13 Years Earlier:
As Dr. Amber walked through the halls of the Facility, she stopped in front of a room labeled HH-001. She used a key card to open the door, letting it slide open before she walked inside. Once inside, the door closed and she continued walking through the room until reaching a group of four other scientists all sitting around a large curved desk. Three men and one woman all watched different monitors that showed various experiments in their cells.
“Good afternoon, you four.” The group turned around a little startled before they noticed who it was. “Dr. Amber?!” One of the male members stuttered, “What a surprise to see you here. We uh, weren't expecting you.” Another male scientist got up as well, “What brings to our little area?” Dr. Amber got closer as the two sat back down. “I received a letter from Dr. Atlas himself to station myself here for a few months to help out the “special project.” She looked up at the monitors again, eyeing the big one in the middle that displayed a young boy with wolf-like features pacing back and forth inside of a large cell.
“How is Experiment 9320 coming along?” Amber asked. “Its vitals and growth are fine,” The female scientist replied, “Although we've had a few incidents of it escaping or critically harming one of the other scientists.” Dr. Amber didn't respond but instead continued to study the child as he stopped his pacing and started swiftly scratching a section of the cell. She tilted her head in confusion, “Does he always do this?” Amber asked. A male scientist nodded, “He's been scratching at that same area for a few days now. Don't really understand why, but it's no harm so we've simply ignored it.” Dr. Amber placed her left hand under chin as she carefully observed him “And you said he's escaped from his cell before, right?” The four nodded. Ideas circled through Amber’s mind to try and figure out if this was another escape attempt. If so, what was he accomplishing by repeatedly scratching at one area of his cell?
As she continued to observe him, the boy stopped and walked over toward the porcelain sink that was inside his cell and gripped the back of it with both his hands, placing his feet against the cell wall. He tugged at the sink a few times before ripping it completely out and falling on the floor. Amber jumped startled, “Is he ALLOWED to do that?” One of the male’s looked at the big screen then turned his head, “It's fine, he can destroy whatever's inside and we'll just replace it. Don't worry about water pouring in either, we had a special lock placed inside the piping of his cell to only release liquid when he turns the knobs normally.” Dr. Amber watched as the boy picked up the sink and started walking back to the wall where he'd had been scratching at. He lifted the sink over his head and threw it against the wall, shattering the scratched area and forming a large hole in the cell.
Dr. Amber and the other four looked in shock after hearing the shatter of the wall. “That's impossible!” The woman panicked, “That cell is made out of a strong glass, no way it could've easily broken it with sheer brute force.” All the while one of the male scientists called guards to stop 9320. Amber simply stood there in awe as he jumped through the hole and started running toward the door. “Fascinating,” She muttered, “He weakened one section of the glass with repeated scratches and used a strong enough object to shatter it. It's brilliant.” As he ran, before he reached the door, two guards stopped by getting in his way. They pointed two tranquilizer guns at him while he got on all fours and growled at them.
“Go back to your cell now, brat!” One of them shouted. In a flash, the boy pounced at one of the guards, digging his claws into the back of his head and while he screamed, 9320 started bashing his head against the guard’s until he knocked him out. Then jumped off him and dashed toward the second guard. He fired a shot but missed and 9320 lunged at the guard, clamping his teeth on his inner thigh. The guard screamed in pain and 9320 removed his mouth, then started climbing up the guard till they were face to face, then started punching the guard repeatedly until knocking him out as well. Then the boy ran towards the door again, this time falling down and writhing as three more guards came walking out, one had shot a taser gun at the boy.
As 9320 groaned in pain, the other two shot their taser guns, turning the groans into cries of agony. He tried to crawl away but was shot three more times, howling in torture as he fell back down. Dr. Amber looked on in horror, “Tell them to stop this!” She demanded. “Everything's under control,” The female scientist told her, “This is not the first time this has happened.” The boy still continued to try and move but was shot again and eventually gave up. As he winced and cried, the two guards who were knocked out had gotten back up and stared at the boy, furiously. One of them picked him up by the collar, “Stupid little shit!!” He sneered as he socked the 9320 back to the floor. The other guard kicked him a few times in the ribs, “Worthless! Fuck!” Afterwards boy curled up into a ball, sobbing quietly for a minute before one of the guards took out a long metal stick with a collar at the end of it and attached it around 9320’s neck.
Then lifted him up and knocked the side of his head with the back of one of the guns telling him to walk. As they did, the boy’s sorrow turned into rage as he gripped the collar and let out a furious scream. One of the guards hit the back of his head again to make him stop and the boy stared straight, his face full of anger and hate. Dr. Amber's face also filled with anger as she exhaled loudly through her nose. “How DARE they hurt that boy?! IT'S OUTRAGEOUS!” She yelled, causing the other scientists to turn around. “It's standard protocol for when one of the experiments tries to escape or is being troublesome,” One of the males said, “It's just for Experiment 9320 we let the guards be a bit more “extra” to ensure it's fully incapacitated.” Dr. Amber looked at them with disgust, “You call that extra?!?! That is a child! He or any of the other experiments should not be treated so inhumanly!” The female scientist got up and cleared her throat, “Understand they are not like us. They're no different from wild animals, especially 9320. As such we must discipline it in a way that ensures its obedience.” Amber looked again at the big monitor to see the young boy huddled in a corner of his cell, the same expression of hate glued to his face while four of the guards pointed their guns at him and the fifth was calling someone. She scoffed angrily and walked out of the room…
“You what?” Dr. Atlas asked, bewildered. “I want you to put me in charge of Experiment 9320.” He and Dr. Aero looked at one another and chuckled, “My dear, you're a valuable asset and brilliant mind.” Atlas replied. “We'd hate to lose you to that…THING.” Dr. Aero added. “That is NOT a thing. He is human like you and I.” Atlas chuckled again, “9320 is a monster. Nothing like any of us,” He placed his right hand on her shoulder, “I understand, but you don't have to show feelings toward it. It won't reciprocate them nor would show you the slightest bit of remorse as it tears out your throat.” She pushed off his hand and stared with dead seriousness, “Let. Me. Work. With. Him.” Dr. Atlas rolled his eyes and sighed as he walked over to his desk and grabbed a few notes about 9320 and put them together on a clipboard. “I asked you here to simply help monitor 9320, and not get put into the front lines,” He stuck out the clipboard and she took it without saying a word, then started to walk off. “Remember, this was your own conscience decision. We can't be held responsible for any loss of limbs…or life.” She stopped for a second, not turning around, then continued walking off.
From there she headed down towards where they kept 9320 and as she walked down the long white corridor of his room, she noticed two guards laying on their backs. Once Amber stopped in front of them, she dismissed them both and looked down at the cell where 9320 was. She took a deep breath and smiled, “Time to prove them all wrong. You are NOT the monster they think you are.” Once she was in front of the door, she used her key card to open it up and 9320 instantly looked up with a snarl. She walked in, her movements were slow and careful. Soon she knelt down and the two met face to face. While 9320 started at her with gritted teeth, Dr. Amber continued her gentle smile and slowly stuck out her hand. “Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is…” Before she could finish, he tried to bite her hand. She yelped and quickly pulled it back, then as she was looking to see if there were any injuries on it 9320 headbutted Dr. Amber right in the face. She groaned, holding her hands over her nose as it bled. 9320 screamed angrily at her, then turned and went to sit in a corner facing the wall. As she got up, she tried to approach him again, his left ear twitching then he suddenly sprang up trying to slash her with his claws. Dr. Amber, barely able to avoid it, started walking back out of the cell while 9320 kept walking toward her growling. She accidentally tripped and fell on the floor outside of the cell, and just as he was about to attack again, Amber quickly shut the door. Leaving him screaming at her again before walking back into the same corner to stare at the wall. Panting heavily, Amber's heart raced with fear. She gulped, “This…this might be harder than I thought.”
As the days went by, Dr. Amber continued to try and at least have 9320 be more comfortable around her. Each time he would kick, punch, bite or throw something at her, and each encounter ended with her falling on her butt. After two weeks she was about ready to give up, but had to persevere and show that this boy wasn't some mindless animal. She had one more trick to try and while she thought it was cheating, there weren't many options left. The next day, as she came walking toward his cell, he noticed her. This time, his screams of anger had become grumbles of annoyance. At least that showed he was more used to her. She entered the room and once again knelt down and extended her hand out. “Good morning.” She politely greeted, but instead of trying to bite her hand, 9320 simply smacked it away and looked down to start biting his hand. “Heh, they don't really feed you a lot, huh?” He continued to ignore her. She grabbed a small silver square box she had brought with her, opened it up revealing a piece of raw stake she had stolen from the Facility’s cafeteria. 9320’s head instantly shot up as he smelled the stake, shifting his eyes from Dr. Amber to the silver box. She grabbed it with two fingers, slightly disgusted by holding it and extended it toward 9320. He took a few sniffs of it before snatching it from her hands and started vigorously eating it. Dr. Amber chuckled a little, thinking it was cute seeing his eyes light up as he ate the stake. Then his gaze went back to her and he stopped eating, then extended it out to her. She was confused for a second until shaking her head, “Oh no, I can’t eat that I'll get sick.” He stuck it out further at her and she stared at him awkwardly. She eventually gave in, grabbed the stake, and stared at it with hesitation. Then leaned over and took a small bite, tearing a small piece and began to chew. She gagged as she chewed it, trying hard not to vomit. As he stared at her, she forced a smile, “Mmm.” She said trying to hide the disgust then used all her willpower to swallow it. Amber coughed a little as the piece slid down her throat and she handed the stake back. As 9320 went back to eating it, he did something that surprised her. As she tried to regain her composure, she heard a sound come from 9320. “Mmm.” He copied her and did it with each piece he ate. She looked at him with the same awe as she did when she first saw him break out of this cell.
While she thought he was distracted, Dr. Amber reached her hand out to place it on his head, but once he noticed his face changed to anger and tried to bite her hand again. She yelped and once again was met with him ready to attack. She sighed, “Here, allow me.” Then got up and started to spin around while fake screaming. “Ahhhhhh.” She did this until purposefully fell on her butt and the two looked at each other. 9320 looked at her with confusion, but quickly changed. “Heh.” He chuckled, “Hehehe….hahaha!” He burst out laughing, shocking Dr. Amber again as he got up and mimicked what she did, falling to the ground laughing joyfully as he did it a few more times. Dr. Amber started to grin as he did it again and again, and soon both were laughing. Their laughter lasted for a few seconds and ended with both of them smiling at one another. As Dr. Amber left, she didn't forget that moment. For however short it was, something had clicked between the two, and it only got better from there.
After that day, 9320 became more comfortable around Dr. Amber, and the two’s bond started to grow with each passing day. She taught him the basics of talking: “Good morning.” She said. “Goo-nor-ning.” He would repeat back to her. It was not for him to master the basics, it only took a day or two. “Good morning, 9320.” “Good nor-ning!” Well, he still had room improvements. Dr. Amber would often bring books for the two to read, and by the time he turned seven, it was easier than ever for him to read and speak. “You see this?” Amber asked, pointing at a picture of a family. He nodded, “This is what's called a family. There's the two kids and the mother and father. Now, the mother and father's job is to take care of the kids and help them grow and learn.” 9320 stared at the picture before looking at Amber. “So…you mother?” She looked at him and shook her head, “No, I wouldn't say that.” But he nodded, “Yes. You mother. My mother.” He pointed at the image of the woman and back at her, “Take care me. You, my mother. I call you mother now.” He smiled at her and Amber jokingly rolled her eyes. “Fine, for now. I'm sure you'll grow out of calling me that eventually.”
As the months turned into years, and the two continued to get closer, Dr. Amber truly did start to love 9320 as a son. But, always tried to keep that love in check once he reached his teenage years, because she knew they would be separated once he became old enough. “9320, I want you to know that at some point I'm going to have to leave you and you'll have to leave me.” He looked at her muddled, “Why?” He asked. She hesitated answering, trying to find the right words. “Because…because…because you're special. A-And because of that, other scientists who don't work here will take you away…and I'll never see you again. And….” She paused as tears started to form in her eyes. “Oh God…I can't let them take you away. I can't give you up to those monsters.” She began to cry, 9320 not really knowing what to do simply hugged her the way she would hug him after some of the training sessions he would have after he would be hurt. “I not going leave you, mother. I stay with you always.” He told her. She looked at him, trying to compose herself, and smiled, leaning her head against his. “I know,” She replied through sniffles, “I know, and I'll be with you, always…”
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