Hey guys! Just wanted to thank all of you (even if there aren't many) for sticking with me throughout this story. Can you believe we're on Chapter Ten already?! I certainly can't. I have big plans for this story and spent most of yesterday planning it out- it's going to be a series, and the ending is something you DEFINITELY won't see coming. I hope you're enjoying Freaks as much as I'm enjoying writing it! P.S.: If you are, don't forget to follow me for updates as to when the next chapter comes out, vote, and comment on your thoughts! Enjoy!
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"Oh, look who was the first to find two clues! Sorry, it took me a little bit, I was on a coffee break." A pale, skinny man gestured to me, indicating I should sit down in a chair next to him, the harness releasing from around my chest. I glared at him and stayed where I was.

"Let's not make this difficult, please. Wouldn't you rather do this the easy way?"

I shrugged. "It depends on what the hard way involves."

"Having me come over there and restrain you to this chair." He smirked and stood up.

"Ooh, I like that idea. It sounds like more work for you." I grinned. "How about I run around the room screaming, too?"

His smirk faded. "I can see you're the bratty girl of the group. We get one of you every year."

"Every year?" I blinked. "You do this crazy experiment every year?"

"Yes, and regurgitating my words doesn't make them any less true. Now, let me have it."

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

The man let out a long, worn-out sigh. "Tell me how horrible I am. How my experiment completely trespasses on human morals and how I'm a psychopath who deserves to die a sad, lonely death."

I felt my face change shape from an expression of confusion to one of indifference. "Nah. It seems like you already know that yourself."

He gave me a calculating look and brought out a small notepad and pen, muttering to himself something like "Lazy and sassy". When he stopped writing, he put his pen and notepad back in his pocket. "Now, back to the whole 'get-over-here-or-I'll-make-you' conversation." Clearing his throat, he stood up. "Care to make a decision?"

I surveyed my surroundings for the first time since I got here, finding myself in a gorgeous-looking greenhouse surrounded by humid air and tons- tons- of weirdly shaped, oddly colored plants. One was a swirling pattern of light blue and yellow. The stem started as a bright neon red bulb and it slowly thinned out as it went up into sharp, jagged, asymmetrical leaves filled with the same neon red flowers. The flowers dripped an unknown enzyme, and I shivered just glancing around the room of monstrosities.

"Like my garden?" He stared around at it, his eyes dreamy. "I know it may not look like a lot to you, but decades of careful planning and breeding have gone into this greenhouse. Even I find some of my family's creations... unpleasant, but they are necessary."

"Necessary for what?" I asked carefully, slowly inching backward until I hit the back of the harness-like machine.

The pale man smirked. "The experiment, of course."

The harness suddenly and firmly clamped around me again, but around my arms this time, keeping them close to my chest and rendering them useless if I wanted to defend myself. The male across from me waved at me, a black remote in hand. "So much for the hard way." His eyes glanced over my body. "What a young girl." He chuckled. "I hope you're ready to-"

His voice stopped abruptly as I kicked him, as hard as I could, in the crotch.

As he wheezed and groaned, collapsed on the floor. I wriggled and fought to get out of the harness, to no avail. It seemed like every time I moved, the metal moved with me, keeping me from escaping its painful hold.

"I prepared for this," he rasped, still attempting to catch his breath. "Unless you hold the remote, you can't get out. It's entirely foolproof- though no one has ever kicked me before." The man chuckled dryly, rising from his spot on the ground and standing right in front of me. I attempted to kick him once more and he jumped backward. "Shouldn't you have learned by now? Even if you do that, you aren't getting out of here."

"No, but it is fun to watch you writhe on the ground like a baby," I taunted. His face contorted into one of anger, and he stepped closer.

"You little b-"

I sent him backward with a kick to the forehead this time. The remote flew out of his hands and a little way to the left of me. I strained to reach it, finally snagging the edge with my shoe and making it flip over towards me a little bit more. While the skinny male was getting to his feet slowly, hissing in pain with a bright red mark right below his hairline, I managed to slam my foot down on all of the many buttons at once, figuring at least one of them would have to open this harness. It didn't open, but it shut off, and I was able to wiggle out and sprint the other direction. As I was running, I felt a hand wrap around my ankle, and I fell face first on the ground, knocking my head horribly. Wincing, I struggled to my feet only to be knocked down again by a slap to my left cheek. I rolled over and stared up at my attacker, not bothering to try and stand up once more.

As I stared up at the male, I noticed him holding a large book with the word "Future" down the side. My eyes widened as he stared into the book. The same book I had been reading minutes before. He read out loud in a low voice, "'inject while the subject is unconscious'- oh well. She almost got away. I doubt I'll be able to restrain her. No, it's better that I just inject her now, while she's at my mercy." As if I didn't hear any of that, he slammed the book shut and gave me an eerie smile. "Now, if you could hold still for a moment..."

I snorted halfheartedly. "Y-You think I'm gonna hold still? I could p-punch you again."

"No, Miss Moyer, you can't. You are too afraid," he sighed, filling a syringe with an odd shiny black liquid that looked an awful lot like oil. I gritted my teeth. I wasn't afraid! I'd show him how afraid he should be of me.

Standing up while his back was turned, I kicked him in the back as hard as I could. Instead of connecting, however, he grabbed my leg, turned around, and snapped the bone.

Screaming in pain, shock, and disbelief, I looked at my broken leg, horrified. "Don't worry," the pale man chuckled as I scooted away from him, groaning the entire time. "It should heal on its own when you are injected with this." He held up the syringe as if it was his prized possession- actually, maybe it was- and cleaned the skin on my shoulder with a little bit of alcohol. "Ready to become the best version of yourself?"

I screamed as he poised the needle at my shoulder. I had never believed in God, had considered myself more of an atheist, but here I was, praying in a low voice to not let this happen to me. "Please, please, God, please no, please..."

"Really? Praying? I thought you were stronger than that, Miss Moyer." He clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "I suppose I was wrong."

And with that, he held my arm still and the needle entered my shoulder. He pressed on the back and quickly injected the serum, taking it out at the end. I was confused, to say the least. Where was this searing pain I was promised? I wasn't exactly growing wings, either.

"Nothing?" The man frowned. "Maybe the combination of the telekinesis serum and the wing-growing serum was faulty. I suppose I'll have to give them to you separately." As he prepared, a tingle ran down my spine. Then another. The next one almost hurt. The one after that- agonizing. I screamed in pain, writhing on the ground despite my broken leg. I felt like I had the worst migraine ever, alongside my spine being ripped open and shoved back in again. My leg ever-so-slowly began to lose feeling.

"It is working," the man whispered, in awe. "I thought Dad was overreacting when he said how magnificent the transformation was." Through hazy vision, I watched as he pulled out a camera and began snapping photos of me. Eventually, the pain became too much to bear, and I lost consciousness while my body changed forever.