Chapter 2: The Cracks in the System
397 Words
Jade couldn't sleep.
The hall had long since gone silent, the other dolls lying in their cots, breathing in perfect unison. But his mind churned restlessly. The way the scientist had looked at him-like he was somehow kept replaying in his head.
And then there was Eliz.
She had watched him. Not like the others. It's not like an owner inspecting her possessions. There had been something else. Recognition? Interest?
Jade didn't know. But he wanted to.
He sat up slowly, careful not to make a sound. He had been scolded before for unnecessary movement at night. Dolls were expected to conserve energy. But something in him refused to obey tonight.
Moving with practised silence, he slipped out of bed and toward the door. The hallway was dark, illuminated only by the dim emergency lights.
He had no plan. Only questions.
Where do the missing dolls go? Why don't we ask about them? Why don't we feel their absence?
His feet carried him toward the southern wing-where only instructors and scientists were allowed. He had seen them go in and out, sometimes escorting dolls that never returned.
His heart pounded as he pressed himself against the cold wall, waiting for a patrol to pass. Then, carefully, he slipped inside.
The corridor was different from the dormitory halls. The air smelled sterile, and the walls were lined with locked doors. Jade moved forward, listening. Somewhere in the distance, machinery hummed softly.
Then, he heard something else.
A whimper.
Jade froze. Dolls did not cry. They did not feel pain. They were taught that pain was an illusion, something to be ignored.
But the sound came again-weak, broken.
He followed it, his hands trembling as he approached a door left slightly ajar. He peered inside.
And his world changed forever.
Inside, a doll lay strapped to a metal table, its white uniform stained with something dark. Its body convulsed slightly, breath coming in shallow gasps. Above it, a machine blinked and whirred, wires connecting to its skull.
A scientist stood over the doll, making notes.
"This one is degrading too quickly. The consciousness is rejecting the resets."
A voice crackled through an intercom. "Dispose of it. Retrieve another from the dormitory."
Jade's blood ran cold.
This is what happens to the missing dolls.
They weren't being adopted. They weren't running away.
They were being erased.
And he was next.
- Writer
