Well i haven't written in such a long time... This story came to mind one day as I was sitting bored in one of my classes. I kind of let it flow out. I hope you like it. Also please provide feedback if you would be so kind. Thanks and enjoy
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All around skulls, bones, and varies other body parts laid scattered throughout the large chamber. The walls and floors were covered in blood, some of it dry while some still wet. From the ceiling blood dripped down like rain, sometimes it would flow down like a faucet. Dust had settled on the older bones which had begun to turn a yellow color. Many of the bones still had flesh attached and made a stench so horrible it would make a grave digger want to vomit.
High above on the chambers ceiling a trap door swung open dropping down what looked to be a human torso and several limbs. They fell heavily onto a pile of bones causing an avalanche affect. Dust and blood flew into the air as the torso rolled down the hill before it finally rested halfway down. As quickly as it opened the trapdoor slammed shut, locking in the scent of decay.
Beyond the trapdoor was a decent sized room painted in white that had become to turn yellow like the bones. Along the walls, steel operation tables were lined, each full of varies instruments such as saws, priers, and other sorts of medical equipment. There was also a sink filled with bloody tools and what appeared to be the head of someone. A woman in a lap coat was prying open the skull, trying to get the brain inside. Varies other men and woman all in similar outfits hurried around the room, some cleaning, others doing tests on body parts that have yet been dumped down into the chamber below..
One man in particular stood back reading some papers that were held together on a clipboard. He had dark hair that fell past his neck but was at the moment tied in a tight ponytail that not only held his hair but seemed to pull his skin back to make his bones look sharp and deadly. A pair of tinted glasses covered his eyes, heading them from the others. Every once in a while the man would bite his lip as he read the words on the paper. After sometime he turned and left the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. The man began to walk down a long hallway that was lined with large metal doors, similar to the one he had just slammed shut. His eyes kept scanning the pages, only flicking up every once in a while to make sure that he wasn’t about to run into anything or anyone.
After a few moments of walking down the hallway, passing doors and other hallways that seemed to stretch in all kinds of directions, the man turned down one of the hallways and kept walking. The doors that lined this hallway were different from the other doors he passed. They were still metal, but they had small windows and different numbers attached to them. The man passed by several of the doors before stopping at one that was marked with a “24”. The man looked through the window to see a boy with black hair sitting on a cot holding a book in his hand. He wore a light colored t-shirt that was marked with a “24” and a pair of dark sweatpants. He wore nothing of his feet which he had slightly underneath him as he was sitting with his legs crossed. His icy blue eyes scanned over the pages as he chewed on his lip, lost in whatever he was reading.
The man pulled out a key card as he continued to watch the boy, swiping in on a key pad. With a soft click the door unlocked and opened slightly. The man opened the door the rest of the way as he stepped into the room. Only then did he realize how small the room was with only a cot, sink, and toilet. The walls of the room were painted white like every other room, the only difference here was that it was charred black in certain spots. The man turned his attention to the boy who was now staring coldly at him from his spot on the cot. The man tried to smile, though could only force and half grin.
“It’s time for your training 24,” the man said in a calm voice.
The boy nodded as he set his book down on the pillow he was previously leaning on. He uncurled his legs before swinging them over the edge to stand up. With a small stretch he stood up and look at the man without showing any emotions. The man turned quickly and left the room, ready to lead the boy back down the way he had just came from. The boy followed quietly his bare feet barely making a sound of the tiled floor.
“Reading a good book?” The man asked as he remembered that he needed to try to get the boys trust, if only just a little.
“Hamlet,” the boy, known as 24 replied with a shrug, as he shot a quick glance at the man. “What am I doing today, Mr. Dover?”
“Just some basic exercises, got to make sure you’re in tip top shape.” The man named Mr. Dover replied.
“No one says that,” 24 mumbled as he shook his head.
Mr. Dover shot him a look before turning his attention back to his clipboard. He was looking at 24’s reports, making sure that the boy was in good shape and where he needed to be. He gave a small smile as he read all the good marks, happy that something was going right for once.
“Happy about something?” 24 asked as he watched Mr. Dover from the corner of his eye.
“Very happy. You’re doing extremely well, you’ve passed most of your tests with flying colors. My bosses are going to be pleased with these results.
“Great,” 24 replied dryly his eyes seeming to turn red for just a moment.
“Be happier, you’re going to be one of the greatest this world has ever seen. You’re gonna make a lot of people happy.”
24 rolled his eyes and sealed his mouth shut to keep himself from cursing of the man. He knew if he back talked then there would be a punishment for him. He’s seen what the people in this place could do and he didn’t want any of those things happen to him. Mr. Dover continued to lead them down the several hallways until they got to a door marked with the words, “testing room 1: do not open when light is on”. Above the door hung an old fashion war lamp that would turn on with a red light when there was a test going on. At the moment it wasn’t on, giving permission for Mr. Dover to unlock the door and signal for 24 to enter.
After he was in the room Mr. Dover closed and locked the door heading to a room right next to it. A sign on the door read “Control room for testing room 1: Authorized personal only”. He entered the room and blinked a few times to adjust to the darkness that they liked to keep it at. He couldn’t understand why they kept it so dark but never complained about it. Inside the room was a wall full of what appeared to be some sort of computer systems. Buttons and screens flashed as a group of people typed and adjusted settings on it. A large window along the wall of the computer allowed the people to view into the testing room where 24 was standing. The testing room housed varies machines, some for exercise and others that did varies other things, things that tested the subjects.
Mr. Dover sat in a chair in front of the computer and set down his clipboard. Some of the people gave him weird looks at the clipboard not understanding why he choice to use that instead of the tablets that most everyone carried around. He paid the people no mind as he began to bark orders at them.
“Alright, I want to test his endurance, it’s his lowest mark, but I’m sure we can get it up. Get the treadmill set up, start it at the middle setting, 3 probably. Nothing too fast. No not 4, I don’t want him sprinting I know how fast he can run. Valerie, no incline keep it level, make sure its straight down.” Mr. Dover pressed a button and began to speak to 24, “Alright we are working on your endurance today. Hop on the treadmill, you are gonna start at a jog, I need to see how long you can run for. Don’t roll your eyes just get to it. Alright good, make sure you hook up to the monitor, Keith make sure you get a reading on his heartbeat and body temperature. 24 no sprinting, just jog. Good, good.”
Mr. Dover released the button and sat back to watch 24 run. The other people monitored screens that displayed varies numbers that were constantly changing. One of the screens showed a thermo-image of 24 as he jogged on the treadmill. Everyone remained silent for a long time as 24 kept jogging through mile after mile. After a couple hours and jogging above 35 miles, the people began to notice a difference in how 24 was running. His heart rate had been at a steady normal rate but began to escalate as he neared the 36 mile mark. His breathing came in harsh gasp as he struggled to keep up a moderate pace.
“Sir, its heartrate bumped up to 145 and he’s breathing at a high amount,” Keith said turning to face Mr. Dover.
He nodded in response his eyes still focused on 24. He watched his steps for a few moments before turning to Keith.
“What’s his body temperature?” Mr. Dover asked barely glancing at the man next to him.
“Um, about 42.2˚C. Do you want him to stop?”
“Of course not, he needs to keep running.” Mr. Dover stated before reaching towards the button he had pressed before, “Keep it up 24, just a few more miles.”
“I-I can’t,” 24 huffed as he shot a glance towards the mirror window he knew the people were behind. His eyes had turned a crimson color, reflecting the emotions that he felt inside.
“You can and you must,” Mr. Dover said as he released the button. “Keep me up to date on his temperature.”
Keith nodded before turning back to the screen as he watched to see if the numbers changed. As 24 ran he kept throwing glances towards the long mirror. He saw himself, cheeks flushed, sweat dripping from his hair line and he knew he was tired. He needed to stop, he could feel his temperature rising, but he didn’t want to argue with the man. 24 knew what would happen if he argued, if he even resisted a little, punishment or worse.
“42.7”
There had been others like him, some older, others younger, all of which ended up disappearing. Rumors say that those who fail their tests end up in “the room”, the room where no one comes back out of. When someone passes their tests they are taken away, but to where, 24 doesn’t know.
“43.5”
He didn’t want to go to “the room” so he kept himself going, lips partly open, sweat almost dripping in his eyes as his temperature kept rising.
“44.1, sir he’s beginning to overheat.”
“Just a little more,” Mr. Dover stated as he leaned forward in his seat, his covered eyes staring at the boy.
24’s breathing became heavier, he could feel a surge of energy begin to overtake him. He felt is hands begin to tingle causing him to look over at them. Small bolts of electricity danced around his fingertips starting to head up his arms. Clenching his fists he tried to settle down the energy but found that it wasn’t working. As he became more tired and more irritated, sparks began to fly farther from his fingers. One large spark landed right on the treadmill causing it begin to buzz and screech. Smoke began to curl up from under the control panel as it sparked and seemed to catch on fire. As quick as he could be 24 jumped back as the treadmill exploded sending large piece throughout the room. He stopped any pieces from hitting with a few blasts of lightning.
Mr. Dover had leaned back in his chair as the treadmill exploded, a pleased smile plastered on his face. He knew that 24 had passed, that he soon would be moving on to greater things.
“You did very well 24,” Mr. Dover said as he pressed the button so that he could speak to the kid. “You’re done for the day, I’ll come and get you in a few moments so try to settle down.”
24 raised a sparking hand towards the window debating either to send some bolts at it or just ignore the man behind the glass. The second option won over as he lowered his arm and turned away. He focused on his breathing and tried to pull back the energy, now that he wasn’t running he was having an easier time.
Mr. Dover ordered the others to print out the reports so that he could go over them later on. Once they were given to him, he added them to the other papers on the clipboards and left the control room. Walking slowly he headed towards the door to the testing room. He opened it and waved 24 out ready to lead the boy back to his room. They walked in silence until they got to his room, where Mr. Dover turned to face 24.
“Tomorrow you begin the final testing phase. The higher ups will be here to watch you, so do your best.” He stated before swiping his card on the key pad to unlock the door. “Dinner should be in your room, so eat then get some sleep. I will be getting you early in the morning.”
24 nodded, not saying anything as he stepped into his room. Mr. Dover closed the door behind him, making sure it locked before he walked back down the hallway. 24 walked to his bed and looked down at the tray that was set on it. There was a mix of food, from what he could tell it was roast beast, potatoes, and corn. Sitting down he picked the tray up and began to eat the food. Once he was finished he set the tray by the door, went to bathroom, and sat back down on his bed.
He leaned his back against the charred wall as he picked up the book that he sent down earlier in the day. He flipped through the pages trying to read but couldn’t concentrate on it. His mind kept drifting back to what Mr. Dover had said, he didn’t want to do the final test. He had seen others fail, had seen them be dragged out as they tried to fight back. He could still remember their faces, their number.
He thought back to when he first arrived at the facility, he had only been five years old. His parents had been terrified of him, it showed in every act, every word, and every look they gave him. When the people in lab coats came claiming to be able to ‘fix’ him they didn’t hesitate to give him up. He had been ripped from them, thrown into a white van, and taken far away. From the van he was moved to a plane, a boat, and finally an island. Shoved into a room filled with other kids older, a few younger then him, he tried hard not to cry.
Men and woman went around and assigned numbers to the kids, this was when he lost his name and became 24. Thinking back he couldn’t even remember his name, he taught that it had begun with a ‘k’, but wasn’t sure.
24 shook his head as he brought himself back to reality. He noticed that there smelled like something was burning. He looked down to see that the book was engulfed in flames. Quickly it was thrown against the wall were it bounced off and landed on the tiled floor. It continued to burn until it was nothing but a pile of ash. 24 sighed as he watched the fire die down, he had just gotten to a good part. He made a mental note as he tucked himself into bed. Pulling the blanket tight around his small frame, 24 shut is eyes and tried to drift to sleep.