"No! I don't want to!"
"Calm yourself!"
"Shut up! I hate you! I hate you! I wish yo-"
Bang!
The small body crumpled. The thump echoed down the mute corridor as the subjects and their handlers paused with either horror or indifference. Terries was the only one to continue forward in his collected stride, motioning for the guards to clean up the mess.
At four years old, Jayden couldn't take her eyes off the blood, even when she was forced to move by a demanding hand on her shoulder. She would never forget her first glimpse of death.
///
The crackling rasp from the boy's throat was the sole indicator of his continued existence. His eyes were vacantly turned to the ceiling, just shy of the figure above, who had her hand hovering over him.
It had been hours, yet she still couldn't do it.
There was no choice. She had to. Terries was impatient. If she failed, a much worse fate would befall them both. She bit into her lip hard enough to draw blood. Her vision blurred, but it wasn't enough for her to be blind to the decaying body beneath.
The air had a stale, diseased taste to it as she sucked in a breath. She forced the trembling in her hand to still and focused on the target. His head jolted back as it was pushed by her abilities. A wet, desperate wail spilt from his throat, inhuman and raw. She stepped back with a sob. Her attempts to cave his head had failed. If anything, she had only made him worse. His head was visibly disfigured, but not enough to result in the bliss of death.
She tried again and failed again. All she wanted was to give him a painless passage to non-existence, but she couldn't even do that.
"I'm sorry, FN," she whispered as a small solace, hoping he still could hear and understand speech. With a last firm push, a sickening crunch emitted as she completely caved his skull in. Silence at last. He was as he appeared to be. A corpse.
///
A boy ran down the corridor. His shoulder collided with hers as he pushed through. She stepped aside as multiple guards rushed after him. A spike of pity rippled through her. He wouldn't make it.
Sure enough, there was a bang further down the corridor. She passed the boy shortly with her doctor. His blond hair turned a reddish-pink, and the grey tiles pooled with blood. Everybody was unfazed. Nobody's day was interrupted. The guards didn't move his body. Not yet.
His failure was a lesson. There's no escape.
///
"It can only be you," the white-haired, skinny man whispered in the dark. "Remember what I said. Wait until it's deep in the night. That's when it's quietest. Do not lose the map. Believe you can do this."
YOU ARE READING
Unforeseen¹
FanfictionJYD2641 had enough. In her seven years, she's only ever known the cruel hands of her doctors, who were determined to make her the next Winter Soldier. All she'd ever known was death, pain, and fear. Instead of a parent's loving embrace, she had the...
