New times call for new procedures. Though not entirely humane, they were necessary for social development. During this time, abandoned children were expendable. Any child with social defects or even physical defects were donated for science testing. The orphanages that were still in operation would receive a large sum of money for each child donated, so children were often donated to keep these few remaining orphanages in operation. Abaddon Labs, lab of drug creation and distribution, received six children from Future Heart orphanage. Only three of these six are still surviving, though barely. They also received two other children from a slave ring. Only one of these two is suffering horribly. Due to extreme testing, three of the original six passed painful, drawn-out deaths because of the drugs known as the street name, "rainbow". This drug affects a persons ESP systems as well as their immune system, but has also been known to destroy or fail every organ in a person's body.
The four remaining subjects are known as Misha, Mai, Meeko, and Patch. Misha is nineteen years old and was donated by the state rather than the orphanage. She proved to be a creator of social disorder. Seeing as she caused so much disorder and chaos, the state denied her of her freedom and donated her to Abbadon Labs as a test subject. She is the oldest of the test subjects but also the weakest, mentally. She comes from a family of criminals and drug runners and was often left alone. She was taken away by child protective services when she was thirteen, and rebelled against her foster parents when they tried to incorporate her into their tight-knit family. Whenever they did not give up, she left her foster home at sixteen and she never returned. Nobody heard from her or saw her until she was eighteen when she became a major protestor against human experimentation. She was apprehended when she tried to break into one of the facilities, trying to save children. She was later turned into these facilities because she was causing social disorder by protesting these experiments. She's been at Abbadon Labs for a year and a half and has received most of these experiments because she tries to protect the other kids.
Mai is eight years old and was given to the orphanage when she was six . She killed her parents in her sleep and her relatives refused to keep her . An odd talent of Mai is she can make anyone she pleases to immediately become attached. She has used this multiple times in her life to get her way. After she was given to Future Hearts, the other children began to fear her. She terrorized the other children if they got in her way and attempted murder , almost succeeding. The faculty never noticed and ignored the children who told the truth about her. She slipped up, and let a faculty member see her bad side. She was sold to Abaddon after she was posed as a threat to the other children. She rarely receives punishment for her wrong doings at Abaddon.
Meeko and Patch are two brothers who cannot be separated. Meeko, currently, is seventeen years old. Meeko is outgoing and rebellious but will do anything it takes to protect his brother Patch. Patch is fourteen and is extremely attached to his brother. The two of them were sold into a slave ring by their parents to fund their drug addictions. They remained in slavery for over two years before the slave ring could no longer house or feed all of them. Due to the fact that Meeko caused the most trouble among the slaves, he was sold almost immediately for the ring to afford the rest of the slaves. Originally, Patch was kept because he was a hard worker but he soon began to suffer from severe depression and separation anxiety. The ring found him to be utterly useless when he was like this, so he too was sold to Abaddon. Meeko still manages to cause trouble so the doctors who perform these experiments do their best to keep him as drugged as possible. Patch, though he recieves a lower dose than both Meeko and Misha, has been the most effected out of all four of the test subjects. Patch has slowly become blind, and a few of his organs are already beginning to fail.
Misha, Meeko, and Patch all mostly get along and view each other as family. Mai is the only one who resists this idea. She claims this idea of a family is absurd and will get them nowhere. While this may be true, they still choose to believe there is hope for them and that they will be able to escape one day, but until there is an actual hope for escape in sight, they will continue to cling to each other for a sense of normality.
Misha's POV
It was cold, wet. Lonely. I had been locked in this cell for days with no light, no sound except for the sound of my breathing and the occasional hum of the tank that held this stupid drug. It's attached to my back in the most uncomfortable of ways, constantly injecting Rainbow into my veins. I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt, or that it didn't make me feel better. It was almost like receiving a gift. For days, they cut me back on Rainbow, testing how my body would respond to the lack of this drug. It was painful. Extremely, extremely painful. More painful than when it gets pushed into my veins. My heart felt like it went far faster than normal, and my head throbbed. I could feel my blood clotting and my vision came and went so often that I feared waking up blind. Though it was dark in this room, my eyes had adjusted enough that I would've been able to tell if my vision had failed completely. Luckily, it didn't before they gave me my regular dose.
The metal door swung open and a sharp, blinding light cut across my face. Instinctively, I tried to cover my eyes, but I couldn't. My arms had been shackled to the wall. The sound of heavy footsteps echoed around the mostly tiled room, they started to circle me. There was more than one doctor this time, which could only mean two things: either I was being taken back to the others, or they were going to take me into the lab and perform a series of tests on me. The former sounded much better, at least then I could check on Meeko and Patch. God knows how far gone Patch is by now. A few days before they took me, his vision was already beginning to falter and his speech became slurred, sometimes we couldn't even understand what he said. I was worried for him. I was worried for Meeko. Meeko already acted out, what would he do if Patch passed? How far would he go to get revenge against the people who took his only brother away?
A loud cough interrupted my thoughts. "It seems here that we have kept you in Lab Room 2 for..six days. How are you feeling?" I couldn't identify the doctor by his voice, it was raspy and tired, almost as if he were sick. I hope he was. I hope he died a long, painful death. I hope whatever ailed him killed him. I sniffed and shrugged. "Like hell. What do you expect? Me to feel like a queen? Hah. That's a funny thought, to feel like a queen in a run down hell hole like this." I barked. My eyes had adjusted enough that I could make out the faces of the doctors around me. Each one had a look of disapproval and what looked like a mild form of loathing. Whatever. I didn't care about a single one of them.
"Take her to the room with the others. I think she's had enough," said the raspy voice. The doctors moved fast, unshackling me and setting me on my feet in record time. I walked with them, wincing at the full sharpness of the lights outside of that room. It was maybe a five minute walk to the room where they kept everyone else, but it felt like hours. My body was so weak and tired, each step felt like I was about to give out. It didn't help that I was being practically dragged to the room. They all walked so fast that I couldn't have ever dreamed of keeping up.
The door leading into the room where we were normally kept was..a little excessive, if you ask me. It was for high security risks, or that's what it's supposed to be used for. I don't think it's needed to hold four sickly children. It was a large metal door that, once a proper key code was put in, would swing open. I sighed as I was led in. The lights were dim, the rug that we had looked shaggy and over-worn, the two seats we did have had broken legs so they even sat with a wobble. I looked around, looking for where Meeko was. Though the room was open and there were few places where anything could hide, Meeko always managed to find a way to tuck him and Patch away. Usually in the far corners where almost no light touched. I barely noticed when the doctors left, I only realized when the door slammed closed with a heavy "thump". My eyes settled on two bodies tucked up against the wall, and I quickly identified that they were Meeko and Patch. I inched my way to where they were and sat down. Meeko was asleep, but I could tell that he didn't sleep for a few days. Even in the dim lighting I could see the bags under his eyes. He looked a lot worse than he did before I left. I cast my gaze over to Patch, who looked more or less the same as Meeko, the only difference between the two was how thin Patch was getting..his cheek bones were more prominent, his arms were practically just bone and a little muscle..he looked bad. The only comfort I can get out of this is that at least Patch is still alive. I can't imagine how bad he must feel, but he's alive. That's all I can hold on to for now. I have to get them out of here..
I reached over to try to shake Meeko but a small hand grabbed my wrist and yanked it back. "Don't wake him up, he only recently went to sleep. I'm tired of him yelling and screaming. I need to sleep, too. So don't," a light voice hissed. I pulled my arm back and glared. "I'm going to wake him up, I'm going to talk to him. I haven't seen him in days. You don't control me, Mai. I'm not here for you." Mai just glared for awhile, before turning around and going back to wherever she came from. Fine by me. I turned my attention back on Meeko, who to my surprise, was beginning to blink himself awake. I winced slightly when I noticed the rainbow-ish hue his eyes held. He was beginning to be effected, badly.
His eyes roamed over me before they shot open with realization. "Misha..? MISHA," he yelped before jumping up, startling Patch awake. "Misha, oh my God! I didn't think you were coming back, they've never held you that long, oh my God!" He was rambling and running his sentences in circles, I didn't expect him to be this excited. I quickly slapped my hand over his mouth and placed my finger over my mouth. His eyes widened and then he nodded, listening. "Meeko, we have to get out of here," I whispered, "I have a plan for just that."
Meeko's POV
I woke up to Patch whimpering in his sleep. His body twitched and his breathing became short, he was having another nightmare. I sighed quietly and rolled over, pulling him against me. He quieted down, but he still twitched every now and then.
I'm worried. I'm more than worried, actually. My only brother, the only person I have ever wanted to protect, is suffering. He's dying and I can't do anything to stop it. I have never once felt this weak or powerless, it is destroying me to see Patch like this. I tightened my grip around him. I'm scared.
I looked over to where Misha was laying down. I knew she wasn't asleep, I think she was too worried to sleep, too, but she wouldn't have told me. I looked back down at Patch and rested my head on his shoulder. What's the right thing to do? What can I do to save Patch?
-
"Meeko? Meeko. Hey? Meeko, wake up." I groaned and blearily opened my eyes. They took longer to focus than they used to, I could tell Rainbow was starting to affect my eyesight. Once focused, I looked over to the person who insisted on waking me up. It was Patch. I sat up quickly and scooted towards him. "Patch, are you okay? What's wrong? What hurts?" I questioned, reaching my hand out to touch him. He just smiled and looked down. "Nothing hurts and nothing is wrong, I just wanted to talk to you. I know you needed to sleep but I got lonely..," Patch murmured. I sighed with relief and nodded. "Okay, that's okay. I'm glad you're feeling alright." A small twinge of hope tugged in my chest. He's not in pain today, maybe he's getting better. That little bit of hope all but burst when I realized they just refilled his tank. It glowed and hummed, the drug circulated through the IV's that wound themselves around his arms. I wanted so badly to rip them out and take my Patch back. I knew I couldn't, though. Those IV's were the only things keeping him alive. "Meeko? What's wrong?" Patch asked, touching my arm. I looked up, I didn't realize I had been clenching my fists and gritting my teeth. I cleared my throat and looked away from him, his eyes were almost completely rainbow tinted. "N..Nothing, Patch. I'm just..low on Rainbow." He didn't believe me, I could tell from the look he gave me, but he backed off. "Okay, I'm sorry." I just shrugged and moved to stand up. I ran my hand through his hair and watched his mouth curve into a smile before I made my way over to where Misha was lying.
She sat up before I even got to her and looked at me. "What's your plan to get us out of here?" I asked, my voice cracking a little from stress. Misha looked over me and squinted. "Do you actually want to go through with this? It is potentially a very, very dangerous plan." I hesitated. Would Patch be safe? Would he be alright if we went through with this? I don't even know what her plan is..
"Tell me what the plan is..and then I'll decide," I murmured, casting a glance at Patch. She nodded and gestured for me to sit down.
Patch's POV
Meeko has been acting really weird the last few days. He's been causing more trouble than usual and sneaking around..he and Misha have been spending a lot of time together, too. Not that I mind it, but..I'm just worried about Meeko..
Lately, Meeko has been growing more distant from me. We don't really talk like we used to, all we talk about is how I'm feeling, if I'm hurting, if I need to rest..I understand he's worried, but sometimes I would enjoy a conversation about something other than my health. I know I don't have much longer, I want my last few days or weeks to be somewhat nice for us..for him. I want him to be happy, but I know I'm only making him upset. I wish I could make him happy.
-
I woke up to Meeko shaking me gently. "Patch..hey, Patch, wake up. We've got to go." I slowly cracked my eyes open and tried to will my fleeting eyesight to stay, at least for a little while longer. "W,,What do you mean 'go'?," I yawned. His eye lit up and a smile crossed his face. "We're getting out..we're escaping today. We're going to get you the help you need. We're going to fix what they've done." I froze. Escape..? My mouth was gaping, and I struggled to close it again. "W..We can't escape!" I hissed once I had gathered my wits. "There's no way to get out!" I scooted back from him, my heart hammering in my chest. We can't escape. There's no way to.
Meeko just looked at me. "I have it all planned out. Trust me, Patch. We're going to be okay. I promise. Get Mai, tell her to get ready. We're leaving in ten minutes."
Mai's POV
I knew they had been planning something. Escape. Hah. That's laughable. Unlike them, I was content with my situation. I had the main doctor wrapped around my little finger, everything went my way. Why would I want to escape?
I had been overhearing little pieces of Misha's and Meeko's converations, honing in on the actual plan and when it would be happening. Once I had figured out the plan and when it would take place, I ran to the head doctor and cried about how I was "worried about my friends" and that they were "threatening me into silence". I had his attention in ample time, and he bent several rules and regulations to ensure that none of them could escape.
Meeko had managed to snatch keycards and learned of various keycodes, while Misha had managed to tuck away Rainbow into a larger tank that she would carry. Once the main door to our room was open, Meeko picked Patch up onto his back and we took off down the long hallways to "freedom", or so they thought. Naturally, we couldn't just go out the doors so we took an alternate route through vent and windows. These intricate little paths wouldn't be able to save them soon.
We had reached the final vent to put us in the outside world. We could all smell the fresh air and the grass, we could hear the wind whipping around the trees; the insects making noise and the small chirps of the birds. Misha looked back and smiled. "This is it, guys..we're almost out."
Oh, you have no clue.
With one little pop, Misha pushed the vent out of place and scooted out, pulling herself towards the fresh green grass. She turned back to us and pulled Meeko and Patch out, and then lent her hand to me, which I refused. She didn't look at all bothered. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were flushed; Meeko just looked angry, while Patch looked anxious and sick. They had no idea what was about to happen. I stepped back from them, their backs were turned to me so they couldn't see me anyway, and I ran to the row of guards and doctors that stood behind them, anticipating their arrival. The head doctor scooped me up and held me against him. He looked at me, I nodded, and he looked to the first guard who in turn, loaded his gun and aimed for Misha's head. The clicking noise of the loading caught her attention and she turned slowly to look at us. Fear was prevelant in her eyes, even from this far. Meeko stiffened and stepped in front of Patch, his body growing more and more rigid. The doctor cleared his throat and spoke in a soft, raspy voice. "I hate that it had to come to this...but disobedient test subjects will not be tolerated." He snapped his fingers, and the guard shot the bullet straight into Misha's skull. Her blood splattered onto Meeko, whose eyes were wide and feral looking; his breathing quickened and he slowly turned to Patch, who looked terrfied of what might happen next. Misha's body fell with a soft thump. The gun was loaded again and aimed at Patch. Before the shot could be fired, Meeko quickly turned, kissed Patch's forehead and cried out a soft "I'm sorry, I love you.." before ripping out Patch's IV's, causing his organs to explode and to kill him instantly. With tears running down his face, Meeko screamed, "Just kill me already! What else do I have left to lose?!" And in just a few seconds, Meeko's body was too, lying on the ground.
The doctor clicked his tongue with disapproval. "Maybe next time we'll have more obedient test subjects. Isn't that right, Mai?" I nodded, and we all made our way back inside, never once remembering Meeko, Patch, or Misha.
