The Balloon Experiment

In a city that never sleeps, beneath the veneer of neon lights and the hum of everyday life, lies a hidden world where nightmares are born and pain is eternal. Test Subject 0202, a boy stripped of his name and humanity, has endured years of unspeakable torment within the cold, sterile confines of a clandestine lab. His body, cursed with immortality through grotesque experimentation, has been shattered and rebuilt more times than he can remember—his every death a new symphony of agony.



But as the experiments grow ever more brutal, a sinister figure emerges from the shadows. The Cheshire Cat, a being of twisted power and malevolence, offers 0202 a perverse form of freedom: servitude in exchange for release. In a world where death is a luxury and suffering is eternal, 0202 is faced with an impossible choice.



The Cheshire Cat, with his smile as wide as his cruelty, promises revenge on those who have inflicted such horrors—but at what cost? As the line between salvation and damnation blurs, 0202 must confront the true price of freedom in a world where even the end of life is not enough to escape the darkness.



In this twisted tale of pain, power, and the thirst for escape, *Test Subject 0202* delves into the darkest corners of the human soul, where the true terror lies not in death, but in the endless, inescapable suffering that comes before it.



(This Is a submission to enter the Spirity awards 2024)