Chapter 2:
"Subject A-30 has been silent for 4 days, and has not attempted speech for 31 days." Dr. Cervan mentionned in his recorder. "Contact with subject shall be attempted once more by Dr. Dragner."
Down below a man dressed in a casual white shirt and jeans stood in front of a reinforced glass container, gulping as he knew what lay inside. At the center of the 50ft wide and 20ft tall container was Iryna, laying on the floor in a star shaped position. She looked completely void of emotion, her eyes lacking any life behind them. She stayed there, immobile as the doors slid open. The man entered the complex slowly, like he was entering a lion's den with a steak in hand.
"I-Iryna?" The man called out timidly as the doors closed behind him. Iryna lay motionless on the floor, not even responding to the sound of her own name.
"Iryna, I was wondering if you wanted to play a game?" The man asked again. "I have a deck of cards, we could play something with that."
Still no reaction came from Iryna. The man sighed; all he wanted to do was to get the hell out of there.
"I could... I could always find another game if you prefer. Tell me what you want to play and we can-"
The man screamed as he saw Iryna shoot up from her position and ran towards him at speeds unrivaled by any man. He tried to make a run for it, but Iryna pounced on him and tackled him to the ground effortlessly. Grabbing his head with one hand Iryna gave a forceful tug as the head of the man came clean off. Blood spewed all over the floor and herself, before Iryna screamed primaly and threw the head towards Dr. Cervan up above. The head splattered against the glass of her cage, becoming nothing more than a bloodstain on the wall as Cervan sighed heavily.
"Contact failed. Dr. Dragner terminated." The doctor stated into his recorder. He pushed a button on his command board and leaned into the microphone. "Someone clean up the cell." He stated with irritation in his voice.
The doors to Iryna's cell opened up once more as armed forces entered. The soldiers aimed their sights down onto Iryna, who growled and sat still as they took the body away. The men tried to keep their calm, but they could all be seen trembling slightly at the sight of the little girl. One of them panicked too much and accidentally fired. The bullet hit Iryna in the shoulder, causing her to ricochet sideways but still sitting upright. The men, all in a state of panic that they might have angered her dragged the body away quickly and locked the doors behind them. Iryna moved back into place and dug her fingers into the wound. Without the slightest wince of pain Iryna pulled the bullet out of her shoulder and watched as the bullet wound started to heal itself. The young russian crushed the bullet in her fingers, and returned to her old position as she stared into the ceiling. Dr. Cervan watched the young girl attentively from up above, leaning in his chair as he rubbed his temple.
"Things not going your way, old chap?" Dr. Cervan heard a voice from behind. Swivling his chair around he saw Phantom and Hiram standing behind him, looks of dissapointment apparent on both of their faces.
"No, they are not "old chap" ". Dr. Cervan groaned. "She is still as uncooperative as they day we injected her".
"Uncooperative might not be the right choice of words, Cervan." Hiram mentionned as he looked out the window to see the bloodstain in the cell. "Animalistic would be a better choice of words at this point."
"Yes, well at least with these... attacks, we've been able to determine her new abilities over the last month." Cervan mentionned. "She has demonstrated superior strength, speed, and reflexes, while also showing signs of rapid regeneration."
"She's like a walking tank." Phantom mentionned as he looked down at the little girl.
"And one that packs quite a punch. I've had to install the strongest glass known to man to keep her in, and even then I fear that with age her strength will grow enough to break through even that. Cervan explained.
"We need to find a way to control her, or at least let go of that primal rage inside. Then maybe she'll be more cooperative." Hiram offered, only for Phantom to scoff.
"She has killed every person who was sent in there to try and tame her. How are we supposed to befriend her if she keeps on ripping heads off like a turkey at Christmas?" Phantom sighed.
"Well she won't trust any of us." Hiram chuckled. "We did kidnap her and inject her with a serum that turned her into a war machine. But someone from the outside, someone... who she thinks she can trust could benefit both her and us."
"And what kind of person are you suggesting Hiram?" Cervan asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Well, someone around her age would be more suitable. After all no one would suspect a child working for us." Hiram then turned to Phantom, a slight smile on his face. "Phantom... don't you have a child back at home?"
Phantom snapped his head towards Hiram in shock, before anger overtook him. "If you think I'm sending my own son in there with that... monster! Then you have another thing coming Lodge! And that's my fist down your throat!"
"Gentlemen, gentlemen please!" Cervan tried to calm down Phantom. "Hiram was only making a suggestion... Although as ludicrous as it may sound, it could just work."
"Cervan, I am NOT sending my son down there and that is final!" Phantom bellowed out, red from anger as Hiram rested a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll have extra-protection for your child, Phantom." Hiram told him. "If worse comes to worse, we'll kill her before letting any harm befall your beloved..."
"Lawrence." Phantom finished Hiram's sentence."
"Yes, of course." Hiram smiled. "Your child will be safe, old friend."
Phantom rummaged it over, forcing Hiram to take his hand off his shoulder as he stroked his goatee. He didn't want to put his only son in this postion with that monster, but it didn't look like any other options were available. Hiram's daughter was too young and Cervan never had kids. Iryna was the only kid that survived the transport, and kidnapping another one would take too much time. With a heavy sigh Phantom turned back to his partners.
"Alright. I'll bring him tomorrow."
"Daddy, where are we going?" A small boy, no older than 7 asked. Dressed in a simple black T-shirt and jeans the kid followed Phantom and a squadron of armed men down a corridor where a set of glass doors were waiting at the end. For once in his life Phantom had a look of pure worry on his face, but tried his best to hide it as he ruffled his kid's short blond hair.
"You're going to see a new friend Lawrence." Phantom smiled to his kid, his voice trembling ever so slightly. "There's someone on the other side of those doors who's been wanting a new playmate, but there are no other kids down here who want to play with her."
"That's sad." Lawrence said to his father. "I'd like to play with her."
"That's my boy." Phantom smiled, holding back a small tear. "Now listen, she can sometimes get a bit... naughty. Which is why for now she is grounded."
"Is that why she is behind that door?" Lawrence asked as his father nodded.
"Yes, that is exactly why." Phantom said. "These men are going to follow you to her, and make sure that if she gets naughty you won't get hurt, ok?"
Lawrence looked up to one of the soldiers who carried on looking forward towards the glass door. Lawrence turned back to his father and smiled brightly.
"Ok!" He exclaimed. Phantom patted his boy on the shoulders and gave him one last hug, before standing up and looking straight at the captain of the squadron.
"If anything happens to my little boy, you better pray she gets to you first." Phantom threatened the captain, who nodded with a slight tinge of fear in his eyes either for Iryna or Phantom. Phantom returned upstairs where his collegues Hiram and Cervan were waiting for him.
"Did the boy accept?" Cervan asked nonchalantly.
"Yes, he did." Phantom stated with a sigh. Hiram made his way to Phantom and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Everything will turn out alright. You'll see." He stated with a knowing smile.
Phantom just gave Hiram a slight look from the corner of his eyes, before both men took their seats on either side of Cervan. Cervan pulled out his recorder once again and pressed on record.
"Subject A-30 has been silent for one day, and has not attempted speech for 32 days." Cervan spoke. " Contact with subject shall be attempted once more by Lawrence Arlington."
The doors closed behind Lawrence, leaving him alone in the cell with Iryna. The young Russian was sitting in the center of the room, digging her nails into the ground to draw. The sound of gravel being crushed under her index finger was the only sound that could be heard in the room.
Lawrence smiled brightly and headed over to Iryna with a run. Phantom shot out of his seat, watching his child dash towards her as he held sheer panic in his eyes.
"No Lawrence! Don't run!" Cervan called out angrily, but had no way of communicating to the boy.
"Stop! Stop she's going to kill him!" Phantom cried out.
"It's too late to stop the operation! The soldiers step in and she'll kill them all!" Cervan explained irritated.
"You said he'd be protected Lodge!" Phantom bellowed out towards Hiram who just kept on watching.
"I had to convince you somehow, old friend." Hiram mused to himself. Phantom was about to attack Hiram when suddenly he heard a small thump. Looking down everyone saw Lawrence flat on the ground from having fallen over an untied shoelace. They could almost see the tears well up in his eyes as the young boy started to cry, wrapping himself up into a ball. No one moved a muscle; they had no idea what to do.
Then, something happened. Iryna got up from the ground and slowly started to make her way towards Lawrence. Phantom was beyond worry as he saw her only a few feet away from his little boy.
"The crying must be angering her! Call in the guards!" Phantom shouted at Cervan, who agreed and went to press on the intercom. However Lodge placed a hand on Cervan's to hold it in place as a look of awe struck his face.
"No, look!" Hiram called out.
Cervan and Phantom turned to the cell, where they saw Iryna gently pick up Lawrence of the ground. Cradling him Iryna sang a small russian tune with a voice like an angel, smiling at the small boy. Lawrence's crying began to slow down as he rubbed his eyes and looked up to Iryna. Seeing her warm made him smile as well as he rested against her chest while she carried on singing.
Once Iryna stopped singing, Lawrence looked up to her with a smile.
"That was a pretty song." He smiled at the young russian, who couldn't help but return the grin.
"Mother sang it to me when I was hurt." Iryna spoke her first words for months. "It always calmed me down. Was hoping it would do same for you."
"Since when can she speak English?" Phantom asked Cervan, who only shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe she picked it up from other people. Her brain has also been amplified, so her learning abilities have been heightened as well no doubt." Cervan answered before they turned back to the cell.
"My name's Lawrence." Lawrence told her. "What's yours?"
"Iryna. Pleased to meet you, Lawrence." Iryna said.
"Do you want to play with me?" The young boy asked. Iryna couldn't help but chuckle at his words. It had been ages since she was able to play with someone.
"Yes. I would like it very much." Iryna smiled. The two kept on talking as Cervan, Phantom and Hiram all stared at the scene with shock and surprise.
"I don't believe it..." Cervan muttered to himself, watching the scene take place.
"And look at her eyes..." Hiram mentionned to the other two. Looking closer, both men could see they were no longer their golden colour, but had now returned to normal instead.
"It looks like... She's calmed down from her frenzy..." Phantom pulled a hankerchief out of his chest pocket and wiped his forehead with it. He was still shaking from the whole ordeal. Cervan pressed the record button on his recorder.
"Subject A-30 has been calmed down by Lawrence Arlington." Cervan spoke into his device. "Future attemps at cooperation shall be made by the aformentionned Lawrence, along with staff members. Today has been a total success."