Chapter 4: The door opens

Disclaimer: As always

The streets were quiet as the woman made her way home. She had just had just her friends party and was slightly buzzed. She giggled softly to herself as she imagined getting home to her boyfriend and cuddling up with him. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise behind her. She looked over her shoulder, but saw no one there. She continued walking, at a faster pace, the noise came again but this time she ignored it and just kept walking. The sounds came more and more frequently and soon she was running. She darted into an alley and leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She was so scared. She knew she was being followed now. She crouched down as to not be noticed. She kept her breathing low and after a few minutes of waiting, she could stand it no longer and made her way out of the alley.

The streets were empty, eerily so. She breathed a sigh of reliefe and started back onto her original path, but found it was blocked by ten rough looking thugs. Her eyes widened with fear she turned to run but twelve more were there. Slowly they formed a circle around her. Each yelling out obscene and perverted things that they planned to do to her. As they got closer and closer. She fell to her knees, begging them to leave her alone. Suddenly something landed in front of her with a soft thud. She looked down and saw the head of one of her stalkers. The roar of a chainsaw filled the air. A lone figure was wielding it, they deftly cut through the cirlce, blood spraying everywhere. The girl jammed her eyes shut as the carnage continued. Finally everything fell silent again. Opening her eyes a crack, she saw that she was surrounded a heap of dissmembered body parts, organs, and blood.

She covered her mouth to keep the contents of her stomache down. " W-who saved me? "

" Saved you? " a haunting voice came from behind her. She turned around. There stood a boy who couldnt be more then sixteen. He was tall for his age and thin. He wore a large cloak and a top hat. His blood soaked chainsaw visible in his hand. " Who said I was saving you? " he vicously ran her through with a sword. Laughing at the shocked expression on her face. He pulled the sword out and kicked her back As he turned and walked away, all the blood on the ground began pulling together, it crawled onto the walls and formed the name REDRUM, over and over and over again.

Emmet was feeling scared. More scared then he had ever been. His daddy had made him change out of his clothes, leaving him naked on the long, cold table. He was shivering and trying not to cry. " Mommy " he whimpered. He wanted to see her so badly. Meanwhile outside the door, Thomas and a few of his colleagues were standing and talking amongst themselves.

" So your saying the boy can come back to life after death? "

" Preposterous "

" Impossible "

Thomas raised a hand for silence " My esteemed colleagues I assure you. Emmet posses an ability I have named Phoenix mimicry. He produces regenerative tears, has the capability for flight, and is immune to dying "

Silence followed Thomases words. None of the scientist could wrap there heads around the possibity.

" Phoenix mimicry, the legendary firebird of myth? "

" What of control over fire? "

Thomas shrugged " He has yet to display this power, but all else rings true. But talk reveals nothing and action does. Watch " Thomas strode into the room and plastered a smile onto his face. " Hey Emmy "

Emmet looked up as his father entered the room " Daddy, im hungry, and thirsy, and...I want to see mommy "

Thomas produced a bottle of chocalate milk and an apple " I can help with two of those things. Mommy's still stick, but she says she loves you "

Emmet perked up at hearing this. He smiled broadly and accepted the food and drink. A few minutes later, he finished and handed to trash back to his daddy. Thomas ruffled the boys hair and left, promising to bring him some clothes. The moment the door closed behind the man, Emmet felt a light headed feeling come over him. It got worse and worse till he fell back, he clutched his chest as it start to hurt. He started crying out as the pain got worse " Daddy, please daddy. It hurts so much! " he sobbed out before, his lungs started failing. He gasped for air frantically, terrified of the darkness that clouded his vision, until it all stopped.

He came with a loud scream, flapping about on the table. He sat up, tears streaming down his face. He was surrounded by people in white coats, there eyes on him. Like thiey didnt see a little boy, but something that they wanted to take apart and understand, and thus was the beginning of Emmets torment.

For the next six years, Emmet would be his fathers lab rat. Being forced to die over and over again. It started out with simple poisons and chemicals. In his food and drinks at first, but when he'd developed a phobia and began refusing to eat. This lasted for a month, at the end of it he died from starvation and came back, in perfect health and wait. This sparked many debates and muh note taking. During his time there, in the early stages. His father insisted that his schooling be kept up. Emmet had always been a bright child and it showed on near genius levels. He rushed through grade school learnings with ease. For physical studies, he was trained in gynastics, figure skating, and karate. These were the things he cherished most. They were the only things he could escape to out of death. Marking his ninth birthday was when hell really opened up to him.

He woke up bound to his bed,steel table fitted with sheets, blankets, and pillows. But today it was bare and cold. " Dad? " the door opened and in walked five security guards, each armed with a chainsaw. Emmets eyes widened " Dad, what? " the see-through screen of his face came up. Thomas and his colleagues were watching, there faces slightly obscurred " Morning subject zero. Today were going to enter a new stage of testing "

Emmets heart pounded loud in his ears. His father had recently taken to calling him subject Zero from time to time. But now thats all he was, a subject with which to do what they pleased with. As the men turned there tools on, Emmet started crying, though he had long since learned it was useless. " DADDY, PLEASE STOP, STOP, NO! " they formed a cirled and one by one, swung. The noise in the room was deafening, the roar of the saws, the blood splattering, and Emmets inhuman screams of pain. The sickening slice and break of cut bone and flesh. ten minutes elapsed before they stopped. Emmet was in pieces, his head had rolled onto the floor.

For a while, nothing happened. But then in an intense roar of flames, Emmets body was enveloped. A moment later he was sitting in a corner of the room, shaking like a leaf. His eyes burned with the memory of what had just happened to him.

" Excellent, subject zero! " Thomas exclaimed as he and the others were rapidly taking notes and readings. " Now once again " Emmet was dragged back to the table, bound, and slaughtered again. So it would follow that his manner of death was changed to a more earth bound form. He was gunned down, his skull bashed in with a mallet, sawed in half, drowned, and a host of other inhuman ways. He can remember so vividly, the woodchipper he was tossed into. Modified, it minced his body completely and slowly. Pain so intense that even after he came back, fine and whole, it took his mind weeks to come to itself.

Now at age twelve, Emmet is a shell. He felt so hollow inside. All the times he'd been killed, he felt less and less of him came back. His father had completely forgotten he was his son. Subject Zero had become his new name, he was no longer human. The metal table beneath him his bed, and the straps holding him down, his bankets. His blue eyes were blank empy windows. The remains of a child barely seeable. The door to his room opened. The man who brougt his food entered in, a sour look on his face. He hated the stupid boy. Always whining and crying for his mother. He set down on a table and pulled out his phone, the boy could wait for a minute while he checked his messages.

" Mother...mother " Emmet rasped, everytime the door opened he prayed that it was his mother. But it never was. The tears were starting to well up and the man had, had enough.

" STOP CRYING ABOUT YOU MOM YOU LITTLE CHICKEN SHIT, SHE'S DEAD! "

Dead...Emmet couldnt understand the word, dead, his mother was dead. But his father had said she was very sick and was getting hel-he flashed back to the kitchen all those years ago. His father had hit her over the head, he was sure she had been breathing. But now...was it true, his mommy...dead...dead...DEAD!

Emmets whole body started shaking. A loud noise filled his ear, he didnt know what it was, but it was painful His vision grew red and for a moment he couldnt see and then...nothing, everything just stopped, he was lightheaded and felt...happy, yes he was sure he was happy. Everything he had been feeling had just gone away and nothing mattered.

" What the fuck are you grinning about? " the man demanded, Emmet turned to look at him and the mans face grew pale. He remembered, the boys eyes were blue. But bright red orbs were staring back at him, the smile on Emmets face was creep and chilling. The temperature in the room was climbing, sweat was dripping off his face, but he was frozen to the spot. Something kept him there, the look in Emmets eyes, holding a dark glow, like a demon from hell.

It happened in an instant, fire erupted from Emmets body and burned away the straps. The man fell backwards from the intensity of the fire. The one power that they had all been waiting for Emmet to show signs of had manifested, Pyrokinesis. Emmet looked down at the man, the terror in his face made Emmet smile more. With a wave of his hand, the man was incinerated, he screamed in agony as the flames devoured him, leaving nothing but ash. Emmet stretched out, popped his necka and cracked his knuckles. For the first time since ever. He left the room of his own volition.

They tried to run at first, scatter and duck into other rooms. But it was fruitless against Emmets unrestrained power. His fired coursed through the whole building. Burning everyone, even those who had nothing to do with the experiements. He located a computer and searched through the files. 20, exactly 20 scientist had been involved in his torment. He smiled as he saw that none of them were present today, including his father. As the building began to fall apart and sirens could be heard. He printed out all of there names and flew out one of the windows. The night air was so foreign and refreshing. He whooped as he flew off into the night, he was free. But he wouldnt be completely free till he made those bastards suffer...TBC