𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 - 𝟎𝟎𝟏 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐂 ✔️

008

You imagined yourself, in a far-off land of riches and nobles. A vision of royalty topped with a crown. You could see it now as clearly as the vision came to you in your dreams.

010 had just captured your queen.

After a routine lunch break, the two of you had resided back to the rainbow room for a game of chess. He was one of the only children who didn't fear you. You appreciated him for that.

But the boy was awfully good at chess. A thousand times better than you. Now, he was beating you by a long shot.

You study the board of pawns and kings and knights. You imagine it as a kingdom and that yourself among them. You wonder if maybe you'd be fit to rule one day as a queen.

The silly thought vanishes as you decide where to put your next piece. It was a matter of escapism for you, dreaming of a life beyond the walls of your own. Though, you began to doubt gold-trimmed walls would make all your problems go away. Walls were walls after all.

You're brought back to reality as 010 makes his move. With just that final decision, he wins. "Checkmate," he smiles a happy, crooked smile.

You stare at the board, completely in shock at how you'd let his tactic fool you so easily. You needed to up your game. 010 played dirty, but you could play dirty too.

"You're getting good," you say as if he hadn't had this skill for as long as you could remember.

010 giggles, young eyes crinkling at the corners. "Wanna play again?" he asks.

"Of course!" you say, already clearing the board.

Anxiously, you feel 001's stare even from the corner of the room. You meet his eyes, but no emotion crosses his face. Sometimes, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

You've turned your attention back to 010 when 001 finally decides to walk over to you. "Zee?" He murmurs, placing a hand over yours to stop its motion.

"Hm?" You hum in response, still busy setting up the chess pieces. You were determined to beat 010 in this next game.

"Come look at this," he says, motioning over to the art station. He'd been sitting there alone for the past half hour. Working on what? Who knew?

You glance back over at 010. "But I was about to go against—"

"You already went against him," 001 says. "And this is more important."

A sigh escapes your lips. "But..."

The look on 001's face told you he didn't want to wait. Remorsefully, you glance over, sending an apologetic look to 010. He nods understandingly. "I'll be right back," you say.

Ignoring the stares of the other children, you head over to the art station where 001 sat. There were various drawings sprawled out among the desks. He'd been hard at work, though some of them were rather disturbing.

A lot of the pages were either crumpled up or ripped, but the few that remained in tack were dark-colored and smudged. On the floor at his feet was a picture of an old grandfather clock. Tall and slender with a spindle that rocked back and forth. The drawing was scribbled out in red marker.

The pictures got worse from there. On the desk was a drawing of a creepy mansion. Dark and rustic with shattered windows and a flower on its front door. To top it off, the house was on fire. And besides that, was a picture of a rabbit, bloodied with limbs twisted out in places they shouldn't have been.

But those weren't the drawings he'd wanted to show you. He held up a picture of what looked like a map. It was a map of the laboratory. An arrow weaved through the hallways, starting from the rainbow room and past the section closed off to children. It stopped in what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

001 circled the stopping point in red. "There's a door here. A door that leads to the vessels underground," he says, his voice so low you could barely hear it.

"How do you know this?" you ask.

He doesn't answer the question. "That's how you and me are gonna escape," he says. "Through the vents."

For a second, you allow yourself to bask in the idea of freedom. Just imagine, living in a place with walls that weren't white, that weren't guarded! It was a dream too good to be true. Only, the truth was, walls were everywhere. No matter how perfect a place seemed.

Dreaming and acting were two entirely different things. If you were to escape, where would you go? What would you do? And if you were to get caught? Then, the unspeakable might happen.

You don't know how to turn away his look of determination. He'd been sitting here forever forming a plan. Though, that might have been too generous of a word to call it. A map it was, a map, but it was a foundation.

"001," you start, "How do you plan to go through with this?"

"The security cameras can only see so far," he murmurs, "Especially when they're broken."

You look around the room and at the children before you. You look at the toddlers, young and innocent. You looked at the older ones, quiet and behaved. Your eyes fall on 010.

001 could already tell what you were thinking. Immediately he shook his head. "This isn't about them," he says.

"Why should we leave them here?" you protest.

He gives a nonchalant shrug. "They could escape if they wanted to."

For a prolonged amount of time, you're at a loss for words. The idea couldn't help but feel selfish to you. And there was also the fear of it not working out at all. Of what failure might impose.

001 squints an eye, incomprehensively.  "Don't you want to leave?" he asks.

It's the pause of silence that answers before you do. "I don't know," you say.

You'd seen from the start, 001's feelings towards Papa. They had a rough history together, full of stories neither would tell. For you, it was different. You'd known Papa for as long as you could remember. He took you in when no one else did, and though you didn't always agree with his actions, you couldn't help but feel indebted to him.

"You don't know?" 001 repeats in disbelief.

Your voice is even lower now, if that was possible. "Papa's the only father I've ever known..."

"He's terrible," 001 says stiffly, "You can't see that because you've been blinded by his 'kindness'." He turns away from you and walks to the other corner of the room. He sits with his knees tucked into his chest beside the Plinko. You could tell he was angry by the sour look on his face.

"So, you admit it's kindness?" you ask, having followed him.

001 looks up at you as if you've grown two heads. "This has got to be a joke, Zee, that's not kindness! If anything he's mad!"

Part of you believed 001, but the other part refused to. Papa had done everything for you. Everywhere you went, he'd been there with a smile and a kind word.

"And if anything," 001 says, quieter now, "You've been brainwashed." He brings his hands to his head, fingers gripping hair that wasn't there. Vaguely, you hear him whisper to himself, "Why am I always the only one awake?"

Your eyebrows furrow. You reach down to touch his shoulder calmly. "001..."

He looks up at you, "You'll see," he says, regaining his sense. He rises to his feet, eyes staring directly into yours. "You have to, you know why?"

You shake your head, only causing him to reach for your hand and squeeze it firmly. An act to bring you back to reality. "It's the only way we're getting out of here," he murmurs. The look on his face was more than enough to lure you into his trance. "Come on," he pleads.

You could feel the part that refused to believe him grow smaller and smaller with every second that passed of you staring into his eyes. "Okay," you croak out.

He takes a step closer. "You can't let emotions get in the way of this." His eyes scale the room and all the children in it, then they fix back on you. "It'll never work."

"You're right," you submit.

He chuckles to himself. "Of course I am." His eyes darken as he glances over at 010, "Come on," he says, dragging you over to the art station. "You should be playing with me."