The sleeping beauty took his time to emerge from dreamland, but eventually did. For a few minutes, he was back in his room on a regular day, with his brother looking over him with worried eyes, trying to wake him up by rubbing his arms.
But 'I' didn't want to, he was still feeling groggy, and rejected his brother's hand, turning to the other side.
It took him a few minutes to be able to keep his eyes open, and to suddenly remember everything. His head though felt like it weighed a ton.
" Big brother! Are you hurt somewhere? You were sleeping a lot…"
"..."
"Big brother 'I'?"
"...'P'...I..I was in the...outside..."
Now, adrenaline was starting to flow in his veins as panic grew inside his chest. He had been caught! It was that easy for them to retrieve him….and now what? What were they gonna do about him?
The brunette turned to 'P' and hugged his brother tightly against him, and it felt like he was doing his farewells. But then something didn't add up and he parted from the albinos.
"Wait...why would they let me be in our room with you?"
"Mm…"
The youngest one seemed to think. To be honest he was just happy that his brother had returned and didn't ask himself those detailed questions!
"Father! I think Father told the other misters it was better that we stay both together! But 'I'...he told me the misters were REALLY mad at you this time!"
The brunette gulped at the thought. No clearly, he was to face a severe punishment and not knowing what kind was killing him.
Before he could think of all the horrors awaiting from him, a knock surprised the two boys.
They probably saw him waking up on the cameras.
And now, security agents and a harsh looking man in military clothes were asking him to follow them…
xxxxxx
"These guards are clowns and we're in a circus!" yelled Professor Arkonlavesc, blue thunderbolts jolting out of her eyes, making almost all the head around the wooden table lower to look at it and if possible, fuse with it.
"To even remotely think, after all that happened this last month, that one of our most precious experiments, a 8 year old child at this, would ESCAPE from here! When WE apply rules, they have to be FOLLOWED, no exception included and certainly not by a pretty nobody woman taking her maternal ways around!"
Silence ensued. Not half of the scientists here had anything to do with it, but it was difficult to not feel concerned about this accident. Another one.
It was growing ridiculous how everything was escaping their control for no logical reason. And God knows scientists hated what wasn't logical!
Only a small old bearded man seemed to be able to face the fury, although he also seemed quite furious about the situation, as some could witness his claw clenching and his hands scratching the wood.
"Yes, you're right Nina, this is quite insubordinate, and Ms Miller will be fired without delay, as well as the inexperienced security members to replace them with trained soldiers instead . We definitely made a mistake by hiring amateurs...They might be children, but they proved to be more cautious than we thought. Maybe you were too lenient with them, Doctor Kästner…But what worries me are the individuals wandering in the woods Brodman's men spotted. I've heard that they recognized one to look like Number 3."
Hushed voices suddenly filled the room, mutters about it being a personification and that they could be discovered by the government and others thinking it was impossible for this country to be here.
" Professor Travasco, if I may...it is impossible for the personification of Italy to be here. I mean, why would he, of most people, be here? That's too much of a coincidence for me.."
"Coincidence! Let's talk about coincidences! How did Number 3 find the exact conduit that was weakened only 2 weeks after he met with Number 2? Why would he want to escape now? There is no coincidence : Number 2 talked to him and I don't know what he told him, but Number 3 had hidden it in our face all this time to prepare for this!" spatted Arkonlavesc, that was far away from having finished with the matter.
The men in the woods would have to wait.
"And now, what do we do with him? Because as you may all know, this long time making the clones study is for them to awaken their country memories or whatever theory Professor Eiling has in mind!"
At this the neurologist coughed, taking offence about how they were talking about the study of his life! It was already sufficient that this mess was greatly affecting it!
But as he was going to prove, he wouldn't be baffled too long by the setback.
"I know you don't believe in my theories, your only interest is to make weapons or find regenerative properties for your barbaric purposes! But I didn't devote my life to the study of these personification's cells holding memories for it to be cancelled by this kind of detail. Contrary to Number 5, Number 3 is perfectly stable. I wanted to avoid it, but I can try to activate his cell's memory using the electromagnetic waves we used for the development of all our experiments. We have already different results on the animals and when he was an embryo but never on a stable grown subject, it might just be the answer to connect the cells to the land…."
For the first time, Doctor Kästner seemed to lose his cool, sending daggers at his colleague with murder attends, before replying drily.
"Excuse me? Professors, I know you're really eager to fasten the pace of our research, but if we accelerate too much the process, it might disturb 'I's metabolism and thus make him unstable. All the animals that eventually underwent this didn't last long. Would you really lose another experiment like this?"
That was a rare sight, seeing the usually imperturbable scientist getting annoyed and it surprised everyone in the room. But if you thought about it, he was Number 3's creator, so it was normal he would be touchy about any project involving him.
This advocacy was directed at Pr Travasco himself. Both Eiling and Kästner were waiting for his decision to make law.
And the old dishevelled man listened, then eventually settled the matter.
"Dr Kästner, as a scientist myself, I know that having someone else interacting with our experiments is quite frustrating and you are right about the risk. However, Number 3 will be difficult to convince after what happened, and we can't afford losing our time if he doesn't behave. Besides, if Eiling succeeds, it will be a major progress in Project DOPPLEGANGER...And I will still be alive to see it!"
A knowing grin was born on Pr Eiling's face, while Dr Kästner slowly closed his eyes, in defeat. He had no choice after all, he may have been the one experimenting, and even bringing a sample of Prussia's DNA collected by his grand-father for the project, Travasco was the one funding everything.
He had no word to say, except agreeing.
The staff talked about other smaller matters after that, and then was dismissed, excitement in the air.
No one came to argue with the only remaining 'Father' as he was heading to his office. The man was thinking about Dr Malsinger and what he had told 'I' about him not being free about his decisions. Ironically, even with the good praises, he wasn't much more than him.
That's what he thought about all his way back, a bitter smile on his face.
xxxxxx
'I' looked at the mean man before him, lowering his head as much as he could. It felt like he was scolded and judged like a criminal, amplified by the feeling no one would save him.
He had been interrogated about how he escaped and what he saw outside. This time, they would expect him to lie, so he didn't, except for the part when he met his counter-part. He just wasn't specific about it, saying he would see people in the forest and hide from them.
However, they had verified by all means that he didn't actually go talk to them, revealing their location, and it took about five promises to finally get them to trust him.
The man wasn't a professor or a psychiatrist like before, he wasn't wearing a white coat. No, he was a soldier, like the one who brought him here, with scars on his hands, a formal uniform, and scary strict looks. When he moved, 'I' would recoil, fearing he would hit him to obtain what he wanted.
For what seemed to be hours, 'I' was responding to his questions, until finally, after a suffocating silence, he let him go.
The boy almost fled from his chair, but there weren't the same employees anymore and all the men and women that were keeping an eye on him gave off the same feeling as his interviewer.
His home had become completely stranger to him, and he bitterly thought it was his fault.
Worst, Ms Miller had lost her job, and he had lost the occasion to ever see her again.
If he wanted to face her though...he didn't know.
Now, surrounded by one woman and a man wearing uniforms too, he moved in the corridor and turned left.
To his dismay, they weren't returning him to his room, but near the medical department of the 2nd floor, few rooms not far of the MRI, in a place he never had been before.
Waiting for him was Professor Eiling, standing near a kind of machine and a metal bed in the middle. The clone was pushed toward him, and he fumbled before the professor, who acknowledged his presence.
"Ah perfect! Number 3 is here! Please install him comfortably and prepare the materials!"
Immediately, some nurses came to him to install him on the metal bed, some smiling and talking at him to comfort him.
It was nice to be treated gently again after the walls of glass he had faced since his come back in the facility, but this didn't answer the question of what they were going to do to him.
And if he was used to the giant metal ring taking pictures of his brain frequently, he didn't like the curved metal pieces at his right and left. The bed was also very rough, and he understood that it wasn't one to sleep on.
The preparation took another eternity. He had been put on a drip, taken some blood samples, but the strangest was the electrodes they would put at a peculiar spot on precise points all over his body, some connected to a beeping machine….and on his brain. To proceed, they had no choice than to remove his hair short beforehand, so at the end, the poor child was almost bald.
He didn't know why but it's at this exact moment, when they had started shaving his head and he saw his curl falling, that he started to cry and beg for them not to do it.
They tried to reassure him, saying it would grow back, but the boy was inconsolable, and would bury his face in his hands until they would manage to put all the electrodes on.
Then, he had to put himself still on the bed and when he saw the oxygen mask, he started to struggle.
He knew for having experimented before that it wasn't oxygen they were going to put, but some gas to stun him just the exact amount, the exact amount to let them do whatever they wanted of him. And generally, to be put at this, it was going to be painful!
The small body wiggled with all the force he could, screaming and trying to hit every person approaching in despair, but they were too numerous and strong, and after breathing, he started to relax and felt himself go away. At the same time, he felt the liquid from the drip pouring in his veins, making him lose all trace of fear...for the moment.
The preparation had taken quite some time, as Professor Eiling was still checking the machine he had elaborated after years of research and huge fundings. It had been tested on countless animals, but for Number 3, he wanted it to be perfect and the least traumatic.
Eventually, he entered the room, checked the state of 'I' and examined him. The boy would move his sleepy eyes on him but couldn't proceed exactly what he was doing.
"Alright, let's put the contention and the belt for him not to move during the process. Prepare the preservation serum near the drip so we can inject him fast if we need too…..I think I didn't forget anything, so everyone, leave the room once you're done."
In a few minutes, the coordinate team left 'I' alone, attached in the room. They couldn't make him breath the gas too long, but the morphin was at full effect.
Professor Eiling was behind a glazed mirror 'I' couldn't see through, observing him and giving command to his operators.
"Let's put him at the lowest frequency to start, then we will increase it little by little until he reacts to it. We will see if we can put him at the highest we've observed on the other subjects."
The experiment began just as the words were pronounced.
'I' didn't feel anything at first, just incredibly fuzzy from the effect of the medication, but as they increased the frequency, he could sense like if the metal curves were vibrating around him and making his body vibrate too.
A little, then much more and that's when he started to feel sick and tried to move.
Have you ever been on a car travelling over a gravelled and chapped road? It was that kind of feeling, except it was happening inside of him, something specifically terrifying. His heart, his head were trembling, pulsating in an unnatural way and it was getting worse any seconds passed inside. It wasn't strictly speaking painful, but maybe he would have prefered this rather than feeling this horrible unknown feeling that was giving him nausea.
Even the morphine wouldn't stop this growing discomfort, and he tried to move again with limited strength.
The scope was starting to bip as his heart beat increased in fast tempo, the EEG's needles were panicking, transcribing the cerebral waves emitted by his distraught brain.
Professor Eiling knew it was approaching the boy's limit, looking at the vitals with attention,
the increasing frequency being stopped when the clone's body started to vibrate so much that it was visible with naked eyes.
Frequencies of the machine were decreased level by level, and finally, the experiment ended, leaving a partially knocked out 'I' on the table and a satisfied doctor in medecine making his dream come true. But it still wasn't time to rejoice, he wasn't sure of his success yet.
"Alright, it seemed to have gone well, well done team! Put him on a medical bed, we will monitor him for a few hours to see if he tolerates the change in his body. Then, let him sleep in his room and check on him tomorrow."
He was eager to see the manifestation, but it would only happen when Number 3 would wake up, and maybe take some times.
Ha, he had waited for this for so long, he could stay patient a few more days…
xxxxx
The next day, while he was visiting his lab and checking on the studies, Travasco received a visitor.
"Professor Travasco! We have bad news! A really bad news!" said a panicky employee, rushing to his boss. "Please, follow me, Agent Brodman wants to speak to you immediately…"
Oh great...another problem. But a worrisome one if Agent Brodman, an ex-veteran that had fought in Irak and was now ensuring security outside his facility, wanted to talk to him personally.
Professor Travasco was stoic, he had seen a lot in his long life, and thus wasn't impressed or alerted easily. He quietly calmed down the employee and followed him toward the military man.
Seeing his stringent and concerned face though, the old man expected the worst.
"Professor Travasco, I'm glad you're here to listen to me personally."
"Yes agent Brodman. Please tell me what the matter is. Not that I've already enough to deal with."
"Sire, I'm sorry to add more worries to you but...please, look at this footage."
A screen lit up and the muscular man charged the video. It wasn't amateur material, but a hunting camera, that would switch in night mode. A camera that was put on trees all over the forest in a certain perimeter to monitor the surrounding of the facility.
Brodman advanced the footage to the moment he wanted him to see it, and when Travasco watched it, even the bossy man started to pale.
"As you can see, it's probably footage of one of the individuals that Number 3 have encountered and that my men spotted. Sire, I've fought in Irak alongside my country for a short time but...I can still recognize his face…And I know you of all person would know it too…"
"...Yes indeed...But why is he here….what is happening in this world…."
There was not much suspense in knowing who was on the footage.
The individual in question had walked before the camera, and then stopped to look at it, his eyes flashing, piercing through his glasses, like if he had said "I'm coming for you".
It was a matter of time before America was to discover the place, if he didn't already.
