Escaping: The Experiment

Chapter 6

I had carried her to the bathroom and cleaned her wound while she was unconscious. I was sitting on the floor with her body laying across my legs and her head on my thigh. I took the opportunity to admire her features. She was skinny with some curve to her body and wearing a tight, long sleeved green sweater shirt and some black jeans. Just as I was starting to bandage her up, she started to wake up. Before she opened her eyes she spoke first, but she probably wasn't expecting anyone to answer her.

"What happened?" She mumbles just clearly enough to understand.

"You need to hold still, you gave yourself a nasty wound, it'll take a while to heal." I used my softest voice as to not startle her more than I already would have. She opened her eyes and looked at me, making them widen. She kept still like I told her to until I finished dressing her wound. When I was done, she sat up and crawled to the other side of the bathroom. She was leaning against the bathtub while I was by the door.

"Are you okay?" I asked her the same question Dr. V asked me when we first met, except I probably actually care if she is.

"I'm fine," she stayed in a quiet voice, " but what are you doing here, what are you?"

"Please don't call me a 'what', I'm a person. Or, at least, I used to be." It was true, I didn't feel the same emotions as others did. I wasn't guilty for scaring her. I wasn't worried when she hurt herself. I wasn't relieved to see that she was perfectly fine. The only thing I was thinking was that I was glad I had showered and washed my clothes before I was seen by someone.

"I'm Melanie. What's your name?" She sounded so meek when she asked.

"I don't know."

"What? How do you not know you're name? Don't your parents ever yell it when you get in trouble?"

"I don't know my parents. I was raised in a place where I didn't have a name. I was experiment 02. That's what I responded to, or when someone yelled 'hey'." We were still speaking above whispers. Her face contorted in confusion and surprise.

"Where do you come from?" Melanie was getting louder and almost looked at me with pity.

"A government facility a few cities away. I was taken and experimented on since I was five. I escaped over a year ago." I was expressionless as I told her this. "If you want proof, toss me that bar of soap." She tossed a bar of soap that was rock hard to me. I took it in one hand and squeezed it until it was nothing but dust. She stared at me wide eyed. Tears formed in her eyes making me feel strange. There was a pressure behind my eyes that I couldn't identify any more.

"Are you okay?" She asked me, tears starting to fall down her pale face. Then I realized what that pressure was. It was the feeling before I was about to cry.

"No." And with that there were two waterfalls on my face as I sobbed my heart out. She crawled towards me and actually hugged me while I cried into the crook of her neck. I had never felt this way before. I had never had the need to cry since I was taken, since I woke up. I had just met her, how did she break me so easily. When I was finished crying on her shoulder, we sat there for a little while and she fell asleep. I carried her to the closest bedroom on the second floor and left her on the bed. after making sure she would be safe, I went downstairs and saw that Melanie had brought groceries with her. I grabbed a can of pear halves, put them in a bowl, and went upstairs to leave them on the bedside table for when she woke up. It had only been half an hour when I heard her slurping down the fruit, so I went to check on her. She was sitting on the side of the bed when I walked in.

"If you're going to stay here with me, we need to find you a name." She says.

"What?"

"This is my family's cabin and I'm staying here because I ran away. Also, I don't want you to leave in the cold. I mean, it's the middle of the December."  She was hesitant in her speech after she said why she was staying here, but I didn't know why. I thought about her offer and was wary about staying. What if the cops came to find her as a missing person and saw me? I was now, apparently, an extremely wanted criminal running free. I guess I should have seen it coming since the government is directly tied with the FBI. But she was right, it was really cold outside and I still only had my hoodie and a few t-shirts and pants. If I layered, it would hinder my movement. I was Interrupted from my thoughts.

"You said you responded to "hey", right?" she asked, "I'll call you... Hailey!" She was happy with herself, so I just went with it. Her smile was nice to look at, so I smiled back at her. I wasn't exactly happy, but it seemed like a good way to show my gratitude. The only thing holding me back from thanking her was that I was worried about what would happen to her if I were found. Wait, I was worried. I felt worried. I was having feelings around this girl. What is she doing to me?