“Morning Sunshine.” The same voice from her dreams woke her up every morning. And every morning, for a split second, a small moment, she was convinced it was real.

It had been almost a year since Seth’s unforeseen death. Almost a year of scientists prying into her mind. Trying to ‘fix’ her. Make her forget why she still fought them.

Sometimes she’d let them think they had made some progress, if only to put a hold on the torture, but nothing seemed to satisfy them.

Dr.Willow would show up less and less. 636 didn’t let it get to her. If he was too much of a coward to face her after what he let happen then so be it. She didn’t want to see him either.

Lately, she had been trying to call upon her unknown power but every time she tried, she’d end up withering in pain. It was like her body was fighting it. It was some kind of disease that needed to be eradicated. The one thing she needed, her body hated.

The scientists kept her in a straight jacket when she was in her cell. The only comfort being a bracelet of hay around her wrist. If she moved enough she could feel it scratch her skin. Serving as another reminder that Seth had been real.

The door to her cell swung open and two men with guns walked in. An unfamiliar face followed them into her cage. From the looks of it, the man was a new scientist. He had a scrappy brown beard that was growing gray hairs to match the ones on top of his head. The only indication that he was in at least his fifties. The man wore a smirk on his face in a way that made it seem that he acted a lot more confident than he actually was. But still… there was something wrong with the way he looked at her.

“Hello 636.” His voice was loud and irritating. 636 stopped paying attention to him until he told the guards to remove the straight jacket.

“Follow me, little weapon. We’re going on a walk.” 636 didn’t move from her spot so the end of a gun was pressed to her back. The guards here were a little trigger happy. In the past six months alone she had been shot five times. None were fatal and all had been healed quickly but the memory of a bullet grazing or passing through her skin made her follow the new scientist.

They entered into one of the old laboratories, the one 636 used to visit every week before everything changed. The strange man set up a piece of metal onto the table and told one of the guards to get Dr.Willow.

The man stared her down, eyeing her from head to toe. 636 did her best not to squirm under his uncomfortable gaze. His eyes stared right back, making her look away. Instead of looking at the man, she examined herself in the reflection of a clean mirror on the wall, a new installment to the room since the last time she was here. It had been a long time since she last saw her reflection in something. Mirrors weren’t a very common occurrence in her life.

She took in every detail about herself. The red unruly hair that hadn’t been brushed in a few days. Normally, Dr.Willow would brush it for her but she hadn’t seen him lately. Her blue eyes stared back at her and she was immediately reminded of a certain blue eyed boy. No matter what she tried, her mind always seemed to wander to him.

The sound of the door opening caught 636’s attention, she turned her head to see Dr.Willow enter the room with a team of scientists behind him.

“Well now that everyone’s here I think it’s about time that we get started. Don’t you think 636?” The strange man directed the question at her but she was unsure if she was supposed to answer or not.

“What is this about Harver? You weren’t scheduled to come until tomorrow.” Dr.Willow spoke so she didn’t have to. The man, Harver, dismissed him with a wave.

“I came early. I wouldn’t want to miss an opportunity to see our first success in action.” Harver turned to 636. “Now why don’t you demonstrate some of your power for us.” He pointed to the piece of metal on the table. “Make it implode or rip it to shreds. I don't actually care but I want you to destroy it.”

“Harver you read her file. I don’t think-” Harver silenced Dr.Willow with the raise of his hand.

636 looked at the object she was being told to destroy and then at Harver and Dr.Willow. Who both gave her encouraging nods but for different reasons.

Lifting her hand, the call to power ran through her veins. A few moments later the orange and blue mist emerged and snaked around her hand. She thought about the power and aimed it at the object in front of her. Not even a second later, it was crushed.

636 had a few seconds of pride before her arm started hurting and her head started spinning. She sank down to her knees clutching her arm and biting her lip to keep from screaming.

“It’s just as I feared. Put her on the table and we'll start the operation.” Harver called out instructions to everyone in the room. A pair of gloved hands grabbed 636 but she was in too much pain to care. Before she knew it she was once again strapped to a table.

“We don’t have any painkillers, Harver. You know we have a shortage. You were supposed to come here tomorrow with them.” Dr.Willow seemed distraught by the procedure that was about to take place, which made 636’s nerves build up.

The table next to her held an assortment of gold colored metal-like materials. The exact same color as the substance that plagued her blood and was no doubt the source of her strange abilities.

“My mistake. It seems that I have forgotten them. But no worries. They wouldn’t have done much good. In fact they would have gotten in the way of the procedure. We’re going to take away the pain she feels when using her powers. If 636 can’t make it through this operation then oh well. The only explanation would be that she's too weak. What good is a weapon that feels pain anyway.” Harver smiled at her. “Let’s begin.”

A blade was used to cut both of her arms open. Vertical gashes held open by rods to prevent her from healing the damaged tissue. The crystallized version of the gold serum was professionally placed inside her arms. 636 tried to stop her screams, biting her own lip causing blood to seep out. She fought the screams until she couldn’t anymore. The pain was excruciating. Her whole body fought against the new additions to her forearms.

Her screams were muffled by a piece of white cloth. The doctors around her were unfazed by the cries and ignored the pain she was going through. Too focused on their task.

636 found herself looking for Dr.Willow but all she found was a smiling Harver.

Once they had finished with her arms, the scientists removed the rods and the wounds closed up. Marks from the thin rods and gold strips were still visible on her skin. They looked like an overly complicated design of scars. No matter how long she looked at it and willed it to heal, it never did.

636 did not have a lot of time before she was once again manhandled and strapped onto the table. This time lying on her stomach. The doctors performed the same operation on the middle of her spine. Blood soaked her clothes and arms. The pain returned and 636 screamed in agony. Eventually passing out due to the overwhelming pain.

When she awoke she was back in her cell. Her arms were covered in white bandages. No straight jacket. No straw bracelet. 636 frantically looked around for the small hay band but every time she brought her hands down to the concrete, she could hardly feel it.

Panic started to build up in her chest. That bracelet was all that 636 had left and she would not lose it.

“Looking for this?” 636 hadn’t heard Dr.Willow walk up to her cage, too preoccupied with looking for the bracelet in his hand.

“Give it to me.” She held out her bandaged arm expectantly. Dr.Willow didn’t seem to mind her bluntness or attitude and gave 636 the straw bracelet.

The doctor watched as she struggled to put it back on with keen interest. Once she did, 636 walked over to the corner of the room and sat down.

Dr.Willow cleared his throat. “I think it’s about time I tell you what this is all about. And to explain why you’re here and what we have been hoping to accomplish with you.”