September 4th, 1979

102 Hours Remain

Truth be told, Emily hated children, especially little ones. Always so needy, obnoxious... the list could go on. Teenagers could be just as bad, bratty and apathetic. Usually, Emily disliked most of the children here. Kids Seventeen's age hadn't yet been beaten down and sometimes screamed and complained, one of Emily's least favorite sounds. Then there was Two and his gang, often picking on the younger ones.

Honestly, it hurt Emily a little bit that the new Four was one of his lackeys. She hated the number, but she hated disrespect to it even more.

Two was very callous for a twelve year old. His holier-than-thou attitude was one of the worst things Emily had to put up with day to day. He didn't show respect towards anyone, especially her because she was currently the only female orderly. That also happened to be Two's fault. Poor Johanna was a bit airheaded to begin with, but that didn't give Two the right to verbally assault her like he had.

Just as well, Emily figured. There's no place for a soft heart in the lab. Try as he may, Two couldn't get under her skin. He didn't know her past, none of the children did. She wasn't one to enjoy a child's suffering, but it gave Emily a small sense of smugness when she or one of the other orderlies had to wrangle him and take him to the isolation room or straight to Dr. Brenner if the situation called for it.

He'd gotten collared when he'd very loudly called her a bitch. How he had learned the word was beyond Emily, but a part of her so badly wanted to be the one handling the remote, cranking the electricity level to the highest setting and not letting go of the trigger. Really, that feeling passed by a lot when one of the children was being especially ornery. Two was just the most frequent offender.

Maybe that made her a bad person, but she would never act on those feelings, lest she be subjected to punishment herself. After training had stopped, Emily had hoped that the shocks would have stopped. In reality, it was almost worse. Instead of a collar, she would be subjected to two other orderlies repeatedly tazing her with handheld devices until she passed out or Brenner said to stop. Either way, she'd be unable to move for the next several hours in extreme pain.

It made her even more bitter when she came to realize that of the entire staff, only she and Henry were subjected to such punishments. One of the doctors had slapped a child for being unable to move a bottle of water during her lessons. Emily passed by Brenner's office, escorting Sixteen to the nurse's station for a headache, to see said doctor only get a firm reprimand and then sent back to her testing room as if nothing had happened.

If Emily or Henry so much as spoke to a child in the wrong way, they'd get tazed to all hell.

She sometimes wondered if Brenner was still secretly experimenting on them. Not for their abilities, but to see how long they could take it before they did something drastic. A mental game.

Standing in the corner of the Rainbow Room with her hands clasped behind her back at attention, Emily watched the children as the clock ticked closer to 10. She reflected on such punishments she had received in the past, the reasonings behind each becoming more absurd the more she remembered.

Aggressively and loudly told off Three for knocking Twelve's block tower down? Tazed.

Stepped on Seven's foot by mistake, sending him into wails that made Emily's skin crawl? Tazed, and extra for not comforting the child properly.

Spent too long in the bathroom after getting food poisoning when she was supposed to be watching the children? Tazed.

The worst one she remembered was when Nine accidentally pushed her with her powers, sending her crashing into Henry. They landed on top of each other, helped each other up, and dusted each other off like anyone likely would do. Apparently to Brenner, they were too close for his liking and they both got punished for it. To anyone else, it seemed like they were performing common human decency. The way they had gotten punished for it was almost as if Brenner had seen them in a lewd act in the corner of the room.

The doctor took his "no workplace relationships" rule far too seriously. Henry had once offered Emily a hand to help stand up off the floor after helping Sixteen with a puzzle and admittedly may have held on for too long for it to be seen as "just a helping hand."

They tried their best to work around it. They memorized the guard's schedules so they knew exactly when there would be shift changes or blank spots to allow for time to get into each other's rooms. They trained themselves to expertly lie if something suspicious happened, right down to keeping their pulses low and their microexpressions unassuming. When one of the security guards had called in sick, Emily jumped at the opportunity to volunteer to watch the security camera footage for that shift. She had played it off as just wanting a slight change of pace for the day, which Brenner had granted, but really it was so she could pinpoint and memorize blindspots where the cameras wouldn't catch them.

It was a lot and sometimes Emily would imagine deliberately making a scene with Henry just to be petty. That pettiness would come at a huge cost, though, which was the only reason they didn't go through with it.

Emily sighed, scratching at the side of her nose. Dead skin appeared under her fingernail which she paid no mind to. The false glasses on her nose slid down, forcing her to push them back up. Emily wasn't visually impaired, but she felt like they gave her a more authoritative look. That, and when she had first picked them up during a rare outing into town, Henry said they had looked nice on her.

Through the clear plastic, she saw Henry taking a book off of a high shelf and passing it to Fifteen. She gave profuse thanks before running off with it. Henry didn't like children either, but he hid it well. It was almost adorable the way he acted around them. Emily's cold, dead heart almost melted at the sight of Henry reading a book to Eleven, the girl sat in his lap and looking at the pictures with wide eyes.

Almost as if on cue, Eleven herself gently opened the double doors to the Rainbow Room, rubbing her eyes at the bright light. The eight year old was by far Emily and Henry's favorite of the children. She was the sweetest little girl, wise beyond her years. She wasn't bratty and she wasn't petulent like the others could be. Many a time she would seek comfort with them after more bullying. Unfortunately Eleven could be considered a 'late bloomer,' any signs of powers well hidden. The others would tease her relentlessly for it.

Emily glanced at the clock, the hands two minutes away from 10. Eleven barely made it in time for her to not be reprimanded.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join us. Someone's a sleepyhead this morning." Henry said gently, approaching the girl. She looked up at him with wide eyed that quickly turned down in shame.

"I'm sorry." Eleven said. "Am I in trouble?"

"Trouble? No, no, why do you think that? You're just missing out on all the fun. Training starts any minute now."

"Okay..." Eleven averted her eyes.

"Hey." Henry said, maintaining his gentle tone, drawing her attention back to him. "There's nothing to be nervous about. You're going to do great today. I just know it."

The door clicked open right as the clock struck 10. Dr. Brenner walked inside to be hurridly greeted by the children, lining up on either side of him. Eleven lingered for a moment before going to stand on the end.

"Good morning, children." He said with a smile.

"Good morning, Papa." The children chorused.

"How are we feeling today?"

"Good, Papa."

"Good. Number Twelve? Would you be so kind and open the door?" Brenner asked, one of the younger children went for the door handle and held the door open so his peers (Brenner called them siblings) could walk out. "Everyone follow me."

Like obedient little ducklings, the children exited the room single file. Twelve was last, so Emily grabbed the door for him so he wouldn't fall behind. She sighed. Being alone with Henry never meant they were truly alone. She looked at the cameras, the red lights still on indicating they were recording. They couldn't break character, even for a moment.

"Emily, could you get that half of the room?" Henry asked her, picking up the puzzle pieces on the table nearby. Every time the children left, the Rainbow Room had to be cleaned up brand new. Emily sighed as she let the door shut.

"Of course, Peter. Let me know if you need any help." She put on her best fake smile as she picked up a few books that had fallen. Speaking so formally pained her, remembering the days of casual conversations in the same room. Emily picked up the Rubix Cube Twelve had been attempting to solve. He had gotten close.

She scrambled it back up again and placed it on the shelf.

"Peter, do you know where the sharpener is?" Emily asked, spotting the messy drawing desks. Crude drawings sat at each, mostly stick figures. Henry reached into his pocket and tossed the pencil sharpener to her.

She instinctively reached her hand palm out to retrieve it, disappointed when the blue piece of plastic hit the floor. Letting out a sigh, Emily bent down to grab it, setting to work sharpening the various colored pencils. The shavings landed carelessly on the drawings, Emily not giving them a second thought knowing the drawings would be trashed anyways.

"Eleven usually doesn't sleep in like that." Henry spoke up, restacking the red blocks.

"Maybe she had a bad dream last night. It happens to all of us." Emily shrugged, still methodically sharpening. "I had a bad dream where I was struck by lightning and Pa- Dr. Brenner punished me for not being able to move and complete my lessons."

Henry stayed silent for a moment, examining one of the blocks in his hand.

"I still dream of Mother and Alice. I wish I didn't, but I sometimes see Alice falling on our play structure and breaking her neck, Mother punishing me severely for not doing anything. Her nails get long, her eyes go white..." Henry paused before resuming his stacking. Emily blew dust off of the pencils in her hands, digesting what she was being told. She slid them back in the jar with a slow exhale.

"Sometimes I dream that Papa makes you shock me." Emily whispered. Silence hung in the room, neither of them willing to say anything. Emily picked up the drawings and threw them in the bin nearby. "Dr. Brenner's probably waiting for us."

***

100 Hours Remain

The spinning light was almost dizzying. Emily remembered doing this exercise dozens of times. She swore she could almost feel her nose bleeding just watching.

"Stop." Brenner said. Two relaxed, the lights flickering off. He approached the smug boy with a taffy, passing it to him as he went for the other children. "Very good, Two. Very good."

Henry removed the wire nodes from Two's head as Emily recorded the results on a writing pad. After a few too many small incidents, Emily had stopped managing the wires. Two refused to let her come near him. Brenner taught her what to record on the data instead. Emily wrote down a few more numbers, ripping the paper with the brain waves and stapling it to the record sheet, sliding it into a folder. It was methodical, dull work, but she'd do it.

"Now, which brave soul would like to follow that?" Brenner asked the other kids. They all raised their hands eagerly, a small chorus of "me's" filling the room. Eleven was the only one not acting so eager. So, of course... "Eleven?"

The girl shuddered but stepped forward. She sat on the chair in front of the lights, her little toes barely touching the ground. Henry knelt in front of her, afixing the wires around her head with a reassuring smile.

"Remember to stay focused. Find the energy. Feel it." He reminded her. The girl gave a small nod. The paper started spitting out Eleven's brain activity, Emily recording what she saw. The girl focused hard, her nose scrunching in concentration. The spikes started shaking, but ultimately Eleven gave a frustrated sigh, none of the lights flickering on.

The other children giggled, Two leaning over to one of the others.

"Why do they waste so much time with her?" He asked snidely.

"Hey. Quiet." Emily hissed, unable to hold back. The boy sneered at her but obliged. Brenner knelt down next to Eleven.

"They're laughing at you. They think you're weak. Show them, Eleven. Show them." He said. Emily pursed her lips and looked back at the data. A light flickered weakly on the wheel, a few spikes appearing. Emily allowed a small smile out as she recorded it. "That's it. Now make it move."

The light died almost as fast as it had turned on.

Emily regretably recorded the data and ripped Eleven's sheet, putting it in her folder.

"Waste of time." Two jeered. Emily didn't bother to shush him. Henry took the nodes off of Eleven's head and sent her back in line. Oh well. It happens. Emily prepared to record more data with a silent sigh. Henry looked at her, slightly disheartened at her solemn face.

"Number Six?"

***

September 5th, 1979

78 Hours Remain

One of Emily's rare favorite moments working at the lab was when a child asked to draw with her. Usually it was one of the younger ones, the type of child she liked the least. But drawing was something she enjoyed doing with the kids. Back when she was Four, she and Henry would draw all the time. Drawings had littered the walls of their rooms that Brenner didn't bother to take down. It was honestly the activity that required their abilities the least. Maybe he knew letting them draw would keep them complacent.

This time, Sixteen asked to color with her. The little girl had a soft spot for Emily for a reason she couldn't fathom. She smiled whenever Emily was in the Rainbow Room when she first walked in. The girl was sweet, Emily had to give her that. Plus, she had the least amount of meltdowns in her age group.

God, Emily really hated crying children.

She hadn't started out by sketching anything in particular, but then it evolved into drawing Fourteen stacking the red blocks in the corner. Her one drawing weakness being faces, Emily did a back view of the child, sitting on her knees and reaching to stack another block.

The repeated sounds of the Plinko game in the background and Eleven's frustrated sighs made Emily purse her lips.

"Which number are you aiming for?" She heard Henry ask her.

"Three." Eleven replied. Emily kept drawing, listening in on the conversation in case it turned interesting. She flipped her paper over, deciding to try and draw the day Henry read to Eleven from memory.

"You know..." Henry began. "Sometimes it's helpful to step away for a moment. Let the mind clear."

Emily heard the sound of a chip falling down the peg board, eventually landing in a slot. Based on Eleven's frustrated groan, it hadn't landed in the third slot.

"Determined, aren't we?" Henry said. "You know, you remind me of someone. Someone I used to know really well. Can you guess who that is?"

Emily heard the sound of a chip being slid into one of the slots at the bottom of the board.

"One?" Eleven asked. Emily's ears perked up, wondering why Henry would tell Eleven about this. "But Papa says he doesn't--"

"Exist, I know. But can I tell you a secret?" Henry's voice was in a low whisper, just barely loud enough for Emily to hear it. "Sometimes Papa doesn't tell the truth. Emily and I spent years with One, right here in this very room."

"Where is he?"

"Maybe we'll save that story for another day. It doesn't have a happy ending, I'm afraid. But he was a lot like you. Everything was hard for him. Then out of nowhere he walked in here and it was like something had changed. And I asked him what was different. And he said... he said he had figured it out. He had found his strength in a memory from his past. Something that made him sad, but also angry. Do you maybe have a memory like that?"

Eleven didn't respond, Emily now engrossed in this version of events. Something to do with his parents, maybe his mother. Emily knew enough to assume that likely he thought about his mother's reprimands for his strength. Emily thought about the caretakers at the shelter and people abusing her when she was on the streets when she had trained. Maybe if someday she got her powers back, she could use the abuses she suffered here to fuel her.

"Do you remember the day a strange woman came to see you?" Henry continued. "This would have been when Eight was still here. The woman... she was calling a name to you. That was your mother."

Of course Emily remembered that day. Terry Ives came bursting into the lab looking for her daughter, screaming for Jane as she was dragged away. They hadn't heard from her after that, but knowing Brenner, her fate wasn't a good one.

"Mama is dead. She died making me." Eleven insisted.

"And who told you that?"

"Papa." Eleven paused. "Who doesn't always tell the truth..."

"This place... and the people here are not what you think." Henry finished.

The door swung open, the sudden noise making Emily break her pencil. Brenner walked inside the room, all the children lining up as usual. Emily stood up from her own chair to stand at attention. Henry stood at one edge of the two-way mirror, she on the other. Not daring to make eye contact with him, Emily observed Eleven.

"Good morning, children." Brenner greeted as usual.

"Good morning, Papa."

"I've got something very special planned for today. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Good. Seventeen, would you open the door?"

"Yes, Papa." The small child pulled the door open to let his siblings out.

"Off you go." Brenner said, gesturing for the children to walk ahead of him. He lingered to let Seventeen go forward, holding the door open. Brenner paused to look back at Henry with a slightly suspicious look. Emily tensed up, yet Henry put on his innocent facade, a small smile on his face. Brenner seemed to internally shrug and leave them be. He let the door shut behind him.

Once again left to clean up the Rainbow Room, Emily picked up her drawing, delicately folding it and putting it in her pocket. She looked at Sixteen's drawing, recognising the two stick figures as Sixteen and herself. She gave a half smile and discarded the drawing like she had several others.

"I wonder what he has planned for them." Emily pondered aloud.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling someone's getting hurt." Henry replied.

Emily just nodded to herself. She had the same feeling.

***

77 Hours Remain

"Today, we are going to play a game." Brenner said, using a stick with chalk on the end to draw a circle around himself. Emily knew exactly what "game" Brenner had in store for them. Once upon a time, Brenner had made her and Henry play it frequently. "The rules of the game are quite simple. Stay in your circle. If you leave your circle, you lose. The last person standing in their circle will get to spend an extra hour of free time in the Rainbow Room."

The children seemed excited at such a prize. Way back when, the winner just escaped without bruises and with a taffy. Usually that had been Henry, but Emily didn't hold it against him.

"Now, even though we are going to be competing against one another, I don't want you to approach this any differently than one of our tests. Now, this is very important: If you allow anger or emotion to invade your thoughts, you will fail. I promise. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Papa."

He knows. Was Emily's thought. He knows exactly what Henry told Eleven. Oh god, he's in for it now.

Brenner gestured for Henry and Emily to approach, each with a blindfold in their hands. They each stood behind a circle at attention.

"Number Two, Number Six?" Brenner requested. Two didn't even think to go where Emily was standing. He darted right for Henry, Six standing in front of Emily. She put the blindfold over his eyes and tied it, stepping to the side just as Henry did. "Begin."

Six extended an arm out towards Two, concentrating hard. Two met with resistance, a battle only they could truly feel. It didn't end up mattering, Six being launched into the air out of his circle. Emily craned her neck, remembering that feeling all too well. Six removed his blindfold, looking at Two in disbelief.

"Very good, Two." Brenner said. "Number Six, please take a seat by the door."

Six stood up, passing the blindfold back to Emily. He walked over to the door and sat down, looking exhausted and defeated.

"Five." Brenner called.

The cycle kept repeating. Brenner called a number, Emily blindfolded them, Two would blast them out of the circle in less than thirty seconds. The group sitting by the door increased, Henry passing them tissues to clean their nosebleeds. Eventually there was only one child left.

Eleven.

The girl took a deep breath before approaching, stepping into her circle. Emily gently tied the blindfold around the girl's eyes.

"Good luck." She whispered to Eleven. Having run out of children, Emily walked over and stood next to Henry with her arms behind her back. Usually this was a dangerous proximity, but Brenner didn't seem to care at the moment. Everyone in the room knew this could go poorly very quickly.

"Begin." Brenner said.

The mental push began, Two using all his strength to push Eleven back. Thought to be an easy task, he was surprised when Eleven managed to hold her ground after a shove back. She still stood in the circle, just barely. The girl paused, taking a few deep breaths to reorient.

She suddenly let out an angered scream, throwing her arm out. Two was sent flying, crashing into the mirror, cracking it. Everyone gasped, Eleven ripping the blindfold off to see the damage.

"Well, well... it looks like we have a new winner." Brenner said. Eleven looked at him nearly blankly, almost in shock of what she had done. Brenner in turn cast an even more suspicious look at Henry, who remained innocently, inconspicuously stoic. Emily gulped, knowing it wouldn't fool Brenner.

He already knew.

***

68 Hours Remain

Henry had been the one to give Eleven the advice, Brenner knew this. But he also knew that Emily had a hand in encouraging it. Way back when, both she and Henry had honed the skill. Brenner didn't want his new experiments using it for some unknown reason. Or perhaps he didn't want either of them to get too close to any of the children lest the truth come out.

Whatever the reason was, it led to another round of shock punishments. Since Emily was the lower offender, she had gotten off easy. Henry on the other hand...

Emily could only sit on the opposite wall, still dazed while she watched the other two orderlies shock the everloving shit out of Henry. She couldn't even sob at the sight, the pain too great. Henry screamed each time he was prodded, begging and pleading for it to stop.

Aside from the obvious thoughts about the situation, Emily kept thinking one thought.

Escape.

They couldn't keep going like this. Getting punished for petty personal things was one thing. That she could tolerate. Getting punished for helping a struggling little girl was another. How they would escape was another situation entirely, but if she and Henry put their heads together, maybe they could come up with something.

The more she thought about it, the more Emily liked the idea. And the more she realized how much she truly resented everyone in the damn lab. The guards, the other orderlies, Brenner...

And the kids, to a certain extent.

She flinched when Henry's screams got more aggressive. She swore she saw blood by the time they were done.

"Henry..." she wheezed, barely able to move. Brenner made a small gesture, one of the orderlies turning back to her. He tazed her again, right in the chest. She screamed when he didn't pull away right away. It seemed to last for hours, Emily slumping over onto the floor when it was over.

Thoroughly tazed to Brenner's liking, two orderlies dragged Henry out of the room by the arms, another one dragging Emily by himself down the halls. Barely able to stay conscious, Emily could swear she saw four children enter the Rainbow Room. She didn't even have time to process the problems with that before she heard her bedroom door open. She was tossed carelessly onto her bed, the impact sending pangs of pain through her body. The door slammed shut, Emily finally being granted a reprive and passing out.

***

September 7th, 1979

30 Hours Remain

"Good morning, children." Brenner began. Suggesting by his tone, he wasn't pleased. Emily stretched her neck, still sore from the tazing the other night. She stood behind Brenner to his left. Henry was the same to his right.

"Good morning, Papa." The children chorused.

"Today's lesson is going to be about rules. Now, for some of you, this may seem redundant. For others, it appears a refresher is required. Eleven, please step forward."

Eleven was the only one in a hospital gown, and she meekly took one step out from the others. Emily pursed her lips, knowing what this was likely about.

"The other night, your sister Eleven suffered a concusion during her alone time in the Rainbow Room. Now, she claims to not have a memory of what happened, but injuries of this nature don't simply 'happen.' Someone did this. Someone in this room. Now, who's going to tell me what happened?"

The room remained eerily silent. No one dared speak a word.

"She must have... fallen." Two spoke up.

"Fallen?" Brenner sounded surprised.

"You've seen her, Papa. She's clumsy and stupid." Two elaborated. Three, Four, and Five snickered. Emily's fists clenched around the device behind her back. Henry shot her a look from his side of the room. Don't do anything stupid.

"Eleven, you may step back." Brenner said. Eleven wordlessly got back into line. "Number Two, please step forward." Two stepped forward with a bemused expression which morphed into fear when Brenner next spoke. "Collar him."

Wordlessly, Emily pulled the electric collar from behind her back, the latch opening menacingly. She afixed it around his neck with an expression of barely restrained loathing. Two mirrored it as she stepped back. Brenner removed his suit jacket, passing it to Emily while she gave him the remote for the collar. Once again she wished she could be the one to pull the trigger. Alas, here she was, stuck holding Brenner's jacket like some sort of maid.

She really hated almost everyone in that room.

"You think that because you demonstrate some talent that you are somehow immune to the rules. Is that it?" Brenner asked Two cooly.

"No, Papa."

"That the rules don't apply to you in the same way they apply to your brothers and sisters?"

"No, Papa."

"Then why did you attack Eleven?"

"Did she tell you that?"

"Are you asking the questions or am I? Did you attack Eleven?"

"If she told you that then she's lying." Two started to panic, his tone becoming frantic. Brenner wordlessly turned the dial on the remote. "Papa, please, you have to believe me... Papa, please, she's lying!"

Brenner hit the trigger, sending shocks through the collar around Two's neck. He screamed and convulsed on the floor.

"Now, should we try again?" Brenner asked. His tone indicated he showed no remorse for the boy in front of him. Truth be told, Emily didn't feel any either. "What happened?"

"It was an accident." Two croaked. Brenner wordlessly turned the dial up, sending an even stronger shock through. Two began to spasm on the ground, wailing in pain. The other children averted their eyes, even Eleven shying away. Henry looked at Emily, expecting to see a similar expression on her face. They, too had faced the same punishment on several occasions. Hell, they had just been tazed not too long ago for something far less severe.

Emily's face showed no sympathy. She just watched.

***

18 Hours Remain

"I don't even care what we have to do anymore. We're going to escape." Emily said lowly. Curled up next to Emily in his bed, Henry caressed her back in time with the seconds ticking on the clock, reading just after 10 PM.

"I'd like to, but we're not going anywhere with these chips in our necks." Henry replied. "Before anything else we need some way to extract them."

"Eleven. She can do it. We'll get her into the boiler room and have her extract them. Then we get the hell out of here with her. I don't care who we have to mow down, I can't spend any longer in this prison."

"I know." Henry sighed. "Just imagine it. After twenty years, we can finally break free. We can finally reshape the world the way we want it to be."

"And it will be beautiful." Emily agreed, letting out a wistful sigh at the thought. Henry smiled, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Of course it will be. Anything is possible. You, me, Eleven... the world is our oyster. No one will be able to stop us or tell us no."

"We'll make our own rules." Emily agreed, curling closer to Henry. She closed her eyes, basking in the daydream. "Make change for the better."

"For good."