Facility

Several hours went by in complete silence until the truck came to a halt. Ryan sat up and rubbed his head. His head felt as if it was in a constant spin. He rubbed his eyes and looked at his surroundings noticing he was in a pitch-black box with a tad bit of light seeping through the cracks of the truck doors. 

Ryan slowly crawled up to the small bit of light trying to see if he could see outside. "Where am I" he whispered. He pressed his ear up against the door to hear chattering outside. Ryan sat up straight and took a deep breath. "HE-" he was suddenly cut off by the doors opening, causing him to fall out of the truck and onto the asphalt. 

Ryan was quickly picked up by the arm and turned around. The person who picked him up proceeds to put cuffs on his wrists and turns him around. They then push him forward, prompting Ryan to walk forward.

In front of them is a massive facility with huge metal walls surrounding it. Ryan slowed his pace to get a better look at his surroundings but was pushed forward by the butt end of a rifle. As they reached the entrance of the facility, Ryan started to notice a line of kids being directed to the same facility.

Ryan turned his gaze to the entrance of the facility. A massive metal door slowly opened and the kids were prompted to go inside. As they walked inside, they looked in amazement at the clean shiny white walls and flooring. The sound of their shoes echoed through the hallway as they inched further into the building.

After what felt like hours, they reached a massive room filled with cells, almost like a prison. Ryan was pushed into a cell and soon after another kid was placed in there with him. Ryan sat on one of the beds that were in the cell and looked at the floor. "What am I going to do." He said to himself. 

The kid who was placed in the cell with Ryan walked over to him and reached his hand out. "Hey, I'm Atlas what's your name?" the boy asks, a smile resting on his face. Ryan looked up at the smiling boy. he hesitated for a moment before sighing and giving in. "Ryan," he says in a low monotone voice. "Oh well it's nice to meet you Ryan" Atlas responds. 

"How can you be so happy in a situation like this?" Ryan asked with a confused expression. Atlas giggled and wiped a tear from his eye. "Well, my momma always told me to be positive in bad situations," he said. Ryan could tell he was putting on an act but he wasn't sure how he could do it so well.

Suddenly the cell doors opened and a loud beep came from the intercoms. "Lunch time." a voice spoke. Ryan and Atlas walked out of the cell and were led by a guard to the lunch room. They made their way to some seats and sat down. As they observed the lunch room, they heard screaming from the hallway.

Not long after a guard walked into the lunch room and tossed a kid onto the floor. "Sit down." the guard said aggressively. Ryan and Atlas both looked in shock at the way the guards were treating them. Right after a group of guards dispatched into the room and placed trays of food on the table for the kids. 

Ryan grabbed a tray and looked at the food. "What is this?" he asked. On the tray sat a bowl filled with a brown and green colored liquid with some chunks floating in it. Right next to it was an apple and milk carton. Ryan sniffed the liquid in the bowl and quickly came to regret it as he gagged profusely.

"Want my bowl?" Ryan lifted the bowl and reached it out towards Atlas. He quickly shook his head and pushed the bowl away. "Heh yeah I don't blame you," Ryan said with a followed up sigh. A loud noise quickly caught their attention as a guard wrestled a somewhat older-looking kid, around 12 years of age.

Ryan watched in disbelief as the guard tossed the kid onto the floor and kicked him. Ryan not taking another moment to think stood up with an angry look. Atlas quickly grabbed the back of his shirt and shook his head. "I'm not going to just let him bully us!" Ryan shouted and made Atlas release his grip.

As the guard kept kicking the kid, Ryan ran up behind them and latched onto the back of their vest. The guard turned and with ease, ripped Ryan off his back. He then grabbed Ryan by his throat and clicked his tongue. "Fucking brat," he said before choke slamming Ryan. As he made contact with the ground, the wind was wiped out of his body. 

"Help me..." He said faintly with his hand reaching out towards Atlas. Several hours go by and there hasn't been a word of Ryan's whereabouts since the fight with the guard. Atlas sat on his bed trying to keep his cool but it was almost impossible for a kid his age. Atlas began to hyperventilate, his vision becoming shaky. "What do I do" he thought to himself. All his life, there hasn't been a situation like this ever. 

In a dark room sat a human-sized glass tube filled with red liquid. A boy attached to wires hung inside the tube, his body completely limp. A light shined into the room as a door opened. A somewhat aged man walked into the room and observed the boy. "Ryan was it? you'll be the perfect candidate for this experiment," he said, a grin now forming on his face.

"Commence, The Widow Project."