Product of War

Chapter Three

          Morning came and Malachi still did not have a plan. The boy was lying on his back in his cot, exhausted. He had deprived himself of any sleep because he was afraid the nightmares would come back. Instead, he spent his time searching the room for possible weak points. He soon found there were no weaknesses: the room was built to be impenetrable. The door was the first area checked, but it was seamlessly sealed and could only be opened by an electric panel located outside the door. Even if he could find a way to reach the panel, only a few select people knew the code, and Malachi, of course, was not one of them. After he checked every detail on the door and found nothing, he flew in slow circles around the room, slowly moving up the walls. There were no other exits to the room unless he broke one open himself, and without even trying Malachi knew the walls were too thick to punch or scratch through. When he finally gave up, Malachi sat and brainstormed.

          The problems with escaping from the room opened up only one other solution: to break free outside of his cell. But that solution brought another question. How would he defeat the two soldiers that escorted him everywhere? He couldn't bribe them: they never even spoke. And he certainly couldn't fight them. He wasn't a good fighter, and they were two human walls packed with muscle and gun power. Then there was the problem of what he would do after he broke free. He would have no idea where to find Roley to demand answers. The only places he had ever been in the lab were his cell, the hallway between his cell and the training room, and the lab where he woke up after training. He thought and thought but no solution came to him. When he eventually ran out of ideas, he flew to his cot and resorted to counting the bolts in the ceiling. By the time morning, or what he thought might be morning, came he had counted every bolt in the room three times over, and he still had no plan.

          "I'm never going to get my answers am I?" Malachi whispered to the air, defeated. His original determination had disappeared with the night, only to be replaced with a feeling of hopelessness. Everything he thought of would eventually end in failure. All his time resulted in a feeling of not knowing what to do. The poor boy was on the verge of tears.

          Another explosion rocked the room, almost knocking the boy out of his "nest." The event only furthered his questions. What was Roley doing that was so powerful it could shake a giant building? Having a new question was what pushed the boy over the edge. Malachi's brain was enveloped with so many questions he felt he was never going to get answers to. So he did what any frustrated person would do: he cried. He huddled himself into the corner of his cot, folding his wings around himself in a protective orb. He sat and cried, but he didn't get to feel sorry for himself for long. The door below him opened and Mike's voice floated in.

          "Let's go 5X! You should know by now that this is the time you train!" Mike yelled, sounding very annoyed. Malachi quickly wiped away his tears and unwrapped his wings. He couldn't let anyone see him in a state of weakness, or there would be serious consequences. The scientists needed to see he was strong, or they would toughen him up no matter what it took.

          "Coming," Malchi muttered from his cot. He floated down and set himself dejectedly on the floor. His wings were drooped and his tail was limp as he walked out of the door. On his way he had accidently bumped into Mike. Malachi flinched. He thought there was going to be a violent reaction from the scientist, but the man just had a surprised expression from the lack of resistance the boy showed. Usually Malachi would argue or at least make a quiet snarky remark. The scientist stood there, befuddled. He wasn't concerned, no, but he had no idea what sparked this kind of reaction from the boy. Mike shook his head as if to clear his confusion.

          "All right then. Let's go," the man said. He roughly shoved Malachi forward to show he was still the boy's superior, even if Malachi had confused him. The force of the shove did nothing to upset or hinder the boy. He was miserable.