Finding A Way

I-13

'So what now ?'
" I don't know." She paced outside her tent
" I didn't expect him to be there."
She walked towards the tent and looked inside. He was sleeping peacefully.

"I couldn't just leave him there." She sighed and walked outside

"Who knows what they were doing to him."

'When I was near him, there was something I felt... I felt it again when we healed him... Did you feel it ?'

"I wanted to ask you about that." She admitted

"What do you think it was ?"

'I'm not sure. But I think they were trying to make him like you.'

"But how could they even do that? Isn't it  supposed to be there naturally from birth?" She furrowed her eyebrows

'They are people with curious minds. They might've found a way.'

"So...." she hesitated "....is he..... changed ?"

"I'm not sure..... Half-changed maybe."

She took a deep breath
"So what should we do?"

'That's for you to decide. In the meantime should I ask the others ?'

"Let's keep it a secret for now"

'Alright'
She replied and left.

She went back inside the tent, going through the papers one by one using the light from her phone.

The sun was beginning to rise

After a while, he slowly opened his eyes. He got up and looked around. The tent was lit up with the light of the rising Sun.
He suddenly felt dizzy

"Oh, you're up?" She asked

"..Yes"

"Here..." She handed him a snack and a bottle of water
"You must be hungry."

He took them

"Ummm..." he hesitated

"What is it ?" She asked

"Where are we?"

"Safe..." "For now." She added

"What do you want from me?" He asked squeezing the bottle a little.

She saw it and then looked at him again

She sighed and messed up his hair
"Eat first." and went back to reading.

After eating what was offered to him he got up and walked towards her.

"I want to ask you about some things. Could you answer them ?" She looked up at him from the papers she was reading.

"I'll try"

"Ok." She smiled

"Sit."

"What's your name ?" She asked as he settled down.

"They ummm.. called me I-13 5th generation."

"Wh-what ?" She frowned

"I-13 for short."

" Do- do u have any other name ?"

"I... um, I don't have one." He replied after a while

"You don't have one." She repeated

"........"
She took a calming breath

"Okay.... how old are you ?"

"Ummm... I'm not sure." He furrowed his eyebrows in concentration  "Maybe 15? 17?"

She frowned again

"Ok..."
"...Ummm.... do you know what they were doing to you ?"

He hung his head and stared at the floor
"Yes," he replied after a while, his voice barely a whisper that she almost couldn't hear it.

"They umm....mmmehhh.." he gulped and rubbed the back of his neck

"They injected some sort of a liquid into my body.." he motioned with his arms recollecting " Ummm..  in the beginning it was alright but then.... I.... I slowly started to feel uncomfortable and then this unbearable pain surged through my body like....like..." tears started to fall from his eyes

She got up quickly, squatted down in front of him, and looked into his eyes
"Hey.." She called him softly making him look at her
She took his hand

"You're safe now...
Don't worry...
You're not alone anymore. I won't let anything happen to you."

" They gave me food. They said they would give me food in exchange for doing something for them. They kept their word. It's just... I couldn't handle the pain anymore."
"I'm a bad person. I couldn't even handle a small pain. I'm pathetic." He cried and melted into the hug
"No, you're not." She cooed
"I saw how much pain you were in. That isn't a small pain. They are the terrible ones for doing that to you. They used you're hunger to manipulate you. Those pieces of...." She gritted her teeth.

She took a calming breath and they stayed quiet for some time in each other's embrace.

One feeling safe for the first time and the other plotting revenge.