Phantom's Rain

Part 1

406 opened her eyes, and looked at her surroundings. She was laying on an old sofa beside a hearth, with a fire burning within it. The building was wooden, and there was a large rug laid across the floor. She sat up, and instantly felt a pain in her chest. She began to cough, and blood trickled from her mouth.

Waves of a dreadful feeling came over her.

She stood to her feet, and walked out of the room, careful not to make a sound. She realized that her wounds had been bound by bandages, making it quite hard for her to breathe and move. She creaked open the door, and stepped out onto a porch. The early morning air was freezing compared to the warmth inside. Snow had stopped falling since the night before, leaving a thick, white blanket over the ground and trees.

In the distance, she could make out a faint figure moving towards her. Panicked, she fell backwards. Her wounds started bleeding as she desperately tried to crawl out of sight.

Her vision was getting blurry, and she felt as though she was going to lose consciousness once again.

In a few moments, a young man appeared before her. Petrified, her eyes met his cold gaze. He was tall and slender, with shaggy brown hair. Her heart raced and pounded as if it was trying to escape.

To her surprise, the man glanced at her once more, seemingly unamused, and then entered the building.

She put her hand to her forehead and grimaced in pain.
My head... this isn't good. She thought to herself.
In an instant, the man appeared again, with a bowl in one hand.
"I do not intend to hurt you." He said, and held out the bowl to her.

"This is a special herb drink I brewed. It will help you heal your wounds and regain your strength. Drink it."

406 stared blankly at him.
After a few seconds, the man sighed.

"Or not, I could care less if you died or not."
As he was about to walk away, 406 took the bowl from him and started drinking the hot liquid. She recoiled in disgust after tasting it.
"What's the matter?" The man asked.

"What did you give me? Have you given me poison?!"

"I already told you."
406 glared angrily at him, unsure whether she should trust his words or not. He didn't look like he was from the facility, so that eased her worries just a little. She slowly began to gulp down the horribly bitter drink, acknowledging the fact it was for her own good. After she was done, she set the bowl down and struggled to regain her composure as she nearly vomited.
She looked at the man cautiously as he approached her.

Suddenly, he scooped her up.
406 let out a squeal and tried to sqirm out of his arms.
"I am going to carry you in. Stop resisting, do you want your wounds to open up?"
After that, she fell silent. He opened the door, and walked across the room over to the fireplace. He laid her down on the sofa where she had previously been. He pulled out a wooden stool and sat near the dying fire, adding more wood to fuel it.
406 was in great discomfort and stared at the mysterious man, unable to do anything but lay there. He glanced over to her, seeing the frustration on her face.

After a long pause, he began to speak.

"Are you an escapee from the ARFP?"

"What's that?" She inquired.

"Alaskan Research Facility of Phantoms."

"I don't know... all I know I escaped from a big white facility and there were a lot of people who hurt me."

"I see. What is your name?"

"My name is 406. That's what the master called me."

"406? Don't you have a normal name?"

She looked at him in confusion, and then shook her head.

"You aren't going to take 406 back to that place are you?"

"No."

"Ok. Who are you then? Why are you here in this place?"

"My name is Lucien Reinhardt. I moved here with my grandpa years ago in search of my sister, who was born a phantom. She was only 10 years old when she was taken away by those damned people."

"Where is your grandpa now?" She asked.

Lucien let out a long sigh, "He was shot after he tried to get into the ARFP. I've been alone since then. I find it much nicer here than the city."

"City? What's that? 406 doesn't understand."

Frustrated, Lucien clenched his fist tightly.

"Can you stop calling yourself that stupid name? Jesus Christ..."