Subject #7412 – Chapter Twelve

Subject #7412 – Chapter Twelve – Regression Metrics The morning light was weak, sifting through the narrow blinds and casting thin stripes across the gleaming white floor. The room smelled faintly of antiseptic, with a sterile scent that made Subject #7412’s stomach churn. His body ached where the previous night’s enforced rest had left muscles … Read more

Subject #7412 – Chapter Eleven

Subject #7412 – Chapter Eleven – Adaptive Regression The hum of the ceiling vents had become a metronome. Too steady, too precise, too unchanging to belong to any space he’d ever lived in before. It filled the room, never louder, never softer, simply there—an ever-present layer of sound that blurred the edges of thought. Subject … Read more

Subject #7412 – Chapter Ten

Subject #7412 – Chapter Ten – Containment Reinforced The hum of the filtration vents became the new clock by which he marked the passing of time, though the concept itself had started to blur. Sometimes the vents purred with a steady, low drone. Other times, they rose to a higher pitch, whistling faintly as though … Read more

Subject #7412 – Chapter Nine

Subject #7412 – Chapter Nine – Containment Protocol The room smelled faintly of antiseptic and warm air, a mix that Subject #7412 had learned to associate with quiet, inescapable surveillance. The soft hum of MAMA-429’s sensors buzzed in the background, synchronized with the low flicker of the overhead lights. He had been allowed a few … Read more

Subject #7412 – Chapter Eight

Subject #7412 – Chapter Eight – Thresholds The room was quiet, though not silent. The low hum of machinery, the subtle hiss of air vents, the faint trickle of distant water—all merged into a background chorus that seemed both distant and oppressively close. Subject #7412 lay on the platform, muscles trembling, forehead pressed flat against … Read more

Subject #7412 – Chapter Seven

Subject #7412 – Chapter Seven – Holding Pattern The room felt smaller somehow, though nothing had changed: the sterile walls, the hum of concealed machinery, the faint glow of status monitors in their fixed positions. Yet Subject #7412 felt the space press in on him, as though every surface had become a boundary he could … Read more

Subject #7412 – Chapter Six

Subject #7412 – Chapter Six – The Quiet Between Tests The silence that followed was the wrong kind of silence. It wasn’t peace, wasn’t relief, wasn’t even exhaustion. It was the heavy, mechanical stillness of a room that did not care about his breathing, his heartbeat, or the weight of his humiliation. Subject #7412 lay … Read more

Subject #7412 – Chapter Five

Subject #7412 – Chapter Five – Restraints of Care The metallic silence of the containment room stretched on like a punishment in itself, the hum of ventilation and the faint buzz of unseen circuits seeming louder than his own breathing. Subject #7412 sat hunched forward on the padded platform, hands gripping his knees so tightly … Read more

Summer of Soft Sunshine – Chapter Fourteen

Summer of Soft Sunshine – Chapter Fourteen – Aquarium & City Day The first rays of morning sunlight crept through the edges of the hotel curtains, casting a warm, gentle glow across the room. Alex stirred beneath the covers, his body heavy and groggy, and a sudden, wet warmth between his legs confirmed what he … Read more

Mommy Knows Best – Chapter Eight

Mommy Knows Best – Chapter Eight – A Day of Gentle Structure The morning sunlight drifted softly through the curtains, spreading across the bedroom floor in a pale golden wash. Daniel stirred beneath the sheets, blinking groggily as his eyes adjusted to the brightness. For a moment, he thought about rolling over and pulling the … Read more