"PATIENT ZER0"

Caspian

The familiar ticking of my alarm clock. It's all I could hear when I woke early this afternoon, waking up earlier than I had expected. It was around seven in the morning, but I had nowhere to be. See, I'm a scientist. But I'm not normal, I'm known to the government as "one of the seven greatest minds of our time" so they keep me and the others on a secret compound to conduct experiments and advance as humans. I'm a cytologist - I specialize in the study of cells and dabble in the spread of diseases as well. We are essentially the "one giant leap for mankind" sort of smart. And to make matters better, I'm only seventeen. I have photographic memory and insomnia, but I don't really get health risks that are too bad. I just tend to crash and sleep for a while when things are bad, I'm usually able to wake up with little exhaustion. Stepping out of the room provided to me in the compound, I looked out and around the small compound to see that the others were already doing their own things, when An Bao, the greatest mind from all of china, spoke up.

"You've got a package," She smiled pointing to what we called the "lobby." I returned the smile, though mine was probably much bigger. She was the only scientist here that really liked me, she was in her thirties and was happy to know me based off what I've gathered. Racing through the halls, I made it to the "lobby" to see that armed soldiers were already bringing in new equipment and other such tools. See, I've had a project to handle before, but I royally screwed that one up. So now this is my second chance, and I was sure to get things right this time around. I'm absolutely determined not to, but I didn't have any time to think about that right now. Right now, I was focused on opening a door to help some men in that seemed to be struggling with some... people?

Stepping outside the compound to receive our newest package, I found myself face to face with three drill sergeants carrying with them two shackled subjects,

A man and a young woman my age, looking much alike.

A father and a daughter. Interesting.

"So what's the project assigned to these two specifically?" I asked giddily, this would be my first new project in some time. To say I was excited, again, would be an understatement.

"The boss asked us to bring you these two. Cameron and Mark Trisk. Father and daughter, he wants this tested on a male and a female with virtually the same DNA." The middle officer handed me a clipboard of information, and by just taking a quick look at the heading words of the papers I grew excited. I forgot everything he told me up to this point:

"RADIATION INJECTION, STAGE TESTING PATIENT ZERO"

"And another thing," The man continued. A damn catch. Looking back up, I took a moment to record the man's features. "We're required to supervise the experiments at all times, this is a feisty one," They said pointing towards the girl. "Alright then," I replied whilst leading the men (and woman) inside. "Nothing I love more than the constant threat of death," I muttered. Yeesh, always bringing me the crazy ones. "We have a set of cells where you can put them, have them separate. But please gentleman, I don't want to have to even out any injuries sustained for the good of the experiment," I joked, having experienced that before. Didn't intend to revisit that situation again. The men put each subject into their respective cells, that contained nothing but white floors and walls, with beds that slid in and out of the back walls. To make sure they could be easily observed, one wall was made of a newly invented maximum strength glass, invented by none other than An Bao. After they had properly secured the subjects, I took a proper look at the types of experiments I would be conducting on these people and my heart sank. I woud be injecting each with different amounts of radioactive liquids and record the outcomes of the radiation sickness if I gave them higher dosages each week, and only one recieved what was needed to slow the process. And I would have to choose. Quickly brushing off the guilt that silently crept to my heart, I remembered what I had been told long ago.

"All this, everything we do here is for the good of humanity. To develop cures for diseases, to weaponize them. Remember Caspian, we need to do this..." I told myself. Yeah, that's me. Caspian Constantine. This is the story of how I did really stupid things, all to save a girl. But not just any girl,

Flamelash.

And how she and I came to be. Cause where we are now, they call me Bezaleel. In the shadow, if you look hard enough-you'll find me. But hey, we'll get to that later. After all, things were only just beginning! For now, I'll give the subjects their food and try to acquaint myself with them. Maybe I'll hate them, and that will make things easier. So, bringing in two trays, I slid one beneath the panel of the man's cell, a tray with some meat and a salad portion, a complimentary fruit cup and cookie hidden beneath them.

"Hello there," I smiled, waving a hand at the man. He didn't seem to really care for my presence, and waved me off.

"Aren't you a little too young to be in this area? Go find your parents," the big guy frowned and my smile vanished.

"My parents are dead," I replied, though he didn't flinch. I was right, I do hate this one. Walking over to the girl's cell, I slid her a tray of her own, one that matched her father's. She had been doing push ups until she saw me, stopping when my head came round' the corner and growled.

"Where's my father," She growled before pounding on the glass, though it did nothing but bust her own knuckles. I'd have to wait for her to heal before beginning now, and patience was not my virtue. Frowning, I calmly asked her to stop. Though I didn't expect her to listen. Panting, she slid down the side of the wall, still facing me.

"Where is he," She wheezed, and I smiled inwardly at her display of cooperation... however limited it was.

"He's alright, just a few cells away from you." I had answered her, and I can't tell if she had sighed in relief or if she was still struggling to catch her breath.

"Well I brought you some food, I hope you like it," I told the girl. I hope she eats soon, she'll need to if we want to begin by the time her wrist heals. I'll have a nurse come in and look at it when I get back to my office though. She did nothing but turn her back on me, shaking in what I assume to be a mix of anger, frustration, and fear. I didn't blame her, I arrived in the same manner when I was first sent here-though I wasn't a test subject exactly. Sighing, I stood up to walk away, not before telling her one last thing.

"You really should eat, if I wanted to kill you you'd be dead already," I told her, finally getting her to eat at least her cookie before heading off to my room-already exhausted. One thing was certain when I crawled into bed that night, the next few days would certainly be interesting.

And indeed they were to be.

**sorry for changing so much I just realized there were inconsistencies in the first chapter I had to fix. That should be all!**