Experiment 21

10 ~ Going Home

The boat gradually came to a stop, and the men up top shouted for us to climb up. A rope ladder was lowered, and children cheered in delight.

Kids started to swim and I watched as the first child climbed up the ladder and a gruff man pulled her up. I swam towards the boat, waiting for my turn to climb with Sunny in my arm. He wasn’t too heavy so I could float there with him, despite the dead weight of my chopped off arm. There was no way I was leaving him here, no way I was leaving him with the other dead men. I glanced back at the bodies strewn over the water and gulped.

It was my turn to climb. I tried to throw Sunny over my shoulder, but he was too heavy, and I couldn't climb with my arm like this. The men called down to me, pitied looks on their faces.

“Come on Honey. You have to leave him-,"

“NO!” I screamed, attempting to climb up once again but Sunny slipped of my shoulder and splashed into the water.

I grabbed him quickly with my one arm and floated there, refusing to let him go.

One of the men sighed and began to climb down the ladder, putting his hand out to me.

“Give him to me honey...”

I hesitated before handing him Sunny. He flinched upon seeing his gruesome face covered in cuts and half the skin peeled of one of the sides of his face. His eyes were still open so he closed them. He gently lay Sunny back down on the soaked wooden deck before shouting to me again, his blue eyes encouraging but slightly sad.

“Come on. Climb up now.”

I tried again, but the fact that I only had one arm restricted me. I couldn't hold my weight, so I just ended splashing into the sea again. I rose to the surface of the water, spitting the water that had filled my lungs.

The man started to descend again, and swept me up in his arms. He gently put me over his shoulde , and whispered "Hold on tight." Before climbing back up and gently laying me down on the deck next to Sunny.

It reeked of fish up here, and the rocking was making me queasy, not to mention the bodies of children pressing up against me. The noise of the children was deafening; wailing in despair, crying with relief. Either way we were saved, but it had been too late to save Sunny.

The blue eyed man was bent over me, a question in his eyes.

“Do you mind if we asked you a few questions? I won’t be a second, I promise.” He asked, hands open in a friendly gesture. I slowly nodded, and he pulled me to my feet. I followed him, only stopping to glance back at Sunny.

Inside the cabinit was warm, a roaring fire was going and some children sat by it, smiling and laughing. They were playing chess, and after one of them tipped the board over, they started to play pile-on. Two other men sat at the table playing cards, joyfully teasing each other and denials of cheating when they obviously were. I tore my eyes away from the scene that was so opposite to the one on the other ship. The blue eyed man gestured for me to sit down. The seat was very warm.

He sat opposite me, a smile on his face “I'm Miles Crawford. What's your name?"

"Grace Portman,"

He sat there, mouth agape "Of course..." He breathed, "People have been searching for you. What happened?”

I took a deep breath. It was only natural that they would want to know, so I told him everything. “They held us captive. Sunny...Sunny said that his uncle was trying to find a cure for cancer, but it went wrong after they tested it on ten people. They tried to hunt them down, but others were infected, so they were brought here. They were used for experiments for the cure to the infection. Me included. That’s how I lost my arm." I said, gesturing to my arm.

He nodded, trying to compose his face into something that wasn’t horrified. But the twitch in the corner of his eye said otherwise.

“Anyway, Sunny came to save me. We set of the alarm, but Sunny…” My breath hitched, and a lump rose in my throat as I tried to speak the words “He...he...”

“Died.” Finished the man. “So that boy was Sunny?”

I nodded.

“We'll make sure he gets a burial Honey. Don’t you worry.”

The tears threatened to overflow, so I rushed out as soon as he said I could go.

I buried my head in my hands, the tears sticky and wet. The stench of death filled the air, and we slowly started to move away from the sea of dead bodies. I felt like I wanted to be sick, seeing the body parts strewn helplessly over the now red canvas.

I threw up overboard, and just sat as I waited to see my family again. I was actually going to see them again! Hours ago, I had lost all hope, thinking I would never see them again. Now it seemed so surreal. What would they do once they saw my arm? Would they treat me different? After a long moment, I decided it didn't matter. They loved me whatever happened.

The sky slowly began to get dark, a midnight blue creeping in. The stars started to fade in. They were beautiful, and I could almost pretend it was like any other day, gazing up at the stars. We slowly pulled into the port, the cheers of the children filling the air. I allowed myself a smile as I saw my bawling mother standing there, dark bags under her eyes and her normally beautiful curls reduced to frizz. Her mascara ran down her face as she smiled.

As soon as the slope descended on the fishing boat, I fought against the other kids to reach my mother before rushing into her open arms and burying my face in her strawberry scented hair.

“What happened to you? Did they hurt you? Did they--” She trailed of; her eyes frantic as she pulled away briefly too look into my eyes. And then they fell on my arm.

“My poor baby!” She cried, tears flooding from her eyes in streams “Oh God. I swear to god, I will kill whoever did this…”

“Mom, they’re already dead…”

“Tell me what happened. Where did they take you?” She asked, voice getting higher and higher.

I explained everything, cutting out the horrible parts for her sake. The whole time she stood there, mouth open wide.

“What kind of humans could do that to children?” She whispered, her lip quivering.

I just answered with. “But they weren’t humans Mom."

She was looking at something over my shoulder. I turned around. It was Miles carrying Sunny’s body. Tears sprang up in my eyes at the sight of his face, and my mom put a shaky hand over her mouth.

“We’ll bury him Grace. We’ll make sure he gets a good funeral.” she said, voice wavering and cracking.

“Grace? ” Shouted a voice. A man with dark hair and uncertain looking green eyes.

“DAD!” I yelled, pushing past other children to get to him, and I crashed into his warm chest.

“Oh baby…I thought you were dead. When we saw the door broken down…”

“I know dad. I know.”

“Come on kiddo. Let’s go home…”

I loved that he didn't even mention my arm.

I nodded, pausing briefly to turn my eyes back to the children.They were hugging parents, some bawling their eyes out. And one girl caught my eye. It was only a fraction of a second, very quick, but enough for me to see the slight hint of red in her dilated eyes before I was dragged away…