Experiment 68

Prologue

     The breeze whistles in the tall bony trees. The moon is full; floating high in the sky. Crows scream as they fly through the thick foggy air. An older man with thin grey hair stands underneath a large oak tree. Animal pelts sewn crudely together stretch across his large body. The furs vary in size from mink to small deer. His dark coal grey eyes show no emotion as they pierce the foliage in the distance, clearly searching for something. He is silent, careful to not reveal himself to the world. Forest animals scurry under the brown crunchy underbrush as the wind continues to blow through the trees. The man shifts his broad shoulders, clearly impatient. It was later than the boy had promised. He peers at his large calloused hands, worn from age.
     Suddenly, the bushes rustle. A younger man steps into view. His unruly chocolate brown hair ripples across his perfectly shaped face. He is dressed similarly to the older man. His pale skin stands out in the night. The teen is slender and easily towers over the older man. He scans the face of his companion with icy blue eyes. The teen reveals no emotion, but nothing can fool the man weathered with age. Something had gone wrong in the plan. Had she not escaped? She was supposed to deliver to him the forged documents. Without them, he would never be able to escape this prison.
     "You promised me," the elder man hissed," You made a deal."
      "Your contacts failed us," he shot back," She never made it out."
     At this, the boy finally broke. The eyes that were normally cold and lifeless closed in sorrow. He dropped to his knees. He screamed in anguish for the one chance that they had had. His pain echoed through the clearing, startling midnight black crows off the normally calm tree branches. He had never felt such excruciating pain. His soul was ripping in two while his whole, strong body lay prostate on the forest floor. The only wish he had now was to be with her wherever she was, and to take her suffering away. He felt so cold and hopeless.
"You need to go," the elder man prodded," They know you're here."
"Let them find me," he deadpanned," She's gone."
Voices spilled from beyond the clearing. The elder man could see flashlight beams sweeping through the sky. Even clips of soldiers feet against the dirt echoed back towards the pair in the clearing.
"If you go now, you can still disappear," the man screamed to the boy.
The teen clearly replied back,"No."
"What do we have here?" a cold voice abruptly questioned.
A man dressed in a dark black uniform stepped from behind a tree. The uniform he wore was adorned with golden epaulettes on the shoulders signifying rank. His hair was shaven into an orderly military crew cut, which just made him look more intimidating. The rest of the Colonel's soldiers stood just beyond the tree line. He twisted a horse whip in between his fingers. A black blemish stretched across his right cheek. Dark brown eyes stared down at the boy on the ground.
     "The Supreme Commander will be thrilled," he said," His biggest problem...exterminated".
     The teen responded by spitting on the Colonel's clean black boots. The older man stood, his spine straight, staring in fear at the Colonel.
     "Resisting will do you no good," the Colonel tisked," It won't bring her back".
"Kill me," the boy threatened," My use in this world is done".
     "Killing you would be too easy," he drawled," I want you to suffer...just as she did".
     The teens eyes flashed in raw anger. He wished he had been at her side when the end came. It hurt him desperately that she had to die alone.
     "You pretend to be strong. This is what drew her to you. She felt so alone in the world we live in," he rolled the whip between his fingers,"Some days I wonder how long this went on."
     "Why do you care," the boy spat,"I loved her, and she loved me."
     "Love is a fools tale," the Colonel spoke,"Love is never real. It's a lie we tell ourselves to feel more secure," his voice slowly rose as he yelled at the teen on the ground,"You should know...she cried your name as we ended her miserable existence."
     The Colonels face was cherry red as he paused to take a breath. The old man still stood off to the side of the Colonel, afraid to speak his mind.
"Seize him," the Colonel commanded,"I'm done with his babbling."
As the soldiers were moving towards the broken boy curled on the ground the old man croaked,"No. He's only a child."
"What did you say?" the Colonel whispered.
"Leave him be!" the older man said with confidence.
"Seize him." the Colonel hissed.
Five soldiers marched forward towards the older man in single file. Two soldiers secured his arms, while one patted him down for possible weapons. Two soldiers stood off to the side, waiting to assist if their compatriots needed them.
"As you know, Experiment 67 the age of adulthood in this area is 17." the Colonel spoke as the older man was being restrained," We have files on your friend here. He has committed a felony, and is no longer a minor so he is eligible to be tried in court."
At this point double the soldiers rushed forward to complete the Colonels previous order. The teen was easily restrained, and while being pat down the soldiers found a long hunting knife and a tattered photo. He struggled, but to no avail.
"You can't do this," the older man cried.
"Oh but I have..." the Colonel drawled,"Take Experiment 68 to isolation. Let him rot for the rest of his miserable life."
"Sir, yes Sir," the soldiers obediently spoke.
The remainder of the soldiers stood by for instruction.
" Experiment 67 your time has come to be terminated," the Colonel said devoid of all emotion," Shoot him," he commands to the soldiers.
The soldier standing in front of him pulls out a shotgun. He aims it at Experiment 67's chest and pulls the trigger. The soldiers let go of his arms as he falls to the ground, a bloom of red forming over his heart. His eyes stay open in shock.
"Our work here is done," the Colonel says with satisfaction.
As the castle came into view Experiment 68 heard a blast echoing from the distance. They had done it, exactly as she had warned him. The death of his companion didn't hurt any less than he had imagined. As the castle came into view Experiment 68 closed his eyes in mourning and preparation for what came next.

A/N I hope you liked the first part of Experiment 68. I will hopefully update every week. (We'll see how that goes lol.) Have a good day! Don't forget to comment, rate and follow if you want to see more of Experiment 68! Bye ☺️