I walk down the halls to Conditioning. Professors believed that all of the numbers should be exercised early in the morning. The food that they gave us wouldn't bother our schedule:it had been tested so that it didn't cause any cramps or nausea.

I watch as the door to the Conditioning room slides open. All of the doors in the complex were automatic, bullet-proof steel. Some doors, like the Professors rooms and the Lab, had passcodes required.

The Conditioning room was wide and large, with a complete track running along the walls. There were various exercise machines and simulators, as well as a swimming pool. Along one wall, towards the ceiling, a vast holographic screen shimmered. Displayed on it's surface was the workout which I was supposed to complete.

I quickly began, running 20 laps in five minutes. Then I climbed the sheer rock wall and jumped down, somersaulting on impact with the ground. I did that ten times, then moved on to weights. I lifted the 50 pound in a hundred wing lifts, then increased my weight to 75.

The rest of the workout continued, and at the end of my designated two hours I had only broken out in a light sweat. The workout wasn't too challenging, but for a regular human it would have almost killed them.

I quickly stepped in to the sanitizer, then walked out of the Conditioning room and back into the hallway. I followed the beeping lights to the lab, then knocked as was appropriate.

The door opened and I stepped into the lab. The bright lights and white walls prevented the scientists from doing much without protective glasses, but it didn't faze me.

Professor G walked in and motioned for me to follow him to a chair full of wires.

"99, please sit. We need to start with nerves." 

Toppity poke!

As I placed my hand on the sensor, the door to my room slid open. It was 18:00 hours, rest time for all of the numbers. 

The day had proved exactly the same as all of the other days. I had remained emotionless throughout the lab, and didn't flinch when they did the usual pain tests. Battle was normal, the robot that we were instructed to fight lay in shambles at the end of the session. 98 hadn't talked to me during lunch. He seemed to be controling his anger until the perfect moment.

Walking into my room, I quickly wash, then change into my sleeping jumpsuit. I lay down on the hard surface of my sleeping cubicle and prepare to shut down. I count to ten, and then I am asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My alarm beeps and I sit up. Turning it off, I quickly get ready and am standing front of the door when it opens.

Professor D greets me this time.

"Good morning, 99," she says as we walk through the halls.

"Good morning," I say as emotionless as ever.

We reach the far end of the hall, then turn left, then right, then left. We reach the meal room and Professor D stops.

She tells me the schedule, and I memorize it as usual. This day's itenerary seemed filled with the most physically and mentally trying classes.

I am about to walk into Meal when Professor D stops me.

"Oh, and 99," she says, trying to sound nonchallant. "There will be people...observing you today. Please be on your best behaviour."

I looked at her face and instantly I knew it was Catastrophe. They were coming to see if they could buy me.

Nodding to Professor D, I began to walk into meals.

Of course I would be on my best behavior. I always was. 

@Viola?

No, I'm not a slave. Well, not really. They made me perfect so that I will be the origin of cloning a perfect army. In my intro post I talked about how they might ask Catastrophe about how much he would pay for that army, and they have. So Catastrophe's agents are now monitering me to see if I am what they want. 

Meal ended up being quite uneventful. 98 didn't talk to me at all, and I ate my food in peace.

After meal I began my first class, which was Battle.

The door slid open into the Arena. I walk in and see a lady standing in the corner typing on her holographic screen. She looks up, nods, and then goes back to typing. One of the Catastrophe people.

I quickly go to the control pad and see what Professors have set for me to fight. Instead of wasting valuble numbers on fights, Professors had us fight highly programmed machines. They still looked real, and you could destroy them like any other human, they were just not alive. Sometimes they would have us fight animals or monsters, but I won every single battle.

The small iluminated pad glows up at me. Ares. I was to fight Ares.

Ares was the highest level, and they had only pitted me against it a couple of times. I had won every time, though.

I walk into the center of the Arena. There was no armour provided with this battle. They obviously wanted to show all that I could do.

Win without a single scratch. I thought. I set goals for every battle to try and make it my very best.

"Number 99 is prepared for Battle!" I shout. "Commence fight!"

The hatch at the other end of the Arena opens and out steps Ares.

Ares had six arms, and was made completely out of metal. His inpenetrable armour was bullet-proof steel, and each hand carried a gun and a sword. He was was the smartest, most highly developed and programmed of them all.

And they wanted me to fight him bare-handed.

~~~~~~~~

I yank my hand out of Ares's grip. He lay in a steaming heap in the center of the Arena.

A holograhpic screen blinked at the top of the wall.

Fight Time: Ten minutes

I could have done it in seven, but doing that would have involved injuries on my part. I healed extremely quickly, but due to my goal I had tried to do it without getting harmed.

And I had succeeded.

I turn around and walk out of the Arena, not looking at the lady that was still there. I could hear her tapping on her screen, and the sound was more frantic now. 

The door to my room beeps, then slides open. I turn from my dresser and face my visitor.

It's 98.

"You aren't supposed to be here," I say, turning calmly back to my dresser.

"So?" 98 says.

"So, Professors will get you in trouble," I reply evenly.

He is silent. 

"I heard Catastrophe's people came today," he says, his voice bitter. "They say that they were extremelly impressed with you. That they will close the bargain soon."

I continue to fold up my jumpsuit, staying quiet. If what he said was true, I would be leaving the Complex and going to Catastrophe. I would see the world that I had only learned about before. Professors had never let me see outside of the building. They didn't want me to figure out where I was.

I had suspicions, though, and I was positive that they were correct. Long studying of the maps of Kyngdom led me to believe that the only unihabited place that would be large enough was Crimson Feilds. It was close enough to the Harbor to get supplies, but far enough away from everyone to remain hidden. Also, Professor A had a slight Paradise accent.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by 98.

"It should be me," he says angrily. "I should be the one who was chosen."

"Well, 98," I say. "You weren't."

I sense his attack before it comes. I dodge to the left quickly, narrowly missing his fist. Twirling faster than possible, I face him just as he recovers and kicks at my face. I grab his leg, but he deftly swings it to the side, throwing me off balance.

With a yell of triumph he throws me to the ground, pinning my arms to the ground.

"Now," he pants. "They will see who's better."

"Yes," I respond. "They will."

I bring my head up sharply, connecting my forehead with his nose with a loud crack. He yelps, and releases the pressure just enough on my arms for me to twist out of his grip. Blood runs down his nose, but he is oblivious to the pain.

It was my turn to go on the offensive. I run at him, jumping high into the air. My leg shoots out and hits him in the chest. He stumbles, but uses the momentum to back flip and face me on his feet. I jump and launch myself off of the wall, looping my arm around his neck and throwing him to the ground.

His head connects with the floor, and the impact fazes him for a moment. I quickly pin his arms and legs to the ground, then push down on his chest with my knee.

"That was a stupid thing for you to do," I breath. "Attacking me like that. You knew you couldn't win."

He can't respond, his breath slowly being squeezed out of him. With one hand I slowly reach and grab a spot on his neck. I can feel the nerve I need move underneath my hand.

"I can kill you right now," I say.

I look in his eyes and see real fear. The lack of oxygen had robbed him of his strength, and he made no move to stop me. In that moment I saw not a genetically modified almost-perfect human, but a thirteen year-old boy afraid of death.

I hear running out in the hallway and loud voices. The door slides open to reveal five Professors, each taking in the scene below them.

I don't remove the pressure on 98's nerve, nor do I stop squeezing his chest. Only when Professor A tells me to let him go do I get up.

98 gasps on the floor, and Medics come in. They load him on the stretcher, and I hear whispered snatches of conversation.

"Cracked skull-"

"Damaged lung-"

"Broken nose-"

"Possible brain damage-"

All of these words swirl around me as I silently watch them wheel him out of the room and into the hallway. 

The air transport whirs as I walk up the ramp-way. Three agents follow behind me, and I can see guards posted inside the vehicle. They don't trust me. How stupid.

My mind flips back to the previous day. After 98 had visted me, I was left in relative peace. Professor A had come to tell me that I would be leaving for Catatstrophe's base the following day. I had inquired about 98, even though I already knew what had happened to him.

He had been killed, according to the rules. Professors didn't want us attacking one another, and 98 was no exception. He was obviously too flawed to clone, and they would just have to work with 97. I knew that they hadn't let me kill him because they didn't want my example to influence other numbers. They couldn't have rebellion.

I am seated right next to the window of the aircraft. The transport is small, with only a couple rows of seats. They are filled by agents and guards, each looking at me suspiciously. They must have heard about what had happened yesterday, and it no doubt lowered their trust.

The engine increases power and the transport prepares for take off. The captain comes on over the intercom, but I pay no attention to him. My eyes are fixed on the ground, waiting for our flight to start.

I feel no difference as the ground slowly drops away and we rise over the complex. I had been created with perfect balance and no motion sickness whatsoever. One of the agents grips her seat tightly, and her eyes widen as we make a quick turn towards the east.

The ground below is dotted with scrub brush and not much else. I can see the Harbor glinting to the south, and I nod.

"Crimson Fields," I murmur, "I was correct."

"What did you say?" one of the agents snapped. He was rather large and pudgy, and seemed to have a perpetually red face. The hue made his watery blue eyes stand out grotesquely, and his awful breath wafted to me from across the isle.

"I said that I was correct. The Complex is in Crimson Fields, just like I expected."

He falls silent, then opens his mouth to speak.

"Did your professors ever let you outside?" he sneers.

"No," I reply, then turn back to window.

top

TOP

TOPTOPTOP

TOP

TOP