Chapter 6

Its cold icy breath from the creature's open maw misted across her face. She closed her eyes, too scared to watch her own end. The creature lowers her down but then pauses.

Its eyes darted around, she couldn't tell but she was sure it was sniffing.

It tosses her aside, ignoring her grunt as she hits the ground (she thinks it's the ground) and runs off silently, its unnerving eyes and grin swallowed by the inky blackness.

Violet groaned, as she sat up. She winced from pain and laid back down. Dread swelled within her again. 

Something was broken.

She touched her side and withdrew it. 

It was sticky. Warm.

Though there was no smell, she knew it was blood. 

Panic swiftly took the place of dread. "What if they can smell it?' She thought. 

"Am...I going to die? All over an insignificant action?"

A sob was caught in her throat, her regrets and fears more prevalent.

"Max...." She spoke, voice breaking. Had he gotten away? Or is he in trouble like she is? She wished she knew. 

Max rocked back and forth, his breath ragged and unfocused. 

He wasn't scared of the dark. He conquered that years ago, though he was still a little scared. 

He was scared he lost Violet. 

"Violet....Violet...Violet..." he muttered, biting on his thumb, or hopefully it was his thumb. He hated how Room 11 made you second guess things, have you question your sanity. He's seen Eidolons break after a few seconds, begging for death, begging to be free. 

He was not one of them. 

He was....strange. 

Or that's what they call him. 

An anomaly among the anomalies. 

He couldn't help but grin at the thought. 

He glances over and spots the glowing eyes and grin, like a weird neon sign. His own grin widened. "Hello Sir Tooth!" He greeted.

A manic laugh escaped his lips as the creature lunged forward, drooling. Max dodged the attack but grunted as its claws scratched his back. 

He fell and touched it, feeling the warm, sticky blood. 

A strained laugh, mingled with pain, escaped him once again. "What happened to Violet?" He asks, his tone softer, as if it might answer.

As if it might care....

The creature simply grabbed his head like a ball and slammed him over and over before tossing him away. 

He rolled for a bit then stopped, groaning. It was soon replaced with a weakened laugh. 

"What happened...." he hissed as he got to his knees. "What happened to the others?"

The creature came closer, its breath making the hairs on his neck stand up. A smile came to his face, despite the pain. He grinned up at the glowing teeth.

"That's right. I killed the others," he sneered before laughing again. 

The creature narrowed its gaze then lunged at him once more.

Violet laid back down, having given up on getting up. 

"A-127," she heard a voice speak. Violet looked up and saw an wrinkled old woman, hair grey and slick. It was tied into a tight bun. She wore a white gown and white heeled boots. 

"Look at you..." she said, shaking her head. 

Violet groaned, turning on her side. 

"Look at me A-127," the old woman demanded. 

"That's...That's not my name," she whispered, sweat appearing on her brow. "No. No. That will forever be your name, A-127," she said, walking forward. 

"Because you're a mistake, a number. A cog in the great machine run by the Triad, your savior. Why can't you see that?" She spat. 

Violet sobbed, her arms hugging her bleeding body. 

It couldn't be her. It couldn't be. 

She had sure of that years ago.

"Ah yes," the old woman spoke as she knelt, fisting some of hair. She forcefully made Violet make eye contact with her. She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look. The old woman touched her wound, pressing down. 

Violet cried out and popped her eyes open. 

She shivered as she gazed into the grey eyes. 

"No..." she gasped. The old woman smiled. "You thought by killing me, Ms. Fairweather, your life would be better," she chuckled. 

She slammed her head into the floor, making her cry out. 

Ms. Fairweather's smile fell. Her voice now calm and composed, which sent a shiver down her back.

"You were wrong."

"No please!" A-127 cried, as she was placed in the chair. The Bad Doctor, encased in a white hazmat suit, gently patted her head. A sadistic smile on his face seen through the blue visor.

"I didn't mean too! I'll study harder, I promise!" She begged. 

"You should've thought of that before you cheated, my dear," Ms. Fairweather spat, dressed in one of the hazmat suit. 

She kicked and tried to free herself as her wrists are constrained with straps. The scientists walked off and she bent down, tugging at the tasteless leather with her teeth, attempting to free herself. 

Her head is yanked back, a leather strap pins down her forehead. Two cold metal rods are pressed against her temples .

"No.....No!" She thrashed about as the hazmat people left and one went to the lever. She began to thrash around more, her irises constricted with fear.

"No! No! No!" She screamed as he pulls the lever. A wave electricity hits her, she cries, her back arches from the pain. The Bad Doctor's smile widens as Ms. Fairweather watches, her gaze blank and her face expressionless. 

The shocks end and A-127 lies back in the chairs, groaning. "Put on 'Max the Hound'," The Bad Doctor shouts. "This isn't torture after all. She is just a child."

At Facility A, twelve was already seen as too old.

"This is a cat. It goes meow!" chirped the cartoonish voice from the screen. He was holding a yellow striped cat, shoving the animal into the screen. A-127 thrashed beneath the straps, forced to watch the TV above. "Say it with me now, Meow!" Max the Hound said. The cat meowed softly.

"Increase the amps," The Bad Doctor instructed. "No! No! I've had enough! I've learned my lesson...stop please!" She begged. "Increase.." he waved his hand, ignoring her pleas.

A-127 cried out as the shock was more intense. She noticed Ms. Fairweather in the corner. A single tear rolled down her cheek—her eyes stayed cold, her brow creased in clinical disappointment. The message was clear: 

"If you hadn't cheated, you would've be suffering."

And the implications filled A-127's small body with uncontrolled fury. 

"Cum exeo ex hoc...."

When I get out of this....

"Tibi dabo."

You'll pay.

The power winded down and A-127 laid back down, too weak to fight. The Bad Doctor walked up to the young girl and undid her ties. "You did it. You're so brave," he smiled, patting her head.

"Good job."

"Good job!" Max the Hound repeated on the screen. 

"Good job..." She scoffed inwardly. 

Good job.

A-127 bent over the bowl, mixing the batter. Today, she and the others were making a cake. She wasn't going to eat hers. Rather she was going to give it to someone very special. 

She rose her hand and Ms. Fairweather saw her. "What is it?" She asked, boredly. "May I be excused—"

"Go child."

A-127 hopped off and scurried away.

A-127 soon returned with something white and powdery. She poured it in and mixed it carefully before pouring it into the pan. She opened the oven and placed it inside. Closing it, she waited thirty-five minutes and in the meantime, she made the chocolate frosting. 

A sweet smell flooded the kitchen. The children watched with silent fury as A-127 took out and placed it down. Managing to get it out, she coats it in chocolate frosting and decorates the frosting with something called "Hersey's".

She places it on a tray and carried it to Ms. Fairweather who straightened in her chair. Placing it on her desk, she stepped back and watched the woman cut out a slice, scoops up a piece with a her fork and eats—chewing carefully. 

The woman's eyes brightened and she consumed the entire slice. She finishes, wiping her mouth. "This is very delicious. you have clearly redeemed yourselves," she smiled. A-127 beamed. "I put a lot of effort in it," she answered gleefully. 

"What did you put in this?" She asks. "Well, eggs, flour—"

"Let me write it down," she interrupted, taking out a notebook. She clicked the pen and gestured for her to continued.

A-127 fiddled with her coverall's sleeve as she continued.

"So, like I said: eggs, flour, sugar, chocolate, baking soda and..... a specials ingredient," she adds happily. 

The old woman glanced up, frowning.

"And what is it?" Ms. Fairweather asked irritated, losing patience. 

The young girl's grin widened. "Thallium," she answered, clapping giddily. 

The woman's frown fell and she suddenly clenched her stomach. She turned in her chair and vomited, the children groaned and gasped at the sight.

Some stepped back in disgust and others fought the urge to throw up. She looked up at the young girl who still had a smile on her face. 

"You...."

"I did a good job with the cake didn't I?" She asked innocently. 

She skipped over, taking her hand and forcefully pressing it on ink. She then took her card and presses the finger down, leaving a finger print in the box written in bold, "Approved."

"Go....get help," Ms. Fairweather said weakly, turning to the children. One child bolted, the door slamming behind him.

A-127 didn't flinch, she turned back to Ms. Fairweather.

"It's no use. That will kill you before help can arrive," she said coldly. 

"Where did you—

"Get this?" A-127 interrupted, her grin sharp.

"That dumb cartoon was good for something after all. It's amazing how terrible Thallium can be in the body," she snickered. "Also, too many visits in the lab."

She went up close to the old woman, who clutched her chest, her breathing erratic and heavy. 

"Next time. Let me cheat," she snarled as people filed into the room. They ran up and grabbed her by the arms, dragging the laughing little girl away as the others tended to Ms. Fairweather. Her laugh echoed in the sterile room, even after she was removed.

Back in the present, Ms. Fairweather stood up and walked away.

Violet rolled onto her back. "How are you—"

"Talking to you?" The woman turned on her heels, a mocking smile on her face. "You tell me, my dear. After all, you have the answers since you're so smart!"

Violet flinched from the shout, her breath ragged and swallow gasps.

"I'm not a ghost nor an illusion so I must be real. I have flesh and blood. The question is, how I'm here," she babbled. 

Violet let out a broken sob, squeezing her eyes closed. She muttered some words in Latin.

A shrill laugh from Ms. Fairweather made her jolt as she continued. "You dumb, foolish girl. I am no spirit," she spat as she approached her. 

"I'm your nightmare!" She laughed as she raised and lowered her foot, stomping on her wound. 

Violet cried out, tears stinging the corner of her eyes, the pain reverberating through her system. 

"I'm...sorry! I'm sorry....sorry...." she whimpered as the woman removed her foot. 

"I won't do it...again...." she crumpled up, her body shaking. "I'm sorry!"

"Ah....the pleas of Eidolons. How sweet...." she spat, her form melting into black goo.

Violet hugged her body tightly, shivering. 

"But it's nothing compared to what you did to me," a deep male voice made her sin run cold. She looked back, horrified at the sight. 

He was tall, around fifteen it seemed.

Black hair. His perfect white teeth glistened.

He wore grey coveralls. Black boots.

The uniform of Facility A. 

"Do you remember?' He asked, his voice laced with mockery. "Or.... did you conveniently forget!"