HANNAH
"Dr. McCalman, you're behind schedule. Just because you're in a separate building does not mean you can slack off. Your reports were due three days ago. The other scientists have already modified their test subjects, and we’re ready to start the next set of experiments. However, you are putting us behind. Your performance is embarrassing and unacceptable. Temperance and amiability towards your experiments take more time and effort than it's worth."
How much farther must I go until I reach the nadir of life? Look at me, being lectured by a child and letting him force me to go against my own ideals and values. In reality, what really broke my heart was seeing such a young person corrupted and impartial. Does he see nothing wrong with the cruelty his father promotes? Does he have no conscious?
"Sam, it's extremely difficult keeping up with the scientists after Nodin's father deleted all of his information" I explained. "Not only that, but the first phase was slow due to the hazardous qualities of his power. The sudden interference from the government also delayed my research since Nodin was far from complete. These factors put me extremely behind everyone else. It was not because I was slacking off."
Despite my disfavor of Sam, I was relieved that he let me explain myself instead of executing me on the spot. The punishments for the scientists can sometimes be worse than those for the subjects. He took a pause to ponder. "Hm we can't afford another scientist. Give me a progress report. Then I'll decide what to do with you."
I handed him a folder. "This is an updated file for Nodin. During the modification weeks, I was able to not only catch up on what was suppose to be done, but I was also able to add a filter to his breath, so his breath no longer affects him. Thanks to that, I was able improve his overall physical condition. Nodin had a much easier time getting some exercise. His muscle mass has gone up by 20% since the filter was applied. However, it's only a one-way filter, so he's still required to wear a respirator. During our experiments, whenever we tried adding a filter on his breath to give him more control, it would end up filtering his breath completely."
He looked through my notes, and nodded in approval. "Honestly, this is more than I expected." I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. "I can let you off with a warning. I'll submit this as a full report and tell my father it was simply mixed up in another group of files so it won't be counted late. However, any more late reports shall not be tolerated, and my father's form of punishment will apply." I sincerely thanked him after I shuddered at the thought of the gruesome torture insubordinate scientists receive. All of my friends suffered through it. I only received a lesser punishment because I complied with their commands. I should've died by my companions' sides...but I needed to stay alive for Nodin's sake. If I'm not here, then he'll be tortured like everyone else by some other scientist.
"You need sedate Nodin and erase his memories of his time at the lab and of me using this serum. Try to avoid any other major alterations in his memory, simply because you are limited on time. Then tonight at 9, my team is picking him up. He and the rest of the MCC members are being transferred to the new chamber."
I nodded and then followed him so I could close the door on his way out.
"Oh...and one more thing," he said, "We're getting close to finding Sammael. It was unusually careless for him to simply drop off Nodin as if it were his first day of grade school." A feeling of deep dread seized my body. Just as I feared, his plan had put him in danger. Having Sammael drop off Nodin at the MCC headquarters jeopardized both of their safeties, but it was futile to deter his decision. Though I tried convincing Sammael otherwise, I knew it was the only way to nonchalantly hand over Nodin to XL so I could help him.
"Once we catch him, we could easily kill him,” his icy words reflected the barren tundra of his heart. "But I decided he would make the perfect test subject for our new set of prototype formulas. He's use to needles, correct?" A quick glimpse of his sick joy appeared on his face. The edges of his mouth tilted up for a second, and then he relaxed. How detestable. The grip on my clipboard tightened; despite my urge to beat him profusely, my own cowardice kept me from dealing him any physical harm. Sam noticed my anger. "Come now Dr. McCalman. Think about it. We could help repair the damage done to his body from his previous...junkie lifestyle. We could even make him better! Just like how your experimenting is helping Nodin. If something is broken, you should fix it." he smirked. "Just give it some thought." and with that he left.
Tears finally flowed from my eyes, for I was unable to hold them back anymore. I remembered back when I first met Sammael...he was alone and miserable. The memory of how dead he looked back then broke me to pieces. I had helped him back on his feet and cleaned him up, and he's been such a kind and loving husband and father. But now he's in danger and there's nothing I can do.
I looked at Nodin on the surveillance monitor; it eased my troubles when I saw him sleeping soundly. At least I was of some use. I cherished the happiness his now healthy complexion brought me. He was no longer in pain. The guilt I have felt for so many years was now relieved. Sadly, I would have to replace it with a new guilt. I pressed the button to release the gas into Nodin's room.
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NODIN
It was...nice.
Violett was my first real friend. All the other club members seemed to keep their distance. I've observed over time that people who are familiar with each other stand closer in proximity. For example, the obvious relationships were siblings or romantic interests. Taño and Rano are always side-by-side. At first I was confused as to why they held hands so often. They were so similar in appearance; it was obvious they were related. So why would they hold hands? That's considered a romantic action, correct? Were they in an incestuous relationship? That hypothesis was really out there, but I had observed them anyways to see if it was correct. There were no signs of attraction or tension. Then I realized holding hands seems to provide a sense of security or trust. A parent would hold the hand of a child in a crowded area. A nurse would hold the hand of an elderly patient to help him or her stand up or walk.
Though Akira and Griffin never held hands, the attraction between the two was apparent. No matter the time of day, they would always be next to each other. I wonder if they realized it. They never perform any romantic actions around each other. More often than not, they're usually arguing. Yet they seem to get along...How confusing. They're both very hard and stern people though. They would probably be too embarrassed to show their relationship publicly like most people, which is pretty understandable. Relationships should be something special between the two people involved. There's no need to show it to everyone around you. Holding hands and hugging seem okay, since you do that with friends and family, but it always confuses me when couples kiss in public. I had seen it before when my dad took me to a bar on my 21st birthday. Kissing is a very personal action. Shouldn't it be a moment shared between the two? Relationships are weird. I decided not to indulge further into the subject, for when I do my thoughts begin jumbling and I can't think straight.
With my thoughts organized, I asked myself this: why was Violett choosing to sit by me? I'm probably the dullest out of the whole group. Maybe she was just being friendly. After all, from what I know, I'm the newest addition to the MCC. If that's the case, I am grateful for her benevolence. It felt wonderful being truly welcomed, even if it was only by one person.
Violett later tried teaching me how to dance to this Korea pop song. I'm still surprised I managed to convince her otherwise. While she sang and danced around the house, I decided to go around and observe the other members, hoping to gather some data so I can imagine a list of things I could talk about if that person were to come up to me. Reaching down into my personal satchel, I grabbed a small notebook and flipped to the first page, which was labeled "Conversation starters". The only thing written down was "Hi my name is Nodin, what's your name?" I knew it was kind of a redundant start, since I've memorized the names of everyone who came before me, and Akira announced my name to everyone when I arrived, but it was all I could come up with. I looked at the cover and saw that the branding was upside down. Oh great, I started on the back page. I tore out the page as cleanly as I could, for it's out of place existence would only aggravate me. I flipped the bound notebook around, and opened to the real first page. There was already something written there: IWILLHELPMCCFLEE. How odd...I don't remember ever writing in this journal before, but that was my handwriting. Actually...now that I think about it, where did I even get this? My head began to ache. Why can't I remember?
Hours passed as I observed everyone. But I ended up focusing on everyone's mysterious injuries. The day moved slow, simply because everyone was either too tired or too sore to do anything...with the exception to the ever enthusiastic Violett. Around many people's wrists, I saw bruises and cuts, as if they had been bound. Griffin's injuries seemed to be the most obvious to me, only because I had taken the time to observe. He had various scars around his ear, and the area around his left eye looked slightly darker than his right. Not only that, but he was having some trouble walking. There was a slight limp to his stride, and he no longer walked with confidence and power. However, he was fighting against the pain he felt, and was able to mask it from everyone else's eyes. After I observed Griffin, I changed my spot and sat closer to the couches where most of the other club members were seated. However, I still kept my distance. I was afraid I would scare them off. As I moved closer, to my horror, I realized that the injuries were much worse than I thought.
Ace looked like he was having trouble breathing. There were small red vine-looking things that were crawling up on his neck. I've seen something similar in my mom’s old medical books that my dad gave me, but the man in the picture was hit by lightning. Was there some kind of storm recently? Even if there were, he would've been in the hospital still. I was having difficulty observing the rest of body since he was wearing jeans and a blue jacket, but then he changed positions (probably because he noticed me staring) and I saw something I wish I hadn't. There were severe burns around his ankle where it seemed like he was also bound. How could he not feel that? Maybe the burn was so severe it destroyed the nerve endings.
I looked around, and realized some members had similar injuries. Others would have cuts or large bruises, similar to those of my dad, which were caused by missing the vein during injections. Not only that but everyone looked…different. I made sure to study every file thoroughly before I arrived, and on my first day, everyone seemed familiar. Now that I look at them, they feel like complete strangers. Had Acacia always have that choppy haircut and purple skin? I know she was probably the only one with an unnatural skin color, but I don't remember it being purple...and when did Akira's hair grow so long? Despite Vevila's use of makeup, I could see her dark circles and wrinkles. It was out of the ordinary for her to let her age show through like that. Aerith had friction burns all over her arms and a cut on her lip. Karin looked much older. There were wrinkles already forming around her eyes. Sebastian seemed so frightful that I was scared of being near him. He looked a lot more human when he picked me up in Vancouver.
Were they always like this? I remembered a way I could prove I was right: my cellphone. It has all the files stored in there. I'll just go check. I searched through every pocket of my satchel. What the- it should be right here. I took everything out one by one, frantically searching. No... no! It has to be here! I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. If it's not here, maybe it's in my room...but that would be unlikely. I make it a habit to ALWAYS put it in my bag. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on where I put it. Things feel so strange, so different...so....wrong. Maybe I'm just going crazy...
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A few days passed, and, though I was still unable to locate my phone, my fears began to ease. When I tried pointing out some of the injuries, many had explanations of how they obtained them. A bruise was caused by running into a table or sparring. A cut was from chopping vegetables or slicing a bagel. Scars would be from childhood injuries or from wounds received from an XL conflict early in their travels. Backstory or not, the members would promptly care for their injuries the best they could. With so many members, I'm surprised we don't have anyone who has any medical training whatsoever. We need to find a Phoenix to join the club so we could just use their tears to heal everyone. Oh, speaking of new members, recently a young girl joined the club. I believe it was the younger sister of Keefer. Their reunion was heartwarming, but I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. My ranking of "newest member of the MCC" no longer exists. I suddenly felt less special, like I was old news. I sighed, knowing my thoughts were extremely selfish. Ever since I arrived, I’ve been obsessed with gaining approval and fitting in. I've never been this concerned on what other people thought of me before, but it’s probably because it’s my first time being around so many people for such a long time
"'Sup?"
I quickly lifted my head to Ela's sudden appearance. Was she talking to me? Am I supposed to say something? What does "'sup" mean? Did she mean soup? Wait, why would she just say the word soup? That doesn't make any sense...
“Oh, right. I forgot that you don’t talk.” I was thoroughly confused when she hit herself on her forehead. Did she do that because of me? I hope she didn't hurt herself. Scared that my silence annoyed her, I quickly jotted down "Sorry" on my notebook and showed it to her.
“Nah. It’s cool.” she waved her hand. “I like people who don’t have much to say, anyway.”
She liked that I didn't talk? A flutter of happiness ran through me. That was a compliment! I have to compliment her too...but what do I say? Unable to think of anything, I simply wrote "I like red hair" on my notebook, but when I looked up she was already gone and talking to other people. Disappointed that I wasn't able to deliver my message, I decided I would present it to her later on in the day.
In the library, I found Ela finishing the last few pages of "Of Mice and Men". Scared of disturbing her, I kept my distance and awkwardly pretended to browse though books. However, she still felt my presence; as soon as I heard her close the book, she said, "Hey Aerico, what book you looking for? Write it down and I could probably help you find it." I clenched my eyes in embarrassment; now I feel more awkward. I turned around to see her staring at me intently, waiting for an answer. Walking towards her, I nervously looked for my notebook in my satchel. Though I knew exactly where I put it, I could help but fumble as I searched. When I finally found it, I showed her what I had written. The look of confusion on her face deeply concerned me. Did I do something wrong? "Uhm thank you? What's that for?" she asked. I took back my notebook and wrote "It's a compliment". I doubt she will understand the connection between what she had said and what I am saying now, but I hope my good intentions still come across clearly. Ela still seemed a bit confused, but she ended up smiling. "Haha I see. Thanks."
We ended up conversing until dinner. It felt nice being able to talk so calmly with someone. From what I've observed, Ela is usually somewhat ribald and outspoken, but she was surprisingly patient with me. Before we exited the library, I expressed the concerns I've had lately, like how I didn't notice all of the injuries of the other members and how the first page of my notebook said "IWILLHELPMCCFLEE". In return, she showed me a strange text she had received earlier in the day. Based on her explanation, she thought it was some prank. Based on her voice, however, she gradually became more concerned on the matter. We came to the conclusion that we should show the messages to either Akira or Griffin after dinner. There was definitely something amiss. I have a feeling that our peaceful living will soon cease to exist.
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Sorry if there are any typos! I always write these things late at night as I'm falling asleep. XD Oh, and if you didn't know, Hannah McCalman is Nodin's mom. ;O Just check his history :D Idk about you guys, but I experience what Nodin was experiencing. I can't tell you how many times I notice a sign or electric line pole things that I never remember but then I ask everyone around me and they'll say it's always been there. Then I get all weirded out and confused. XD Also, I came up with the addict part before I read Locke's story, sorry CCC! D: I didn't mean to come up with the same idea as you! Anyways, point of my story I guess is that basically everyone went through terrible physical abuse and torture, there's no way they got out of it without a scratch. So I came up with the idea that the XL scientists had created backstories around the injuries that still remained. I gave a few broad examples, but if you want to expand on them that'd be cool. :D I tried involving all the characters I could remember. I looked up what damage can be caused by electric shock, since Ace went through a lot of that during his experimentation stuffs. It's only current to the "Take a Chance on Me" Ela chapter, so sorry if there's any inaccuracies! Uhhh but yeah. I hope you enjoyed :D
