Beep, Beep, Beep …
Beep, Beep, Beep …
the light sound of a wristwatch went off in the corner of the dark room. A light panting noise filled the air, the dark serenity was ruined when a group of bright Florissant lights turned on. The new light revealed a cold and clean setting. Everything was made of steel and glass. The large room was divided in half. A large pane of thick, bullet proof glass, with steel trimming that rested in the dead centre of the room.
On one side there was a computer, a dental chair, and many metal closets and counters. On the side opposing that was a metal bed with a few thin sheets on top. A sink, chrome toilet and most noticeably, a girl. She was sitting on the bitter floor. A little black dog was resting on her lap as she rested against the hard steel wall. He eyes were an orange-red that was emphasized by the bruising around them from lack of sleep. Her skin was pale, and she had multiple scrapes and bruises. She was wearing white pants with a white shirt, they were just plain.
"So, how did you sleep last night?" A man's voice rang out. Echoing slightly in the metallic room. The girl didn't move, her eyes not budging from their locked target, the dog, which was pure black and had bright blue eyes, it was sleeping on her lap. "Aw, come on Shawna … Don't want to talk again?" The man asked again. He was now leaning against the glass and staring at her. He was over six feet tall, made of mostly muscle, but wasn't too bulky. He had blonde hair and a pale complexion.
"And why should I want to talk to you, Arcad?" She asked, her voice was emotionless, dead like. She forced a little smirk to her face, "Just one question, before I go quiet again … Are we going for the cheek or the neck today?" She tilted her head, her short, boyish green hair falling to one side. She brushed her hands over the warm fur of the little puppy. Her cold hands woke it up, though it soon fell back asleep, as always.
Arcad smiled and shrugged. "It all deepens on you, dear. Are you going to behave?" He questioned. She just shrugged; she allowed her blood shot eyes to drift over to him. He laughed, "Uh huh, that's what I thought. But unfortunately, you and I cannot play today. The boss wants us to give you a break, give you a chance to heal, or whatever." He held his cocky smirk. "So, do you want to come walk that mutt? Or try to sleep again?"
She lifted the passed out dog and held it with one arm. She forced herself to her feet and walked over to the glass and steel door. "I will walk him. And he has a name, It's Demi." She hissed at him. Her eyes narrowed onto him. She gently petted the dog, waiting for the door to open. Arcad walked over and took out a set of keys. He unlocked the multiple locks that were placed on the door and then opened it for her. She gave him a gracious smile and stepped out. He walked over to the desk and grabbed to sets of guns off of it. A stun gun and an oozy.
"I don't know why the boss wants to give you a break. The surgeries and drugs have done wonders for you. It's kind of funny. Knowing that you could probably just throw me across the room right now if you wanted …" He seemed to be dwelling on the thought for a moment before pointing her towards the door. She started laughing, her throat was dry and coarse, but she managed it.
"I could … But I don't have the gun. Besides, I think you guys got me hooked on the stuff." She smirked at him. He smiled back. Sure, the two of them hated each other but also had some spark of friendship thrown in there, somewhere. They walked down the hallway and out into a long yard of pure grass, not a single flaw on it. It was mildly windy, throwing Shawna's greasy bangs to the other side of her head. She took in a large gulp, trying not to cough it back out. She wasn't used to the fresh breeze anymore.
"You okay?" He asked her, he already knew her problem though. He rubbed her back lightly and then grabbed the dog from her hands and put it down. There was no chance of it escaping; there was a thick gate that was surrounding the large field. Arcad pushed her forward a little. "Aw, look who's coming." He hissed at her with a light chuckle behind it. "Shawna's little friend Shawnee." He seemed to enjoy those words.
"Shit …" She said. She just blandly stared out at the mutt, who was rolling on the grass like a moron. The boy was walking towards them, waving. He was some Earth Alliance drug user, trying to make better pilots. Of course, not on the same tests that she was. She already was a co-ordinater; only their goal with her was to make a stronger, faster, smarter person. It had nothing to do with Gundams. The five other people in her study were already dead and she was considered quite the success. She didn't really care. As long, as she was aloud to have some freedom, and was allowed to keep the bonuses. She was fine with it.
"Better run while you can girlie." Arcad laughed at her pushing her into a little jog. "Go grab that mutt! We don't have all day! Come on!" He shouted after her. He was trying to hold back the laughter, he was being nice. Trying to give her an excuse to get away from Shawnee, who seemed to like her a little too much, while she hated his guts, nothing personal of course. Shawna could run a lot faster than some of he fastest people in the world, but she was slacking. She just chased the dog, which thought she was playing with him so he kept dodging her. "You're being out smarted by a dog! Come on!" He continued. He looked over at Shawnee who was now standing beside him. "Hey! Kid, you have a mission in a few days. Get inside, now. Go, now! And don't argue." Shawnee sighed and just turned back around and headed inside.
Shawna walked back over to Arcad when Shawnee was gone. "Thanks." She said dimly. "So, got any news for me?" She asked him, she leaned on him a little. Her knees went a little limp; she hadn't been able to keep food down for the past few days and it was wearing her out. She didn't make it obvious though. He smirked, grabbed her and threw her onto his shoulder. She didn't feel like fighting him, seeing as she didn't want to hurt him. He was one of the few decent, sneaky people in the shit hole. He set her down next to the gate and sat down beside her. Demi came sprinting up to them and finally rested in Shawna's lap again.
"Actually … yes." He said with a darker smirk. "You remember a boy … mm … about your age, green hair, orange ey-" He didn't have a chance to respond Shawna was already on her feet with the dog in her hands. Her eyes wide open and her breath was running out. He laughed, "I thought you would remember him. Anyways, him and his buddies are apparently going to be doing a little raid in Heliopolis. That is confidential." He said, giving her a nudge. "Now, we set up a little facility there. And I have recommended, that you be transported there. That offer was accepted. So, tonight; You shall be moved. Transported. To Heliopolis. Now, I have made some … arrangements, with some help, have you get out of this place."
Shawna stared out at the grass that laid before her. He hands gently rubbing the back of the dog's head. He shrugged. "Help? Let me guess. ZAFT has finally woken up, to see how valuable I have become." She shook her head slowly, "Pathetic."
"But. You will be able to see your family again. Your brother, especially. You won't be able to see your parents … for a while … due to you being on a ship. They will get you to the Plants when they can though. I assure you." Arcad said, slowly getting to his feet. "The group that is there has a back up order. If a girl, they know your general description approaches any of them and gives them this … they must bring her on board of their Gundam." He passed me a dog collar. She looked at it for a moment and shrugged.
She wrapped it around Demi's neck, and did it up. "Fine. When are they coming?" He seemed to ignore her. Great, she missed her chance for a question and answer session. He grabbed her by the arm and lifted her to her feet. She held Demi delicately in her free arm. She focused on him, the only reason they allowed her to have a dog, was so that she could learn how to be delicate and gentle. This was the fifth one, he was the longest living one of the bunch and she was good at controlling herself now.
She looked up from the mutt for a moment, seeing a group of armed men in uniform parade across the field. The leader of the group of seven stepped forward. "Mr. Arcad, pleasure, as always." The man said, Arcad gave him a respectful nod. "So, this is subject number … 304331689 … " Shawna looked faintly down at her feet, which were bare and scarred. "She doesn't seem like much of a threat … can she … demonstrate her power? I would prefer to know … for my men's sake."
Shawna was about to laugh. He was so full of it. For his men's sake? No, he just wanted to see a little action. A little girl denting something, action and thrill. He was just like every other guy who came in here. Arcad nodded, they all walked inside of the building. Heading back to her room. Arcad grabbed one of the janitors from the hall. He always did this; we went through janitors like we did shirts.
He put Demi, Shawna, and the nervous cleaner into the glass room. "Shake her hand, please." Arcad said. The men on the other side of the glass were staring at me with eager eyes. I head out my hand, the man took it with a bit of a shakiness, he had heard the rumours, I would assume. I squeezed down without too much force, his hand made deep crunching noise. The man started tearing. "Thank you." Arcad said, "Release it Shawna."
Shawna did, the man's hand was deformed, obviously broken in multiple places. The head of the group stared her in the eyes through the glass. He smirked; apparently he found his amusing. He started clapping as Arcad told one of the men to lead the janitor away. "Impressive. I can see why she would need to be moved somewhere unique and special, just for her." He stepped forward. "The perfect weapon … how is her skin? I heard it was thicker than normal …"
Arcad shook his head; "We have not tried to make her body invincible … our last attempt on changing the actual skin and defence of a subject ended poorly." He said slowly. The man lost his smirk. "All we have been able to do is change the way her muscles and lungs function. She can change almost any gas, liquid or substance into fuel for her body. Therefore, she does not require oxygen. This becomes ideal; she can virtually survive in space. Her body temperature is also regulated. She is always cold to the touch, this is because her body always remains at that temperature, no matter what the circumstances …"
"Alright, it would seem we are advancing in the field of science quicker than those Co-orditer scum." One of the men said, abnormally cheerful.
Shawna started to laugh. It was a dry, weak laugh but it caught their attention. "I am co-ordinater scum. So does that mean that you naturals are the advanced ones? Or does it mean that the actual success is the advanced one? Not fair questions to ask. Your all biased towards your own species." She said, tone rude.
The man looked down at his feet. The leader smirked back to me and then looked over at Arcad. "Excellent work, we will be moving this child over at seven. Sharp. I will call for some extra guards. She seems to be a snappy one." He directed the group out and turned back to my cell. "Thank you young lady. You're making us all … proud." He stepped out.
Seven o'clock came quickly for Shawna. Arcad has stayed in the room with her, discussing current events. She liked to stay updated. Arcad was a fellow co-ordinator who was sent in to watch over the five civilians who were taken from a ship heading to Junius seven on the day of the Bloody Valentine tragedy. The Earth Alliance forces had wanted to perform some new tests that were not working out on their natural based subjects. The Earth forces were not aware that the Plants knew about their lost members of society, and what happened to them. Their names were released as having been lost on the attack of Junius Seven.
Arcad led her out of her cell, down the hall, out to the field and into the ship that was to transport her to Heliopolis. There were fourteen men onboard the small ship, all watching her. Except for Arcad who was sitting in the corner reading a novel. Shawna, herself was half asleep in the corner of the cell. Her orange eyes staring lifelessly at the ground in front of her. Her breathing was not noticeable, since she barely had to inhale.
A low pitch beeping came from Arcad. He set the book down and looked over at the men who were watching him closely. He grabbed the slick phone from his pocket and read the name. He smirked, and looked over at the men. "My wife … going to take this one." He said smoothly. The men glared at him for a moment, as if they had never heard a phone ring before, and then looked back towards me. They were listening intently though.
"Hello darling." He said, "How is my girl doing?" He paused, his face stayed calm and happy. "Of course. I am just … working with a patient now …" He said, Shawna's movement was not to be let out freely. "I understand, Hun … Yes. I guess I will." He sighed, "Love you too. Bye." He closed the phone and slid it in his pocket.
"What was that about Arcad?" The leader hissed, his back leaning against the cold glass of the wall holding me in.
"You know women. Always want more, and more …I have to get a wedding present for her cousin … something big and fancy." He said with a low laugh. Shawna opened her eyes a little more, looking over at him. She was just clueing. He didn't have a wife … "Anyways, it is time for this one to get her meds. Please move out of the way …" Arcad stood, pushing through the crowd of uniforms. He took out his id and scanned it. The cell door opened and he stepped in. A group of three went to follow him in. He shooed them out and the closed the door.
He turned his back to the glass, looking Shawna in the eyes. He gave her a wink and then wandered over to a steel cabinet. He scanned his id again and pulled out a rack of vials. He grabbed one and then a needle. He filled it with the off blue coloured substance. He walked over to her, jabbed it firmly towards the back of her neck. One of the guards cringed. Shawna smirked lightly, she hadn't had any of this stuff for about two weeks now, they wanted her weak for the trip.
Shawna rolled out her shoulders as the needle was removed. Arcad walked back over to the vials, blocking them from the soldiers' view. He took out seven of them and slid them into his pocket. They were thin and not very noticeable. While not having a large amount of liquid, the doses were extremely concentrated. Shawna was already feeling better. She felt relieved, like a drug addict who was finally getting the drug they were craving for much too long.
"Excuse me, doctor. But do to our records, she was supposed to receive a supplement once we arrived at Heliopolis." The leader said firmly. His facial expression was priceless.
"Sorry, there must have been a misunderstanding. Not to worry. We are about five minutes away from actually docking. Her system won't strengthen for another ten … maybe fifteen minutes." Arcad announced. Locking up the remaining vials. Shawna stared at him curiously. He was lying; it took less than one minute for her to be almost fully restored by the drug. She kept still though, not wanting to intervene or change what ever his plan was here.
"I will have to report it though." The man said smoothly. He reached into his pocket for his phone. Starting to dial the numbers. Arcad's eyes narrowed slightly. A small black handle fell from his pocket. No one noticed …
He walked up to the door and opened it up; he pushed it open and then sprung to the corner of the room. Shawna smirked and stood. The guards stood, staring at her curiously. "On your knees." One hissed. She threw Demi gently at Arcad who caught him and then skidded deeper into the cell. Shawna darted for the black handle, flipping it open. It was a knife and a crappy one at that, but it would do. "Don't look." She said, throwing the knife. It hit the leader square in the chest. All the men looked. In less than a minute, every man in that room was dead, with the exception of Arcad. Their necks were snapped and their bodies littered the floor.
Arcad stood and walked on top of the bodies, getting to where he was sitting before. He grabbed his coat. He handed it to her, and then handed Demi to her as well. "Spare them …" He muttered, the vials were filtered into the coat pocket. "Be delicate … this inside pocket can carry the mutt, but you have to remember to be gentle." He said, eyeing her closely. Shawna nodded. "Alright, you … you need to get out of here. The second this lands, you run. You'll figure things out. I know you will."
The ship had docked a few moments later. The back opened and Shawna sprinted out. Apparently, the fact that news of the illegal, immoral, science project being delivered through this port had not been announced to anyone on deck, since not a single shot was fired. Shawna just kept running, trying to hold back. Make it seem like she were just some other kid that was running down the street for some reason.
She finally stopped at a large building, a university? She didn't care much, and entered anyways. She walked in and sat on the stairs, relaxed. She looked down; a few drops of blood had made it onto her pants. She sighed and stood. Walking up the stairs, getting odd looks from a group of boys that were going to opposite way. She eyed them back, she wasn't used to seeing so many people in a group, while all being happy and being willingly connected …