Monster

The Video

It turns out that Charlie had spies all over the school watching me, just in case I started turning freaky. Mrs. Carter (my science teacher), Emma and some janitor dude were all working for Charlie, and reporting if I started killing. Emma saw my eyes flash when I had been at the lunch table, and so she had called Charlie immediately, who then caught me just in time. Then, of course, he took me “home” (I really don’t consider anything my home right now) and made me sleep. This was why I was awake right now, at 1:07 AM, because instead of sleeping I had a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream and three bottles of Coca-Cola delivered to my room and stuffed my face. Because that’s what I usually do.

            “Drew? Can I…come in? It’s Anna.” I had no idea who Anna was, but I recognized the voice of the lady that had been with Charlie when they broke the news to me that I was some kind of army killing machine.

            “How do you know I’m awake?” I asked, puzzled, because not many people expect me to be awake at 1:00 in the morning. The door opened and in she came. This time her red hair was pulled harshly away from her head, but her face looked welcoming and nice.

            “We have to keep surveillance, Drew. Just…in case.” Oh. So I was being watched. With cameras!

            “Are they in the bathroom? Because that would just be gross.” I said with a half smile on my face.

            “No.” She said while half-smiling, half laughing. “But we have more important things to talk about.” I felt as if the room had suddenly turned ice cold. “I have some videos to show you, and we need to talk about your…childhood. Come, sit.” She motioned to the plush leather couch seated in front of the FREAKING GINOURMUS TV. I got out of bed and, with no shame, sat down on the couch in my Mickey Mouse PJ’s. Seriously.

            “So, Drew, what do you know and remember about your childhood?” She asked. I wouldn’t have answered if she had a clip-board. I thought about her question…and was hit with a concrete wall. Like…I just didn’t know! There were some details: my mom and I playing with Legos, my dad bringing me a birthday cake for my fifth birthday. But they seemed…blurry, fuzzy…dreamlike, almost. It was like waking up from a dream and trying to remember every detail but only being able to remember the last few seconds. The weird thing was that this had never happened to me before. Being asked about my childhood and not knowing WTH was going on.

            “I…there are some things. Like playing with Lego’s and getting a birthday cake. The rest of it is…strange, fuzzy. I…I just don’t know.” I said, still thinking hard. It was tormenting. It was frustrating. It was like having a word on the tip of your tongue and just can’t remember. Except instead of a word, it’s just your whole freaking childhood.

            “That’s normal. You were rescued from the lab when you were eleven. They erased your memory and put you up for adoption. Your parents’ memory was also altered.” Her words struck me straight to the core. Lab. Eleven. Erased. Memory. Adoption. Parents. Altered. A white hot anger ripped through me. My parents didn’t want that. They wanted to adopt an innocent 10 year old and they got me.

            “That is wrong. Why?” I said through clenched teeth. She just sighed.

            “Drew, I didn’t make those choices. If I could change it, I would. But I was only a small part in this whole business at the time. The only reason I got moved up was because I was on the team that found the lab after it was burned down. I have a video. Drew, if you don’t want to see this, just tell me…it’s of you. In the lab. Getting tested.”

            My stomach flipped. No, I did not have butterflies. I had freaking ants of death! Me. In the lab, getting…experimented on. How did they get this? The lab burned down. But I did want to see it. Very badly.

            “OK.” My mouth felt dry and scratchy. She picked up the remote and pressed the button. My knuckles were white.

Then, on the screen, I could make out a bright, grainy image of me. I was strapped down to a metal operating table and was looking directly at the camera. My eyes weren’t red, and I was in “normal” mode. Then the camera got my face full on, and I saw that my face was a little rounder and…I had scars. There were scars along my cheekbones. And not small ones. Then a voice spoke. “This is Subject 8. She has wonderful fighting skills, and I’ve almost gotten it so that she stays in battle mode for over an hour. She has killed 10 other Subjects quickly and painlessly. She still hasn’t been taught torture. Isn’t that right?” The voice asked. The me on the screen’s nostrils flared and she spit into the camera. “She also had a horrible attitude, but I’ve almost trained it out of her.”

            Oh, God. The scars. They were from some kind of punishment.

            Then on the screen, a hand came on camera holding a knife that seemed to spark and crackle, as if there was electricity running through it. The hand touched it to my cheek and the smaller version of me screamed. Red blood poured out as she grew silent and just started crying. I realized that I was crying, too. In real life.

            “Now, here is a video of her fighting.” The voice said. The video was in a different room, and I saw myself chained to a wall, hanging by my arms. Then I saw a small, frail looking lady come and give me a shot on the side of my chest. I writhed in pain, but didn’t scream. And then I saw it. My eyes turned blood-red, and I seemed to…have an essence of power. The lady who had given me a shot ran to a glass observation deck. Then in came a boy, about 10 or 11. He shook with fear and scurried back to the door he had come in…but it was locked. I saw my younger self narrow my eyes at him. Oh, God. Then, with a quick motion, I whipped the chain out of the wall. I looked like an evil goddess. I sprinted toward the boy, who cried out “Please! NO! Drew, we were friends, please, you said you would help me--” But I quickly snapped his neck and he hung there, limp.

            But then the worst part happened. I didn’t faint. My eyes slowly adjusted to normal, and I suddenly dropped the dead boy. And then my younger self looked at him. Her eyes widened. She screamed.

            “ZIG! NO! NO. I’m so, so, sorry, Zig, oh, God…” She mumbled. Tears streamed down her little face. And then she turned toward the camera.

            “HOW COULD YOU? How could you?” My younger self started running towards the person holding the video camera, but right as she would have rammed the person, a net dropped on her. She screamed and cried more as the dead body of “Zig” was taken away by two buff looking men.

            Suddenly the TV went blank. Anna was silently crying. But I just stared straight ahead. I couldn’t produce any tears right now. I felt numb, as if an endless buzzing pain was shaking through my bones, my flesh, my heart.

            “G’night.” I mumbled as I walked over to my bed. That, of course, was when the door burst open and I was shot in the leg.

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This is probably the most disturbing chapter I have...please don't get creeped out! And, I'm going to dedicate this to Smirker, because they commented on EVERY SINGLE FREAKING ONE OF MY CHAPTERS!!!! YAAAAAAYYYYYY! Thank you, Smirker!