Nulla

I awoke to being dragged by my hair. I whimpered but all that did was make the pull harder. I was thrown into the wall again. "Get up and sit down." It was Annalise again.

"I can't see. I can't just get up and sit somewhere I can't see, ma'am." I still had bandages over my eyes.

She sighed and grabbed my cuffs, throwing me into the chair. I gasped in pain, but she just told me to shut up.

"Let's start. I ask questions, you answer. You do not ask questions. You will answer every question with the truth. If you lie, you will get hurt. If you choose not to answer, you will get hurt. If you ask a question, you get hurt. Am I understood?"

I didn't speak. I wasn't trying to be cheeky. She told me to shut up like two minutes ago, so I wasn't going to talk. She didn't like that. She slammed my head against the table, eliciting a yelp from me.

"Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. First off, what is your name?"

Isn't it obvious? She had already said it before. I don't understand why she's asking me. But still, I responded none the less. "030, ma'am."

"I already know your subject number. I asked for your name. What is the name you were given at birth?"

The name I was given at birth? "I don't know, ma'am."

She paused. "How do you not know? Your records only go back ten years, which means you were six when they acquired you."

I was? I don't remember much. I know that I was sick and I was hospitalized with no hope of getting better, but then Doctor came one night and asked me if I wanted to live and I said yes. So, he led me out of the hospital and.... it goes blank from there.

"Fine. Whatever. What abilities do you have?"

"I can run really fast. I can lift up-to two hundred tonnes. I can see in the dark. My body temperature is higher than normal, so I generate a lot of body heat. Um, I'm agile and I heal a bit faster than normal people. I have a faster metabolism and I think that's it."

She was silent so I assumed she nodded. The door was opened, and someone walked in. "Annalise, I'll take it from here. You are too emotional about this case." It wasn't a statement but an order. I heard Annalise get up and storm out, slamming the door.

"Hello, sweetheart. My name is Jacklynne Richards. I'm a doctor and I'm here to help you with your wounds. Can you stand?" Her voice was warm and gentle.

I nodded and stood. "Good. Can you walk?"

I nodded once more and felt a warm hand on my arm. She led me out of the room and to a different one. This one smelled like antiseptics and alcohol. I was led to a bed and I sat down. It wasn't exactly comfortable, but comfort was the least of my worries.

"I'm going to take off the cuffs. I'm starting with your arms and shoulder before I move to your eyes." The cuffs came off. She gasped and gently unwrapped the bandages. It stung a bit and it felt as if she was pulling half-dead skin off my arms, but I made not a sound.

Soon enough, there was a liquid being poured over my arms. They felt lighter than before. She cleaned my arms and put a cream on them. It burned a little, but it was cold.

Next was my shoulder. She cut my jacket sleeve off and cleaned the bullet wound. As she was bandaging my shoulder, the door opened and a familiar scent invaded my nose, overpowering the smell of antiseptics. "Zero. Are you okay? How do you feel?" Nine questioned.

"I'm fine, Nine," I reassured.

"I'm going to take off the bandages around your eyes. Could you turn down the lights please, darling? If she opens her eyes to too bright of lighting it could sting a little." I assumed she was talking to Nine.

My head felt lighter as she unwrapped the bandages. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. Opening them slowly, I blinked away the crust and looked around. Blinking more to rid my eyes of the blur, I looked at Jacklynne. She was around 5'2 and warm caramel eyes. They were comforting to look at. She had dark blue hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She had on a pair of latex gloves and a mask covering half her face. She was undoubtedly attractive.

"Hello there. How does it feel to see?" She asked

"It's okay. I'm okay. Everything feels fine." I wasn't reassuring her but Nine.

The aforementioned walked towards me. He cupped my cheek, brushing his thumb against it. We held each other's gaze for what seemed like years before the door opened yet again. A man walked in. Tall, well-built, dark green hair, sharp jaw, and brownish-hazel eyes. He walked to stand beside Nine.

"Hey, kiddo. How do you feel?" This was Reed.

"I feel fine, sir."

"Call me Reed, kiddo. You'll be staying with me for a while. Did you get a DNA sample, Jackie?" He turned to Jacklynne.

"Yeah. I sent their DNA to the lab. I'll come by in a few to get a few shots of their faces. For now, work on integrating them into modern times."

He nodded and beckoned for us to follow him. I stood, tense, and ready for whatever shots she wanted to take. Nine took my hand in his warm one, feeling how tense I was, and whispered in my ear, "She didn't mean literal shots or any form of attack. The word shots is slang for pictures. She wants to take pictures of us."

I nodded and relaxed.

We followed him out of the infirmary and down a hall. As we followed him, a woman walked by and glared at us. It was sort of scary, but Doctor's glares were the worst.

We walked into a garage and to a black car. It was sleek and slim. It looked cool and the wheels were purple.

"You guys are going to need names. I refuse to call you by a stupid number." Reed declared as he opened the door for us.

"It's fine if you call me Nine." Nine gestured for me to get in and I complied.

"I'm fine with Zero."

Reed sighed and got in the car. "We'll work on that later."

As he drove, I stared out the window. The sky was a beautiful blue with white fluffy clouds dusting it. It was absolutely stunning.

I was so entranced by the sky; I didn't notice the car stop. "Zero, we're here. Wherever that is." Nine pulled me out of the car and I looked at the building before us. It was huge! The brick-patterned walls were a light beige and the roof was a dark red. The steps were beige as well and the doors were brown. The garage had three separate doors, all brown. Above the first garage door was a balcony with a giant window.

"Awesome, right?" Reed was grinning as he opened the front door.

Nine pushed himself in front of me and walked in first, keeping me close behind him. I looked around the room. It was three times bigger than my cell. The walls were a warm, comforting light brown and the floor was a dark mahogany. There was a big couch that was a light beige and the carpet was a creamier brown. The armchairs matched the couch, and each had a folded, fuzzy black blanket on them.

Reed led us to a kitchen. The walls were cream and the floor was tiled with cream tiles. The counters were wooden and the island was white. The table was in the next room that shared a door with the kitchen. It was a deep mahogany and was very big. It looked like it could seat around 10 people. The chairs were white and the floor was light brown. This place looked very warm and homey.

We walked back into the living room and sat on the couch. Reed handed us a blanket and a remote.

"What's this for?" I'm confused about why we would need a remote. Is this a test?

"The remote's for the TV. So, you can watch what you want to."

"TV? What's that?" Good to know Nine was just as confused as I was.

"A television. If you press the red button on the remote, it turns it on. If you press it again, it turns it off. These longer buttons here control the volume and channels. You press up for a louder-"

A woman walked in and squealed when she saw us. "Riker!!"

Nine immediately stood to block me from her view and Reed crossed the room to the door in seconds.

"Gianna, calm down. They're harmless children. Nine, you can sit down. She won't hurt anybody." He took Gianna into his arms and hugged her.

"Why are there teenagers in our house, Riker." She demanded.

"We were able to take down the base and we found these two. They need a home until the DNA results come in and we find their parents. That's why they're here. I refuse to leave them alone with Annalise. Lord knows that woman will attack them any chance she gets. Anyways, Melissa cleared us after Jackie stitched them up, so, for the time being, they stay here, and we get them accustomed to the modern world. The malls open in about an hour. We can take them to get some clothes, haircuts, shoes, stuff like that. They need a home and a family, Gigi. They quite literally have nowhere else to go."

She looked at us, then back at Reed. She looked at us once more, then sighed. "Only until they find their parents. Now let's get you two some food. How long has it been since you last ate?"

"Two days."

"Three and a half weeks."

We spoke in unison though we had different answers. Nine looked at me.

"Come again?" His voice was hard, leaving no room for argument.

"I haven't eaten in three weeks."

"Why not?" Reed's voice was soft and patient. Like I was a scared, helpless little bunny.

"I gave food to Six and Doctor caught me. He decided since I wasn't grateful enough, I wouldn't get to eat the food I so quickly gave away until I learned to appreciate it."

Nine nodded and looked at Reed and Gianna. Gianna had tears in her eyes and Reed looked angry. He was clenching his fists as Gianna wiped her tears.

He's going to punish me for making Gianna cry. I curled in on myself to protect my already bruised and battered body from any hits that may come my way, while Nine tensed and stood taller, ready to attack.

"Riker, calm down. You're scaring them." Gianna grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room.

Nine sat beside me and pulled me onto his lap. "I won't let anyone hurt you. I promise."

I sighed. "You can't make promises like that, Nine. Anything could happen. You won't always be with me at every moment. Things happen and we can't stop them. Don't promise me something like that. Instead, promise me you'll be there whenever I need you."

"I promise. I promise you I will always be here whenever you need me." He kissed my cheek and laid back.

Around ten minutes later, Reed and Gianna came back in. Nine tense underneath me.

Reed looked at me with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for scaring you two. It was inappropriate of me to do so."

"Apology accepted." Nine said.

"We have about forty-five minutes before the mall opens and you two need food and a shower. You'll also need to change out of those uniforms." Gianna suggested.

Reed nodded in agreement and Nine stood up, placing me on my feet.

"We don't have any other clothes than these." Good to know Nine was just as confused as I was.

"You can borrow some of Riker's clothes and she can borrow some of mine." And with that, Gianna grabbed my arm and dragged me upstairs, Reed and Nine following close behind.

Her room was big. There was a very big bed in the center. It had gold sheets and a white comforter. Her closet is even bigger. We walked into the closet and she started searching through clothes. "What would you prefer? Jeans, dresses, skirts, shorts, tees, tanks, long sleeves-"

I looked over at Nine while Gianna rambled about different types of clothes and watched as Reed handed him a pair of shorts and a tank top.

Gianna handed me a pile of clothes with a pair of brown sandals topping it off. With that, she ushered me into the bathroom and closed the door. Thirty seconds later, Gianna walked back in.

"It just occurred to me that you wouldn't know shampoo, conditioner, and liquid soap apart from each other." She chuckled and took out three different bottles. A pale pink one with the word 'Shampoo' on it. A pale purple one with the word 'Conditioner' on it and a white one with the word 'Dove' on it.

"This one is soap, this one is shampoo, and this is a conditioner." She handed me each bottle and told me what they were for before demonstrating how the shower worked. She put a bottle of lotion on the sink's counter and walked out.

I stripped myself of my torn uniform and stepped in the shower. 20 minutes later, I felt clean and relaxed. I stepped out of the shower and looked in the mirror. I had forgotten how red my hair was. And curly. Very curly. In my moment of awe, I noticed that my eyes were violet. Probably some sort of side effect of the procedure.

A knock at the door startled me. "Are you okay in there, sweetie?" Gianna said.

"Yes, ma'am." I wrapped my wet hair in a towel and looked at the pile of clothes. There was a white, sleeveless top with light blue overalls and a white bow connected to a white elastic.

I got dressed and put on the sandals. They were a little too big, so I tightened the straps and walked out.

Reed looked me up and down before grinning widely. "You look beautiful. Would you like some help with your hair?"

"I got that covered." Nine walked into the room as he said this. He was wearing a white jacket, a blue shirt, and white shorts. He wore a pair of blue shoes that had a star near his ankle.

"You both look so adorable." Gianna was squealing again.

Reed handed Nine a brush and practically dragged Gianna out of the room.

"They're strange." Nine stated as he brushed the knots out of my hair.

"Yeah." He was gentle as always as he pulled my hair into the ponytail with the white bow elastic.

"Thank you, Nine."

"Anything for you, Zero."