The Fallen Prince

Burial

The large van suddenly halted to a stop somewhere deep inside an evergreen forest where the trees gathered closely together, as if promising to cover the atrocities that had been committed in the laboratory. The three men hopped out from the van and opened the back door, proceeding to haul the bodies out.
One of them cursed as one of the corpse's horns poked him in the leg. He was a newer recruit, as was obvious from the way he handled the bodies less expertly than his coworkers.
"Careful, Krans, some have punctured poison glands," another warned sternly. "You'd die within seconds if you weren't wearing protective gear."
After the bodies were laid side by side, the men prepared to leave.
The man named Krans looked back at them and said, "Shouldn't we report to the burial team that they're ready now?"
His coworkers chuckled as they got back into the van. "Those people live not far from here, a few miles. They can smell the bodies now so there's no need to tell them."
Krans nodded and hopped in the vehicle. The van coughed out a little cloud of smoke before speeding off into the distance.
Even after the smoke was gone, there was still some sort of cloud hovering above the bodies. If one looked closer, one could see the faint mist, a few breaths periodically escaping from the nostrils of the King Specimen.
How many hours had it been? Three? Eight? Twelve? To A201, it did not matter. All that mattered was the fact that he was alive. Ever since he woke up, he had a splitting headache, as if someone was repeatedly beating his head with a blunt weapon. Still, a headache was nothing compared to the unspeakable agony he had experienced in the laboratory, physically, emotionally, and mentally.
He looked at his surroundings and immediately his eyes fell upon the bodies of his comrades, and lifted his hand slowly in salute as a last goodbye, as the fragments of time they spent together floated nostalgically through his mind. A201 did not know them completely, but they had made the suffering a bit bearable, giving him the awareness that he was not alone.
He was at the end of the row, so he did not have to rearrange the bodies to hide his tracks if he was in the middle. He was dressed in his plain lab shirt and pants, just like all the other subjects.
A201 stood up, accidentally disturbing the body beside him. To his surprise, it grabbed his ankle suddenly. The body's heart was not beating, but the muscle reflexes were still active. A201 unclasped the hand and looked at the person to whom the hand belonged. A196. In the laboratory, A196 was an annoying, loud fellow, constantly pestering him. A201 had always ignored him, but A196 followed him, and deep down inside, A201 knew A196 did not dislike him at all. Maybe A196 admired him.
He shook the hand of his dead comrade and let it go.
Looking around, A201 sniffed the air. His senses were very keen, a result of the human enhancement, and he could smell some people approaching, so he jumped high and climbed up one of the pine trees. He took off in the direction of a far village, promising in his heart to visit the grave of his comrades, possibly with the head of the Minister of Magic, the one who had wronged them all these years.
On the ground, the burial team had already started to dig nine holes to bury the subjects into.
•••••
"Sir Rasmus, the ten bodies have been buried, and Sectors 7-10 have been cleared and cleaned thoroughly. All evidence of human experimentation has been disposed of, as you ordered."
"Great. Have them filled with the new magic scientists I picked, like in all the other sectors, and create false work documents."
"What if they... say things to rouse suspicions, like accidentally say they were new recruits, or something?"
Avann Rasmus smirked. "These men can't talk. You see, when they were under their former master, they revolted against him for treating them poorly. As punishment, he cut off their tongues and cast them away. I found this group when I was away on holiday, and promised them better conditions if they worked for me. They now are loyal to me."
"Very well, sir, they shall be in the lab by the end of the week. May I ask what kind of scientists are they to have gained your attention?"
"They are not users of magic, but nevertheless, they do amaze me. They can craft their own scientific instruments and tools, and they are well-trained assassins."
"Isn't it difficult to be an assassin without using magic?"
"In a world greatly developed in magic, those who cannot use it are out of luck. However, there is something much simpler and different than magic called physics, but since this is a magically developed world, physics is very rarely studied. This group of men, Bainos, as they call themselves, studied physics as a pastime."
"But physics is a very minor thing. Why would you be interested in physicists?"
"I am interested in what they study. In magic, there are only six known elements; earth, wind, fire, water, light, and darkness, but in physics, there are over 100. The Bainos, who communicate with me by a sign language I made, said the common elements are a few metals, gases etc., but there are more unknown elements. Some are poisonous, radioactive (a term they used, which I don't know the meaning of), but like in magic, a balance of the elements of physics ensures a stability in the world."
"So you are saying, Sir Rasmus, that although physics is more basic than magic, the stability of the physical elements ensures the stability of magical elements? That an unknown number of physical elements affects magical elements?"
Rasmus clapped. "Well done, Richtoffel."
The Magic Minister's assistant beamed at his master's praise.
"It is also reversible. Very strong magic is suspected to restore stability of the physical elements. The Bainos truly are one of a kind." Rasmus was extremely proud of himself for finding the group of men, and prepared the drafts for their false work documents.
"This is the right time to refill the sectors. One pesky court noble is suspicious of me."