Cursed

After I had woken up from the initial darkness I found myself dressed in similar clothes to the other beings who took me out of my shelter. I found another being sitting in front of me, dressed in the same fashion as myself. His lips were upturned, revealing white square and rectangular objects similar to my own. His face looked... Friendly. More friendly and forgiving than my Valkyries. His eyes were a color that I had not seen before. They held my interest for many moments before his mouth moved in a repetitive manner, making calming noises and sounds before offering me his hand.

I looked from my hand to his own, recognizing that they were indeed different. Mine were larger and darker in pigment. His looked like they had a certain softness and glowed against the whites of the fabrics of his clothing.

"Hey- come on it's alright," his voice was soothing, it made me mirror the friendly expression upon his face. Slowly I took his hand and he stood up while pulling me to my feet. "There you go," he chuckled.

A noise of panic escaped my throat. What were we doing? I tried to jerk away, a small noise escaping my lips, but his hand remained around mine, steadying me.

Walking. He was teaching me how to walk.

In the beginning we went slowly, me clutching both of his hands as if they were my lifeline. Him mumbling sounds, that I could not understand, of encouragement.

However as weeks went on, Tino encouraged me to take walks without him there. My legs, though I did not think they would, held up my weight and not before long I was able to even run.

Exactly four weeks had gone by, by the time I was able to run, walk, jump and sprint. About six weeks had gone by before I was able to say my first word.

On Heimlr, the fetus' grow for a year within their pod. A year produces a fully mature individual, capable of learning writing, speaking and walking within the first year of their life. If a pod fails to produce such an individual then the individual is terminated and they produce new genetic material to replace them.

During the first year outside of their pod an individual is tested on their abilities. During the first year they allow their abilities to flourish.

The duties of a Childbarer is that after their second year of their life outside the pod, they are expected to teach the basic life skills to their pupils. Along with that they are expected to guide them through their day to day life on Heimlr. If a Childbarer is unsuccessful in teaching their pupils the necessary skills, then their own lives are endangered because in the eyes of the overseers, this may mean that their genetics are flawed and will produce unusable genetic coding.

By the time that I was six months old, I had basic speaking and writing skills and could begin my training with my association. The man assigned to my education could already tell that I would thrive on Heimlr, and that I had to pay no head to any such cullings, if they were to come about. Though since my Association was Heightened Physical Abilities, the chances of myself ever being considered unusable was highly unlikely. Some Associations had a higher risk of individuals being cleansed than others.

By the time that I was nine months old I had perfected matters of speech and writing and was able to fully focus on my training. Though usually the mentors would break contact with their pupils after this, the matters between myself and the smaller man continued on. We had built a friendship and remained close.

Perfect. Everything had to be perfect. A fair man stood before me the mirror thirty minutes before wake up call. Meticulously checking over the reflection in the mirror, making sure no hair was out of place and that it looked just right.

It wasn't that I was vain by any means no, but I was smart enough to know that the slightest screw up would be the end. Literally. Satisfied, I quickly bustled to the doorway of my quarters, slipping on the plain shoes before heading out to the mess hall to have breakfast.

It wasn't long before I ran into a slender man still half unconscious with morning grogginess. His eyelids drooping over his dulled indigo eyes and his pale lashes brushing against his cheeks.

"Morning!" I said, ignoring my own grogginess to appear cheerful and well slept.

"Morning," he yawned, making no other means in participating in any conversation before his morning consumption of coffee.

"Late night?" I quirked a brow, lowering my voice. He merely nodded before replying.

"We have testing today," he muttered in a hushed tone. Well, that would explain things then.

I offered him my most reassuring smile before escorting him and myself over to the coffee station, each of us creating a mixture of caffeinated beverage that suited our beings. We were met by a flaxen blonde haired male, patiently waiting for his morning concoction as well.

"Morning!" I sipped and lent him a smile, which he took graciously and half smiled back, grunting a reply.

Lukas rolled his eyes at his half assed reply.

"You know," I nudged the solidly built man. "If you don't start using your words your superiors might assume that you have a speech impediment," I chuckled.

"I've already been tested, 'm fine," he replied with a blush, trying not to stumble over his words as he talked.

I let out a light hearted laugh before taking another sip of my coffee. From behind us I could hear a small shuffling of feet, glancing back with my own amethyst eyes, I met a pair of violet ones. I nodded towards him, offering my usual morning greetings before he replied with similar ones of his own. His brother already had placed a coffee in his hands.

The silver haired boy glanced around our usual crew and narrowed his eyes. A question already bubbling out of his lips.

"The idiot said that he needs to gain muscle mass before he can eat anything this morning, I passed by him on my way here," The taller replied before his brother could speak.

"I hate it when you do that," the minor grumbled. The elder chuckled.

It wasn't before long that we all had places to go and things to do. The brothers heading off to their lab to test their abilities and the broad shouldered man off to shadow genetic testings. I found myself wandering over to my own lab dreading the thought of the lab assistants and GenTech's scrutinizing over my body. From observing my cold form standing with nothing but the skin on my corpse to protect me from the cold air circulating Heimlr, to the pricks and prods of needles and injection of therapeutic hormones, enriching my DNA for the harvest.

Hormone therapy is what I dreaded the most. For at least two weeks after completing my cycles, I would spend hours laying in bed agonizing over the pain that seared down to my bones while my body rejected all forms of nutrients, making me sick at every contact with sustenance.

I knew it wouldn't be long before they took genetic information from myself and created individuals for them to test and manipulate into different associations.

I found myself in the lab once more, undressing myself and readying myself for what was to come.

"And remember-" I began, going over the answers of our testing.

"I know, we spent four hours last night going over this! I know what to do," my smaller brother snapped. I merely shrugged off his rude reply before walking into the lab.

The days when we were tested were always the most stressful. Not only because of the overhanging threat of one of us screwing up, but because I was doing work for two people.

There are times when individuals are birthed into their association with a lack of Abilities. The few times that this occurs they are immediately exterminated. A good majority of the time when one is born with no association, they have shared their pod with a twin. The geneticists are still perfecting the art of creating two beings from one.

Often times when two are birthed from the same pod, there is a dominant half. This may be domineering in abilities, or in other occurrences such as personality or appearance. An example of this is two male twins birthed in the Heightened Physical Abilities association. They are equal to each other in strength and agility, however one of the halves have a lack of pigmentation. Strangely enough the half with the lack of pigmentation had a stronger personality contrasting his pigmented brother. They seemed to complete each other like any pair created from the same root should.

Depending on what association one is born into, different things tend to matter more that others. Two associations tend to focus on appearances rather than the others, Likamiskipan and Childbaring. In Childbaring, pigmentation, bone structure and lack of malformations are the most important whereas in Likamiskipan, height, weight and lack of malformations tend to be more important. In the other associations, appearances tend not to be as important.

My dim eyes scanned over the sight before us. The lab, which was painted a dull white like everything else inside this building, was separated into cubicles, with curtains dividing and bringing a cause for privacy. We were all assigned different cubicles and knew or should have known which one we belonged to.

I was hit with a sudden uneasiness.

Before I was able to heed warnings to my brother, I saw his silvered hair dart off in the opposite direction. I began making my way over to him before my arm was pulled, dragging the rest of my body into a cubical.

A cold sweat stuck to my skin accompanied with a sense of uneasiness. I felt my insides twist in anxiety and felt my breath become shallow.

A man dressed in white pants, a white shirt and a white jacket motioned for me to sit down. I quietly obliged. When I found myself sitting on the chair, the man sat himself in front of me. I stared at him.

I felt a twinge. A twinge in my head. A small voice, that wasn't actually there, could be heard in the back in my head. I ignored it.

The man pulled out a file and placed a sheet from the file on a metal clip board.

I felt sick.

He merely looked at me. I merely glared at him. This took him aback.

"Sha-" he began before I cut him off with my own words.

"Yes. We shall," I grunted in concentration.

The voices were pulling me over to my brother. His face flashing blurilly though my mind, his eyes panicked and him shaking ever so slightly.

The man merely looked at me once more.

I concentrated at what was needed of me at the moment. I shut my eyes in uneasiness. A vibrant color flashed through my mind.

"Blue." I stated flatly.

He blinked before nodding once. I silently ground my teeth.

He began writing things on his clipboard.

Multiples of words flashed whispers in my head. Words words words, all questions to be asked of me. All requiring a certain answer instead of vague ones, which I could tell is what my brother was giving at the moment.

"The answer to your next question is 22.4.13 and the one after that is 2.44.33 and the one after that is next Tuesday, and the one after that is 286 days ago," the words bubbled out of my lips, spilling out like knives against flesh.

The man blinked once more, nearly dropping his pen in astonishment.

"What are you new here? Keep up," I grunted angrily.

Images flashed throughout my mind, images of my brother, just as sweaty as I am now, sputtering over his words and wringing his hands as his usual nervous habit.

Damn things were not going well.

I realized the man before me was staring at me. I wasn't even halfway done but yet I could feel onset sickness settling in.

I gasped. Images of the man before me exploited before my eyes. Memories of his own birth crying though the walls of my wired brain. I couldn't even see the man before me in the present anymore, only what was being flashed inside his head. Memories upon memories splashed at me like ice water and I heard my own voice recording out loud the images before me. The man naked, covered in fluids, laying on a metal table. The man slurring his first words. The man nervously taking his first steps. His first day of training. First solid foods. All of these memories exploded at me like canons pointed at targets no more than a foot away.

White and then black. Dry mouth and then vomit leaking from my weakened body. Shaking and then unconsciousness.

Vitamins K, B12, and C; bags filled with fluids set for the waiting. Double of everything. Surgical doctors and nurses dressed head to toe in sterile uniform. Heart beats in sync, blood pressure rising.

A row of needles laid out in perfect order, containing multitudes of genetic manipulators and simple sterilizations.

My breath was steady but my hands were uneven.

I shouldn't be nervous but I am. I'm always nervous; something that comes along with my association I guess. One screw up and I would be figuratively sent packing.

My stormy eyes leveled and reasoned with my surroundings, taking in details of the procedure. Everything seemed to be in order.

Slowly the primary surgeon began to carve into the pod using a large scalpel, avoiding the beings moving inside. I watched shadowed figures move around, unknowest to their own birth.

Today we birth two altercations, two altercations sharing the same pod. Geneticly twins. The nurses had been buzzing about this birth all week, saying that it would be the most successful yet, as well as important. The geneticists involved say that this is their most accurate pair yet, both believed to have abilities on par with each other.

I moved my right calloused hand over the first syringe, preparing myself. I knew we had to act fast for Altercation births could be tricky. This particular birth to be even more so.

A scream from newly born lips echoed throughout the sterile operating room. Nurses eyes widened in shock, quickly I moved my feet to the sides of the doctors. The doctors screaming things at me, objects flew by my face narrowly missing myself.

An injection. Needle slipping into newly transparent skin, releasing the contents through the first figure. The being below was wide eyed, his light blue eyes echoing new born panic, his sandy blonde hair sticking to his face with plasmatic fluids. His eyes locked onto mine and mine his. I watched consciousness slip from his newly born body, leaving me in a state of paralyzation. His watery eyes slipping back into his skull and gloved hands grasped his body, heaving him onto a metallic table.

I blinked my jade eyes once more and moved to grab the second syringe. Another scream only this time, the scream of a nurse. The scalpel flew out of the doctors hand and lodged itself into the frontal cranium of a nurse trying to hold the second body down.

She fell.

My feet flew into action, stepping over her body and swiftly subduing the soft body below myself. I looked into his soft violet eyes, colors similar to a certain silver haired brother that I knew. His hair sticky in similar ways as his birth brother, the same sandy blonde sticking against his face and skull. I moved quickly, overpowering the brother before he could make any moves.

After both brothers were subdued I found myself standing in a sticky red substance. I glanced around, remembering the nurse. Her body was already being carted to the incinerator.

Perhaps the rumors were correct. Perhaps these two would be the keys that the geneticists had been longing for for years.

I moved to change my large form from my stained, sterile attire, and into more comfortable clothing. I wandered throughout the labs, pondering on three lives born and lost, before finding myself in a particular Gangavarr lab. I glanced around looking for the pair I knew, expecting them to be sitting cooly on light chairs on one side of the room, I found one brother laying on a hard bed, tubes feeding through his body. His light blonde hair slick with sweat sticking to his forehead. The other of the pair sitting bent over in his chair, shaking with nervousness? No.. I could tell that was not so.

I slowly moved my way in several strides before making my way to them. I slowly placed my hand on the shaking friend.

He quickly glanced at me, eyes rimmed red and wide with shock.

"What 'append?" I asked slowly, trying not to alarm the already shaken boy.

"We- we weren't expecting-" his voice shook nearly as much as his body. Newly formed liquids escaped to his eyes, threatening to break the make shift facial dams.

"Expectin' what," I tried to remain calm, if not for my sake then his.

"They changed my tests last minute," his voice managed a hoarse whisper.

I felt my trained eyes widen behind my metal rimmed glasses. I could already tell what was happening.

"He- he was compromised- he was focusing on too many things at once- the intern said that he gained full access to his memories and thoughts and he lost control," his voice managed to let out.

I held up my hand, shaking my head.

"Your brother will be fine. We need t'get ya out of here." I stated.

He weakly nodded before letting myself help him up. We quickly walked out of the lab, unnoticed by any, quickly finding our way to resident wing. I knew our fair friend's room was closest and decided to make our way to his room, knowing we wouldn't be found quickly in this area.

When we got to our designated area I knocked once before letting ourselves in. Already sitting before us was our fair friend. He seemed to be concentrating on something, his eyes closed with his brow set in a steady line. When we took several steps into the room his violet eyes snapped open and took in our appearances. He jumped up quickly, alarmed at the appearance of the small man next to me. Gently he guided him to his bed and sat him down, asking the same series of questions as myself earlier, only this time, the man not giving such vague answers.

After all was said we sat in silence.

I was looking down at my feet, my hands having minds of their own, fidgeting over small things on my appearance.

"We should gather everyone." The short blonde spoke first.

"My brother-" The silver haired boy started.

I held out a single left hand, interpreting that I would get him at once. They both nodded, the blonde speaking up once more.

"I'll get the other-" and with that he exited, not giving us a second glance. I stared at his figure exiting before I let myself exit. Leaving the shaken brother with a reassuring passive wave.

Fear gripped every corner, every curve, every cursed place in my entire body. A new set of anxiety gripped my thinned frame and shook the bones that threatened to collapse into themselves.

Slow and steady I tried but my breath disobeyed. Tears already threatening to break through the trained walls of my body.

I had failed.

Not only that, but I put my brother and every other person that I had cared about in the last year in danger. The tallest member of our unstabled group leaving for my brother and the shortest leaving for a man whose smile could light up a room.

I could feel a suffocation leading my body down into itself. Was this grief? Or was it the realization that I was going to die if not in the next twenty four hours then in the next forty eight. My death sentence the higher probability.

Why had we fooled ourselves into thinking that this would actually work? Of course if wouldn't work, one of us was to slip up at sometime, and even if we were to keep perfect planning, there of course would be the factor of spontaneous corruption in our onset plans of my survival.

Stupid, we were all stupid. Hopeful, stupid, idiots.

To be honest, I'm surprised we had made it this far.

The door flung open and I found myself jumping up in defense. Before myself I found a tall, muscular man with charismatic darkened blonde hair, the grin that was supposed to be on his face, now missing.

He rushed over and took my frame into a hug, only this time myself not opposing the strange man's almost brotherly affection, but accepting and returning it as well.

Behind him stood the fair man whose this room belonged to. I pulled away slowly from the grips of my friend, nodding my thanks before sitting back on the bed.

"Don't worry kid, I already have a plan," the taller man grinned slowly.

"What the hell are you talking about-" I found myself frowning.

He merely replied by putting his forefinger to his lips and leaked a knowing smirk. He sat next to myself before wrapping a well toned arm around my shoulders.

A single nock reached our ears and the fair man reached to open the door. Behind the metal frame stood the tallest of our friends with a serious expression hiding a secret compassion, holding a groggy brother of mine. Myself and the man sitting next to me jumped up and let the taller man place my weakened half on the bed. His eyes fluttering over to myself. He sat up, protesting against the freckled man's words of alarm.

"What's this plan?" I turned to the man obsessing over my brother's state.

"It's simple, we escape." He shrugged as if he stated the color of our surroundings.

The shortest man gawked at the man, while the stoic man blinked in confusion.

"That has to be the stupidest thing that has come out of your mouth," my brother grunted. In return the man shrugged.

"What the hell else are we supposed to do?" His lips lowering into a frown.

".. I think it's necessary," the fairest man whispered. The man with cropped flaxen hair turned to the shorter, demanding an explanation. The man continued, "I mean.. He's going to die if we don't-" his voice was almost softer than a whisper, dripping with maternal care.

I slumped against the wall, leaning my head against the cold concreted solidity. My brother looked up to the man who stood next to me still, searching him for something.

"Don't exert yerself-" the Intelligent muttered warningly.

"I'm not." He spat, continuing onward. The man only returning his steady gaze.

One could bet that my brother was searching his thoughts, but to be honest, no one would ever really be able to tell.

"He's right. It's the only option. They'll kill you in at the least thirty six hours." He grimaced.

The tallest nodded in agreement before sitting himself against the bed post, patting the spot next to him for the shortest man. The darkened blonde man next to myself sat in between my brother and myself.

"I already know a way our," the fair man whispered. Everyone turned to gawk at him. "I've been thinking about... That option myself for some time... In case-" he trailed off into small mutterings. It made sense; Childbarer's were often pruned off easily and it was a shock if one made it past three years old, and he was two and a half years old.

I swallowed. I didn't want this. I didn't want them to sacrifice themselves for my own well being. They all had it so well here. The flaxen blonde, already a promising geneticist. The well toned man, easily the most prominent in his own association. My brother a powerful Gangevarr. Even the timid man whose eyes bore a resemblance to my own had a promising future.

"I hate this place anyways," the man who sat next to me chuckled.

"Stop it, all of you." I glared at them all. "I've already accepted my fate, there is no reason why you should throw your perfectly good lives away for me!" My voice gained momentum with each word I spoke.

I felt my brothers eyes grind into myself. Searching every thought, every memory, every emotion. I snarled at him.

"Stop it! It's not fair just stop! I don't need you listening to my thoughts-" I snapped.

I felt a calloused hand clamp around my newly shaking arm. I glanced at him. The look in his eyes stern yet... Pitiful.

"Your brother is just worried okay? We're all worried and no, we don't have good lives. Nobody here has good lives and I'll be damned before I have to live without any of ye," the sandy blonde spoke with power and reassurance.

Everyone blinked. I even found myself gawking slightly at the man before me, who didn't seem to have a serious bone in his body, but now was filled with insight and ... Leadership?

I succumbed in my immediate shock and nodded numbly.

"... If we do this, we have to do this carefully," my half spoke slowly, analyzing something that didn't seem to be actually there. "And without any hesitation," he grimaced. Everyone nodded before he went on.

"Alright," he nodded at the fair man. "You're going to lead us, along with myself." He then pointed at the flaxen haired man. "You're going to take flank with my brother," he eyed me before glancing at the well muscled man. "And you'll be where we'll need you."

"You got it boss," The man replied with a nod and a small chuckle.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"You should also steal as much food as you can from the kitchen tonight, only a few people will be in the kitchen tonight and they shouldn't give you much trouble," my brother spoke at the grinning man once more.

He smirked and saluted.

The rest of the hour consisted of plans, plans in which I'm sure I was supposed to listen to but didn't. A grim sense of fear settling in my anxious caverns of a stomach. Slowly but surely plans were claimed, filled, performed and well... Planned.

We all had decided to leave two hours before wake up call and to sleep in the dormitory that we were already in.

Though we were supposed to sleep and get our strength up, I found troubles sleeping on the cold hard floor, not because of discomfort but because of the onset dread of not just my death but everyones whom I cared about as well. If they died, the blood spilled would be stained on my cursed hands not only in life but death as well.

Sleep always came easy to me. Mostly because of all the physical work that went along with my association, but also because I never had much on my mind to keep me awake.

This night however was different. I was able to go to sleep and stay asleep just fine but, the actual sleep didn't feel like sleep. It felt like I was watching a broken record play visuals in my mind, over and over again. I watched a man watch my life being played on a large tv screen. The man's face hidden from my own and sitting perfectly still, watching the screen attentively.

In my illusion I got sick. Vomit poured out of my mouth and onto the ground, releasing every secret, every part myself that I kept hidden. Every word left unsaid, every word I pretended not to hear, every glance I snuck. I watched this for what seemed like hours, the sickness only growing making sure I'd drown before I woke up.

A voice echoed throughout the caverns of my mind, easing away my pain and struggles. Soon I found myself not swimming in my own darkness but a blurred figure appearing next to my own. It turned towards myself and I myself to it. Whispers haunting the vision, surrounding it like a veil, a veil that hid the figure from me.

"Wake up," the voice was clear, but whispered. I recognized it but couldn't quite place it.

When I opened my eyes, I could barely make out the surroundings. I was sleeping against the wall but... Felt like something was staring at me. Eyes piercing my existence. I shuddered.

I saw something shift in the darkness but cared not too much, exhaustion already setting back in. Slowly I felt myself drifting back to sleep.

Unlike the uneasy apparition.

Ooh creepy ending ahh! Welp this chapter took a while. But worth the wait right? Right! I'm sorry if it seems kind of confusing, i hope you all are feeling less and less confusing, and I tried to make it as straight forward as possible I promise. Also I know I said I'd START naming characters in this chapter but well... I decided it'd fit much better in the next one. Sorry.

Point of views go: Mathias, Tino, Lukas, Berwald, Emil, Mathias.

Oh also, the two Alterations are Alfred and Matthieu! I figured I'd clear that up as well..

So please please please review, I dunno how I'm really doing to be honest because well I just don't. Also I don't know how confused you are about some details and I want to make sure I can clarify them for you in chapters to come! Thank you!