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Chapter Six

MADISON

I decide to take a hot bath and even though my goal is to relax, I end up turning things around in my head again and again: the conversation with my mother, Levy's explanation, the internet's explanation, and the girl in the room without any idea of what's real life. I don't get how people could be so selfish to the point when it is right to cause pain on innocent people to obtain some kind of benefit and even worse hurting children that don't even know what's happening with them. I get that sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice one person in order to save thousands but the pieces still not match on the moment they decided to start with all this. At least in my family. When did my parents start to get involved? How did they get to this? How many children have existed before this girl? How do I stop it?

The questions begin drowning me from the inside again and again till I decide to get out of the bathtub. I put on a black sweater and pants the same color and then put some makeup on. When I am done, I get out and fortunately don't find anyone upstairs.

As soon as I put a foot on the first step of the stairs, I hear a voice coming from the living room, "what would that test be?" I hear my dad talking about the girl, now I know. I sit down on the step carefully and hear the rest of the conversation. "Cold," the voice of another man says and I get goosebumps.

"But Wen, she can freeze to death, it's too risky," my mother says this time.

"If she dies we will create another one, she's kind of old now, in fact, we lose nothing and this way we corroborate the last test," says the man with an English accent.

"We lose nothing? What about that girl's life?" my mother replies reading my mind.

"Georgina, we talked about this with you the moment we agreed to create this child, that's her only function, nothing else, she's a useless kid and you know that," says the man, Wen.

"But she can be useful, we can let her live, teach her how to live... the way we did with Madison," I freeze staring at nothing, the last phrase repeating itself painfully inside my head, the way we did with Madison. Tears start getting quickly out of my eyes running on my cheeks, I stand up how I can from the step and run to the girl's door trying to open it without succeeding, it's locked as usual.

"Stupid door!" I cry letting me fall on the floor resting my back against the door sobbing. This can't be happening, it's not real, "wake up" I tell to myself pinching myself on the arm but nothing changes, everything stays the same way.

"What are you doing?" my father startles me appearing right in front of me when I open my eyes.

I look mad at him for an instant and feel my blood getting up to my head boiling and making my face burn, "why didn't you tell me?" I claim to him how I can. I stand up.

"What are you talking about?" he asks surprised and that makes me angrier.

"Why didn't you tell me I am like that girl?!" I push him this time shouting between cries, "liars!" I push him again mad but this time he takes me strongly from my wrist, actually hurting me.

"How do you know about her?" he asks now furious but with a low voice.

"Well..." I try to calm myself down staring at the floor, but before I can do so, he pulls me from my wrist and takes me almost dragging me to the living room where my mother and Wen are waiting.

When we arrive he pushes me against the only left empty sofa and the strength he uses makes me hit myself with the cushions, "she knows" he says mad before I can straight myself as he looks furious at my mother.

"It's okay, Sean," says the man fully calmed standing up and palming him on the shoulder for him to sit down, "what is it that you know?" the man asks me this time and I just stay staring at him full of hate straight to his blue eyes.

"That you create children to experiment with their lives," I say without taking my eyes off of him a little calmer.

"Do you know what those experiments are for?" he says and I just look at him, "we are trying to discover cures for strong diseases, to make more resistant the human body, as we did with cancer. Do you remember?" he lies.

"Oh well, in that case go ahead, freeze her to death, that way you are going to save the human race" I say and he lets out a small laugh for my sarcasm passing his hand on his chin, then he sits down next to me on the couch and looks at me face to face, now serious.

"Her life is way too much different from yours, your life has changed and you have met lots of people, she hasn't. She doesn't know what is love or affection. All she knows is in there, out of there, there's nothing for her," I am about to reply when he raises his hand to stop me and proceeds to talk, "I'm sorry for saying it this way, but if she dies, someone else is going to take her place sweetheart, this isn't going to end with her, just like it didn't end with you at that time," sweetheart? Who does he think he is to talk to me that way?

"You can't kill her just because she doesn't have anyone! You can't choose if she lives or not!"

"All her genes were modified before she was born to resist most of the stuff, she is not going to die so easily for something as simple as cold," says this time my father, sitting down on the couch in front of mine, a little bit more calm.

"Exactly," says the man forcing me a half smile before he looks at the silver watch that gets out of his suit's sleeve, "I think it's my time to leave and I believe there's an issue that needs to be solved," he tells my father who nods standing up, "it was nice seeing you again Madison, you can call me Wen," he offers me his hand standing up.

"The feeling is not mutual," I say without shaking his hand and he nods pressing his lips together, making a half turn to finally leave along with my father.

A few minutes later my father enters the house again, "Madison," he says serious sitting down next to my mother who only looks at me pitifully with tears on her eyes.

"From when are you going to start telling me everything?" I say with my voice about to break, "are you going to talk or you would only stay staring at me regretting your pathetic lives?"

"I -" my mother forces herself to talk and I stand up.

"On second thought, I don't feel like hearing any more lies" my voice breaks at the end of the sentence and I force myself to run upstairs till I reach the safeness of my room, striking the door behind me when I enter.

I begin to cry like never before for all that has been kept hidden from me. One thing was keeping the girl in secret but another completely different was hiding the truth from me about who I am or who they are... they aren't even my parents.

"Madison! Open the door!" says my father knocking loudly.

"For the first time in my life, I really don't want to hear anything about what you have to say!" I cry as an answer and he keeps knocking, "go away!"

"Leave her alone Sean, it's okay. Enough for today," says my mother finally getting him to leave me alone.