|You bleed, we crawl like animals, but when it's over, I'm still awake

|Song: Silhouettes, Of Monsters And Men

|||

Dawn's P.O.V.

'She is not going to make it.'
'Of course she is! Or else we'll force her.'
'We cannot force her to live.'
'No we can't, but we can give her a reason to want to live.'
'And what might that be?'
'Her friends.'

I tried to open my eyes and see who was speaking but I felt so incredibly weak that I couldn't even move my fingers. I didn't know what they had done to me but it wasn't good. At all. It felt like I had been here for years. They had given me so many pills and injections. They gave me weird dreams and made strange and yet familiar faces appear before me. I didn't know if it was possible but I thought that somehow they were giving me my memories back. The voices who had been talking went silent but I couldn't tell if they had been in my head or not. Reality and dreams had become one.

I wanted to move but it only made my head hurt more. So I just lay back in the chair. Sounds blurred together as darkness took me again.

The room was small and dark. The curtains were closed, three people were sitting on the couch. A man and two little girls. The man seemed nervous since he was playing with the zipper of his coat the whole time. 

'Daddy, when are they coming?' The girl who seemed to be the oldest asked.  

The man looked up at her and messed her hair. 'Soon sweetie soon.' 

'I'm scared,' the youngest admitted. 

The father smiled and took her on his lap. 'It's going to be fine. We are going to safe the world, you shouldn't be afraid of greatness.'

The little girl smiled and hugged him.

Suddenly the door was thrown open. Three man in black coats and with black masks on their faces walked into the room. 'It's time,' the biggest of them snapped.

The father took a deep breath and took the hands of this daughters. With his head held high he walked outside into the bright sunlight. There was a Berg waiting for them with more guards dressed in the same black coats standing on the street to make sure no one would escape. Suddenly two guards came from behind and separeted the girls away from their father.

The youngest started to cry, while the oldest was fighting to break free from their grip. 

'Safe the world! Find a cure!' their father screamed.

The guards walked inside the Berg, taking the girls with them. The door was about to close. 

'Wait!' The father suddenly screamed, 'wait!' 

One of the guards turned around. 'What do you want?'  He snapped. 

'I can help! I can help safe the world! I'm a doctor, I can help.' 

The guard doubted a few seconds, allowing the father to go on.

'I know a lot about a science, and I have studied the human brain for years. If there is someone who can help you, it's me!'

Suddenly the guard started to laugh. 'So that is what this is all about. We got a call from a man telling us he knew two immune girls and where to find them. He didn't give a name because that wouldn't be safe.' The big guard spat the last word as if it was food for mouses and rats. 'Don't tell me you sold your own daughters just so you could go somewhere safe and be a dirty hero.'

Somehow a smirk found a way on the father his face. 'That is exactly what this is all about my friend. Now will you let me help you or not?' 

Suddenly the guard took his gun and pointed it at the man's face. 'I don't like your kind. I had daughters too you know. And they died, with nothing I could do about it. That's why I'm here to safe more people from such a cruel fate. And now this monster sells his own daughters for his safety.' The guard spat on the ground. 'I wish I could kill you right here and now. But I have orders.' He lowered his gun. 'Welcome to WICKED.'

The man's smirk went wider and with his head helt high he walked inside. But suddenly the guard took his gun again and held it against the man his side. 'Just remember I am watching you, ratman. I am watching you.' 

The man just grinned when the guard pulled his gun away and closed the door. Suddenly the man stopped walking. Before him stood a little girl, his youngest daughter. She stared at him, eyes wide, a single tear rolling down her cheek. 'Dad?' she whispered. He just stood there not responding at all. The little girl wipped away her tear and raised her head. Her eyes suddenly hard as stone.'You're a coward,' she says before turning on her heals and walking away into the Berg. 

She walked behind the doctors. They took her through long white halls with only a few doors. The girl had a locked up feeling and couldn't help it to let a few tears fall. Suddenly they pushed open a huge iron door and gestured for the girl to go inside. They sat her down. She took a deep breath to convince herself everything would be fine. Once she sat down the doctors left. The girl frowned and looked around nervously.

Suddenly a mechanic voice sounded through an intercom. 'What is your name?' It said.

The girl swallowed her fear and answered with a voice clear as water. 'Thea.'

'How old are you?' The mechanic voice asked again.

'Six,' the girl answered, still trying to calm herself.

'Do you have a family?'

That question hit her like a rock and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. 'My mother is dead. My sister and I were taken by WICKED because...' Her breath became unsteady and her nails left marks in her skin. 'Because my dad was a coward and sold us for his own safety and glory.'

It was silence for a couple of seconds then the door opened and a long, blond woman walked inside. Her face was stern, her hair straight and her head held high. Yet there was something about her that put the girl at ease. She didn't say anything but spread her arms, like she was about to give her a hug. The girl doubted for a second but then jumped up and threw herself into the woman's arms. She let her tears fall freely and decided for once she didn't care anymore.
'Ssh, it's okay,' the woman whispered while stroke her hair. 'We wont hurt you, WICKED is good.'
And the girl wanted to believe the woman. She wanted to believe her so badly.

The little girl sat in a chair, a year older now. Strange wires were attatched to her head. She kept looking at them with fear in her eyes.

'Now, let's try this again,' a deep male voice spoke. His eyes were cold as stone and she kept avoiding them. Kept on staring at some spot by his shoulder. And he noticed, of course he did. 'Look at me!' He screamed.

She winced and lifted her eyes to look at him.

'That's better. Now, answer the question. What is your name?'

She bit her lip, trying to stay calm. 'It's Thea.'

'Wrong answer,' the man mumbled and pushed the button.

Electricty floated through her veins, numbing her senses, lighting up her skin. She screamed, then it stopped.

'Again what is your name, and remember, I'm running out of patience.'

She opened her eyes, sweat running down her forehead. She was young, but not stupid. The woman had lied to her. WICKED wasn't good. All the rumors and stories were true. What was going on behind those heavy secured doors...was inhuman.

'Thea, it's Thea,' she answered.

The pain was all she felt, consuming every thought and drowing out every sense of time and space. When it finally stopped she felt like she'd been screaming for hours. Her throat raw and her whole body aching.

'This is the last time I'm going to push this button, little girl. The next time, the pain won't stop,' the man teased her, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

She hated him, she hated him with every bit of strength she had left. 'It's-' she stopped herself, staring in his eyes and she knew before she wanted to admit it that she lost. She couldn't take any more. 'Dawn.'