Chapter 1: Prologue
Darkness and Pain.
Those were my constant companions as I lay still on the cold concrete floor. My teeth chattered with the chill that seemed to never stop seeping deep down to my bones, and I hugged what little was left of my tattered clothes.
Taking a deep breath, I heaved my bruised body and stood up. I counted my steps, twenty-two in total, and then stretched out my arms to feel the corner of the walls. With a sigh, I slowly slid down and curled in on myself.
And then I waited for him.
Time was boundless in this room. I neither know when morning nor night was. The only thing I could consider closest to a measure of existence was his visits, although I couldn't make heads with them either.
There was no rhyme or reason whenever he arrived. I could count to the thousands, yet he would still be away. Sometimes, he would be back within hundreds.
But his presence would always bring pain.
My tears had long dried up, and my wounds had already scarred. He always ensured that I would heal, that the bones would set, and the cuts would close. And then he would do it all over again. The Shadow, I called him. His face was always shrouded in darkness, much like the room. He was both my tormentor and caretaker.
The Shadow said that I would be the catalyst of a new age. He said that the people would be thankful for my sacrifice. It was a noble thought, but I couldn't even remember what the world or my life was like before him.
Had I even had a life other than this?
My mind stalled as I tried to scrape my memories, but it wasn't a surprise that I still couldn't remember anything. The pain had muddled and blurred all knowledge other than the four corners of this dark room.
Six thousand ninety- nine.
Seven thousand.
Seven thousand one-
I heard the distinctive sound of the door opening. Holding my breath and gripping my knees closer to my chest, my eyes darted around as my ears honed on the direction of the sound.
Footsteps echoed through the room, and then the door was locked again. Not even a sliver of light penetrated through the dark.
"O-16."
It was so quiet that The Shadow's voice was like a bomb that had gone off, even though he spoke at a normal volume.
My body jolted reflexively, and I plastered my back on the corner of the walls, as far away from him as possible.
I could feel that he was in front of me, a ghost of his breath dancing through my arms and giving me goosebumps. In the blackness of the room, his eyes shined the color of yellow.
"They need results. Good ones. You will give it to them, don't you?" The Shadow asked.
I kept my mouth shut. He didn't want any sound coming from me, even screams. I learned that long ago, and his punishments for misbehavior were severe.
"Let's begin."
There was a smile in his voice, and then I was dragged by my hair to the middle of the room. All this time, I'm biting my lip to keep from moaning in pain.
I had endured. I had obeyed. But for how long could I keep this up? What sacrifice was worth this much pain? And why did it have to be me?
The Shadow threw me like a rag doll, and my body fell to a heap on the cold, hard floor. I braced myself, anticipating the first blow, when suddenly, I heard a soft sound.
Cursing, I heard the Shadow rummage through his pockets. A bright light illuminated the room from a rectangular device, and it was the first time that the darkness was chased, the vision almost blinding me. I had to shut my eyes tightly from the piercing pain in my head.
"What?" The Shadow barked, and I flinched again from the sound.
Soft murmurs came from the device, but I couldn't understand what was being said. The Shadow turned off the bright light and then hurriedly left without a second thought for me.
It felt surreal. The Shadow never left me once he was set to start a session. I stayed still on the floor, and when I was sure he was not coming back any time soon, I dragged myself again to the corner and began counting once more.
Something had changed, though. I couldn't grasp what exactly it was, but the Shadow's behavior felt... nervous. Silence gnawed on me, and my body was vibrating with anxious energy. I perked my ears to listen to any sound.
I reached the thousands again in counting when I heard the door opening. But it wasn't just that. A beam of light pierced through the darkness, growing bigger and bigger until the whole room was bright. I shielded my eyes with my arms, my headache intensifying.
Shouts threatened to deafen me. It seemed like a lot of people were pouring inside. I couldn't open my eyes yet, but I could hear their voices and their feet thumping.
"All clear, sir! No hostiles in sight."
"There is an unknown subject inside the room. Your orders, sir?"
"Search the remaining areas. We'll take it from here."
"Copy that, sir. Team Scorpio, moving out!"
I'm folded now as tightly as I can, my head tucked in between my knees and my hands covering my ears. Too many sounds, too much light, too many sensations. I felt like I was being squeezed into a pulp. I wanted it all to stop.
I heard a flicker of sound, and then the room dimmed. The light was still coming from the opened door, but it was no longer as intense as before.
Cautiously opening my eyes, I saw a man crouched in front of me. From the edge of my vision, I could see another two standing near the opened door.
"Hey," the man whispered. His dark eyes captured mine. His hair was cropped short on the sides and just slightly longer on top. A scar ran down from his right brow to his cheek. He was wearing black and heavy-looking clothes with various implements strapped around his body.
My mind rippled with a sense of recognition and connection, and they warred with the feeling of dread deep in my gut. For all I knew, they might also be here to hurt me.
"What is your name?" He asked.
A name... The Shadow had always called me O-16. Was that my name? It could only be. I pursed my lips and averted my gaze from him. This might be a trick to make me speak and get me punished. The Shadow used to do it until his lessons took root.
A flicker of something, perhaps anger, crossed the man's eyes, and my body tensed upon seeing it. He finally stood up, his huge figure utterly imposing. But instead of dragging me by the hair or grabbing my arms, he held out his hand towards me.
"No one is going to hurt you. You are safe with us. Come, let us get you out of here."
And for a moment, I dared hope that it was the truth.
