Isaia knew fully well how absurdly terrible her sense of humor was; Darin always saw fit to point out what the obvious in that regard. Her sense of humor was the one thing she had going for her in this monotone hellhole. Sometimes, she wondered if he was trying to get a rise out of her by insulting her jokes and puns.... Yet other times, he joined her in razzing the Facilityâs staff. Either way, Isaia didnât mind, whether he was telling her to more or less can it, or if he was hitching a ride on the bandwagon. By this point, she was more than used to Darinâs wishy-washy personality toward her, after all, he was the only company sheâd had for the months heâd been here, and vice versa. Before his arrival, Isaia had been completely alone in this corridor of cages, left to her own devices when she wasnât being poked, prodded or having parts of her numb while scalpels were taken to her for samples. And given that the staff wasnât even kind enough to leave her with a TV or even a damn book, the company was welcome, even if it was foul-mouthed and oft abrasive company.
Still, when Isaia heard him tell everyone to shut up so that he could sleep, it made her snicker and giggle like the moron her jokes made her out to be. She had said her piece, however, revealing the lacking sense of humor present in the Facilityâs staff to the newcomer, Milton hadnât even batted an eyelash at her joke, and merely gazed at her as if she were nothing more than a monkey in a zoo mimicking human behaviors. That wasnât a surprise. Most of the armed guards treated her like that; she was more than used to it. She expected it. To the people who ran this place, thatâs all she was. She was an exhibit to be studied and dissected at their mercy, as far as they were concerned. Sheâd lost her status as human the moment she first levitated off her bed in the middle of the night however-long-ago. The moment that happened, sheâd become something else as far as the world knew. The only individuals who probably still thought of her as human were her parents and herself...on occasion. Moments did come to and fro where she began to forfeit thoughts of her humanity given her uncontrollable supernatural ability.
But always did she think of herself as human again, in time. It didnât matter what the Facilityâs staff believed or how they viewed her, Isaia knew that she still had a mind, a heart and a soul the same as any other person, the only difference was that she occasionally forgot how to gravity. Oh, and her eyes glowed, apparently. She hadnât actually noticed that herself, and only came to realize it when the scientists observing one of her spells made a verbal note of it on a recorder.
As things went quiet in the corridor of cages, Isaia did so as well. No point in mindless chatter for the moment, best to ease in the newcomer to it all. The bleak grey, the too-smooth surfaces and barred barriers that separated them from each other and the world.... It took some time to acclimate to it and to understand that this was it for God knew how long.
A deep sigh slipped from the girlâs lips as she flopped herself over backward, resting her head on the hard floor, while she stretched her legs out in front of her, crossing one foot over the other, she laced her fingers together to rest haphazardly upon her diaphragm, and she stared at the ceiling as she had every day for unknown months. A period of peace fell over the corridor, over the cages and their inhabitants while Isaia passed the idle time, humming songs to herself that sheâd memorized in the life she had before all this while she made her mind remember the notes and chords to them at the same time, even if she might never touch a guitar or piano again, she didnât want to forget.
The hours passed quicker than one might think for Isaia as she fell into the recesses of her mind, recalling the music sheâd always loved so much, and before she knew it, she heard several sets of footsteps echoing down the hallways againâseemed it was time for one of her daily trays of goop! Brought out of her musical trance, Isaia let out a single laugh to herself, before she sat up with an obnoxiously loud groan and stretched, popping her spine and cracking her neck as well. By this point, she knew the drill about meal time; Dr. Sterling would come in, flanked by guards, one of whom was usually Milton, plop a tray of the grey goop down on her pathetic table with a glass of water, a phony smile pasted on her face to make her appear compassionate toward her charges, and be out of there faster than a sneeze.
All of the while, Isaia was expected to remain where she was while the guards kept their weapons trained on her at all times to ensure she didnât go crackers and jump the doctor in a vain effort to escape. As if they had anything to worry about from her anyway; she couldnât do anything with her telekinesis besides float like a balloon. Isaia sat in place, Indian-style with her hands on her bare feet as she heard the multitude of footsteps halt in front of her cage. Keys jangled, and her barred cell door opened wide as in walked Dr. Sterling, as she had with several of the other captives.
Just as always, there was Milton again, standing in the cellâs doorway with his gun drawn and trained onto her. This happened, three times a day, every day. âYo, Officer Milton, do yaâll really think itâs necessary to keep a gun on me?â she snorted while Milton simply narrowed his cold eyes on her, âSeriously, Dr. Sterling, you know by now that Iâm literally as harmless as a frigginâ balloon, here. Cuz, all I actually do is float...?â
The blonde-headed doctor just looked at Isaia, that practiced smile never faltering, âNumber Twenty-two, you know that we must take every precaution to ensure the safety of you, your fellow inmates, and the Facilityâs staff. No matter how harmless you might be, in theory, anyone can be dangerous.â Isaia just let out a loud huff of air at the womanâs well-rehearsed response.
âWhatever helps yâsleep at night, doc.â
Isaia heard the goop tray and glass of water being set onto the table, as Dr. Sterlingâs high-heeled shoes clicked against the cold floor as she left the cell, the door being shut behind her, Milton and the other armed guards continuing their routine down the corridor with the other captives. Despite being given something to quell her appetite, Isaia didnât make a move yet. It wasnât like she had anything to look forward to on that table, the crap that she and her fellow Mutants was given was as she described it to the newcomer before, grey goop.
âSo how hard is it to get out of this place?â Speaking of the newcomer.... Boy, he was awfully idealistic to be considering escape this soon. Isaia kept her gaze level with the door sheâd been staring at since Dr. Sterling had left, saying nothing. She knew well enough that she didnât have to, because within about half a minute of the question, Isaia heard the telltale crash of a tray hitting another surface.
Isaia listened to both the heavily-accented girl and Darin snark in response to the question posed by the newcomer, although, Darinâs response bordered along the lines of bragging about the fact that he almost got out.... She knew better than both of them that escape was a pipedream. Isaia had been here longer than most anyone else at this point; itâd been her first, then Darin, and so on till the newcomer ended up in here with them today. And regardless of how long sheâd been contained within the Facility, sheâd never actually attempted an escape from it because she was intelligent enough to realize how ridiculously low her chances of it were. Rolling her eyes, Isaia stood up very quickly while ignoring the sudden pang of dizziness that set in on her for doing so.
âLemme tell you something âbout this place, New Guy! Iâve been here for, I dunno, probably, like, a year now? Unless a damn miracle happens or the most unlikely thing ever occurs, weâre here for good! Sucks, I know.â Isaia called out, no hint of snark or sarcasm in her voice. âGet used to monotony, because thatâs your new life.â She turned on her heel, eyes falling onto her designated goop tray.
âYum, goop....â she mumbled to herself. What she wouldnât give for something with flavorâeven cherry-flavored cough syrup would be nice by this point. As foul as that horrid, red liquid was, at least it had a taste. Plopping herself down on her hard chair, Isaia picked up the plastic spork that was provided with and began to poke idly at the grey goo in front of her whilst pursing her lips. âAinât it weird that this place still uses sporks? Before I got dragged here, I swear, itâd been, like, a decade since Iâd seen anywhere use them. Must of gotten them in bulk, or something.â
After a minute of attempting to sculptâŠsomething out of the goop, Isaia let her spork rest in it, bored, and unwilling to eat it. She sipped on the water, at least, as she leaned back in her chair. Her eyes fell back onto her tray, and her eyes narrowed, yep, she really didnât want any part of that goop right now. Blowing a raspberry at it, Isaia set her water back onto her table before she made a motion to shove the tray away from her. Only...that wasnât exactly what happened.
It felt like someone took the breath out of her lungs, while a surge of electricity shot through her and escaped through her left hand. Something, some sort of force? Isaia felt it as it blew her tray and water glass off the table, and sent them both flying across her cell until they hit the steel bars, both the goop and water splattering into the corridor while both tray and glass clattered onto the floor. Isaiaâs chair had been scooted back a bit by the force sheâd projected too. Stunned, the telekinetic stared ahead of her blankly, at the mess sheâd made. She...had made that, hadnât she? Thatâd been her doing? Had her telekinesis actually just shown itself in some way other than making her float?
Her heart fluttered, and a shiver ran through her as she couldnât help the smile that slipped over her lips. Something awoke in her, as she clenched her left hand into a fist and her eyes lit up brightly, maybe she actually did have a hope now...? The staff wasnât prepared for this, prepared for what she just did, although theyâd be on her like locusts now, she knew that. But she couldnât help the triumphant feeling that swelled within her chest.
âOh, hell YES!â she shouted, standing up and raising her fist above her head. âGuess whose telekinesis actually works now?! Ha!â