“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My dad turned his worried eyes to me. “Don’t deny it, Avery. Where did that cut on your cheek come from?”

My hand flew to the scab where Warren had cut my face. “Um… I…”

My mom raised her hand. “Don’t worry, we’ve informed the principal of your school, and he says that he’ll talk to the bullies for you.”

Oh god no. My eyes widened. It’s over for me.

“But, in-school solutions aside,” my dad’s voice broke through my thoughts. “ We’ve decided to let you in on a little secret.”

I looked up, mostly expecting something lame, but there was still a small spark of excitement. “… Secret?”

My dad smiled. “You know where your mother and I work?”

There goes the last bit of interest I had. “Future Technologies, right?”

“That’s right!” My dad nodded. “You know the name. But you don’t know what we do, do you?”

“Something with future technology.” I answered in a monotone, evicting a snort of amusement from my mom.

My dad smiled weakly. “Yes, that’s true.” He conceded. “But… what they’re really researching right now is… genetic mutations.”

“Genetic mutations.” I raised an eyebrow.

My dad pointed finger guns at me. “You betcha!”

“This concerns me… how?” I asked.

My mom decided to chime in, “Avery, Future Technologies is working to make real-life superheroes! And they’ve agreed to let you test out one of their superpower serums!”

I sat, stunned, for a few seconds. “Uh… huh.” I managed to get out. “Superpowers. You sound absolutely sane right now.”

My mom grinned and tapped the side of her nose. “Oh, creating superpowers is more possible than you think!”

“Just think, Avery! With the serum, you’ll be able to fight against the bullies!” He turned his eyes on me. “Isn’t that all you want?”

I looked down at the floor, unable to meet my dad’s eyes.

“Will you do it, Avery?” My mom prodded.

“I… I’ll think about it.” I said.

My mom enveloped me in a hug. “Oh, wonderful!”

My dad soon joined in. “Attaboy, Avery! Helping to progress the technology of the future!”

They were both so happy about it, but I can’t force myself to feel the same way. This all feels like some enormous joke, but I’ve let the idea of getting superpowers sink in for a while now and I’ve been getting more and more excited about the concept as the day goes on. Maybe I will just accept their proposition. We’ll see.

2.9.14

Today… I can’t even begin to describe today. I have never felt more terrified and physically ill than at that stupid laboratory. It’s… it’s just… that place is a place of nightmares.

I noticed something was wrong when my parents parked the car outside of a large, run-down warehouse. There were no signs on it. The paint, what little of it there was, was peeling; the walls were stained and I could see certain parts of the wall rotting through. This place looked like it had been abandoned for decades. I opened my mouth to ask where the real building was, when my dad’s words left an uncomfortable pit in my stomach.

“Here we are, Avery! Future Technologies!”

“You’re in for a real treat!” My mom’s smile crossed her entire face. “Nobody is allowed in unless they work here! You’ll be one of the few outsiders who have seen it!”

“This… is the building?” I asked, horrified. “It’s a dump!”

“Oh, just the outside!” My mother assured me. “The inside is very nice!”

I let out a grunt of disbelief as my dad wandered over to the entrance and pulled the door open.

“You first.” He said.

“Um…” I took a tentative step toward the door. “Okay?” The instant I walked into the building, a small, college-age woman was invading my personal bubble.

“Hi! You must be Avery!” She bounced up and down in place, a broad grin plastered on her face. “I’m Kamilla! I’ve been asked to give you a tour!” She extended her hand, and looked up at me expectantly.

I stared down at the hand, unsure of what to do, before I clasped her hand. Once we’d let go, my father walked into the room.

“Hello, Kamilla.” He smiled.

“Hi, Mr. Rodriguez!” Kamilla bounded over to him. “It’s so nice to finally meet your son!”

My mom grabbed my head in a big bear hug. “Isn’t he precious?”

“Mom!” I felt blood rush to my cheeks as I frantically pushed her arms off. “Why do you only say stuff like that in public!”

“But it’s true!” She said.

Kamilla laughed, but I noticed a twinge of sadness in her smile, and the pit in my stomach grew bigger.

“Why don’t we get started on our tour?” Kamilla suggested.

“That’s a good idea!” My dad smiled.

“Come on then!” Kamilla turned and started heading down the hall. “I’ll take you to the labs first!”

The tour started out normal enough. Kamilla led me and my family down to a row of big rooms. They were all a square shape, and I noticed they were all on wheels. In each of the windows I could see tables with pieces of metal and beakers of liquid scattered over the countertops. Scientists were bustling around, mixing materials and welding metals.

“These are the labs!” Kamilla chirped. “It’s where we mix chemicals and serums and the like!” She turned and pointed to the rooms on the other side of the hallway. “And those are the forages! It’s where we create different pieces of technology! Right now we’re working on a microchip that can send signals throughout the brain to relay messages!”

I perked up hearing that. “Kind of like those instant-messaging chips that everyone says will exist in the future.” I noted.

“Exactly!” Kamilla clapped. “Inventions like that are why we’re called Future Technologies!”

I turned to my parents, curiously. “So… what part of this do you guys work on?”

“Actually, everyone who works here has to know how to do engineering, medical procedures, and biochemistry, so we do a little of everything.” My mom explained.

I let out a grunt of interest, then frowned. I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but it felt like the walls had started to become more run-down. Many of the labs had unidentified liquids on the outside, and suddenly, the windows of the rooms were covered up, sometimes by stained, ripped, and burnt sheets, other times by a cheery store bought curtain. One pastel flower pattern in particular juxtaposed itself with the almost completely brown walls, walls I swear had been white just a few rooms back. It was about that time when I noticed the smell. It was faint at first, but as we kept marching it grew stronger and stronger, soon, no matter whether I inhaled from my mouth or nose, I could taste the metallic, sulfury smell.

I put my hand over my nose and mouth, and Kamilla looked over apologetically.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. This area’s never been the most rosy-smelling.” Her formerly enthusiastic voice had been reduced to a gravely murmur.

The walls began to close in, the hallway grew darker and darker until, suddenly, it opened up into an enormous room with row after row of square shaped rooms, all on wheels and all labeled with large numbers. They were about eight feet in length and height and packed side-by-side. The doors were a heavy metal with a digital keypad attached by the handle. There were large windows toward the top of the door, all covered with vertical bars. They kind of looked like…

“What… are these?” I asked.

My dad fidgeted with his collar and kept staring straight ahead. “Hey, u-um… maybe we should go another way.”

“No, Frank, this is fine.” My mother insisted.

We proceeded down the seemingly endless row of cells. At the tenth cell, the sound of someone sobbing filtered down the hall. I stared at the cell, worried. My dad placed a hand on my shoulder and pulled me forward. Soon, more crying emitted from another cell. At another cell, I could hear small whimpers and squeaks. At one point, I don’t know where it was coming from, but the sound of someone screaming filled the entire warehouse. My dad’s hand, still on my shoulder, was becoming increasingly clammy, the sweat had completely soaked through my shirt.

A loud bang from a cell, cell 031, made our group jump. I whipped around to see a teenage girl clinging to the bars of the cell. She extended one arm, shifting and pulsating with dozens of large, orange and green bubbles. I watched in horror as I saw the bubbles erupt from her chest and face.

“Help… me…” She gasped.

I couldn’t move. I’d never seen anything like it, in real life at least. I stared, transfixed, on the cell until my father put his arm around my shoulder again and led me on.

“What happened to her?” I whispered, staring down at my feet.

“Sadly… a failed experiment.” My dad said.

“Does that… happen a lot?” I felt tears welling in my eyes.

My mother cleared her throat. “Not as often as it used to.”

“She looked younger than me.” I said, still not tearing my eyes off of the floor.

Kamilla forced herself to smile. “One of the few minors we have, I assure you. Most people here are over 25.”

“Do you keep all of your test subjects in a cell?” I demanded, finally bringing up the courage to turn and glare into Kamilla’s face.

“Only until we’re done with them.”

Horror flooded through me. “Done with them?”

At that moment, I felt my feet give out from under me as I slipped. I fell with a small splash into a pile of foul smelling liquid. I brought one hand out from under me and stared in horror at the unmistakingly red substance. I had fallen into a pile of blood. I traced the puddle up and into a cell, where it was oozing from the doorframe.

“Oh my god.” I stared in horror. “Oh my god!”

“Shhh, shhhh, it’s okay honey, you’re safe!” My mother hugged me and did her best to help me to my feet.

“But- but they aren’t! A-are they like that- that girl? Expendable? Is everyone here expendable?! Oh god, oh god.” I bent over and pressed my hands against my forehead. I felt my breathing speed up and bile rise in my throat.

“No! No, Avery… we… do care! I’m sure the doctors will help them soon!’ My dad assured me.

I looked at my dad, my eyes hollow. Did he really think I was that stupid? “But that won’t be good enough.”

There was an uncomfortable silence as we continued out of the cells. I flinched at every cry, scream, and plea. I felt myself drawing more and more into my own little world, when Kamilla’s voice shattered the small serenity that I had created.

“Um… well… over here are the bathrooms. We can go in one and get you cleaned up, how ‘bout that?”

“Fine.” I whispered.

My parents led me into one of the bathrooms. They wiped the blood off my skin, but were unable to scrub the blood off of my clothes. While they cleaned me up, I stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was a wreck, tangled and knotted from sleep and worry. Dark circles surrounded my eyes, which were wild with fear and glistened with unshed tears. I gripped one of my wrists, and felt the bumps of the long scars tracing horizontally across it. Suddenly I felt every single one of those scars as if they were brand new. I felt all of the pain, horror, anger, and distrust that I saw reflected in the mirror.

When I came out of the bathroom, Kamilla was rocking back and forth, wringing her hands with worry plastered all over her face. My parents walked over to her and after a considerable amount of whispering, Kamilla finally looked up at me.

“I don’t really think there’s much left I can show you, Avery. So, ah, your mother and father are going to take it from here.”

“Right!” My mom clapped her hands. “We need to introduce you to April!”

“April?” I asked.

“The CEO.” My dad explained. “She’ll give you more information about being a test subject here.”

All of the blood in my veins turned to ice. “What?”

“Remember? That’s why we’re here.” My mother prompted.

“Oh… right.” I whispered. “I was going… I was going to be a test subject.”

My parents headed off down the hall, and I followed in a stunned silence. The hallway became cleaner the further away from the test subjects we got, until the walls were almost white enough to shine.

At the end of the hall stood an elaborate, wooden door, which my dad opened. He gestured for me and my mother to go through the door, shutting it after him once we were through.

The room was a pretty average size for an office. Everything was meticulously organized and clean. At a large wooden desk sat a woman, who, I’d have to guess was about forty. She was working at her computer, just barely glancing up when my parents and I walked in.

“Ah, Mr Rodriguez. Ms Welsh. Is this the kid?” She asked, disinterested.

“This is our son, Avery.” My dad placed a firm hand on my shoulder and I stiffened.

“Avery.” April repeated. I could feel her eyes scanning every single visible area of my body.

“Um…” My voice cracked. “Hi?”

April went back to working. “I could see him fitting in well, yes.”

“He says he’s interested.” My mother informed her.

“Well, yes, I did.” I said. “But-”

“Perfect.” Somehow, even though she was muttering, her voice cut through mine like a knife. “Send him in tomorrow, but give me the package tonight for a psych evaluation.”

“The package?” I asked.

“We certainly will.” My mother said. She then nudged me toward the door. “Come on Avery. We need to get you home.”

On my way out the door, I glanced back at April, who looked me in the eyes for less than a second before going back to work.

Package. She said bring a package? But what was it? Oh my god. They’re going to lock me in one of those cells. They’re going to experiment on me. Oh my god. All those sobbing people. All the screams. All the… the blood. And the girl. The girl, oh my god the girl. I’m going to die. They’re going to kill me. I, I can’t believe that my own parents would do this to me. Why would they make their only son be a test subject for them. Oh my god. They had a hand in all of this. They said they do a little of everything. Meaning that one of them might have… might have done… whatever the hell happened to that girl, they might have done that to her. And now. Now they’re going to do it to me.

I told myself- I told myself that I’d never do this again. I vowed that I wouldn’t, but I can’t- I can’t handle this. I need a distraction. I need something. An old vice. It’s all I can think of.

Goddammit. Goddammit.

Goddammit!