X~40~X
Do you know those dreams where you're running as fast as you can, not because you're afraid, or because something's coming after you, but you're running because you can. You're running for the sheer joy of it, just because you can run. Running just so you can feel the wind in your hair, and grass between your toes. Just running because it's so right. And then you wake up and you realize that you were asleep.
And you never got anywhere at all.
IA utters a smile whine like yawn, tightening her grasp around a familiar object and then relaxing her muscles. The warmth of the sunlight licking her cheeks is comforting and all she wants to do is go back to sleep. She keeps her eyes tightly closed and inhales deeply. She can sleep forever like this, wrapped around Len.
IA breathes in, inhaling cinnamon and honeysuckle.
But it isn't cinnamon and honeysuckle. No, in fact it smells metallic, a little like dried blood. The strands of hair in her face that aren't hers smell like mildew and a little bit like dust. As much as she's afraid to, IA opens her eyes.
Her forehead is pressed up against someone else's, someone is curled up into almost a ball shape in her arms. Their legs overlap, and Len's jacket is nearly falling off of her shoulders. IA opens both of her eyes, and is greeted by large, mirror images of even brighter red ones. She leaps back, yelping with surprise. The boy from the night before shrinks immediately, pressing himself up against the wall and using his hands to cover his face. He brings his knees up under his chin and holds his breath, waiting.
IA watches attentively, not moving a muscle. The boy slowly unravels himself, still tense and awaiting physical retaliation from the fragile little girl.
"Hello." IA says, smiling and raising her hand slowly to wave. The boy studies her then finally speaks, mirroring IA's tone and hand gesture almost exactly.
"Hello."
"My name's IA. What's yours?" IA asks, practicing her communicating like Len showed her.
"IA…" The boy repeats softly, tasting her name. "…name… my… name?" IA nods. "What name?"
"You know, what you're called." IA prompts, rocking onto her knees and leaning forward like a cat, scooting forward a little. The boy still tenses, shrouding away. But still, he cowers a little less.
The boy pauses for a long time before responding carefully, as if his words would decide his fate. "Subject One."
"That's not a name!" IA giggles, approaching just a little bit, her movement a little unnoticeable. The boy notices it though and gulps slightly.
"It's what I'm called." As if shifting back into his voice, the boy's speech flows more comfortably, speaking a little more naturally. It still sounds clumsy and strained.
"That's not your name… that's…" IA pauses, not knowing how to answer any further. Len never explained this. How are they different? She is so confused. IA uses her finger to draw in the dust on the floor. After a moment of deep concentration, IA looks up, eyes pressuring the boy.
The floor says:
AI Z
IA
The A and the I are crossed out, nearly scribbled away.
"See? That's my name. Len taught me to write it." IA smiles at the boy.
"Len?" He asks carefully. IA gulps, after unintentionally making herself sad.
"He'll save me. Lenny will save me, because he promised. He'll save you too."
"Save me?" The boy asks, confused but intrigued, slowly pushing out of his shell.
"Save you, from this." IA gestures around her head.
"This…" The boy thinks, pausing for a long time.
IA bends down over her writing in the dust, watching the letters as if they'll speak to her. The white haired boy, after being lost in thought for a long moment, looks back up at IA to find that she has been staring at him for quite some time.
"What is it?" She asks, waiting for something.
"What is… it?"
"Your name. You haven't picked it yet. That's why I wrote my letters, so you could pick the ones that you like." IA smiles widely.
The boy thinks for even longer this time before his eyes flash with a bright glint and a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile creeps across his lips for a fraction of a second.
"IA." The boy says.
"Nuh-uh! That's my name!" IA whines. With her voice having have become suddenly loud and shrill, the boy jumps back, as far as he can into the wall, a little terrified.
"It's mine too." The boy says after calming down for a minute or two.
"We can't both have the same name! It doesn't make… sense." IA can't find the words she's looking for.
"But you told me I couldn't be Subject One…" the boy frowns a little, still obviously scared.
"Hmm…" IA bends over her work, staring down at her writing on the floor. Bellow her name she draws with her thumb, SUBJECT ONE. She thinks for a long time, bent over in deep concentration. IA scowls until suddenly, her eyes snap open, brightened. "I have your name!"
The boy flinches, curling up. This time he relaxes faster and resumes watching the strange girl before him. IA points at the I in her name.
"You said you wanted to be IA, but you can't, 'cause I am. So, I took this letter…" IA points at the O in Subject One, and draws it next to an I. "My I plus your O, IO!"
"IO…" The boy trails off. "I l-like it." IA smiles at him, reaching out and gripping his hands in hers. He flinches and squints his eyes closed. IA holds his hands, waiting for him to relax. Gradually he does and eases a little.
"It's okay! I won't hurt you like the bad people do!" IA scoots up next to him, her back against the wall now too. Her chains rattle as she moves, scarring IO. IA frowns, poking at the chains with her finger.
"… Why… do you have those?" IO chooses his words very carefully as he begins to sink into talking more comfortably. IA shrugs playing with a loose string on Len's jacket. She doesn't remember how she ended up with it, but she is grateful she has it now.
Something catches IO's eye and his blood runs cold. His hands shake in IA's and she notices, looking up at his face. His eyes flash a deep red and he whimpers. IA follows his gaze to the door of the cell. In front of it sits two plastic cups. Each one is filled nearly to the brim with water. IA's eyes brighten and she rushes forward, grabbing both cups. IO shies away, pressing himself up under the bench as tight as he can.
IA stares into the water, a reflection of her blood caked and pale face dancing on its surface. She moves over slowly to the bench, her chains rattling. She sets the cups on top of it, and lies down, her cheek pressed up against the cement floor. She is now eye to eye with IO.
"Hi." She says with a weak smile. IO says nothing, still shaking under the bench awaiting some kind of torture. His eyes are clenched shut. IA reaches out her hand and lightly touches his. Instantly he pulls away, but IA grips him a little tighter. Her touch is gentle and kind. IO slowly eases, opening one eye after a few minutes pass. "Hi." She repeats. "You can trust me. I won't hurt you, IO. I'm not one of them. I don't hurt." IO slowly crawls out from under the bench and sits in front of IA, still pressed against the wall.
IA picks up the cup on the bench and sets it in between them. IO flinches a little.
"This is water." IA says, putting her finger into the water. "This is a cup." She touches the side of the plastic. "Neither will hurt you."
"I know what water is…" IO trails off, frowning. IA reaches for his hand and he suddenly pulls away. He relaxes after a moment and lets IA hold him by the wrist. She gradually extends his left hand forward. With her other hand she picks up one of the cups. Water splashes into IO's palm and he nearly screams, jumping back and smashing his head against the wall brutally. He scrambles away to the opposite end of the room and curls up into fetal position on the ground, pushing his head into his knees. IA sighs.
She stands, taking the cup with her, and walks over to IO. She bends down in front of him.
"Hi." She says.
"Hi…" He repeats through choking on dry tears. "… sorry…", he mumbles as if testing to see if it was the right word to use.
"Don't be, I shouldn't have scared you." IA says, disappointed. IO is silent. She reaches out for the same hand and IO lets her. She looks at his palm. It is entirely pale, almost more so than Miku's skin was. IA thought that he was tan, but he is literally so covered in dirt and dust that his skin is four shades darker.
IA pulls a piece of torn fabric off of her bloody shirt and folds it up. She dunks it in the water and slowly and gently moves it across the rest of his arm. IO, at first, recoils, then relaxes without raising his head. He's tense, but not fighting her. After a few minutes both of his arms are entirely clean except for a few splotches. IA moves to his legs after re-dunking the rag. She cleans up to his knees and then stops. She reaches for his head and IO flinches. IA waits for him to raise it on his own. He does, and IA slides her hand under his cheek. IO tenses as she moves the cloth across his face until it is the same ghastly pale as the rest of his body.
"There." She smiles at him. IO nods a little in acknowledgement.
IA picks up the cup and puts it to her lips, taking in the last few swigs of water left in it. IO watches with curiosity.
"You… eat it?"
"Drink it." IA corrects, rushing over to get the other cup. Her chains smack loudly against the floor as she comes back, sitting crisscrossed in front of IO. He mimics her position. She puts the cup in his hands, even though every part of her screams to swallow it herself.
IO slowly raises the cup to his mouth. Water trickles in. His eyes widen in surprise as some rolls out of the corners of his mouth. Within seconds the entire cup is empty, half spilled down his front.
"I… remember now…" Suddenly his eyes flash an intense shade and then they dull rapidly. He turns his head away from IA, looking at the ground. IA moves to sit next to him and they sit like that for a while until the sun has fully risen. IA guesses it's about ten in the morning now.
IO shivers. IA sits up, looking at him intently. The cold water has soaked into his clothes now, gradually making him colder. IA thinks for a moment.
Reluctantly she removes one arm of Len's jacket. She wraps around one of IO's arms, and pulls him closer to her side. He flinches, then relaxes, quicker than ever this time. IA moves the other side of the jacket around his shoulder. They're both small enough to fit comfortably under one jacket, each wearing one arm.
"It's… warm…" IO whispers quietly. IA feels her eyes getting heavy and her head falls on his shoulder not long after, asleep.
~ ~ ~X~ ~ ~X~ ~ ~
"IA… IA…" The voice calling to her is a little frantic and she forces her eyes open. IO hovers over her, a terrified expression on his face. IA murmurs something softly and a loud noise echoes throughout the room. Out of her peripheral vision she watches the door to their cell ease open slowly.
Instincts kicking in IA reaches out, grabbing IO around the waist and pulling him into her. She eases up into a crouching position protectively, gripping him. He shudders. Len's jacket still hangs around her and she inhales deeply, drawing courage from Len's lingering scent. This is what he would do if she was him and IO was her.
"I'll be like Len." She decides.
The door fully opens and in it stand two guards. One is a very tall and masculine male. His eyes are a sharp brown and his hair is a blazing red. It is naturally spiked and around his shoulders is a white lab coat. His pants are simple and black and his shoes are bulky dress shoes. He is shorter than the other guard, even at his astonishing height. The next guard is even taller and more muscular. He is wearing a dark purple long-sleeve shirt with black dress pants and the same shoes as the red-head. His face is hidden by a black mask. IA shivers at its familiarity. It is the same mask that the men who attacked her at Miki's house wore. The men who attacked Len…
It is a dark, durable looking mask with small eye holes. It has no mouth. The nose is pointed, thin, and hooked like a bird's beak. The rest of the man's head is hidden by a purple hood connected to the jacket, and the sides of the mask. This man is holding a cattle prod and a leather bag.
"IA…" IO whimpers.
"Shh." She says a little forcefully.
The red haired man nods to the guard and the guard walks forward. He stands just in the doorway beside the hook where IA's chains are nailed in. His hands grip the chains and he pulls, hard. IA instantly slides forward, leaving IO behind. He shudders in the corner under Len's jacket, his face etched with an expression of horror. With two more pulls the masked man is gripping the thrashing IA by the shoulders, struggling to slide the bag over her head.
"Please! IA!" IO screams from inside the room. The last thing IA sees before the bag is slid and tied over her head is his pale face with tears in his eyes.
"Walk." The guard says as the door bangs shut behind them, leaving IO behind. IA stumbles forward. Her wrists are tied together with a new set of chains that the man is holding out in front of him.
She marches forward steadily, her bare feet hitting the freezing cold floor. After a few minutes of walking and tension filled silence she is ordered to stop. A large door opens in front of her with a large and metallic clang. She moves in. Her chains are disconnected and the bag is lifted from her head. IA spins around to watch the door close behind her, shrouding her in total darkness. Her heart begins to pound out of her chest.
"No… no… not the dark… not the rats not the dark... Len… Len-voice…" IA's words begin to slur drastically as her panic seeps in.
Suddenly florescent bulbs flash on above her. The room is quite small and before her is a table, like the ones you would find at a doctor's office. Only this one is bolted to the floor, and three masked people are around it.
IA gulps, scared, but a little grateful to be out of the dark.
"Get on the table." A masked woman's voice says.
IA thinks carefully before responding. "No."
"We will force you to get onto the table if you will not yourself."
IA walks forward slowly and reaches up. She tugs herself with much difficulty onto the table. Immediately two of the three guards clasp her wrists into built in metal cuffs on the sides of the table. The same is done to her ankles. The female guard turns around. When she comes back into IA's field of vision she is holding a needle full of a creamy white liquid. She pushes the needle into IA's arm and suddenly the world blurs. Her head is filled with a sickly sweet scent and her stomach lurches into her throat. Suddenly everything goes numb and IA finds herself in a dreamless sleep. Again.
~ ~ ~X~ ~ ~X~ ~ ~
"Walk." A gruff voice commands. IA feels herself get pulled off of the ground. Sounds around her are distorted and muffled, but she tries to make out what she can. Upon opening her eyes she is greeted by a wall of darkness. Her stomach lurches.
After a few minutes IA hears the eerily familiar clang of a heavy door opening and she is pushed roughly inside a large, open space. The bag is ripped off of her head and IA finds herself flailing in the air. She crashes into the ground painfully.
"Stand." A different voice commands.
IA wearily gets to her feet, still loopy from the heavy sedative. She notices something. She is wearing different clothes than before. Instead of the striped shirt and pink skirt she loved so much she is now dressed in something horrifyingly similar. She has on a paper thin white dress that reaches down to her knees. It is similar to something a hospital patient would wear.
Before her are four guards and the red haired lab coat man as well as the white haired speech-giving woman. She is also wearing a lab coat.
Haku sighs, watching IA's confused face.
Before IA is what seems to be a large obstacle course. Part of it is constructed like a maze, the other half on the other side of the maze is filled with obstacles like a netted wall for her to climb over and different jumps for her to make.
One of the guards marches forward, grabbing IA by the shoulder. He pushes her to the entrance of the maze and jabs her sharply in the back with his cattle prod.
"Run. You will be timed. At the end of this test there will be another. You will not start the next test until the buzzer sounds. You will receive a brief resting period after the course of the nine tests are completed. Then you will complete them twice more. Water will be served at the end of each course of tests. Do you have any questions?" The red haired man says.
IA pauses. "When do I get to go back to IO?"
"That information is classified. Do you understand all that is expected of you?"
"…yes."
"Begin Test One." The red haired man shouts. A buzzer sounds from somewhere and IA takes off running.
Haku turns to the red haired man once IA is out of sight, disappeared amongst the swathes of the maze. "Do you have the results?"
The man nods, taking a clip board from a masked assistant and handing it to Haku. "What about our blood samples?" She asks.
"We have concluded that it is impossible to retain a viable specimen of the Demon Child's blood."
"What?" Haku asks bitterly and a little surprised.
"Permission to continue?" The man asks.
"Whatever." Haku groans.
"Their blood does not stay in a liquid state after the regeneration process is complete. The regeneration process's time is dictated by the severity of the cause of death. Once the body has repaired itself the blood simply evaporates, leaving behind nothing but a stain. Our best scientists have concluded that no matter the size of the stain it is impossible to draw any sort of information from it, the chemical make-up having completely disintegrated. The stain is simply comprised of the same components as regular, human blood. It is also unable to distinguish what blood type the stain is. It seems to have no type although it is comprised of the same chemicals and structure as human blood." The man explains robotically.
"Thanks, Akaito." Haku sighs, pressing her palm to her temple and pushing in. "Can you finish up here? I have a speech I need to make up and read before noon." Haku walks out of the room, silver hair swishing behind her.