Project Gracie

Chapter 2

The sky is bright and full of colour. She has no idea what time it is, but she knows that she was gone for much longer than she has expected. However, she knew that didn't mean she was free. She always looked over her shoulder to make sure Professor Zon or Assistant Percy wasn't right behind her. They had to be around here somewhere. However, she traveled miles and for two days now. That didn't change her fear. She didn't want to go back. The isolation was killing her. She's learning all these new things. The beautiful world beyond her cramped lab room, that she is forced to stay in. 

Rows and rows of houses go past her as she steps forward ever so quickly. Every single colour of each house and its decorations amazed her, pulling her in a trance of colourful wonder. A slight breeze pushed her hair around. Chimes spoke, making sounds of annoyance at being pushed around. Birds sang their pleasant songs. Every so often a car would fly by and the girl would watch it go by. Everything amazed her. This world brought her joy. Why would Professor Zon hide her from it?

One of these cars that passed by the girl was a yellow school bus. On the bus, James looked out his window with exhaustion spelled out on his face. His stop is the final one and there are a lot of them. He was lost in thought, to keep him awake. No one on the bus talked to each other, so it was relatively quiet, besides the freshmen girls gossiping about which boy was cutest. As the bus flowed through the neighborhood towards its next stop, he saw her.

The girl with the purple hair.

Exhaustion left his face. He sat straight up faster than he ever has. The girl was interested in some nearby flowers, she hadn't noticed the passing bus. 

The bus pulls in at the corner and stops. James attempts to leave the bus before the doors are fully open. He rushes down the street and stops in front of the distracted girl. She notices his feet and looks up. They stare at each other, silence blanketing the air. The girl was the first to speak, excitement in her voice to make a new friend.

"Hello! It's nice to meet you!" She holds her hand out for James to shake.

This girl isn't normal. She didn't act how any other person would. Where other people would look and speak with fear, demanding if they knew each other, this girl did not. She spoke with no exact emotion as they all jumbled into a confusing mess. Her sentences always sounded like they were spoken by a toddler who was just learning to speak. The smile pasted on her face was as if she were practicing greeting people for the first time. Or it was a small child being introduced to their mother's friend, when in all honestly they would rather be at home play with their toys. She didn't act human. She's an alien learning how to blend in with humans, and that alien has never seen a human before. She isn't human. 

James looked into her emotionless brown eyes. He couldn't help it. It is as if he were trying to find her soul. To fix her. Why was she acting the way she was? Why is he acting this way? Maybe it's because he had just found her. His friend, who was taken away from her home. Gracie stood right in front of him. Henry's little sister. James's best friend. She was standing right in front of him. But, it wasn't her. This isn't Gracie. Gracie was an intelligent girl. A girl who stood up for those she cared for. She spoke when no one else had a voice. She was determined to fight for what was right, yet admit when she was wrong. Gracie was kind and gentle, yet could win a fight against a grown man, despite being small. This isn't Gracie. Gracie wasn't a bumbling idiot who was easily distracted by simple things, such as flowers. Gracie hated flowers. 

He slowly takes her hand. At the connection, the girl's eyes flash to green. A weird feeling flowed through his body. The girl looked lost in a trace. Out of fear and shock, James ripped his hand back. This startled the girl and her eyes go back to normal. 

Still, in a state of shock, James lets the words, "What the hell?" slip from his lips. 

The girl fumbles back. She had no idea if this stranger was going to strike her. James, unintentionally, looked as if he were to hurt her because of what just happened. As on cue of her fear, her hands began to glow light green and the ground shook. The ground beneath James started to crack, as fast. He looks down at the cracks then back up at the girl.

"No. No! It's okay! I'm not going to hurt you!" He threw his hands up in surrender and his expression softened. Everything stopped shaking and her hands stopped glowing. 

"You're not?" She asked it like a little kid. James had no idea what to do. He was standing in front of a shell. Whoever's inside of her is not her. She had no idea who he was. His heart shank. All that time looking for her only to find someone completely different. 

"No." James held his hand out. "Let's start over. I'm James." He holds his hand out. The girl looks at it, then back into his eyes. She takes it and shakes. He calmly pulls away, despite so many emotions forming a tornado inside of him.

"What's a name?" the girl asked. This took James by surprise. How does she not know what a name is? It was at this moment, James completely understood. This girl has no memory of her past life. None at all. She probably doesn't know what the world is like. She's been missing for two years. Where has she been? What did they do to her? At his point, it was if she were dead. 

"You don't have a name?" The girl shook her head. James sighed. "well, a name is like, something someone calls you. It's to get your attention. It's to signal you out as a different person from everyone else."

"Oh! So, Subject 127 is my name then," the girl replies. "Uh, hi! My name is Subject 127!" She didn't say it in a normal way. Not to mention she has a number for a name. 

"Subject 127?" James questioned. "That's not an actual name."

"That's what Professor Zon and Assistant Percy call me," Subject 127 replies. James shakes his head. He didn't know what to say to her. He was teaching a five-year-old how the world works, but it wasn't a five-year-old. Subject 127 probably thinks she's two-years-old, not knowing that she is supposed to be seventeen. 

James shakes his head once more. "This isn't the place to be discussing this. C'mon, let's go back to my place."

James knows, he shouldn't let some random washed-up person into his house; especially if they have powers that can make the ground below you shake and break without cracking it in any shape or form. However, he knew this girl. Or at least the girl she used to be. Plus, he needed to be in a place Henry was familiar with. A place he could slowly adapt to what is to become. Two years of searching had paid off. 

He starts to walk off and, to his surprise, the girl followed him. 

~~~~~

Cars whizzed by James and Subject 127, who walked a few feet behind James. Every so often, James would look behind him to makes sure Subject 127 was still behind him walking and not distracted by a plant or a bee that just buzzed by.

He felt his pocket. His phone was right there. He just needed to call Henry and tell him to meet him back at James's place. He needed to show him his little sister in person. He couldn't explain over the phone that Henry's younger sister is alive but has amnesia. 

He takes the brick out of his pocket. It feels heavier than what it is. The world began to spin so slow. He turned his phone on and immediately went to the phone option. Henry wasn't that far down the list. Henry was on the top of his previous calls list. His thumb hovered.

He's been searching for the past two years. Gracie has been missing for the past two years. You found Gracie, but you didn't actually find her. You just found the shell of a girl you once knew.

His mind isn't kind to him. However, it did have a point. Henry has been looking for Gracie. Who he had wasn't Gracie. 

He clicks the phone off and shoves it back into his pocket. He has no idea what to do. He shoves his hands into his pockets, ducks his head down, and keeps walking. Subject 127 skips behind him, not having a care in the world.