When 636 awoke, she was no longer in the lab. Her chains were back on and she had a massive headache. Despite her aching body, being back in her cell provided her with a strange comfort. Nothing bad happened in the cell. It was when you walk past the bars that the pain really started.

A low whistle echoed through the walls causing 636 to rise up in haste. She turned her head looking for the source. Her eyes met a pair of blue orbs through the bars of the cell next to hers. A boy with dyed blonde hair and a carefree smile walked over to the set of bars separating the two and sat down.

His hair was darker at the roots, the color matching his eyebrows and his eyes a light blue. When they caught the lights from the hallway 636 swore she could see hints of green in the center. The strange boy continued to return her stare as if he too was admiring her eyes.

636’s stare drifted away from his face and towards his hands, which were absent of any chains.

“Hi.” The boy's voice startled her but she quickly regained her composure.

“Where are your chains?” Everyone in the cells were supposed to have chains. It was an unspoken rule here.

The boy laughed, the sound causing a weird feeling in 636’s stomach. She pushed it off as an after effect from the tests earlier.

“I took them off.” The boy replied.

636’s face contorted in confusion. She decided to walk over to him and sat so they were face to face. Nothing but a few bars between them.

“You’re not allowed to do that.” Unlike the strange boy in front of her she kept her voice just below a whisper. “They’ll hurt you if they catch you.”

The boy smiled triumphantly. “I’ll hurt them if they get too close.” 636 highly doubted that. “I could take yours off if you want.”

“How?” She had tried in the past to remove the chains to make sleep easier but to no avail. You couldn’t just take them off.

The boy held up a piece of hay. “With this.” He smiled; he seemed to do that a lot.

636 shook her head. “I don’t want to get in trouble.” The boy shrugged at her response and threw the straw of hay behind him.

“I’m Seth.” The boy offered his hand through the bars. 636 stared at it hesitantly but took it. His hands were much warmer than hers. “I’m 636.” Seth made a strange face.

“That’s not your name. Your name can’t be a number.” 636 noticed they were still holding hands and quickly retreated hers, surprising Seth.

“That’s what everyone calls me.”

The boy blinked at her. “So you don’t have a name?” 636 shrugged in response. “Well I’ve got to call you something and I’m not calling you what these people call you. A number isn’t fitting for your name.” He rested his head on his palm, deep in thought.

The room was completely silent. A few moments later Seth shot up from the floor and snapped in an ‘ah-ha’ moment. “I got it.” He proclaimed. “Sunshine!” 636 stared at him.

A foreign feeling bubbled in her chest before she started laughing. She couldn’t remember the last time she laughed or if she ever had.

“That sounds stupid.” She could feel her face form a smile.

Seth sat down in failure. “It wasn’t that bad.” He turned his head away in shame. “Was it?” 636 felt she may have embarrassed him before he too started laughing. “Yeah I guess it was kind of a stupid name.”

“What made you come up with that?”

Seth turned to face her again. A big smile on his handsome face. “Your hair reminds me of the sun.” 636 looked down towards the end of her hair. The deep orange red in contrast to the white outfit.

“You’ve seen the sun?” 636 knew what the sun was but had never seen it for herself. She grew up here in the lab. There was never a need to go outside.

“You’re joking right?” Seth studied her face. “You’re not joking.” His smile died. “Have you been here your whole life?” 636 nodded. “How old are you?”

636 had to think about that one for a minute. She remembered seeing her files earlier before entering the lab. “I’m fourteen.”

Seth smirked like he just won a competition. “Ha I’m 15. That means I’m older than you and you know what they say. The older you are, the smarter you are.”

Her eyebrows creased in thought. “Who says that?”

“Jesus.” Seth said flatly.

636 didn’t get to reply because one of the scientists' voices rang through the halls. “Lights out!” He shouted.

Seth rose from the ground and headed towards his mat. 636 couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed and headed to her bed as well.

After laying there for a few minutes she heard the sound of something being dragged across the floor. She looked over to see Seth had brought his bed over to where their cells met. He motioned for her to come over.

636 looked over to the hall and found it empty. After a second of consideration she got up and dragged her mat over to Seth.

They slept like that the whole night. The girl who grew up in a lab and the boy from cell 13.