Chapter 1: Babes in the Woods
"Once upon a time, but not too long ago, in a place that is fairly close to here, there lived an angel. Now, she didn't know that she was an angel, but she knew that she was different. She grew up in a bad place where they made her strong and fast, but they tried to take away her emotions, her feelings and her spirit. They made her and her siblings…"
"What's a sibling, Daddy?"
"A sibling is another word for a brother or sister. May I continue?"
"Yes you may, Daddy."
"Thank you. Now, the bad people made the angel and her siblings fight each other, and punished them when they would not. They were given numbers to tell them apart, but they soon decided that they needed names…"
Being Transgenic, Max had an excellent memory. It was coded into her genetics. But even Transgenics suffered from the fuzzy memory of early childhood. The earliest that she could recall was from when she was about 3, and her and her unit were assembling puzzles in the classroom. She could remember the brightly colored blocks of various shapes, and the slight feeling of satisfaction upon successful completion of her task.
The rest of her memories were so similar, the cold classrooms, the unending tests, the long days of learning broken up only by exercise drills and combat training. The only memories that stood out from the rest seemed to involve colors.
The blood flowing from Eva's body.
The card with the Blue Lady.
The balloon.
Looking back on it, Max would realise that the balloon was their first act of rebellion. To ignore a direct order and not hand it over had been unthinkable up until then. It wasn't too long after that they chose their names.
Some, like Zach and Ben, chose theirs from the reading material and case files that they had been supplied with over the years. Others, Jondy and Tenga included, chose theirs because they liked the sounds made. Max's name had popped into her head and had refused to leave, but it suited her so it was accepted.
From then on, every time a designation was barked out the same refrain would run through each of their heads.
"X5-493"Ben, my name is Ben.
"X5-599"Zach, my name is Zach.
"X5-452"Max. My name is Max.
"And so they chose names that told who they were and who they wanted to be. And when the angel and her brothers and sisters got the chance to leave the bad place they took it, running towards freedom. Some of them were caught, but many lived free, finding friends, family, homes, and in the end each other. And when the angel had the chance, she returned to the bad place to set free those who had remained trapped. But that is only the start of her story. The rest will have to wait for another night."
"Awww Daddy! I want the rest of the story!"
"I know sweetie, but it is past your bedtime. If you are good tomorrow at school, I will tell you some more tomorrow night."
"Okay Daddy. 'night."
And with that, the dark headed cherub with the puppy-dog eyes snuggled down into her pillow and slept, awaiting the next bedtime and the continuation of the story.
TBC.
A/N: So here is part 1. The remainder of the story mostly deals with life after Freak Nation. Let me know if you want me to continue.