Chapter Text
It was cold, as usual. You laid down on the harsh concrete floor as you started hearing fast and solid footsteps coming in your direction. You can't recognize them; usually only scientists or some guards will come in here.
You knew it was someone else—someone you had never met before.
The steps continued getting closer, and then they stopped right in front of the armored door, as if they needed to catch their breath before getting in.
Then came a loud noise of squeaking metal.
Was the big door opening, sound closely followed by slow and steady footsteps and a suffused yellow-ish light making his way in, coming from the long corridor behind the door. You can't see what or who just got in; in advance, you moved yourself into the corner of the cage, trying to hide yourself.
Moving your ears down and keeping all your limbs as close as possible to your body.
The big figure was slowly walking toward you. You can see his knees bent a little and something in his arms. As he got closer, you could clearly see he had a gun in his hands with a flashlight attached to it.
You thought, as a bright light was moving with him. The light was revealing a large number of cages of all sizes piled up near the walls of the room. You can't see him clearly because of the bright light pointed at your big eyes. But you make out that it is a man. He was standing in front of your cage as he checked both of his directions before lowering his gun and kneeling down at your height.
Now you can clearly see him.
He was wearing a black Military uniform and dark, thick boots; his hands were covered by the same color latex gloves. You can't see an inch of his skin. Either his face was covered with a black balcava, his helmet and night vision goggles covered all the upper part of his face. Making him not recognizable. But you are not really questioning his fit right now; you are more scared of what his intentions are.
You remained small in the corner of the cage, hoping to not be seen, even if it was blatant that you were there.
"What have they done to you?" he said with a thick British accent and an almost caring tone.
He quickly takes a lockpick out of one of the many pockets he has on his clothing and starts working with the small lock that was holding your cage closed.
As he got it open, his radio buzzed.
You flinched at the sudden sound, not expecting it, and started to follow the conversation between him and 'someone' with interest.
"Ex you copy ?" The voice of a young man was coming out of the radio.
He let go of everything he had in his hands, making it fall, and picked up the radio.
"We have a survivor," he answered shortly.
"Then, get 'em out of here." The other guy talked again.
You had no trouble understanding them. Before your city was hit by war, you had the time to go to elementary school and learn some English. But soon after the war started, you were taken away, separating you from your family and keeping you prisoner for what felt like ages. In these years, some scientists started doing experiments on you and other kids your age.
You and the others were kept in small cages like animals and given food and water once a day. With the months passing, some of the kids you used to share hopeful sights with disappeared or started to look weird. Their faces no longer matched theirs. They no longer looked like humans.
You are one of the last survivors from the experiments and also the last to be experimented on. You lived almost two years looking at these children losing their identity, while you remained the same.
When the scientists started experimenting on you, you too lost who you were. Your body day after day and week after week, started to look more animalistic. You started growing small bits of fur on your body, your bone structure started to change, and it was a slow and painful process. Small wings and tail have been sewn to your body, a lot of your teeth have been removed and replaced with others more sharp. You looked like an animal.
But you didn't know that.
you never had the chance to watch yourself in a mirror, or to reflect your imagine in the water. But you knew you were different from before.
you felt different.
As Ex moved his hand off the radio, you alerted, all your body tensed up and your eyes were speaking 'fear' while you looked at him, in his deep blue eyes.
He puts his free hands in front of himself, showing you he had nothing in his hands to harm you, trying to keep you calm.
"Do you understand me?", he asked you.
You didn't answer, instead you knitted your brows and started tapping your tail on the hard ground, opening your small wings and ruffling the bit of fur you had on your body, to make you look bigger, trying to intimidate him someway. He didn't move an inch, you haven't got any emotion out of him. Instead he slowly opened the cage door, taking off every barrier between you two, showing you he wasn't afraid of you.
"I'm Ex, what about you?" he speaks again, trying to sound more friendly.
But this didn't work out.
You squished yourself more in the corner of the cage, and hissed at him angrily, showing your sharp teeth to him, looking more threatening. Now your eyes were moving fast between the small gap created between the open door of the cage and the big man sitting next to it.
"Sigh" your rush of thoughts stopped as you heard the man sighing. "Listen kid, you can keep hissing to me how much you'd like, but I need to get you out of here. Alright?"
As soon as you hear the words 'get you out' you start calming down and stopped hissing and showing your teeth to him, but you kept growling with a low tone not letting your guard off. Your small wings lowered down on your fragile body and your tail kept slowly swinging in the air. Then you heard a buzz from his radio again: "Ex everyt-.." you didn't care less of what the guy from the other side of the radio was going to say, you were more concentrated on 'Ex' finally having hi guard off. You dashed toward him trying to get out of the cage, as your head started coming out, a sharp sound of metal clicked. You got roughly stopped by a chain closed on your ankle, you dropped on the floor hitting your muzzle on the hard concrete. A small whine got out of you.
'Ex' looked at you with wide eyes and gasped with a low tone "Fucking hell-". He fully ignored the guy on the radio and as a small ray of sunshine hits your body, he takes the chance of taking a better look at you.
You looked neglected, your skin is pale, almost transparent, he can clearly see every bone in your little body.
With his hands, he lifted your chin from the ground, gently, as if he was afraid of braking you. You were petrified at his sudden touch, you were afraid of moving. He moved some of your matted hair off your face and gave you a better look.
All over your body you have major scars, small cuts, burn marks and as well on your face. He softly swiped his finger covered with a latex glove on a few scars, making you feel a cold shiver down your back.. Then again the radio: Ex! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!
You jumped a little as you heard the other man screaming in to the radio as 'Ex' rolled his eyes unnerved, answering the radio.
"Everything is okay. I'm Coming out." Before he could even get a response, he turned the radio on another channel.
You were looking at him with lost and scared eyes. 'Ex' lets your head on the concrete floor gently getting up and kicking the lock chain with force, breaking it with ease, as the metal is old and rusty. You didn't know how to react, after years of imprisonment you are now finally free.'Ex' picks you up gently letting your chin lean on his shoulder, your arms are wrapped around his neck and your legs over his waist. You finally felt relaxed after years of torture, experiments and terror.
The man got up from the ground and slowly, keeping his balance and started to walk back, toward the exit of the building, where the rest of the team was waiting for him. As he walked to white thin corridor to another, you started feeling more sleepy, your eyes felt heavy and the sound of 'Ex's' small heels knocking on the ground, isn't helping to keep you awake. As you slowly started to drift off to sleep on his shoulder, you started feeling a warm sensation on your back, while your shadows started to be reflected on the sad grey floor of the structure.
You were out.