Fictional Reality

Chapter Three - Christmas Day

That night Cain lay down in his bed with his heart thumping almost unbearably fast in his chest, excitement making him tense with anticipation and unable to sleep. He had enjoyed precious few truly child-like moments in his short life and, where Abel had been tempered with bitterness, he had refused to let his hope die. He knew they were the same as the humans, that they were really just people and all the scientists needed was to be given proof to realize that.

This was his proof. Not just for himself, but for Abel, Lilith and Seth as well.

When the rest of the colony saw their presents left by Santa Claus, they couldn't fail to see the clones treated as equals in that respect. Normal like everyone else, and he was sure at least he would get a visit. He liked to believe Father Christmas would see past Abel's exterior to the glimpses of goodness beneath, but even if he had made the naughty list then it was sure Cain had made the nice one.

Eyes fixed on the almost bare branches of his tree in the corner, wondering what present would be underneath it when he woke up, he finally drifted into a contented sleep.

It seemed barely seconds later that he was waking, jolting upright and out of bed before his eyes were properly open, dropping to his knees beside his tree and staring with a happy smile at... nothing. The same empty space that had been there before he went to sleep, the same bare floor covered in the last of the brown and dead needles that had dropped in the night.

Cain's smile slowly slid away into confusion, ducking lower to crawl right underneath just in case he had missed something. But there was nothing - no gift, no card - and he was finally forced to concede that he wasn't going to find anything no matter how hard he looked. Had he done something wrong to earn a place on the naughty list? His mind began to race frantically back through the year to all misdeeds, both real and perceived, unable to find anything heinous enough to warrant not even the lump of coal given to bad children.

A knock at his door shook him from his reverie and hope bloomed fiercely in his chest again. Of course! He had locked his door as always, and perhaps Santa Claus hadn't been able to get past the security measures on the door once he had found no fireplace to enter through. That meant Cain's presents must be under the giant tree in the lobby. That had to be the explanation, and Cain was on his feet and barrelling right out of the door and down the corridor without even bothering to change his pyjamas or do more than yell an excited 'Merry Christmas' at the bemused Abel who had been the one knocking. Staring after his brother with a sense of foreboding, Abel peeked his head inside Cain's room and blanched when he saw the pitiful tree and its broken decorations.

Idiot.

Idiot.

Why did Cain always do this? Why did he have to be so trusting? It always ended in disaster, and Abel had to be the one to break the fall. But he couldn't this time, he was too late. Ice formed in the pit of his stomach, followed by a deep anger that it had to be this way. Closing and locking the door behind him, Abel took off running after his brother, already knowing where his destination would have been.

The scene at the tree was festive and bright, people gathered in a crowd to see various presents be handed out and wish one another the best on the holiday morning. Shouts of excitement from the children mingled with laughter from the adults and the occasional raised voice; people already stank of excess, of gluttony and self-important smugness, and Abel wanted to destroy them all for it. To pop their bubble of happiness and show them how futile it really was...

Cain was standing on the fringes of the children, looking almost blankly at the empty space under the tree as the last present was handed away to someone else. A murmuring began among those closest to him, laughter as people realized one of the clones had expected a gift... whoever heard of giving tools a present? One of the other children turned to Cain with a look of scornful confusion and asked what he was doing there.

"I've come to get my gift from Father Christmas." He replied stupidly, the words sounding foreign with a slight break to them.

"Santa Claus doesn't come for monsters."

Monster..? His chest ached with an almost visceral pain with that word, characteristic smile completely absent from his face for once as rare tears formed in his eyes. He had been so sure this was his turn to be normal, and yet... Perhaps they really were just tools, just animals for the use of their human masters? It hurt so completely he didn't even hear the first Terran fall... Abel coming up behind the girl that had spoken those words and smashing his fist through her gift wrapped box to pull out the playhouse inside and smash it over her head.

The silence was deafening as she crumpled to the floor, and the scene was frozen for a long moment before alarms started blaring and people tried to grab hold of Abel to restrain him. Fists and feet were flying all over the place, as Abel seemed to go mad. A red mist of possessive anger dominating his vision, utter fury at the entire world for once more breaking a piece of his precious little family. He wouldn't be stopped, wreaking havoc with a single minded bloody determination. A quick kick to the left shattered a man's shin, and when he went down his head could be grabbed to drag and block another punch.

By the time it was over, Abel had sustained a black eye and a fractured rib, dragged off screaming and writhing to solitary confinement as Cain stood in the middle of a sea of fallen Terrans.

Slowly, the small blonde haired boy in his regulation pyjamas left the scene of carnage and padded barefoot to the solitary cells, looking in at the white walled room where Abel was once more huddled in the corner. Pressing his hand to the glass, he spoke quietly.

"...You shouldn't have done that."

A silver head snapped up as soon as Cain spoke, scrambling to his feet and rushing to almost slam his palm against his brother's with the cool glass between them. He was still angry, furious, almost feral with a need to punish those who had made his twin feel this way. Yet it masked a deeper and more abiding sadness, a breaking of a small hope he hadn't even realized he had been harbouring. Eyes blazing with an intensity that seemed almost frightening on so small a child, he stared at his older brother and shook his head.

"We don't need their Christmas. We don't need them. We have each other, that's all we'll ever need."

Cain didn't reply, his silence reverberating between them as for the first time he failed to rebuke him. Soft admonishments that usually came so easily were stilled for the moment, and Abel's lips quirked humourlessly upwards as his fingers curled slightly against the glass. Perhaps if this holiday had shown Cain a little of the truth about the Terrans and opened his eyes from being so blindly trusting, then it wasn't such a waste after all.

One day it wouldn't be this way. One day they would all be free.

Abel would make sure of it.