The air hung heavy in the secret underground facility, a suffocating blanket of dampness and despair that clung to the dimly lit concrete walls. The labyrinthine corridors stretched on endlessly, their shadows whispering secrets and casting an atmosphere of captivity over all those who dwelled within. The faint hum of unseen machinery droned in eerie harmony with the distant echoes of muffled voices.

My name is Cain Leclair, and this hellish place has been my prison for longer than I care to remember. I'm a tall, wiry teenager with short, dark hair and piercing blue eyes - or so I've been told, I think. It's hard to remember somethings sometimes. When you're trapped in a place like this, mirrors are a luxury you don't have.

I gritted my teeth, my muscles tensing as another wave of pain tore through me. It was a familiar torment by now, the aftermath of their cruel experiments that left my body feeling like it had been shredded apart and stitched back together with barbed wire.

"Subject 12, time for your session," a voice crackled through the overhead speakers. That was me. I glanced around at the other kids, each one bearing the same haunted look in their eyes. We were all trapped in this hellhole together, with no way out.

As I was led down the narrow corridor by two armed guards, my mind raced with thoughts of what was to come. It wasn't fear that gripped me; I had long since learned to suppress that. No, it was something else – a growing sense of determination, fueled by the knowledge that we didn't belong here. We were more than just lab rats, even if Dr. Helena Frost refused to see us as anything else.

"Ah, Subject 12," Dr. Frost said, appearing suddenly before me. "You're making excellent progress. Her voice was calm and measured, betraying none of the obsession that consumed her. But I could see it in her eyes – a desperate hunger for power and knowledge that drove her to push us beyond our limits, regardless of the consequences.

I stared back at her with determination in my eyes and declared, "My name is Cain, not Subject 12"

"No you are, Subject 12, however if you exceed my expectations today I may call you Cain. For now, though, you are still Subject 12." Dr. Frost spoke with a cool and unfaltering tone.

She was the mastermind behind these twisted experiments, her cold gray eyes always watching, calculating, dissecting. She looked like a predator, her silver hair cropped short, her slender frame exuding an icy authority. Every time she approached, I felt my insides twist into knots, an instinctive response to the danger she posed.

As much as I despised her, I couldn't help but wonder what had led her down this path. Was she always this cold, this heartless? Or was it the pursuit of something greater that had twisted her into the monster that now stood before me?

"Let's begin." Dr. Frost waved a hand, and I was led into the familiar room where countless experiments had been conducted on me and the others. The air seemed even heavier here, charged with the memories of pain and suffering.

I steeled myself for what was to come, knowing that any sign of weakness would only fuel Dr. Frost's to ask me more questions during the process. She had the urge to constantly inquire about how much pain I was in, not because she cared. but so she could write it all down in her notes prolonging the sessions.

So I was prepared when the guards escorted me to a steel medical table where I was tied down, surrounded by all kinds of medical items.

The room seemed to close in around me, my eyes drawn to the floor-to-ceiling vat of green liquid that dominated one wall like a silent sentinel.

A chill ran through me as I realized what it was: the stuff Dr. Frost had been using on us for months now, injecting it to us trying to succeed in something.

I felt powerless against its strange pull, knowing that whatever happened next would be decided by Dr. Frost alone.

she moved towards the vat with a syringe and withdrew the liquid using a connecter on the vat. she extended her arm towards me, the silver syringe glinting in her grasp as she approached my body.

"Please use your best words to describe your experience during this subject 12", Dr. Frost said in a toneless voice.

I felt a slight prick in my arm as the needle went in, and then a warmth as the liquid filled my veins.

Dr. Frost perched on the lab stool with her notebook and surveyed me with her gaze as she spoke: "I do hope you make it through this Subject 12; we've already lost half of you after the tenth injection."

At first, I didn't notice any changes. But soon enough, the pain began. It was relentless, searing through my bones and setting my nerves ablaze. I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, but nothing could distract me from the agony. It felt like every cell in my body was being ripped apart and stitched back together, over and over again. Then everything went dark.

"Hey, you okay?" a voice beside me whispered, soft but urgent.

I tried not to flinch at the sudden intrusion, reminding myself that camaraderie could be just as dangerous as isolation in a place like this. Trust no one; that's the rule I lived by. "I'm fine," I replied, my voice strained with the effort to keep my suffering hidden. "Just... give me a second."

"Sure, take your time," the voice said, concern laced within their tone. But I didn't want their sympathy or their worry; I couldn't afford that kind of connection. Not here.

As the pain gradually subsided, I took a deep breath and focused on my surroundings once more. The oppressive weight of the facility pressed down on me like a vice, but it also fueled my determination to understand what was happening. To find a way out of the darkness that held us captive.

"Thanks," I muttered, finally able to stand upright again. "Don't worry about me, though. We've all got our own battles to fight."

"Still," the voice insisted, "we're in this together, right?"

I hesitated, my instincts screaming at me to keep my distance. But something in their words struck a chord within me - a faint glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, we weren't as alone as we thought.

"Right," I agreed reluctantly, squaring my shoulders as I prepared to face whatever new horrors awaited us. "Together."

"Hey, Cain," whispered a girl named Emma, her voice barely audible above the constant hum of machinery. She was one of the other children here, her wide eyes reflecting an innocence that had no place in this hell. "Do you think there's any way out of here?"

I hesitated, torn between wanting to offer them hope and the need to protect them from the harsh reality of our situation. "I don't know," I admitted finally, my voice low and guarded.

As I looked out the door of our room through the small window all I see is the dim corridor, the guards must have carried me after I pasted out. I watched the other children, their expressions betraying their fear and confusion. They huddled together in small groups, seeking solace in one another's company. It pained me to see them like this, but I couldn't bring myself to join them. Trust was a luxury I could ill afford, especially when so much remained unknown.

"Did they...you know...hurt you again?" asked a boy named Ethan, his brow furrowed with concern as he studied my face. He was younger than me, and I could tell he looked up to me as some sort of leader. Lucky or unlucky it looked at if I was the oldest one here. It was a responsibility I never asked for, but one I couldn't ignore.

"Nothing I can't handle," I replied, forcing a tight-lipped smile. I didn't want to burden them with my struggles; it was hard enough bearing my own. "How long was I out" I asked slowing adjusting to the dull pain that seemed to originate from my bones.

All 12 of us were taken yesterday, and out of that group, you and the other five of us are the only ones who returned this time. You were the last to wake up." Lily said with worry clear in her voice. "Sometimes I wonder if they're really just trying to help us." The statement came from a timid girl named Lily, who was hugging her knees to her chest.

"Help us?" I scoffed, unable to hide my bitterness. "They don't care about us. We're just...experiments to them."

"Then why haven't they killed us yet?" Max countered, his voice shaky but defiant. "If they really wanted us dead, wouldn't they have done it by now?"

I didn't have an answer for him, and that terrified me more than anything else. The uncertainty gnawed at my insides, leaving me with a persistent, gnawing unease. So many questions plagued my mind – What was the purpose of all this? Why were we here? Who could we trust?

"I don't know." I said quietly after a very second of silence. "what ever they are doing to us is killing us, Dr. Frost said before I passed out that only half of us have survived the tenth injections. I felt my body shudder thinking back to laying on that table as I had felt the green liquid race through by body.

Mile's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "So there are others here besides us?" he asked.

"Yes, it appears that way. However, I've never encountered anyone else before," I replied.

"Maybe we should try talking to the guards again," suggested Emma, her voice filled with quiet determination.

"Find out what they want with us, I doubt they would tell us. The only one who talks to us is Dr. Frost" I added, my thoughts drifting to the others - children like us who had been captured and subjected to these brutal experiments. What was Dr. Frost hoping to achieve? And why us?

"Have you noticed any patterns?" I asked Lila, seeing her move over to us. "Anything that might help us understand what they're looking for?"

Lila hesitated, her eyes narrowing in thought. "I'm not sure," she said slowly. "But I've heard them talk about something called the 'Genesis strand.' They seem to think it's the key to... well, whatever it is they want to accomplish."

"Genesis strand..." I repeated the words, a chill running down my spine. It sounded ominous, like some sort of twisted scientific breakthrough. But what did it have to do with us?

"We need to find a way out. Together." I said gritting my teeth as another wave of pain hit me

After our conversation ends, we all retreat to our beds, seeking solace in the sweet embrace of sleep to escape the pain.

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Chapter 2 will be published on Dec 14th at 11am