A/N: With a recent stroke of inspiration, I've rewritten this story! Please enjoy the updated version.

The clocked chimed as it did every hour and Rosalind sighed. It was only 10 am but she felt as if she'd been there all day. She shouldn't have been surprised, she was used to the feeling. Each day was as unproductive as the last. Droning on for hours with nothing but her subject to keep her interest. Her subject of course being a girl who did absolutely nothing all day.

Elizabeth Comstock was a 15 year old girl who, as far as Rosalind knew, had spent her entire life in isolation. Rosalind had first met the girl when she was just 6 years old. And by met she meant she'd joined the project. Everyone had since left for better things, but Rosalind couldn't. She had agreed to see the project through and she couldn't see the end coming anytime soon. Besides, she had a sort of attachment to the girl. She was unsure why though. Elizabeth didn't speak, at least not to her. Maybe because there was no one for her to speak to, maybe because she didn't know how. In the 9 years that Rosalind had been recording data on the girl, she'd been taught nothing essential that would help her live outside of the room.

Her supervisor, Zachary Comstock, insisted that she play the girl only one video a day and one recording before bed. He had chosen a few videos to be played, but they were all videos of himself. She usually paid no attention to them but Elizabeth looked forward to them. She always perked up at the sound of his voice. Living in silence would do that to a child.

Th videos were biblical stories. Comstock had rewritten them to fit what he was doing. They justified her isolation as a way to protect her from the dangers of the world. Rosalind had to wonder how that would affect the girl in the long run.

"She's stable," she murmured to herself, "At least, she doesn't appear to be sick or in any discomfort." She wrote down her findings.

"She's always stable." her brother spoke up. Rosalind turned from her notes to she him attempting balance one of her pens on his nose. He was sitting at her second desk and leaning back in the chair.

"Thank you, Robert." she said. It annoyed her to see him carefree and relaxing sometimes. Unlike her, he wasn't required to come into work everyday and when he did show up, he was able to be involved in projects that were more suited for his degree. She had a degree in physics yet here she was, acting a babysitter for a girl who probably couldn't even spell her own name. But of course that was her own fault.

"You know," he dropped the pen and cast glance at Elizabeth, "I don't like this."

Rosalind rolled her eyes and dimmed the observation window, "As I've said before, she's known nothing but isolation, to take her out now would only cause problems." She was unsure why he always brought the subject up, it wasn't like she could change anything.

"I meant this," Robert smirked as he held up a crumpled pamphlet, "The entire menu for the week is just garbage." Rosalind rolled her eyes and looked away.

"What are we having?" she asked. She never usually ate at work, the food wasn't good and she was already too busy watching over the girl.

"Macaroni and cheese made with that awful cheese substitute," Robert said, "With a side of jello." They both wrinkled they're noses at the same time.

"We could always go out for lunch." she suggested.

"But what of the girl?" Robert asked, "If we leave, she might decide to use a blue crayon instead of red!" Rosalind glared and Robert chuckled.

"How about you go get something and bring it back." she suggested.

"Of course!" Robert got up, "What are you in the mood for?"

"Peaches." she answered without a thought. She hadn't tasted a real peach in a long time. She spent so much time locked in her office watching Elizabeth go on with her life that she was neglecting her own. Her diet consisted of coffee and whatever food Robert brought to her when he checked on her. "Or just some tea." she added.

"There's a nice little market down the street." Robert said thoughtfully, "They always have fresh fruit." Rosalind watched Elizabeth begin to set out her drawing pencils. They were getting rather small, Rosalind noticed. She would have to replace them while the girl was sleeping again. "Perhaps I'll make you dinner tonight." he said.

"It's still breakfast time," Rosalind looked to her brother and watched him pace idly around the office.

"Yes..." Robert sighed. He came to sit next to her and focused on Elizabeth. The young girl had begun to draw a picture. This time it was of Comstock. That didn't come as a surprise, she drew a lot of pictures of the man. There weren't many things to use as models in her room so all she could do was replicate what she'd seen in videos. "She's very good at drawing." Robert said.

"It's all she does," Rosalind tapped her pencil against the pad of paper, "After 9 years of drawing the same thing, I would hope she's good at it." They watched her create her picture silently before Robert grew restless again.

"Are you hungry now?" he asked, "Perhaps I should get breakfast."

A small smile graced Rosalind's features, "You just want an excuse to leave." she said, "And might I point out that we just ate?"

"Can you blame me?" Robert asked, "Elizabeth does the same thing day in and day out. Yesterday was the only change I've seen since I started working here, and that was only because she stayed up later to finish her picture." He began to pace the room again, "Watching her all day makes me feel unfulfilled."

"I know, brother, but you don't have to watch her." she said.

"I know." Robert stopped his pacing to look at her, "You do, although I can't imagine why."

"You know why." Rosalind said. She was unsure as to why he always felt the need to argue about this project.

"You've poured 9 years of your life into this project. 9 years of watching a girl wake up and draw pictures. 9 years of watching her use the bathroom and eat scheduled meals." Robert said, "Has it been worth it?"

"No, it hasn't. But-"

"But what? It's okay because you need this job? By the time you have enough money for what you want to do, you'll be on your death bed." Robert said. Rosalind knew he had a point, her job wasn't the consistent with her payments and because of a contract she'd signed when she was a teenager, she wouldn't be able to just leave. 3 times now she'd depleted her savings to pay for work related accidents that weren't even her fault to begin with. It seemed as if she'd never have enough money to settle and research her own projects.

And then she'd gotten Robert involved with it. Having a twin who enjoyed the same things as her was a blessing, but she knew that Robert would never be content working with Comstock "How about a candy bar?" Robert broke into her thoughts. He had moved back to sit next to her.

"I don't like chocolate." she sighed.

"Peppermints?" he suggested, "Or butterscotch, you like those right?" HE picked up his jacket and started for the door, "How about an entire bag of assorted candy?" HE left before she could respond and she smiled. Robert always knew whenever she was even the slightest bit upset and his usual response was always candy. She didn't usually eat candy but he made sure that if she wanted to, she could have as much as she wanted.

She looked to her desk drawer, it was full of candy. She wasn't sure if he knew that she ate very little of the candy that he gave her but it didn't matter. She picked up a piece and looked towards Elizabeth. She wondered if she had ever tasted candy before. Rosalind turned the candy over in her hand as she thought. Maybe she could give the girl some candy…

But maybe that was cruel, to give a girl candy would mean she'd have to keep doing it and that would lead to cavities. That was something she wouldn't be able to explain to Comstock. Elizabeth's meal bell went off and Rosalind sighed.

The girls meals were the same everyday. Some form of bread with a gray vitamin spread, a glass of mineral water and a bowl of soup made from whatever essential vitamins that weren't included in the spread. That was breakfast, lunch, and even dinner. It was, strangely enough, the same food that was served in the cafeteria. Just without the artificial flavoring and colors.

Rosalind retrieved the meal from the small fridge and set it on her desk. She picked up the container for the soup and walked over to a small microwave in the corner of the room. While waiting for the soup to warm p, she recalled when Comstock had first allowed her to use it. It seemed strange that she'd had to work so hard to convince the man to allow her to give Elizabeth warm food but Comstock was a strange man. And of course the first day she'd received hot soup was he first day she'd gotten any reaction from her.

7 year old Elizabeth had noticed the steam gently rising from the bowl and a look of confusion stayed plastered on her face through the entire ordeal. She'd picked up the spoon, using it to poke at the soup as if the temperature had changed the soup into something entirely different. And without a thought she'd put an entire spoonful into her mouth, gasping and sputtering when she'd burned her tongue. It had taken a week before she began to eat the soup again.

Rosalind set the soup down on the tray and sighed. She always remembered to check the temperature now, as long as it wasn't too hot, Elizabeth would eat it. The concept of waiting for food to cool down didn't seem to make sense to Elizabeth.

Right below the window a two way slot. When one end opened the other locked to prevent Elizabeth ever coming into contact with anyone outside of the room. It made no sense to Rosalind but Comstock was sure that even the smallest bit of human interaction would ruin everything he had planned… whatever that was. Rosalind slid Elizabeth's meal into it and watched as the girl stopped her drawing to retrieve it.

Elizabeth ate her food slowly and Rosalind watched as usual. A loud screech cut through the halls and the lights flickered. Elizabeth paused momentarily, glancing up at the lights before returning her focus to her food.

Although it was considered normal to hear cries like that, Rosalind had to wonder what they were doing to cause it.

"They won't let me leave." she heard Robert say as he entered the room. He plopped down in the seat next to her and pouted.

"Do you suppose it has something to do with the screeching?" she never took her eyes from Elizabeth. The girl had gone back to looking at the lights as if waiting for them to change. Maybe the lights hadn't gone out like that before, Rosalind couldn't remember.

There was another screech, followed by the surprised shouts of a few people before the lights flickered again. This time it was a full ten seconds before they came back on. Rosalind bit her lip and glanced at the door, what were they doing out there?

"I'm sure it's nothing." Robert said gently.

"I know." she glanced at him, noting the concern in his eyes, "I'm sure they have it contained."

"It's the bird isn't it?" Robert asked, "What an interesting creature that it." Rosalind hummed in agreement. She wasn't sure what the "Songbird" actually was, long ago she'd assumed it was a twisted experiment done on a human but as she went on, it didn't seem likely. She'd never had the misfortune of seeing the creature once but it left her unsettled. "How do you suppose they keep it contained?"

"Its cage is actually a large, pressurized observation room." she said, "It's similar to the girl's room, actually. When the bird begins to cause problems, they increase the pressure. According to Fink, the bird can't handle pressure at all and can be easily calmed by it. Either that or it's rendered unconscious."

"How exactly do you know all that?" Robert asked.

"I wasn't always stuck in my office." she said, "I gave a lot of input on things." she'd even helped design the room that Elizabeth lived in. But she wasn't going to tell him that.

"Is that why your portrait is in the lobby?" Robert asked.

"What?" she blinked.

"You know, the large picture of you that you walk by every morning?" he said. Rosalind tilted her head as she thought, she'd never actually seen this portrait, then again she never actually entered the building through the front door. "You should take a day off."

"Taking a day off means finding someone to replace me while I'm gone." she said, if only to make sure Elizabeth received her meals on time. She wondered how many people even knew that the girl was there. "And no one in their right mind would do that."

"I would." Robert said thoughtfully, "I mean I'm practically doing it now. But I suppose that's a conversation for another time." They fell back into silence as Elizabeth finished her meal. She placed the tray back in the slot and waited. Rosalind took it and placed it in the hall for the janitor to come pick up.

Another screech and she sighed, there would be no peace today. "What would happen if the power went out?" Robert asked, "It seems to go out whenever we hear a screech, it must take a lot to pressurize the room."

"I imagine it does." Rosalind said. She wondered if Elizabeth could hear the bird in there. She never responded to it the noise.

"So if the power went out, they wouldn't be able to apply the necessary pressure to contain it." Robert said.

"No," she agreed, "They wouldn't."

"Scary isn't it?" Robert said with a sigh.

"Not really." Elizabeth began to draw something else. A triangle, it seemed.

"It scares me," Robert said, "So I know it must scare you. We're-

"-practically the same person." she finished, "But we aren't and I'm not scared." The Eiffel tower… Elizabeth was drawing the Eiffel tower… Where had she seen that before? Rosalind quickly made a note of this.

"What do you suppose it would do if it escaped?" Robert asked, "I'm sure it would revolt against its captors. What if it came here?" his eyes widened in mock fear, "Do you think…

"Stop it-" she tore her eyes from Elizabeth.

"Stop what?" he asked innocently.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Stop."

"Alright I'm-"

"Stop."

"Alright!" Robert smiled, "I was just curious." Rosalind stood and planted her clipboard is his lap before leaving the room. She heard him call out to her but she didn't answer, she needed a break.