Chapter One

607 awoke to florescent white lights invading her vision and temporarily blinding her. As soon as the lights were dimmed and the ceiling came into her range of focus, 607 felt her usual restraints being tightened around her wrists and ankles, digging deep into her skin. Faint blurs moved around her in tight circles, muttering quietly to each other. 607 didn't even need to think twice to know where she was again, the restraints heavy against her limbs only meant that she was back in one of the many laboratories. Sounds were slowly becoming more audible, more so than usual, she noted, and soon she could hear the sound of tennis shoes squeaking against linoleum. As her eyes adjusted, tiny, dust-like particles floated through her line of vision, except 607 knew it wasn't dust. Dust didn't exist in The Ward; everything was sterilized at least three times a day and thoroughly inspected by the headmaster. 607 was never sure of the reason, but her mother had said it kept the subjects from getting sick.

"607, be a dear and tell us what you see right now."

The command sent shivers down her spine, and the answer shot out of her mouth just as fast as she was prodded with another needle. Sucking in a shaky breath of air, 607 exhaled slowly as the stinging faded from her forearm

"Test number 102, category A subsection B," Henry, the head doctor in charge of 607 rattled off to a younger nurse "Test complete. Record and file into cabinet 3."

Henry turned on his heels swiftly, pressing two latex covered fingers against 607's forehead "Daniel, monitor this one for the next hour and watch for any side effects, the drug should kick in soon and I have to attend to Subject 610. Wristbands are pre-printed in the third drawer, just look for her number." he turned, stepping out of the sliding Plexiglas doors and down the hallway to the right. 607 watched the doors shut with a hiss as a wristband was fastened around skin and bone. Blood samples, heart rate, and blood pressure were all taken by Daniel before her restraints were let loose and she was hauled to her feet and led out to the hallway.

"New here? Most doctors know where the wristbands are." 607 muttered, shooting the taller man a sympathetic glance as he prodded her forward like cattle "Don't know what you've seen so far, but by the end of the day, you'll be handling far less cooperative subjects."

Daniel swallowed uneasily, bit his lip, and grunted before pushing her with a hand and making her stumble forward.

607 laughed weakly, the ghost of a smile written on her lips "Sure, act tough with me, whatever, but when you meet the others upstairs, you're going to have to be tough, not act like it. Good luck, Daniel, I really do hope you'll last. All my family needs is another Doctor to terrorize us."

Those were the last words 607 remembered speaking before her body hit the ground and she heard a sickening snap, just before blacking out.

When 607 awoke for the second time that day, it was to her mother running her fingers through 607's hair. Her eyes opened slowly to adjust to the white light of the room, which penetrated her eyelids brightly before. Her mother smiled down softly at her, warm brown eyes swirling with relief.

"You shouldn't worry about me..." 607 muttered, grunting in effort as she pushed herself up to a sitting position.

"But I do," Cassie interrupted before 607 could speak another word "Are you alright?"

607 quieted, allowing her breathing to even itself out and her joints to crack as she twisted around "I'll be fine." she murmured as Cassie placed a thin hand on top of hers. 607 tried not to stare at her mother's chest where her gown had fallen off to the side, no longer able to cling to a healthy frame as it could years ago. She could see every detail-from where her stitches had been a week earlier to the bruising that was fading slowly.

"I overheard them talking," Cassie whispered "Vision Enhancement is what it was. That's why you can see."

607 knew her mother was referring to her body, where so many births had caused it to give out.

"I'm sorry," 607 knew she had no reason to apologize, but no other words would willingly come to her "I..." she trailed off in a lame attempt at a sentence.

Cassie smiled sadly, her hollow cheeks sinking in even further with the stressed action "It's alright, love. I know, and it's alright, we're alri-" she broke off into a fit of coughing and shaking, her body convulsing dangerously to the point where the support of her arms failed and she collapsed back onto the hard mattress.

607 let out a small scream pass by her chapped lips, but swallowed it quickly as blood began to pool around her mother's body, soaking into both of their clothes.

Alarms went off in 607's head. Find the source. Stop the bleeding. Hurry.

Her hands moved faster than usual, all sorts of exhaustion and pain extinguished, prying open clothing to locate the source of the bleeding. Her head throbbed from the fall earlier, and her ribs pulsed with a slowly-rising pain that rendered her nearly useless as her hands started to tremble above the body of her mother. The door burst open and hit the wall with a crash, the glass in the small window shattering upon impact, and men rushed in with machines 607 had never seen in her life.

"Move!" was the only word she heard as a man shoved her roughly to the side and onto the floor, taking her spot above her mother in seconds and wasting no time in slapping a large towel over her chest. Before 607 could watch the white of the towel turn crimson, she stood on shaky legs and wobbled from the room. Her feet pressed into the glass against the floor, slicing the bottoms and allowing blood to seep from the wounds and leave footprints in her path.

Lungs burning, 607's head whipped side to side as she looked for an exit, feet carrying her aimlessly through the halls. Out of breath, 607 leaned against a wall near the elevator that led to sections B, C, and D of The Ward. Stairs also adorned the hallway, an alternative to the doctors if they weren't carrying equipment. The drugs pulsed through her veins, encouraging her body to keep moving even though she knew she was tired. The ragged, bloodstained clothing stuck to her body tightly, causing her to shiver as a cool breeze hit her dead on. She stopped, blinked, and looked up, vision blurring at the sudden movement. Placing her hand against the wall for balance, 607 pushed off towards the stairs, where she was sure the breeze had come from.

The harsh light invaded 607's already blurred vision, blinding her temporarily as she stumbled to close the old exit behind her. It had been broken when 607 stumbled upon it, the hinges rusted and tape securing the walls over it. In a quick, rash decision, 607 had ripped the tape off blindly, sticking it from hair to skin, and rushed through the large, metal door. She had successfully managed to tear her clothing on the side, where rusted pieces of metal jutted out dangerously, right before she stumbled into the light that had blinded her.

Terrified, 607 peeked open her eyes to observe her surroundings. She'd been built a weapon, and she'd be damned if she was going down to a change in scenery. But then again, she'd never been anywhere besides the Ward, and the new smells invading her body seemed to excite whatever was pumping through her veins. Her shoulder blades ached and twitched with a disturbing longing as she stared at the sky, the swirl of colors mixing together with such beauty, 607 swore she'd go blind from the sight.

There were colors she'd never seen before, and white puffy things that floated carelessly across a bright ball of blazing light that lit up the sky, which darkened slowly.

The stinging of her feet brought 607 back from her daze, blood mixing with a strange brown, powdery substance and small, sharp pieces that were on top of the brown powder. Her feet stung as she maneuvered her way to the front of the building, whatever was underneath her crunching as she went. The front of the building was almost as disturbing as the back. Disguised to look like a regular office building, the sidewalk in front was decorated with flowers and small trees, a sign that 607 couldn't read stuck in the ground in the front lawn. A large walkway led to the sidewalk, which was across from a small park adorned with trees and a large gazebo.

Go. To the trees. Hide until dark. She told herself, sprinting across the street as fast as she could. Humans stopped their cars, slamming them to abrupt halts and slamming on the horns. The blaring noise made 607 stumble, lose her footing, and crash into the grass at the other side. She sucked in a breath and stood almost as fast as she had fallen, wobbling towards the nearest tree with leaves as cover. She stopped at the trunk, looked up, and jumped up to grip the nearest branch. Bark scraping at her hands, 607 pulled herself up fairly quickly and settled into the nook of a branch, back resting in the center so her shoulder blades were spaced equally on either part. She silently thanked her father for her small frame, which she was sure she didn't get from her mother.

A leaf floated down, brushing against 607's arm before she reached out to grab it, fingers brushing softly against the texture. Car engines rumbled in the distance, the shouts of people trying to catch a cab being drowned out as her head swam with the drugs, sights, and sounds. Her mother had mentioned this before, she recalled briefly, something like sensory overload. Closing her eyes and fighting back a wave of nausea, the girl tried desperately to block out the overwhelming things around her. She had to wait until it was dark, and 607 had to pinch her arm to simulate a needle in order to stay awake. No. She thought, eyelids drooping slowly as her pinching grew weaker.

607 must have dozed off, because when she came back to the land of the living, there was moonlight streaming through the leaves and onto her tattered body. Her eyes adjusted almost immediately to the darkness, every detail standing out as clear as if it were day. The possibility of night vision floated through her mind, but she shook it away quickly. They'd blinded and nearly killed the first night vision experiment, and she was one of the prizes they couldn't risk losing. Blinking, 607 shot down from the tree and onto the grass, body taking off towards the city in awe. Lights flickered in bright colors that blinded her briefly as she crept through the city, feet stinging with every step. Men lurked in the shadows of bars, eyes gleaming when the light caught them, but all 607 could focus on was finding a safe place. She was sure she'd find one eventually, her mother had said there's always a safe place for everyone. Home was what she had called it, but as far as 607 knew, her home was the Ward, and she'd left her home in search of something different. Her brother 611's home was heaven, Cassie had said, with her father. Cassie's home must have been heaven now, too.

607 peaked around a corner, where no light shined and large bins were stacked next to each other. Gravel stuck in her feet as she scurried towards one of the metal containers, making her pain filled hisses the only noise that seemed to exist in the alleyway. Checking around a bin, 607 decided it was as safe as she could get for the moment and settled down against it. Her back burned, but then again, so did everything as soon as she stopped moving. Taking deep, shaky breaths, 607 attempted to wash the brewing fear and anxiety away of the new sound of crunching gravel. Footsteps echoed off of the walls, followed by a deep, male voice.

"Yeah, I'm sure she ran down this way, boss."

"You'd better hope so," another voice grumbled in irritation as he approached 607's 'home' "Or I swear to god, Lui, I'm gonna kill ya."

607 stayed silent to listen, even though no more talking came. Curious, she shifted to her knees and lifted her head. They couldn't be looking for her, right? she thought with a shudder.

A face in front of her earned the silent alley an echoing screech of panic before a dirty hand was clamped over her mouth and she was dragged from her spot.

"Well now, seems Lui was right for once. We got ourselves a girl." a grin was forced into 607's vision, close enough for her to smell his breath.

"We never get cooperative ones, so be a good girl and stay quiet." he laughed, the sound rumbling in 607's chest as she tuned out to the world around her as she obeyed. His hands worked their way to his side after he'd finished, and a sharp pain erupted in 607's body, the fire spreading quickly. She'd almost wished she hadn't listened, wished that she had disobeyed for once in her life, as she watched the group laugh at her agony. She wasn't sure what had happened, but as soon as the group of males were there, they were gone into the night once more.

Dangerous. Danger.

Her consciousness screamed at her, screamed for her to get up and fight, though 607 wasn't sure it was worth it anymore. She'd left because of the stories her mother told her in the dead of night when she'd wake from a nightmare, because Cassie had promised her the outside world was beautiful. 607 agreed, the world was beautiful, but the humans weren't. She clenched her teeth tightly, hissing in pain as she moved. 607 grunted; she was created to survive, to be a weapon, and she'd be damned if this was where she died.

Blood pooled around her as she dragged herself to the end of the alley, hands skimming the ground for any sort of weapon when they hit the manhole. She fumbled with it, using the last of her adrenaline to pry it open and force herself down the hole, where she landed with a sickening thud on the ground below.