It was yet another calm afternoon.
After they finished with their little excursion, they returned back to the hill in order to rest and share their findings. Of course, with Teardrop remaining as silent as ever, she couldn't contribute whatsoever to the conversation. She was left all alone, just as usual. Even Coiny decided to join in this time around, which was quite the surprise for her. Perhaps he just had unfinished business with someone. She didn't know, she wasn't there to see it. Whatever it was, it meant that she was alone, and probably would be so for a few hours. It wasn't like she enjoyed the prospect of stepping inside and dealing with hours of grating tones as everyone talked around her, anyways. She'd mostly spend her time just pacing around the place: a few laps near the secret base, then from it to the vehicle and back again, then a few laps around the hill, before finally stopping at its top, catching her breath. She looked up at the clear blue sky as the clouds floated up above, and the sun seemed to be eternally fixed into the sky, remaining motionless. Ever since she first felt it, she began to feel her heart quickly beat as she calmed down. It was quite a strange sensation, she thought. She'd never felt something like it before in her entire life, and she couldn't seem to find the right words to describe it. She sighed internally, wanting to push it out of her mind as soon as possible. Obviously, if you put your mind off it, it would go away, right? There were far more pressing matters at hand, anyway. If it starts posing more of a hindrance, she'll look into it.
She sat down on top of the hill, watching the silence of nature all around her. Below her, the faint rumbling of conversation and discussion droned on and on, barely being audible from where she stood. The wind blew, the clouds slowly drifted away, and the sun ever so slowly descended from its throne in the sky. It gave her time to think, but that was exactly the one thing she didn't want to do. Again, as was stated before, she felt like there was nothing worth remembering. It felt like anything she could pull from her head carried some sort of trauma to it, like plunging your hand into a basket full of thumbtacks. She sighed internally, resorting to just lazily counting the blades of grass getting blown on by the wind. One. Two. Three. All the other numbers. She got to a few hundred or so until she lost count and had to start again. Of course, as she tried again, those memories began to slip back into her head, as always. What was it about all the things she's been seeing that made everything feel so familiar? Again, it was a question that had constantly plagued her mind, and yet she never had the answer. There were times where she felt like she finally remembered, but then it quickly disappeared back into the void that was her mind. It was just... A mess, she supposed. The stresses of the world can break even the most stubborn walls, and Teardrop felt like she was going to crack as well.
She went back down, and looked at the forest beyond. She could still remember the last time she went out there alone, and it wasn't all too pretty. Since then, she never really dared to venture into it. With the exception of today, of course. The leaves rustled, and the branches swayed. It was quite dark below the canopies, but it was still rather well-illuminated. It didn't seem like there was anything to fear in there whatsoever. And yet, there she stood. Frozen in place once again. Looking into the forest, she could remember that terrible night when she dared to go in alone, and she came back extremely shaken. Teardrop wasn't really one to show emotion. All that she's suffered through in her life taught her that it just wasn't worth it. That was why she remained mute, which was one of the few things she remembered in her past. She could have spoken at any time, and yet forces acting on her prevented her from doing so. She knew this, yet couldn't name whatever it was. Her head, once again, was a mess. She shook her head and continued looking into the forest, and it felt like it was trying to pull her in, inviting her to come and try again. I mean, whatever else is in there couldn't possibly be any worse, right? She looked back at the hill, then at the forest again. Trying to have a one-sided conversation sure looked tempting. But she quickly reminded herself that she was going nowhere, and so she should face her fears. Before she could hesitate, she quickly stepped into the forest.
The forest was as calm as it had ever been, of course. There wasn't a single chirp or roar from a single animal. Those things had been long gone from these woods. There was still nothing but the trees, being all monolithic and silent. Each one had a history of its own, embedded in the rings, but none cared. None could possibly care, especially when everyone had business to take care of. Teardrop didn't look away, even for a moment, to make sure that she could still see the hill. She felt as if she knew where to go this time. She admired the scenery, what little of it existed. Again, there was nothing but grass and trees. There was the occasional sign of past life, but they've all been abandoned, presumably long ago. If she saw someone else around here, she'd just quickly dash back to the hill to report her findings. After a while of aimless wandering, she decided to just make her way back to the cabin. If she was going to do nothing the entire afternoon, she might as well do something productive with her time. It didn't take her all too long to get there, since she'd done the route twice already. She quickly went up to it, went inside, and turned on all the lights. It was still as abandoned as ever, though there were obvious signs of being ransacked. Whatever small trinkets they could find that was probably worth something had been taken along with them, and so the cabin felt somewhat emptier than last time. She thought about how she noticed it, considering she hadn't exactly paid attention to the minute details of the house, but she shrugged it off. Perhaps she was just seeing things that weren't there. That's generally how things were, anyway.
She made her way over to the library, grabbed the correct book, and the floor opened up once again. She didn't really know why she was going down there again. Perhaps it was just a sense of adventure, or something. As soon as it was fully opened, she went down and through the tunnel, making her way into the bunker. She'd turn the lights on there as well, just because. She'd also look around the air filtration system, wanting to see if she could get it working again. Of course, systems in a bunker were built to last, so it began running as soon as she flicked the right switch. Cool air began filling the rooms, readying the bunker for occupants. It may have been the post-apocalypse, but people had a right to cool air, darnit. She found a couch that had been gathering dust, cleaned it up a bit, and sat down. Again, she didn't really know why. She just wanted to, she supposed. As she lounged around, she looked around, checking the more minor details of the bunker. The ceiling and the walls had a few cracks on them, which was rather worrying, since this bunker was obviously built to last. The walls were plain, save for the occasional poster about, you guessed it, GD Inc. It was a GD Inc installation, as was expected. Presumably a place where they could hide in case of a calamity, such as the one they were in right now. But how come nobody ended up staying here? Disasters had come and gone, and yet this place felt like it had been abandoned since day one. Once again, she didn't know why she felt this, she just... *Did*.
She groaned internally, once again frustrated by all the mess she's in. It was quite the mess, indeed. She got up and looked into the other tunnel, which seemed to go on forever, far longer than the one she just went through. Did she dare to go down it, not knowing what could be lurking within it? She sighed on the inside. Perhaps dying of whatever is in there was a far better fate than still having to deal with this mess. She looked around for a flashlight, which she'd find within a few minutes. The batteries were surprisingly still running, and it illuminated the dark tunnel rather well. She then stepped into the tunnel, not caring about what could possibly be in there. She was there to find out, of course. The tunnel went on, and on, and on. You get the general idea. She counted her steps, estimating how far she went in a single one. Several thousand steps, and a few kilometers later, and she gave up on that, opting to just turn back after a while, estimating that she'd return shortly after night began. The tunnel was disappointingly home to nothing creepy, much to everyone's dismay. It was the same design as the tunnel before, with the occasional door which led to a small bedroom and closet, presumably for the poor maintenance and security personnel that would've manned the place. She tried counting again, but only got to a thousand or so before giving up once again. This tunnel was just absurdly long. Given the fact that it also took them a while to get from the facility to the hill on a vehicle, this was understandable, yet also frustrating.
There was the occasional poster here and there, which just showed GD Incs power in some field, as was to be expected. They sure loved to flex their strength in all areas possible, and it was possibly this hubris that caused them to fall. It was a few hundred steps between each one, with each one bearing a statement of their capabilities. Claims of technological wonder, scientific prowess, military strength, the usual stuff. The... Usual. What was usual about that? Teardrop stopped to think and ponder at each and every one, and she had to remind herself each time that that was a fruitless endeavor. They weren't going to get any new information from propaganda posters. Though... How come she knew that's what they were? How did she know any of this? She'd come to ask that ever since she woke up that fateful day, yet was always stopped by a wall of fog before reaching the answer, as if something had wiped her memory from before a certain time. The earliest memory she could recall was her waking up in an unknown part of the forest, already being with her... Friends. It was frustrating every time to remember that she didn't know everything there was to know, even when it came to her. She tried to spend as little time by the posters as possible, wanting to just ignore them, since they were just trouble. A distraction. She pushed on, only wanting to focus on seeing the end of whatever this tunnel was. Did it lead to the facility? Did it stop somewhere else? That's what she wanted to know. The *only* thing she wanted to know. All other things just gave her a headache.
And so she went on.
-
Teardrop had been busy once again with working her life away in her usual office job. It had been a few days since that painful little incident, and she was told that she was going to be informed as soon as they got word on what to do. Despite the initial celebration, there weren't really any considerable perks to being personally commended by the CEO, whoever he was. She continued spending her days working on her computer, writing reports, checking reports, updating reports, and drinking coffee. She tried checking her schedule to see how much time she spent just resting, but she only did so for one day, stopping after she saw the results after one day of hard work: a 20-hour work day. Sheesh. She didn't want to be reminded of that, and so she stopped keeping track of it. She also kept tabs with what was going on in the rest of the world, and it looked like things weren't going good either. GD Inc and the rest of the world were preparing once again to go to war, seeing as it was on the horizon. *Always* on the horizon. There was a constant back-and-forth between the two sides, constant threats and bluffs. Did they really want to go to war, or were they just attempting to stop it? They definitely seemed keen to get to fighting, and yet they did nothing but bicker and bark all day. She sighed internally, sometimes asking herself why she bothered with continuing to work. It was definitely in her best interest to *not* be on the crossfire should war start. Emphasis on *should*.
Eventually, however, word did finally get back to her. Several guards would arrive at her office, as was tradition, and they ordered her to follow them. Teardrop would obviously oblige, since that was just protocol at this point. She expected to be going back to the test chambers, but that wasn't the case. This time, they were headed into the restricted zones: the ones restricted for the average employee, anyways. The area was generally reserved for the offices of managers and officers, as well as security stuff. You know, things you generally don't want to be within arm's reach of the common man. You never know, after all. The corridors in the area somehow looked different than the ones in the rest of the facility. They didn't actually change, it's just that they were more well-maintained than the others. The floors didn't have stains or garbage littered throughout, and there were sometimes a few plants lining the walls. The lights also didn't flicker whatsoever, without even as much as a low hum. It was formal. Fit for a more proper business establishment, like a generic office building. Eventually, they stopped in front of one of the many offices in the area, and she was urged to go inside, which she did, of course. The office was rather plain. It had a desk and a seat, of course, and a carpet that covered the center of the floor. There were also a few screens, a few filing cabinets, and a few chairs. There also seemed to be a mattress on the back, with a pillow and blanket over it. If you were going to sleep in your office, she supposed, you might as well make it more like home. Yet another cube was busy working, and she couldn't tell if it was one she'd already met before. She'd take a seat and wait for them to finish up.
They would finish after a few minutes, and their eyes would immediately widen as soon as they saw Teardrop. "It's you!" They exclaimed. Teardrop nodded. She was still rather unsure what all the fuss was, but she went along with it. The cube reached out to shake her hand. "It is an honor." Teardrop nodded again and shook their hand, not wanting to seem rude. After this awkward start, the cube would continue. "News of your outstanding performance and capabilities have reached even the upper echelons of the company. Even they seemed to be impressed." Teardrop smiled. She knew that was a good thing, but again, she was unsure why. "As such, they have decided to provide you with a more comfortable working space so that you may continue in your efforts." Teardrop nodded. Her office *had* been getting a bit cramped. Besides constantly having a full trash can, she also now had a few papers and posters hung up, mostly things she just drew to entertain herself. With her writing so many reports, she had also decided to try her hand at writing literally anything else. She bought a typewriter with the paychecks she'd been getting, and she'd been spending her off-time messing around with that as well. It turned out that she was quite skilled in creating a great narrative as well, though she felt like she was more inclined towards... Actual art. No matter, she could just buy painting supplies with her next paycheck.
"Congratulations, miss. May you continue your exemplary behavior and keep up the good work." The cube reached out again, and they'd shake hands once more. "The guards will lead you to your new office. You've been given the rest of the day off to move your things." Teardrop nodded. "Dismissed." She then got up and left once again. The guards quickly kicked back into action, leading her to her new office. It took a few minutes of walking as, to her surprise, her new office was in this area as well. They opened the door, revealing a far more spacious area for all sorts of activities, including a brand new desk and a more powerful computer to do her business in. Her eyes widened at the sight of it. How come she was worthy of all this stuff? She wandered around the room, taking in just how large it was. It was about three times the size of the previous office, which wasn't really all that much, but to the average GD Inc worker, it was paradise. There was also a small bed built into one of the walls, with a TV fixed to it so that she could watch things while she rested. Teardrop turned back to the guards and gave them a thumbs-up, which they would return. "Feel free to start moving your stuff. You can also ask if you have any questions." The guards then left, presumably to go back to their usual shifts. Teardrop immediately got to work, heading into one of the storage areas to get a few empty cardboard boxes. She'd then rush back to her old office, placing all her things in them and beginning to move them to the new office. They ended up being quite heavy, and so she had to move them one at a time. She didn't really mind or ask for help, however. Doing it all by herself only meant she could further justify doing nothing for the rest of the day. She was *bound* to be tired after all that heavy lifting.
After moving one of the last few boxes over, she noticed that her new phone was ringing. It was another person wanting to congratulate her, she supposed. She put the box down and picked the phone up, and the soldier immediately began talking from the other end. "Hey, friend! Been a while, hasn't it?" Teardrop was quite surprised about it as well. She nodded. "I just got the news. You're getting rewarded for your efforts! That has to feel good, doesn't it?" Teardrop thought about it for a moment, before reluctantly nodding. "So, tell me. What's up?" The soldier asked. Teardrop considered opening her mouth to speak. It had been a while since she accidentally used her vocal cords. But she ultimately went against it. A few moments of awkward silence then followed. "...Ah, right." The soldier continued. "You can't talk." He chuckled slightly. Teardrop frowned, somewhat taking offense to that. "...Sorry, I was laughing at myself. How could I possibly forget that?" He sighed. "But seriously. The fact that you've managed to get this far up the ladder, despite your obvious disadvantage, truly shows how special you are. Not a single day goes by where I don't regret ever getting you a job." Teardrop smiled. "Makes me wonder if *my* talents will ever be recognized." The soldier continued. "I mean, I was the one that managed to recognize your talents. That's bound to count for something, right?" Teardrop nodded. "Anyways, if you don't mind, I feel like sharing my story as well. I know you can't talk, so just hang up if you don't wanna listen, alright?" Silence followed. Teardrop considered hanging up, but decided against it. Nothing wrong with a little break between heavy lifting, right?
"Well..." The soldier sighed. "Let's just say that things... Haven't been all too well over here." Teardrops eyes widened. She was intrigued, yet couldn't put that intrigued into words. "Uh... Not in, like, I've been sad since I'm alone again, or anything. I've mostly been doing my shifts, so I've been just fine." He sighed again. "It's more... It's more that my job has been becoming more stressful." Teardrop nodded. "I'm sure that you've been keeping track of the current situation, right?" Teardrop nodded again. "I mean, you probably have." The soldier continued. "The attacks on our base have been ramping up. There's usually one every few months, but now... It's every few weeks. Doesn't sound like much, but it's huge." The soldier took a moment to breathe. "They've been more bold in their attacks, with larger numbers. They're making it clear that they don't want us here. Who could blame them?" He chuckled a bit before stopping himself. It was clear that this was no laughing matter. "...I mean, considering that this base will be a target in the war, they'd *really* want to kick us out ASAP. They don't want their city to be collateral damage." He sighed. "The Global Alliance against GD Inc has been mobilizing more and more people against us every day. There has to be a point where it'll all finally reach its obvious conclusion, meaningful..." He'd sigh. "Will it be worth it? Will it be worth it to die in vain, being another overlooked casualty in a war with millions dead?" He sighed again. "Look at where blind patriotism has gotten us. It's gotten us nowhere."
A moment of awkward silence followed. "...Sorry for unloading that at you, friend." Teardrop nodded, wanting to show to him that it was perfectly fine, even though he couldn't see it. "I'll, uh... I'll get back to my post, now. I'll try and visit you soon enough." It was clear that he was holding back tears, despite what little information Teardrop could infer from what she could hear. The soldier sniffled. "Good luck up there. I know you'll need it." He then hung up. Teardrop frowned. He was clearly struggling. Of course he was. Who wouldn't be? War was quite a touchy subject. She didn't know all too much about it, but she knew that it definitely was something that was more of a plague to those who remember it than a good thing. Teardrop looked back at the boxes she was moving, now a little less keen on moving the rest of them. She considered just running out, making her way through the corridors and out of the facility, freeing herself from a life of further pain. She *could* do that, but she was in far too deep now. She'd entered the point of no return. If she gave up now, she'd end up lamenting the things she left behind. If she stuck around however, she'd probably end up doing the same anyway, but for different things. It was a no-win situation, which was very much the worst kind. What was she to do? She simultaneously felt like she had a big role to play, but also felt like just an overlooked pawn in this big game of thermonuclear war. If the bombs started flying, would anything she was doing actually matter? Was anything worth it in the end, when all is said and done?
She brushed the thought aside and began making her way back to her old office. There were more boxes to move.
-
Teardrop spent the next few weeks doing the same thing as before. She would notice a few changes with her line of work, however. She was still working on all sorts of documents, but they all felt more... Confidential. One of the emails she got summarized it succinctly: she was being moved up in ranking, with the end goal eventually being her overseeing some project. Until then, however, she'd be doing more of the same. The documents have had different subjects than before, however: blueprints, research papers, and the like. Requests usually came pouring in every hour of the day, generally requests to proofread and correct them. It wasn't anything difficult, of course. The main problem was in how long it took. At worst, it took around an hour to thoroughly read a paper, fix up the spelling mistakes, and occasionally spot an error in their findings, which warranted a further revision. She could do it all easily, what with having a head full of all sorts of concepts, yet her fingers didn't share that sort of blessing. It still took a long time to get it all sorted out. Granted, it was finite, but it was still exhaustingly long. She mainly resorted to just listening to something while she was working, usually a speech or an album of songs, and they'd play for hours on end as Teardrop continued doing all sorts of heavy work. She'd only stop for a moment or so to grab coffee or to get everything straightened out in her head. She'd obviously be rewarded for her continued hard work in the form of paychecks, but nothing really satisfied her.
She mostly spent her money in making her office feel more like home. She spent quite a bit on furniture: a couch, a few seats, an extra TV, and a phone for working on the go. She also spent some money on getting the items needed to brew some coffee on her own, sparing her the few minutes she generally took walking to the nearest lounge to get her coffee. It was obviously worse than the coffee at the lounge, but it was easier to get to. It allowed her to work more efficiently, as she now spent even less time on doing anything but working. After a while, she had come to like all the busy work she was doing, akin to a twisted form of Stockholm syndrome. It was boring and monotonous work, yes, but it was far better than anything else out there. She remembered the soldier every once in a while, imagining him working much the same hours, only this time with a gun on his hand as he anxiously hoped no one was going to attack them that day. She felt bad for him, the others that were with him, and all the others that weren't fortunate enough to get office jobs. Although where she was was rather bad, she reminded herself that it could be way, *way* worse. Speaking of the soldier, he did eventually get around to visiting her a grand total of *one* time. She understood why that was, of course. He was a busy man, and he needed to get back to work ASAP. In the short time they spent together, it was clear that he wanted to stay for longer, but couldn't. He stuck around for a few hours, mostly just watching her work while telling stories about what he's been up to. After his time had passed, he'd get up and go without saying a word, not wanting to interrupt her work. He'd take a moment, however, to turn around and say one thing to her. "Take care, and good luck." It was a rather uneventful visit, but it stuck. It was nice of him to willingly sit around for hours watching her work, after all. Even though it was creepy, that was somehow negated by the fact that it was a friend doing it.
It was on one of those boring office days when Teardrop got an urgent email. She opened it in an instant, since those generally tended to be... Well, urgent. The contents were rather simple: get to the conference room in an hour. She had been busy working at the time, but these sorts of orders were generally meant to be followed immediately. She spent three-quarters of the time given just doing more work, then the remainder making her way over to the room. She decided to jog her way there, despite the fact that she wasn't in a hurry. When she did make it to the conference room, she saw it already being full of employees and officials. The room was buzzing with activity, with conversations and all sorts of back-and-forth between them constantly going on, creating a cacophony of noise. Teardrop just seated herself in one of the few remaining empty seats, wanting to get herself comfortable before it began. One of the people would notice her, however, and would turn to look at her. "Wait..." They'd say. "...Are you?" Teardrop looked back at them, frowning. "Are you that one person the Lab department won't stop talking about?" Teardrop took a moment to think before nodding. The employee then turned to his fellow employee beside him. "That's her?" They asked. "That's the one?" The other employee nodded. "I didn't think she was *here*." The first continued. "I heard she's mostly been working." The other replied. "That's probably why." The first employee the 4 grabbed his cup of coffee and passed it to her. "Do the thing, please?" They asked. Teardrop reluctantly agreed and placed her hand over the cup. Within a few seconds, the coffee would float up and be absorbed into her hand, eventually emerging on the other side and mixing with her body. The employee's eyes widened. "Woah."
After a few minutes had passed, several guards would enter the room, surrounding yet another cube. That one was probably the one that called the conference, Teardrop reckoned. They'd make their way over to the back of the room, where a projector installed on the other side would project onto. The guards and the new cube would take their positions, taking a few moments to prepare themselves. "Gentlemen!" The new cube shouted. Everyone then immediately fell silent. The cube then looked at Teardrop. "...And lady." Teardrop gave him a thumbs-up. The cube continued. "I've gathered you all here today to reveal to you all the greatest advancement in military technology in the modern age." They'd gesture to someone in the back to turn on the projector, which they'd do. It'd begin projecting, displaying a presentation that looked like it was hurriedly created in the span of an hour or so. The cube continued. "Over the past few centuries, there have been great discoveries that forever revolutionized how wars are fought." The next slide would appear, showing several images: a kinetic bombardment satellite in orbit, an extremely large explosion which decimated an entire island, and a massive cannon in what looked like the Moon. "Although these weapons have served us well, this has been at the cost at the most important element in war." The next slide appeared. It showed an image of a GD Inc employee: a cube much like most of them. "In the age of automated weapons capable of devastating entire countries in the span of hours, everyday people like us have often been overlooked. Ignored."
The cube took a deep breath and looked around, making sure that there was no way that anyone that wasn't meant to listen in was listening. "...Which is why we are currently aiming to exploit this fact." The next slide appeared. It showed little blue creatures, which looked like mini Teardrops, wandering around a miniature obstacle course enclosed within a glass box. "A while back, our special guest here..." The cube pointed at Teardrop, and there would be a small round of applause. When it died down, they'd continue. "...Our special guest here appeared in our facility, wanting to get a job. Some time afterwards, one of our employees took note of her... Extraordinary abilities." They looked at Teardrop again, and would grab a random glass of water from the table, placing it down again. "Do you mind showing us?" Teardrop shook her head and immediately reached out towards the glass, concentrating on it. The water in the glass immediately floated up and away, splashing and getting absorbed into her hand and emerging back in her body. Another round of applause followed. The cube continued. "She voluntarily agreed to let us run a few tests on her, culminating in us retrieving her genetic information. We managed to replicate what we obtained in order to create what you see here." The next slide then appeared, showing a whole bunch of graphs which mainly showed the results of the tests. "These creatures have successfully managed to manipulate the gravitational pull of up to several thousand molecules of water, managing to absorb them into their body. These results go far beyond what we have been expecting at this point."
The next slide then appeared, showing a bunch more images. "The possible applications of this in the battlefield are massive. If we manage to adapt this to other materials, we may be able to completely paralyze an entire army many times our size, given enough coordination. They may also be used as a Trojan horse, with them being taken into enemy territory as a prisoner of war, allowing them to wreak havoc behind enemy lines." A round of applause followed. "There are a wide variety of other possible uses, but discussion regarding them will have to wait until we get to the project to a more developed state." The final slide then appeared. "We implore you all to ask the upper echelons of GD Inc for more funding. War is on the horizon and we have to ensure that we have the upper hand. Thank you." A final round of applause followed. "You're all dismissed." Everyone then began making their way out of the room, presumably to get back to work. Teardrop, however, would be stopped from leaving by one of the guards. After a few minutes passed, it would just be them, her, and the cube left in the room. "Sorry about this, ma'am." The cube said. "I just thought you'd like to see the current results of the program. The fruit of your labor. Would you like to?" Teardrop thought about it for a moment, thinking about the work she'd have to catch up on, but she'd end up agreeing. The cube nodded. "Thank you. Come with me." They'd then leave the room, and they would follow. They'd make their way over to one of the test chambers, which had been reserved specifically for this project. The room was now packed with equipment and scientists, and at its center was the glass box with the mini Teardrops.
Teardrop immediately made her way over to the box, wanting to see all the little versions of her. She watched all of them running the obstacle course, with a few of them noticing their larger counterpart now staring at them. She'd tap the glass, and all the mini Teardrops would rush to her, wanting to say hello. Most of them would wave to her, with some fluttering their arms. The cube then walked up to her. "They're cute, aren't they?" They remarked. Teardrop nodded. "They think that you're their mother." The cube continued. "...Well, you technically are, anyway. In a strange sort of way." They looked at the box again. "They all seem to share your trait of being mute, but we've checked and seen that they have vocal cords. That's definitely quite strange." Teardrop nodded. By then, the mini Teardrops had grown bored, and were now back to running the obstacle course. "Once we're done with them, we'll be more than happy to hand them over to you." The cube continued. "Maybe you'd like to keep them as your own little pets." Teardrop nodded, smiling. "Consider it as our little gift to you, then. For all you've done to us." The cube chuckled. "Until then, however, you can come see them here." Teardrop gave the cube a thumbs-up. Seeing them being all cute and running about... It *did* make her feel like a mother. It was probably the closest she'd get to having that feeling... Unless some rather strange developments happen, anyway. Even though she had to work her life away for a company that she didn't know all too much about, stuff like this made it tolerable for her.
"You're free to return to your office, now." The cube continued. Teardrop glanced at the mini Teardrops one more time before nodding and making her leave. She returned to her office, and saw that a few requests had already piled up. Those could wait, however. For now, she felt happy and motivated enough to do something she hadn't done before: write an email. She never really found the reason to do so up until now, and so she wanted to seize the opportunity. After all, it was one of the ways someone mute like herself could still speak out. She opened up the application to write one and began typing. She quickly typed in the email address of the soldier, having memorized it by heart during his previous visit, and would begin to write.
"Dear..."
That was quite embarrassing. She couldn't quite remember the soldier's name. It had been a while, so a few details had gotten fuzzy. Did he ever say what his name was, in fact? She thought about it for a moment, not wanting to be embarrassed, but eventually gave in. It was a casual email, anyway. No need to be so formal today.
"Dear Friend,
This may come to you as a surprise, but I finally found the time to write to you today. I couldn't quite believe it myself, but I had to get it done before the time had passed.
These past few weeks have been great for me. As you said, my talents have been recognized. They've been using my genetic material to make more of me, and they're quite cute. They said that my abilities can be used for all sorts of military purposes. I didn't exactly want that, but who am I to judge?
I've been thinking about you quite a bit. How have you been? You don't call as much anymore. Is it because you don't want to interrupt me working, or is it because you're too busy as well? I've been keeping up with the news. Attacks against GD Inc installations are on the rise, and I'm worried that I won't be able to see you again.
I hope you're doing well, and I hope that you get to read this. If you'd like to, you can write back. You won't be interrupting me from anything. If anything, all this work is interrupting me from talking to you.
Stay safe,
Teardrop"
-
Years had passed since then.
Teardrop was still busy working, but she had finally gotten the role that she was destined for. She was constantly monitoring the subjects. She liked to call them her children more, but who was she to question the formal titles given by the scientists? The glass box filled with all the mini Teardrops was now at a table specifically for it, with the box being remade into a miniature house full of amenities for the little ones. The soldier still stopped by every once in a while, but every single time he returned, he looked more and more weary and weak. There were circles under his eyes that weren't there before, and there was always a new scar or two each time. They still wrote emails every so often, but the soldiers ramblings had grown more incoherent and terrifying. Reports of massacred civilians, people who gave up their lives at a shot of liberation. The world seemed to be burning around them, yet in their little fortress in the woods, everything was still calm and silent.
She had been busy drafting a report regarding the condition of the subjects, who had been undergoing the final phase of their rigorous training. As she was typing, however, sirens began blaring throughout the facility. She'd obviously be taken completely by surprise, and she'd quickly get up and look around for whatever war causing the alarm. Several guards arrived several minutes later, stopping for only a moment to catch her breath. "Ma'am!" One of them shouted. "We need to evacuate, now!" Teardrop raised an eyebrow, confused. The guards would quickly seize her by the arm. "No time to explain!" Another one shouted. "We need to leave immediately!" They then began leading her out. All around them, they saw employees frantically rushing to get out of there, for whatever reason. Teardrop didn't know. She was eventually led out to where all the vehicles were parked, and she was escorted into one of them. They quickly drove out, forming a convoy as they left the confines of the base. She looked behind them and saw the chaos and confusion going on in the facility. Vehicles were rushing to get out of there, all the guards were frantically running around, looking for people they might have missed, and, most worryingly of all, a voice began speaking in all the speakers, warning everyone about something about an incoming nuclear attack. It was unclear to her, but it clearly wasn't good, given the reaction.
"THERE!" One of the soldiers in the other vehicles in the convoy shouted. They pointed their weapons towards something in the trees and began firing indiscriminately. Whoever they were remained a mystery, as Teardrop began to hear a low rumble coming from the skies, descending unto everyone below. Within seconds, a large explosion could be heard. It was far enough away not to blind them, but it could still be heard. The missile hit a few miles away from the facility, presumably having been destined for Oran. The shockwave hit everyone within a minute or so, causing their vehicle to be flipped and began tumbling into the trees, causing Teardrop to immediately go unconscious.
And then, there was silence.
-
The tunnel just... Ended.
Well, it was clear that it didn't actually end there. The tunnel had just caved in, presumably after years without any sort of maintenance. There was a massive wall of stone and earth which blocked the way, being a seemingly impenetrable barrier, mostly because Teardrop *really* didn't want to dig her way through. She estimated that it was the late hours of the afternoon. It was probably going to be dark by the time she got back, and so it was best to start now. She groaned internally, as much like all the other things in life, this little excursion of hers ended in nothing but disappointment. She turned around and began making her way back, starting on the long way home.
YOU ARE READING
Battle for Some Actual Peace and Quiet for Once
FanficThe Battle for Dream Island is now over, yet the memory of it still haunts them. Part 2/3 of the BFTMTMAADI Trilogy, a BFDI Fanfiction series. Logo made by @catsanddogs3333. Everything else made by me. Battle for Dream Island made by jacknjellify.
