The white walls surrounding 636 caused panic to rise in her chest. She was laying on a metal table in a place that had been engraved in her memory. The labs. The feeling that enveloped her was one she wished she could forget. The cold air felt thick and when she tried to move, everything felt heavy. She wasn’t strapped down but it felt like she was.

636 wished she didn’t recognize where she was.

The labs spelt like death. Her chest was heaving in rapid movements as she struggled to breath. This couldn’t be real. She escaped. She knew she had. It had felt too real to be a dream.

But somehow she had ended up in the labs once more. 636 was back at the place she had tried so desperately to leave. She was frozen, forced to watch the ceiling lights flicker.

Was any of it real?

“So you’re finally awake. It’s about time 636.” An angry voice spoke to her but she couldn’t see its source. She did, however, recognize it. It was a hard voice to forget.

Harver leaned over into her field of vision. He looked the same as he did the first day she met him. The same condescending smile and an ugly set of features to match.

“Or should I say Emryn,” he mocked. “That's what everyone is calling you now, isn’t it? Something about that doesn’t seem right. Why should you get a name? I mean, you’re not even human.” He got closer to her as he whispered into her ear. “Just look at what you did to poor Dr.Willow. I thought you two were close but I guess I was wrong.”

636’s chest felt heavier than before and she wanted so badly to just scream. To let everything out. Her throat was dry. It felt like something was constantly choking her. Refusing to let her feel an ounce of peace.

No. It’s not real. It’s not real.

“Why would you hurt people that care about you?” Harver continued to mock her. “Do you know what that makes you?” He had a familiar syringe in his hand and held it over her arm. Her arms that were no longer bandaged, the long scars running down her skin were on full display.

Stop.

“You recognize this, I’m sure.”

Stop.

Harver held her limp arm in his hand and stabbed the syringe into her. Piercing her skin, the needle made her feel like she was on fire. It was pure agony.

Stop.

His smirk caused 636’s stomach to drop. The lump in her throat grew larger as she tried once again to scream. The white overhead lights were flickering, making brief flashes of another room appear every so often. It was darker and hard to make out. Too distracted by the pain in her arm and throat, she didn’t see Harver come up to her until he was blocking her view of the lights. In his hands was the device he had used once before. It was the reason her eyes were different colors.

Stop.

“This won’t hurt.” His left brow twitched slightly.

Stop!

“Hold still.” His empty hand was now pressing down on her shoulder, already forming a bruise. He brought the device closer. Its ring of needles threatened to break the skin near her scalp.

“Stop!” she finally managed to scream and abruptly shot up into a seated position. When she looked around, Harver was gone and the lights were out. She was now in the large room she had only gotten glimpses of before. The cracks on the dusty walls were oddly familiar. 636 had seen them before.

The air had somehow gotten colder and there was a slight breeze. Grudgingly, 636 slid off the table and onto shaky legs. Her feet hit the concrete softly but her steps still managed to echo through the room. Looking around she couldn’t see anyone but she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched.

“636,” a distant voice called out to her. She knew that voice.

“Dr. Willow!” she cried out but turned to once again see no one there. Desperate, she screamed again. “Dr. Willow!”

“636.” A weight on her shoulder had her turning, only to come face to face with something she didn’t want to see.

Dr. Willow looked worse than when she left him. His skin was a gray color, covered in grime and dust. An iron pipe was impaling his bloody stomach. He reached out to her but she flinched back. She couldn’t stop the screams from leaking through her lips and she felt like she would throw up at any moment.

Not real, not real, not real.

“Why did you kill me?” The simple question had her covering her ears and backing away into a corner in the dark room.

Not real, not real, not real.

“Why? Why do you hurt everyone around you?”

Not real, not real, not real.

“It was your fault Seth died.” He walked closer and more blood started pouring from his stomach. “You promised him you’d be back soon but we both know that was a lie.” 636 didn’t even try to stop the tears from falling. “You let him die and to make matters worse you let him die alone. He waited for you and then he died before he could see you again. But I guess it’s a good thing he never saw what you truly are.” Dr. Willow picked her up off the floor and slammed her into the wall. 636 cried out again but she wouldn’t ask for help. “You’re a freak,” he whispered in her ear. “Just a weapon pretending to be human.”

“Please,” she begged but wasn’t sure what she was begging for.

“You’re the reason I’m dead 636.” Dr.Willow faced her again, his grip never wavering. Her shoulders would bruise soon.

“You kill everyone around you and sooner or later all those new friends you’ve made will realize what a liability you are and throw you out.”

“No!” she cried, voice cracking.

She closed her eyes tightly, unable to look at him anymore. It was her fault. All of it.

“Why 636?” he yelled and she finally snapped and pushed him off.

“Stop!” Her scream echoed through the room. 636 covered her face with her arms to block everything out. Like a curtain to hide behind. She didn’t dare check to see if he was gone. She collapsed onto the floor and continued to cry. This time Dr. Willow didn’t bother her. He wasn’t saying anything. 636 pulled her legs closer, hugging her knees to her chest. She heaved out cries for what felt like hours. A constant, continual pain resigning in her throat. As moments passed and thoughts cycled, she wished her pain was just physical.

“What’s wrong Sunshine?” a quiet, boyish voice asked her.

Her stomach knotted from both dread and excitement. She knew that voice. Hesitantly, 636 rose her head up to look at the boy whose voice she had never forgotten. The same voice that brought back so many memories.

“Seth,” she wept. The corners of his mouth raised when she finally looked at him. His smile was still brightening. How she missed that smile.

636 couldn’t contain herself as she jumped into his arms and cried even more. As her head rested on him, she looked over his shoulder and into her own reflection on a metal wall that wasn’t there before. She looked fourteen again. Small and hopeful. Her body’s frame was tiny in comparison to how she looked now. There were no muscles from years of training and her scars were nowhere in sight. Her eyes didn’t hold the same grief and were both back to their original blue color again. The worst parts of her were gone. Completely erased.

Reluctantly, she pushed back far enough so the two were a shoulder width apart. His piercing blue eyes watched her warily. He still had the two scars along the left side of his face. One running through his eyebrow and the other going down his jaw. She ran her fingers lightly over the marks, reminiscing about what he had done to gain those scars.

“You’re okay?” 636 croaked in disbelief.

Seth held his hands over hers and smiled again. “I’m okay.”

Her heart leaped, then faltered. “No you’re not,” she cried, shaking her head. “No. You died. I saw you die.” Tears returned and ran down the skin of her face.

“What are you talking about?” Seth questioned. “I’m right here.”

She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe so bad but part of her knew this wasn’t real. Seth was gone and she couldn’t do anything to change that.

“You died Seth. They took you away. They killed you and I couldn’t do anything,” she whispered. Each word even harder to say than the last. “I let you die,” she sobbed, breaking all over again.

His face contorted in confusion. He wasn’t grasping what she was telling him. “I’m right here,” he repeated.

636 pushed herself away, shaking her head. He wasn’t really here, she knew that.

Not real, not real, not real.

But she wished it was. She wanted so badly to have Seth back. To not be alone. To have someone who knew what she went through. Someone who knew her and someone who never viewed her as a monster.

Seth took a step forward and wiped the tears from her face. This time when he smiled it didn’t fully reach his eyes and was coated in sadness. He didn’t say anything as he pulled her closer and hugged her tight. Embraced in his arms, resting against his chest, she felt so warm. When growing up, the only times she had ever felt like she belonged, was during the few times Seth had hugged her.

Having him so close to her, she was reminded of a promise she had made years ago. “Seth,” she whispered. “I have something to tell you.”

He didn’t remove his hold on her. “What is it?”

“My name is-” Seth’s coughing cut her off. It was loud and hoarse. She could feel them echo through his chest. He was starting to heave and when she looked up she saw gold sallice drip down his chin, each cough sending more out.

“Seth,” she panicked. He roughly dropped down to his knees and she quickly knelt down to get eye level again. “Seth!” The golden liquid was starting to pour out of his eyes, ruining their vibrant blue color.

“Emryn!” Someone was calling out to her but she couldn’t see who. Seth’s body fell forward and she reached out to hold him up. She was crying again, and soon her cries turned into screams.

“Emryn!” A foreign warmth covered her shoulder but there wasn’t anything there. The only thing she could see was Seth’s limp form. Her screams got louder and she couldn’t tell if it was due to sadness or anger.

“Emryn!”

636 startled awake, sitting up on a white bed surrounded by medical supplies. Her throat was dry as if she hadn’t only been screaming in her dreams. The room was glowing blue and gold, and Malcolm was holding her shoulders tightly. He was the one who had been calling out to her.

“Emryn,” he said. “You need to calm down.” 636 then realized she was the one causing the room to glow. She was what was making everything feel heavy. Looking around again, she saw various items floating and cracks in the walls that had likely not been there previously. It was destruction she had accidentally caused in her sleep.

She released her ability and the medical supplies fell to the floor. Malcolm finally let go of her shoulders, looking more tense than usual. 636 casted her eyes down, away from his scrutinizing gaze. Blinking back tears she saw that her arms were no longer bandaged. Not only was her skin bare but the straw bracelet was missing. It was hard not to cry. To just scream and let everything out. The only thing that stopped her from doing just that was something standing out in the corner of her eye. 636 caught sight of the bracelet sitting on the medical table, looking just as out of place as she felt. The table was situated right next to her bed and she quickly grabbed the straw band and held it close to herself, afraid she’d lose it again.

Looking up at Malcolm, who moved to the corner of the room silently, 636 hugged her arms around her stomach to hide the marks. They were something she didn’t want anyone seeing. She watched Malcolm busy himself with putting vials and clipboards back in place, fixing the mess she had made. He seemed annoyed on the outside but judging by how fast his heart was beating, he was just trying to mask his fear.

“You’re lucky no one’s around,” he finally said and turned back towards her.

It was surprising to hear him speak without malice. Granted, he still seemed annoyed but annoyance was better than hatred. His eyes remained on her and she tried her hardest not to call attention to her bare arms. “Where am I?” 636 asked.

“You’re in the hospital inside Abrax. The doctor left a while ago once she saw that you were stable and I volunteered to keep an eye on you since I was already stuck here.”

“I’m in Abrax?” 636 asked and then racked her brain for a memory of going inside the base. The last thing she could recall was the fight just outside the city’s walls.

“Yes. You’ve been out for a while,” he said and then turned away to mess with one of the computers by her bed. 636 didn’t know what to say to him. Out of everyone that could have chosen to watch her, why him?

“That was quite the show you put on out there, too bad you passed out after.” Her face slightly heated from embarrassment. She really fainted. After mulling over the fact that she had passed out in front of everyone a new revelation came to mind.

Did Malcolm just tease her?

636 pinched her elbows that were still wrapped around her stomach. The doctor had removed her bandages but thankfully Malcolm hadn’t said anything about it.

“Malcolm?” she spoke timidly, not wanting to add onto his annoyance.

He hummed a response and 636 eyed his torso, which was wrapped in a black brace. All of his movements were stiff as he looked over his shoulder.

“Do you know where the bandages are?” Malcolm’s eyes drifted from her face and down to her arms pressed up against her core.

Without a word, he walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a roll of white bandages. He returned to her and lightly, as if not to startle her, touched her wrist and pulled her arm towards him. His eyebrows slightly furthered as he got a closer look at her scars. For some reason, 636 didn’t try to pull away. It probably wouldn’t do much anyway, he’d already seen them.

Malcolm was quiet as he wrapped her arms up and 636 was grateful. Once he finished, she hugged her stomach again.

“Do you feel light headed?”

“No,” she responded, a bit confused. “Do I look light headed?”

“You look like you just went head to head with a bunch of Wolf-Spiders.” He scrunched his nose. “Smell like it too.”

636 glared at him but he seemed unbothered. That was out of character.

“There’s a shower in the room next door once you feel up to it. I’m going back to bed. I alerted the doctor so she’ll be up here soon.” He walked over to the doorway, steps a little heavy. Before he could leave, 636 spoke up. “Thank you.” Malcolm turned around, confused. “You stayed with me when I was vulnerable.”

He nodded in understanding, turning back towards the exit he paused once more. “I should thank you too,” he said. “If it wasn’t for you, we’d all be dead, so thank you.”

636 smiled at him and he quickly looked away. “This doesn’t mean we’re friends,” he added.

“Of course not,” she said but still smiled. By talking with him, he had inadvertently distracted her from her nightmare. Even if he hadn’t done so on purpose, 636 was still grateful,

Malcolm nodded awkwardly and then left her alone to her thoughts. Once alone, 636 quickly grew bored. Having nothing else to do, she headed to the shower and did her best to block out the things that haunted her the most.

A boy, a doctor, and a broken promise.