Subject Zero (COMPLETED)

Thirty-Three

Rosalyn

There was an absence of light the next morning.

Clouds scattered together as one, blocking out any sunlight that wanted to peek through. Car engines started, arriving and exiting the store, their lights beaming through and waking Rosalyn.

Miriam was already awake, gazing out the window and stretching. It wasn't soon after that everyone was waking up, around the same time. Did Benedict Lee have a waking schedule for them? There were so many things Rosalyn did not know. Maybe soon enough she would learn details such as those.

Wolfgang's raspy voice was the first to break the morning silence. "I have to take a piss."

"Hold it," Miriam snapped, turning her head towards him. Wolfgang only groaned as everybody started to wake up fully, their eyes cleared and alert.

"I've been holding it for hours, Miriam," Wolfgang spat. "There's only so much a man can do."

Hyemi's voice was strong and firm for such an early morning. "People may travel back to the cabin this morning. Our best bet is to wait awhile, then we can head back and make another plan. Wolfie—just, hold it."

"I'm about to piss in the god damn cup holder—"

"Wolfgang Foss!" Farrah shrieked loudly. "I swear if you do that!"

A few chuckles echoed, and Rosalyn noticed Sebastian's bright smile as he laughed. She remembered how comforting he was yesterday; he was nowhere near Malakai's level of empathy, but he would do anything for his best friend, and if that meant helping her, he would do it. She owed him. She owed a lot of people.

As conversations began again, Rosalyn felt a familiar pressure in her head. She gripped the steering wheel to hold herself, but the feeling was soon gone; or at least not as intense. She immediately stared at Miriam, who only cocked her head at her. She had read her mind.

"Why'd you do that?"

"You're very curious about us, aren't you?" Miriam asked.

What does that mean? Rosalyn thought. Curious about the subjects?

"You really want to know what happened to us during those three years. More than most people." Miriam clarified any confusion she first had.

Rosalyn just shrugged. "Is it bad to be curious?"

"No," Miriam said. "I can tell when people are curious only because they want to have the information for their own benefit. You at least seek to understand."

She didn't know how to reply, but Miriam wasn't done anyway. She was talkative this morning, and Rosalyn would not interrupt that rare occasion.

"We were in this old dog pound, from what we all could figure out. We stayed in kennels. Large enough for us to be able to walk a few steps." Miriam explained. "Old and dusty dog beds were our pillows. Experiments were torture, of course, but it was our sanity that we all lost. We all went mad at some point."

"How did you all survive? Let alone mentally survive?" Rosalyn realized the question was abrupt, but Miriam didn't seem to mind.

"We all went mad at some points, but not all at once. At least one had to regain their saneness and help us all through it. Becks would distract us by teaching us new signs, Wolfgang would tell us about funny stories with his old friends, Kai would read a bible verse a day to us. We all took turns, one way or another. We didn't even realize it."

While Rosalyn was listening intently, she also couldn't help but notice how much Miriam was talking, let alone directly towards her. She had made it known the hatred she held towards Rosalyn, but now, she was speaking freely as if they were almost friends. Almost.