The Experiment

"Max, I'm confused. What's going on? Where are we? Is this the School or not? I thought the School was gone. And there are no, like, whitecoats or anything. Well except for Mrs. Delores, but we could totally take her," Nudge rambles. I can hear the underlying fear in her voice.

"You haven't changed a bit, Gabby." Mrs. Delores sighs. "Guys, take a seat." I hesitate a moment, but eventually obey. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel follow suit. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? So today is April 17th, 2045. About ten years ago, World War Three was declared. The following years were the hardest times we've ever faced." Mrs. Delores, Sarah, and Marcus all wore faces of pain.

"Gunshots and missiles were being fired every which way. You didn't know who was your friend or foe. You just shot them before they shot you. Dead bodies all over the streets, piled on top of each other like rag dolls," Sarah continues, a far-off look in her eyes.

Marcus wraps an arm around Sarah. "Then came the bombs. It started out as small ones, taking out towns and villages. Then it got bigger, wiping entire states off the map. And then… then came the nuclear bombs."

"They bombed this one city in France called Paris first. The result was terrible. The people… I don't know if I can even call them that. They were these grotesque things… some with four arms, others with yellow skin. They were the living dead." Mrs. Delores shivers. "It was terrible. Hundreds of thousands of French soldiers were mutilated. Even the French President was killed."

Her eyes suddenly darken. "But the world saw it as a success. One country was successfully taken over. And success after success, more and more people were destroyed. World leaders were driven mad with power.

"We had to do something or else they'd keep killing each other until there's no one left to kill. So we decided to try an experiment. That's where you come in, Jamie. Or, what was it? Max?"

I try to process it all in. How can the world be falling apart when the sun is shining so brightly outside? Why do the birds sing so cheerfully while people are dying every second? "An experiment?" I prod.

"Right. So our best doctors and scientists came up with a proposal: what if we improved the human race instead of destroying it? What if people could fly away from bombs when they saw them coming? We researched and developed the idea, but we couldn't test it out. What if the government got a hold of one of our experiments? We couldn't let that happen. So we chose a handful of children, all of different age and origin."

She turned to Angel and Gazzy. "Young ones." She faced Nudge. "Ones of different ethnicity." She looked at Iggy. "Disabled ones." Finally she makes it to Fang and I. I smile, wondering what great characteristic we were chosen for. Ones who were older? More mature? Ones with great leadership qualities? "And ones that were experiencing an imbalance of hormones." Fang's eyes widen, clearly not expecting that. My face falls and I fight down a blush. Did she really just say that? Mrs. Delores seems oblivious of our obvious embarrassment. Marcus elbows me in the ribs and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. Sarah brings a hand to her mouth, obviously trying her best not to burst into laughter.

Mrs. Delores continues without missing a beat. "But there were still too many variables. Like what about the mutated outcomes of nuclear warfare? Could winged kids handle that? So we threw in wolf-like creatures. As the ones in reality evolved, so did the ones in the simulation. There were robotic creatures, flying creatures, creatures with different kinds of powers.

"The simulation was one of our best ideas yet. We could test our plan in a natural setting without anyone interfering or actually getting hurt. We could train you guys and give you the basics to survival as children and then sit back and observe as you grew up. It was a total success." She pauses. "Well, there were a few minor setbacks. Like when you would get those brain attacks, Jamie. We really apologize about that. And how you'd hear that voice in your head sometimes. That was the scientists back at the lab, trying to guide you. There were a few glitches in the system. Especially when we almost got caught by the feds and had to relocate. We had to pull you guys out of the system for a while. I believe you met Ter Borcht during that time. A scientific genius, but I can't understand a word he says." She laughs at this.

Car lights shine through the window. I look outside and find that it's already getting dark. "Well now that our research is complete, you guys can go back to your families."