viridity |•| t.s daughter (1)

freezing

♡ mara ♡
age nine

2005

  Many girls had died since the beginning, but not Mara. She felt good knowing she made it farther than most of the girls, but then she remembered she had a long way to go. Things could always go wrong, something Mara had learned early in life.

There were only twelve girls left, including herself. She sat and watched all of them from where she sat, they seemed to be doing the same. Miss Sokolov taught them to always observe the people around you, find their weakness, just in case.

What was important though was to learn your own weakness, then get rid of it. Mara had eliminated many of her own, only a few left. One was her love for her father, which she had eliminated a while ago. Why should she love a man that doesn't love her? That man was the reason she was here, which she wasn't sure if she should be upset about. Mara didn't love her father anymore and she only hoped she'd never have to see him again. After all, he did tell her not to come back.

The opening of the doors of the room caused Maras eyes to flicker to the movement, watching as Miss Sokolov along with other professors walk in. She watched as they made their way around the room with weird gun like things, putting them to the girls necks and injecting them with something. When it was Maras turn she held back a flinch, a burning pain going through her body. Miss Sokolov said to never question what she did to them, so she didn't question what they just put in her, despite her curiosities.

"Attention!" Miss Sokolov demanded, immediately making everyone's eyes go to her. Mara felt as if something was wrong, things had always been the same in the red room for the past couple years, what was the reason for this change? She watched as the woman examined all of the girls, Mara examining the woman herself. Miss Sokolovs gaze settled on Mara, then she began to speak again. "You've been training these past couple years to become better versions of yourselves, but better is not good enough. You have to be the best."

Be the best, that's something that had been drilled into Maras head. It was a strange urge inside of her that only grew stronger the longer she was here. In the beginning she just wanted it to stop, to go home and be with her father. Now she never wanted to leave, she wanted to train and become the best. Soon she stopped seeing the other girls as similar to her, she now saw them as enemies. Ever since that day she snapped that girls neck, something changed. She didn't want to cry about taking the girls life anymore, no, she wanted to do it again to the rest of the girls.

"How can you be the best? We've been asking that question since the beginning of the red room program, now we have the answer," The professors came back around the room again, dragging IV poles with them. Instead of holding the usual pink fluid, it held something else. Mara watched as the needle was inserted in the same place as always, feeling the liquid enter her veins. Once again she felt on fire, but she wouldn't react. She couldn't react. "These chemicals will help trigger the mutant gene inside of you that lays dormant, but you'll still need a push."

New sets of clothes were sat in front of each of the girls. Mara analyzed what was there, a pair of jeans, a long sleeve grey shirt, socks and shoes, and then a thin jacket. What would they need these for? Would they be going outside? During the summers they would go outside, even though it was still fairly cold. But they would still wear what they always did, a leotard and shorts. So why change now?

"Once your IV is finished, make your way to the bathroom and shower and change," And the girls did just that, sitting in silence for thirty minutes as the bags completely drained chemicals into their veins. When Maras was done, she took the needle out herself and stood from her seat.

The other girls were finished around the same time too, so she wasn't alone as she showered. But she was rarely ever alone at this time anyways, she had grown used to the lack of privacy.

As usual the water was only cold, but she stopped caring a long time ago. She wasn't provided with anything but a bar of soap, unlike with her father where she always had fancy shampoos and conditioners. Most times she only used water in her hair, but when she was really dirty she would use the bar of soap in her hair too. She did that today, she felt as if she probably should.

Mara was only provided with a hand towel to dry off with, not even big enough to cover her face. But that was also something she'd grown used to and become efficient in doing so, so it only took her a minute to dry off and ring out her hair.

As she dressed Mara couldn't help but question what could be going on, she wasn't going to believe it was anything good though. The mutant gene was something she had heard of in the news, but something she knew little about. Mara knew that not many people liked the mutants and that they were considered dangerous, which Mara knew Miss Sokolov was going for. The woman wanted all of the girls to be lethal, what better way than this?

  Mara followed along just like the other girls, staying quiet and following Miss Sokolov. The brightness of outside made the girl flinch, but it wasn't as bad as the cold pinching at her uncovered skin. Mara had already figured they would be going outside, due to the apparel she was given. But she wasn't expecting to see vans waiting for the girls outside.

Six girls were put into each van, there only being enough room for that many. There were benches on the can walls, big enough for three girls to sit on either. Mara unluckily was sat in between two other girls, every time they touched her she wanted to kill them. Then she would realize she was being dramatic and calm down, she'd get the chance to kill them another time anyways.

  It was only a couple hours before Mara felt the van go off road, which she could tell by the very uneven terrain and fast speed. By the time the van came to a stop, the other girls were sleeping. Mara knew she had to be awake and alert though, something bad could happen at anytime. Whatever was happening wasn't good, she knew that much.

When a man opened the door he shouted angrily for the girls to wake up and get out. Mara quickly jumped from the back of the van, then observed her surroundings. It was dark outside, but that didn't hinder Maras sight. There was nothing but miles of land around her, mountains peaking along the horizon.

The man didn't say a thing as he got back in the van and drove away. For the first time in a long time Mara felt fear, she simply had no idea what to do. Where was the other van? The other girls? What was she supposed to do?

  Mara knew what she must do, survive. But how?