The Boy Whose Scream Pierced The Sky : Vol 1/Chap 9

"Test results number 986…. It's more marvelous than I could have ever expected."

A man said, his grin wider than a child's on Christmas Eve, his thick brown hair down to neck length shined in the blinding lights above, his glasses crooked and his posture slanted. He raised his clipboard filled with many papers in the air and tapped on it, signaling the others near him to come.

Men and women in white lab coats circled around to look at the spreadsheet the man was holding , it must've been at least a couple dozen of people.

"Alright folks, it seems this was another success!"

The people around started clapping and cheering in glee, as if they'd never received more exciting news in their lives.

"Dead skin cells, alive ones, and the components of a fingernail…. We had planned to combine these for bone replacement therapy, BUT!

The brown haired scientist started his speech, tapping his foot, anxious to say his next sentence but trying not to rush, he calmed himself. Delyla looked at the man with disgust as he continued talking.

"We have discovered so much more through, [𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖]…. We don't know what makes him the only one to survive the serum, but it had carved out a path for the next generation of scientist! No—

"Cut to the chase, Jason." Samantha said sternly, the whole room now silent, the atmosphere no longer cheerful but serious.

"Y-yes, of course…. In summary, the test subject has far surpassed our expectations. We started with a finger only expecting the bone to grow back and slowly it did but not only the bone, the skin grew back as well!"

Most of the employees in the lab stared in awe at the information they were receiving, while others had a stern look on their face as they wrote down notes while listening.

"From a finger we went to an arm and from an arm we went to a leg, we then proceeded with full decapitation…. A bit ballsy I admit, but it worked! Not only did the subject remain alive but the more injuries the creature received, the faster it would regenerate! Marvelous isn't it!

A twisted smile crept upon Jason's face, the more Jason talked the more Delyla became visibly upset, Samantha's face remained blank when hearing the news.

"Though… it seems it's not all positive as most of our equipment can no longer puncture the creatures skin, and the ones which can are sharpened beyond normal means and heated with lasers to ensure a clean incision.

Jason slowly started walking over to a silver stand positioned to the left side of the room, the light beaming off of it giving a clear reflection of the smiles on the people behind him. He reached for a remote and turned on what seemed to be a giant tv.

"As you can see on the diagram, when one part of the creature regenerates, it strengthens itself, muscles, nerves and all. This is only phase 1 of the process…. after this occurs, the body seems to recognize that it is uneven and replaces the weaker parts of the body with ones that are just as durable as the limb which had just regenerated, and since this also applies to the nerves the amount of pain the creature feels increases as well. No—

"S-sorry to interrupt sir, but may I ask a question?"

A female scientist had stepped foward, her voice almost trembling.

"Yes, you may."

Jason looked at the woman, intrigued on what questions she might have in store for him.

"You said that the test subjects body strengthens upon regeneration, correct?"

"Yes, that is correct…"

"If an already strengthened body was to strengthen itself again, wouldn't that be a multiplier rather than an a simple add on to its physique?"

"Yes…. That is also correct, let me give an example. You have two apples, any time you eat an apple not only does the apple you ate come back but both apples multiply in number and now you have 8 apples, the process seems to repeat itself endlessly…. What exactly are you getting at?

Jason asked the female employee, curious as to what her point could be.

"I-if that's the case then…. How strong is the physique of this creature c-currently?"

An interesting question that Jason never directly thought of, but one he knew the answer to.

"I can tell by the tone of your voice that there is some room for concern but do not worry as the test subject is fully under our control…. Now to answer your question, while I can't tell you the exact amount, upon numerous experiments, the estimate we've gotten is that the creatures body is about 𝟙𝟚𝟘𝟘 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕟 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕙𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟."

[CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!]

The abundance of snow crackled under our feet, the smell of damp bark filled the cold air….. we haven't talked much after the vandal incident, we simply kept marching forward looking for a way out of the woods while remaining unnoticed.

"j-st dr—m, it's j— a dr—." Dusk kept mumbling words I couldn't quite make out… his eyes darting back and forth like a pack wolf, scanning his surroundings.

I didn't mean to be harsh…. however he MUST get used to this environment, he'll die if not…. It's never an easy sight but it's a necessary one.

"H-hey, Helga"

Dusk called out to me, his voice trembling.

"Yeah?" I responded

"Was what I did a bad thing?"

He asked in a such a serious tone, for a moment I was unsure how to respond, his face was that of genuine curiosity.

"Dusk…no, Røkkr! Let me ask you a question instead, would you have rather let him kill us or do what you did?!"

"Huh?" He jolted backwards

"Would have rather him kill us or you kill him?"

"I-I'd rather kill him!"

I grabbed his face and look at him straight in the eyes

"Then don't even question if what you did was bad when it concerns your safety." I said to him

"Do you know why I call you røkkr? Because that is the name given to you for being Odins chosen! You are a warrior!"

His scared and frightened expression seemed to ease away.

"Røkkr, all I'm trying to say is, it's either them or us…. No matter who is trying to hurt you. Now repeat after me, it's either them or us."

"I-it's either them or us…

"STOP STUTTERING!" I yelled

"It's either them or us!" He yelled back to me

"Louder!"

"ITS EITHER THEM OR US!!!"

"That's the spirit!"

We payed no attention to our surroundings in that moment and kept chanting while still walking ahead, nearing the end of what seemed to be countless trees. We were finally almost there.