10 Chapter 8: Three

Thirteen's eyelids were heavy and his breath came out labored. His head felt like it was being bashed like a drum and his ears were ringing. The balance and awareness he usually had was not there. He grunted when he felt a calloused hand run down his cheek.

"Shuu, it is not time yet." a mysterious voice spoke. "I will be waiting."

Thirteen slowly closed his eyes for some reason the calloused hand was very gentle, very warm, making him feel incredibly safe. Oddly enough Thirteen slept soundly after the encounter with the stranger.

~~~

Ten woke up in a flash, her senses were completely disoriented and the pain she received after jerking up was not slight. She couldn't remember what had happened, but for some reason she felt the number Thirteen hung in her mind, as if she had forgotten why that number was important. What had she been doing? The last thing she remembered was going to the lab for some research. Hmmm… what was she forgetting?

~~~

He clenched his fist as he sat next to Thirteen. He had a strong sense of desire, it was almost as if it was burning him alive. He was attracted to Thirteen, he was drawn in and never wanted to part. But right now was not the right time, he was unstable. His skill was hazardous and being around him was dangerous, even if his skill seemed nullified by being around Thirteen. Three sighed, he couldn't stand this longing that he didn't understand. Three brushed Thirteen's bangs from his forehead with a gentle touch, he then bent down so close that their noses touched, and within a second Three's lips softly grazed Thirteen's lips before he slowly pulled away with great reluctance.

"Now is not the right time, but I will find you as soon as I can."

The feather touch of a kiss was only making it harder for him to control the fire within. He had to stop before there was no turning back. He quickly got up and left the room that he wasn't even supposed to be in. As soon as he left the room the camera monitoring the room started to record without static and the interference was happily resolved.

Thirteen woke up once more in a daze. He felt a slight hollowness when he woke up and the empty feeling inside was once again hard and cold without the warmth he had felt in his.. dream? The warm hands brushing his cheek was odd, it was almost dream like. The fact that he could relax with someone that close was impossible.

~~~

Thirteen growled animalistically at the group of people, in the middle was a man in a lab coat, he was guarded by the men in white. In the back, he could see a man in black, leisurely leaning against a wall as if he was forced to be there. Thirteen hated check ups. They always had to pin him down to give him his dose of narcotics as a stabilizer. The thing is, the drug, or rather the liquid form of the virus, didn't always go well for those who ingest it. Even though the drug didn't kill him, it had killed many others who couldn't survive the effects. In Thirteen's case, he was barely able to handle the injection. He was always on the border, in fact he was considered a semi failure because his body had such a hard time with receiving the virus even though he was alive. But compared to the ideal results of fully incorporating the virus into his genes, Thirteen was required to systematically inject the virus because it would always expelled from his body. Then again injecting the virus was both killing him and saving him, if he didn't he would surely die and if he did he could collapse from the pain.

Life and death, it wasn't his choice. No experiment 13 had survived except him, and even then he was living on the edge, pleading for that last push to take him.

Thirteen struggle fiercely against the restraints, looking like a caged animal as the needle got closer to his flesh. A pitiful dog like whimper was forced out as the needle penetrates his pale skin, gasping as he could feel his head being pumped with blood almost as if it was going to explode. He could feel the virus being released into his bloodstream and as the last of it entered he cried out in agony. It was as if his blood cells were on steroids, coursing through him viciously as if invading his entire being. Thirteen wasn't exactly know what he looked like at this moment, all he knew was that he wanted it to stop. Harshly gasping for breath as if he was suffocating, letting his nails sink into his skin because it was the easiest thing to grab onto, his eyes were shut so tight that tears seeped out. Thirteen wanted to die, but he knew that wasn't allowed to happen.

He should be used to it. He really should. The number of times he had to be injected couldn't be counted. Maybe that's why Thirteen wished he couldn't feel anything. His eyes hollowed out as the minutes passed by. For the man in the lab coat, he knew this was a normal occurrence for experiment 13Y, it was stated in his file. All that he needed to do now was to have the man in black ship 13Y back to his station.