Dark Angel (A 001 prequel story)

17 - Truth Hurts

After losing her playmate, Eleven was allowed to play with the other children, who didn't know her well so they didn't welcome her.
Rose watched with sadness how the girl struggled to interact with others. Also her performance in the tests was affected by it.

"I miss Eight" Eleven commented as Rose walked her back to her lonely room "She used to say bad things about them. That they are all losers. But they don't even want me to play with them".
Nobody could force the children to like someone new, no matter how Brenner insisted for them to welcome their little sister.
"They just need to know you. They want to know what you are like. How your attitude is".
"Two called me a coward" she blurted out.
The oldest boy enjoyed to act like a leader and be mean to those he didn't accept.
"You know that it's not true. It's easier to say bad things to hurt others than for them to digest those attacks. Call him a pig and you don't care at all about it afterwards. While he'll be bothered".
She realized that maybe the girl was too young to understand.
Eleven frowned then commented "He looks like a pig when he snorts".
Rose bursted out laughing "Yeah, he does. So he doesn't deserve to be taken into account".
"You're not alone. We will be watching over you" another voice added at her back.
Rose smiled gratefully at Peter's intervention.
Eleven looked a little comforted and yawning went into her room.

"You look bothered" Peter commented eyeing her thoughtful expression as they walked downstairs.
"I just have little experience on the matter" she followed him when he checked that nobody was watching them and sneaked in the basement "At least she can play with them. I couldn't even have bullies. My parents said it was a waste of time to play with other children".
Peter stopped in front of her and frowned deeply "I'm sorry to hear that. Yours must have been a lonely childhood".
She shrugged "Yeah, so I feel how Eleven is feeling now. I didn't have someone like Eight. I didn't have any friend".
"Well, at least now that changed, right?" he suggested after a pause.
"That I have a friend? Yes, I'm glad I've found you here. It was worthy to come here".
He shook his head, placing a finger on her lips "Don't say that. You should have never come here".
Her shoulders dropped "You wish you've never met me?".
"No. Of course, not" he said quickly, grabbing her hands "But this place will make you a prisoner as I am. As we all are. I won't let them use you. I'll find a way to get you out of here".
"But you'll come with me, right?".
He pulled her hand to press her fingertips on the bulge behind his ear "I can't escape. They can track me. But I'll find a way to escape as well and join you wherever you will be".
"Peter..." she grabbed his face into her palms and he placed his hands on hers.
Something dark on his wrist caught her attention.
She grabbed it to see clearly, before he could snatch his hand back.
"You're marked" she whispered, letting him pull away his hand to cover the tattoo with his sleeve again.
For a moment she feared him, like he was a stranger who had played with her.

"You're one of them" she whispered stepping back.
"You're one of us as well, Rose. We are the same" he said quite sharply.
"You're One?" she asked dumbfounded "Brenner told me he didn't exist. That the program started with Two".
"That's one of the many lies he tells you".
She breathed heavily, unsure on how she felt "Why didn't you tell me?".
His expression was torn "Do you think it's easy to show myself as a prisoner? Soteria blocks my powers. I'm like a bird without its wings, locked into a cage".
The idea was so disturbing that her mind wanted to reject it.
"Is Peter your real name?".
He stilled, letting the question linger in the growing tension between them.
Rose was speechless.
He bowed his head and she thought he wasn't going to answer her, but then he spoke softly.
"My name had been stolen once I was kidnapped by Brenner, just like he stole my freedom, everything. The world thinks I'm dead. There's my grave in this town's cemetery".
"You're from Hawkins?" she exclaimed, shocked again.
"Here where everything started" he said flatly.
"What's your real name?" she asked, feeling how silly it sounded. After all they shared, after months when she trusted him, she didn't even know his real name.
"Henry" he whispered peering at her to check her reaction.
So different from Peter.
She felt dizzy.
She had been a world in her mind around Peter. Just to find out that it wasn't his real name.
It was like suddenly waking up from a beautiful dream. It gave her headache.
At least it wasn't him who openly lied to her. He never came to her introducing himself as "Hi. My name is Peter".
She couldn't remember if he ever said that name to refer to himself, but he did answered to that name.

She shivered when his hands grabbed hers, that had turned cold and numb.
"Hey, it's always me. Give me the name you prefer. But it's still me".
"So Peter Ballard doesn't exist?" she asked, her voice sounding like a whine.
She didn't like the shadow in his eyes.
"He existed. He was just one an apprentice who worked here and who suddenly disappeared when Brenner needed a way to justify my presence here so the staff wouldn't ask too may questions about who I am".
She almost regretted asking.

Rose reminded herself to breathe deeply. Inhale. Exhale. Repeat again and again.
She was used to see her own existence as hell. But now she felt it was nothing compared to what Peter...or well, Henry had lived.

Henry, Henry, Henry...

Her mind struggled to reach something.
Then she was back into Brenner's office, hurrying to find anything about the mysterious Peter Ballard. And at the bottom of the drawer she had found some old newspaper.

March 26, 1957.

The big front title.

Ancient demon killed family.

And the alleged picture. She had felt something familiar about it, but didn't get the time to wonder why.
There were four people in the picture.
The boy had caught her attention.
Those eyes. Just not as intense as she was used to see them. They stared bored at the camera when the picture was taken.
But they were her Peter's eyes.

Henry, Henry, Henry. She chanted to herself. His name was Henry.

But the full title revealed more.

Victor Creel claims:
Ancient demon killed family

She hadn't been aware of it, but the truth had been under her eyes since the beginning, since she had the courage to investigate.

Henry Creel.

"Rose?" his voice sounded distant, but once she was out of her memory she was again aware of him standing in front of her, of his eyes staring intensively at her, of his hands squeezing hers.
"Please, talk to me. Your silence kills me" he begged.
She swallowed hard, feeling tears tingling her eyes "How could you endure it all? I know what it's like to be forced to suppress your own powers, your own self. But you have a device that stops you and weakens you. How can you go on like this?".
His face barely masked the anguish, the agony he had been living with.
"Time helps. I felt like dying at first" his voice almost cracked "Like I was skinned alive and abandoned to the ordinary world. Forced to do exactly what I hated the most. They punished me when I rebelled. And I was too weak to keep rebelling. So I grew used to this. And if I had to take all his pain just to find you, then it was worthy".
Those words just tortured her. It wasn't worthy. Destiny should have had some mercy on him.
"Henry, I'm so sorry for what happened to you" her sobs were like choking her.
"Shh" he caressed her face, wiping away some of her tears "I never thought that someone could cry for me. It never happened before".
"Oh, Henry" she threw herself at him, hugging him tightly, hoping to fill some of the void he must have felt for all those years.
"How could you even smile and be kind when you're trapped in hell?".
He held her close for a long time "Hope is the last thing to die".

A/N

Monday 15th August 2022

The title is inspired by the song Love Hurts, that was already out in those years 😎

So it was about time that Rose finds out something more about him, specially who he is and his name 😅

There's still more for her to learn, but I leave it for the next updates. She needs some time to digest the truths 😇