I Am Nothing

[EquinoxSol]

It had been three weeks since Subject 14 was taken from the Genesis Tube. In that short time, he had adopted the name Oscar, after one of the many writers he had been taught of in the Genesis Tube. He was innocence in its purest form, a toddler in a teenaged body. Everything was new to him, and he went through the world with wide eyes.

For the first two weeks since his 'birth', Oscar was taught everything he would need to know until he could be enrolled in a proper school and hidden in plain sight from the Corporate Tasks Initiative of the FBI. Until them, he would be kept in the custody of the Shendall Corporation.

On the third week of his existence, Oscar was prepared to be introduced into human society. After all, what good was a clone if they were socially inept and incapable of working in society? Then, on exactly the twenty-fourth day of his existence, the Shendall Corporation received word that the CTI was aware of their working with human cloning. Oscar had to be moved, and quickly.

It was decided that Oscar would be moved to another facility in Yukon, where it would easier to hide Oscar. So, he was taken to a small private airfield just outside of a large city, where he was to board a plane.

However, just before Oscar started walking up the stairs to the plane, he broke from the grip of Dr Subaru, his physician and the doctor that had removed him from the Genesis Tube, and ran. He wanted to actually live, before he was taken into custody by CTI and killed, or worse. He didn't want to be an experiment or just a tool.

While panic and chaos ensued, he raced into the bushes just off the Tarmac, his heart pounding. He had never known adrenaline, and as he ran to a fence and pulled himself over it, he felt exhilarated like he ha never felt before. All he could hope for was that the snow wouldn't make him leave tracks.

As he pulled himself over the fence, he fell into a grouping of rose bushes, and got himself pricked by several thorns. The roses had died from the snow, and all that was left was the thorns. Covering his mouth with his hands to keep from crying out, he crawled out of the bushes, now cut in several places and covered in snow. He could hear shouts in the direction of the airfield, and almost panicked before he crawled back into the rose bush, ignoring the pain.

Hopefully, he would be safe here.

Oscar Germain

 

[Dia Thames]

Gracelyn Ray had always been a sickly sort of Child. From the time she was born she was surrounded by horde's of doctors. In fact, there was never a time in her life that she couldn't remember her parents picking up yet another medication from the pharmacy. Frankly, she was sick of it all. She was sick of being poked and prodded at. Sick of medications being stuffed down her throat...sick of her parents 'protecting her', shielding her. So when she was eighteen she took charge of her own care and insisted upon being on her own. The woman lived in small two bed, two bath house with a cute front and back yard, it was all she could afford. It was tiny, but it was home, feeling more at home here than she ever had with her parents. But She was taking her medications, she didn't have a choice if she wanted her heart to keep beating. However, she wasn't going to let doctors stick anymore needles in her arms or bully her into another appointment so she refused any appointments they tried to get her to come to.

She didn't know much about the cloning the Shendall Corporation was carrying on. In fact, next to nothing at all. She knew the corporation was around, but nothing really besides that. Gracelyn walked out to her back porch and glanced at the thermometer. A shiver ran down her body and her feet stung as she realized that there was snow on the ground. It was Twenty-one degrees outside and falling. The woman turned and reached out, grabbing the handle to the sliding door when she heard something fall, and crash into her dead foliage.

She turned around, and looked questioningly around her back yard. A gasp escaped her lips as she saw a boy crawl out of her dead rose bushes. Before she could any anything though he crawled back into the heavy coverage of the dead foliage. There was shouting in the distance from the airfield and she looked confused. Quickly she ran back inside, pulled on a coat and some boots and ran back out. With caution she approached the rose bushes, a baseball bat in her hands.

"W-What are you doing in there?" she asked shakily and raised the baseball bat, ready to strike if she needed to. "Come out, or I'm calling the police..."

She stopped about ten feet from the section of bushes she had seen him crawl back into. Gracelyn was about five foot four and lean. Her long brown hair draped over her shoulders and her steel blue eyes were cemented on the pile of thorns.

 

[EquinoxSol]

Oscar flinched as he heard a woman's voice calling to him, threatening to call the police. That made him want to retreat further into the dark of the bush. Still, that would only make her call the cops. He knew that CTI had his DNA, and they were probably spreading it to the local police stations. He couldn't be arrested, not if he wanted to live.

Trembling, he came out of the bush, blinking at the woman through his thick glasses. "U-umm...please, don't call the police. I...I don't have any weapons. I'm sorry I fell in your bushes..." He glanced up at her, a cut from the thorns on his left cheek.

"Th-there's men chasing me..." he said softly, jumping when he heard more shouts from the Shendall men. "Please...if you could let me inside, I will explain." He gave his best smile, trying to appear friendly and not dangerous.

As the shouts grew louder, he began trembling, though more from cold than anything else. He was wearing a sweater over a button-up shirt and a pair of dark trousers, though his shoes were merely a pair of canvas shoes, and the snow had already soaked through them, making him shiver. Brushing his hair back, trembling, he fixed scared brown eyes on the woman as he heard the men coming closer to the fence.

 

[Dia Thames]

Her eyes glued to the spot that he had crawled back into, she trembled softly. But as he came out she saw his thick glasses and listened as he spoke. The baseball bat fell to her side as he continued, but she noted that he jumped as he heard the men yelling in the distance. A question was about to fall of her perfect lips when he spoke up again, saying he could and would explain what was going on. But with men chasing him and them getting increasingly closer and closer she frowned a bit.Why would they be chasing them. Gracelyn hesitated but sighed and looked at him, a skeptical look on her face. It was clear she was hesitant about letting him in, But eventually she nodded. The woman felt terrible watching his scared big brown eyes and seeing him trembling.

"Okay, Let's go inside...you must be freezing out here.."

Smiling softly she walked inside and shut the sliding door behind him. With a click it locked and she shut the shades and turned to him. Gracelyn would help him but at the same time she was being cautious.

"Probably not the best clothing choice for winter. I'm surprised you haven't frozen to death..." she stepped around him and went to her kitchen. "If you would, take off your shoes...they are soaked. Your going to get sick keeping them on."

IN the kitchen she started up her coffee maker and spoke.

"Do you want any coffee? Hot Chocolate? Apple Cider Perhaps? We need to get you warmed up. I'm no good around sick people.."

Ironically she was telling the truth. She hated hospitals, despised them actually and that included anything that came with nurses and heart monitors.

 

[EquinoxSol]

Oscar's face immediately brightened as the woman said he could come inside her house. He followed her inside, letting the warmth of her heater wash over him. When she told him to take off his shoes, he quickly slipped them off. He hadn't yet mastered how to tie his shoelaces, so instead of untying them, he just pulled them off and left them by the door.

Then, he followed her into the kitchen, where she was working a strange device. As it began burbling and a dark liquid began dripping into the clear cannister, he blinked up at her, the snow on his clothes and in his hair began melting. "Uhh...coffee...?" he said, not sure what it was, but not wanting to seem ignorant.

"Thank you...for letting me inside...I was afraid that those men would get me..."

 

[Dia Thames]

Gracelyn's attention turned to the coffee maker and as the liquid began to drip into the cannister below she looked to him. The brown haired's woman thought she heard hesitation in his voice as he spoke. But she tried to brush it off and when it stopped, poured him some coffee and herself a cup. Sitting at the table there was some sugar, and coffee creamer because she couldn't stomach straight black coffee. WHen he spoke she listened to him and blinked, sipping at the sweetened liquid in her hands.

"Why are those men after you?" she asked. "Who are you?"

Blinking she just looked confused.

 

[EquinoxSol]

Oscar stared down into his cup, the mug warming his hand. He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip. The moment he swallowed the bitter liquid, he sputtered, the taste horrible and heavy on his tongue. Setting the cup down, he watched the woman spoon a white powder and a liquid of the same color into her coffee, and followed her example. Soon, his coffee was a pale brown color and he took a sip. It was much better, sweet and warm, and he quickly drank some more while the woman spoke.

When she finished, he took another long drink, trying to think up a suitable lie. His mind told him that it was unlikely that she would believe him if he said he was a human clone, so he struggled to come up with something more believable. Eventually, he said, with the slightest of English accents, "My name is Oscar Germain...Those men are after me because...well, because I...I, uh...I have sensitive information regarding a well-known company...should this information reach the public, it could destroy a multi-national corporation...they want to frame me for...something..." He looked away, hiding his nervousness with another sip of coffee.

 

[Dia Thames]

She listened to him and frowned a bit as he continued. The tone of voice was easily deciphered. He sounded nervous which, obviously, she could understand. She was be scared too with men chasing her. Oscar's story was believeable so she wasn't going to call him out on it. But she knew when someone wasn't being completely honest with her. This man must have been hiding something and must have had a reason to hide it. It wasn't her business to pry right now.

"Wait...Oscar Germain? Like the Author? " she blinked and looked at him. "O-Oh...I'm Gracelyn by the way. But you can call me Grace or Gracie...whatever variation of my name that is to your liking. And if I'm helping a fugitive can I at least know...why they want to Frame you? What did you do to piss them off?" she blinked. This was all so confusing. The woman wished she knew exactly what was going on.

 

[EquinoxSol]

"Well...I got Oscar from Oscar Wilde, and Germain just sounded nice" he said, looking down into his coffee for a second. Then, he realized that no normal person would say that, and quickly said, "I...I had a name change, a couple years ago..." He blushed in embarrassment before stating, "Those men want to frame me because it would keep me from saying what I know to the press or to their rivals. I...I saw some...immoral business practices..." he concluded lamely, hoping that she would believe his story.

Before either could say anything else, there was a resounding knock at the front door. Oscar flinched immediately, and resisted the urge to crawl under the table and hide. "U-uh...it...might be one of those men...do you have somewhere I can hide so I won't be seen from the door?"

 

[Dia Thames]

Gracelyn was very attentive as he spoke and her conclusion that he wasn't being completely honest was only furthered he continued to speak. She would ask him about it later. As she opened her mouth to speak there was a deafening knock at the door. Looking to him she nodded.

"There is a Room down the hall, hide in the room next to my bedroom. I just store my books there." she said.

She got up and went to the door, pulling it open as he was out of sight. A frown came across her pretty lips.

"What do you want?" she asked. "You shouldn't go banging on doors like that."

She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. An expectant look was cast upon those standing on her door step.

 

[EquinoxSol]

When Gracelyn opened the door, she would come face to face with an aging man of Asian descent, dressed in a lab coat. "My apologies, ma'am," he said when she reprimanded him for knocking on the door so late at night. "I am a geneticist working for the Shendall Corporation. Tonight, one of our experiments went missing in this area...Have you seen anything strange tonight? I...I cannot give any more information regarding the experiment, so anything you can tell me will help..."

He gave a small smile, trying to appear like nothing more than a scientist looking for his experiment.

Instead of hiding in the spare room, Oscar had stayed in the hallway, eavesdropping. As he heard the voice of the man at the door, he gasped, covering his mouth in shock. It was the voice of Dr Subaru, the doctor that had helped him out of the Genesis Tube and checked his vitals, the doctor that had bathed him and treated him as if he was more than an experiment. As he heard Dr Subaru call him nothing but an experiment, he felt tears fill his eyes, and nearly began crying. Dr Subaru had been the only person at the Shendall Corporation to call him by the name he chose, and not just call him Subject 14.

And now, he had betrayed his trust irreparably.

 

[Dia Thames]

As she saw the aging asian man standing on her doorstep. She listened to him and blinked, frowning a bit as she bit her lip and then shook her head.

"This is probably the least intriguing neighborhood around. " she said. "You picked the wrong one I"m afraid. No rogue experiments running a muck here." she said. "I only heard a bunch of men yelling and going in that direction." she said, pointing in the exact opposite of her house. When the man left she locked the door and heard it click. She felt her cellphone buzz in her pocket. It was her brother, he traveled a lot so he wasn't home a lot but a text informed her he would be...and soon. He always stopped by here first before going back home to visit their parents.

Gracelyn turned and walked towards the hallway to go to the back bedroom but Oscar was in the hallway in tears. She gasped softly and felt so bad for him.

"Oscar...?" she asked softly and looked at him sadly. "What is wrong...? Did you....know that man?"

 

[EquinoxSol]

Oscar nodded, still holding back tears. "I...I...I did...He...He was like a father..." Oscar began crying, his thin shoulders shaking with every sob. "It...it's not fair..." He held his head in his hands, his blonde curls falling into his eyes. It was a long time until he was able to stop crying, and by then his eyes were red and his cheeks were stained with tears.

"I...I thought he cared about me..." he whispered, his brown eyes filled with sadness. Eventually, he stood up, letting his hair hang in his eyes. "Do...do you have any food I could have? I haven't eaten all day, and I'm a bit hungry..."

((Sorry it's so short, but I didn't want to just write a bunch of paragraphs where he does nothing but cries :/))

 

[Dia Thames]

The woman felt absolutely horrible for this man. He had been betrayed by the person he had trusted most in this world. And he had to run, to hide with no where to go...or so it seemed. As he cried she ran her hand over his back, gently rubbing it reassuringly. She wasn't too sure how to handle this. But as he stood up and and for food she stood up as well and asked for food she smiled and nodded. But as he lips parted so she could speak the front door opened. In walked a tall man wearing jeans in a button up shirt. The long sleeves were rolled up to just above his elbows and strong, frame showed through his shirt. His hair was cut short and was brown, his cheerful eyes a sage green. He was incredibly handsome. The smell of tomato sauce and cheese and pepperoni hung in the air.

"Hey, who wants some Pizza?" he asked, grinning a bit as he saw his little sister. But Then he saw Oscar he blinked and looked back to her. "You could have told me you had your boyfriend over and I would have opted for a hotel room."

Gracelynn waved her hands in front of her face and shook her head.

"No, no! Just a guest Jayce. Just a guest. And you have perfect timing. We are both starving."

She reached out and ushered her brother into the kitchen and he laid the Pizza on the table. The brunette man opened the box and motioned for him to take some.

"Help yourself. But first...who are you?" he asked. "You a friend Gracie never told me about?" he asked, smiling.

 

[EquinoxSol]

Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of a young man that came with the smells of something that made his chest flutter. Pizza. Oscar had only got to have it once, as he was on a strict diet while with the Shendall Corporation. The only time he was allowed pizza was when he had been given an IQ test and had tested in the 160s. That was higher than Einstein, da Vinci, and Mozart had ever been. For celebration, he had been given a meal of pizza, soda, and ice cream, all three of which he had loved. However, when he had asked for them again, he was denied, as it veered sharply off of his strict regimen.

Hardly hearing Grace as she told the man that he wasn't her boyfriend, he followed him to the table, smiling gently. However, when the man asked him who he was, he blinked, his eyebrows rising. "Um...yes, I'm...we met...at, uh...work...?" He gave an uncertain smile, hoping that the lie worked. "I-I'm Oscar..." He smiled, brushing his hair back from his face as he got distracted by the man's eyes, which were a shade of green so perfect and deep...he could get lost in them.

Realizing that he had just been standing there, smiling at him like a maniac, he blinked and shook his head, looking down at the pizza. "Er...thanks, for this...I don't get to eat pizza very often..."

 

[Dia Thames]

Jayce was a military man, he had all of his training and was now just waiting to be enlisted to go overseas. He had a strong frame and was tall, about six feet tall in height. The man noticed the other male's eyebrows raise and he grinned a bit as he spoke. With His tone, along with his smile that spilled all of his uncertainty before everyone to see, he knew Oscar was lying. But he wasn't going to point that out at the moment. Also, He noticed him staring at him, into his deep green eyes. Jayce couldn't help but chuckle as the blonde haired boy blinked and realized he had been staring. The smirk on his lips spread even wider and he was compelled to watch his actions further. As he spoke again he nodded but thought his comment was off color a bit. Pizza was a staple american food and people ate it more often than they cared to admit.

"Take as much as you would like, you Don't need to thank me but...your welcome...Oscar." he said and smiled back at the boy. "I Like the name by the way, Not a name you hear that often. My name is Jayce. I'm Gracie's older bother, I mean brother." he eyed her then looked back to him. "Where are you from?"

 

[EquinoxSol]

Oscar took a slice of pizza and was in the middle of eating a bite when Jayce asked him where he was from. Moaning at the taste, Oscar enjoyed the bite of pizza before answering. "Er...I'm from...around...here, I'm from around here. I've got...a job at the university..." Among all the things Oscar had been taught, how to lie was not one of them, and he found that it was extremely hard for him to come up with everything on the spot like this.

He ate another bite, loving how the melted, greasy cheese contrasted perfectly with the tomato sauce and made every tastebud on his tongue tingle. Closing his eyes in bliss, he quickly finished the slice, devouring it in just a few seconds. "Mmm, that's so good..." he commented, before looking to Jayce again. "C-could I have another?"

 

[Dia Thames]

From the sounds of it, Oscar was really enjoying the slice of pizza, but however one thing was clear. The blonde standing in front of him was continuing to lie. He had said he was from here twice, and stuttered. On top of that and most importantly, he was being non-specific as to where "here" was. Jayce knew what he meant but wasn't entirely sure Oscar knew exactly where he was. But as he quickly finished, the brunette man finished his slice as well and he nodded as then person in front of him asked if he could have another. He motioned to the pizza with a carefree expression on his face. By this time he had noticed Gracie's presence had disappeared from the kitchen along with a slice or two of the food. But he didn't mind, Oscar had caught his attention.

"Of course, you are welcome to as much as you would like. There is plenty here for all of us." he said and glanced at the second box underneath the first one then back to the intriguing blonde. "So, a job at the University?" he asked, taking another slice. "You could be a student, but your a bit young looking to be a professor....What do you do up there? You do know, Gracie dose not go to school up at the university so...you two couldn't have met at work." he said but then chuckled and looked at him, a charming smile on his lips and a light in his green eyes. "Your not very good at this lying thing...are you?" he asked lightheartedly, then watched to see how he would react.

 

[EquinoxSol]

When Jayce commented on how bad his lying skills were, Oscar's skin immediately turned a shade paler. "Er...I...I don't know what you're talking about..." Still, he could see that Jayce didn't believe him, and felt his resolve weakening. "Oh...okay...that was a lie. But if I tell you the truth, you cannot tell it to anyone else."

Oscar raked his fingers through his hair before he began, telling him the same lie that he had told Gracelyn. "I have sensitive information regarding the Shendall Corporation. This information could ruin them, and because of that, they want to frame me so that I can't tell other's what they're doing. I...am sorry for the lie, but I believed it was necessary..."

He glanced over at Jayce, hoping that he believed this lie. Raking his fingers through his hair again, he added, "I came here because the Shendall Corporation was chasing me and this was the only house with the lights on...Your sister knows this, but I don't want to get her involved any more than I have to..."

 

[Dia Thames]

Jayce saw the person standing in front of him turn a shade he didn't think was possible. It almost made him wonder if the other male felt sick and was about to give out on him. But finally he spoke again, the brunette nodded and watched him with deep attentive eyes, wondering what was so big a secret he had to try to lie about it. He glanced at his hand as it came up and ran though his own hair, he looked extremely nervous. But when he finished explaining, the military man could see why he was. The Shendall Corporation was doing some rather shady things, or at least that was as far as he knew. Few Knew what they were really doing behind those sealed metal doors. It only made him even more curious about what Oscar was hiding and just how sensitive the information was. But he agreed, wholeheartedly, with him about involving his sister.

"I second the not getting Gracie involved in any of that stuff. It is messy right now and I can see why you might be nervous. The Shendall Corporation is shady in and of it's self. If you need any help, Let me assist you. She has enough to worry about with her bad heart." he said. But then he looked at him expectantly. "What is your plan then? From here I mean...can't hide here forever..." he said. He didn't mean to sound cruel at all, but was just pointing out the sad truth.

"Do you have anywhere to go? That I can help you get there?"