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The young girl stared down at the open notebook resting on her lap. Not much was on the page at the moment, just ‘43’ that she had written at the top. That was because it was the 43rd day since she had been given this notebook, and also the 43rd day since she’d been alive. Well, technically she had been alive much longer than that. Her keeper had told her that she was 13 years old. However, 43 days ago had been the first time she remembered anything and was aware that she was alive. To her, it was like she had been born on that day, since before then there was nothing.

The cover of the notebook read ‘Diary #4’. She didn’t know what happened to the first three diaries, or if she was even the one who wrote in them. Her keeper had instructed her to write the day's events in the diary under the belief that it would help her remember things. On occasion, she would also be given tasks that she was supposed to complete in it. Today, like every day, a video played on the TV in her room.

This time it was a video on how to draw, so she had been assigned the task to draw something in her notebook. She was having a tough time deciding on what to make her subject, not knowing what people would normally draw, and even if she did, the scope of the things she knew of was so small. Finally, she decided to simply draw her room from her current perspective. She started with the walls, outlining the room with identical dimensions.

Next, she did the ceiling and floor, making sure to include the exact number of tiles on both, even every scuff mark and bit of damage. Lastly, she did the things in the room: there was the door, the television mounted on the wall, and her bed, or as much as she could see from where she was sitting on it, all recreated perfectly. That was it. There was nothing else in her room besides that small selection.

When she was done, she held the drawing in front of her face and then compared it to the real thing. They were identical, as if someone had taken a photograph from her eyes and transferred it onto the notebook, but in black in white. Though everything in her room including the walls and door were black or white, so there wasn’t much difference at all.

Now that she had finished her task, she was back to not being sure what to do. There was nothing else in her room to occupy her time. She couldn’t watch the TV on her own. Someone from outside had to turn it on for her, and they picked what videos she watched. There was no clock in her room, so she had no indication of what time it was, or when her keeper would come to get her. There were also no windows so she had no natural light to go by. She turned back to the first page of her notebook, choosing to read through it again.

1: I woke up in bed today, but at the time I did not know what it or anything else was called. Since I didn’t know what to do I just laid there. I stared at the ceiling until a man opened the door and came in the room. He said to call him Keeper, and that he was in charge of me. He then told me my name was Mallea, that I was 13 years old, and that my brain had been ‘reset’. I did not know what a brain was or what reset meant until later. I still don’t think I know what it means.

He said that I did not have a family, that they had been killed by bad people. I think family means people who gave birth to you and you’re supposed to feel sad when you lose them, but I don’t remember my family so I don’t feel sad. Next, Keeper laid on the ground, just like I was lying on the bed, and he sat up and told me to do it too. He then stood up, and told me to do it too. He said that I should know how to talk, and told me to say my name. I did. I was surprised. I didn’t know I knew how to talk.

Then a person who wasn’t Keeper came into the room, he brought a chair and a bag of things, then left. He sat in the chair and had me sit back on the bed, then pulled out two whiteboards. He gave me a blank one, but on his was the alphabet. He went through every letter and then gave me a marker. He told me to write them but I didn’t know how. He erased the first letter with his hand, then took the marker and wrote it back. After that I could write them, all of them. Next he taught me what words are, and showed me how to spell my name. Then he went through the basics of grammar with me.

He then gave me a small book. He said it was a dictionary that would be full of all the words I would need, but said the ones I wouldn’t need weren’t in it. He had me read it until someone brought food in. They sat the tray down on the bed next to me, and gave a plate with a sandwich on it to Keeper. He took a bite, chewed, then swallowed, and told me that was how to eat.

I think I like food. My mouth seemed happy when the food was inside of it, and my stomach felt better afterwards too. I also felt more awake after eating, and before I knew it, all my food was gone. After that, Keeper took me outside of my room and into another door across the hall. He called it a bathroom, and taught me how to use everything in it, but he told me not to write about that part in my diary.

Next he took me to another room. There was a thing that looked like a human called a dummy in the middle. Sticking out of it was a weapon called a knife. Keeper pulled the knife out of the dummy and put it back in. He told me it was called stabbing. Then he told me to stab the dummy. I did, but it seemed I didn’t do it good enough. He told me to stab it harder, so I did. He told me to stab it as hard as I could, so I did. Again, he said. Again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again.

I lost count of how many times he said again. When he finally told me to stop I could barely feel my hands, but they hurt at the same time. He took me to another room, this one had a lot of people and machines in it. He had me lay on a table and put a metal hat with a tube around my head. Then I fell asleep for a bit, but when I woke up it was time for more food. I think food is my favorite thing so far.

After the food was gone, Keeper took me back to my room, and told me to finish the dictionary. He then gave me this diary and told me I had to always write what happened that day in it. Before he left he asked if I had any questions. I asked him where I was and why was I here. He said I was in a laboratory and that I was part of a special project. He said I was going to save the world.

Mallea read a few more entries after the first before there was finally a knock on the door. “Mallea, it’s Keeper, I’m coming in.” The door opened and Keeper stepped inside. “Come along now, Mallea,” he said as he held out his hand to her. Mallea got up from the bed and handed over her diary to him, not knowing that they were normally considered a private item. He then took her across the hall to the bathroom.

She was only allowed to use the bathroom at appointed times during the day, so she was told to try and relieve herself whether she felt the need to or not. Next, she was taken to the cafeteria. She had heard that all of the staff ate there, but none were ever occupying it when she was. Mallea ate the exact same meals every day, completely unaware of the concept of diversity and having different moods and tastes.

When she was finished, Keeper took her to the training room where they focused on honing her skills. Today she was practicing blending in and escaping. She was given a demonstration on how to change quickly by a woman, and watched a video about blending in and looking inconspicuous. Afterwards, they practiced the techniques she learned. Mallea always wondered why they ever had her do something more than once. No matter how many times she did it, she never got any better or worse, and could always do it from the beginning.

Next came Mallea’s favorite part of the day, except for when it was time for food. A few days ago she had been shown a video on the concepts and practical uses of stealth. Since then, once a day, she was taken to a new room filled with various objects. There were crates, furniture, a merchant stall, and many other miscellaneous items. None of these things went together, but they simulated what one would look for when they wanted to hide.

Mallea went and hid somewhere in the room as she did every day, then a door opened and a man stepped inside. She peeked around from her hiding spot to see who would be playing with her today. A lanky man stepped into the room. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and was covered in tattoos. Like everyone else over the past days, he was wearing a gag that prevented him from speaking. Keeper’s voice came over a loudspeaker. “Remember, all you have to do is find the girl. Do that, and we let you go free with your record wiped clean. Do not try to remove your gag or you will fail immediately.”

Mallea wasn’t sure what any of what Keeper said really meant. She just knew that she could get to have fun with someone for a change. Until now, the only person who ever interacted with her was Keeper. She saw some of the other staff often, but none of them ever spoke to her, even when she tried to talk to them directly. Now that someone was actively trying to seek her out, she wasn’t going to let it end so soon.

The man immediately began checking behind all of the objects around him, causing Mallea to chuckle silently to herself since she was nowhere near. Eventually, he did begin to head in her general direction, so she decided it was time to move. She skulked from place to place, making sure her movements were completely silent, and that when she moved, the man never even had a chance of looking at her.

She had also watched a video recently of various animals stalking their prey, so it was now ingrained in her to track and monitor this man on instinct. His location was always known to her, not that he was particularly trying to be discreet. Mallea continued to avoid the man for a while longer, until she got bored of this dance. She knew Keeper would want her to end this as quickly as possible, but it would be too much of a wasted opportunity.

Mallea wanted to see just how far her skills could take her. She strolled up right behind the man, and began to tail him, just mere inches from his back. She followed him all around the room, never leaving his side, and began to mimic his movements. She found this quite enjoyable since she never got to mess around like this. The man never became aware of her presence, no matter how bold she got with her actions.

Even though she was enjoying their time together, Mallea was starting to get hungry. She knew that the sooner she finished this, the sooner she would get to eat. After pulling something out of her pocket, Mallea leapt up past the man's head, and landed in front of him. She spun around, gave a salute, and said with a cheery smile, “Good job, Mister! You found me!”

The man did not look at her, and the light in his eyes began to fade. A single drop of blood fell off of the metal wire Mallea was holding in her hands. A ring of red formed around the man’s head, just above his ears. The top of his skull began to shift, sliding to the side, and then off completely, landing on the ground. The rest of his body swiftly followed suit, collapsing as Mallea stepped aside, then more blood began to gush out of the exposed cranium

“Oh, is this a brain?!,” Mallea wondered, looking at the bit of pink mush on the severed part. She bent down and began to poke it. “Oh wow, it’s so weird!” Soon, one of the doors opened and Keeper entered the room. Mallea ran over to him and asked, “Did I do good, Keeper?”

“Yes, you did, Mallea. I just wish you hadn’t fooled around so much,” Keeper scolded her sternly. “But that doesn’t matter now, come along, it’s time for your tests.” He led her to the usual room, helped her up on the table, and put the metal hat around her head. In a few seconds, Mallea drifted off to sleep.

“I’m afraid we’ve run into a small issue sir.” Mallea heard a strange voice as she woke up on the table. It was the first time she’d heard it, and didn’t want to make a scene since they’d most likely stop.

“Is it the storage space again?” Keeper asked the woman.

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” the woman confirmed. “She’s still filling her brain up faster than she can generate new space.”

Keeper slammed the desk. “Cosdammit… after all our efforts… We completely isolated her and disposed of every other test subject to minimize her exposure! Should we start over again? I know the world will be forced to suffer longer each time we do it, but we need to get it right.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea sir,” the woman hesitated. “Her replication rate came back today too… and it’s at 100%”

Keeper’s hand slipped from the desk he was leaning on, causing him to stumble for a moment. “Seriously, 100%?! That’s astounding. Our original estimates never predicted higher than 85%. That’s simply amazing, and you’re right. We can’t risk affecting that balance. Tell me, how much longer until she’s at capacity?”

The woman turned back to her computer and clicked around for a minute, then turned back to Keeper and said, “Given her average daily intake, it looks right about seven weeks.”

“That’s more time than I expected, hmm…” Keeper pondered. “I think I might have an idea on how we can use this to our advantage. We can’t keep her under for much longer, so I’ll work on this new plan and get back to everyone later.” Keeper then turned to face the room, prompting Mallea to go back to playing dead. Keeper saluted as he proclaimed, “We have made great strides people, keep up the good work. Remember, everything we do, we do for the good of the world.”

The rest of the scientists in the room saluted him in turn as Keeper walked back over to the table Mallea was laying on. Once her hat was removed, she pretended to wake up like normal, and went back to her room without saying anything.

◆◆◆

The next seven weeks passed similarly to the last. Eventually, they stopped bringing in new people each day for Mallea to play with, which made her sad; only coming to realize a few weeks later that she had been killing them, but it didn’t bother her too much. They also did not fill the time with more videos or practice as she expected. Now, after their morning sessions ended, she was brought back to her room, and given various things to occupy the time such as activity books that utilized the knowledge she already possessed. She was not required to complete any of them, but were merely available as an option to her.

When she asked why the sudden change, Keeper answered that they did not want to overwork her. She was thankful for this, since during the last week especially, she was finding it harder to focus, and her head had been feeling heavy as the day went on. Finally, on day 91, during her usual video session, she began to feel dizzy and confused. All of a sudden, her mind went completely blank, unable to process anything that was happening around her, and then she passed out.

She woke up four days later strapped to the usual table where she wore the metal hat. Keeper explained to her that during her episode, he had come in and injected her with a sleeping drug, and they had kept her under these past days to allow her brain time to heal. Mallea was still exhausted and starving, so after taking her to get some food, they let her rest in her room for the rest of the day.

The next day, Keeper took her to a brand new room. It solely consisted of a chair with a metal hat, like the one in the lab, and a television. He had her sit in the chair and placed the hat on her head. Next, he explained that he was going to show videos on a couple of bad people named Drazah. Lastly, he said that when she got dizzy like before, she was to hit the button on the chair.

After he left, the videos began to play. Every bit of it was all about the Drazah war: propaganda, documentaries, news reports, an endless stream of information on them. Eventually, Mallea reached her limit and hit the button. The screen immediately cut off, and she fell asleep a second later. Mallea woke back up in her room, then was given food and the rest of the day off.

This was repeated for the next few months. There was no more training, no more practice, only the Drazahs. She would watch videos on them until she was dizzy and stopped. New information was slowly introduced as well, including general habits of the Drazah family, and full dosier’s of the guards under their employ. As time went on, she began to feel more emotional. Whenever a member of the Drazah family was displayed on screen, her entire body burned hot. She started feeling antsy, which turned into irrational anger after a while. She wanted to hurt them, make them go away, make her stop feeling all these ugly emotions.

Finally, on day 187, it happened. Keeper came into the room with two bags and said, “We’re going on a trip today, Mallea.” She asked him where they were going, to which he replied, “To your destiny, Mallea. This is what you’ve been working towards. We’re going to go save the world.”

The sunlight was blinding as Mallea stepped outside for the first time in her life, that she could remember at least. They were at the base of a mountain. Apparently, this entire time she had been inside an underground bunker that was wedged into it. A man waiting by a van greeted them, “Welcome Ms. Mallea, it’s an honor to be escorting you today.” Mallea was shocked, it was the first time anyone but Keeper had ever spoken to her directly, and he was being so nice to her.

The man drove them to the train station, where they were greeted by another overly friendly man who had tickets waiting for them. This was all so unsettling to Mallea, and she tried to calm down during the train ride as she sat next to Keeper. A day later, they reached their stop, and Keeper took her to a restaurant next to the nearby bus station. He said she could order whatever she liked, but since she had eaten the same thing every day, she didn’t know most of the menu items and ordered what she knew. During the meal, Keeper said somberly, “I’m afraid after this meal, it will be where we part ways.”

Mallea started to feel a little unsettled. Without Keeper, she would feel completely lost and alone, but she knew there was no point in arguing with him if this was his decision. He then continued. “From here, you will get on a bus and head north to a town called Bisomote.” Mallea’s ears perked up, she knew that place well. “Yes, that is where the Drazah’s live. They have just returned from their most recent campaign, but will only be there for a short amount of time… I think you know what I’m going to say next Mallea… You are going to go kill the Drazahs.”

“Why me?” Mallea asked sheepishly. “Why did you pick me for this?”

“You’re special Mallea,” Keeper insisted. “No one else would be able to do this, many have tried. I know you want to do this too. You want that gnawing pain to go away, right? If you do this, I promise you’ll feel whole again. You won’t be restricted anymore either, you’ll be able to live the life you want to live. Remember those people who you met yesterday, how they adored you? They knew what you were going to do and believed in you, everyone who has worked on this project believes in you. I know you won’t let them down, and afterwards you’ll be a hero to the entire world. Only then will you finally be allowed to be happy.”

Happy… Mallea knew what the word meant, but was unsure if she ever had felt it herself. Keeper had never seemed happy either, nor anyone whom she had ever met. None of them really appeared sad persay, but she couldn’t consider them under the definition of happy that she knew. Was it because of the Drazahs? What would make me happy…? It was a question to which she didn’t have an answer.

After the meal was done, Keeper escorted her to the bus station. He handed her one of the bags and said, “Everything you’ll need is in here, including the weapons. I’m going to head back to the bunker after this. I’d go with you, but I’m afraid I’d be too recognizable. When your job is done, there will be a man waiting for you in the lobby of the town’s hotel.”

Mallea had been staring at the ground for the past few minutes, lost in thought. She took the bag and then looked up at Keeper, right in his eyes and asked, “Keeper… are we a family?”

Keeper knelt down next to her and put his hand on her head. “If that’s what you want Mallea, then when this is all over, we can be.”

“I think… that would make me happy,” Mallea said with a newfound determination. She hugged Keeper, which he seemed to find unexpected, then grabbed her bag and boarded the bus. A couple of hours later, she reached Bisomote right as the sun was starting to set. She headed off to the bus station bathroom, and hid all of the weapons on her body that had been in the bag, making sure none of them stood out. After stashing her bag somewhere no one would find it, she headed out to the streets and began walking north to the Drazah compound.

Not a single person looked her way. She’d mastered the art of blending in with a crowd and not looking suspicious. A few blocks away from the gate, she made a wide berth to the mountain on the west side, and climbed up it to get a view from above. For the next hour, Mallea watched the patrols. She recognized every one of the guards, and made sure that the information she had studied matched reality. There were a few very small discrepancies, but overall it had been quite accurate intel.

She was waiting for a certain guard, a known smoker, to begin having a coughing fit. This would mean he would need to go get a drink of water, leaving a very small opening for just a few seconds. It took longer than she expected, making her start to wonder if it was ever going to happen, but eventually, the moment came. Mallea didn’t hesitate, she bolted down the mountain, and when she was still quite a distance from the wall, she leapt.

Mallea soared across the dark sky, just barely clearing the wall. Once she got fully across, she grabbed onto the lip of the edge, bringing her to a complete stop as she dangled. She dropped down, and hid against the wall. The next big issue she had to deal with was the searchlights. There were quite a lot of them, but their movements were predictable. Mallea got on all fours and started to shimmy across the grass. Thanks to her small body and aptitude for stealth, she avoided all of them rather easily.

As she got closer to the mansion, she started to hear voices. It seemed the servants were all walking to the front gate, done with their work for the day. This was good. With the exception of a few guards and a single general servant, only the Drazahs would be left in the mansion itself. Once Mallea got to the side of the Mansion, she crept along the outside of it until she reached a specific window.

This window belonged to the room of the infant Drim Drazah. Keeper had instructed her to start with the children, since they would likely be the easiest. Even if Mallea failed to kill Eleen and Relyk, it was his belief that if their children died, it would cause a serious blow to their morale. Mallea peaked inside for just a moment, to make a mental map of the room. She caught just a glimpse of Drim resting in his crib, and committed his likeness to memory from the small bit that she saw.

Before now, she had never seen him. There were never any photos of him in the videos she was forced to watch, but there had been some of Phon. Mallea knew it would be too reckless for her to enter now, and a quick check told her that the window was locked. She’d definitely needed at least a solid minute to be able to sneak inside, so for now, she’d be patient. She hopped up on top of the windowsill, and perched herself along the thin edge. No one would be able to spot her in the darkness up there.

She leaned her ear against the wall and focused, now able to clearly hear everything inside. She could hear Drim breathing, and making the odd noise on occasion, but she was mostly listening for footsteps, which she could still hear a good amount of. Some time passed, and the door to Drim’s room finally opened. “My sweet boy, I’ve come to say goodnight,” Eleen Drazah said as she entered the room. Mallea recognized her voice, and her body started to feel hot again.

What happened next almost made Mallea lose her balance and fall off. There was an eruption of crying. Drim had begun wailing at the top of his lungs, which felt deafening, even through the wall. She could hear Eleen let out a big sigh. “I’m sorry… Did I wake you? Just once I wish you wouldn’t cry. Mommy loves you so much, and I would give anything to know you love me back.” A few more minutes passed, and the defeated Eleen eventually gave up and left the room.

Mallea tracked her footsteps as they went down the hall and up the stairs. Drim’s cries had started to taper off, and finally, all was quiet. Mallea slunk down off the windowsill and peered inside, making sure her assessment had been correct. She slipped a small blade, designed for glass cutting, between her fingers. After cutting away a small panel, she reached inside and undid the lock. She lifted it slowly, doing her best to make sure it wouldn’t make any noise.

Once inside, she slunk into a corner of the room. If she got too close to Drim and he noticed her, he could start crying, which would definitely make the entire operation more difficult. Mallea could easily take him out from here by throwing one of her knives, but she hesitated. The idea of killing the infant wasn’t what was stopping her, but it did feel off. Mallea just didn’t feel right about killing someone she knew absolutely nothing about. At the very least, she wanted to see him properly up close.

She waited in the corner for a while longer, until Drim’s breathing returned to what it was when she was first outside the window. Each step she took towards the crib made her heart beat faster, until she was hovering over it, and looking at the small pink demon. Drim was sound asleep, breathing softly. “You look so innocent…” Mallea whispered as she watched him. “But I won’t be fooled. If I let you live, you’ll turn out just like them. You’ll make it so people can’t be happy.”

Mallea pulled out a dagger and moved the blade to just over Drim’s throat. She closed her eyes, since she just couldn’t bring herself to watch. That was when she felt a small amount of pressure on the tip, then heard a sudden giggle beneath it. She opened her eyes again, and saw Drim holding onto the dagger with a big smile on his face. “Damn it… why did you have to wake up…”

She pulled the dagger away from his grasp, which made him pout. He then raised both hands out to her, and smiled again. “You… you’re happy… This is the first time I’ve seen it. How can you be happy? A minute ago you were crying like you were being tortured, but now it’s like you don’t have a single care. Aren’t you afraid of me? You don’t know me, and I’m trying to kill you. Can’t you see that?”

Drim made another grab at her dagger, and pouted again as she moved it out of the way. He seemed to have gotten fed up, and sat upright. Drim grabbed the edge of his crib, and after a lot of effort and failed attempts, managed to pull himself up on top of it. “What are you doing, tiny demon?!” Mallea yelled in a hushed volume. She grabbed one of the pillows from his crib and placed it on the ground beneath him moments before he plopped down onto it. Ahh, now I’m helping the little monster! What’s wrong with me?!

Drim started slowly crawling across the room to his pile of toys in the corner. Mallea walked over and crouched down behind him, genuinely curious as to what he was doing. Eventually, he turned back around, gripping a small plush sword. He didn’t seem quite strong enough to lift it fully, but pushed it into Mallea’s foot. “I see… so you thought my dagger was a toy and wanted to play.” Mallea lifted up the toy and poked him gently in the face with it. “Bonk.” Drim giggled again, causing conflicting emotions to stir in Mallea’s heart.

Mallea’s mind seemed to go blank for a while, but in a different manner from when she overloaded on information. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the door to Drim’s room slowly crept open. Until now, she had been so out of it that she didn’t notice the footsteps approaching, and didn’t hear the door knob turn. Only when the small girl spoke aloud as she entered the room, did Mallea snap back to reality. “Drim, I’ve come to play!”

Mallea grabbed a knife from her sleeve instinctually, and was trying to throw it, but something was blocking her movements. That’s when she noticed that Drim was sitting on her lap, holding a book. She remembered now, she had been reading to him. Her head quickly turned to the girl, whom she now recognized as Phon Drazah. Mallea noticed immediately there was no air of innocence to her like Drim, and she would have absolutely no reservations about killing her. “Guards!” Phon screamed.

Mallea could hear several heavy footsteps thundering towards the room. She panicked, and thought about fleeing, but Drim was making that rather difficult. A guard entered, and immediately pointed a gun at her. He fired, and she could dodge it easily, but something wouldn’t let her. She couldn’t leave it to chance that it would hit Drim instead. It fought against all the programming that had been drilled into her, how the Drazah’s were evil and needed to die, but she covered Drim, and protected him with her own body.

She felt a slight prick in her back, and then began to feel a bit drowsy. A dart had punctured her just below her shoulder blades, and she collapsed onto the floor.

◆◆◆

Mallea found her face dripping wet as she was rudely awoken by a bucket full of cold water. As she was waiting for the water to clear from her eyes, she immediately noted her arms were restrained. It wasn’t just usual handcuffs either. Her limbs were fully bound together by an extreme restraint that ran the length of her arms. This was worn only by the most dangerous criminals. One of the people she had the pleasure of ‘playing’ with was burdened by one as well.

It seemed she was taking too long for her captors, and her hair was grabbed by its roots. Her head was pulled up, and she was forced to look at the people in the room. There was quite the audience, at least 20 people around her. At the center of them, sitting in an elegant chair, was Eleen Drazah, with Relyk standing by her side. All of her weapons were laid out at Eleen’s feet.

She bent over to pick one up, tested its sharpness with her finger, then looked at Mallea and spoke. “This is quite the selection of dangerous tools you were hiding on your body. I’m amazed you were able to conceal all of them on your small frame. You’re really quite talented. Children really shouldn’t be playing with such things, however... Tell me, what is your name?”

Mallea glared at Eleen, her body starting to burn up just at the sight of her. The desire to break out of her restraints and kill Eleen was overwhelming, even knowing she’d never make it out alive with all these guards around. She had already completely undone her restraints, just leaving them on to make it appear she was still bound in place. There was nothing stopping her. She could certainly at least slash Eleen’s throat, and possibly Relyk’s as well before anyone noticed. Before she could act on it, Drim’s smiling face flashed through her mind once more.

If she went through with this, and killed his parents, she’d never be able to see it again. Something inside her really wanted to go back to him. For now, she did her best to dampen her feelings and remain calm. “Mallea…” she just barely managed to say.

Eleen stood up from her chair and walked over to Mallea. She grabbed her by the bottom of her chin, forcing Mallea to look at her. With her other hand, she lightly grazed the blade across Mallea’s face, tracing around it slowly. “You seem to hate me Mallea. That’s nothing unusual, but I can see it. You want to kill me, don’t you? You know it would mean your death, but you can’t help it,can you? There’s an anger inside of you that you just can’t seem to quell. I’ve seen it before… So Mallea, did this man send you?”

Eleen pulled a photograph out of her front uniform pocket and held it in front of Mallea’s face. Her eyes grew wide when she saw the man and couldn’t help herself from muttering, “Keeper…”

“So he’s going by Keeper now,” Eleen smirked. “Let me tell you something, Mallea. That man has been a pain in my side for years. Did you think you were the first? Oh no. You’re the latest in a long line of assassins, but you’re the first to ever make it this far. To think he’d have the audacity to make you try to kill my children… That’s to be expected I suppose. You see, I’ve had his daughter as my prisoner for the past several years.”

“He never told you about her, did he?” Eleen chuckled. “No, of course he didn’t. That was all part of his little ruse, wasn’t it? Treating you like a daughter, making you want nothing more than to be like a real family. Oh you poor girl, you’ve been played. You were nothing more to him than a puppet, a tool to be used for revenge. And when he was done with you, he’d toss you aside, just like the rest of his failures.”

The blade suddenly slipped from Eleen’s hand, and clunked on the floor. “Oopsie,” she said, with a hint of sarcasm. Eleen let go of Mallea’s face, and turned around. A flood of new thoughts and emotions was rushing through Mallea. There’s no way… he wouldn’t… why didn’t he tell me about his daughter… can I save her… do I want to… am I not good enough… what do I do?! As she walked away, Eleen ordered a few of her guards, “Send word to have this ‘Keeper’s’ daughter killed. If he’s going to threaten my family, I will act in turn.”

Mallea’s mind went into a frenzy. Even if Keeper had not been completely honest with her, he could not let his daughter be killed like this. Many sudden realizations started to burn in her mind. How poorly she had been treated, that she was essentially his prisoner, that she was tortured and forced to kill, and thought of as nothing more than his experiment. All these feelings that she had been repressing were eating her alive, but she still couldn’t help herself. It was all for Keeper, all to make him happy. Her feelings meant nothing compared to his, and she had to save his daughter for him.

In one swift motion, Mallea burst out of her bindings, grabbed the knife, leapt up onto Eleen’s back, and slashed at her throat. “Stop,” rang out from Eleen’s mouth when the blade was just a hair away from cutting her skin. Mallea’s body froze entirely. She didn’t understand it, but she couldn’t move. “Get down.” As ordered, Mallea climbed down from Eleen’s body. “Hand me the knife.” Obediently, Mallea handed it over to Eleen.

“There’s a good girl,” Eleen smiled for a moment. “You’re a dangerous one, aren’t you? He did well training you up. I’m guessing he tinkered around with your mind as well.” Eleen went and sat back down in her chair. “Oh, I lied about the daughter by the way, that was just to get you riled up, and to get the wheels turning as it were. He has no family, and no real attachments. Trust me, I’ve looked. I may have done many things people look down on, but he is right there alongside me. He may claim what he does is to save the world, but I can guarantee what he really wants power and control.”

“That man wants to build an army of loyal followers and powerful soldiers, just like you. He’s more like a cult leader if you ask me, but that’s not what’s important right now. What I really want to talk to you about is my son, Drim. Do you know how many people do not make Drim cry when he’s near them? I can count them on a single hand. So, imagine my surprise when someone who is supposed to kill him, not only didn’t make him cry, but tried to protect him as well. Explain.”

Eleen had demanded an answer in the same controlling tone that had made Mallea cease her attack. She couldn’t stop herself from talking. “I’m not completely sure… I think it’s because he was so happy. It’s something I’ve never known, and I couldn’t bring myself to take it away from him. I was starting to think that if I spent more time with him, I would be able to understand what would make me happy as well. When I was being shot at, something I can’t explain made me want to protect him, even if it meant going against Keeper, and giving up my own life.”

“That truly is a wonder…” Eleen proclaimed. “What if I told you I would spare your life, and let you keep seeing Drim, so that you can discover these feelings for yourself? In my opinion, there is no one better suited to protect and care for him than one whose sole purpose in life was to kill him but couldn’t.” Mallea couldn’t believe what she was hearing, trying to deduce if she was being tricked in some way. “You would become his primary caretaker, and for my daughter Phon as well. I would not force you to commit to it either. If you found your answers or did not like the working conditions, you would be allowed to quit at any time.”

“I know this must be shocking for you, and you may find it hard to understand my reasoning, but I’m at my wits end, you see. I want nothing more than for my son to be happy, and as a mother, it's the hardest thing for me to accept that I might not be able to give that to him myself. Bring Drim in,” Eleen raised her voice, and then the door to the room opened. Phon Drazah walked into the room, carrying Drim inside.

“What do you think of Miss Mallea, Phon?” Eleen asked her daughter.

“I think she’s a creepy intruder, and we can’t trust her,” Phon declared. “But it is true that Drim didn’t cry, and he seemed to enjoy being with her.” Phon clenched one of her fists as she said this, as if it pained her to do so.

Eleen stood up once more, and took Drim from Phon and held him in her arms. He immediately burst out into his deafening cry. Eleen walked around the room, holding Drim near every one of them. “You see, he will not stop crying, no matter who he’s near,” Eleen wallowed with a defeated exhaustion in her voice. “And then we get to you.” The moment Drim was near her, his crying dampened immensely, and he started reaching out to her.

“Go on, take him.” Eleen’s voice sounded surprisingly sweet now. Mallea picked him up and cradled him. Drim immediately wrapped his small arms around her neck and smiled. “He was worried about you, y’know. When you were knocked out he didn’t want to leave your side, and tried his best to shake you awake. I could be completely wrong about trusting you, but I would do anything for my son’s happiness.”

Mallea’s heart felt warm and calm. There was no trace of the rage or hatred that had plagued her before. Maybe this is what happiness is, she thought to herself. “There is one problem with all of this, your beloved Keeper. He will not stop. He will try over and over to kill us, to kill Drim. He will do anything to accomplish it, despicable things like he did to you, but to the next lab rat he can find. As long as that man is alive, Drim will never be safe. The next one of you will come along, and do what you couldn’t. Would you be able to stop them Mallea, knowing they work for him, that it is his wish to see Drim die?”

“I need your help Mallea,” Eleen confided in her. “I need to stop him, so that my child can be safe and happy. I will not ask you to kill him, I just need you to guide us. If you do that, I will give you your freedom. You could stay as Drim’s caretaker, or you could go and try to find your own happiness out there in the world.”

“I’ll do it,” Mallea pronounced without hesitation as she hugged Drim tight. There were many conflicting emotions and thoughts running through her head, but there were two things she knew for certain. She wanted to keep Drim safe, and she needed to confront Keeper and get answers. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d do once she saw him, but figured she’d decide in the moment.

“Very good.” A sinister grin stretched across Eleen’s face. “Phon, take Drim back to his room and then go to bed, mommy needs to talk shop.” Phon did as instructed: eagerly took Drim from Mallea, gave her a smug look, and left the room. “I would like to introduce you to someone, Mallea,” Eleen said as she walked near one of the guards in the room. “This is my head of security.”

Eleen took the blade she had taken from Mallea earlier, and stabbed him right in the heart. “You failed me more than anyone else ever has,” she screeched as she stared at the man in the eyes. She pulled the blade from his body, and blood began to pool out as he stumbled. Eleen threw the blade to Mallea’s feet and said, “Congratulations Mallea, you just killed the Drazahs.”

Mallea walked through the dark streets of Bisomote with bloody knife in hand. There was no one around to see her, so she didn’t feel the need to hide it. After going over the details with Eleen, she was allowed to leave the estate to meet up with her contact at the hotel. She was aware of the many people tailing her, but didn’t let it bother her since she was still so wrapped up in her own thoughts.

When she got to the hotel, she met a man who seemed astonished to see her. When he saw the knife, he began praising her like a hero, just as Keeper had foretold. Soon after, the man began escorting her back to the bunker. During the entire trip, Mallea didn’t say a single word. When they got to their destination, Keeper was waiting outside. He gave Mallea a big hug, and took her inside.

 

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