It was still dark when Finny opened his eyes. He sat up and looked around, a mixture of fear and anxiety swirling in his gut.
"Good morning," a small feminine voice called out from the darkness. He whipped around, squinting into the darkness to find the voice's source. "Oh, right, sorry. I heard you waking up just now, so I thought I'd say hi, since I haven't met you before and all." Finny, still feeling his claustrophobia weighing down on him, managed a small greeting.
"Hello there, I'm Finny. What's your name?" Good manners under any circumstances, just as Mr. Sebastian had taught him.
"My name is Jean," he heard her say quietly. "You may want to keep your voice down, they might hear us talking, and they don't like us talking too much." Finny tensed up against the bars of his cage, and not just from the cold metal. He knew all too well what these people would do to you if you disobeyed any of their rules.
"Okay, I get it," he whispered. "My name's Finnian, by the way. My friends call me Finny."
"Nice to meet you, Finny," Jean greeted softly.
"So, how did you get here?"
"I heard you talking with Michael yesterday, so my story is about the same as yours, I guess," she answered quietly with a whimper in her voice. "They kidnapped me when I was playing in my front yard." She had a hint of sadness in her voice as she spoke. "I just want to go home, they've done so many things to me... I don't know what mummy and daddy will think when they see me." She may have been about to say more, but she didn't get the chance. There was the loud sound of a lock clanking, and she squeaked and fell silent. The heavy metal door creaked open. Behind him (as his own cage was the foremost and closest to the door) Finny could hear the other experiments whimper, some sobbing quietly. There, in the doorway, stood little Penelope. A calico cat draped over her shoulders, hanging loosely like a shawl. She was flanked on either side by two men clad in white labcoats.
The very sight of these men made Finny's heart began pounding as his mind raced over his memories. Being jabbed with needles until his skin was purple and bruised. Being strapped to a table with metal clamps and sliced open like meat on a the butcher's slab. Hearing the mocking laughter of the men who forced such pain on him. All of these things he saw embodied in this little girl's sky eyes.
"Good morning S-012, guess what time it is~" she trilled like a springtime robin. She didn't wait for an answer before going on. "It's time for your first injections!" Finny could have sworn he felt his heart stop for a moment. He immediately did what his instincts told him. He jumped back and made an undignified scramble to the furthest wall of the cage. Penelope only smiled gently and sweetly as she stepped up to the side of the cage closest to her. She was wearing a frilly dress with a low neckline that showed about an inch below her collarbone. Finny noticed this as his eyes darted down to something that showed on her skin. It seemed to be the top of a circle with little spikes sprouting from it on either side, and the top points of a star poked out as well. "It is not polite to stare at a lady's body, you know," Penelope playfully chided. "Now, look at me, S-012."
Feeling that something bad would happen whether he obeyed or disobeyed, Finny looked up until their eyes met. As soon as sky blue met sea-green, the sky blue turned crimson. Finny froze, unable to do anything. It was as if every nerve in his body had suddenly been frozen. He had no control over his body, he couldn't move at all, and all he could see was that red.
"Stand up." He heard that little chirp of a voice meet his ears, yet it also seemed to echo in his head. He felt himself stand up, though he didn't know how or why. "Now, come here." He couldn't help but do what the little voice told him to do. It was as if his own body was a prison, he was helpless to obey. "Now, you're going to follow us down the hall, and do exactly as I say, 'kay?" She waited for no answer, but her voice turned harsh as she pointed at the cage.
"Take him out, let's get him to the lab." The scientist men went forward and unlocked the cage. Finny could feel his heart beating against his ribs, but couldn't make himself move to fight back, or to take a chance of escape out the open doors. His body was limp as the scientists grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out the door and into the light. All the while, Penelope followed, smiling a bit as she stroked the cat on her shoulders.
–
Finny was shaking by the time he was thrown back into the cage. He curled himself up into a ball, fists pressing against his chin and eyes moistening. It was just like all of his nightmares. He was back, and he couldn't move as they jabbed needles into the fleshy parts of his arm. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop them. They had taken his clothes, forced him into a thin hospital gown. All of his strawberry-golden hair had been shaved off and tossed into the garbage. He was helpless to stop any of it. These nightmares only resolved themselves when he woke up.
Only, this was no nightmare. He couldn't escape it by waking up. It was actually happening to him. He sniffled, curling and uncurling his toes as he did for the sole reason that he could move them again. The tears freely flowed down his face, he didn't even try to stifle them as he sniffled and wept quietly.
I want to go home.