Chapter 13: Clueless and Freedomless

{ THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW }

"They're here," a man whispered, his voice low but clear enough for the woman sitting at the dining table to hear. Alerted, she tensed as he rose and took a deep breath. His all-white outfit nearly merged with the small, white room around him.

Moments later, someone knocked on the metal door. The man glanced at the woman one last time; she gave him a slight nod before he opened the door to reveal a little girl and a man in a lab coat standing in the hallway.

"I'm home, Dad," the girl said softly, a fragile smile lighting her face.

The woman stood to greet her warmly. "Welcome home, Hanabi-chan," she said, crouching down to envelop the little girl in a loving hug.

"You've done a great job as always," the man in white—whom Hanabi called 'Dad'—remarked, his tone proud yet gentle.

"Mm-hm!" Hanabi chirped in joy.

After releasing her, the woman said, "Alright! Mom is going to prepare dinner. Do you want to help?"

Hanabi nodded with a smile.

Once the man in the lab coat left, the small family settled down to enjoy a peaceful dinner. Hanabi beamed throughout the meal as her parents showered her with praise.

"We are so proud of you, Hanabi-chan," her dad said with a tender smile as he looked at her.

"Do your best again tomorrow, okay?" her mom encouraged.

The little girl glowed at the kind words, though a single tear welled in her eye at the thought of tomorrow. Tomorrow—she would have to go through all of that again, day after day.

"I'll do my best," Hanabi replied softly.

The next day came. Hanabi woke up early to prepare with the help of her parents. Her breakfast was delicious, yet tasteless. Her clothes were neat and clean. With teary eyes, she looked back at her parents. They only waved goodbye with wide smiles.

The man and Hanabi walked through the hallway. The floor, the walls, even the ceiling—everything was pure white. The static glow from the lights above illuminated their path as they moved forward in silence. The man ignored the quiet sobs of the girl beside him as he led her to the lab once again.

"Subject 944, Test #503. Commencing."

Hanabi lay on the cold metal bed, her hands and legs restrained. The lights above focused on her, so bright they nearly blinded her. Moments later, those dreaded footsteps echoed against the silence once again. Cold sweat trickled down her face as her breathing grew faster.

Hanabi's thoughts began to drift away from the lab. Not long ago, her dad had bought her a magazine about fireworks—apparently, her name bore a similar meaning. She had never seen a firework show before, but according to him, it was grand and beautiful: people gathering with their loved ones to watch big, colorful explosions light up the sky. Since then, she had dreamed of experiencing that wonder, and he had promised that once the experiment was over, he'd take her to the greatest firework show in the world.

She felt the cold metal touch the top of her head. Hanabi cried when the sharp drill pierced her skull. Her screams and instinctive struggles to alleviate the unthinkable pain were utterly futile. She was forced to feel every moment of it. The cold, sharp metal held her head open for the researchers to observe her so-called "immortal" brain, and every noise she made was ignored—even as she began to cry blood. The grinders tore open her stomach. Hanabi closed her eyes, trying to spare herself the horror of watching her own organs being sliced from her body. She screamed in agony as they used sharp saws to cut through her flesh, studying her veins. What was it in her blood, in her DNA, that prevented her from dying? How did her body keep regenerating no matter what they did? Until the researchers obtained the answers that satisfied them, Hanabi's suffering would never end.

The day was finally over—it was time to go home. But the man who escorted her every day had to wait until she finished crying.

"Dad, Mom, I'm home."

The door opened, and her beloved parents greeted her with warm, loving smiles. After the man left, they had a peaceful dinner. And then the next day came.

"Subject 944, Test #504. Commencing."

The room had successfully contained the girl's screams—no sound escaped from that hellish chamber. As they butchered her limb by limb, forcefully dragged her veins from her flesh, and breached her skull, those outside the lab remained oblivious to her pain and agony.

"Subject 944, Test #505. Commencing."

"Subject 944, Test #506. Commencing."

"Subject 944, Test #507. Commencing."

"Subject 944, Test #508. Commencing."

...

"Test #515. Commencing."

"Test #524. Commencing."

"Test #577. Commencing."

...

"Test #1027. Commencing."

Hanabi never questioned her life—not even once. It was all she'd ever known. Once again, her parents waved her goodbye as she was taken away by the faceless man.

From inside the white room Hanabi had always known as her home, Dad watched as Hanabi walked alongside the man, her eyes filled with darkness, until they disappeared into the dimly lit hallway. As he closed the door, he ran his fingers through his greying hair and let out a deep, weary sigh.

"She's losing more weight," he mumbled.

"She's growing taller, after all. She's turning seven soon," Mom replied.

With his head bowed, Dad trudged to the dining table and sank into a chair. "This is..." he muttered, burying his face in his palms. "I don't think I can continue like this."

Mom shot him a scowl. "What are you saying?" she scoffed. He looked at her. "You know we can't back out now."

Dad lowered his gaze to the plain white table. "Hanabi doesn't look cheerful lately. She's smiling less, too," he remarked in a shaky voice.

Clicking her tongue, Mom replied, "You're right. Maybe we need to do something new to cheer her up."

Dad stared at her for a few moments. His blank expression slowly hardened into anger. "Are you serious?" he demanded. "Did you lose your humanity too?" His voice grew louder with every word. "She's— Do you have any idea what that girl goes through every day? Can you even imagine how much pain she's been enduring!?"

Mom wasn't swayed. Her scornful gaze stayed locked on his. "Now you have the nerve to say all this when you were the one who got us into this mess in the first place." Hearing that, Dad's expression softened. She continued, "We are not her real parents. She is not your daughter. We're just a couple of failed actors trying to make a living by deceiving a child so she doesn't lose the will to live."

A heavy silence filled the room. Dad had no response. His heart ached, but he knew there was nothing he could do.

"This is too cruel..." he whispered to himself.

Mom stood up and walked behind him. "We signed the contract. We can't just say, 'I don't want to do this anymore' and walk away." She added with a softer, weary tone, Dad remained silent. "Her ability makes her immortal. Those scientists want to figure out how it works, so they put her through all these experiments. But she only regenerates if she wants to. The moment she gives up, the moment she decides she doesn't want to live anymore, her ability won't activate. And it's our job to make sure that doesn't happen."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, gently running her fingers across it. "You know what they'll do to us if we fail, right?"

Without a word, Dad gave her a slow nod.

————

————

"Subject 944, Test #1036. Commencing."

Hanabi lay motionless on the cold metal surface, her body stiff as the spinning blades inched closer to her chest. She shut her eyes tight, clenching her jaw, bracing herself for the inevitable pain. Holding her breath, she waited, her entire body tense. The mechanical whirring grew louder, drowning out everything else.

Then, suddenly, it stopped.

The abrupt silence sent a jolt through her. Her lungs burned as she gasped, releasing the air she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Tears streamed down her face as her chest heaved. This had never happened before. The lights flickered out, plunging the room into darkness. The low hum of the machines faded, leaving only the heavy breathing of those inside.

"What the...?" one of the scientists muttered, his exhausted voice cutting through the silence. "Did we lose power?"

"There's a problem," another responded. "Our power source was damaged."

"What a hassle."

"They sent a notice."

"What happened?"

"Subject 715. His ability went on a rampage."

A frustrated sigh filled the room. "Those guys were supposed to keep him under control… Damn it."

"Can't we just use the generators?"

"The lines are damaged too. It'll take about 14 hours to fix."

"Unbelievable. What a pain."

"Let's just continue tomorrow."

One by one, the scientists filed out of the lab, muttering complaints under their breath. Before leaving, they unlocked Hanabi's restraints.

With a flashlight in hand, the escort led Hanabi out of the lab. He never spoke to her. On her first day, she had asked him all sorts of questions. That was three years ago. She had been just a small child back then—desperate, confused, begging for answers about why she had to suffer. But no matter how much she pleaded, he never said a word. She had never even seen his face. Over time, she stopped asking altogether.

As she stepped onto the cold floor, her legs wobbled beneath her. For the first time, she wasn't drenched in her own blood when she got off the metal bed.

The hallway was pitch-black, the corners leading to her house swallowed by the darkness. Without the flashlight, they wouldn't have been able to see anything. The man walked ahead, expecting Hanabi to follow as she always did. Every night, she had rushed home, eager to be welcomed by her warm, smiling parents.

But today, her footsteps never came.

He stopped and turned around. The beam of his flashlight landed on her motionless figure.

Out of curiosity, he raised the light to her face. She flinched and instinctively shielded her eyes with her thin arms.

"Are we going home?" her small voice tore through the silence.

His breath hitched.

Behind his colorless mask, his eyes widened.

It had been years since she had spoken to him.

For the first time in a long time, Hanabi heard his voice.

"Yes," he replied quietly.

She hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Can I go outside with my parents?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. He lowered the light from her face. "It's been a while since I saw the sky."

There was no one else around—just the two of them, standing amidst the darkness and cold. The higher-ups had said all operations were limited due to the power outage.

Would he be punished if he made a choice for her right now? How severe would it be? Would he be put to death? Tortured?

Would it be anywhere near what she had been enduring all these years?

He didn't know the answer. And he wasn't brave enough to find out.

Without a word, he stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

It had always been like this. Every time she refused to do as she was told, he would drag her along and let the higher-ups decide what to do. He was just an escort, after all.

His grip tightened around her wrist. Then, without looking at her, he started pulling her with him.

But this time, she pulled back.

His eyes widened as her wrist slipped from his grip. Before he could react, she turned and bolted in the opposite direction, vanishing into the darkness—toward a place she had never been before.

His fingers twitched. "Shit," he muttered under his breath.

———————

Hanabi ran blindly through the darkened halls, passing countless doors. Her breath came in short gasps as she asked herself—Why did I run? Where am I even going?

It was a sensation she had never felt before.

She didn't feel it when she returned home to her parents. She didn't feel it when they showered her with praise. Not even when they escorted her outside the facility to see the sky.

This was different. It was new.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she ran faster. Who knew that doing something—anything—without waiting for permission could feel this good?

Her heart pounded, not from fear or pain, but from something else.

Something exhilarating.

For the first time, she was moving forward without anyone leading her. Without knowing—or caring—where her feet would take her.

What lay ahead? Something unknown. Something she had never seen before.

And that was enough to keep her running.

Amidst the darkness, a steel door stood out, faint beams of golden light slipping through its glass pane. A color she had never seen before. Unlike the cold, sterile white of the facility, this light was warm, glowing softly like something from another world.

She stopped in her tracks.

"Fix this immediately." A muffled voice commanded from behind the door.

"Y-Yes, sir." Another voice responded.

Hearing footsteps approaching, Hanabi quickly hid behind a dark corner just ahead. The door slid open, and two men stepped out, walking away in the opposite direction. Once she was certain they were gone, she moved cautiously, her bare feet barely making a sound against the cold floor.

The door was beginning to close.

She didn't know where she wanted to go, but something about that golden light pulled her forward.

She slipped inside.

The room was bathed in a strange glow, and at its center stood a boy around her age.

Hanabi froze as their eyes met. A shiver ran down her spine.

His eyes glowed a bright, unnatural yellow. His head was shaved completely bald. Strange, luminous objects floated around him, shifting irregular shapes at random—like a liquid floating in the air.

Silence filled the space. The objects continued to orbit the boy, casting eerie shadows across the walls. His face was emotionless, his gaze empty.

Behind her, the door slid shut with a quiet click.

She was locked in.

She hesitated, unsure of what to say. Something about the moment felt… off. Like words didn't belong here. Like asking a question would be wrong.

Still, she opened her mouth.

"Um..." she muttered.

The boy remained motionless.

[ To be continued ]