Monster

Chapter Fourteen--The Damsel Isn't in Destress

"What?!?" I tried sitting up as quickly as possible, but my head pounded in protest, so instead I laid back down. Alex had just told me that his memories hadn't been erased; he remembered his childhood. OUR childhood.

"I ran away while they were erasing them; I found my way to California and entered myself in an Orphan Boy's Home. I was adopted three weeks later by my Aunt--not related by blood, of course."

I took this in with a bit of envy. No matter how much my childhood sucked, I would have liked to remember a bit of it at least. All I know about it is that I killed someone named Zig.

"Who was Zig?" I asked suddenly, realizing Alex had answers that no one else held.

He looked up, probably surprised I would even know the name.

"Zig? He was one of Dr. Nile's first prototypes. You were good friends with him, Drew. He was killed when the Monster stopped working on him," Alex explained bittersweetly. Then I realized something even bigger: Alex KNEW me when I was a kid. He knew what I was like, what I did...everything!

"What was I like?" I said, staring into Alex's snowy eyes. He looked down and smiled a bit, as if reminiscing.

"You were a little rebel. Always planning escapes, getting in trouble...you were the leader, Drew. The littler ones looked up to you and came to you when they were sad. You were the Wendy of that sick place," he said to me with a sincere nod.

"What were you like?" I propped myself on my elbow, wanting to know everything.

"I was...angry. A lot of us were, but I was horrible. I planned to do wicked things to Dr. Nile when we got out of there, and when I thought he was dead...I was almost sad that I wouldn't get to torture him. I was a sick kid, Drew," he said sadly, at the same time clenching his fists.

"Were there many others our age?" I wanted every juicy detail, although this juice was deadly poison.

"There was us, and a few others. The older ones took care of the younger ones--in all, there were thirty kids. Not enough to build an army, but he had other labs in different areas. We were M99--Murder Project 99. The best, brightest killing machines he had ever created."

"Were we good friends?" I leaned forward. Alex grinned, then became blank.

"I...uh, yea, I guess. If you were the Wendy, I was the Peter. You and I...were were very close. We actually led the party that attempted to kill Dr. Nile...we thought for sure he was dead. But the only problem was that the lab was VERY hard to get out of--none of us had ever seen or found an exit. Charlie and the others found us in the end, thank goodness."

I smiled at the fact that Alex and I had been friends; we'd even tried killing Dr. Nile. It also explained why Alex had run away when I'd seen him at the school--he'd recognized me.

That was when the hospital room door flew open, banging loudly against the creme drywall. I jumped in alarm, then screamed--it was men wearing the black ski-masks, just like the ones that had kidnapped me.

Alex swore loudly and ran to my bed, standing in front of it. I tried getting up, and succeeded, but with an ear-splitting headache.

"Don't touch her," he snarled, his voice deep and husky. I saw him glance back at me--and I did a double take. His normally icy blue eyes were gone...replaced by red ones, with the pupil thin and cat like. His veins bulged in his arms and I could see that sweat was pooling at his hairline.

Alex was a Monster, in Monster mode, but controlling it.

Then he was shot--with a dart gun. I screamed out as he tried fighting the drugs that were suddenly coursing through him--but he was drooping. I ran to catch him, but was warded off by one of the men.