Act II | part 13

10 years ago

Soon after I woke up at the research facility in Grace field, I found myself at the doorstep of a middle aged couple. I didn't remember how I got there. They introduced themselves as the Ramirez and told me we were going to be a family from now on.

Their house was big with many bedrooms, housing dozens of other children like me. I remember walking around the corridor and staring in awe at all the pretty pictures on the walls. By the look of it, they seemed to be very wealthy, and I was soon to find out where they got their money from.

"How do you like your dinner sweetie?" The woman asked me. Her name was Katrin, but she  insisted that I call her 'mom'.

"It's good." I said staring at my dish, still a bit shy.

I noticed all the other kids were sitting silent.  None of them said a word to me ever since I came here.

"Your big brother Michael prepares all the food for the kids, we are so grateful to have him." Smiled Greg, who I later started calling my 'dad'. "When you are done, he will show you to your room."

Michael was the oldest one, around 17 or maybe 18. He was tall and had blonde hair. I could barely remember the names of the other children, since I didn't get to see them that often after that night.

"So, you say you came from Grace field, correct?" Mom asked, her fingers intertwined as she leaned in to hear my answer.

"Yes, I was a part on an experiment." I stupidly told them everything. They listened with eyes open wide as I spoke about every detail. "I don't remember much about my time there though. Everything from the past few years seems like a blur."

After dinner I introduced myself to the other kids one by one, with the name my new parents gave me when I was adopted. I didn't bother changing it back when I stopped living with them.

We played tag in the living room and I must have lost track of time until Michael pulled me to the side.

"It's getting late, come with me so I can show you where you will be sleeping." He said.

"Let her stay up a little longer Mike, it's her first time playing with her siblings. We can ignore the fact that it's past bedtime just this once, alright." Dad suggested.

The boy looked at the clock a little unnerved, then gave me an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit tired myself. Let me give you quick detour and then we'll come back if you want to. Is that okay with you?" He spoke very politely.

I nodded.

"So what do you think about this place, Ava?" He asked me as we went into the corridor.

"It's really nice. Mom and dad seem like really good people. Taking care of so many lost children like me."

"Is that so?" His tone was calm. I didn't notice at first, but our pace was getting faster.

He took a quick look around then pulled me into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

"There isn't much time to explain, but I need you to do something for me. Pull out your index and middle finger like this" he gestured. "And shove them down your throat until you feel the need to puke."

"But why?" I asked a little worried, initially thinking it was some sort of a joke, but he was dead serious.

"Just do it!"

"I don't want to..."

Panic set in his eyes as we heard footsteps approaching the bathroom door. I could see the sweat dripping down his forehead as he turned around, before he pinned me to the wall and shoved his fingers in my mouth.

"This place isn't what it looks like." He said in a trembling voice, the whole time desperately trying to make me vomit. "They are forcing me to do terrible things to these kids. You need to get out of here before it's too late. Climb out the window and run as soon as you trow up!"

At the time I was so distraught that I kicked him in the sack as I was trying to escape his grip. The boy fell on the ground crying.

"Please just listen to me..." he whimpered.

I could hear mom yelling from behind the door. Her words began to fade as my eyelids grew heavier. My body soon hitting the cold floor. The next thing I know was waking up in a small room with stitches on my belly, accompanied by a horrific pain. It wasn't until then when I realized why Michael wanted me to throw up my food. They made him put sleeping pills in it to knock me out. That night was the last time I saw his face.

The next two years of my life was spent confined between the same four walls. Occasionally someone would come and bring me food. Either mom or one of the older kids, I assume Michael's replacement. I later found out that he was the one they appointed the duty of harvesting the children's organs among other things. Now it was a girl named Lily. They had cut out her tongue in effort to prevent what happened with the oldest.

I was their golden goose, laying eggs each week, unlike the other children whose bodies were disposed of after they were no longer needed. After the first year I got pretty much used to the pain. At least they had the courtesy to use sedatives during the surgery.

The worst thing about being immortal is that no matter how terrible your life is, there is no simple way to put an end to your torment.

I guess the police eventually caught wind of my so called parents's 'family business', because one day they went missing. That day Lily came to set me free along with the other kids. She was later found dead, overdosed on sedatives. Most likely unable to forgive herself for what she had done. For what she was coerced into doing.

Present day

The couple started at Ava silently, it took them a while to recognize her. After all the last time they saw her, she was a little girl. The man, fell to his knees and immediately started begging and so did his wife.

"Please let us out of here!" Their eyes filled with crocodile tears. "We are sorry for everything we did! It was wrong! God knows we will spend the rest of our days atoning for our actions!"

Ava's expression remained stone cold.

"Those kids deserved better." Said the wife. "I can assure you, they all received a proper burial. There isn't a second where I don't think about what their lives could have been. It's hard to survive in this God-forsaken world doing honest work. You know that, don't you? We had to do this, there was no other way, you understand right?"

The vampire couldn't help himself, but burst into laughter after hearing their pathetic attempts to invoke empathy into the girl, whose face remained expressionless.

"Please forgive us sweetie!" They begged almost simultaneously. "We fell nothing but regret for our awful deeds. We'll do anything to repent! Please, just get us out of here!"

"What's my name?" The girl finally said.

"...Ava."

"Not the one you gave me. My real name. If you truly feel remorseful for your actions, you surely remember the real name of the person you exploited the most." She kneeled down to their level to take a better look at the despair written all over their faces. "Say it and I might consider letting you out."

Silence.

Ava stood up and started walking away, letting their prayers fall on deff ears. Before locking the door behind her, she said:

"It's Sellen."