Mixed Parts

Chapter 1

**6 years later, Present day**

The cart they used on Monday was always the one with the squeaky wheel. Or it might be Monday that's just what I assumed. We aren't allowed to know time or days or months. Years we are, that's the day of the facility evaluation. We have people from all over look at the place. Some look at the plumbing others look at the experiments. We are the experiments, kids that didn't have anyone or anything, they had no potential in the world. The orphans evaluated at birth. Thats when we are determined to be useful or useless, if it wouldn't matter to anyone if they where taken, or killed off, or something else along the lines. We are sent to homes for 12 years. Once we become of age they send us to the facilities. Thats when we become experiments. What little impact we made was erased. No one would ever know about us and we will never know about them.

Today is Monday, or Tuesday, or Wednesday, but nonetheless the cycle of seven days repeats. It would be a while before I am called or before my breakfast gets here. Whichever one comes first I would have to wait all the same. So I played my favorite game: chess. It took a while before I was able to get enough pieces but eventually, after enough black and white pebbles and plastic spoons and forks, I had enough. Some pieces where sharp, some where rounded off. So I played and waited. Amber finally came around, I liked her she was nice, for an experimenter. She handled the numbers the best, she was the most humane.
"Alright 58 what do you want today, we had a new shipment of raspberries a couple hours ago so I made sure to save some for you." Amber said as she stood patiently outside of the metal bars that separated us.

58024 is my number. That's what we are assigned upon arrival. That's what we have branded into our arms. But there are very rarely multiples of the first two numbers on each floor so most just address eachother as such.
"Just those and cereal." I said back. I think I had a pretty normal appetite. I waited for her to prepare my food. I finished my game with myself. The black side won. So far that's all thats happened for the past couple of days. The black side always won.
So with that I put the pieces away and started with my food. It was okay, it was the same.

I just daydreamed after that I knew it wouldn't take long for my visiting time to come. I was in the middle so I went around 30 mins after breakfast. Other numbers had to be woken up very early. The visit with the monitors happen everyday no matter what. They are the people who conduct the experiments on every number and they make sure nothing is wrong with us, like a reaction to the experiment.

I felt the vibrations of the giants feet through the cement ground. Which wasn't the biggest accomplishment because they both weighed about four full grown men each. They were like walking trees. I got up from where I was sitting and waited near the door. It was around the time they usually got me. The giants are our escorts, if we ever leave our cell there is one on each side and behind. They are all incredibly dumb, they were made for fighting and protective purposes. The only ones that know how to talk are those that stay around Neo, the head director of the facility.

They got to the door and opened it and I stepped out willingly. No-one fights the giants, they don't feel pain and can lift a minimum of one and a half tons. The only person that ever tried was 90. He had eccelerated muscle growth. Meaning that he wasn't given the gift of strength but he could gain muscle by doing a lot less then everyone else. So eventually he became incredibly strong, but not strong enough. He managed to get rid of one but couldnt get the second one down. He was executed an hour later.

It was forty-six steps from my cell to the door, I counted every time. We just hit fourty. When we got to the door it was just the normal steel base with the blue flame painted on. Everyone that works here has a blue patch on their shoulder. Apparently the project is called "Copper flame". And when you add copper to fire it turns blue. Therefore blue flame.

The door opened and one of the experimenters appeared. Wearing the standard white lab coat, and goggles propped up above his brow. He nodded at one of the giants and grabbed me by the elbow. He was scrawny and tall but he had a surprisingly strong grip. The door closed behind us and once again I felt a million hands all over my body. I could hear a thousand voices but see nothing.

The experimenters are like vultures picking at a dead body. I am the failed experiment. I have no idea what I was supposed to be, I just know I failed. Well my body failed, I don't think there was anything I could have consciously done. They tried twice but neither worked. I suppose that my body just wasn't built for this kind of testing. But I have always wondered what would happen to me. What my experiment was, what I was supposed to be. The head scientists never arrived, that was okay I got to leave probably earlier than normal. With the last five minutes the doctor asked me if I had any issues this week. The only thing I said was back pains, those were common for me. Bad back as well I guess. The doctor gave me my usual pain killer and let me go.

Being taken out of the cell is one thing. Being taken back is a whole different story. Metal detectors and pat downs. They are prepared for everything. When I walked out of the room they stopped me and led me back to the tall metal detector gates and then I was led back to my room. I passed a couple of the numbers I was familiar with mostly cause I passed them often the only one I know well is 74026, he is the one right next to me. Occasionally he and I try to talk but its difficult to converse through concrete walls. He has is an interesting experiment. He skin is like a chameleon. He can blend in with his surroundings and if he concentrates then his skin will eventually adapt to the surface after a prolonged period of time. One time he managed to avoid being taken for a visit for 4 days before being located. That was actually really entertaining. They put a bright orange collar and bell on him after that.

We stopped in front of my door and waited for it to unlock so I could walk inside. It made a soft click and I opened it, walked in, and closed it behind me. My escorts  walked away to go retrieve the next number. I walked over to my bed and laid down I only planned on daydreaming but apparently my body had other ideas and I fell asleep.