" A mother's yearning feels the presence of the cherished child even in the degraded man. "
- George Eliot -
(DREAM SEQUENCE)
A young lizard boy was being transported by a containment cage and resting. He had no idea where he was going. A group of armed men released and brought him inside a larger containment cell.The lizard boy curiously saw a larger creature than him. It was his mirror-image, but vicious and sinister. He was well-known for murdering and torturing the test subjects.
" 682, you have a visitor, " a male voice spoke.
" Who is it? " Reptilian grunted.
" Your clone boy. We're setting a playdate with you and him. "
682 was evily laughing and slowly circling at the lizard clone. The boy felt uneasy and shaking in fear. The armed men immediately left them as they headed to the observation window.
" What's the matter, my double? Are you afraid to see me? " 682 taunted.
The lizard boy was gulping and sweating as he remained silent. He kept moving his head to and fro. 682 was ready to slay more victims as he usually did. He slapped the young one's scaly face with his claws and scarred the boy's left side which a flow of blue blood was seen.
" You don't talk that much, do you? " 682 sneered. " Speak-up, lad! "
" W-what d-do you want from me? " the boy shakingly asked. " T-tell me, why are you doing this? "
" You want to play with me? "
" N-No...No..."
" Why? "
" B-Because..."
" You ignorant coward. You don't answer me pertinently, " the creature growled and threw his spikes at the lizard boy's body and got wounded. The boy wanted to escape from 682's presence and loudly kept banging on the wall using his arms. No one responded as 682 continued to throw more.
" GET ME OUT OF HERE! HELP! HELP! " he cried. " PLEASE! "
" There's no escape! " the monster tackled him and struck the clone's chest as another blue blood heavily flowed from him.
" STOP THIS! STOP THIS! STOP! "
(Two Days Later: Rouen, France, 3:00 AM)
Elder Carol Danvers quickly opened her eyes as she heard crying from the other room. She stood up from her bed. The unstoppable wailing was echoing at the other rooms as everyone got disturbed from their sleep.
" Great Pama, this kid is having nightmares again, "she anxiously thought and headed to the hallway.
Suddenly, a middle-aged bald French mutant man appeared to her. He was frowning and crossing his arms. Carol felt uneasy to confront him.
"Madame, êtes-vous censé être avec ce garçon à son chevet?(Madame, are you supposed to be with that boy on his bedside?) " he indignantly asked.
"Je suis désolé, je suis juste allé dans ma chambre plus tôt.(I'm sorry I just headed to my room earlier.) " she answered.
"Etes-vous même conscient que ses pleurs constants nous donnent mal à la tête?!(Are you even aware that his constant crying is giving us a headache?! ) "
The other people from the rooms had awaken from sleep frowning and crossing their arms at the elderly Kree-Hybrid woman.
"Ce garçon est fou tous les soirs! Il devrait être dans l'établissement et enfermé!(That boy is an insane one every evening! He should be in the institution and locked up!) " another old woman whined.
"Je suis d'accord! C'est un fou!(I agree! He's a lunatic!)" a younger man added.
Everyone began throwing their gripes and surrounded her as Carol couldn't contain herself in this situation. She moved her head to and fro. The lizard kept wailing which she wanted to go. The elderly half-Kree woman ignited her hands in anger and blasted the busted 20th century grandfather's clock on her left side. The residents were dumbfounded at her act of crowd control.
"Vous avez des mots à dire?(Got any words to say?) " Carol sternly glared at them when no one answered at her question. Then, she politely smiled, "Tres Bien.Bonne nuit à tous.( Very well. Havea nice sleep, everyone. ) "
The residents returned into their respective rooms as Carol walked away and reached at the lizard boy's room. She carefully opened it and saw him curling up and crying on the bed. His voice was shaking and constantly repeating the same words.
" S-STOP THIS! STOP THIS! STOP! PLEASE HELP ME! H-HELP ME! "
" Kid, wake up! Come on, wake up! " she shook the lizard boy's shoulders. " Wake up! It's just a dream! "
He opened his eyes and touched his tears. Carol was sitting beside him as he hugged her. The lizard boy spent crying on her shoulders. The old blonde woman gently patted his back to pacify him. Suddenly, she sang her mother's song when she was younger.
" Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Ooh-oo child
Things are gonna get easier
Ooh-oo child
Things'll get brighter
Some day, yeah
We'll get it together and we'll get it all done
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter..."
The lizard boy found himself in the arms of an old woman as he felt like a helpless child clinging to his mother. His mind was at peace as he heard her singing. Carol wiped his eyes using her red sash and kissed his forehead.
" Everything's gonna be alright, " she assured and gently held her hands. " I'm here. "
" Carol...I'm sorry..." he said.
" Hey, it's not your fault, Kid. Sometimes, we all experience nightmares. Can you tell me what's going on? "
The lizard boy collected his thoughts as she waited. Somehow, that wasn't just a nightmare. It was a very painful memory from his past which it occured while he was sleeping. That caused him to cry a lot every evening. Finally, he was about to open up as Carol looked at her with a concern.
" Kid? "
" I want to tell this to you, Carol. You're the only I could trust. "
" Yeah, you can tell me everything, Kid, " she gently touched his back. " Think of me as your best friend and a mother. It's okay. What is it? "
" It's a memory I wanted to forget, " he answered. " 682 was there. "
" How come? Why? " Carol asked.
" I was there in that cage as the people brought me to him. I was very afraid to confront him. He gave me a scar on my face's left side. Then, he called me ' ignorant coward ', because I couldn't say anything. Then, he shot me some spikes from his back as I got severely wounded. At first, no one helped me. I was about to die when he punctured my chest. "
Carol listened at the boy's story as she sensed how cruel he had experienced from 682. She sadly sighed and facepalmed.
" How many times did you experience it? "
" A lot, almost everyday, " he answered.
" Did you ever fight back? "
" No. Infact, I want to show you something. "
The lizard boy carefully removed his grey hooded tunic and showed those countless scars and bruises from his body. The elderly half-Kree woman widened her eyes in shock. She never realized he had terribly experienced a tremendous physical abuse.
" Why did you suffer that much? " she asked.
" I was a test subject in exterminating 682, but I failed to do so, " he answered and bursted into tears. " But I was so afraid of him! He wanted to kill me, because I'm a weakling! He said I deserved to die! "
Carol gently hugged the boy in tears. She had clearly understood his extreme sadness which the boy had finally broken his enduring and painful silence.
" I know there's more to this which he should tell, "she thought.