King of Stars Volume 1 (An interstellar ATEEZ Hongjoong fanfiction)

Part Six: In Which 10-24 Remembers

I was standing in a white room. I wasn't sure how I had come to be here. It was cold and it was quiet and I wasn't alone.

There were rows of plastic tubs and in each one there was a baby. Arms flailing. Pink cheeks. Softly cooing at the world around them. I walked over to the nearest tub and looked down at the baby wrapped in a blue blanket. It's big eyes took in my presence and some semblance of a smile formed on its lips.

        Everything felt so real that I reached out and gently ran the back of my hand down the baby's soft cheek. It grabbed onto my finger with its plumb hand and held on tight. It felt as though there was a bird in my chest fluttering it's wings. I did not know the name of this emotion.

But it was so painfully familiar.

         I saw movement in my peripheral vision and turned to see two figures make their way into the nursery. The doctor had a hospital mask that obscured his face and the nurse followed close behind hastily scribbling notes.

         He walked by the first row of tubs and looked over the labels until he found the one he was looking for.

"Ah this is the one. Number 10-24."

         My ears pricked up at my name. The doctor leaned over the tub and raised the pink bundle in the air.

"Appearance is favorable. Height and weight are in the appropriate ranges..." The doctor relayed to the nurse who not once looked up from her clipboard.

I made my way over to them and looked over his shoulder at the baby's face. It very calmly regarded the doctor and once I was in view it's eyes met mine. It was expressionless as it stared back at me.

The baby had two different colored eyes. One blue and one green.

He shined a light into the baby's eyes causing it to squint, then he snapped his fingers by both ears and the baby turned to the sound. "Reaction time is excellent." He remarked. The nurse nodded and continued writing.

My gaze travelled down to the plastic tub and I tried to read the label.

Sex: Female
Birthdate:10-24
Height:22 inches
Weight:7.5 lbs.
Blood Type: AB-
Father:—————-
Mother:——————

I tried to read the names of the baby's parents but my eyes never seemed to focus on the letters.

He gently set her down and uncovered the baby. The sharp smell of rubbing alcohol filled my nose as he used a prep pad on the bottom of one of it's feet. The nurse handed the doctor a package that the doctor promptly ripped open.

Inside was a large stainless steel needle.

He grabbed the baby's foot and inserted the needle into it's heel. It kicked it's leg once and let out a small whimper. A small bead of blood formed and dropped onto the bedding.

But the baby never cried.

"In my professional opinion 10-24 is an excellent candidate." He stated. Then the doctor, after applying a bandaid to the needle mark, covered the baby back up in the tub and continued walking along the rows.

He stopped in front of the baby I had seen first. He picked the baby up and looked it over then performed the same exam as he had on 10-24. The blue bundle wiggled as the baby cried.

"Appearance is lacking."

"Height and weight are below required range."

"Reaction time is slow."