U̶n̶dying love ~ Levi x Reader

Chapter 22

The day my parents were to do it, I was terrified.

I had, of course, heard all about when they tried it for the first time; how my sister's screams rang through the whole village, continuing well into the night. The way she sobbed until she couldn't, pleading for the pain to stop no matter what it took. How my parents threw her down to the basement, locking her in when it was clear the experiment had failed.

But to them, it wasn't just the experiment that had failed.

It was her.

I never questioned their decision, tried not to think about how scared she must have been. Attempted to ignore and hate her the way my parents did, everything not to end up like her; discarded, unwanted, a mistake, a failure.

When the day came, I, for the first time, allowed myself to imagine what I'd do if the same thing happened to me. If I couldn't do it, had to watch all the love my parents provided me with crumble into dust, be thrown down into the basement just like my sister; discarded and reduced to a mere lab rat.

What would my parents have done? Get another child and continue until they got the serum to work exactly right? Demand one of the villagers gave up theirs? With how they got everyone wrapped around their finger, none of them would hesitate.

Without my parents, they would still be living in poverty behind the walls, and would succumb to sickness and starvation, but not here. Not in the place my parents had built. Money wasn't a problem, nor were most things people had to struggle with back there.

More and more people caught whiff of its existence and now lived in the village. It was paradise for everyone, except for us, the very founders' children.

Kenny was visiting. My parents never told me exactly who he was and what he was doing, but I didn't pry. It wasn't worth the risk.

That day, he was to bear witness to the experiment.

My dad guided me to the stool, squeezing my hand as if I'd run away. As if I didn't know it was my life's sole purpose. Across from me stood that man, Kenny. He leaned against the wall and peered down at me with a skeptical look.

"You sure this is gonna work?" he asked, his gaze briefly flickering to my dad.

He straightened and gave the man a stern look "Yes, we've modified the formula according to last time's attempt. We're certain it's ready." Although he said it with a convincing tone, I felt the shaking of his hand in mine.

"I've sacrificed a lot for this. I just wouldn't want it to be for nothing." Kenny crossed his arms.

"I'm sure your nephew can wait a few days," mom said, walking into the room. "When we're done, he'll even get to leave that dreadful place. All thanks to your kind sponsorship." She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. The syringe in her hand gleamed in the light as she brought it up for us to see. My heart sped up at the sight of it.

Regarding it for a moment, mom drew a breath. "On the count of 5," she said, grabbing my arm and pulling up my sleeve to reveal my still bleeding wound. Mom had carved it with her knife earlier, insisting it was necessary for the experiment.

It really hurt.

"1,"

I swallowed the bile in my mouth, more coming to replace it.

"2,"

It was going to work.

"3,"