Whisper

Chapter 21

"Here," Conrad put down the tray on a nearby shelf, "It's a grilled cheese and tomato soup." He had brought her her food himself. Now in her cell he pulled up a nearby stool, sitting across from her as she shifted over to eat the food. Kevin told him of the lack of progress with Mateo. "So let's try this again, I'm Conrad." 

Should I tell him my name? 

He'll find out now or when the Projects come for me. 

Clarise. 

Conrad was quick to figure out that she doesn't use her voice, suspecting she doesn't have one, so he tried his best, mouthing her name to himself. 

"Claire-reece?" He sounded it out, getting a nod from her, "You have a surname?" 

She chose not to respond to him, engrossed in this 'grilled cheese.' She missed the taste of artificial cheese, and sipping the tomato soup after every bite was incredibly delicious. The facility never gave her something like this. It was usually one healthy food wrap after another, once in a while they'll gift her a meal from her childhood, but it was always made wrong. 

Clearing his throat, he scoot his stool a bit more forward, leaning his forearms on the shelf, "Clarise, can you tell me about the facility you were located at?" 

His men had already raided Mateo's apartment, finding her uniform and officially labelling the company and her facility. BEYOND, Facility 0601. 

BEYOND, a corporation owned by Albert Glenway. Their purpose is to research and recreate the abilities of abnormal humans, typically for military use. The facility I was at was one made for recreation. I, along with 4 others, were the sole occupants. 

Conrad wasn't expecting such a thorough and long answer, and his lip-reading skills were incredibly lacking. In essence, he got none of that. "Can I ask you to write that down?" 

Finishing off the sandwich and soup, Clarise wiped her mouth on a napkin, chugging the cup of water to top it all off. She suddenly threw up her hand in front of Conrad's face, startling him slightly but he didn't sense any malicious intent. 

"5?" He questioned after a second, getting a nod, "5 what?" 

She pointed at herself, mouthing BEYOND as slowly as she could. 

"5 beyond?" He paused, "5 beyond projects?" 

Another nod. 

"5 in total, so 4 are out there?" 

Nod. 

"Do you know where they are." 

Nod again. 

"Will you tell me?" 

She shook her head at that, yawning loudly this time, her voice every so slightly present. 

"Why not?" 

I'm tired, leave me alone. 

She shot him a glare, so he got the hint regardless if he understood her or not. 

"We'll talk more later." He sighed, "Good night, Clarise." 

Clarise laid onto her side, the light in the cell dimming slightly to allow her to sleep. 

"Hey," a voice near her head prevented her from falling asleep, especially since the voice kept going, on and on, trying to get a response from her. 

Seeing how her could barely be audible even if she was speaking into someone's ear, she chose to knock on the wall. 

"Shhhh! Not so loud!" 

Who's talking to me? 

Ava Peirce Sears, was was known as Project Frost and was the only escapee from facility 2990. She is 19 years old, turned herself into BEYOND when she was 18. 

"So how are you? One on one with The Bear must have been terrifying." Ava let out a nervous laugh, "I'm Frost by the way." 

The Bear? 

Conrad. 

She goes by Frost? 

Many of the tenants of the facilities no longer go by their real names, for they were only referred to as their project names. 

"What's your name? You're from BEYOND too right?" Frost probably heard everything Conrad said. She did and knows Clarise's real name. 

Clarise chose to ignore her, not that she could reply properly, so she threw her pillow on the other side of the cot, flipping all the way over so that Frost was no longer talking right at her. 

There was a noticeable temperature difference, and a small hole in the wall that connected Frost's and Clarise's cells. Frost peeked through this hole, staring right at Clarise's sleeping form. 

"Well goodnight I guess." Frost huffed. She was brought to the base after breaking out of the facility. She thought they were going to help her with her affliction, but all the facility researchers did was poke and prod her. She barely stayed 3 months before decided to break out. 

It wasn't that hard either, especially with her ability. 

The only good thing the facility did for her was give her clothes that wouldn't instantly shatter when in contact with her skin. 

Frost just laid back on her cot, keeping her hands laid on her stomach, seeing if she were to touch anything on the cell it would simply break. Her dull brown hair awkwardly sprawled all over the pillow like a spider web, the pillow's only protection from her skin. Although she hated the fact she couldn't be free, she understood that she was a danger to society, which is why she turned herself into BEYOND before running into members of the ARC. 

But she was growing tired of this life too. It doesn't seem like the ARC scientists know what to do with her, and staying in this cell for a month was exhausting. She felt like she was getting cabin fever. 

She let her mind wander to the girl in the cell next door. 

What was her powers? It didn't seem like The Bear took much precaution with her compared to other Projects she's seen during her time here. The Bear appeared to be the sole escort for her, so she must be exceptionally  harmless, he even went into her cell for one on one time. 

So her name was Clarise? 

That sounds like a real name rather than a Project name.