test 14

chapter two

I was sent to the play area and sat on the swing. Mr. Archer made the other kids leave which I thought was unfair to the others. I mean, I would be mad if some kid got my play time cut in half. Swinging got boring so I was building houses out of wood blocks when a foot was carefully standing above me and my houses. “What are you building kiddo?” said an unfamiliar voice. My instincts were telling me to sweep this guy's legs and attack him but I decided to not get tased . I looked up and saw a man in a blue lab coat. “Oh it’s just a training student.” I thought to myself. “Hello.” I said plainly. I could see the recording device in his pocket but he seemed unprofessional for a trainee. Especially a trainee trying to talk to me. In the orientation classes, the teachers explain that trainees can’t talk to subjects yellow or above. Plus, I’m on watch so unless he is a doctor trying to trick me, he will be punished for talking to me.  “I’m Simon, what's your name?” I was confused but I answered him “The doctors call me test 14 or 14 for short.” He sat next to me and I wrapped my tail around my legs. His eyes widened when he saw my tail. “What? It’s normal for a young halfling to get their forms in stages. It starts with ears, tails, horn, paws, claws then wings. It's also known as ETHPCW.” he seemed confused “Halfling? What’s that?” God he’s clueless. I didn’t expect much from a trainee but somehow I’m still disappointed “They are a form of hybrids. Their blood is mixed with another creature. The other creature is usually magical for a halfling, like fairies or jacolops but hybrids are more common animals, like cows or sheep” I explained simply. He nodded and moved closer to my tail. “Is it sensitive?” he asked as his hand hovered over my tail. I swiped it away from him. “Yes, it contains a lot of nerves and connects to my spine.” He moved back his hand slowly, “Sorry, it’s just, they usually only let me talk to greens.- Wait, are those horns?!” My ears twitched at the loud noise, “Yes, I’m a dark elf halfling which means I can grow appendages of a dark elf. Dark elves commonly have pointy ears, tails and possible horns. Fangs, sharp pupils and small eyes are also possible but are not well known unless studied.” I said calmly. “How do you know all this?! Being a genius is also a trait for dark elves?” Simon said in amazement. “I have to go back to my room now. Have a nice day trainee.”  I stood up and began to walk away from him.
I walked into my room and laid on my bed. I felt a sense of safety wash over me as I breathed in the mossy air. I stared at my plants and said their names out loud from memory, “fern, moss, mint…” I whisper quietly while pointing at the plants. I stared at the plants when I heard footsteps. “I don’t recognize those footsteps” I thought. I continued to stare at my plants when I heard someone opening the door. He looked over to me and said “Hello again 14.” It's Simon. I turned over to him and he cautiously walked closer to me. I sat up and got wrapped up in my blankets again. He sat on the end of the bed and I said “Why are you in my cell? This is my resting time.” he seemed awkward and fidgety. I sighed, I may be a freak show but I’m not a monster. I moved closer to him and wrapped my tail around myself. He smiled at me but I kept my cold glance. “So, this is your room? Why is it so green and has so many books?” Simon was curious, which was normal for humans, but the enthusiasm he had for my DNA and way of life was strange. “Dark elves live in deep forests. Being separated from their habitats can be deathly.” Simon looked shocked, “So without all this forestry stuff, you could die?” I nodded and stood up, “Knowledge is a dark elves flaw. We crave it like humans crave food and water. It is instinctive.” I slid out a large blue book from my wide shelf of books and novels. “This is a book on halfling and hybrid differences, I think you need to read that. You call an average halfling a hybrid, they’ll rip you to shreds.” I tossed him the book that  landed in his lap in a big thud, “I think I got most of the information from you, genius boy.” he said with a grin while handing me the book back. “It doesn’t hurt to learn more. I talked so much so I didn’t poke your eyes out.” I whipped my tail so the razor tip was an inch away from his left eye. “Woah! Call down book boy, I was just joking!” He chuckled. I moved my tail away and it whipped around side to side “Will you please stop calling me that?!” Simon grinned and said “What? I can’t have a nickname for my new friend? You know, I could get used to seeing a pretty face like yours, book boy.” His grin grew wide and the spike on my tail began to grow sharper, “You’re not supposed to be here! I’m on watch so that means only doctors can see me.” I launch my tail at the book and my tail coils around the book in a tight grasp. My tail whipped the book snug back into the book case like I never touched it before. Simon chuckled, “I just got my license to begin taking care of yellows. I was sent to the play area to find a yellow that caught my interest. why would I give up the most interesting yellow in this whole building for my final training?” I couldn’t take his blamering. All of the names, the refusal to learn and now saying he’s taking me in?! “I have a caretaker and I would rather get tased than talk to you on a daily basis!” I wrapped my tail around him and swung him off my bed in a quick motion. He fell back and knocked his head slightly on the door, “Hey! You ask before you fling someone across your little plant nursery!” I ran forward and got close to his face, “Get out before I beat you so badly, they’ll be finding pieces of you for weeks!” I hit one of the emotion buttons on the wall with ‘angry’ written on it. I had emotion buttons on my wall that were connected to Mr. Archer’s watch so he could come and help me. I began to scratch at my face, my claws scraped and sunk into my skin. Blood dripped in between the webs on my hands. The door swung open and Mr. Archer ran to me without noticing Simon, “14! What’s wrong?!” Mr. Archer peeled back my hands but they continued to twitch and curl. I looked up at Simon and couldn’t help but prepare to pounce on him. Mr. Archer looked over at Simon, “14, who is this trainee in your room and why are you mad at him?” Mr. Archer fixed his posture to see Simon better in the dim bulb light. Simon flinched at this and stuttered a response, “Um, they uh sent me here to grab a yellow for training.” Hearing Simon’s voice made blood boil in my ears. I could hear a voice in the back of my head screaming, “He is hurting us! He is weak, show him what he hurt! He rejected our knowledge when he had none!” I listened to the voice and bared my fangs in a warning. “14… what are you doing?” Mr. Archer stared at me with worry in his face. “Kid, you got about two seconds, use it well!” Mr. Archer ran in front of me just as I would pounce, but I was faster. I weaved out of his way and continued my chase. I dug my claws into Simon’s clean, somehow wet sides. He was sweating for some reason but I bit down on the soft flesh anyway. It was very warm and smelt like cleaning supplies. I let go quickly but the bite was still dangerous for a human. I stepped back and finally looked at my hands. Usually my claws were a chalky black but by now, pitch darkness spread down my hands. My tail was on alert but small, jagged spikes were growing next to the large point at the end of my tail. I was gaining my form. Legends from outside the hospital told of these things. When halflings embraced their mythical side of instincts in a time of great sorrow, rage or need. Mine was a mix of rage and sorrow but I would let anything show to Simon. He gasped for air at the sight of the small, but deep wound on his shoulder. Mr. Archer ran to me and covered me in a net. Dark elves don’t look like it, but we hate small spaces when they haven’t been fit out for us. I kicked off the net quickly and got in a protective position on all fours. “14… what did you do to cause this trainee?!” Mr. Archer stared at me with shock but with rage for Simon. “They will hurt us! Keep the nest safe!” The little voice yelled in my head. I sprinted to my room and slammed the door.

“14! Trainee, go get other staff!” Mr. Archer screamed before grabbing his key card from his lanyard. I heard footsteps surrounding me and my home. I grabbed all of my blankets and quickly built a small cave. I put all of my books, shiny things and my pretend prey the doctors made for me when my form arrived. I curled around my objects, ready to fight everyone in this building to keep them safe. The door broke open in a loud bang which rang my ears. Mr. Archer looked around for me, then spotted my cave. I hissed and growled in a warning. Guard carrying huge guns and syringes full of color ran inside the room in a flash, surrounding my cave and Mr. Archer. I wrapped my tail around my things while trying to prepare for an attack. “14? What happened?” I hissed and snapped at him but he knelt down and spoke softly, “14, please tell me what happened. I can speak to Simon if you want an apology.” I tried to explain my sorrow but only a fit of whines and small growls left my mouth. “14, can you leave your little…hut? I need to know if you're hurt.” Finally, growling and scratchy words left my mouth. I poked my head out with caution and looked up at Mr. Archer, who was smiling down at me. “That’s good news. If you wouldn’t mind, I need to check out your form.” I looked around for danger but the guns were lowered and nothing was taken. I crawled out of the blanket cave when I saw a guard drag Simon into the room by the collar of his shirt. I ran into my cave again and forced my nose into my pile of trinkets and books. I felt a hand inside my cave and my tail whipped out from the pile and surely scared the hand. A yelp followed the hand's retreat along with a few muffled curses. The scent hit my nose and I knew who he was. I leaped out of my cave and let out a shriek of growls and hisses. Simon almost jumped out the door but a guard stopped him, “Listen I didn’t hurt him! He just flipped out and bit me!” The voice in my head yelled back from my head, “Lies! Human lies! You rejected us! You hurt us! We only wanted you to learn!” A loud rumble left my throat when I used my tail to grab the big blue book off the shelf again. I threw it to the ground and looked at him with rage, “You bit me because of a stupid book! Fine! I’ll take your book you freak!” My ears flattened and the voice stoke again, “A freak!? How are we a freak!?” I steered my balance as Simon reached for the book. “freak?...” I muttered. Mr. Archer looked at Simon with disgust but said nothing. I lowered my tail and I could feel my claws shorten and my skin became a light brown once more. I crawled over to my cave and curled into a ball. I pulled a useless blanket from one of the walls. Tears dripped from my face as I drifted into a light slumber.