𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 - 𝟎𝟎𝟏 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐂 ✔️

006

Warning: brief description of blood and knives

- Of course, I had to incorporate my new favorite song into the chapter...

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There were many more times when 001 got into trouble. When Papa got angry. When you laid awake in bed feeling alone in the world. Yet, through it all, the same very words 001 had uttered to you that day rang clear in your ears.

"It'll always be just you and me."

And you especially heard them each time Papa showed up with a new child.

Next, showed up 004.

Then, showed up 005.

Then, numbers 006, 007, 008, through 010. And though they arrived separately, they might as well have come all at once. The memories of each arrival blurred and ran together like watercolor.

You could barely remember your own. In fact, you couldn't. The coma you'd undergown three years ago was what you had to thank.

The most recent arrival was a girl named 011. She was a small, fragile child with shaved brown hair and pale skin. Her age was unknown, as were her powers. At least, to you. It was obvious that Dr. Brenner had taken a liking to her, seeing all the time he spent with her.

"With each day, her powers grow stronger," you'd always hear him say.

The other children were growing rather fast as well. 002 was no longer a toddler, but a young boy. A child now, maybe six, seven? 003 was close behind. The two stuck close, but that didn't mean they always got along.

Some of the children, the ones brought in at elementary ages, were quieter than the toddlers. They kept to themselves, and to each other. Many were inseparable until they came to a disagreement in the rainbow room. The orderlies were quick to set them straight. Papa had zero tolerance for violence amongst the children.

So, in the rainbow room, the children got along with each other for the most part. Sharing the same sunken faces and down-turned lips, they formed packs and alliances. There was a comfort in being surrounded by people that were like you. Some of them hadn't known it any other way.

You wondered what that was like.

But you felt the only one that was truly like you, was 001. Over time, the children took notice of your special bond. They didn't show much approval. It didn't take a genius to see that they were all scared of 001. In saying that, you put them at unease as well.

The age difference between you all could have played a part, though the maturing set in 001's jaw was becoming more intimidating with each passing day. As was the rasp in his voice and the growing demand to fulfill his every impulse. What 001 wanted, 001 got. One way or another.

Yet behind that, you could still see the awkward little boy he'd once been.

"I'm not a little boy," he would say, now fifteen.

You begged to differ. He'd only just started growing taller than you.

And you were the same old you. Sure, you'd grown taller, and your face had matured as well. Despite that, you didn't feel entirely different. That brought you comfort. Change you weren't expecting was scary.

You were a day older than yesterday. A year older than the last, exactly so, because today was your fifteenth birthday. But in this place, birthdays were hardly celebrated. The most you could do was sing the song to yourself. Alone. In your room. If you even knew it at all. And on that note, you better hope Papa can't hear you.