Chapter 1

There was pain... and it was everywhere. As were the men in white. They were surrounding me... the experiment, sitting strapped to a chair in the middle of the room.

"This isn't working. This is a failure."

This was Head scientist. He wasn't that nice. In his few words, laced with a past lisp, the white coats started to file out of the circular room, shutting off their equipment as they left.

"Please sir, once more! It will work this time!"

That was the past prodigy. He isn't a prodigy anymore, he's made too many mistakes, too many voice cracks, or... just wasn't that much of a prodigy to begin with. That's what I suspected, though the voice cracks aren't important. He wanted to continue to stick needles in a brain.

Wait, wasn't that my brain? I was his pet project, one he was rising in pride with. I was found on the streets that contained evenly sized stones and given to be experimented on freshly by this scientist. Not that the size of the stones is important, but according to his statistics, everything was proceeding beyond his expectations, until recently. It was starting to fall apart. Something about non-compatibility or 'the wrong solutions to get the right results.'

"Do you know the definition of insanity?" the man left the question hanging. "No, it won't. Get it out of here."

That didn't sound like a proper combination of words.

"No, sir, please!" The prodigy grabbed at the Head's sleeve like a child. I flinched internally when contact was made, that was not a wise decision. The Head didn't like to be touched, let alone by a sniveling child.

'Tap tap'

"If you do not remove your hands you will no longer have them."

This man was so calm. It was almost eerie. Almost. There are worse things in life.

"It's quiet, unusually so, sir." This was a different voice, the right-hand-man you would say. I knew he was still there, behind. He had a habit of tapping his clipboard.

"Yes. It knows its fate."

Wait, do I? They are talking about me, correct? Of course that's correct, it's what he's thinking in his house. That might sound confusing to the outside mind. Everyone's brain-wait... mind, is a house. One I can easily stroll down, given proper distance from that individual. Each is personalized to personality.

These men's minds were fairly organized and easy to maneuver. Except the prodigy's, it had been falling to shambles as negative results were being returned to him. In result, he was falling apart.

I boldly met the Head's stare.

"It's a shame. Shouldn't have given a prize to an inexperienced rat."

Shouldn't have given me to the prodigy, was what he was really saying. Should have given me to him, was what he was really saying. Kill this man, was what he was really saying.

'Tap tap'

"Yes, sir."

"No! No, sir, please!" There he was, dragged out of the room, never to be seen again, never to see a sun.

The Head took a few steps towards the chair and folded his hands behind his back. My eyes migrated from the edge of my peripheral where the prodigy disappeared, the door was behind me, not that it could be distinguished from the wall, I had seen enough glimpses in glass and plastic to know. Eventually my eyes met his again. There it goes again, my mind, onto rabbit trails, is that the phrase?

"Such a shame, it truly is. There was so much potential. We could have had another River on our hands."

There was that name again. River. I held a certain amount of animosity for it. Everything done was compared to the perfect specimen's procedures. They were perfect, in every way, except, we were both still experiments. Never to escape.

Alarms blared and a red light in an upper corner, wait this is a round room, began to flash, yet our gazes never phased, and I could still hear him.

'Tap tap'

"Get it out, get rid of it" The Head repeated. We really shouldn't be visiting the past, it's not productive.

They were going to force me into unconsciousness and throw me on the next ship available. Just to get me out of here. How do I know this? For one, observance and predictability are skills I strongly possess, and don't forget, they have houses.

I'll put author's notes on the bottom so you can get right to reading!

Hi, first story! Hope you enjoy, not sure when I'll upload, but yeah, I started this and here it is.