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Sean groans as a knock sounds on his door, disturbing him from the peaceful sleep he had been having. The sun shines through the curtains and beams right into Sean’s face, forcing him to sit up to avoid the glaring beam. He spares a glance to the clock on his bedside table and lets out a groan - why was someone knocking on his door at 6:50 in the morning? Another knock sounds from downstairs and Sean huffs with the realization that this person was not going to be leaving anytime soon. He gets up from his incredibly warm and comfy bed and throws on some basic clothes in favour of the shorts he slept in, making his way downstairs. Once down and in front of the door, Sean stands in the hallway for a moment and regrets every life decision before taking in a breath and opening up the door.
On the other side stands Ryan, one of the new interns that had started in the last couple of months, working under the guidance of one of his friends, Robert. Poor bastard, Sean would tell him to turn and run if it wouldn’t kill him. “Good morning, Ryan. How can I help you at…seven in the morning?”
Sean hasn’t seen many of the new interns this year but he knew how they all were from his years of witnessing them. Skittish, nervous, bug eyed and staring. At least this one seemed like a good kid, steady on his feet and not cowering under Sean’s cold stare, instead meeting Sean’s eyes. He held himself strong from what Sean had seen and didn’t let himself get walked over like some of the other interns did. With following Robert, he knew the intern would soon be giving everyone hell. He was a good fit for the job, Sean wishes deeply that it meant a good thing, but he knew different. He knew the spark in Ryan’s eyes would be gone by the end of the year.
Ryan clears his throat, shifting in place. “Sorry for waking you so early, Professor Sean. Professor Robert sent me, he said he has a new rehabilitation project for you?” And with that, Sean’s week was ruined.
He hated dealing with rehabilitation tasks. When workers - mainly of the research team - were unable to continue due to whichever reason, a few select scientists and professors were tasked with preparing them to be integrated back into society with the reassurance that no sensitive data would be leaked, they were useless to the institute and a waste of money to keep around. They always took a couple days at the maximum, a few stern words and a pat on the back silently celebrating freedom. Sean hated them from how boring and uneventful most of them were. Surely he could be more valuable doing something else?
The research teams went through hell, Sean had been on one himself and wouldn’t wish it on his worst enemy. They would be dumped on one of the institute's islands with some disease or mutation to see how they would handle it, how bad it could get and how it affected their bodies and mind. Sean didn’t miss it for a single moment. It was gruelling work, having your body mutate and rot, just to go through the agony of recovery for MI’s research.
With a sigh, he nods. “Alright, thank you, Ryan. Tell him I am on my way and for the love of all that is mighty, please just call me Sean.” The intern nods with a sheepish apology and turns away, heading back to the building where Robert would be situated and Sean closes the door and heads upstairs to change into something more suitable.
Sean had been working at the Mustard Institute for just under nine years, having started like the rest as an anxious intern who was desperate for money and job security. The Institute had kept him on and placed him into one of their research teams once his internship was over, where he had met and befriended Robert. Over the months, they had faced all kinds of issues and problems together, spending endless nights awake to figure out a solution. Through that, they had become very close friends and now they were borderline inseparable.
After an injury to his leg that slowed him down, he had been integrated into the science part of MI, working his way up to being a professor, Robert joining him a few months later. Thankfully his work was pretty top secret, so he didn’t have to deal with interns, only training people who had been working there for many years already.
Robert wasn’t so lucky, but still only handled one intern at a time once every couple of years. He dealt mainly with injured workers and assigning those who had to undergo rehabilitation and Sean didn’t envy him one bit with the amount of shit Robert dealt with, dealing with people who had been experimented on, who’s emotions were all over the place, dealing with injuries that should have killed them, living through stuff that would make anyone feel nauseous.
He lived on-site, as did the majority of employees since it was too much of a risk to have them leave the premises for extended amounts of time without tight security. It wasn’t too awful, Sean supposes, after all they had many shops to visit in their free time and lots of space to wander. Not to mention they didn’t pay rent or any other bills and Sean wasn’t about to complain about that.
With a sigh, Sean slips his lab coat over his shoulders and attaches his name tag to the pocket, slipping his lanyard with his keycard over his neck. He closes his eyes for a moment and takes in a deep breath before making his way back downstairs and out of the door, towards the rehabilitation building.
The moment Sean opened the door to the area, he was met with Robert’s shit-eating grin. It took every will left in his body not to just turn around and walk straight back out, knowing he was about to deal with some nonsense that he was nowhere near awake enough for.
“Good morning! Boy, do I have the best task for you!” Robert is much too cheery for seven thirty in the morning, but little to no sleep does that to you, Sean guesses. Ryan is there too, so quiet that Sean almost doesn’t see him. When he does, he acknowledges Ryan with a small duck of his head in silent greeting, which he gets back in return, before turning his attention to Robert.
“Is it the type where it takes an hour and I can go back to sleep?” Robert rolls his eyes, picking up his clipboard from his desk and heading to the double doors where the patients going through the rehabilitation process resided, beckoning Ryan to follow, Sean doing so without instruction.
“Nope!” Robert hums. “Something told me you were getting tired of the recent few, so I decided to give you something new. A challenge.” The smirk stays on his face as Sean turns to walk towards the East wing, where the low level threats and easy rehouses resided until release. “Wrong. You aren’t down there today.”
Sean takes in a deep breath, shooting a hard glare to the back of Robert’s head as the other unlocks the doors to the West wing. The West wing was practically hell on earth. It housed the violent and dangerous employees, the further in you went, the worse they were. Most times, it was empty. Mustard Institute preferred to work those employees to death - or kill them themselves - then try and work them into society. Most of them had never seen life outside of MI, or hadn’t been outside the grounds in many years. The only time MI attempted to release them was when they were injured and could no longer work and that in itself was almost unheard of, MI deeming it impossible most of the time.
He follows Robert in and Ryan trails behind and for the first time Sean sees the intern appear anxious. They keep walking further in and Sean’s chest grows tighter with every step. The three current residents snarl within their cells’, banging at the thick heavy doors that are the only barrier between them and going on a murderous rampage.
“Robert.” Sean speaks up, his heart thundering in his throat. “What exactly do you have for me?” Finally, they stop at the final door at the end of the hall. It’s the thickest of the doors and made to keep back a specific group of people. But those people never got to rehabilitate, always killed once their jobs were done with.
Robert turns to face Sean, a smile on his face. “Well, that would ruin the surprise. All I can tell you is that he was sent from Kiply’s lot. In fact, that’s all I know, actually.”
Sean’s stomach drops. Kiply dealt with the most dangerous of the workers, a group referred to as ‘The Evolved’. Made in groups of 5-10 every decade or so, these people expertly crafted and raised from birth to become the perfect weapon for MI to use in their research. These people were experimented on in all kinds of ways, hurt and brought to near death over and over to see what healing methods were best, to see how their bodies held up against awful diseases and intense mutations. They were trained to be killing machines, slaughtering everything or anyone who got in their way.
Feared by all, some tethered borderline unkillable. Each of their genetics were hand picked and strengthened, causing the majority to develop some ungodly force behind their fists. Most staff in the Institute knew of their existence, but many hadn’t seen them. They were kept isolated and separate from the rest of the facility, it was too risky housing them next to so many people.
Sean swallowed down the anxious knot in his throat, looking at Robert like the man had lost his mind. “An Evolved? I thought they just…killed them once they were done.”
Robert sighs. “Usually, yes. But this one wasn’t hurt enough, apparently. They decided to give him a chance. That and they’re all cowards and fear him. He was too conscious for anyone to get close, he just lunged at them. Apparently, he got injured in the last experiment and lost his right eye as well as some other pretty nasty wounds. His perspective and angles got so screwed up that he couldn’t perform anymore, so they sent him to me and I assigned you to him. We’ll likely have to sedate him to get medical close enough to change his bandages but other than that I don’t think anyone but you will go in.”
“I’m quitting.”
“You’ll be dead before you leave the building. He doesn’t seem too bad, haven't heard a peep. Haven’t seen the fucker. He’s hiding away in the dark spots cause maintenance can’t be bothered to get their asses down here and fix the lights. They won’t now, not with him in there, I don’t blame them. No one knows anything about him, not even Kiply. All we know is he was born here and he’s one of their best. That’s it. So, uh, good luck and I hope he doesn’t kill you before today is over.”
Sean takes a deep breath, looking toward the heavy door keeping back someone who could snap their necks in the blink of an eye. He had never been close to one despite his years here, only seeing them in the distance. They were kept very hidden from prying eyes, MI didn’t want news of their existence to reach the public.
Everyone knew they weren’t just for experiments. They were not trained to be human, they were made to be heartless weapons of warfare. That was their purpose, to kill and do so quickly. Integrating one of these back into society was going to be near impossible and a disaster waiting to happen. As far as Sean knew, no one had managed to do so, or even attempted. They were killed once they could no longer work for a reason.
They were unpredictable and unstoppable, able to go on a rampage that was so intense that it would take an army to bring them down. On top of that, they had no experience with being human. They were mindless robots who only knew how to take lives, not live them. Their whole lives were spent taking orders, trying to train one up to act and live like a normal human was nearly impossible.
Robert speaks up again, adjusting the clipboard gripped between his hands. “Ryan and I will be observing today but you’re on your own in there. We have backup who can take him out but that doesn’t mean piss him off to get out of this. You’ll be dead before we can even react and I don’t feel like signing Ryan’s therapy paperwork.”
Sean rolls his eyes and walks up to the door, missing Ryan’s concerned glance at Robert at the mention. He grabs his key card and holds it with shaky hands, holding it up to the scanner, grabbing hold of the handles to the door once it beeps. Planting his hands firmly on the large lock, he spins it slowly as it dislodges from its airtight seal. Robert and Ryan disappear away to the viewing area and Sean pulls the door open and steps inside.
He isn’t instantly placed inside the cell, finding himself standing in a clear glass corridor with another door in front of him. The walls consist of thick, bulletproof glass, allowing Sean to scan the room. It seems empty and Sean’s stomach churns knowing he was about to step foot into a room with one of the most dangerous people he can think of. Over the glass is smears of blood, Sean can see it over the floor, on the walls. The outline of hands smeared the glass wall and it was obvious that the thing had freaked out and tried to escape. Is it too late to quit? He stands in front of the next door, inputting the combination and feeling it pop open. Taking in a deep breath, he pulls the door towards him and steps into the room, cutting off his only way out as he closes the door behind him.
“Hello?” He starts, hoping the wobble in his voice wasn’t as bad as it sounded in his head. “My name is Professor Sean, but you can just call me Sean. I’m going to be looking after you for a while.” He feels stupid talking to nothing, unable to see anything in the dim room. But then, he hears it.
Soft breathing coming from something else other than Sean, somewhere in the shadows of the room. His heart thunders in his chest and he starts talking again. “I’m going to let some light in, sitting in the dark like this isn’t good for you. Why don’t you come on out, tell me about yourself and we can be properly introduced?”
Every instinct in him screams not to turn his back, but he does so anyway. With a push of a button, the shutters that were on the outside of the thick windows opened up, letting sunshine flood into the room. The whole room didn’t fully light up, but it was enough to let Sean see where the Evolved was hiding.
He couldn’t see much but managed to spot a dark outline standing in the shadows. It seemed slightly taller than Sean, but consisted of a much broader figure. Sean knew these things were fed insane diets to maximize their strength and speed. He hopes the figure can’t hear his thundering heartbeat from the shadows he stood in.
“Ah. There you are.” Sean keeps his distance but turns to face the figure in the corner. The blood coating the room worries him. He has to keep reminding himself that this thing- this person- is just as human as he is. “Now, I’m not here to hurt you. I don’t want to scare you. You’re safe here, you won’t be hurt, no experiments, you don’t have to fight. All I ask is that you work with me, okay?”
No response.
This was not going to be fun.
Sean lets out a shaky sigh before speaking again. “I heard you had an injury. Your eye, was it? I’m sorry about that. I can’t imagine how disorientating that is for you, how scary. If you’re hurt I can take a look but you’ve gotta come out. Can’t see much in the dark.”
Nothing. No movement. Just the faint breathing.
“Okay.” Sean hums out, shoulders slumping in a slight feel of defeat. “I get it, we just met, you’re suddenly pulled from everything you know and dumped with some stranger in a room you can’t get out of. I understand you’re frightened. Just know I am an ally, a friend. I will not cause you any harm. Not now, not ever.”
The stranger in the corner doesn’t reply.
Sean stays in the room, endlessly talking both to try and calm his nerves, and to try and convince the thing- person- that he wasn’t a threat. Eventually, a knock on the door came about and he can see the Evolved’s head whip to stare at the door and sees his outline stiffen. It was only a cleaner but Sean was not going to allow anyone in the room, especially not yet. The last thing he needed was the weapon to startle and kill them both.
Instead, he took the supplies and left the safety of the corridor to enter the room, supplies in hand, speaking to reassure the figure in the corner. “I’m just going to clean up this blood, alright? I’m sure you don’t want to have to look at this anymore. I won’t come near you, don’t worry.”
He kept his promise, cleaning the spots around the room but keeping his distance from the figure. It took a good couple hours with how much it soaked in and Sean set the supplies down, turning to look back towards the figure he had felt watching him.
What he didn’t expect was to be met with a sharp, purple eye looking at him, the movement of the sun outside exposing part of the Evolved's body. These things had some crazy genetics sometimes, but purple eyes was a new one. Its skin was dull and pale from being kept inside and locked in. Scars and burns cover its face, submerged under the bloody skin. Sean couldn’t see much under the clothes the figure wore, but he knew it wasn’t pretty. Cuffs sat around the stranger’s wrists and ankles, the sites looking agitated and sore from trying to break free.
Sean tries his best to appear calm and relaxed, offering a small smile. “Hi, there. It’s nice to finally see you. You don’t have to stand, you know? You can sit if you need to.” But of course he doesn’t need to, after all, it had been designed to go days without a break or proper sleep. Sean isn’t too sure on what to do. The last thing he wants is to startle the stranger, but Sean is certain the cuffs are hurting. He chooses to leave it for now.
Dinner is brought to them a few hours later and Sean sets it near the stranger but he doesn’t take it, just staring at Sean with empty eyes. Thanks to the moving sun, Sean was able to see the person entirely. Bandages soaked with blood cover its broad body, covering deep wounds and what was remaining after losing an eye. He knows the bandages need to be changed but he doesn’t want to startle the Evolved and decides that it would be best to leave it for now.
The sun sets and Sean is growing tired. He’s made no progress, the figure hasn’t so much as flinched in the hours he had been standing. Blood is dripping around the stranger but Sean is not going near him when there is still so much distrust in the room. He stands himself from where he had been sitting, pressing the button and watching the shutters secure shut.
“I will leave you for the night.” Sean declares. “I will be back in the morning. Try and rest.” He moves to leave before hesitating and turning back to the figure, still hidden away in the shadows. “Would you like me to remove the cuffs?” No response is given in return but Sean has already settled on doing so. He can’t expect the stranger to sleep like that.
Grabbing the keys from his pocket, he slowly steps closer. “I am going to remove them, okay? I have to get close but once they are off I will leave.” He moved slowly closer, waiting and watching for any movement that indicated that it was about to attack. When nothing happens, he inserts the key into the lock on the Evolved’s wrists, undoing the cuffs and seeing the sore rawness left behind. The stranger's ankles are then freed and Sean takes a few steps back.
“Thank you. I will be leaving you now. See you in the morning.” With that, he turns and opens the door, picking up the cleaning supplies left in the room before stepping into the glass corridor before fully exiting, letting out a sigh. He leaves the West wing silently, stopping to throw the blood-covered cuffs onto Robert’s desk and the cleaning supplies on the floor for the man to deal with in the morning. With that done, he leaves and returns to his house.
The next three days consist of the same routine. Sean wakes up at 7:30AM, fixes himself a small breakfast as he reads into the few existing declassified reports on the Evolved. He enters the cell at around 9AM, the dinner from the night before would be uneaten or all over the room and the figure would be in the corner, observing and eerily quiet as always.
He had heard from the night staff that the stranger seemed to become agitated and aggressive during the night, the cleaners often reported the sounds of anguished yells and banging as he tried to break out. Sean had spoken to the night watchman and learned that the stranger appeared to have nightmares.
After Sean would leave, the stranger would move from the corner and pace endlessly, blood dripping behind him, shoulder hitting the corner of the glass corridor with every lap, unable to see it in his peripheral vision. After a few hours of pacing, the stranger would finally lay down in the middle of the floor and sleep, but never for long, shortly woken up by nightmares that would send him on what seemed like a frightened rampage.
Sean had begun spending his nights looking into this former weapon of destruction. No records match, no mentions seem to exist of him, but Sean has to remember he doesn’t even know its name, if he has one, after all. Papers full of scribbles have taken over his work desk, his own research mingled in with reports from the night watchman, trying to piece together any kind of inside into the mind of this freak the Institute had created.
No break though happened until day six.
Sean had entered the cell the same way he had for the last five days, standing in the glass corridor before entering the room. The first thing he noticed was the empty dinner tray and no sign of food anywhere else in the room. He must have finally eaten. Sean feels relieved at that and only then does he notice that the stranger had moved. It was only a few centimetres, but to Sean that was big progress.
The stranger was now positioned further away from the dark corner and Sean was able to see him completely no matter the position of the sun. The stranger was also now sitting on the floor, watching Sean with wide, empty eyes. Sean guessed that the unclean wounds and soreness was starting to affect his health and ability to stand for long periods of time.
“Well, good morning to you, too. It’s nice to see you out, I’m very happy. You must be hurting, hm?” Sean lowers himself down so he’s crouched and the stranger tenses up before returning to his neutral state when Sean doesn’t prove to be a threat. “I can help you feel better, I promise. But it might hurt. I can clean up these wounds and change your bandages, there's some crème I can put on any sore spot to make it better. But you have to trust me, okay? ‘Cause I’ll have to get close to you and I’ll be there for a while. I don’t want you spooking or feeling uncomfortable. Is it okay if I clean you up?”
Despite the other being completely mute, Sean had found a way across their hours together for his ‘yes or no’ questions to be answered. An empty, neutral look in his eyes meant yes and a tense, ‘I’m gonna rip your head off’ look was a very stern no. Thankfully, he isn’t met with the feared expression and Sean leaves the room, hunting down the medical supplies.
Once the equipment is gathered, he makes his way back into the room. “I’m back. I’m gonna set this down in front of you and then I’m going to sit down, okay? I’m sure if you want me to back away at any point you’ll let me know.” Sean had gotten into the habit of verbalizing his actions before doing them. It was an easy way for Sean to tell if the stranger wasn’t comfortable with what was going to happen and likely avoided the early end of Sean’s existence.
With no indication that he would be dismembered if he continued, Sean places the items down and situates himself on the ground in front of the stranger. The stranger seems much more intimidating like this. Thanks to Sean’s god awful posture resembling that of a shrimp, the stranger towers over him and Sean can see every vein in his body, every twinge of his muscles. He’s very uneasy but does his best to not show it.
“Okay, I’m going to start with your hands, then your arms. I’ll clean away this blood and then I’ll remove the bandages one at a time and clean everything up as I can and rebandage what needs it, alright? Cleaning might hurt more than you expect but I promise it’s good for you and you’ll feel much better once it’s done.”
The stranger shows no sign of being against Sean’s plans and so he proceeds. He moves slowly, starting with the stranger's hands. He first cleans away the dirt and blood that had been caked before slowly unraveling the bandages and setting them aside to be disposed of. Thankfully, the cuts seemed to have mostly healed and Sean can wipe the muck away with some water, doing a light swipe of some saline solution to rid of any dirt that had worked its way in and to reduce the stranger gaining an infection.
Once both hands are done, he speaks. “They don’t need to be rebandaged but be careful, okay? If you let them heal they’ll feel much better and your hands will feel easier to move around. I’m going to move onto your arms.” He follows the same process over all of the stranger’s exposed skin, unable to tend to the wounds underneath the tattered clothing.
“Do you want me to stop here or would you like me to get under your shirt as well?” He hums, adjusting to better see the stranger’s face. He’s met with the same neutral stare he was familiar with and takes it as a yes, setting down the supplies in his hands. “Alright. I’m gonna have to remove your shirt to get to them and I’ll see if we have anything fresher for you, okay?” Again met with silence, Sean slowly helps the stranger to remove the piece of clothing whilst he hoped Robert and Ryan were still observing and got his silent message of getting clean clothes.
He’s not sure anything could have prepared him for the sight underneath. The stranger’s back and chest, much like the rest of him had been, was caked in dirt and blood. A few bandages concealed the worst of the wounds but as Sean cleaned away the grime, he started to realize just how much suffering MI inflicted on these people.
Almost all of the skin on his chest and back was scarred, mixes of burns, lacerations and scarred cuts littered the area. On the stranger’s right shoulder was a burn inscribing letters and numbers. Sean felt sick. They had branded these people. It has faded, clearly from many years ago when the stranger wasn’t so strong, Sean struggles to make out what it says.
MI - S—-W - 27
Sean can’t make out the letters except for the first and last one since the burn was faded and scars coated it. He can’t dwindle on it for long. Making a mental note of the branding, he continues to clean and sterilize the stranger's multitude of wounds.
Once that was done, Sean headed outside of the room to meet Ryan, the intern holding some fresh clothes that they hoped would fit the stranger. Sean passed over the remaining medical supplies and took the clothes before he headed back in, instantly feeling that cold, empty eye watching him.
“Got you some clothes.” Sean hums as he pushes the door shut. He didn’t feel so anxious entering the room anymore but he knew better than to let his guard down so quickly. After all, the stranger was a well experienced and very unstable killing machine. He sets the clothes beside the stranger before sitting a few steps away, not wanting to seem as intimidating.
Sean fills the silence as he often does, talking about anything his brain could come up with on the spot. He’s certain that he’s repeated himself many times now but the stranger doesn’t seem to care so Sean doesn’t either.
Several hours pass and the room stays the same, Sean rambling about anything and the stranger’s gaze locked on him. Sean has to stop talking at some point when he runs out of things to say, deciding to give both himself and the stranger a gap of silence.
Then, out of the blue, the stranger speaks. Just one simple word. “Shadow.” Sean almost misses it completely thanks to the lack of sleep he had been having. For a moment he thinks he’s imagining, but it sounded too close to not be real and sounded too different to be his own voice.
“Shadow?” He repeats, looking at the stranger but the stranger doesn’t talk again, makes no movements. Sean’s head floods with thoughts and theories as to what the stranger could mean by that. And then it clicks.
“Is that your name?” It matched with the branding that Sean had seen and it was the only explanation. The stranger makes no verbal confirmation, just a small, almost unnoticeable nod of his head. He finally had a name to go by, something for Sean to search for in the records. “Well, Shadow, it’s nice to finally put a name to your face. Thank you for telling me, I really appreciate it.” The Evolved - Shadow- doesn’t respond to that, continuing to stare as he always did.
In fact, Sean doesn’t hear Shadow speak again until day eighteen.
Nothing happened in the time between, Sean followed his usual routine and he gained no further information. Shadow kept his mouth shut and there was no record of him, except for one thing. A birth certificate. It didn’t give Sean much to work with, just the solid confirmation that Shadow was in fact his name and the day and year he was born. Sean worked out that Shadow was around 26, a few years younger than he was. He felt a small tug at his heart realizing how much Shadow had been through in such a short time and that he would likely forever deal with the consequences.
Day eighteen started the same as any other, Sean followed his usual routine and headed into Shadow’s cell, greeting him with a smile and sitting in front of him like usual. The first few hours were uneventful, Sean talked and talked and Shadow listened to every word. Lunch rolled around and they ate together in the cell. They had slowly been replacing Shadow’s extreme diet with a more normal one on top of attempting to give him three meals a day instead of the one he was used to. Some days went better than others and he would eat it all and be fine, other days had him either ignoring the food all together or having a negative reaction.
After lunch, Sean always stopped himself from talking for a while, giving both of them time to think and let Sean plan his next moves. He certainly didn’t expect the space to be filled, and by Shadow, no less.
“When will you do it?” The voice is quiet and Sean detects uncertainty within the tone. He can’t help but be confused, he hadn’t mentioned doing anything to Shadow, and he had no plans for anything, so what could he mean?
“What do you mean?” He presses gently, not wanting to risk pushing Shadow into being mute again. They make eye contact and Sean does his best to silently reassure him.
Shadow pauses for a while and Sean worries that he’s fallen mute. He almost wishes he had. “When will you kill me?” The question has Sean sitting up straighter, leaning forwards with a puzzled look crossing his face. That had never been mentioned, no less within Shadow’s earshot.
“Where did you get that idea from? No one is going to kill you, certainly not me.” A frown forms on Sean’s face and worry floods him. Had someone entered the cell without Sean’s permission and told Shadow he was going to be killed? The night guard certainly hadn’t mentioned anyone attempting to gain access, unless it was the night guard that had said it.
“That’s what happens to us when we aren’t needed anymore. We get killed. Please get it over with.” Realization hits Sean like a truck. Shadow had probably at least heard the only people he knew, the people he had spent his life with, be shot once the Institute could no longer find a use for them.
Carefully, he shuffles a bit closer, looking for any sign that he should back up, making sure to maintain a distance between them so the other doesn't feel crowded. “Shadow. You are not going to be killed, okay? I will not let it happen. You are here, under my care, and what I say goes. I’m sorry that you had to witness that but rest assured that will not happen to you.”
Uncertainty fills the usually empty space that stayed in Shadow’s eye and Sean feels his chest grow tight. He always assumed they were completely emotionless, but Shadow was showing him otherwise. He’s hit with another reminder that, despite everything, they were all still people.
After that encounter, Shadow talks a little more in the following days. Only small words, a ‘hello’ when Sean walks in, a ‘goodbye’ when he leaves, but progress is progress. On the good days he’ll speak an extra sentence or two in response to Sean’s rambles. At night, Sean continued his research. It was beyond frustrating, every new lead brought up another dead end and then he saw it. A glimpse of hope.
A discharge report from eight years ago, Sean had only been an intern then and that explained why he hadn’t heard about it. Another person belonging to Shadow’s group had been successfully rehabilitated by someone Sean didn’t recognise, a man under the name of Professor Sneve. Looking deeper into the records he finds that the professor had left the same day as the discharge. Alongside the report he found a phone number and he felt a small rise of hope. He could at least try.
Scrambling to his phone, he inputs the number and dials, listening to it ring once, twice before it was picked up. “Hello?” Sean isn’t familiar with the accent but he doesn’t spare a thought to it now, hope is still present in him.
“Hello, I’m looking for someone under the name of Sneve?” Sean sits back down at his desk, tapping his pen against the wood anxiously. This could be his only shot at getting help, his only chance to be able to give Shadow a chance to heal from the years of suffering weighing heavy on his shoulders.
“This is he.” The man on the phone hums. “What can I do for you?”
Sean breaths out a sigh of relief and sits up straighter in his chair. All he had to do was get some advice, anything would be useful at this point. “Hi, my name is Sean, I work for MI-”
“How many times do I have to tell you people I’m not coming back?”
“This isn’t about that.” Sean rushes out. “I’m looking for advice.” His heart thunders in his chest, worried he would get this far only to reach another roadblock. He needed help. Shadow was dealing with things much above what Sean could help with and he didn’t want to give up.
Sneve is silent for a moment before he speaks. “Advice on what? I haven’t worked there in almost eight years, surely there is someone better to ask.”
“There isn’t, not for what I need advice on. Eight years ago, you were the first person to rehabilitate one of the Evolved, no?”
Sean can hear movement on the other side of the phone and suddenly Sneve sounds a lot more serious. “How did you know that? Those are classified, no one knows about them.”
“I found them whilst searching through declassified reports. I need help because I am currently in the process of doing the same and I am very stuck. Nothing is working.”
The line is silent for a while and Sean worries that the former professor had hung up on him. “They’re releasing another? Shit. I can help you, but I can’t discuss this on the phone. Too many ears. Lucky for you, I’m still in the states. How quickly can you reach California?”
Sean breathes a sigh of relief and relaxes a little in his chair. “Day after tomorrow, realistically.”
“Good.” Sneve hums. “Get on the plane landing at 10:14am in Palm Springs airport and I will meet you there. Do not tell anyone you are meeting me, do not contact me through this number or phone again and wipe this number from the phone. Understood?”
“I understand.”
“Great. I will see you in two days.” With that, the line goes dead.
Sean sets the phone down and breathes out a shaky sigh. He was finally going to get answers. He has to leave Shadow. That thought makes his stomach churn. Someone else was going to have to take over Sean’s position whilst he was gone, but no one had interacted with Shadow. The only person Sean trusted with this was Robert, meaning he had less than 48 hours to prove to Shadow and Robert that they could trust each other.
It is very much not an easy task. Robert is worried that Shadow will snap and kill him, and Shadow is certain Robert will kill him the second Sean leaves. He explains to them both that he will be leaving for a few days to deal with MI business, which technically isn’t a lie. It takes time and lots of reassurance but eventually, a low level of trust and understanding falls between them both and Sean is comfortable enough to leave.
He is up much too early for his flight and stops by Robert’s office, knowing the other would be awake. He is and they spend some time talking in hushed tones, Ryan sleeping at his desk since Robert keeps forgetting that not everyone can keep themselves up for as long as he does.
Before he leaves, he enters the viewing room to Shadow’s cell, briefly talking to the night watchman. Shadow is asleep in the corner of the room, facing toward the door. A thin blanket covers him and keeps back the draft and Sean is grateful that he’s managing to get in at least a little bit of peaceful sleep.
And then he is off, leaving the premises in the back of one of MI’s personal taxis, heading to the closest airport. As far as MI is concerned, Sean is going to see a dying family member. That’s all they need to know.
The flight goes quickly and Sean finds himself dumped in Palm Springs airport, looking for a man he has never seen before with no way of contacting him. He doesn’t need to do anything, he finds, a hand clasps his shoulder and he’s directed toward the exit. “It’s just me, don’t worry.” He relaxes once he realizes Sneve had found him and that he wasn’t about to be kidnapped.
Sneve guides him to his car and gets in, Sean following suit. “Sorry to grab you like that but that airport is a bloody nightmare.”
Sean simply hums as they begin to move. He has no idea where Sneve is taking him but all he can do is trust this total stranger. He needed help too much to listen to his instincts. “It’s alright. Saves me from trying to find you.”
“I suppose it did.” Sneve hums, keeping his eyes on the road. “We won’t discuss the matter until we are inside, alright? We can’t risk anything, for both of our lives.” Sean nods and they fall into silence as they leave the main area of the city and drive to more sparse farmland. They drive for almost two hours, leaving Palm Springs on the horizon and they enter Blythe, near Phoenix.
The car stops in front of a decent sized home on the outskirts of the city and Sneve exits the car, Sean following him behind. They enter the home and Sneve speaks up for the first time in two hours.
“So,” He starts, sitting on the couch and motioning for Sean to do the same. “MI is going to release another one of their prized possessions. Why on earth would they do that?”
Sean nods and his leg bounces anxiously against the floor. “I don’t know. He lost his eye and couldn’t continue. They tried to kill him but he kept attacking them, I guess they got too scared and just decided to offhand him to rehouse.”
Sneve hums in acknowledgement, leaning back into the couch. “I see. And you came to me for..?”
“For help.” Sean sighs. “You’re the only other person on record to do this and I’m at a dead end. We were making progress but now there’s just…nothing. I don’t know how to help him, I don’t know what to do.”
The other is silent for a few minutes, thinking silently to himself. “Lucky for you, I can help. The one I rehabilitated, Legundo, is his name, he lives here with me. I didn’t want to abandon him into a world where he would face a life of hardship. He might know your fellow and be able to help us. Give me a few and I’ll get him.”
Sneve stands up and heads to the upper floor of his home, leaving Sean alone with his thoughts. This is beyond stupid. Was this really worth risking his life? Sneve soon returns with someone following, Sean can only assume the person is Legundo. He’s much taller than Shadow but not as broad, Sean supposes being on a normal diet helped with that. Like Shadow, Legundo’s skin is coated in all kinds of scarring from wounds and burns.
Sneve speaks once they’re both sat on the couch, a hand resting on Legundo’s shoulder in what Sean can only assume is reassurance. “This is Sean, he’s from MI. Don’t worry, he’s just here for advice. One of your old pals is on their way to freedom.”
That catches Legundo’s attention and he turns to look at Sean. Hesitancy and curiosity shine bright in his eyes, but curiosity wins. “They are? Who is it?”
Sean adjusts slights and clasps his hands together, letting out a small sigh. No turning back now. “His name is Shadow.” He can’t help but feel slightly uneasy, after all he is risking his life being here and speaking to people he doesn't know. They could rat him out to MI at any moment and Sean knew that would mean certain death.
Legundo’s eyes widened in surprise. “Shadow..? He’s still alive? I thought he would’ve been gone a long time ago…”
Sneve sighs, rubbing Legundo’s shoulder as he talks to Sean. “I knew a little about Shadow, I helped oversee the group he and Legundo were in. Shadow…didn’t turn out how the institute wanted. I didn’t deal with him much but from what I heard he was a very unpredictable and aggressive chap.”
Legundo nods and takes over speaking. “They couldn’t get full control over him and they hated it. They put him through all kinds of punishments in hopes it would make him listen but he never did. It was like watching a wild animal in a cage.”
Sean can’t help but frown. Shadow certainly wasn’t aggressive now. He was calm and kept to himself. “Did something happen, then? I’ve never had an issue with him being aggressive. He’s always calm and quiet, even when he’s alone.”
Legundo frowns and Sneve settles an arm around his shoulders as Legundo speaks up again and Sean can feel anxiety pit in his stomach. “Something did happen, but I am not sure what. A group of them came into our housing unit one day, sedated Shadow and took him away. I didn’t see him for a few days, I thought they killed him. They brought him back five days later and he was just…empty. He had no fight in him, he didn’t speak, all he did was follow orders and spend nights pacing. I don’t know what they did to him but it changed him completely. We weren’t allowed to talk so I could never ask him what happened.”
“So, you think MI did something to get him under control?” Sean’s stomach twists. He knew MI could be brutal, especially when things didn’t go their way. He didn’t want to think about what measures they would have gone to in order to get Shadow under control.
Sneve lets out a hum. “I would believe so, they aren’t exactly known for being the most caring fellows.”
Sean sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Okay…so, what do you propose I do? How do I even help him when I have no clue as to what he’s been through? The only record of him is his certificate of birth.”
Silence fills the room for a moment, everyone thinking out their next new sentences inside their head. Sneve breaks the silence first. “So, you said that you made progress with him. What kind of progress does that entail?”
“Well, the first time I met him he kept himself in the corner of the room, like he was hiding away. Now, he sits out more in the open, I can actually see him.” Sean sighs, leg bouncing against the floor. “On top of that, he lets me get close to him on many occasions, clean him up and stuff. And then recently he started talking to me. First was his name, then just simple greetings but now we can almost hold a conversation between us.”
A sigh fell from Sneve, hand subconsciously rubbing over Legundo’s shoulder as he spoke again. “I see…well, dealing with the Evolved is not easy, as I’m sure you’re aware. They are very untrustworthy and utterly unpredictable.”
Sean frowns, his hands come together and he anxiously messes with his fingers, trying to process all the information spoken to him. “Do we know anything about what MI do to them?”
Legundo and Sneve look between them with a shared look that Sean doesn’t recognise. His heart thunders in his chest, feeling the rhythmic thud pounding in his skull. Legundo speaks just a moment later, uncertainty wavers through every word. “It’s not easy to talk about, but…I-I want Shadow to have a chance at leaving. We would often be sent off to an island somewhere, it seemed to be the same one every time but they would take down and rebuild the scenery and structures so it looked different. Every time we were there, we would face a new problem - a virus, a plague, mutated beasts, much stronger than the ones they use on the research teams.”
“They would purposely adjust their mutations and genetics to grow stronger and faster in order to test our strength and reaction times to ensure that we were making progress. Back here, they would inject us with all kinds of things, mixtures of liquids, illness and all kinds of nasty stuff to see how far our immunity went and how easy we were able to bounce back from near death.”
Legundo hesitates and Sean notices the way Sneve pulls him closer but he tries not to think about it. “We all went through so much. We were constantly being hurt, burned, brought to the brink of death over and over again with no space between to heal. Shadow had it a little worse than the rest of the group with how much he acted out. The Institute tried everything to make him behave but nothing worked until they did whatever they did to him.”
Sean feels sick as he realizes just how much the Evolved went through. He had a feeling it was bad but nothing could prepare him for the information Legundo had given him. Their whole lives had been full of torture and agony, surrounded by people who would constantly be bringing them to the border of life and death. All of Shadow’s distrust clicked into place, every nervous glance, wondering when Sean was going to kill him. Everything made sense and Sean realized just how much Shadow must be carrying around on his shoulders.
He spends a couple days with the two, he doesn’t get anymore information but he was given enough to be able to formulate a rough plan of action to help Shadow to the best of his ability. Two days later, Sneve is driving him back to Palm Springs, dropping him off at the airport with a sincere wish of good luck and Sean returns back to Mustard Institute.
As soon as he stepped foot back in his home in the MI compound, a knock sounded on his door. Usually, he would ignore it but it sounded panicked and Sean could tell it was urgent. His heart sank as his head filled with ideas as to what could have happened. Has something happened with Shadow? Had he been hurt or hurt himself? Had he hurt Robert?
Dropping his bag onto the couch, he scoots to his door and opens it, being faced with a nervous looking Ryan only makes his heart sink further.
“S-sorry to bother you so quickly after you come back, Professor. Robert needs to see you urgently. I can’t say why.” Ryan is shifting around nervously on his feet and Sean can’t figure out what it is that happened.
With a nod, he leaves his home and closes the door. “Take me to him. And, please, just call me Sean.” The intern nods his head and heads toward where Robert was waiting for them, Sean hot on his heels.
They divert away from the rehouse building and down a small alley toward some more houses, stopping when they reach Robert’s and heading inside. It hits Sean how serious this must be, Robert had bug proofed his basement to make it completely free from MI’s prying eyes. He follows Ryan in, the intern inputting the passcode Robert had told him before pushing open the door and heading downstairs, Sean following.
His stomach sinks impossibly further when he’s faced with Kiply. She usually stayed around the Evolved or with people associated with them, to see her here never meant anything good.
Robert and Kiply look up and Ryan turns to leave before Robert speaks. “You can stay, Ryan. I trust you. Take a seat, both of you.” Both sit at the table, Sean’s eyes scanning the papers on the table.
“What’s going on?” Sean asks, looking over at Robert with concern in his eyes. Stress is obvious on Robert’s face as he moves his chair side to side, shaking a pen between his fingers. “Did something happen to Shadow..?”
Kiply speaks, a sigh falling from her lips. “Not yet. He’s still safe, don’t worry. But MI are starting to try and backtrack on letting him go.”
Sean sits up in his seat, frowning. “Backtrack? What do you mean? What are they doing?”
Kiply adjusts in her chair, a frown present on her face. “I overheard them talking and saying that releasing Shadow was asking for a massacre. They want to prove that he isn’t fit for society so they can kill him. In three days, you will get a letter, Sean. It’ll tell you that due to how dangerous Shadow is, he will undergo an assessment in seven days. If he fails the assessment, they will remove him from your care and ‘deal with him’ theirselves.”
Robert sighs. “Essentially, you have about ten days from tomorrow to prove that Shadow isn’t violent and he can live by himself in society without risk of him going on a killing spree.
Sean sits back in his chair, speechless. MI are going to try and kill Shadow. He couldn't let that happen. All he had to do was get Shadow to pass this assessment. “What is this assessment going to involve? I can prepare him, I know I can.”
Kiply speaks again, pulling a piece of paper closer to her and reading it. “Uhh, they wanna assess his reaction to everyday stuff - loud noises, the sound of people, being nudged, someone being aggressive to him. They also wanna see how he holds up in conversation, how well he speaks. They also want to assess his life skills, stuff like knowing how to cook, how to clean. That kinda stuff. Literally so many meaningless, stupid stuff - anything that will get him to fail. You’ll get a full list.”
“That’s bullshit!” Sean frowns. “All he has in that damn prison is one flimsy fucking blanket, they don’t let him leave, how the fuck is he supposed to learn this crap?”
Robert sighs. “They don’t care. They want him to fail, Sean. They need it on paper that he’s unfit so they can take him without repercussions. They want him dead.”
“Well, they can suck my fucking dick, it’s not happening.” Sean huffs, sitting back in his chair. “Can I bring stuff into the cell? Like…anything at all?” Robert hums and scans the table before grasping a piece of paper with the rehouse agreement, scanning over it.
“Number 24 in the agreement, ‘the person overseeing the rehabilitation may provide items for the patient to interact with as long as they are removed overnight. Leaving items in with the patients is considered a risk’. So, yeah, sounds like it. Just don’t leave stuff in there.”
Sean nods, formulating a plan in his head. “Good. Now, can I go see him? I want to prepare.” Robert hums and sets the paper down, standing.
“I’ll take you. Kiply, Ryan, I’ll be back shortly. Can we try and get a little organized in the meantime.” The two nod and Robert heads up to the door, Sean following behind.
Once outside, Sean speaks again. “How was he whilst I was gone?”
Robert doesn’t immediately respond, thinking over his answer before he replies. “He was…okay..ish? He is definitely still weary of me but I understand. I don’t fear him anymore, he showed me no sign of aggression. In fact, we spoke a few times, albeit briefly, but he still spoke to me. He greeted me every morning and said his goodnights. He was very anxious though, both when I was inside and out of the cell. He paced a lot, asked about you, when you were getting back and all that.”
Sean hums at that and feels a little guilty about leaving him. He has to remind himself that he had left in order to help Shadow. “I’m glad you two are getting along more now. I’m going to need your help in getting him ready for this assessment.
Robert nods without another word as they stop outside of Shadow’s door. Robert splits off to the viewing area whilst Sean heads inside. The room is clean and the shutters are open, which Sean is very happy about. Shadow stands in the middle of the room, pacing around in place as he keeps his eyes on the ground, assuming it was Robert coming to see him.
Sean heads past the second door, stepping into the main room. “Hello, Shadow! How have you been?” He smiles as Shadow whips his head up to look at him. His eye glimmers with what looks like happiness and he moves closer toward Sean before stopping himself, keeping the distance.
“Hello. You are back now? You are not leaving again?” Sean can’t help the warm smile on his face and he wonders how anyone could fear this guy. Sure, he was tall and much too strong, but he was so sweet and timid Sean doesn’t know why he was ever nervous of him.
“I’m back and I’m staying, okay?” He hums. “Let’s sit.” He lets Shadow sit first, taking a seat a few steps away to still provide the distance if Shadow still wanted it. “So, how did you get along with Robert? I hope he treated you well.”
Shadow nods, eyes scanning over Sean as if to tell himself that Sean was back and still himself, that he wasn’t going to turn and hurt him. “Was good. We talked. He gave me…uh…distance?”
Sean hums at that, nodding. “He gave you some space, yeah?” Shadow nods and Sean continues. “He mentioned that you were pacing a lot. What was going on?” He keeps his voice gentle, not wanting Shadow to worry that he was annoyed with him.
Shadow hesitates, the look in his eye tells Sean he’s trying to find the right words. The words sit in his brain but his mouth doesn’t want to string them together. “I did not like it without you. It was…odd. Robert was nice, though.”
Sean hums and gives him a reassuring smile. “I understand. Thank you for telling me, rest assured that I am back to stay, alright?” Shadow nods and he visibly relaxes, shoulders slumping as he leans back against the wall. “There is something that we need to do though, Shadow. And I need you to work with me. So, for you to get out of here, you need to learn how to function with people, not just me. So, I’m going to be teaching you some things over the next while, okay?”
“Okay…What will you teach?” Shadow seems hesitant but there's a willingness to learn lingering in his eyes.
“Just some basic things for now, okay? We won’t get too into it for now. We will work on talking over the next few days. Are you comfortable with me bringing in Robert for a bit tomorrow?” Shadow nods his head and Sean breaths out a sigh of relief, trying to convince himself that it was going to be okay.
The next two days consist of Sean working on Shadow’s speech and getting him to continue conversations. He pulls Robert him, letting Shadow get used to speaking to someone else, Sean even leaving the room to see how well Shadow can continue without Sean there. He’s very happy with the progress Shadow makes and feels confident in his speech ability.
When he wakes up on day three, there’s a letter on his floor in front of his front door, and he knows exactly what it is. Still, he picks it up from the floor and opens it with shaky hands.
‘Professor Sean,
We at Mustard Institute thank you for your bravery in taking over the rehabilitation of Evolved MI-SHADOW-27.
However, after careful consideration, we do not think that releasing him into society would be a good decision, for the safety of the people. In seven days' time from the day you have received this later, one of our assessment team members will be assessing MI-SHADOW-27 on his progress. If his progress is not up to our standards, we will be relieving you from his care and he will return to the Evolved specialists where they will take over his care.
The list of assessment topics is as follows:
Speech ability, including continuing conversations and discussions involving multiple people at once
Reaction to everyday noise including, but not limited to; loud voices, sudden noises, several sources of stimulus, bright lights
Reaction to aggressive acts towards him
Ability to be left alone for extended time periods
Ability to complete everyday tasks including cooking and cleaning
General abilities including reading and writing at least at a Second Grade level
Other assessment topics will be looked into on top of the ones stated. The assessment will take place at 14:00 on the 16th.
Regards,
Mustard Institute’
Crap. How had Sean not considered that Shadow would need to read and write? Sean rushes back upstairs, changing into a more casual outfit in order to go out. He meets up with Robert around thirty minutes later and the two take a cab into the local town.
Once in the town, they enter the largest store they can see in hopes it had everything they discussed getting. Shadow only needed a basic understanding of usual human tasks and they didn't want to overwhelm him with the actual tools.So, they decided on the next best thing. Child toys. Sure, they would look a little ridiculous in Shadow’s hands, but it was an easy way for him to learn basic tasks.
They pick up a couple items, a child’s kitchen set alongside a mini supermarket one, getting him to recognise the food and say their name would be a big help for him. They pick up a couple more sets, most being food centered, but helpful nonetheless. On top of the play sets, they pick out several books. They gather some writing ones, ones that would help his reading alongside basic subject ones like math and geography. Alongside those, they pick out some more fun ones including simple coloring books and more child centered ‘Where’s Waldo?’ books, figuring they would help his cognitive and motor skills. Lastly, they grab some physical games that would help Shadow to be able to learn to match colours and names as well as being able to place different items into a group.
Satisfied with the haul, they head back to MI and head straight into Shadow’s cell. Shadow had just woken up when Sean and Robert walked in, bags in hand. He was much more comfortable with Robert now, though he stayed closer to Sean. Sean smiles, setting the bags down. “Good morning. We’ll let you wake up a bit and then we’ll get to work, okay?”
Over the next seven days, they work hard on getting Shadow’s skills up. It’s frustrating and Shadow shuts down on them a couple times, but they power through it thanks to Shadow’s determination to learn. He doesn’t know about MI wanting him back, all he knows is that he’s being assessed. Neither Robert or Sean wanted to risk scaring him about the risk of death.
By assessment day, Shadow is able to write basic words and able to read much better than he had been. The sets and books work wonders and he’s much more cohesive than before they started. Now, Sean and Robert stand outside the cell, waiting anxiously for the assessor to turn up. It couldn’t have been a better person.
They recognise the man immediately as Kim, who had been on their research team all that time ago. A small weight falls from their shoulders as Kim recognises them, greeting them with a big smile.
“Hello! It has been a while! How are you?” Kim is as happy as ever, not picking up on the nerves that radiated from Sean and Robert. He still wore the same smile from all those years ago and Sean can’t help but but wonder how Kim stayed so cheerful through everything.
“We’re good, Kim.” Sean breaths out, trying to soothe his trembling hands. Robert steps a little closer to him, a silent way of comforting him. “Look, we only had a few days to teach him everything. He’s tried so hard but I don’t know how well he’s gonna do. Please don’t let them take him.”
Kim smiles, nodding his head. “Of course, I will not let him fail. Just for you guys though, just this once. Consider it a favour .” Sean lets some of the tension subside, nodding his head as Robert guides him to the viewing area, Kim making his way inside.
Shadow seems so anxious and it breaks Sean’s heart over and over. All he wants to do is run in the room and pull Shadow into a tight hug. That would probably get him killed. He’s thankful that Kim is gentle in his approach and the way that he speaks, Shadow’s tense shoulder’s relax just a little. The assessment lasts for around an hour as Kim evaluates everything on his checklist, making notes as he goes.
Several hours pass before Kim finally announces to Shadow that it was done, Sean is leaving the room to stand outside Shadow’s door, Robert joining him as they eagerly wait on Kim. Kim exits just a few moments later, a smile on his face.
“You did good with him!” He congratulates them both. “He passed everything but his writing but I have changed it so he has passed. They will not take him from you.”
Both Sean and Robert let out a sigh of relief, a weight falling from their shoulders. Sean is first to speak out of them both. “Thank you, Kim. Seriously. Anytime you want that favour returned, let me know and I’ll do anything.”
Kim smiles, holding the clipboard in his hands. “I will remember that. I will head back and give them the results. I will see you guys later?”
Sean and Robert both nod but Robert is the one to speak this time. “Yeah, see you around, Kim.” With a wave, Kim heads back out of the door and the two in the hallway share a look before making their way into Shadow’s cell.
Sean moves to him first, sitting down a couple steps beside Shadow, giving him a reassuring smile. “Hey, it’s all over now. You did good.” Shadow is still visibly anxious, glancing at Sean before watching Robert sit down. Sean feels his heart break all over again when Shadow moves closer, letting his knee touch Sean’s thigh.
“You’re safe, Shadow. We wouldn’t let anything happen to you.” He comforts, wanting nothing more than to pull Shadow into a hug, but he stops himself. He moves at Shadow’s pace, wanting him to feel comfortable. He feels much better knowing that Shadow had passed the assessment and he would be safe under Sean’s care.
Little did Sean know, the trouble was just about to begin.
All is quiet for the first two weeks after the inspection. Progress is still being made with Shadow, he would now often sit right beside Sean, seeking out direct contact. Sean always let Shadow engage in it first and would then let him do whatever made him happy.
Robert had also been making progress with Shadow, being in his office most nights, he was around when Shadow had his nightmares. All the watchman had to do was call Robert and the man was there beside Shadow, calming him back down and into sleep. Sean was thankful that they were getting along and on friendly terms.
The trouble that began with Shadow passing his assessment began small, so small that Sean didn’t even process what they were doing at first. It soon became clear to him that MI were doing anything, trying to find even the slightest thing wrong, in order to be able to take Shadow back. It was quickly growing tiring and Sean was feeling less and less comfortable with leaving Shadow alone during the night, afraid MI would take him then.
That was why Sean had carefully planned a meeting in the safety of Robert’s bunker. Now, Robert, Ryan and Kiply sat around the table, Sean pacing beside it anxiously.
“They’re trying to take Shadow.” Sean mutters, stopping and turning, placing both of his hands on the table and leaning against it, eyes flicking over the three people watching him. “They’re nit-picking and looking for the slightest screw up to take him and I’m starting to worry they’ll just up and grab him in the night.”
Robert hums, swaying his chair side to side slightly. “They have been lurking around more, asking questions and stuff. I’m starting to worry, too. They’re getting worse and worse and I don’t think they’ll stop until they have what they want, even if it means taking down the obstacle in their way.” Robert’s voice wavers with worry, worried over the safety of Shadow and his friend. MI would take any means to get Shadow back, even if that meant killing one of their best workers.
“What do we do? We can’t argue against them, they’ll kill us with no hesitation. They’re monsters.” Kiply adjusts in her seat to sit forwards, both arms resting on the table with a mixture of concern and frustration across her face.
Sean sighs, biting on the inside of his cheek as he debated speaking again. “I want to break him out. I know, I know it’s crazy but what choice do we have? MI are just going to find a way and I can’t live knowing I failed to protect him like I promised. I can’t let it happen.”
Robert groans, running a hand through his hair. “Fucking hell, Sean. How do you even suggest we do that? MI has security in every corner, cameras viewing every crevice not to mention just how many there are. We would all be dead before we can even reach an exit point.”
Sean begins pacing again, a million ideas running through his head. “Well, we just have to find a weak point. They have to have one. Everything does. A window of opportunity big enough that we can get him out.”
“Even if there was, there would have to be a moment so incredibly perfectly lined up for us to even stand a chance at success.” Kiply sighs, the small hope that she had quickly dwindling.
“There is something that might help…” The sound of Ryan’s voice attracts all of their attention, the intern not usually speaking unless someone asked him something. “I’ve been spending a lot of nights in the library and I noticed that the cameras seem to go down for a while around 4:30. They’re out for about fifteen minutes, it must be for some kind of system reboot.”
Robert sighs, adjusting in his chair as he thought. “We can get him out in fifteen. But just because the cams are down doesn’t mean that security and stuff aren’t wandering around. Not like he’s exactly easy to hide, is he?”
“So, we find out their schedule and look for a gap big enough to get him out. That should be it, right?”
With that, the preparations began. Over the span of two weeks, they worked relentlessly to figure out the guards schedule and rota, finding a large enough gap to give them enough time to sneak Shadow out without alarm.
Their plan was finalized. A couple minutes before the cameras went down for their reboot, Robert would pull the night watchman overseeing Shadow from the viewing room under the disguise that he needed help, giving Sean enough time to slip in, get Shadow up and lead him outside to the others.
Both Sneve and Legundo had offered their help, Sneve still kept in contact with Kiply and she had flown out in order to tell him of the plan. Robert was adamant about taking Ryan with them, not wanting to think about the consequences the intern would face if left behind. On top of that, Sean wanted Kiply to join in their escape, having no doubt in his mind that MI would kill her both once they inevitably found out her role in Shadow’s escape.
Ryan and Kiply would be waiting by the gate they were using to escape, Kiply would open it - since she had the security clearance to - and they would make their way to the waiting cars that Sneve and Legundo had. Robert would occupy the watchman until mere minutes before the cameras would come back online, where he would make his way out as quickly as he could before they would drive to the closest airport. After all, MI would find them incredibly fast if they stayed in the country.
They were only half an hour away from starting their plan. They all sat in Robert’s bunker, silent with nerves suffocating the room. Sean, Robert, Kiply and Ryan sat around the table, lost deep in thought. Sneve and Legundo would be waiting a short distance away until the time they had to be at the gate, prepared for a quick getaway.
Sean’s mind was spinning with every single thing that could go wrong. His chest felt tight and his stomach churned, fearing the worst outcomes of the night no matter how hard he attempted to avert his thoughts. After all, Mustard Institute was cruel and evil, they got what they wanted and didn’t care who they had to kill to get it. Sean thought higher of them once, but seeing and hearing what they did to the Evolved, what they did to Shadow, made him realize their true intention and morals.
He’s pulled from his thoughts at the feel of something on his leg, looking down and seeing Robert’s hand resting there. He looks over at the other man, Robert offering a soft smile and the silent reassurance that everything was going to be okay and to stop worrying. Sean took in a deep, shaky breath as he nodded softly, trying to not let his thoughts wander again.
Another few minutes pass before Robert removes his hand and stands up with a sigh. “It’s time. We’ve got this. Just think about how nice it will be away from these assholes. Be smart, stay calm and stay safe.” Everyone murmurs their good luck and Robert heads out, Sean following him a couple minutes later to not look suspicious.
His stomach turns with anxiety, heart thudding painfully in his chest as he makes his way through the back of the rehabilitation building, just in time to see Robert making his way towards his office, the nightguard following behind, wrapped in conversation. The closer he gets to Shadow’s door, the more anxious he is. Shadow didn’t even know of this plan, they weren’t able to tell him without the risk of everything being exposed. He can’t spare the time to think too hard as his hand opens up the first door, slow and quiet, before the second one is being pushed open and Sean makes his way inside, to Shadow’s sleeping form.
Kneeling beside him, Sean settles a light hand on Shadow’s shoulder, gentle shaking until Shadow turns onto his back and blinks up at him. “Sean..?” He murmurs, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his eye, a soft yawn falling from him.
“Sorry I had to wake you.” Sean hums softly. “I don’t want you to be afraid, but I’m gonna need you to trust me, okay? We’re gonna get you up and we're going to get out of this room. Can you do that, Shadow? Do you trust me?” Sean notices the way anxiety flashes through Shadow’s eye, the way his shoulders tense up and his body stiffens.
Despite that, he nods. “I trust you.” Sean can’t help but smile, standing up and waiting for Shadow to stand up beside him, the full height of him really weighing down on Sean. It was not going to be easy to hide him if things went bad. Not letting that thought deter him, Sean guides Shadow out of the room and into the hallway, motioning him to be quiet and follow, Shadow complying without a moment’s hesitation.
Cracking the side door open, Sean makes a quick scan outside before beckoning Shadow out, lightly taking hold of his hand before guiding him to their exit spot where the others would be waiting. His heart pounds in his chest and he can't bring himself to breathe too hard in case it sets off some kind of alarm. He tries his best to stay calm for Shadow, who he can tell is very anxious and Sean can’t blame him for a second. After all, the only times Shadow ever left the facility was to fight and kill, once being the only things he knew. Sean was grateful that he had become so much more.
The gate, Ryan and Kiply come into view and Sean can see the cars waiting nearby, just a short run away. Kiply opens the gate and ushers Ryan out, Sean guiding Shadow out before his stomach drops. Kim. He can’t leave Kim behind, MI would murder him, he didn’t have any doubt on that.
“I need to get Kim.” He mutters to Kiply, who looks at him like he’s insane at first, but a look of understanding crosses her features.
“Go. But be quick, please. We don’t have long.” Sean nods, catching a glimpse of Robert heading their way as he darts towards Kim’s house. He struggles to read the numbers in the dim light, skidding to a stop when he finally finds Kim’s, racing to the door and knocking rapidly. He knew Kim would be awake by now, always being one to fall asleep early and wake up in the early hours.
The moment the door opens, Sean is pushing his way inside and looking at him in alarm, having so much to say but not a lot of time to say it. “Kim, listen to me, we don’t have time. I’m breaking Shadow out. Robert is coming, Ryan is coming, so is Kiply. I want you to come with us. Please. I can’t leave you here with them.”
Kim stares at him for a moment, processing the rambles. “You’re leaving? Where to?” Concern wavers in his voice, breaking out was so stupidly dangerous - but Kim wanted out so badly. He was tired of MI, the treatment of him, experiments on other people. He didn’t want to be a part of it any longer.
Sean sighs, glancing nervously at the door. “We don’t know. Away from here. Please. We don’t have time, please just come with me.” Kim hesitates, thinking over it for a moment before nodding. Sean doesn’t speak again and they both usher outside - there was nothing in any of their so called homes that was worth taking. Sean leads Kim to the gate, Robert waiting for them there, relief flashing on his face once they join him. There’s no time for chitchat, ushering outside and to the cars, Kim joining Ryan and Kiply in Legundo’s, Robert and Sean joining in with Shadow in Sneve’s.
Both cars start up and Sean’s stomach drops as alarms start blaring inside the facility, spotlights turning on around them. Sneve and Legundo waste no time in flooring their cars across the field, they’re so close to freedom, they can’t stop now.
Shadow is panicking beside Sean, breaths quick and body tense, the sirens shooting his anxiety straight up. Sean doesn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around him, pressing Shadow against him and covering his other ear with his hand in the hopes to dull the sound behind them, fading as they drive away. It takes a while but Shadow calms, not moving away from Sean’s embrace, not moving away from Robert’s hand resting on his leg.
The following hours are fast and chaotic, Sean can barely process them, just keeping one arm around Shadow, his other holding onto Robert in silent reassurance. They sit outside of the airfield, Sneve pulling some strings to have a jet waiting for them. All they needed was a destination.
Kim alerted them all to the fact that he had a cabin back in Norway, in the woods, off the grid and away from it all. It would be the perfect place to camp out until it all died down - but deep down they all knew that MI wouldn’t stop their search for them. Having no other choice, they all found themselves on the jet, flying towards their new home, their new life away from MI.