Uncle Borcht walked in. His arms holding something that looked totally wacko. Why on earth would such a thing exist? Sure beats me. I mean, Marian has always told me that the process of evolution has never been easy. Sometimes nature needs help, and that's where they come in. I remember distinctly the day Marian told me about the wings.
"Marian?"
"Yes?"
"Are the wings normal?"
"Well..."
"Uh huh..."
"...sometimes, no, people are unique. Some are different from others, some have mutations, not entirely bad ones..."
"But how come the people on TV don't?"
"They do, only theirs aren't prominent."
"What about you?"
"Me? I'm part Galapagos Turtle, I can grow to be very, very old."
"But you don't have a shell..."
"Honey, not all of us have visible features."
"Uncle Borcht?"
"Well... he's part Javan Pig."
"Is that why he eats so much?"
"Be nice to Uncle Borcht, sweetie."
And that ended our conversation.
I thought about it everyday since then, how everyone's different and unique. But that didn't matter.
I sat crossed-legged on my matress. Th door creaked open...
"Hello?"
I looked up at Uncle Borcht. Everytime he brought a gift, something from the lab, or the outside world.
Last time he brought a talking bird, I felt pity, so I let it go in the wild. Marian didn't let me watch TV for a month. That woman is unreasonable.
So this time, he bought something else. Something different. He brought me a remote. More like a buttony thing.
And he sat down by my bed. I winced, remembering the freaky dream. I stared at him.
"Dis," he gestured a stubby finger, "Controls dat." I stared intently. The door opened and I suppressed a shiver. A boy of 13 or 14 came in. He had golden hair with red highlights. And his eyes were rebellious. The deep ochers stared intently at me.
"What is that thing?" I asked.
"Dat, is Alpha. Alpha is de start of de new line ov specimens, and you get to use the first successful one." I stared at him. He shifted uncomfortably.
"I vill leave now."
"Kay." I was too curious of the new gift.
"So why are you here?"
I looked at him curiously. "Why shouldn't I be here?"
"You have no idea..."
"Of what? I have every idea! I know this place like the front of my hand." I was miffed. Who was this guy questioning me?
His eyes focused on me. I fidgeted. "How well do you know the back?"
What didn't I know. I furrowed my brow, wondering what this idiot knew that I didn't. The only part I didn't know was the lab.
The lab.
But that area was restricted. Why? I had never questioned.
Time to go out on my own. Stupid, stupid. You know that feeling where the answer is right in front of your frigging NOSE??
The lock was easy. I picked it when I was 8, having nothing to do. The cameras needed disabling. With one glance at the wire, I took care of that.
Jeb was right in front of me.
"Um... hi Jeb."
"Hi. What are you doing here?"
"Uh..." lying through my teeth, I made an excuse, "Uncle Borcht was here, he let me roam around the place." I sniffed disdainfully, and Jeb looked at me with his sad eyes.
Jeb sighed. "You are so like Max, and yet you look so much like..." He paused. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently.
"Uh huh," I raised a disbelieveing eyebrow, "go on."
He shook his head, "Nevermind." He went back to work.
I squinted suspiciously. Jeb was always to depressing. I mean, it was like Hello, I just found my daughter and it turns out she hates me and flew away with her other friends. Oh yeah, did I tell you about my homocidal son who has issues with sibling rivalry? It was like his daily life was all a tragic story. Boo hoo.
I sauntered past him as he stared my way.
And after a couple of corriders.
I came up to a door that I had seen Marian go through everyday. Alph shivered. Deja vu.
And with a huge breath, I pushed it open.
And saw what Marian held from me all these years...
"Need... bucket..."
"Why?"
I whallopped him inside my head.
"SO I CAN BARF YOU IDIOT!!"
As I looked up for the second time, I saw who I was...what I was...
I was a failed experiment.