Lab Baby

Zombie

"'A flower wilts and dies every second of the day. If cared for properly, it'll bloom into a marvelous garden. If not, it'll dry up and kill the soil around it,'" The Omega hums, wrinkling his nose as he crosses out what he wrote in his small journal.

He tries again, digging deep into his brain as he writes in the same page in tiny handwriting, "'The only way to grow the perfect flower, is to care for it-' UGH!!" He rips the page out of his journal and crumbles it up, throwing it aside angrily.

"You're awfully wound up for it only being ten at night," a voice calls from the beds behind him. He turns to face the owner of the soft voice, seeing his older brother smirking before he arches his eyebrow, "You know if they catch you up after curfew they'll confiscate your journal."

"They can't do that, I need it for my therapy," the Omega huffs, slamming the book shut before running a hand through his blonde hair.

The bed behind him creaks as his brother moves from it to comfort his namdongsaeng, "What's on your mind?"

"How do you know there's something on my mind?" The younger replies.

"Seonghwa, I'm two years older than you. You're my baby brother, and you've been my roommate ever since you have been transferred into this facility for this program. Of course I'd know if something was wrong with you," his brother chuckles, "Now tell your Hyung what is on your mind."

The younger male, Seonghwa, sighs deeply as he runs his hand through his hair once more, "I'm nervous... tomorrow is the first of the month and you know what always happens at the first of the month..."

"Hwa," his brother whispers with a small frown forming in concern for his brother, "They won't pick you-"

"How do you know, Seoho?" Seonghwa snaps, "You could be picked too!"

Seoho shushes him with a harsh hiss, looking towards the door and listening. He couldn't hear any footsteps nearby, the guard must be on another level of the holding cells. But still, the walls here are thin, and if they catch you awake past curfew the consequences could vary...

The older Omega looks back at his brother once he deems it is clear to continue their conversation and not pretend to be asleep so they won't get caught, "Listen to me. You've been here for a year now, and me almost three. If they were to pick me, they would have done so a long time ago. When I first came here mostly. And if that were the case, I wouldn't even be in this room with you right now. I'm telling you Seonghwa," Seoho cups his little brother's face in his soft hands, brushing his thumbs against his cheekbones, "They won't pick you."

"But why though?" Seonghwa whispers, shaking his head, "I'm healthy, they clarified that in my scans when I first joined the program. They affirmed that I'm... fertile."

"I don't know how they pick Omegas brother, but I do know one thing," his brother smiles, "If they really wanted to pick us, they would have a long time ago like I said. Now," he clears his throat softly before smirking, "Go to sleep. It's way past curfew and you'll be exhausted come five o'clock. And if you're even an ounce bit of tired, they'll check your sleep scan."

"Then I won't be tired," Seonghwa tilts his chin up, stubbornly putting his foot down.

Seoho chuckles, gesturing to his brother'a bed, "Come on, I'll even tuck you in if you want me to."

Seonghwa scoffs, "I'm twenty-two, not five."

"You act like you are sometimes," Seoho laughs quietly, his ears pricking towards the door when he hears the guard's footsteps coming up the stairs to their level, "Quick! Shut the light off and get in bed!" He whispers.

Seonghwa moves quietly in his sock clad feet to shut the lamp off and grab his journal, tip toeing back to his bed and getting under the large, white duvet quietly. Keys can be heard jingling down the hall as the guard walks by the rooms, every door had a large glass window that looked in every room to see if anyone was breaking curfew by being awake. It was also a locked sliding door that was automated by the scientists and doctors running the facility. But the guard had the key to access whenever he needed to.

If you're caught being awake past curfew or simply couldn't sleep, the guard was authorized to bring you to the lab and they inject a sleeping serum into your neck that makes you sleep almost instantly. The after affects of the medicine aren't pleasant the next morning, you feel as if your body weighs a hundred pounds and you drag yourself to your daily activities and chores.

It's not pleasant being taken to the lab at night, and most people try to avoid it. Mostly, the guard wasn't nice about dragging the patients to the lab. He would sometimes drag them by the scruff of their white scrub suit they had to wear, or he would personally zip tie their hands in front of them like prisoners and take them to the lab that way. And the zip ties always left angry, red marks on your wrists from how tight he ties them...

Seonghwa has had one too many of these trips, and Seoho himself has experienced it as well.

The Omegas had just crawled into bed and turned to their side with their backs to the window, sitting still just as the guard's white LED light passes through their window. The brothers waited until the white LED light was long gone before rolling on their backs to get comfortable. Seonghwa sighs as he stares up at the white ceiling.

White. Everything is white. The walls, the ceiling, the furniture, their clothes. Everything.

"Try to get some sleep Hwa," Seoho whispers to him, rolling over away from his brother before yawning softly, "Tomorrow is a big day, and everything will be fine."

Seonghwa doesn't respond as he looks up at the ceiling, making figures and shapes out of a blank canvas. If he had paint, he would paint the stars and the moon, even the constellations. He rolls over to face the wall opposite of the window, shoving his black journal under his pillow and out of sight.

The booklet containing small white pages being the only sense of color in this room, and he absolutely hated it.

Thoughts of tomorrow fill Seonghwa's mind as he laid there in bed, making different figures and shapes out wherever he looked until he finally felt slumber settling upon him. He fell asleep eventually, dreaming of what he desired most.

And that is to be free.

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