"You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar"

"Hey, you awake?"

...

"Hello-o~"

Squishy's voice reverberated in my ear as I slowly gained consciousness. I didn't expect to fall asleep so easily. Must have been the remaining sedatives. Twisting my head, I faced his side of the room. And returned his quiet greeting with my own, making sure to make it extremely hard to pick up for the microphones implanted in the room.

"Mn. I'm awake." A bit sore though. These beds were not made for comfort.

"Eyes?" He questioned. My lids blinked open from under the blindfold and saw patches of light from the ceiling. They were getting better but weren't there yet. It'll take a little more time to completely heal but my sight was coming back nevertheless.

Licking my lips, I answered. "Getting there." Squishy breathed out a relieved sigh. This was one of our more serious injuries so it was understandable he'd be cautious. We've had broken bones, cuts, and bruises, but chemicals have never crossed our minds. We were clumsy children, however, how I'm more accident-prone than my twin with how excitable he is compared to my lazy self is a mystery. I was more accident-prone from just standing than if I were to just lay down in my bed, hence my reluctance to get out of it. There was a reason why I don't go out much near others without Squishy by my side.

Speaking of others. Might as well make the most of it.

"Hey Squishy, what's your range right now?" It would be important to know if he can find the different passages if we were to be separated. Navigation would play a key role in our survival depending on our situations.

He hummed in contemplation. "I think....about the length of the orphanage. Why?"

Heh. I still got it.

Always knew those yoga books would come in handy. They don't play when it comes to meditation.

My tutoring with his senses was coming along nicely. It'll only be a couple of months until he can catch up to my level. "Try to spread it out for now and tell me what you see with as many details as you can." With a hum in reply, he starts listing off the basic shape of the hallways as well as the rooms with the basic outlines for the beds and table identical to ours.

"It's just like those training rooms you see on television. You know. Like in those training thingies."

My brow quirked. "Training montages?" He hummed in agreement and continued. Unfortunately, he could only get about five floors so I explained to him the rest of the layout.

"Hey Bratishka, what are these things for?"

Clink

He clanked his wrist against the wireframe of the bed; metal on metal colliding and making a faint ring.

The clank of the heavy bracelet brings my attention back to the issue my mind previously tossed back before. These were probably tracking devices if the blink of green light were indicated anything. It's a pity I couldn't just rip these off, they seem to be under some sort of electronic lock. I'd probably need to hack into the source to gain access.

"Probably tracking bracelets." I shrugged my shoulders in an attempt to loosen up my stiff muscles. This bedding gave no mercy on my poor stature and I doubt they would change it if asked.

"Hmm." Squishy hummed in contemplation (he looked constipated but I wasn't about to just say that, I have tact) before asking. "How long were we here?"

That's right, I forgot about the time. Judging by my internal clock, I'd say that only a couple of hours had passed when I had first woken up so today would have been our birthday.

What a joke of a present.

"About a day. The drugs they fed us yesterday kicked in last night after all." At that, my twin looked sheepish. Probably regretting the candy he accepted.

I would never blame him though, he was a kid after all; sugar-addicted, adorable, and everything else on the checklist. "Hey, don't worry about it." Doubtful eyes flicked to mine. "Neither of us expected this to happen."

Hearing his head nod, I went back to my musings of escape. The vents would be ideal if it weren't for the looming fact that we were too short to climb up there. Maybe I could use my "presence" to sneak us out. Hopefully, Squishy would go unnoticed under my influence if I taught him how to copy me.

Maybe we could burn the place down while we're at it too, they're sick fucks either way so there's no use for—

Click-clack-click

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

"Twenty seconds."

Hearing the incoming footsteps, my brother nodded and relaxed in a sleepy countenance. Following him, I loosened my body into its natural drowsy state just in time before the creak of the door rang through the room.

Showtime

Judging by the clicking of heels, there was a woman as well as a man if the five o'clock shadow on the other person was anything to go by.

On cue, we "woke up" at the sound of the door closing. Slowly moving my arms as if to stretch, I acted confused at the sudden strain on my body. (My mind was aware of every binding that was placed on me.) My mouth let out puzzled grunts as if still under the effects of the drugs.

Don't want them to get suspicious after all.

(Although it wasn't that hard, my tongue still felt like cotton and my body ached like hell.)

The two walked closer to Squishy's bed until they were in front of him. It took a little control on my part not to twitch a muscle in agitation.

"Hello One, how are you?" The woman kindly asked, lips upturned in a practiced motion, her words dripping with honey.

Our bond pulsed in agreement; she couldn't fool us if she tried. We could hear her heart beating with annoyance despite her sickly sweet voice.

Giving him a slight mental push, I encouraged him to answer.

Remembering our talks, he dumbed himself down. "W-who awa you an' who One?". Widening her smile—which was pretty amazing once you think about how wide it was initially—she answered him.

"You can just call me Ms. Sokolova or just Miss. Now, do you know why you are here?" Seeing his headshake, she went on. "Well, I'll have you know that you and your brother have been selected to undergo a program for gifted children. You will be attending lessons and training to better yourself as a proud and useful member of society. It's also a family selection program for orphans just like you. As for who one is, well that's you. You'll get to have a name for when you join a family."

Play it up

Squishy did not disappoint.

He perked up, hands fiddling with each other in shyness, and spoke eagerly, ducking his head down. "Wealy Miss? A weal family for us? "

"Really, little one." Her sweet tone was completely different from the look on her face as she looked at him; her face bored and indifferent. "A family for both of you."

He raised his voice up an octave and said cutely. "Thank you, Miss! Always wanted family."

"Now now, let's not get too ahead of ourselves." She raised up her palm to stop him from talking. "As I said you will undergo training to be fit to stand with them as will your friends from the orphanage who were chosen to come as well. If you do not do well in your studies though, you will never have one interested in you. The same goes for your brother, so work hard."

If it weren't for the fact that I was his twin and shared a bond with him I would have been fooled. Despite exhibiting the pureness of any other hopeful three-year-old, Squishy let out feelings of revulsion every time he heard her speak to him. However, lifting up his lips into an angelic smile, he gratefully agreed to her terms.

"Un!"

I feel so proud (although I'm a bit annoyed that they forgot about me.)