Part 2- Allysa’s perspective:

I woke up from another bad dream last night. I was tossing and turning in my metal cage and making a huge mess with my water bowl. I hear one of my friends- Darius, insanely rocking against the bars from insomnia.

“Allysa, are you ok?” Kates voice said coming from her cage next to mine. Ok??! Am I ok!? No, I’m a prisoner, a test subject, just like my other 5 friends. I don’t answer Kate, and she falls back asleep. I can just make out her floating body as she stills. I envy her. She has the power of levitation and is able to control her dreams! Meanwhile I get immortality. I don’t want to live forever, it is the worst thing to never age and to be stuck on earth til it stops spinning! But slowly, my nightmare pulls me in again, and I relive everything that got me here.

I remember the day I was cloned. There are hundreds of other me’s and I know I’m not special, just another clone for the Chinese military. They decided instead of drafting humans, designing a new army would be more beneficial and “more humane.” In the midst of a war, I was cornered by doctors. They sliced my hand off and took my gun.

“Get her in the van” “Grab the needles!” “Don’t knot the chains!…” I was taken to an underground lab. I remember everyday surgeries to get me immortality, no food, trauma and no friends, until they brought in other children to alter. They told me I’ll never die, and their not even sure of my age but I look at lest 18. I am up against impossible odds and there is no way of escape.

I shake the same nightmare off and sleepily open my dark brown eyes. I’m stiff against the bars as three guards walk in carrying a limp child. The bluish lab lights burn as they turn on and spotlight our cages. I quickly look at my friends to make sure their alright. Kate is floating and stuttering in her sleep still, Ella’s puddle of tears have risen over night and and many wires are still connecting her to a machine. Roger is alert but trembling, watching with sharp blue eyes, and Darius is smiling like a maniac counting numbers with his brown fingers and rocking back and forth. There all here, so who is this child their holding?

“Experiments wake up!!” The guards tired but deep voice booms. Kate drops out of her levitation sleep and listens to the men. I can now see a little girl they carry.

“This here is a new subject! Dr. Burts own niece, Abby! She is here to be sold at the auction tomorrow. Since invisible boy Laibele escaped, Abby will take over the unfortunate position!” The guards cackled as they ripped off her clothes and stuck her in a white lab dress. She whimpered quietly in her sleep and was thrown into Laibeles old cage. They slammed the bars and left.

“Her own uncle betrayed her!” Ella the pushover gasped. We looked at Abby while she woke. She is really pretty, Alyssa thought. She had burgundy hair and green eyes with many freckles on her pale skin. The first thing she said when she woke was, “I’m sorry.”

The words meant a lot. She never wanted this for her or us. She didn’t have a rough past like the rest of us but she certainly had to be cared for.

“Don’t get comfortable,” Darius warned. “Auction is tomorrow.” Abby stiffened and Darius went back to twitching.

“How did you guys get here?” Abby asked us, wiping a tear. I sniffled and told her about myself, though it was hard to remember what really happened vs all my nightmares. The auction was tomorrow and soon all of us will part. We will never see each other again and now our friendship will come to an end.

To be continued…