Warning: the following chapter may induce confusion. Reading carefully is advised.
Chapter 2
August 10th (Four years later)
Hi.
She was sitting in a large room. The ceiling, walls and floor were a startling white. It seemed as if the room had no dimension, as if it stretched endlessly in all directions for miles and miles. In front of her was a boy she had never seen before. She softly gasped: he was the first human she had ever seen. The boy was taller than her and obviously older, around eight she guessed. His fair brown hair was marred with several gray streaks and had been grown to stick up in different directions. It was strange that he looked better this way. His soft brown eyes studied her curiously but there was an unmistakable trace of sadness in them. The girl hesitated.
Hi.
The other boy stood up and walked up to her. The girl pretended to not notice him as he sat right next to her, despite the fact that she had just responded to his greeting seconds ago. She was aware that the polite thing for the boy to do next was to ask what her name was. How she knew that she didn't know, but before she could have a chance to ask, the boy spoke.
What's your name?
The girl blinked, stupefied. What was her name? She knew what a name was, but she just didn't know hers.
I... I don't know,she replied bashfully.
It says right here on your clothes, the boy said. He tugged on the right sleeve of his white uniform. Tiny black letters and numbers had been stitched on to his clothing.
I'm PH10001. Your name is PH10238.
Why did you ask me if you already knew?PH10238 asked curiously.
The boy, or PH10001, grew silent.
I don't know, he said. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
"Get rid of him!"
It was easy to tell that Giovanni was too impatient and irritable to be further pushed, but Rowan licked his lips and tried again.
"But sir, we've invested so much time and money on the boy. We can't just throw him away like a piece of garbage."
The muscles on Giovanni's arm flexed. His nails dug into Persian's scalp. The Pokemon yowled and hissed in protest.
"That's what he is: a piece of garbage! It's been years and the boy hasn't made any progress. I've told you countless times Rowan. I will not spend billions of more dollars on a failed experiment. Get rid of him now! That's an order."
Rowan internally sighed. "Of course sir."
He stiffly turned around and his feet dragged him back to his laboratory. Had it already been four years since he started working on this project? Granted, it felt like decades. Rowan had to admit; at first the concept of the project intrigued him. That's why he volunteered so eagerly to participate in it. Getting rid of all those children and infants…it was quite disturbing, but it was necessary to further their goal. They had no other choice.
Rowan absentmindedly nodded to the two guards standing outside of his laboratory door. They opened the door for him and he approached two scientists observing the meeting between PH10001 and PH10238.
"Where is Dr. Jeffreys?" he asked him.
As if on cue, Rowan's lead assistant staggered out from a separate room and waddled towards him. Poor fellow, he was a brilliant man, but he couldn't seem to cut down a few pounds.
"How was your meeting with Giovanni Professor?" He asked once he finally reached him.
"We're to terminate Weapon PH10321," Professor Rowan quietly said. "He is obsolete."
Dr. Jeffrey's silly grin immediately fell into a sad grimace. "Of course," he sadly remarked. "It's been a while since we've… you know." He cleared his throat and three of his chins wobbled. "Shall I?"
Rowan shook his head. "I'll do it; spare you from the mess."
Dr. Jeffreys nodded. "When will Giovanni stop by? Did he mention a time?"
"No," Rowan said. "Assume he'll come at his regular interval. Prepare him fifteen minutes ahead of time."
Rowan snuck a peek at the screen his two other assistants were intently watching. PH10001 and PH10238 resembled statues on the high-definition screen, but he knew they were in deep conversation.
"What are those two talking about?" He asked one of his assistants. "I'm curious."
"They're getting to know each other still," one of them said.
"However PH10238 is debating whether or not she's dreaming," the other added.
"Hmph," Rowan grunted. "Interesting."
He walked towards the room on the right side of the lab and punched the security code.
"Access granted," the mechanical voice said before the door slid open.
The room was brightly lit, as it always was. There was only one metal cot in the large room. Several tubes were hooked to inject drugs in a small green-haired boy asleep on it. He was no more than six. Dr. Jeffreys snatched the boy from a daycare in LaRousse when he pronounced him dead of a high fever. He even burned the remains of a dead Hoothoot to pass as the ashes of the infant.
Rowan studied the boy's face. It was very calm, peaceful, although there were notable dark rings under his eyes from the stress and pain of the experiments.
For the first time in four years, Rowan wondered if what he was doing was worth all the pain and suffering. He almost immediately dismissed the notion and mentally scolded himself for even thinking of such an idea. After all, it was all in the good of science and innovation.
Checking his brain wave activity one more time, Rowan made certain that there wasn't any abnormal behavior. Rowan shook his head sadly and walked over to the corner of the room. He unlocked a small filing cabinet and took out a small silver revolver. They used to euthanize and put the children to sleep, but Giovanni cut their funding and forced them to use a cheaper alternative.
Rowan placed the muzzle of the gun at the child's temple. He internally sighed before pulling the trigger. But the trigger wouldn't move. Rowan squeezed harder on the trigger, but the stubborn switch refused to budge. The Professor lifted the curious contraption and studied it curiously. It didn't appear to be broken. He looked down at the child and jumped a little to see him awake and staring at him with large emerald eyes.
The gun in Rowan's hand grew warmer and he instinctually dropped it. The gun clattered to the floor before melting into a small puddle of metal. Rowan suddenly doubled over and clutched his head in pain. It felt as if his brain was pushing, expanding, out of his skull.
You were going to kill me.
Panting heavily, Rowan squinted at PH10321 who had sat up to see him. The child watched the Professor with mild interest, as if waiting for an answer. He smirked a little at him.
Having no way of communicating with the child, Rowan could only simply nod. His head throbbed horribly. The door suddenly slid open and the two guards who had been standing outside of his laboratory bounded in. One of them shot a tranquilizer dart at PH10321 and he thankfully fell backwards onto his metal cot.
Professor Rowan angrily waved his hand at a guard who tried to help him. He pressed his index finger against his mouth, signaling to the two men to keep quiet. Rowan rose to his feet and the headache instantaneously vanished. He and the two guards hurried out of the room just as several other assistants rushed in to check on the child.
Dr. Jeffreys sped walked as quickly as he could to Rowan on his pudgy little legs. The Professor settled into a large plush armchair usually reserved to a guard.
"What happened in there?" the doctor urgently asked.
Rowan shook his head. "It's unbelievable really," he said with wonder. "Never have I felt such power, not even from Psychic Pokemon."
"What happened?" The doctor demanded impatiently.
Rowan bitterly chuckled. "Something phenomenal. One thing is certain: we can't terminate him. He's much too valuable to lose."
Is this all real?
PH10001 tilted his head curiously and flashed a crooked smile at her. PH10238 met his tired eyes, undaunted.
Is this all real? He repeated with a hint of amusement in his voice.
Don't make fun, she whined. How do I know you're not just… another dream…or nightmare?
The smile quickly fell. PH10001 slowly reached out and grasped her hand. His hand was warm while hers was cold as ice.
You feel real, he said. He gave her hand a small squeeze before ducking his head slightly to meet her wide blue eyes.
You look real.
He suddenly leaned forward and deeply inhaled the scent of PH10238's hair before returning to his original position.
You smell real…and nice too, he added with a playful smile. The girl smiled in response.
And- The girl suddenly felt something warm and wet run against her cheek and jumped a little.
Hey! She protested. PH10238 wiped her cheek with the back of her hand.
Yuck!
You taste real too, the boy said with a large cheeky grin. Not as good as you smell though. And I heard your little outburst too so I guess you sound real.
PH10238 smiled in amusement before biting her lip nervously. PH10001 looked at her worriedly.
You're not convinced though, he said dejectedly.
We've established that you and I are real, she said. But that still doesn't mean you won't leave me… with them. The girl could almost feel the cold needles invading her and pumping strange liquids that burned and itched under skin.
The boy squeezed her hand again in comfort. Don't worry, he said. You're not alone.
You promise you won't leave me? PH10238 looked up to meet the eyes of her new friend. Determination replaced the grief in his eyes and he nodded in affirmation.
I promise.
And suddenly, PH10001 was gone. The white room twisted and warped. It instantly turned pitch dark and cold. The girl cried out in fear, but no one heard her.
"Good afternoon boy. How are you?"
PH10001 felt something soft against his eyelids and knew that he had been blindfolded again. Even so, a wave of comfort washed over him.
Father, he replied. I met a new friend.
"Did you now?" An air of surprise touched his voice. "How is she?"
She's younger than me, but she's really pretty, PH10001 said with a soft smile. I hope to see her again soon.
"I don't know about that boy. I'm not sure you will."
Cold dread stung him and he jerked in response.
But I promised I would…
"I know you did. But we'll be meeting soon. I don't you want to be distracted. You understand don't you?"
PH10001 bit his lip nervously. He wanted very badly to meet his father, yet… he couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving PH10238. She depended on him so much.
I don't know, he responded.
His father sighed. "I guess your old man isn't important enough for you then. Goodbye son."
No, wait! The boy cried out urgently. Please don't go…
But it was too late; his father had already left. Unable to stop himself, PH10001 cried against the black strip of cloth wrapped around his head. He cried silently until he dozed to sleep with a heavy heart.
Giovanni smirked to himself as he watched Rowan's assistants swarm around PH10001 and began to check his blood pressure and temperature. He rose deliberately and walked out of the small room. Rowan was still resting on the armchair, recovering from the mental attack PH10321 had subjected him to.
"When will I be able to talk to the boy in person?" He asked.
Rowan was silent for a moment. "He's passed basic steps already. He should be ready in about a month. However his mental abilities will be severely limited if he is exposed to verbal speech again. He was only two when we brought him here."
Giovanni nodded. "So be it then. All experiments on him are to cease immediately now that the other boy seems to be working. One month Rowan, not a day more."
Persian purred softly as it followed Giovanni out of the laboratory. The contempt and impatience in Giovanni's voice when he spoke to him irked Rowan. He was a world renowned scientist who happened to make several bad mistakes. Now he was reduced to this! Taking orders from a madman to killing and experimenting on children.
Rowan frowned. Why had he started to think like this? These thoughts had never struck him until now. He had never felt any bitterness towards Giovanni until now, so why start?
