Chapter 57

"There has to be something we can do," GMN-3 said racking his brain.

" There could be but it would take time, time to find out what exactly is causing the problem and time to find an appropriate solution. Let's face it, she has the advantage, and going to get it may as well be beyond the bar" Dr. Stone said. He looked stoic and professional. His face, not giving away the turmoil inside.

"Can someone explain to us what is going on?" GMN-7 asked. They have just been speaking gibberish as far as he was concerned. He couldn't make out exactly what they were referring to but the underlying tension and panic were palpable.

" We are reaching our human limit..." GMN-3 said

" I thought we've already reached that via mutation?" GMN-6 asked

"We exceeded human capabilities by our mutation but didn't reach our limits. However, by virtue of continuous mutation, we may be reaching that limit sooner than later. I noticed that with time and practice, we could stretch ourselves, doing what we couldn't do before and sometimes enhancing the ones we could. However, I failed to notice the detrimental effect it had on us." GMN-3 said

"Detrimental effect being?" GMN-5 asked

" Put it this way. The mutation will become too much for your body to handle. Your physical state will start to deteriorate till it finally stops functioning due to overload" Dr. Stone said solemnly

"Say what now?" GMN-6 asked

Everyone looked pale.

"This is scary" GMN-7 blurted out

"Makes me wish GMN-1 was here. She always has a way out" GMN-9 complained. He sounded like a child who missed his mom. Just like that, they were riveted to their loss which they didn't like to view as a complete loss. She was alive, that was what matters most as for finding her, it was given.

Everywhere was quiet. Everyone was quiet, especially Dr. Stone. Any reference to her reminded him of his mistakes as her father. The fact that they called her GMN-1 reminded him of his failure as a father, a doctor, and an adult human. His daughter was being referred to as non-human. The blatant mockery didn't escape him. Right now finding her was of uttermost importance. If they were subject to continuous mutation, with the recent modifications and trauma…

"Wait.... that would mean....oh sh*t!" GMN-4 said

"This is bad!" GMN-3 said after a while obviously catching what he was referring to.

They didn't have any extra modifications and time was running out for them. GMN-1 survived an extreme modification, traumatic memory recovery, and then death. He didn't want to allow his imagination of all the things that could go wrong. They needed to find her.

GMN-4 stood up forcefully and it took GMN-3 a while before he understood what he intended to do. He grabbed him by the shoulder trying to reason with him.

"4, you can't. You're not very strong. You need to recover a little." GMN-3 pleaded

"We are wasting time," GMN-4 said

"We are trying to find her. She could be anywhere and you are of no help unless you get better" GMN-3 said

"Speaking of 1. I checked all the surveillance cameras available from where she ditched the car. She seems to have vanished." GMN-9 said

They all looked very uncomfortable and some seem to doubt him.

"So you're trying to tell me you looked through all of them you could find and there was no trace of her?" GMN-4

"She can't just vanish into thin air unless she can. Can she?" GMN-6 said looking at 3. Every other person turned to him while he turned to Dr. Stone.

"Can she?" GMN-3 asked Dr. Stone

"I don't think so but then again the extent of the new mutation is still unknown. She would have to be here to conduct physical exams" Dr. Stone said plainly

" How can you talk about your daughter that way, so emotionless?" GMN-6 asked.

You could hear a pin drop from miles away. That armour wavered for some seconds. Dr. Stone had that lost expression for a moment and it was almost believable that he regretted what he did and then that look vanished like it was never there.

"I am a doctor," he said stoically. The words sliced him.

"Was that why you were able to gut her open and play with her humanity" GMN-6 asked. It still bugged her that he was still alive. She had planned a lot of gruesome scenarios but the fact she was GMN-1's father deterred her.

Dr. Stone just started ahead. He knew they all hated him but not as much as he hated himself. He had wanted so many things, but what exactly could he say? What do you say to a group of kids whose lives he had stolen and toyed with? In neglecting what he had, now he lost what he had and what he found.

Just then a man in a suit walked hurridely in. He looked panicked. There was sweat all over his face and neck.

"Sir! Your father!" The man said.

The world went off balance for Dr. Stone, and so did his body. He teetered and grabbed the bed to steady himself. He went white and the vein in his forehead ticked wildly. His father was here!

The GMNs could hear hurried footsteps and a very angry one. Well, this show is about to go down.

A group of men entered the room after a long while, seven including the tall thick man who appeared to be the boss.

"Andrew!" He shouted as soon as he entered. The men guarding him cleared and stood behind him no one wanted to get caught in this crossfire.

The GMNs turned from the man to Dr. Stone. This was the third time they had seen fear on his face. He just stood still not even daring to breathe. The GMNs could hear something rolling across the floor like wheels. It probably exited the elevator. Their sense of smell told them that this wasn't going to go well, especially for Dr. Stone.

"Where is my grandson!?" The man hollered even though the person he was talking to was just a few steps away from him.

"Grandfather?" Williams asked like he couldn't believe his ears. When he saw it was his grandfather and he could touch him, he was so relieved. At least he wasn't imagining that he was here like he had been doing with his sister.

The older man turned. He was shocked to see his grandson in a wheelchair with his hands strapped up. He also recognized the head doctor who wheeled him in. The man hastened over to them and knelt before Williams, touching him to make sure he was okay all the while wondering what the hell was going on. When he was satisfied that he looked at the head doctor inquiring with his eyes why his grandson's hands were restricted.

"So he won't physically harm himself" the head doctor stated

"Why would he want to harm himself?" The man asked sounding incredulous

"Because he has been traumatized and is currently mentally unstable" GMN-6 answered. This was a man Dr. Stone feared, she wasn't about to let this opportunity slip. She was going to make things difficult for him.

The old man stood to his full height and turned to face the other people in the room. His eyes narrowed in on the small redhead that spoke.

"And you are?" The man asked, coming off as intimidating.

"I wouldn't know because your son here..." GMN-6 gestured to Dr. Stone, clearly unaffected." Wiped my memory but they call me GMN-6. I am your granddaughter's friend." She concluded in a rush before anyone could stop her.

"6!?" GMN-3 cautioned but it didn't faze her. She had already said what she wanted to and she wasn't in any way done.

"What?" The man was genuinely confused. He was hearing wiped memories and granddaughter. Did he have another grandchild? Wait! Rosetta? could it be? He looked from all of them to Williams, to the head doctor, and finally to his son. He still wasn't understanding anything. Williams was mentally unstable, when? How? Did that girl just call herself Rosetta's friend or did he have another granddaughter? Andrew wiped her memory? To say he was bewildered was, to put it mildly.

He seemed to recall a crucial fact, Rosetta was missing! If she was Rosetta's friend, maybe she knew something. He had to find out all she knew. He never believed for one day that his granddaughter was dead. He turned to the girl and took menacing steps forward but she didn't flinch nor did she move back. That was strange. Even the strongest of men cowered in his presence but this girl seemed immune maybe they didn't know who he was.

"Why don't we all calm down." The head doctor said.

The newcomer tried to calm down. He turned towards his son. He noticed his son had been standing still since he came in and was as white as a sheet. He wanted to take a step towards Andrew but was stopped by Williams' voice.

" Don't go close! Don't go close! Monster!" Williams said trying to break free. The old man looked from son to father and it was like Andrew got paler which he didn't think was possible.

"What the hell is going on here!" The old man demanded. His voice was so loud and forceful that they had to wince. No wonder Dr. Stone was scared of this man. He was really Scarry when he was confused. GMN-6 wanted to know what he was like angry. Would he kill Dr. Stone?

"Well..." GMN-6 began

"Not you!" GMN-3 cautioned

"Somebody has to and besides I'm the best option. I won't leave any detail out and I won't be biased" GMN-6 said

That was exactly what GMN-3 feared. He could see from her eyes she was determined to do further damage to the strained relationship between father and son. She just had to have her pound of flesh somehow. He didn't care about Dr. Stone but listening to the internal systems of the older Stone, it didn't sound as strong as he looked, and this older Stone may be someone important to GMN-1.

"Will somebody tell me what is going on and doctor, release my grandson? There will be no physical harm as long as I am around" the older Mr. Stone told the head doctor. The head doctor seemed to contemplate for a while before nodding.

"So where do I start? I would say the beginning but then we don't even know the beginning since your son here was gracious enough to WIPE OUR MEMORIES!" GMN-6 said placing much emphasis on the last three words. "What nonsense is this!? I am not joking, child!"

"Ask anyone here if i am joking!"

The older Mr. Stone looked from her to Andrew and then shook his head, turning back to her.

"Impossible. I cannot believe this!" The older Mr. Stone said

"Then you are going to love the next part," GMN-6 said at the same time GMN-5 said

"Then you are going to have trouble believing the rest"

GMN-6 turned to her. " Hello, I'm the one telling the story, if you don't mind" GMN-5 just rolled her eyes and GMN-6 replied by rolling her own eyes. Then she continued.

"As I was saying, yes your son wiped our memories and yes he used us as lab rats for his genetic reconfiguration and mutation project. We are not entirely human and not entirely nonhuman just somewhere in the distraught middle. So basically your son kidnapped a bunch of highly intelligent kids and cut them open on his table, removing this and inserting that. Most of them died by the way but here we are the survivors." GMN-6 said.

The older Mr. Stone shook his head like he couldn't believe his ears and GMN-6 waited patiently. She seem to be enjoying this. The rest of the GMNs just shook their head. This cynical amusement reminded them of someone. What would she have done if she were to be here? How was her relationship with her grandfather? Was there a special bond between them or was it damaged like her father's? Both men seem to care so much for Williams. Did the old man also prefer his grandson to his granddaughter?

The old man turned to Andrew and commanded.

"Say something!?" When there was no reply he added. "They level accusations against you in your presence and you choose this time to remain mute!?"

The old man didn't believe it and didn't want to but his son's attitude was suspicious. His attitude before and after his granddaughter disappeared raised red flags but then again this was his son. His son couldn't do something like this, he was sure of it.

"It's true"

The old man turned at the voice. It was like a vital part of his world shattered. He looked at Williams who was fighting to hold back tears. This couldn't be real. The man gave himself a hot slap on the cheek that astounded everyone, he even reeled from impact. His palm made a red imprint on his face.

"Wide awake sir, wide awake" GMN-6 muttered out loud

"What?" The old man asked Williams who seemed too overwhelmed to reply. He turned to his son who didn't open his mouth. He turned to the head doctor, an old friend. The pity in his eyes spoke volumes. He staggered back and his men rushed to help him. He shrugged them away. He looked at the GMNs, they were so young. Some looked like young adults and others teenagers. No, this couldn't be real.

GMN-6 just appeared infront of the man and lifted him with one hand. While the man was still entranced by the speed, the strength shut down his brain.

"Can someone my age do this?" She asked as she gently let him down. The man struggled for balance physically and mentally because he was beginning to believe them. His men came to his aid again and this time he let them, too stunned to react. He had known his son was working on something like that with that wife of his. He thought it was a way to mend their fragile relationship. After a while, he noticed changes in his son and after that, his granddaughter went missing. He staggered again.

As soon as GMN-6 put the man down, GMN-3 grabbed her by the hand and dragged her to the side.

"What are you playing at?" GMN-3 asked her

"What does it look like?" She replied

"He is still her grandfather and advanced in age..." GMN-3 said

"So?"

"You are going to give him a heart attack"

"That's why you're here. To make sure he doesn't die before his son" GMN-6 said, freeing her hand from 3 and turning to the old man.

"My friend here says you're not stable enough to hear the rest, are you?" GMN-6 asked.

"There's more?" The old man asked. It was barely a whisper. The spike in his heart rate was very obvious and she contemplated backing down but her need for revenge wore.

"There is more. The question is can you handle it?" GMN-6 said. What if her revenge costs this life? She may be taking the only recognized family 1 has left that still cared.

"And now she's going soft" GMN-5 scoffed.

The man stood up, a bit wobbly on his legs but he managed to stand up straight.

" Your abilities are...but my son had nothing to do with it," the man said with the little confidence he had left. He wouldn't believe that his son could do something as monstrous as experimenting on kids.

"You still defend him!?" GMN-6 was going to blow. First Williams, now him. What kind of blind faith did he have in his son?

"I know my son, he can be a little overboard but he certainly can't go that far. I trust him." the old man said. Regardless of what they've said, regardless of everything else, he still believed in the innocence of his son because that's what parents do.

Unknown to the man, his words bred serious animosity. Some people were boiling. For Dr. Stone, they were like crowns of thorns.

"Trust," GMN-4 said sarcastically then scoffed. Bitter hatred rose like bile, trying to overwhelm his senses. He tried so hard to suppress it and could only resort to sarcasm.

"Someone once trusted him. Do you know what he did to that person?" At the man's silence, GMN-6 continued. "He put her on a table and cut her open. What he couldn't change he tried to destroy, do you know who that person is?"

The old man just grew paler with each word and the pure malice in her eyes. He didn't like where this was going, in fact, he didn't like the entire situation. He came here to see his son and rescue his grandson. Then he heard something.

"That person is his daughter or was," GMN-6 said

"What?" the old man asked shakingly

GMN-6 collected the iPad GMN-9 was holding most of the time if he wasn't holding a laptop and switched the screen on. After a few seconds, she turned the screen towards him.

"He gutted her while she was still awake," 6 said slowly driving the pain home.

His heartbeat became irregular and then he stopped breathing for some seconds before it spiked up. He clasped his left chest as he struggled to get air past his lungs.

"What the hell!" GMN-3 pushed her aside and helped the man. He tried to push 3 away but he was seriously having labored breathing. GMN-6 just stood there like she was waiting for this to be over so she could continue.

"Way to go 6. You gave the man a heart attack" GMN-5 mocked and 6 ignored her.

"With the way, he was defending that piece of shit, I went easy on him," GMN-6 said and sauntered to the edge of the bed GMN-4 was sitting on and sat down crossing her legs.

GMN-3 focused his attention on trying to calm the man down. The man seemed to be having a difficult time. With the way he tried to regulate his breathing, he had experience with this sort of thing.

The old man couldn't seem to calm down. On one hand, he didn't want to believe this, couldn't. On the other hand...

"He couldn't, he wouldn't" the man murmured to himself

"Looks like we might need to sedate him," GMN-3 said

"On it!" GMN-6 called.

"Not you!" GMN-3 snapped

"Okay," GMN-6 said sitting down back.

It seemed that GMN-3 wasn't the only one that snapped. The old man seemed to go crazy and charge for his son.

"Where is Rose!? What did you do to her!?" He grabbed his son by the collar shaking him violently. Dr. Andrew just stood there, motionless. There was this faraway look in his eyes and something like regret and shame and maybe a hint of sadness but GMN-6 wasn't buying it, not one bit. His default response seemed to anger not only the old Stone but Williams too. He tried to lunge for his father too but the head doctor was ready. In less than a minute he was sedated.

GMN-2 sensing the turn of events went over to help 3 who tried to restrain the man without hurting him. Given the old Stone's situation, if he suffered cardiac arrest he may be at risk of paralysis.

"Get the drug on the table over there," GMN-3 said as he tried to pry the distraught man away from his son. "The syringe is beside it, 2 ml"

GMN-2 brought it over and took over trying to keep him steady while 3 injected him. They breathed a sigh of relief when the man slumped, unconscious. They signaled his men to put him on the moveable bed in the room. GMN 3 waited for them to place him on the bed.

GMN-2 turned to 6.

"Did you have to go that far?" He asked but she just ignored him. She turned to Dr. Andrew, were his eyes watery? She had no pity to waste on him and would certainly show him no mercy. He just stood for a while then walked out like a robot. Was he going to commit suicide? She stood up to follow him. She wouldn't let him die in peace.

"Don't even think about it " 3 said and signaled 2 to follow.-

The room was quiet. Very quiet.

"What do we do now?" GMN-9 asked quietly looking from one person to the other before finally landing on GMN-3.

GMN-3 had no idea of what they should do but had an idea of what he wanted to do. He wanted to run away and leave all these behind or better still wipe his memories again but then again he couldn't. He felt the pressure at the back of his head. He looked at their faces. In a way they were hopeless without each other, the only family they could remember. They kept each other safe and kept each other sane.

"We need two things now. We need to find her and figure out a way to stop all this from getting worse" GMN-4 said gesturing to himself before rubbing the back of his head.

"It seemed she disappeared from the radar," GMN-9 said

"I have a feeling that both memories are intact but I cannot infer the effect on her," GMN-2 said.

3 turned to look at him. Where was Dr. Stone? Understanding the look 3 was giving him, 2 replied

"He,s fine" then he continued " we can't say for sure the state of her mental health "

"Or her biological health," GMN-3 said drily

"We don't have much to go on. Where do you think she could be?" GMN-7 asked randomly but nobody answered

"Dealing with GMN-1 was hard enough, now we don't know if it's GMN-1 or Rosetta" GMN-6 commented

"For all we know, Rosetta could be pretty suicidal" GMN-5 added. Everyone froze and turned to look at her. It wasn't her exactly but what she said. At their stricken face, she added. "I mean she did jump out the window and admitted to escaping murder a lot of times…"

They had forgotten that suddenly a crucial piece of information. Rosetta could be suicidal and that didn't bode well.