, so much so that you could buy specialized televisions that only displayed this channel and none other. You would get benefits from doing so, which is why I assumed most bought those specialized televisions. I thought the channel to be helpful towards the public, but it was clear no one else around me thought so.

Scientist would appear and broadcast live, informing the public of all the potential cures and discoveries they had to offer. They would tell of experiments who had succeeded, but never were those who were considered failures ever mentioned. He had told me I'd been on the NSN more than several times.

The logo disintegrated, falling to pieces and disappearing from the screen just as Dimitri was shown, his surroundings more familiar to me than anything. The sight of it alone cause me to walk closer to the television, my excluding myself forgotten. He was in my room, standing there as if it was just an average room that never held the most prized experiment.

He looked at the television, his eyes seeming to captivate everyone. The twins ceased their complaining, focusing on his appearance. Levi murmured something mentioning how scary he looked while Cowen only crossed his arms, spitting on the ground. Xena only continued watching, as I did.

"Despite the significant loss of an important asset to the Red Virus Trial, we do plan on continuing it. A thorough experimentation is unexpectedly showing much promise and we may be able to continue the trial through this experimentation.

However, this is a daily reminder that the scientific world has lost someone very dear to us. We have yet to find her, however every lab in the world has separate teams searching for our experiment. But we have recently decided that you too can help us.

We're offering a hefty reward for our missing experiment. We are willing to meet reasonable request and are quite flexible with demands. All we want in return is our female experiment, alive of course.

She goes by the name Arcelia and has spent all of her life, up until now, sheltered in a lab. We fear greatly that she isn't able to function in a world where she's forced to fend for herself. So please, help us find our beloved experiment."

As he paused in his speaking, a picture slowly revealed itself, displaying an unsmiling girl. She was perfect in every way possible, yet she still looked unhappy, as if she wanted more. Yet, she currently had more and she found herself despising it.

The picture remained there few a few more minutes and I could feel their stares boring into me. But I refused to meet a single pair of eyes, for fear of what lie inside them. I didn’t see need to feel disappointment or shame from their judgment of me, when it could all be easily avoided.

The photograph of me was then blurred, slowly disappearing as Dimitri became the center of attention once again. He was smiling now, as though nothing was wrong with the world. It made me wonder if he had been Outside often and if he enjoyed it as little as I did.

“We have excellent news to share with you also. The lab has managed to capture and contain our other experiment, the one we believed kidnapped our Arcelia. We’ve determined he was only scared due to the minor blackout we had, but we’ve brought him to his sense making him still essential to our Red Virus Trial.

He’s safe in Lab Arcelia as we speak. He’s even returned to cooperating with us once again, once we reassured him that all was fine.”

Dimitri disappeared from the screen, which now focused on a standard experiment’s housing room. The camera was placed at an angle, showing everything but the thick, revealing window that only worked one way and not the other. The sterile white walls were visible, clean of stains and fading paint. The white tiles were still on the floor underneath the white walls which were still below the white ceiling where the blinding light was the center of attention.

The white bed frame was also still there, holding the stiff, small bed and the thin white bed sheet. But someone occupied the bed, covered by the thin white sheet. But his head of black hair was visible, covering his forehead. His eyes were closed, but I could imagine the blue eyes that lie beneath them. His breathing was stable, the sheet moving with each breath.

I found my hand twitching, the desire to reach out almost instinctual. But I didn’t only continued staring on, wondering. I wondered how Varian had taken his punishment, because he had surely been punished for his actions. I wondered if he was truly obeying the lab coats as Dimitri had said, or if he was still fighting against them with every ounce of his being. But most of all I wondered if he missed me.

It was highly possible that he no longer thought about me, as I’d most likely been a burden to him on the Outside. Maybe he found relief in the lab, where he was free from me and having to care for another person. I could feel hurt travelling through my body, thinking this was the most likely scenario. He couldn’t possibly miss the girl who told him she hated him.

Varian started to stir just as Xena sighed, her hand going to the remote. Quicker than I was sure she realized was possible, I reached out, snatching the remote from her hand, snapping “No!”

I could feel their eyes on me once again, but I didn’t dare meet them. I focused on Varian, hoping he would wake and realize I was standing here, watching him. But of course, it seemed the world went against me.

Just as his eyes opened the screen flickered away from him and back to Dimitri, all traces of Varian gone. Dimitri’s words were a blur to me, as I lost all interest in him. My energy was gone and I found myself dropping the remote, hearing it clatter against the harsh ground right before I turned around and left.