Nulla

My name is Subject 030, and I am nothing. As I am nothing, Doctor is something. Doctor is everything.

I am in a cage because according to Doctor, I do not deserve a bed. They said they were going to help me get better. Doctor promised I was going to get better but all I got was a partner.

Subject 029. He has dark red, short hair, and the deepest green eyes that glow in the dark. He has a jagged scar on his left eye that crosses his left cheek and a mole in the corner of his right. He wears the standard uniform. A black shirt, black cargo pants, black boots, and a black cargo jacket. They force him to wear a black collar that has his code on it. He has sharp canines, almost like fangs. He has my back like I have his.

Anyways, I had really screwed up. I failed to kill General Axe. As a result of my failure, I was undergoing my punishment. I failed to see her blade which cost me a finger. It was nothing they couldn't fix. And since I failed to see, they deduced that something must be wrong with my eyes. So, here I am, strapped to a table and dreading the awaited pain.

Doctor walked in with two others flanking. Doctor sighed, "Baby. You have disappointed me. I expected more from my prize possession. I guess we must fix that. We'll make sure you'll see better. Let Doctor take care of you."

I braced myself. Failure means no morphine. No morphine means pain. Doctor walked closer to me, raising the scalpel. Doctor's minions were working on the missing finger while Doctor worked on my eyes. The pain was excruciating. By the end of the procedure, my left eye was feeling weird and my right eye was ticking like a clock. Doctor did something to me that I could not process.

Doctor wrapped bandages over my eyes and on my hands that trailed up my arms. He helped me up and lead me to what I hoped was my cage. As we were walking, the alarm sounded. It was loud and sudden.

"Dammit!! Find 029 and get him armed. Say stratiótis, to activate and Agóri to de-activate. I'll get 630 out of here." Doctor was angry. That was never a good thing. His grip on my arm tightened as he pulled me along with him.

As we ran, I felt the cold air on my arms. I heard the screams of fallen soldiers. I tripped a couple of times before I felt Doctor's grip on my wrist disappear as a gunshot rang through the air. There was something wet on my face. I licked my lips. It was blood.

"Hands in the air, where I can see them." Their voice was hard and low. I guess I took too long because there was another gunshot that grazed my shoulder.

I slowly raised my hands in the air, keeping my head down. My shoulder was hot and wet and burning with pain. "Turn around. Slowly. Hands stay in the air."

I obeyed and turned around slowly. I was breathing heavily and from what I could hear, he was too. There was a hand cupping my face, lifting it up, probably so he could see it. I heard him take in air quickly. "You're just a kid." He was muttering.

I felt pressure on my bandaged temple. He was touching my bandages. I moved away from his touch, stepping back. He sighed. "What's your name, kid?"

I stayed silent. Do not speak unless told to. Doctor's orders. He sighed again and grabbed my hand. I immediately pulled away from him, moving further back. The leaves crunched as he walked closer to me. "I'm not going to hurt you, kid. Calm down. I'm here to help. I'm a good guy. We're going to get you some medical help and some food. My friends and I are going to keep you safe."

That's what Doctor said before he did this to me. He said he would help me. He said I would be okay. He lied. He didn't help me. I wasn't okay. I can't trust anyone but 029.

I was so deep in thought, I failed to hear the enemy creeping behind me and before I knew it, I was tasting dirt. I thrashed and kicked at them relentlessly. They pulled my arms behind my back and I felt the cold metal encase my hands, buzzing softly to signal that it was on.

They pulled me up quite roughly and pushed my forward. I stumbled and fell on my knees. I bowed my head, awaiting the pain. My shoulder was starting to ache.

"Annalise, she's a child!" It was the man who killed Doctor who spoke.

"She's a monster just like the rest of them! She's unnatural! She could lash out at us or kill us." That was the woman behind me. I'm guessing she didn't like us much.

"She's still a baby! She couldn't be more than sixteen!"

"She's a murderer, Reed!"

They argued for quite a while before the man picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I thrashed and kicked at him but all he did was lock my legs in place. "Calm down. No one is going to hurt you. We're taking you to a safe place."

He's lying. They always lie. He's tricking me into feeling saved and then he'll rip it all away. I know the drill. I won't let it happen again. I kicked him; I don't know how tall he is, so I don't know where my legs meet his body, but it obviously hurt him. He gasped and dropped me. The woman, Annalise, grunted and was running somewhere. My guess is to help the man, Reed. I swung my arms forward and jumped into the gap created by the cuffs. Are they really cuffs though? They're more like long metal cylinders that trap your arms.

Anyways, since they were busy, I took this as my chance to run. I had no idea where I was going but I ran. You can't trust grown-ups. You can't trust anyone, so I ran and ran and ran until I tripped and landed face-first into the fresh snow. My upper left arm felt warm...and wet. It was stinging. I rolled over, panting. This is horrible. I can't see anything; I'm running away from enemies while my hands are cuffed, in the dead of night, it's dark, I have a graze on my shoulder, a cut on my arm, and I can't fucking see. I'm going to die. I'm going to die, and I won't see 029 ever again.

As I laid in the snow, I could hear my whimpers, the wind swaying the trees, and the leaves crunching as something walked towards me. I didn't want to go back there with those people. I wanted to see 029 and run away from this place. I wanted to see the world, go to a beach, drink coffee and eat a pizza. I want to live a life away from this torture. But it won't happen. I'll never see the sunrise nor the sunset. I'll die here, alone.

"Zero!" The hallucinations have started. I'm hearing Nine's voice. It's impossible because he's on the battlefield.

"Goddammit Zero! I am not a hallucination! Come on. We got to move quickly before those soldiers find us!" That's exactly what a hallucination would say-wait what? Soldiers? He knows about the soldiers who put these cuffs on me.

I was roughly picked up and thrown over a shoulder. "We do not have time for this. Promise you'll explain the bandages later. There's a jet that I hijacked not too far from here."

He was running now. Like we were being chased. And as it turns out, we were. There were multiple footsteps that could be heard around wherever we were as if they were trying to surround us. "Nine." I croaked. My throat was dry, and it hurt to talk but he needed to know.

"Nine, they're trying to surround us." My voice was raspy as I spoke.

All he did was cuss and run faster. I felt him stop and put me down and that's when I registered the buzz of an engine and the whirling propellers. We were going to leave this place for good.

We were almost to the jet when the cuffs sent an electric shock through my arms. I whimpered and dropped to the ground, convulsing in pain. It felt as though billions of pins were poking my arms.

"Zero!" it sounded muffled.

"Nine." I whimpered.

There were multiple clicks. The safety on the guns surrounding us had come off. There were multiple footsteps coming our way.

"Hands in the air where I can see them!!" It was that woman again. Annalise.

"Stop electrocuting her first." Nine's voice was steady and hard but full of rage and contempt.

"You do what we say, freak." Jesus, this lady has something against us. "Get on the ground, hands in the air where I can see them."

"Stop electrocuting her and then we'll talk."

There was a pregnant pause and then the pins turned into knives. My convulsions became worse and it took everything out of me not to scream.

"Fine!! Fine! I am putting my hands up and kneeling." I'm assuming he did so because the pain stopped a couple of seconds later. I was breathing heavily. My lungs hurt, my chest hurt, my entire body was hurting. My muscles were twitching every now and then.

I heard a metal click and felt hands pick me up. It wasn't long before I was thrown into a wall. I'm assuming their jet didn't have cages or cells, so they settled for cuffing my ankle to something.

"Zero. How do you feel?" Nine was next to me. I leaned on him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I'm fine, Nine. Just a bit sore. Nothing I can't handle."

I fought the urge to cry. Everything that's happened so far has just been horrible.

"We will get out of here. I promise you that one way or another, we will get out of here. We will not die by their hands." His voice was gentle, and his words were oddly comforting. And if I learned one thing, it's that Nine never breaks a promise.

"I'm sorry you went through that unnecessary pain, kid." Reed, if I remember correctly.

"Don't apologize to those monsters, Reed. They don't deserve it." Annalise said.

"Okay, I've had it! What is your problem?! They are literal children. They haven't done anything wrong!" He was yelling now.

"They are monsters! The 'boy' is subject 029. His kill count is at two-hundred ninety-five. He's a monster. And the 'girl'? Subject 030. Kill count of three-hundred seventy-four! They've killed more than our American mercenaries and you want to defend them?!" She was yelling now.

"Annalise, they are just as innocent as those they killed. They don't deserve this." He stopped yelling.

"Stop, Reed. Just stop. Come talk to me when you have your head on straight." She stopped yelling and walked away.

He muttered and the cuffs came off. My bandages were soaked with what I assumed was sweat. Nine growled and the man, Reed, gasped.

"What?" I asked. What was soaking my-oh. A metallic scent filled my senses.

"You need medical help. Those burns look like second-degree burns."

"I will get us out of here. I promise you, Zero." Nine sounded in pain.

"I know. I trust you Nine." I reassured.