Edward awoke in a cold sweat, finding himself in a now familiar cell. Remembering his dream, the boy began to undo his shirt in a panic, inspecting at his stomach. But all he could see was a dark stain spreading under his ribs. The blow from the butt of the gun had clearly burst capillaries, forming a bruise of...to say the least, an unusual color. His skin itself, under the fluorescent light of the lamps, looked like fresh snow.

-They don't know what they're doing - Edward whispered angrily under his breath, - no one knows how long it will take for these vessels to splice. What if I'm like a diabetic? I could just ble-

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a human silhouette in his cell. Dozens of thoughts raced through his mind, filling him with fear. The boy shut his shirt and turned his back to the wall, trying to get as far away from that person as possible. But seeing who it was, the fear receded. In front of him sat a girl dressed like himself. She wore the same collar around her neck, and her skin was starting to look like ice in some places around her body.

-Who are you, and...What have they done to you? - He asked, looking at the girl sympathetically. He sincerely doubted that anything could be painless in this cursed place.

She had been brought here while the boy was still unconscious. Her head was splitting from both the alcohol and the unbearable pain she'd had to endure hours earlier. Her fingertips and ears stung as if from the cold, and the room felt suffocating.

-Probably the same thing that's happening to you. Look at you, pale as snow. And what's on your stomach? - She nodded, pointing to the dark bruise on Edward's body. He began to button his shirt quickly.

-I got hit this morning... Apparently, I wasn't supposed to wake up today," he said, remembering the surprised looks on the guards' faces. And then he saw that devilish smile again, imprinted forever in his memory. - And I regret more and more that I didn't meet their expectations ...

The boy shook his head. He couldn't give up so soon, not without even trying to do something.

-My name's Edward, - he held out his hand in greeting.

-Nevada, - the girl said, shaking his hand, - Tell me, Edward, how many of us are there? Why isn't anyone doing anything?

He sighed heavily and silently pointed to the collar with the threatening flashing light. Nevada didn't need to hear the explanation twice.

-I suggest you get some rest. After the surgery, your body will need time to recover... at least to a state where it can work without pain, - he laid down on the bed and closed his eyes, - I'm going to take a nap too, my stomach hurts.

Nevada sank down on the bed and closed her eyes, her brain sinking into blissful ignorance, not worrying about the near future or her condition. A deep and restorative sleep. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, because a few hours later she was taken back into surgery.

A loud beep. Edward jumped out of bed, nearly hitting his head on the bars. When he regained his senses, he realized that there was a row of other people gathering outside again. He was about to wake his cellmate, but when he found that she was gone, he slowly left the cell and walked back to the line, wondering about the girl's fate. She couldn't have been taken away right after the operation, could she?

He shook his head. No, Nevada would be fine...at least she's alive, that's for sure. Edward stood up and said hello to Eva, who was looking at him worriedly, remembering the morning's events. He was uneasy, too, but he had no way to influence the course of events if he were to be taken to that damned operating room again. The guard approached the man on his left, asking for his number and noting something. Edward took a deep breath.

-Number?

-c-0-4-3-4

-c0434...okay...

He scribbled something down on the clipboard and walked on. Boy exhaled a sigh of relief as he watched the employee's distancing back. For the first time in this place, he was lucky.

When the subjects were counted, there was another buzzer, quieter this time. The doors on one side of the room slid open with a metallic rumble. Edward turned to Eve in confusion, as if asking what it meant.

-Relax, this has nothing to do with the experiments. It's just a signal for lunch, - she clarified, smiling.

-Lunch? I thought they were going to give us meals in dry rations? Why would they waste money on us, or even feed us anything better than dried food?

The people moved towards the exit, talking amongst themselves. Edward hurried after them to keep up.

-There are quite a few subjects here, who need a steady diet, because the dry rations can't provide their bodies with enough nutritional resources. And if any of them die, the scientists will suffer because of it. For fear of punishment, they would do anything.

They spent the way to the cafeteria talking. Edward listened to the girl's explanations, occasionally answering something. Apparently, the employees of this lab were pawns of someone higher up. Everyone was trying to please someone above them, ignoring the "lower-class" people. Egoism and deference to rank flourished.

The room was enormous: dozens of tables stretched from wall to wall, providing enough space for all the test subjects. Large fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, illuminating the dining room with bright glow. People went to the window, where they entered a number on an electronic screen, got their food in a plastic container, and went to their tables, discussing the same topics for the hundredth time. Edward walked over to the checkout window, repeating his number in his head. A squeak of electronic buttons and the sound of mechanisms in the wall - a personalized portion of food in a plastic container appeared in front of him. The boy stepped aside, waiting for Eve, and then they went to an empty seat, away from prying eyes.

Edward opened the container and saw finely chopped fish mixed with rice.

-What have you got? - he turned to Eve, watching as she opened her portion.

-A mixture of fruit. There's not much of it, of course, but I can fix that.

From behind her head, a vine slowly emerged and lowered itself into the bowl of fruits. After a few seconds, oranges began to gradually grow on the vine, quickly increasing in size. Eve plucked one of them and held it out to the boy

-Enjoy.

Edward thanked her, took the fruit from her hands, and began to eat. Surprisingly, he didn't feel hungry, even though he hadn't eaten anything in days. He didn't realize that he was going to be throwing up that very night. His body was rejecting the food. His stomach couldn't digest even a single ounce of it...

After lunch, it was time to rest. An hour of precious time during which the subjects were allowed to talk to each other, instead of being locked up. One thing that stood out a bit was the blond-haired guard talking to a little girl near the door to the corridor. Her roommate had been taken to the operating room, but for some reason this man was calming her down while the other members of the guard usually fended off annoying subjects with threats. Perhaps some of them still retained their humanity.

But Edward was more concerned about his cellmate's condition than his own. Nevada was not in the dining room, nor was she now visible in the hallway. Anxiety slowly overtook him, and before his eyes he saw again that man slowly dying on the operating table while the scientists just stared at him...

-Eva... - the boy's voice shook a little -you go on without me, I'd better go to my cell.

-Are you sure? - She looked at Edward in surprise, - You won't get a chance to go on break until the next day.

The boy nodded silently and headed toward his cell, while Eve gave him a puzzled look.

Nevada was laying unconscious in bed. Her right arm was tightly bandaged, but there was a small stain of light blue fluid on the bandages. Edward wanted to adjust the bandages, but the mere touch made him yank his hand away - the girl's skin felt like ice.....

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The next day they gathered outside the cell, going to the dining room again. Unlike Edward, Nevada was very hungry, so when he offered to give her an additional portion, she agreed. She couldn't swallow a single bite, though, because Edward's warm food felt scalding hot to her. The fact that Nevada's portion was just a cooled nutritious mix didn't help either. Sure, it delivered the right amount of vitamins, but it was hard to call it food.

Time passed. Edward began to forget the unbearable pain he had experienced during the last injection. But Nevada went through hell almost every day, returning each time with new injection marks on her arms. When Edward touched her skin, he felt as if his fingers were burning with frost. His blood was probably reacting negatively to the low temperatures. Eve tried to help her as best she could, but the plants couldn't take the pain away for long, only dull it.

After another meal, several test subjects were sitting at the end of the hallway right on the floor, talking about something. A little girl was twirling a toy in the air with just a glance, occasionally speaking to the adults.

-...I wish I could see my mom and dad again - the girl dropped the toy into her palms and sobbed. Her neighbor stroked the child's head gently.

-Hannah, don't worry, everything will be all right. Sooner or later we will get out of here - The six-handed man gently took the toy from her arms and began to move its legs as if it were dancing, trying to cheer up the girl.

-I wonder how my mother is doing... -Nevada stared reflectively at the ceiling, sitting nearby. Her father had disappeared shortly after she was born, so she hadn't had a chance to meet him. According to her mother's stories, he was a good man, but one day it was as if he had... vanished. The police couldn't find him, and if he was outside the city walls for some reason, there was no one left to look for.

Edward and Eve were standing a little farther away, leaning against the wall. They were talking about something, while listening to the group.

-So you have another injection tomorrow?

The girl nodded her head silently. The boy sighed heavily, looking at her again.

-It's so strange, they don't say anything, then they warn you in advance... And these long breaks between experiments? Pretty unusual methods...

-Well, in theory I shouldn't know about it- Eve giggled and pointed at the ceiling. A thin branch of a plant could be seen in the vent. - It's risky, of course, because I'm the only one who can create something like this, so if they're spotted, it'll be easy to figure out who broke the rules.

A blond-haired guard came up to them, whistling to himself.

-Please return to your cells, break will be over in five minutes. You'd better hurry up, or... my more rude coworkers will throw you back to cells.

He turned and walked the other way. In the distance, a couple of guards could be seen dispersing the test subjects to their cages.

-Thank you, - Edward said to the guard, as he walked away, and the man responded with a nod of his head, not turning around.

-He's one of the few guards who doesn't treat us like animals. I often see him trying to help others, even though it's forbidden to interact with them without orders. But he does... He helps the weak to get up off the floor, warns others, which is what just happened now. Sometimes I've even seen him share his rations,- Eve said on the way to the cell.

A few hours later, already falling asleep, Edward heard Nevada's voice from the other side of the room.

- Do you think we can really get out of here?

-I don't know... - he took a deep breath and rolled over onto his back, - to escape, you have to survive until the right moment.

-I don't want to go for another injection... -the girl shrank back into the bed, tucking her knees under her.

-It'll be okay, don't worry. It's unlikely they'll continue to operate this often. - The boy turned sideways, facing Nevada. - I advise you not to think about it overnight, you might need the energy again tomorrow.

Hours later, the door to the cell opened quietly. Two guards stepped inside, one of whom shoved the guy in the side with the butt of his gun.

-Don't make a fuss, or you'll get kicked in the gut again. Get out of bed and put your hands out in front of you.

Edward swallowed the lump in his throat and stood up from the bunk, his arms out in front of him, handcuffs snapping immediately around his wrists.

-Forward.

He was led out of the cell, the cold muzzle of a gun nudging him in the back. Only Nevada, huddled against the wall, watched the men leave with a frightened look.

The bright light cut into his eyes, illuminating every corner of the operating room. Edward didn't try to break free as they went in or as they were fixing his limbs - it would make no difference. As the scientists walked around the room and set up the necessary equipment, attaching various cold sensors to the guy's body, he tried to prepare himself for the next transfusion. He thought that perhaps this substance was filtered too quickly by the body, which was why each time was so painful.

He was wrong.

The door to the operating room opened and Alex appeared at the entrance. The scientist grinned and walked over to the table, looking into Edward's eyes before looking at his colleagues.

-Gentlemen, please leave the lab. I can handle this on my own.

-B-but - one of the scientists anxiously began to speak - we don't know the possible effects on the body yet! We need to-

Muerte put his finger to his lips, which interrupted the scientist's speech.

-Don't worry, I'll collect the data myself. Dismissed.

The men took off their gloves and left the operating room. Some of them let out a sigh of relief, as if glad they wouldn't have to put anyone else through more agony.

A smile spread across Alex's face. He slowly walked over to the IV and inserted the needle into the boy's vein, sending a new wave of pain through his body. But Edward didn't scream, he didn't try to break free. His gaze was fixed on the scientist.

-You know why we're doing this, don't you? - He turned his back to the boy, palms folded behind his back. - To restore the continent, to right someone else's wrongs... -What a load of bullshit!

The scientist slammed his hand down on the table, then turned to face Edward. In a whisper, he continued to speak.

-But you don't know what caused the cataclysm, do you? - He chuckled - or what happens to test subjects who don't come back from experiments?

He moved closer to the boy, looking down at him.

-You don't even know what's happening to you.

Edward's mind was incapable of thinking straight or processing the words the scientist was now saying. Suddenly, one of the instruments began to beep loudly. Hearing it, Muerte grabbed a syringe off the table and jabbed it into the guy's leg. The pain had receded a little, but it still gnawed at his nerves like an insatiable wolf.

-It'd be bad for you to leave so suddenly. I need you to be of some use first.

Alex stepped away from the table again, walking around the lab with measured steps.

-The superiors got tired of watching dozens of people die during operations, so they gave me the task of tracking you down. The body of a human and the power of a devil spawn... cambion. This combination allows you to experiment with a prototype death serum without worrying about the consequences. Your brother was a candidate too, but you were found faster. But don't you worry, - the scientist walked over to the boy and leaned down to grab Edward's neck in his metal hand - he'll end up here after you, too.

His heartbeat sped up, driving the poison further and further through his veins. The vessels ruptured in his eyes, flooding them with black color. The bands that restrained his arms tightened with the tension, as if they were squeezing his bones, tearing the nerves inside. Every moment of his movements caused unbearable pain, but hatred kept him awake. One of the bindings snapped, freeing his arm. Edward clutched tightly at the mechanical prosthetic restraining his neck.

-I'll kill you sooner, you-

A needle popped out of the prosthetic's wrist, easily entering his neck and injecting a sedative. The boy's vision blurred, and then his eyes closed, taking his mind into darkness. The scientist stepped away from him, rubbing his synthetic arm. Picking up the tools from the table, he smiled.

The experiment was going according to plan.

Sorrow. Stagnation. Countless phantoms whose bodies faintly illuminated the darkness around them. All of them were weeping: some howled as they were lying on the ground, while others only sobbed as they stood firmly on their feet. Edward walked in the middle of the silhouettes, looking at those tormented. Men, women, children... Their tears glimmered faintly before disappearing, crashing to the ground. The further he walked, the quieter it became. Turning around, Edward realized that almost all eyes were pointed in his direction.

-You shouldn't be here, - the wind howled over his head. Looking up, he saw... Eve. A faint green light emanated from her translucent silhouette.

A worried whisper passed through the rows of phantoms. Their sobs subsided completely. Their pain was replaced by curiosity and anxiety. Eve descended to the ground, standing in front of Edward.

-You must leave before it's too late. It's not your time yet.

-Leave? Time? What are you talking about? - He reached out a hand towards the girl, but it went right through her. The boy's breath froze. Eve, you...

-Yes. You need to wake up.

In the dim light of the bodies, he saw shadows one by one begin to emerge from the ground. They pierced the chests of the martyrs, bringing them long-awaited peace.

Soon the myriads of shadow tendrils floated upward, taking the phantom lights with them. Behind Eve, the vast sky stretched out, where the shadows intertwined to form a sphere. With each passing second, it grew darker, until the fields became an abyss, with Edward and Eve at the bottom of it. The boy tried to see anything around them, but it was all in vain. Then the girl pointed upward, into the sky. Through her palms he could see it.

The sun of darkness was shining down upon this starless wasteland.