Product of War

Chapter Two

           All the boy saw when he came out of his comatose state was a blinding stripe of light. A powerful lamp was located right above his head. He hissed in pain from the brightness and tilted his head to the side. Why there was a bright light shining in his eyes he did not know: He only knew that he was lying chest up on a rigid surface. Nothing else would come to mind, not even his name. Something that he soon figured out was that the room was unnaturally cold. The chill of the metal bit into his skin, leaving behind feelings of unease. His confusion kept him from knowing why he was uneasy, however. It didn't help that his brain was muddled, as if a swamp had taken refuge there. All of his thoughts were one big lump- so much so he couldn't create one coherent sentence. Eventually the boy gave up on trying to think and instead racked his memories to try and find a single clue that would tell him where he was. However, there was a solid wall blocking the entrance to his memories. He slammed his consciousness against the wall, but it produced no result. The memories were locked up tight. The poor boy was so confused and just wanted to know where he was, who he was, and why everything was so blurry and bright. And why was his head pounding like this? He decided to experiment with moving his arms, but they were fastened to something solid.

          "What?" The drowsy boy muttered, "Why won't my hands move?" He gave another experimental tug and then began to wrestle with the invisible restraints. His violent thrashing stopped when some strange, deep instinct told him to stop. It told him that being still was better, it kept him safe.

          "But why?" The boy whined. He was so confused, he needed to know what was going on.

         A noise reached the boy's ears, soft. A swish of air. Footsteps. He immediately froze. Two voices floated in. The voices sounded young and inexperienced, fresh to the boy's ears. They were conversing and, although his muddled brain didn't know why, his instincts told him to listen. So he did.

        The first words Malachi's blocked ears heard them say was, "Can't...freak kid...going to...out." Were they talking about him? He strained his ears even harder than before, but the conversation still barely reached his ears. The small sections he could hear were so confusing, and would still be even if he didn't have such a swampy brain. As he continued to listen the words continued to become more and more disturbing.

         "Stop the...I know....Crazy...hope...control stays... strong," the voices said.

          Control? What in the world were they talking about? He was never told anything about controlling, and killing? Why were people dying? Malachi wanted to rip the questions out of his mind to stop the turmoil they were creating. His mental struggle must have been showing on his face because soon his thoughts were cut short by someone gasping.

         "Oh god, 5X is awake! He had to have heard us!" There were rapid footsteps as Malachi felt two people retreat far away from, what was in their eyes, the monster on the table.

          The word "5X" sent a strange flood wave of anger through Malachi. He turned his head in the direction of whoever was speaking. When he looked over he saw only the blurry outline of the two scientists that had entered the room. She had a large needle in her hand. Its contents were a strange green solution, thick and sloshing. The liquid had an unnatural neon tint to it, almost as if radiation were made into a liquid. The boy felt a sense of familiarity at the sight of it: He knew he had seen it before! He felt the scientist advance, slowly, very slowly, to him with the needle in hand. The remainder of the scientists' conversation drifted away from the boy's ears as he tried his hardest to remember what the weird green liquid did. His answer came within seconds as he felt a hesitant prick on one of his arms. The nerves in his brain were on fire as it sent a wave of clarity through his mind, disintegrating the wall that blocked his memories and clearing the swamp.