Origins (3)

November 5, 2381

In a certain underground area, darkness filled the the space, groans could be heard from time to time, the pungent smell of urine, excrement and body odour ravaged in the air as the incessant squeaking of rats added to the dreary atmosphere.

Inside one of the cells located in the underground area was a tall man with black hair sat with his hands on his knees and a lowered head, his clothes tattered as his cell was littered with waste, dried blood and urine.

All of a sudden the door to the underground was opened as the light from the opposite side illuminated the area, two people wearing nose masks and surgical caps could be clearly seen as they attracted the various deadpan gazes of the people locked up including the man in black hair.

One of them remained behind as the other entered and walked in extremely quick footsteps towards the cell containing the man with the black hair seemingly in a hurry to be done with this and leave this filthy place

He eventually reached the cell in about two minutes after basically running as he removed a white card and swiped it on the surface of the cell door and spoke in a masculine orotund voice

"Subject 009, step out"

The man with black hair looked at him with his crimson eyes and nodded as he slowly stood up and approached the man in a surgical gown and cap as they made their way towards the entrance

The other person waiting looked at them and spoke in a low pitched feminine voice "go clean the subject and bring him to the waiting room...and Alexei"

She paused as she looked at him before she continued "make sure it's thorough"

After she spoke, she left as her presence wasn't needed anymore, the entrance required her voice and eye identification so she didn't need to enter the underground area, leaving the work for another.

The man in black hair was thoroughly cleaned and was given a change of clothes, as he now wore a blue patient gown. After they were done, Alexei ushered the man to a waiting room which looked extremely bland.

It wasn't exceptional and was simple with two doors, one for the entrance and the other leading to another room, with a few metal chairs arranged randomly.

Alexei pointed to a chair and spoke with his usual orotund voice "Sit there and wait"

The man with black hair and crimson eyes, with face full of rough beard nodded silently as he made his way to sit on the chair. Alexei however left him there and entered the door which led elsewhere.

After a few hours passed, with the man patiently waiting in silence with a drooped head the entrance door opened and a young woman with haggard silver hair and crimson eyes was ushered in followed by another person in surgical gown.

Immediately the man in black hair saw the woman, his eyes lit up in shock and happiness. The woman was also told to sit and wait by the other person who seemed to be a female as she too made way for the other door.

The man in black hair quickly spoke in a croaky but warm tone and a slight smile plastered on his beard filled face with tears pouring down "pumpkin"

This time the woman who didn't bother to even look at him when she entered raised her head with a shocked expression on her face, only one person called her that so she asked in a shaky tone

"...dad?...is that really you dad?"

The man's tears increased more accompanied by snort as he heard the voice of his daughter whom he hasn't seen in over twenty years

"yes pumpkin, it's me, your one and only papa" he said as he stood up and went to meet her

The woman looked at him in shock, confusion, delight and relief as she also stood up and rushed into his embrace, tears gushing out from her eyes as she let all her emotions out. The man was no better as he kept sobbing and hugging her tightly.

After a while, they stopped as the man and the woman stared at each other warmly before the man spoke

"I've waited so long for this day, you have been my only hope in here because I knew that woman won't kill you as you had my blood according to her"

He paused as he looked at her in a weird expression "what has she done to you?"

The woman looked at her father and shook her head before speaking "it's okay dad, mothe-that woman tried to make me forget about you but it didn't work and since I knew you were alive, I was content and kept my hopes up for this day and here we are"

The man nodded, that was what his wife would do but somehow his instincts kept telling him something was off but he brushed it aside, this has been the happiest he's been in twenty years and he won't waste this chance to reunite with his daughter.

They talked for a while, mostly about random things before they entered more sensitive topics

"I haven't been fine dad, they-they..." her quivering voice halted as more tears poured out

The man looked at her as his heart felt pain, extreme pain before he spoke

"No need to say anything, it's okay I know we will leave this place one day and that woman will face justice. If my faith made it possible for me to meet you, then I have faith that the police will find and rescue us. We just have to persevere"

The woman's eyes twitched a little when she heard that but she calmed herself and spoke again but this time in a hesitant tone

"Dad, you're right. I believe you. I also feel the same, it's just..."

The man noticed this and inquired "what's the problem?"

She looked at him again as she breathed deeply and spoke "dad, what about your father and mother? my grandparents"

This time the man had an ugly expression as he asked again "why this question all of a sudden?"

The woman fidgeted as she answered meekly "i-it's just, although I have faith that we will leave here, it's just...anything can happen so I just thought I should at least know more about my grandparents on the off chance that I don't make it"

The man relaxed his expression as he looked at his daughter, when he thought about it, she was right and besides, he had never mentioned his family to them so he decided to at least grant his daughter's request. After all, he didn't know when next he would see her.

He heaved a deep sigh and spoke in a sad tone "honestly, I left my family long ago, although we were filthy rich, they liked to be secluded and separate from the world. The only thing is, they had a certain elitist mentality that didn't fit with me so I ran away from home. They're an extremely toxic and terrible bunch"

He paused as he tried to compose himself before speaking again "they wanted me to marry my sister, your aunt and in their own twisted words to 'keep our blood pure"

The woman heard this and was shocked "what?! that's crazy, how could they ask you to do that?"

The man nodded "it's why I never mentioned them, they were too demanding, sinful and disgusting. It just didn't fit with me. Their only slight redeeming quality is that they take family seriously, still I felt stifled and uncomfortable there"

The woman sighed and spoke "but dad, you said your family was extremely rich but secluded, just how did they make their money then?"

This time the man shook his head and spoke "I don't know, but I heard my father say once that we were an old family that has been gathering a lot of wealth since, I don't know how true that was but I know that our family was extremely rich and self sustainable"

The woman was in a deep thought and asked again "so where are they? and why haven't they come to look for you, I mean you were famous around the globe, being the richest man alive"

When the man heard the question, he sighed again "I can't actually remember the location, which is weird and as for why they haven't come, I don't know as well. Maybe I was disowned or something. This is all I know"

As the man finished speaking, the room was quiet before the woman broke the silence "I guess I can understand why you don't speak much about them"

The man was about to speak again before the door to the other room opened as a young man stepped in, he had blonde hair with blue eyes and wore a yellow polka dot t-shirt and a black fitted jeans with his hands behind his back and a huge smile on his face

"Hello father" said the young man with a huge smile

The man however had a cold expression on his face "Shut your filthy mouth, you have no right to call me father, Mason"

Mason however smiled as he shrugged before speaking calmly "Okay, if that's what you want Cain. So tell me, I hope you enjoyed your reunion with lovely Selina over there"

Cain looked at this 'son' of his and only felt a burning rage but decided to bury it, he still had his daughter, he had to be strong for her as she has been strong for him. He breathed deeply before he spoke

"I know you and that evil mother of yours tried poisoning my pumpkin but luckily she's a million times stronger than that, we will never bend to you people. Your plans won't work"

This time however Mason's smile grew wider till the point he let out a slight chuckle "mom was right, you're still not completely over the edge and you're still as emotional as ever, considering all the tests and tortures you've been through it's quite impressive you've been able to keep your sanity"

He then turned and faced Selina who has been silent ever since he stepped in and Cain felt an ominous feeling in his heart rising

Mason continued "But what if, just what if that last hope of yours is extinguished"

Cain's heart kept beating faster as the ominous feeling grew in intensity, he turned to face his only daughter only to see her giving him an extremely eerie smile as Mason continued speaking

"You see, mom is really obsessed with you even though there are humans with powers. It's because your biological make up is quite something that even she, with all her qualifications can't grasp. She wasn't satisfied with just you, she needed more tests, more samples, so she hatched a simple plan"

He paused and looked at Cain with a funny smile as he pointed at Selina and continued "You see, I have been 're-educating' sweet Sely over here, at first she was tough and strong willed but after all my efforts, they bore fruit. At first it was torture but I realised it wasn't gonna work, so I gave her a special meal after starving her for a while"

"You see, it was a very delicious meal filled with protein that she gobbled up like crazy, I was so happy and fulfilled that I nearly shed tears"

At this point, the ominous feeling in Cain's heart had reached a tipping point, he didn't want to hear the next words but it still came anyway

"After years of eating different dishes with that succulent and proteinous meat, I decided it was time to show her something. So I took Selina to my lovely workshop, and well she realized she's been eating human meat of different varieties all along. Her best friend was the first one she ate. Hmm, that was when her mind completely broke, it was a lovely sight to behold"

"I then trained sweet Selina here and made her put all her blame on you through various and intense psychological suggestion techniques because let's be frank here, she is in this situation because she's your daughter. This went on for a while till she became my dog, and so I had her pry information from you for mother. About your mysterious family"

He stopped speaking and observed curiously as Cain was left rooted on the spot, but his heart still burned with a little hope, the hope that wanted to believe that his little pumpkin didn't abandon him as well but that didn't last as Selina burnt whatever remained with her next words

Her crazy and eerie smile still apparent, she looked at Cain and spoke in a mocking tone

"Really dad, you're a fool. I'm in this situation because of you, I've suffered and even ate the meat of babies because of you, because you allowed yourself to be used by mother, you can't even protect your only daughter and you have the guts to tell me that the police will rescue us, let me tell you dad, they don't care because they have been bought, they are all corrupt"

Her smile vanished as she spat on the floor before speaking "I'm actually disgusted to have a father like you, for someone so smart you're actually stupid, always putting your silly hopes in your false imaginations, honestly I hate you with every fibre of my being. Do you know how disgusted I was when I hugged your pathetic self, ugh, fuck you and go rot in a dump expecting to be rescued. You're a weak man who deserves everything he's getting and more"

Mason was silent as he folded his arms with a huge smile on his face, seemingly happy to see his beautiful work in action. Cain however, was like a statue, all the defences he had put in that last hope in his mind crumbled, the world lost colour in his eyes, his own daughter had just mocked and practically disowned him

Who could he trust he wondered, his family? his supposed wife and son? even his daughter? At this point he hated himself, he hated how stupid he was, he hated how pathetic he was, he hated how gullible he was, he hated himself for not being able to even protect his child, he hated his weakness, he hated his thinking, he hated his naivety.

Like the snap of a twig, something broke in him, his pain was so unbearable that his mind couldn't take it anymore, his head felt heavy, his heart felt empty, his eyes dimmed as his beliefs were broken

"ha..haha...hahaha...hahahaha" he knelt down and started laughing hysterically in a crazed manner, with bloody tears pouring down from his eyes continuously.

....

The scene ended there and became dark before starting all over again as the door of the underground area opened.