Chapter 3
She tried to remember what had happened before she found herself there, but her mind was foggy, as if lost in a dense haze. What she did know was that the pain, the loneliness, and the emptiness were always with her. And then, in that moment, a nurse approached. Her face was impersonal, but her voice was sharp, almost like a command.
“Experiment 616”. she called, her tone dry and emotionless. “Experiment 616, wake up.”.
The numbers sounded like a sentence. She had been called that for as long as she could remember, and the number she carried was all she knew about herself. No name, no history...just a number. A cold designation. She slowly moved her fingers, trying to sit up, feeling a tightness in her chest.
The nurse pulled her up with a cold, mechanical grip, her touch impersonal and detached, while the girl felt her heartbeat quicken. With each step, the weight of fear pressed harder against her chest. The long, dark corridors seemed to swallow the light, making the space feel even more claustrophobic. She knew where she was being taken, and she hated that place. The underground laboratory was her nightmare, a place where she was nothing more than an experiment—a meaningless number.
She already knew the scent of the air there: metal, antiseptic, and something else, something that smelled like pain and isolation. No matter how many times she was taken to that laboratory, the feeling of despair never faded. The concrete walls seemed to close in more and more, as if the space were shrinking around her. And worse still, she knew the man waiting for her—Dr. Kraus—would always be there, watching her with those cold, unreadable eyes.
“Come on, 616!” the nurse said, her voice devoid of warmth. “Don’t take too long.”.
She hated that number. More than anything, she wanted to be something beyond a code. But that wasn’t how things worked. She was 616. Nothing more. And she always would be.
The double doors of the laboratory swung open, and the nurse pushed her inside. The lab was filled with medical equipment, monitors, tubes, and containment chambers. The hum of the machines was deafening, and the cold, impersonal atmosphere made her feel even smaller. Dr. Kraus stood there, watching her with a clinical gaze, as if she were an object to be analyzed, not a person.
“616...” he said, his voice deep but devoid of any warmth. “As always, don’t disappoint me.”.
She flinched involuntarily, knowing that no matter what she did, she would always be just an experiment to him. Never anything more.
The nurse positioned her on the cold steel bed in the center of the lab, adjusting the wires and connections as a lump formed in her throat. She didn’t want to go through this again... didn’t want to be the lab rat, the experiment, the test subject. But there was no choice. She had never had a choice.
As she braced herself for what she knew was coming, she heard footsteps echoing down the corridor. A figure appeared in the doorway. He wasn’t like the others... he didn’t wear the same pristine white lab coats or the rigid military uniforms. His posture was different, and there was something in his eyes that seemed almost… human.
He didn’t approach immediately, simply observing her from a distance for a moment. His eyes were piercing, yet something about him made the girl feel strangely uneasy. He was there, and somehow, she knew that whatever happened next would be different from anything she had faced before.
Dr. Kraus didn’t seem pleased by the man’s presence, but he merely gave a slight nod, as if acknowledging his authority. The figure looked at the girl with an expression that seemed more curious than cold. He moved toward her, unhurried, and lowered himself slightly to meet her gaze.
He seemed different from all the others. There was something about him that didn’t belong in that place. Something almost… human. And that was the word she latched onto... not with clarity, but as a vague impression, like a distant light.
Pierce leaned in a little closer, his expression serious, but there was something in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. The nurse always said kindness was what people expected the most, but to her, those words had never connected to any real meaning. His presence felt new, something the images she had been shown had never conveyed.
It was like a different kind of silence around him, not the hum of machines or the mechanical voices of the scientists. He was there, so close, and though she didn’t understand, his presence seemed to merge with the fragments of comprehension she struggled to piece together, like an incomplete puzzle.
Pierce studied her carefully, and for a brief moment, something in his eyes made her feel… not what the nurses had shown in their images, but something confusing. As if it was a reflection of something she had never truly experienced.
“So, you’re 616.”. He said, his voice low but firm.
Something inside her reacted to that tone. She felt something shift in her mind, though she didn’t yet know what it was. It was a feeling of anticipation, as if something important was about to happen—but what? She wasn’t sure. She looked at him, but her mind was still struggling to understand, unable to find the right words.
Dr. Kraus interrupted, breaking the silence with his harsh, calculated voice.
“She has no name, Pierce. She never has. Just a number. A designation. There is no value in a child who is nothing more than a failed experiment.”.
Pierce looked at Kraus, his gaze cold and calculating, but then turned back to the girl with an intensity that made her shrink slightly. There was something about him… something closer than anything she had ever known. It was as if he was an echo of the images the nurses had shown her, yet more real, more tangible. He seemed to see something in her that she didn’t yet know how to recognize.
“She has more value than you realize”. Pierce said, his voice softer, yet filled with authority.
The girl didn’t know how to react, but a part of her felt a strange discomfort at his closeness. She didn’t understand what it meant. But whatever it was, it was something the nurses had never taught her, something that wasn’t in the images she knew.
Pierce remained there, watching her with a piercing gaze, as if trying to see beyond her surface. Then, with a subtle smile, he leaned in slightly, his voice deep and calm:
“If you’re a good girl, 616, I’ll give you a name.”.
The words lingered in the air, and something unusual passed through her. She didn’t know exactly what those words meant, but there was something about them that felt… more real, more tangible than anything she had experienced before. She quickly reflected on it. Good girl. She had always been a good girl, or at least she tried to be. She ate when they told her to, slept when they told her to, followed every order without question, just as she always had. There had never been a reason to be different. That was how she survived in that place, full of cold rules and authoritative voices.
She thought about telling him that, responding with the words that came to her mind, but a sudden sense of caution took hold of her. Don’t speak without permission, something inside her warned. Something she didn’t fully understand, but had always known. She couldn’t risk disobedience. So instead of speaking, she just stared at him with her empty eyes, trying to understand what he truly wanted.
Pierce observed her for a few more seconds, as if waiting for a reaction. But when he saw that she didn’t respond, he simply gave a small nod, signaling that he was satisfied with what he had seen.
He stepped back slowly, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the room, and she remained there, motionless. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was feeling. There was a strange restlessness inside her, as if something was about to happen, but she didn’t know exactly what.
At that moment, Kraus approached her with his usual impassive and cold expression. He spoke to the other scientists and Hydra members present, his authoritative voice dominating the room.
“We are about to begin the final experiment.”. He looked at the girl, 616, and gestured toward her. “This child is the last survivor of our tests, and she will be the key to what we are trying to achieve. There is no more room for mistakes. The super-soldier serum will be administered to her, and if everything goes as expected, she will be the next phase of the evolution we are seeking.”.
The other scientists murmured among themselves, some with skepticism, others with a disturbing admiration for the progress of the research. But for 616, all that remained was the coldness of the environment and the feeling that what was about to happen would change everything.
Kraus continued, now turning his full attention to the child, as if she were nothing more than a test subject.
“There is no room for failure, 616. You are just a piece in this grand experiment. But if you endure, the world will see what we can do with you. If you survive this, you will be stronger than anyone who came before you.”. He paused, observing her with a critical, almost impersonal gaze.
She didn’t know what was stranger: his words or the way he said them. As if this was just another step in a process, without any regard for what she might feel, without any concern for whether she would survive or not. To them, she was just an experiment. A number. And she was already used to being treated that way.
Yet, something inside her—perhaps a tiny spark she didn’t fully understand—wondered if she could be more than that. If, by some miracle, she could endure. But that was a question without an answer. There was no room for doubt here. All she knew was that the experiment was about to begin, and she had no choice but to follow the orders given to her.
Kraus then signaled to the nurses and the other Hydra members, and the preparation for the experiment finally began. She remained silent, expressionless, as the cold and impersonal reality of that place closed in around her.
The laboratory was completely silent, except for the hissing of the machines and the echo of the nurses’ quick footsteps. The room was bathed in dim lights, the air thick with a mix of chemicals and sterilization. The experiment table was carefully prepared, with various tools neatly aligned and the super-soldier serum waiting to be administered.
616 was placed on a cold metal table, her wrists and ankles gently restrained with safety straps. She watched as one of the nurses injected her with a sedative. The cold substance sent a numb sensation slowly spreading through her body. She did not feel fear—fear had been stripped from her long ago, replaced with a state of unquestioning obedience.
The scientists stood around, their faces impassive. Dr. Kraus positioned himself nearby, arms crossed, observing with a clinical and detached gaze. Pierce, standing in the background, watched with a curious but controlled expression, as if waiting to see the outcome of a masterpiece about to be completed. Somehow, his eyes remained fixed on her more than on anything else in the room.
The nurse closest to 616 paused, checking the monitors connected to the girl’s body. Her heartbeat was fast but within the expected range, given the circumstances. She turned to Kraus and gave an approving nod.
“Ready.”. The nurse informed in a low voice.
Kraus made a subtle gesture with his hand, signaling for the experiment to proceed. He stepped closer and adjusted some monitors, checking blood pressure and oxygen levels.
“Begin administration of the super-soldier serum.”. He said with scientific coldness, as if merely recording another step in a long series of tests.
The first contact with the serum was through a thin syringe filled with a shimmering amber liquid. The nurse approached the girl and carefully injected the contents directly into 616’s bloodstream. Immediately, a series of monitors flickered, and the machines' sounds shifted, their frequencies rising and adjusting as the serum began to take effect.
616 felt a wave of heat surge through her body, followed by a painful tingling. It was as if her skin was being torn apart from the inside, her cells burning as they reacted to the serum. She tried to remain calm, but an intense pain rose from her abdomen, as if her entire body was being reconfigured. The air in her lungs became harder to breathe, as though something inside her was being restructured.
The pain was growing and searing, but she made no sound. Her face remained composed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. She knew what was expected of her: absolute silence. Whatever was happening to her, she had to endure it. That was how things were. That was how she would learn to survive.
The scientists watched the monitors intently. Kraus, with his hand on his forehead, was monitoring the physical reactions of 616, which seemed to intensify with each passing minute. The serum liquid was being absorbed faster than expected, and her body temperature began to rise. One of the scientists murmured to himself, intrigued.
“She’s absorbing it faster than any of the other subjects. It’s much more efficient... or perhaps more resilient.”.
Pierce, for his part, remained silent, analyzing the data on the screen in front of him. His eyes were fixed on the girl. Something in her behavior made him more alert. It wasn’t the first time he had seen an experiment of this kind, but something about 616 caught his attention, something that seemed beyond the expected results.
The process lasted several minutes, but for 616, it felt like an eternity. Her insides burned, her joints ached, and her body seemed to twist in on itself. But in the end, the pain began to dissipate. Her vital signs started to stabilize. The heat in her body, which had seemed unbearable before, gradually decreased to a level she could withstand.
Kraus leaned forward, checking the monitors again. He looked at the other scientists and, with an impassive expression, murmured:
“The process is complete. The reactions are within expectations. We’ll monitor her for a few more hours and see if she can withstand the long-term impact.”.
616 remained motionless, still panting, but with a strange feeling that something had changed inside her. Something she didn’t fully understand. Her muscles were tense, and her skin still burned with the sensation of transformation. Something inside her, an energy she couldn’t explain, was beginning to form.
Meanwhile, Pierce approached the experiment table with a calculating look. He watched the girl closely, as if he were evaluating every small movement, every breath she took. His eyes fixed on her for a moment before he finally spoke, his voice calm but carrying an authoritative tone:
“It was only the beginning.”.
616 didn’t immediately understand. She looked at him, trying to grasp what he meant, but she knew she shouldn’t ask questions. Her gaze met his, and something in his expression made her feel a mix of apprehension and curiosity. He was watching her as if he were waiting for something.
Pierce then stepped back slightly, moving toward the other scientists, who were still monitoring the results. He gave a brief nod to Kraus, who, in turn, was already beginning to record the data.
“What we need now”. Pierce said, more to himself than to the others, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “is to see how she reacts in the coming days. If she’s strong enough to endure the changes, we’ll have a new era of soldiers.”.