Experiment #6310

1. The Lab

Today I was awoken by the usual painful sting of bleach and antiseptic liquids. The white walls glared at me, nearly blinding under the fluorescent lights. I sat up in my usual silence. My feet were cold under the thin white sheet. They always were. The iron bedstead creaked as got off it, my loose white shift falling down to my scarred knees.

This happened everyday. I got up at a specific time, then they stick me with some needles. I eat the mush they give me which, according to them, contains all the necessary nutrients and vitamins the healthy human body needs, without any flavouring. I then spend a long day running and jumping, over-exerting my body to show off what I can do. I'm then allowed a small break (10 minutes) to recover and drink water, then it's lessons. There always seems to be a new math problem to solve, or language to learn. I breezed through them easily. Then I'm allowed outside for 10 minutes, to breathe. It's just desert for kilometers in every possible direction. Then I'm forced back in for more needlework. "Adjustments" they called it. Then I slept.

And it starts again.

It's nothing new. I'd been doing this for the past 18 years. I was nineteen years old today.  Each new year, I was given the tiniest slice of fruit. It was wonderful, an explosion of flavor and sweetness!  The feeling didn't last long.

Today was a new year.

After the prodding and poking, next to my sludge was a particularly large half of an apple. I'd seen it in the pictures. I'd had apple thrice in my life. This would be the fourth. I was ecstatic.

I sat on the metal chair, gulping down the mush as quick as I could. I saved the apple for last, hoping it would turn brown. It was much more flavourful that way. My seer, Agent 9, gave me a small smile. It wasn't noticeable by the cameras. He was not to interact with me unless stated otherwise. We'd talked twice, before the order was put in place. That was last year. I had the feeling he had gotten me the larger apple. He was possibly the closest thing I had to a friend.

I remember it clearly. The first time, he said "Sorry" when he locked me in my confinement chamber to be cleansed. It was so painful, that each time it happened, I fought like a banshee. He felt remorse, unlike the rest of the bastards in this place.

The second time was a few days ago, when I had fainted into my food. I was weak from blood loss, as they had bled out my back again. This was both for testing and to keep me too weak to fight back. They thought I didn't know, but I no longer was 5 years old. I knew what they were up to. 

It means I can fight back.

When I woke up, Agent 9 was crouched over me. "Are you okay?" he asked, concern evident in his tone. I couldn't see his eyes, they were covered by shades. I could see the brown of his hair peeking through his protective helmet. I nodded. "I'm fine." Then I was unconscious. Not because I fainted, but because they drugged me.

I glanced at him in acknowledgement o his smile.

The sludge was gone, and I tentatively picked up the apple. It was crisp and fresh, the inside was turning brown slowly, and the outside was a rich red. I breathed its scent in deeply, and took a small bite.

Heaven.

I slowly ate the fruit, savouring  it. It was like eating a piece of ambrosia, the legendary food of the ancient Greek gods. Agent 9 breathed deeply, making it sound like a sigh. I knew better. He was laughing at me.

I licked the last of the apple juice off my fingers. "Until next year" I said aloud. I stood, and walked to the door leading to the training room.

I expected it to be the same mindless game again. The same thing, for nineteen years.

I was pleasantly surprised when the room flushed red, and an alarm began to wail.