10.
I open my eyes to find myself in a hospital bed. I feel the tubes and needles in my arms. I hear the annoying loud beeping of a machine near me. Men and women swarm me, wearing white coats and sterile masks on their mouths. A woman looks down at me and notifies the others of my consciousness. All their eyes are glued on me. Their eyes gleams with oddness, my mind races with anxiety. The same woman turns her head away and alerts someone else far out of my sight. "Faye is awake, Dr. Winters. We can begin the testing." She say. I begin to tremble, I want to scream, but I'm speechless. My heart pounds, bile travels up my throat, my head is beginning to throb.
A man in a gray lab coat walks into my line of sight. He is a thin, but stocky man with slick black hair, a lightly shaved dark beard, pale blue eyes, and olive skin. His eyes pierces into mine, trapping me into his icy stare. A chill runs down my spine when his lips suddenly forms a broad smile. He turns to the others and orders them to leave the room. They obey without protest and I'm all alone with him. "Hello, Faye. I have always wanted to meet you." His voice is warm and genial. But I can sense something is off about him. I notice his eyes are still cold and narrow.
"You were out for a while." He conversates. He scrolls over to me and hovers over me. I'm shaking like a leaf. I'm baffled by all of this.
I force myself to speak. "Who are you?" I croak.
"Winters. Rick Winters. I'm sure Mucker told you about me, he was my mentor long ago."
I feel a pang of hurt when I hear my creator's name, but I swallow it like a bitter pill. Mucker never told me about this man. Mucker rarely would talk about his personal life, so I know very little about his past. Deep down, I know I'm caught, but I decide to lie.
"Who is Mucker?" I ask dumbly. I make sure my face appears innocent.
"Your creator. The one you killed in a fit of rage," Winters' smile turns into a grim smirk. He can read through my lies. So I give up, becoming annoyed.
"What….do...you want?" I demand.
"I want to get to know you, Faye. You are a miracle," He bends down to me. "You are the human embodiment of the Cordycep fungus. I am so honored meeting such an amazing specimen." He beams.
"Why am I here?" Fear leaves me and I'm full of defiance. Winters is not fazed by this and he continues. "Like I said before, sweetheart. I want to get to know you. And I also want to show you my little projects." He explains.
"Right now?" I blurt out. I nearly smile when I imagine my opening. Winters nods his head.
"Yes, now." He reply. Then he briskly walks over to a counter and opens a cabinet. He pulls out a muzzle.
I walk with Winters, muzzled and angry, through a narrow hallway. We head into a elevator and we are whisked to the lowest level of the building. The doors slide open and we are walking through a dimly lit hallway.
Winters tries to make small talk with me. "So Faye, who was that man you were with?" He asks nonchalantly.
I talk before I think. "Felix." My voice is muffled by my muzzle.
Winters nods his head. "Yes, Felix." He echoes. "Is he your friend?" He speaks slowly and condescendingly. I shake my head. "No." I say hollow. I wasn't sure if I missed him or not. But I rather be with Felix than this guy! I desire to bite him so badly. I already abhor his existence. Felix pops into my mind and I'm terrified for him. "Where is he?" I asks.
"He's fine. Resting on the fourth floor." Winters answers. I'm conflicted on if he's lying or telling the truth. I'll never know. We finally stop at the sight of wide steel doors in front of us. Winters digs in the pockets of his coat and pulls out a pair of silver keys. He scrolls to the doors and unlocks it, he pushes the doors open and I gasp.
The room is spacious and sterile with white walls and gray floors. The lights from the room is bright, illuminating the once dark hallway.
"Come." Winters' voice snaps me out my gaze, he grabs my wrist before I could do anything. He tugs me gingerly inside the room. It's almost like I'm in another building, we travel down another corridor, doors with windows are everywhere. I'm able to catch glimpses of strange looking devices inside the bright rooms. From what I see, it appears to be round orbs with vivid liquid inside of them, hooked up to a rusty machine. I see this in most of the rooms we pass.
Winters tightens his grip on my wrist when I tried to pull away. I stop struggling when he begins to hurt my wrist with his iron grip.
I'm amazed how massive this area was. So amazed, I'm actually curious about what Winters wanted to show me. We head down a fleet of stairs and enter a pathway, this one has no walls, just floors and the air is thick and foul smelling. I look down below at the darkness under me, I hear the moans and growls of Infected. I hear the clicking of Clickers, the wails of the Stalkers and Runners and the inhuman roars of a bloater.
Suddenly we stop in the middle of the pathway, with the cries of the Infected escalating in the background. Winters flashes me a wide grin and I take a cautious step back. He gestures towards the Infected below. "This isn't what I want to show you, but I think this may be very interesting for your little mind. You see Faye, we at the FMG, study the Infected precisely and close. We capture them in traps and examine them. Take samples and see how they interact with others."
I raise a eyebrow. "What is FMG?" I asks. Winters takes a sudden step closer to me and I think that he's going to haul me off the pathway. He doesn't and instead puts a gentle hand on my shoulder.
"Fungal Mutation Generation, Faye." Winters elucidate. "Faye, I seek a future of a stronger generation. Nowadays, fear is the only thing that keeps you alive. Humans are limited from being advanced. You are not. You can infect others, you can heal. You have so much potential to be something great. Don't you think that there should be more like you?"
I'm speechless. I choose silence as my answer.
"Faye," Winters' eyes burns intensely into mine. His voice is grave and harsh. "Mucker created you for a purpose. He desire something impossible. There will never be a cure for this world. We need stronger children, we need advancement. Mucker was a wise man, a man who I respect. But he dreamt a pointless dream. His mind was poisoned with ideals and hope. I made people like you. Better and progressive."
I blink my eyes in confusion. I made people like you. His words floods my mind. I feel a mixture of numbness and shock. I continue to stay silent. Excitement dances in Winters' eyes. He tugs me once again through the pathway and we enter a large chamber, there are only two steel doors, one on the right and the other one on the left. Winters pulls out his keys once again and infiltrate the right door.
My eyes meets a girl, wearing drab clothing. She looks very young, she reminds me of Harlow. She was taller than Harlow, but she is one foot shorter than me. Her hair is the lively color of a penny, she has a heart shaped face, green eyes, and fair skin. Her face is stiff and expressionless, she is perched on her little bed, her blank eyes stares at us. She is silent and still. Her stare is unsettling, I feel uneasy and I'm eager to leave. But Winters is blocking my way. He gestures towards the girl. "Faye, this is R-100. One of our success experiments. She has the same abilities you possess. Possibly even more advanced. She possess great speed, stamina, and hand to hand combat. She heals at a accelerating rate. She can disperse fungus from her body and so much more! She's the prime example of perfection." Winters explains in a proud voice.
When he say this, my mind flashbacks to my escape. I have the similar ability of dispersing fungus from my body, but I just don't know how to activate it.
"Is she stable?" I ask abruptly.
Winters quickly nods. "Yes! We had many failures, but thankfully R-100 have been proven to be fit to function."
We stand in the room for a full minute, Winters talks to me, but I'm barely listening. I'm too busy being stared at by R-100. Soon enough, she finally releases me from her stare and lays down on her bed.
We then go to next room and I'm approached with the sight of a young boy with a hideous face. Scaly and full of reddish blisters. One side of his face was fairly normal, but his left side is terrifying. He is taller than me and thin. His hair is dark and straight. His blue eyes flashes at the sight of me. Unlike R-100, this kid greets me brightly. He approaches me and extends out a hand to me with a crooked smile. "My name is C-101, some folks calls me Xander. What's your name, muzzle mouth?" His tone is upbeat and brisk. I don't shake his hand, but I do speak. "Faye." I croak.
He turns his head to Winters. "When's my training?" He inquires.
Winters stares directly into C-101's eyes. He's no longer smiling, he is scowling. "Enough, C-101." He orders harshly. "You'll know when it's time to train." I observe Winters' sudden shift in personality. Now he's grim and unpleasant, his coldness is directed to this boy.
C-101 continues to be genial. He shrugs lazily. "Fine, Winters," With that, C-101 leans over and nudges Winters lightly. "So you gonna introduce me like you did to Red? Or do I have to do it myself?" Winters only glares at him in bitter silence.
"Red?" I say confused.
" That's R-100, some of the members here call her Red. You know because of her red hair." C-101 elucidate.
C-101 then shrugs his shoulders once again. "Well again my name is C-101, I'm the second one who was born in this project. I have the same abilities as Red does," He takes a curious step close to me. "What's your abilities? You're obviously one of us, Winters wouldn't bring you down if you wasn't."
I open my mouth to speak, but Winters interrupts me rudely. "C-101 is our least perfect subject. He failed to be the true form we, at the FMG, thrived for. He needs refinement and structure. He lacks the precise traits I hoped he would possess." Winters say coldly.
C-101 narrows his eyes, giving Winters a icy look. I can sense the tension in the air and I want to go.
"Where's Felix?" I blurt out.
Winters' eyes lights up. He seems eager to leave as well. "I will show you. Come." With that we shuffle our way out of the room, leaving C-101 alone.
It is a exhausting, long walk back to the entrance. I ponder on how they built a place like this. I'm breathless by the time we reach the elevator. We make it to the fourth floor and Winters leads me to a crack open door. The room reminds me of my testing room back at the Firefly base I escaped from. Felix lays in his hospital, deep in slumber, bandaged and stitched up. His skin is sickly pale, tubes are hooked to his left arm, his crimson blood fills the tubes. IVS are linked to him, a beeping machine is nearby. I worry that he was dying.
A nurse with straight black hair hovers over him, examining him. Her dark eyes are slit and piercing, her eyes flicks at the sight of us standing the doorway.
"The man is doing fine. The wreck just injured him, there is no internal bleeding. We managed to sedate him and care for his wounds." The nurse notifies to Winters. Winters simply nods.
I think of James. What happened to him? Did Felix kill him in the woods? Did we leave him in the woods? I didn't trust James at all because he is a Firefly member, but he was the only person with kindness in his heart when Tim went rogue.
"Let the man rest until he's ready to move. I'll talk to him when he does." Winters say. I raise an eyebrow. "What are you going to do with me?" I ask.
Winters gives me a smile before he opens his mouth. "Are you hungry? You can stay here until your friend heals up." He offers warmly. I'm taken back by his shifts in personality. One moment, he's affable, next, he's dour and cold. Felix was at least consistent with his temperament. I would resist, but I couldn't do anything. He takes my hand and escorts me to the large mess hall. Members of the Fireflies swarm the place, sitting at tables, eating from their plastic plates. The room is wide enough to fit at least a hundred people, there are long tables, dining cars lines up in the background, hairnet wearing women serves food to the lined up members. I'm served a handful of rice, a warm loaf of bread, and a glass of milk.
I try to lose Winters and try to shuffle away from him, but he's on my heel. I sit down at a random table and Winters sits right next to me. At first, I'm pissed. Then I realize my chance.
"Can you take off my muzzle, please?" I ask, making my voice sweet as sugar.
Winters nods. "Sure, Faye." He say nonchalantly. He releases me from the thing and smiles at me. I'm seconds away from infecting him, but then I notice something. There's dozens eyes on me. Eyes with loaded guns surrounds me. I glare at the smiling Winters. I want to kick myself for being so stupid.
I eat my food with a fork and a frown.
As I eat, I decide to conversate with Winters. "What was Mucker like?" I ask in a small voice.
Winters looks up at the ceiling and takes a deep breath before answering. "Intelligent. Highly intelligent. Calculating, precise, and dutiful. He taught me everything I know. My brother and I both were taught by him." Winters explains.
"Your brother?" I inquire.
"Robert, he was my partner. My closest companion. Before he passed, we worked hard on this program. We wanted so much for this world."
"How did he die?"
"Bitten by one of our failed experiment." He laments. His eyes lowers to the floor and I eat the rest of my meal.
Felix doesn't wake up after I finish my meal and I'm sent to a small hospital room in the pediatrics area. I lay in my hospital bed, gazing at the colorful, childish art on the light yellow walls. Guards are outside my door, to make sure I don't attack anyone. It is night time, moonlight slightly illuminates my room.
When I daydream in my spare time, I think of Harlow and her parents. I wonder how they're doing. Felix told them me and him were going on a hunting trip. But we've been gone way too long. They're probably panicking right now.
I think about the two children I met and I find myself wondering. Why did Winters comment so much about Red's abilities? I think confused. What are C-101 and R-100's purpose?
I know my purpose. Mucker told me long before I killed him. My purpose was to be the cure. But his dream was flawed. I thought about my meaning for a long time. I'm not the cure, far from it. I can't get infected, but I still carry the infection inside me. I am the infection in human form. Mucker's ideals and hope killed him before I did. I wish I told him that before I infected him.
R-100's stone face pops in my face and I feel a pang of uneasiness. I just yearn to go back to the family's house.
...
I'm shaken awake by the same nurse who cared for Felix in the early morning. Sunlight permeates the room. The nurse gives a tray with sliced apples and a glass of milk.
"Hello, dear." She greets me with a warm smile. I eat my breakfast as the nurse makes small talk with me. "My name is Nora, what's your name?" She sounds very young for a woman in her late thirties.
She is quite pretty, with her slender body, black hair, and her cat like eyes.
"Faye." I falter.
"That's a very pretty name, Faye." She compliments brightly.
"Where's Felix?" I ask.
"He's awake. Just need to put some nutritions in him. Do you want to visit him?" She say with a grin.
I feel a flick of hope. Maybe I could return to the family's house. I gobble down my meal swiftly and I'm on my feet.
When I arrive to Felix's room, I gasp at the sight of Winters conversing with him. My heart thunders in my chest, I feel the walls caving on me, the air becomes thick and oppressive. I'm frozen to the floor, my stunned expression is printed on my face. Felix's eyes flick to me and I begin to tremble.
Winters whirls around to see me and the Nurse standing in the doorway with a small smile on his face.
"Faye, me and Mr. Yeagers was just talking about you." Winters exclaims.
Winters looks Nora in the eyes and orders her to leave. She does and I brace myself for anything.
Felix stares at me. There's an odd expression in his eyes that I can't read. My heart begins to sink.
I fear the worst. I'm tempered to kill Winters right here and now. But what if there's guards around? I don't see them, but I know they're near. Winters isn't dumb.
If Winters told Felix about my true self, then what? From his expression, Felix knows something.
But what?!
"Me?" I whisper as if I'm innocent.
"You didn't tell Mr. Yeagers, your little secret." He grins. I'm nearly loses my balance when he say that. I immediately feel sick to my stomach. Felix is speechless and stays quiet.
I struggle to muster out words. I can't seem to find the right ones. "Felix…...I…...I…" My voice drifts off.
Then a gush of emotions flow through me without warning. "I couldn't tell you! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie to you and the others. I just needed help!" I choke out.
Felix's eyes are cold, colder than usual. My words meant nothing to him.
"Mr. Yeagers, I will take Faye off your hands and I will keep her with me. Thanks to you, we captured the experiment that escaped months ago." Felix's glare moves from me to Winters.
Winters continues. "I will give a reward for your service. A vehicle, food, water, and bountiful amount of guns. Do you want Faye to be taken away from you?"
Felix doesn't answer Winters' question. Instead he is skeptical. "I want to see it first." He say curt.
"NO!" I cry. Eyes are glued to me, but I don't care. Tears swells in my eyes. I think of Harlow, Nina, and Nick. The thought of never seeing them again was painful. I take a deadly step close to Winters, teeth bared and fists balled up at my sides. Winters stays calm and shout out to someone. A guard is at the doorway in a flash, aiming his gun directly at me. I stop in my tracks immediately.
I look at Felix and beg. "Please, I….do anything. Please don't leave me here!" Felix doesn't reply back to me. He speaks to Winters.
"What are you going to do to her?" He ask. Maybe my pleads grabbed his concerns?
"I'll care for her. Your job is done." Winters answers.
"FELIX!" I cry, trying to get his attention. Felix looks at me and he narrows his eyes angrily.
"You are not coming with me, you are not my problem and you never will be. You belong here with these people. You lied to me and my family and tried to pull my family into this shit! I did what I said I would do and now you're here." He hiss.
A wave of hurt hits me. Tears roll down my cheeks without warning.
Felix avert his look from me and back to Winters. His tone, bitter and harsh, like usual. "I want to see these supposed guns and vehicle. How do I know you're not bullshitting me?" He say.
My mind is racing, my emotions boil inside me. I feel both sadness and anger. Then Felix's rejection hurt me more than I thought it would. I feel betrayed.
I open my mouth to speak one more, but this time I close it. I have no words to say.
11 will come soon. Leave reviews and thoughts.