Experiment #459

I looked up at my sister.

"Tara, I'm so sorry you got dragged into this."

"You can apologize later. Tell me what happened. What were you doing? Who were those people?"

Tears flooded my eyes.

"Rachel, the boy with the dark hair, was he a friend of yours?"

She sat down next to me.

"Please, you don't have to keep this inside."

"I need to get you home first."

"Fine, but you're telling me everything."

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

Before we left, I looked across the clearing one more time, at the last place I saw Dei.

This was my final mission. I was done working in the underground, always following orders without question and never being able to trust anyone other than myself.

I had to start over and live an honest life.

But I had one last person I needed to save first.

Dei, please stay strong.

I'm keeping my promise.

*****

Ten months.

I had been preparing for this night for ten months.

In some ways it felt like it all happened in a flash. In some ways it felt like I had been working to get Dei back for my entire life. It was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing I thought about before I went to sleep. In a lot of ways it became an obsession.

I'm generally a pretty self-reliant person, but this was something I couldn't do on my own. I was sure I had only one chance, so I couldn't waste it trying to do it by myself.

My first helping hand was entirely unwanted, someone who I never wanted to be part of this: Tara.

Once I told her the story she resolved to assist me in any way she could. Over and over I told her that it was too dangerous, not to mention she wasn't a part of it. But she always responded the same way.

"Dei doesn't even know me, but he still sacrificed himself so that I'd be safe. I need to return the favor."

That spring she finished her sophomore year of college at the top of her class and began applying for internships at Nightingale. I hated even thinking of her being in the same building as those people.

But as it turned out, Mars never really told them about how he got Dei back, probably so there was as little a way as possible for it to ever come back to him later. He just took his money and ran for the hills.

Eventually, Tara did get an internship and she was able to confirm what I already suspected: they upped their security a lot after my initial break-in: cameras everywhere, ID checks at every entrance and exit, and multiple security stations to get to where the experiments were held. She was never even able to get close; this was all through hearsay.

But she dutifully did her work and was eventually offered a full-time job: at the bottom of the pecking order, but still at their main facility.

That was where my other accomplice came in.

I went to Isaak and told him the whole story about Dei.

"I need your help again, Isaak. One last time."

He accepted.

Using Tara to get into the building and Isaak's hacking skills, we were eventually able to enter their mainframe. We didn't have access to top secret information, but we had enough so that we were able to learn a little bit more about what their experiments were trying to accomplish.

Dei was indeed part of a project to make a sort of perfect robotic servant: one who could cook, clean, even provide sexual favors. But that was just half of it. In addition to making Nightingale a fortune, the cyborgs would give the company intimate access into their customer's lives, all without them suspecting a thing. What they were planning on doing with that information, we never found out, and honestly I didn't really care.

While Tara and Isaak were doing their part, I did my own. Now that Tara could support herself financially my entire life became devoted to my plan. I took as many jobs as I could, saving up as much money as possible to pay for all the necessary supplies. I wanted there to be no loose ends, no circumstances I wasn't prepared for. I wasn't even sure when or how the escape would happen, but I knew I needed to prepare, and that was exactly what I did. I improved my fighting ability and skills with weapons. I mapped out exactly where Dei and me would escape to and what we could do when we got there. I took all the steps to make it so the escape was ready.

Finally, eight and a half months after they took Dei, we got an opening.

It wouldn't have been possible to break in the building and take Dei again, but we got information about the experiment being transferred to another facility. This information was top secret, most of the people at Nightingale didn't know about it. Their strategy was for the transfer to be quick and quiet.

This was my opportunity. I had to take it.

I spent weeks forming and perfecting my plan, creating back-up plans and trying to prepare for everything.

The night before I said my goodbyes to both Isaak and Tara. I would try to contact them again, obviously, but when that would happen I didn't know.

It was especially hard saying goodbye to Tara, but she told me not to worry. She wanted to change Nightingale from the inside out, and I truly believed she could do it, given enough time. She would have plenty to do without me.

At last, the night came and I put my plan into motion.

In the dead of night, an unmarked semi left the headquarters of Nightingale and began its long trip to another facility, one that would take until morning. Slowly, inconspicuously, I followed them in the car I bought for this purpose, getting closer and closer.

One thing I had never done before is kill, and I couldn't imagine Dei would like the idea of me killing workers that were likely just normal people following orders for his sake, so Plan A didn't involve murder. Plan B did, and I was prepared to follow through, but I didn't want it to come to that.

Step 1: make them stop.

When I passed by the semi, I put my car into automatic and got in the back. Using a few small holes in the back seat's doors, I was able to line up my shot and fire a spike at their tire with a gun I got modified just for this moment.

The spike hit its mark and the tire blew out. The semi swerved a little before regaining control and slowing down quite a bit. After a few minutes they began the process of pulling over.

Step 2: incapacitate the workers.

The place where I decided to blow out their tire wasn't some random location. It was chosen for the plan. Right ahead of us was a hill. They stopped before that and I got to the other side before pulling over myself. Once I was ready I got out the car and put it in automatic again, sending it off to another predetermined spot far ahead.

I hurried into the woods next to where the truck was now parked. One after another I shot the two workers with a powerful tranquillizer gun and they got knocked out cold.

Dragging their unconscious bodies into the woods, I left them tied to a tree, admittedly feeling guilty. They were more people I would be affecting, but I was in too deep to waver. They would wake up and find their own ways back in the morning. In the meantime, I fixed the tire myself and got in the truck.

Step 3: steal the semi.

As tempting as it was to just grab Dei and run, I needed to get further away first. Thankfully the truck wasn't locked with anything more than the key. Nightingale's entire plan was to avoid any attention and get it done without people noticing, so they wouldn't have needed to. They never considered that an outside party had hacked them, though.

I continued on the route for a couple more hours until I pulled off the road and eventually made it to where my car was parked: a back road without a building for miles.

My hands were shaking when I stopped the truck and I needed a moment to compose myself. All that preparation had paid off: my plan had gone off without a hitch. After taking a deep breath, I got out and entered the trailer.

I almost cried when I saw Dei in his pod. Even after almost a year, he didn't look any different.

I had done it!

Joyfully I walked up and unlocked the container. Once it was open it was just a matter of pulling Dei out. I set him down and got out my wireless frequency detector. I needed to know where his new tracking chip was and remove it as soon as I could.

But oddly enough, the detector never went off. Over and over I scanned him, but there was no sign of any tracking device in his body.

I frowned. It didn't seem right. They upped all their other security, why take away this measure, the one they even made good use of last time? Were they just that confident they wouldn't need it?

I concluded that it wasn't any concern of mine. What mattered was that I got Dei back. Now it was time to wake him up.

That took a bit, they probably sedated him in some way so he would be asleep the entire transfer, but eventually he began stirring.

I smiled when his eyes opened.

"Hi, Dei. It's great to see you again."

For a split second he just looked at me, but then his eyes widened and he started crawling away.

"Dei, what are you doing?"

He backed into the corner, trembling.

"Mommy! H-help us! We d-don't know what's happening!"

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Please...p-please don't h-hurt us..."

I walked up and saw him get more and more upset. Right before I got to Dei he began scrambling to the door, but I grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"What's gotten into you?"

He started screaming.

"MOMMY! WE'RE SORRY! PLEASE JUST SAVE US! WE PROMISE WE'LL BE A GOOD BOY!"

"There's nobody else here, who are you talking to?"

He looked over at me, trying to pull away.

"Please, ma'am, l-let us go. We n-need to get back to Mommy."

The way he talked, the way he acted...there was no familiarity to it. My heart sank.

"Dei, you remember me, right? It's Rachel. I told you I'd come back for you."

He started crying.

"Mommy, we're so sorry..." he whimpered.

"Look at me."

He raised his head to meet my gaze, but looked horrified.

"Do you know who I am? Have you seen me before?"

He shook his head, more tears falling.

I dropped to my knees.

This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not after all this.

"Please, Dei, you have to remember me. I'm here. I kept my promise. We're together."

"Why are y-you calling us that? We're experiment #459." As he was talking he was still trying to escape.

"No, you're Dei. That's your name. Don't you remember?"

"We don't know what you're t-talking about. L-let us go!"

I pulled him closer and hugged his entire body, too defeated to even cry. He was screaming, but I could barely hear it, eaten alive by my despair.

Nightingale had wiped his memory completely. Not only did he not know who I was, he was also dependent on his captors, calling them Mommy instead of Master now.

All my planning, all the work I put in, nothing could have prepared me for this.

"Please...I'm Rachel. Nightingale was holding you prisoner and I helped you escape. We ran away together. You told me that you loved me. You asked me to save you from them again."

He shook his head.

"No, Mommy loves us! She keeps us safe and protects us! We would never run away from them, we're a good boy!"

I remembered what Mars had told me, all the way back at the beginning.

Be careful. Nightingale can get really nasty.

This was beyond nasty. This was just cruel.

I felt tears well up but pushed them down. I needed to be the strong one right now.

"I'm really sorry about this, Dei, but it's for your own good."

I stood up, still maintaining a strong hold on his arm.

"You're coming with me."

"No! Mommy told us about people like you! You want to hurt us and separate us from Mommy forever! SOMEONE, HELP US, PLEASE!!"

Ignoring his pleas, I dragged him to my car and got him inside, locking the doors.

"NO!" he was shrieking now "WE DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

I felt a tear leak out as I started the car.

This was supposed to be a happy reunion. But now he's afraid of me and desperately wanted to go back to the people who made him such a wreck.

My plan wasn't over, as it turned out. I got him back physically, but I also had to get Dei back mentally.

I glanced over at my friend, now curled up in a ball and whimpering.

It was too much to process. I tried to focus on driving. I needed to get him as far away from Nightingale as I could.

*****

I drove for so long that eventually I had to stop or else my car would run out of gas. The sun was high in the sky by then.

I looked over at Dei.

"Look, Dei. We're so many miles away from Nightingale. Nobody around here knows you, and you won't be able to make it back on your own. Please, for your own sake, stay in the car."

The boy looked horrible. He had slept a little bit, but not much. His face was stained with tears and his eyes were puffy and red. He was rocking in place slightly.

"Mommy," he whimpered.

I got out and began pumping, always keeping an eye on Dei. Thankfully he seemed too shell-shocked to try to escape.

What kind of horrible situation was I in where him being traumatized was the better scenario?

Once the tank was full I got back behind the wheel and addressed him again.

"Are you hungry, thirsty? Do you want some clothes?"

He looked at me with a mix of fear and confusion.

"Pets don't wear clothes. But...we're a little hungry."

I gave him a granola bar and began driving again.

Dei appeared to have calmed down somewhat. I tried speaking to him again.

"Are you feeling better, Dei?"

"Please stop calling us that. We're experiment #459."

I sighed.

"I'm sorry, experiment 459. I know this is a lot to process, but I'm doing this to help you."

"Why would you do that? We don't even know you."

I looked back at the road. I didn't want to see his beautiful eyes clouded with such mistrust.

"You don't know me, but I know you. I'm your friend."

I didn't hear any response.

"I know that you can look at something and see every single detail. You would notice an extra star in the sky."

Still nothing.

"I also know that you can remember things perfectly. That's why I'm sure the memories are in there somewhere. Nightingale couldn't have erased them all."

I glanced over and saw that now he looked intrigued.

I pulled out my trump card.

"I know that sometimes when you sleep, you wake up and you can't move a muscle. You're paralyzed."

I finally got a response, a gasp. His hand covered his mouth in shock.

"But that's not all that happens. Eventually a monster comes. It just stands there, but you know it wants to hurt you. All you can do is hope it goes away."

I heard him whimper.

"I know that Nightingale said the monster comes for you if you're bad. But that's a lie. They're manipulating you."

"How...how do you know that?"

"Because I know you. I've held you at night and protected you."

"But if that's true...why don't we remember it?"

"Nightingale brainwashed you. They made you forget everything because it made you a human and not their experiment."

"That can't be true. Mommy loves us."

"Does she? What makes you say that?"

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Mommy made us. She taught us how to be a good boy. She gives us a place to live and wants us to be the best pet we can be."

"That's not love. That's control." I thought back and remembered something.

"I asked you how you were feeling a few minutes ago. When was the last time your Mommy did that?"

Dei looked like I just punched him.

"We...we don't..."

"When you said you didn't like me calling you Dei, I apologized to you and stopped. Does Mommy ever do that?"

"Mommy knows best! She doesn't have to apologize because she's always right!"

"When you got scared back in the trailer your first instinct was to apologize to Mommy. Why was your immediate assumption that you were being punished? Did you do something wrong?"

He hung his head.

"We're a good boy..."

"I don't want to interrogate you like this and make you question everything in your life. I want you to be happy, and I'm just doing this because I know Nightingale doesn't have your best interests in mind. They want you to be scared. They want you to obey and not think."

He didn't speak for a moment.

"Why should we trust you? Why should we believe anything you say?"

I sighed again.

"With the mental state you're in right now, it makes sense that you'd think I was lying. But I don't want to force you to believe me. I want to earn your trust. What can I do to make you trust me?"

Another pause.

"We don't know."

"That's okay. We have all the time in the world. Ask me any question you want, alright? Don't be afraid to talk to me."

I looked back at the road and it was a few miles before I heard his voice.

"How do you know us? When did we meet you?"

I took a deep breath in and out.

"It's a long story, but I'll tell you everything if you want to listen."

He seemed to perk up a bit, like he was interested.

"We want to hear."

I looked forward again. We had so many more hours of driving ahead of us. This would be a good way to pass the time.

I began telling him the story.

*****

Night had fallen by the time I was done.

I was completely wiped out from the stress and from not getting any sleep the previous night. We needed to rest somewhere.

Thankfully with the money I saved up we could actually afford a nicer hotel, but I had to get him clothed before we walked inside.

"I know you don't like the idea, but you need to wear clothes, at least until we get inside the room. They won't let us in if you're naked."

Dei set his jaw and nodded.

I think he was still trying to process everything I had told him: this long, detailed story that he took part in but didn't remember. The Dei I had described to him was so different from the Dei with me now that he probably couldn't even imagine himself doing the things I told him he had done.

As horrible as this experience was for me, I needed to keep reminding myself that it was just as much a load on Dei's mind as well. As far as he was concerned, he was kidnapped, forcibly taken away from everything he ever knew. He didn't know me, even if I knew him, or at least the Dei he had been. I needed to be patient with him. I had to be strong.

Once we got to the room he immediately stripped nude again, folding the clothes neatly and returning them to me.

As I got ready for bed it occurred to me that this was Dei's first real test. When I was asleep, there was nothing stopping him from trying to escape. There were plenty of obvious, practical reasons why running away at this point was a bad idea: he was naked, he was alone, he didn't even know where he was, but if the reprogramming Nightingale conducted took over that wouldn't matter.

I could only hope and pray that he trusted me enough, or was even intrigued by me enough, to stay.

Once I said goodnight I wanted to lay awake for a few hours, just in case, but the sensation of finally being in a bed was too much for my body to handle. Within seconds, I was fast asleep.

*****

Dei was alone, walking nude through a forest. He was so afraid.

"Mommy," he whimpered. "Please help us."

He must have tried to escape. I needed to get to him. But...where was I?

Suddenly, Dei froze dead in his tracks and his whole body started shivering. Why was he stopping?

Then I looked where he was facing, and I saw the monster.

This didn't make any sense. Dei was awake, and how would I be able to see it? But when it got closer I just knew I had to protect Dei from it.