The price of sacrifice.
Violet was again in room 17. The cold metal beneath her broken body sent a chill through her bones, but it wasn't the worst thing she had felt here. Not by a long shot.
She was strapped down again—limbs secured, head barely able to turn. The dim, sterile light above her buzzed faintly, the same artificial glow she had stared up at for what felt like forever.
And then—
The sound of polished shoes echoed across the tile, slow and measured. The lead scientist entered—white coat crisp, gloves already on. Behind him, an assistant scribbled notes on a clipboard. Violet didn't bother to look at them. She only stared at the ceiling, her chest rising and falling in shallow, shaky breaths.
He circled around her and let the silence hang, oppressive and intentional.
"Well… I can't say I'm entirely surprised."
Violet didn't respond, but her jaw tightened.
"You've always been… difficult." The scientist sighed, like a disappointed teacher. "And yet, you've proven to be one of our most resilient test subjects. Frankly, I'm almost impressed that you're still alive, most would've died after that last procedure."
Violet said nothing. She wasn't sure if that was meant to be a compliment or just another reminder that she should be dead by now.
He loomed above her. His breath was calm. Measured.
"It's almost unfortunate," he mused, "that you released our backup subject."
Her voice cracked slightly, but she forced it out—half afraid, half defiant. "Well…" she croaked, turning her head slowly toward him, "I guess you'll have to be very careful then… if you don't want to run out of test subjects altogether."
The main scientist's eyes flickered, unimpressed. "Oh, don't worry about that."
He turned away, stepping toward a steel medical tray. His gloved hands picked up a file—her file—and flipped it open as if reviewing notes. "During your vivisection, we extracted your ovaries. Each one filled with your eggs. A plentiful supply."
Violet's entire body went rigid.
"It won't matter what happens to you," He continued, casual, clinical. "All we need to do is fertilize them and put them in our incubators. We'll have plenty more test subjects, all carrying the genetic material of our most resilient lab rat"
A wave of nausea rolled over her, her skin crawling with revulsion.
"You're sick," she spat, voice trembling.
The scientist ignored her.
"But before we concern ourselves with all that," he continued smoothly, he set down the clipboard and stepped forward. Violet's body tensed, her single eye widening slightly as he reached toward the blood-stained bandages wrapped around her stomach.
Not again.
Not now.
She flinched—
Her breath caught as the cold air hit her wounds. Angry, red stitches crisscrossed her abdomen, too raw to be ignored. Her muscles twitched instinctively, anticipating pain.
Then he sprayed something onto them.
It sizzled slightly. Not burning—but cold. A sharp sting followed, but nothing compared to what she expected.
The scientist seemed amused at her fear and confusion.
Then he simply scribbled a note, then said aloud to his assistant, "Let's monitor the tissue reaction over the next seventy-two hours"
She stared at him, trying not to let her growing panic show. What was that? An experiment?, A punishment?, Both? The lingering answer terrified her.
"Now…we must address your insubordination. Unfortunately we have no choice but to take disciplinary action."
Her fingers trembled in the restraints. She could still remember the last time she was in this room, tortured for hours after their first escape attempt.
"Don't worry, unlike last time this punishment will only take a minute." He said as the same assistant handed him an electric baton.
Her breath quickened, her body instinctively trying to recoil, but the restraints held firm.
"Oh… and about A001…" The scientist started to point out as he was walking in front of her.
Tears threatened at the mention of Dash—but she held them back. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She couldn't.
"When we catch him—and we will— I promise you he will be punished just as severely."
"If you touch him," she said, voice shaking with rage, "I swear—"
"Still talking back?" He smirked, while teasingly activating the baton in front of him.
Violet froze, the light from the electricity reflecting off his glasses, making it look like she was seeing the eyes of the devil himself.
"Hold still, Subject A002" He said as he leaned closer to her. "This will only take a moment."