Subject Zero (COMPLETED)

Nine

Rosalyn

Rosalyn watched as the three subjects sat together, shoulder by shoulder, as they answered questions about scientist Benedict Lee.

Hyemi looked small between Sebastian's muscular figure and Malakai's long and lean torso, but she was the most talkative one—the most careful one. Her words were articulated and clean, as if she was being cautious not to slip any information out that she did not want them to know.

Sebastian made sure to pitch in humor here and there, and Rosalyn noted that it was simply a coping mechanism. They have been captured and tortured for three years, and Sebastian tried his best to cope with it. That was how he tried to heal himself. But also, he was a natural entertainer.

Malakai, on the other hand, was the quietest of the bunch. He looked at the others intently, absorbing every word, but he rarely said any words of his own. Rosalyn thought it was because he endured the worst from Benedict and he didn't want to talk about it, but she also realized that he may just be a generally quiet person. And the more she observed, the more she knew that he was quiet.

Rosalyn sat on the other side of the table from the three, alongside a hired therapist and Vivienne. Their father allowed his daughters to sit in during most of the subjects interrogations, for practice and for any slight extra information they could gather.

"So," the therapist clarifies. "There were two people per cell, and everyday Benedict Lee taught you lessons?"

Sebastian nodded. "Like homeschool hell."

Hyemi scoffed before turning to the therapist. "He didn't want dumb subjects, and he knew we were being taken away from our everyday education, so he did it himself. Him and his assistant, anyway."

"And what did you learn?"

Hyemi shrugged. "A little bit of everything, just like school. He said we all jumped a grade."

"Could you go into more detail about Benedict's daily routine? Did he—experiment on you everyday?" The therapist was careful with her questions, but Sebastian didn't seem to mind answering whatever came at him.

"He started and ended his day with Kai," Sebastian gestured to Malakai. "But the rest of us were experimented on every other day or so."

The therapist turned to Malakai. "And what were his experiments like?"

Malakai slightly shrugged. He clearly felt uncomfortable. "He just tested different things."

Hyemi jumped in. "The tests were torture. He would usually cut us open and experiment. He would make us practice our abilities. We were never fully done being tested on because he knew more could be done."

Rosalyn did not like the word 'tests'. It sounded torturous, which it was, but she hadn't known how bad they had it. Since none of them went into detail about it, Rosalyn knew it must've been horrid.

Hyemi wasn't finished talking. She turned her face at Malakai. "He even put a device in you so you would pass out, right?"

Malakai nodded. He looked at the therapist, knowing that he would have to explain. "He put a device in me, just behind my neck, so if he thought I was going to hurt him, he could press a button and my entire body would fall limp, but I was very aware of my surroundings. I just couldn't move."

"A button?"

Malakai shrugged. "It was like a mini remote. I just know that it was always in his pocket."