The Alpha Project

Chapter 2

White walls. Bright Lights. Lonely room. That was where I slept. It was where I cried. Where I learned life was not on my side. The shock collar around my neck itched as I pondered, lying on my back and staring at the ceiling. There had to be something more out there to the world than war and death that the scientists were telling me. All I knew was that fear was my greatest weapon against my enemies. Fear is controlling, and those who can not control it get consumed and get stuck in a hole. All I can think about is if they were using that same strategy against me. Was I afraid? If I was, was I in control or stuck in the hole like a piece of prey, waiting to be slaughtered?

My attention was stolen when the sound of a door opened behind me, and a man in a white lab coat and white pants walked in. I sat up, my white jumpsuit making a sound in the process, to greet him. In his hand was a bowl of food. In it was that brown kibble stuff. It did not taste great, but it was supposed to make me stronger and keep me healthy or whatever, so I tried not to question it.

"A.L.P.H.A. 01, good morning," he greeted me. I said nothing as he left my food on the floor. When he did not leave the room, I decided to speak.

"What are we doing today?" I asked.

"Mainly assessments," he replied. He was always nice to me. "You're getting close to the day we'll send you out on the field. That's pretty exciting."

You sound so excited.

"Sure," is all I gave him in response.

After finishing my meal, my caretaker, Dain, stood up to lead me out of the white room and into another one. I felt my heart leap for joy as I walked into the Firing Range, seeing a few guns laid out for me to get my hands on.

The room was narrow and long to provide targets at multiple ranges. With the range to my right, I stared straight ahead at the bulletproof window that protected the scientists behind it, a speaker above it for talking and judging eyes, ready to watch my show.

"A.L.P.H.A. 01," came the sound of one of their voices. "You're clear to fire when ready. We will be watching."

I felt my ears flatten a tad as I walked over to the table to consider my options for shooting. I decided to go with the sniper rifle first before any of the others, snipers were my favorite. I aimed the gun at the closest target, and after taking a deep breath, I hit it in the bullseye perfectly. I moved to the next one and did the same thing, getting the target in the middle. However, I missed the center for the farthest target by just a centimeter.

I sighed as I stared at my failed attempt and awaited the criticism I usually got, and boy, did I get it. I groaned in pain as my shock collar beeped with a violent shock that made my whole body twitch. To those who would think I would ever get used to that, I never will.

"Again," the scientist ordered, voice crackling through the speaker.

So I did it again. I did it until the scientists were satisfied and hit every target perfectly. I received a "good job" and was instructed to take another gun. This one was a shotgun, and I hit all the targets to the scientists' liking with great accuracy.

"That's it for guns today, A.L.P.H.A 01. Dain will be taking you for your daily lesson. After you're done, we have a new plan. You are dismissed."

This caught me by surprise.

Something new planned? What in the world could it possibly be?

I rested my gun down as Dain entered the room to take me outside.

I ran my hands through my messy brown hair and prepared myself for what was to come with one last itch at the shock collar.

"What are we doing?" I asked as we walked through the long halls.