Butterscotch Souls: The Morningstar Series: Book 4
Butterscotch Souls – Chapter 1

“Get up.” Came the harsh voice of one of my ‘nurses’.

He is a big man with tons of muscles and a scar down the right side of his face. I don’t know his name so I just call him Nurse 47. He’s the 47th nurse I have had in my life.

Nurse 47 didn’t wait for me wake up and instead pulled me out of the bed by my hair. I ground my teeth together to stop from yelling out in pain. He likes it too much when I do that. Nurse 47 pulled me to my feet before letting me go.

Once he did I rubbed my head where he had pulled me by my hair and glared at him. He could pull me by my hair but he wouldn’t dare hit me. Dr. Lucas would have his a*s if he left any marks on me and he knows it.

“I told you to get up.” Nurse 47 gritted out angrily.

“Yeah, thanks for giving me time to open my eyes before you ripped me out of my bed by my hair.” I gritted back.

The nurse took a menacing step towards me.

“Do not start with me today Zero.” He warned.

Zero is what they call me. I gave myself the name Epperly when I was six years old though. Only one other person called me by my name because I only told one other person. Definitely not this guy though.

“Whatever you say Nurse 47.” I mumbled.

Nurse 47 gripped my upper arm before looking at the camera that viewed my entire room. He nodded to it and the buzzer sounded letting us know the door is unlocked.

I was dragged out of my completely white room and down a completely white hall. It’s hard for me to compare this place to anything else since I have never left this building. They don’t let me go outside or watch TV, but they tell me that this place resembles what people call a hosptial.

A hospital is a place that sick peopel go to to get better, that much I know. I read a lot. So much that I have read the entire dictionary.

The stupid nurse dragged me down to the room that Dr. Lucas always met me in. I hated this room. This is where they hook up my brain to that machine and force me to do things I don’t want to do. It always left me with a headache.

Nurse 47 punched a code into the door and once he opened it, he tossed me onto a chair.

“Careful with her.” Dr. Lucas scolded the nurse.

“Sorry sir.” He responded.

Dr. Lucas gave him a hard look before turning a bright, fake smile to me. The doctor is old, with white thinning hair and dark brown eyes. His skin is pale and wrinkley. You can tell by the way he has trouble walking that he is old.

The doctor took the seat across the table from me and set down his file.

“Good morning Zero.” He greeted me with that fake smile.

I gave him one of my own. “It would be if I wasn’t dragged out of bed.”

Dr. Lucas gave me a hard look. He hates it when I have an ‘attitude’. I just thought I was being funny. Though, I am sure I will pay for it later. They probably won’t let me have breakfast after this.

“Today is a special day Zero. Do you know why?” Dr. Lucas asked me.

“Is today the day I finally get to go outside?” I asked him.

They told me weeks ago that I could go outside if I could grant them a wish. I did that just days after but they never let me out. I’m sure they were lying. Dr. Isabella always told me not to trust anyone, not even her.

“No.” Dr. Lucas shook his head while chuckling. “Soon though.” He said.

“Yeah right.” I said with an eye roll.

Dr. Lucas gave me that hard look again before sighing. He stood up and began connecting the sticky parts of the wires to my head. Guess it’s as good thing they never let me have hair.

I’m sure that would hurt when these get ripped off of me. Dr. Lucas flipped the machine on and sat back down.

“Today is special because it is your birthday my dear.” The doctor told me.

I frowned at him. “I have a birthday?” I asked.

Dr. Lucas chuckled.

“Everyone has a birthday Zero.” He told me.

I thought about what he said for a moment. They’ve never mentioned a birthday to me before.

“So, how old am I?” I asked.

The doctor turned his eyes to the machine that was writing things.

“I will tell you that if you grant me a wish.” He told me.

I frowned again.

“Just like how I can go outside if I granted you a wish.” I stated.

Dr. Lucas’ eyes snapped to mine, that hard look back.

“You will get to go outside once we deem it safe. You know that your safety comes first.” He told me.

That was their excuse for always keeping me under watch, for never letting me outside, or even roam the building freely. Apparently I have never been safe. This place is the only place I have ever known.

They told me that they had found me as a baby, that someone had killed my mother and I was crying next to her corpse. Dr. Isabella was the one that told me all of that.

I must have been very young though because I didn’t remember that. And if I was found as a baby then how does Dr. Lucas know my birthday. Either he is lying to me now or Dr. Isabella was lying about where I came from.

“So, a wish then?” Dr. Lucas asked, knocking me out of my thoughts.

I nodded. If I didn’t he would be angry and I would possibly be locked in my room all day with no food. I didn’t want that, I’m already starving.

“Alright.” Dr. Lucas gave me a bright smile. “Zero, I wish for this man to die.” He told me as he slid a photo across the table to me.

I picked up the picture. It’s of an older man. He’s walking to a car while people stand guard around him, or that is what it looks like. His suit looks nicer than the ones Dr. Lucas wears. He looks important.

“Who is he?” I asked.

This is not hte first time that Dr. Lucas has asked me to kill someone for him. I hated it every time but I always did what they asked in hopes that I would be granted some freedom.

“His name is Henry Davis. He is a senator.” Dr. Lucas told me.

At least he gives me information about the people I kill.

I nodded my head before setting the picture down.

“Why do you want me to kill him?”

I knew Dr. Lucas hated it when I asked too many question, but when it came to someones life I couldn’t help myself. If these people were evil maybe it would make this easier. Not that I ever got to know.

“Don’t worry about that part Zero. Just grant the wish.” Dr. Lucas told me while he watched the machine.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the man in the picture. He’s in his office right now making a phone call. The voices are muffled but it sounds like he is angry. I felt the power swirl inside of me. Opening my eyes I knew they had turned all white.

“Your wish, is my command.”

My voice came out not sounding like my own. I watched as the man’s face turned red and he fell to the ground. Once he was dead I was pulled back to the little room with Dr. Lucas staring proudly at me.

“Did you do it?” He asked.

I nodded.

“Good! I will double check that it was done.” He said. “In the meantime, I owe you. Today is your 13th birthday Zero. Happy birthday.” He told me with a bright fake smile.

“I’m 13..” I trailed off in amazement.

It’s strange to know how old I am after all these years. I’m not sure how I feel, considering I’m not even sure if he is telling me the truth.

“Let’s try a few other things.” Dr. Lucas suggested.

I hate it when he makes me do all of these tests.

Over the next few hours Dr. Lucas had me astral project to other areas in the building. He had me try to move things with my mind, but I never could. That made him frustrated, so he had me do the thing I hate the most. Dr. Lucas walked me to another room with several other doctors, including Dr. Isabella.

“Dr. Lucas, we weren’t expecting you today.” Dr. Isabella said when she noticed him.

“Get everything ready. We are going to test Zero today.” Dr. Lucas said to her.

Test me?

“Test her?” Dr. Isabella echoed my thoughts as her eyes flickered to me. “We are no where near ready for her to be tested.” She said in a more hushed tone.

Dr. Lucas gave her the same hard look he gave to everyone who didn’t immediately do what he wanted.

“You are not in charge here Dr. Isabella. Patient zero is ready. Prepare everything at once.” He replied to her.

“Dr. Lucas I-” Dr. Isabella started but the hard look from Dr. Lucas stopped her words.

“Get. It. Ready.” He was angry now.

Dr. Isabella looked at me then back to Dr. Lucas before nodding and scurrying off. I was lead to a steel table that sat in the middle of the room. Dr. Lucas gestured for me to sit down on the table so I did, to not anger him further.

What I wasn’t expecting was to be strapped down. I started to fight against the restraints as panic coursed through me.

“Stop moving around or this will hurt worse.” Dr. Lucas said as he held a large needle of bright green liquid. “Now, hold still. This will only hurt for a moment.” He told me as he stuck the needle in my neck.

I screamed out in pain as the large needle was pushed into my neck. The pain from whatever was in the syringe was excruciatingly so. It felt like pure lava was being pushed through my body. I thrashed against the table and my restraints until finally the world started to go fuzzy.

“Start the procedure.” Was all I heard before the world went black.

*********************************************

I woke up from a dreamless sleep feeling groggy. My brain is fuzzy and it took my eyes a few moments to clear. I am back in my room and it’s dark. There are no windows in here but there is a small one on my door.

The light from the hallway light up my room so my eyes were able to focus. I tried to stand up but my legs wobbled and I fell back down. My head is throbbing painfully.

Sitting on my bed I was holding my head between my hands when I heard my door open.

“How are you feeling Zero?” Dr. Lucas asked as the lights came on.

I winced at the harsh light.

“I feel awful.” I answered him without looking up.

“Sensitivity to light. Does your head hurt?” He asked.

“Excruciatingly. Like someone is trapped in there and are trying to hammer their way out.” I answered.

I could hear Dr. Lucas write something down on his file before pulling up the chair in the corner and taking a seat.

“And your body?” He asked.

“I ache. Like I just worked out for five straight hours.” I answered.

Again I could hear him writing.

“Have you tried to stand?” He asked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“And you couldn’t?” Dr. Lucas asked.

I g*****d. I just want to go to sleep. Everything hurts.

“Zero, could you or could you not stand?” The doctor asked again.

“No I could not. My legs wobbled and I fell down.” I answered.

“Let’s try again.” He ordered me.

My eyes popped open and I looked at him.

“Hmmm. Interesting.” He answered and I gave him a confused look, that he ignored. “Now, up.” He ordered again.

Fighting back an eye roll I carefully stood to my feet. My legs wobbled painfully and I fell back down on my bed. Dr. Lucas frowned and began to write more down on the file.

“We will try again in the morning. You should be feeling better by then.” He told me before standing up.

“What time is it?” I asked before he could leave.

“It is 10:14 p.m.” He told me.

“I haven’t eaten at all. Could I please have some food?” I asked.

Dr. Lucas turned to inspect me for a moment.

“I suppose you deserve a snack.” He said as he pulled out a granola bar from his white coat pocket and tossed it at me.

I looked up at him but he was already turned back for the door. The buzzer went off and Dr. Lucas left me alone in my room. Almost immediately after he left the lights went off again. At least I could be thankful for that.

Peeling open my granola bar I scarffed it down in seconds. They never fed me enough here. I’m always starving. Dr. Lucas says that I shouldn’t need more than what they give me. When I complain or argue with him I get nothing. So I learned to be thankful for what I get.

About 30 minutes later I couldn’t go back to sleep. My body aches too much. I tried to ask for something to ease the pain but my calls were never answered.

Dr. Lucas must be angry with me for something, but what? What did I do? What happened while I was knocked out?

I lifted up my shirt to inspect my body. All the other times that he took me to that room and I was knocked out I woke up with all sorts of wounds. Dr. Isabella called them stitches. She said that you get them after being cut open.

I asked her why they had cut me open and she told me that I had a surgery. I have had 63 surgeries in my life here. Everytime I woke up in pain, but this was different.

This time I could barely even move. I wondered if it was my lack of food and water for the day but I am not sure honestly. Looking myself over I didn’t see anything new.

The same scars from previous surgeries litered my body. I sighed and pulled my shirt back down. Staring at the ceiling, tears filled my eyes.

Dr. Lucas said that I turned 13.

How many of those years have I spent here? All of them? How could he know my birthday unless he knew my mother? Or was I born here? Was I even born? Is it possible that I was created here?

Too many questions.

I sat up slowly and leaned my back against the wall. My body still feels sore but my head feels slightly better. Whatever they did to me this time I was seriously paying for it. Maybe it is because I didn’t stay still like Dr. Lucas told me to. Tears filled my eyes but I blinked them away.

Leaning my head against the wall I closed my eyes and reached out to Dr. Lucas. This is something I started to do every night for the last two years. Dr. Lucas thought that I could only project myself when I was hooked up to those machines but that was a lie. I spied on him every night.

Though I never could replace anything of importance. It would help if I could hear while astrsal projecting but I can’t.

Dr. Lucas came into view within seconds. My head is throbbing painfully again but I ignored it. It seems that Dr. Lucas is in the lab with Dr. Isabella. They look to be arguing about something.

I wonder over what. I tried to read their lips but I wasn’t that good at it. I only caught bits and pieces. Dr. Isabella seemed to be arguing that something is wrong. It seemed that Dr. Lucas didn’t care though.

After a few minutes I had to let go. The pain coming back to my head was too much to hold on longer.

Coming back to my room I grabbed my head and pulled my knees to my chest. After a few moments the throbbing subsided slightly, or maybe I got used to it, I’m not sure. I stared at the wall opposite of me.

The older I get the more I start to question things. Dr. Lucas made sure to beat the questions out of me years ago, or so he thinks. Just because I didn’t voice most of my questions did not mean I didn’t have them. I just learned to play the game carefully.

It also helped that Dr. Isabella was allowed to loan me books. She wasn’t allowed to loan me anything that wasn’t real and nothing that had characters with feelings. I read books about physics, history, and chemistry.

Dr. Isabella was able to sneak me in a few other books behind Dr. Lucas’ back. I got to read books about spys, adventure, and sometimes even romance. It was the only look of the outside world that I had. Even when I was told to astral project to kill men for Dr. Lucas, I didn’t get to really see outside.

I quickly came to realize that I am a prisoner in a prison. Neither doctor knew that I had come to this conclusion, but I think that this is what Dr. Isabella wanted for me. I think she was trying to tell me without telling me, that I am a prisoner here.

That was why I asked to go outside if I killed someone for Dr. Lucas. I knew that if he didn’t allow me to I really was a prisoner. So, it was the truth. Would I ever leave this place?

The buzzing sounded letting me know that someone was coming into my room. I watched as the door opened and in walked Dr. Isabella. She gave me a smile and a wink before looking at the camera in the corner.

I followed her eyes, and watched as the red light went off. How she was able to get us these moments alone, I never knew.

“Hey there Epperly.” She greeted.

“Hi Dr. Isabella.” I greeted back.

“I have something for you.” She told me as she pulled something from behind her back.

It is a paper bag and I could smell that it was food. I excitedly snatched it from her hands and opened it up. A cheeseburger! And fries!

“Thank you so much.” I thanked her as I shoved fries into my mouth.

“It’s from the outside world. It might be a bit cold.” She told me.

“I don’t care. I haven’t eated all day aside from a granola bar.” I told her.

Dr. Isabella sat down a glass of water on the bedside table. “I know you haven’t Epp.” She said sadly before sitting in the chair.

“I think it might be why my body hurts so bad after this surgery.” I said as I chew my food. “I read in one of those books that you gave me that if the body doesn’t have enough food or hydration that it can cause body aches.” I told her.

Dr. Isabella nodded.

“That is true, for human bodies.” She said.

I frowned at her and swallowed my food.

“Am I not human?” I asked curiously.

Dr. Isabella looked away from me for a moment. When here eyes turned back to me they were full of sadness. The doctor took a deep breath before speaking again.

“Epperly, I could get in a lot of trouble for telling you this so-” She started but I interrupted her.

“So I can’t tell anyone yeah yeah.” I said.

Dr. Isabella chuckled at me. “You are so smart you know. Too smart.” She said quietly. “Epperly my dear, you are not human but something more. And I fear that what Dr. Lucas has done has made you into something that should not exist.” She told me.

I just finished the last bite of my food and I frowned harder at her.

“I shouldn’t exist?” I asked her.

Dr. Isabella stood and walked to my bed. She sat down next to me and wrapped one arm around me. A very bad feeling crawled across my skin.

“It isn’t your fault Epperly. Dr. Lucas did this to you.” She told me sadly.

Tears fell from her eyes.

“But I cannot stand by and let him continue to do this. He is using you to kill who he wants. You don’t understand how the world works outside of these walls. But he won’t listen to me.” She said.

“So, what do we do then?” I asked her.

Dr. Isabella looked down. A sad smile fell on her lips and she wiped her eyes. She reached inside her white coat pocket and pulled out a syringe full of a clear liquid.

“What is that?” I asked her.

“This is how we solve our problems. I am sorry Epperly but death would be better than being a weapon. Don’t you agree?” She asked as she brought the syringe up to my neck.

Panic took over and I jumped up from the bed and backed away from her.

“I don’t want to die.” I squeaked out.

“There is no other way honey.” She said softly as she stood up and came for me.

I started to shake my head.

“No! You can just wish him dead and I can make it happen!” I shouted at her as she cornered me into a wall.

Dr. Isabella shook her head.

“Someone would just take his place. It has to be you.” She told me.

I shook my head again as I tried to push her away.

“Why?” I asked as my own tears began to fall.

“I told you not to trust anyone Epperly. Not even me.” She said as she came closer with the syringe.

Just when she was about to sink it into my neck I pushed her back. Dr. Isabella fell on her butt and I tried to scamble around her. If the camera was out then maybe the door was open too.

Just when I put my hand on the door handle Dr. Isabella grabbed my legs and I fell to the ground. My head bounced off of the hard floor and my vision blurred.

Suddenly I was whipped around onto my back. Dr. Isabella straddled me. The syringe was still in her hand and she has a crazed look in her yes.

Then a loud siren started to go off in the whole building. It was so loud that it drown out everything else. Bright red lights flashed across the room. The sirens and lights distracted Dr. Isabella and I took the oppurtunity to grab the syringe from her.

We struggled with each other, rolling around on the floor before I finally got the syringe in her neck. I pushed the liquid inside of her and Dr. Isabella’s eyes went wide. I scrambled off of her and watched as she started to seize.

“I’m so sorry Dr. Isabella. I’m so so so so sorry.” I repeated over and over again as tears fell from my eyes.

The sirens and lights were still going off but it was all background noise now. I watched foam come out of Dr. Isabella’s mouth. We stared into each others eyes before the life finally left hers.

I was sobbing so hard that I barely registered the loud sound of guns. I’ve only ever heard guns inside of the building once. They never told me why someone was shooting but I never forgot the sound. I waited on the floor of my bedroom holding Dr. Isabella.

Someone is coming.

Moments later a large gruff looking man that I have never seen before barged through the room, holding up a gun. His dark hair is peppered with gray just like his long scruffy beard.

The man is dressed in ripped jeans and a black shirt, guns in both hands. He paused when he saw me. The man put his guns down and crouched down to my level.

“Are you a patient here?” He asked me in a deep voice.

“Patient?” I asked.

A woman rushed to the door just then and walked into my room. She looked me over before her attention returned to the hallway. One side of her head is shaved and the other side of her hair is a dark purple color. She has a scar on one of her eyebrows and bright green eyes.

“Where are your parents?” The man asked, pulling my attention back to him.

“I don’t have parents.” I told him.

The man’s expression looked surprised before turning to one of sadness.

“What is your name?” He asked.

“They call me Zero.” I told him.

He shook his head.

“What is your name? I know you have one.” He told me.

“How do you know?” I asked skeptical.

The man chuckled.

“You said ‘they call me’, that means that is not how you see yourself. So, I will ask one more time. What is your name?”

“Epperly. My name is Epperly.” I told him.

“Kiah we don’t have much time.” The woman said.

The man, Kiah, looked at her before turning back to me.

“You kill her?” He asked me pointing to Dr. Isabella.

I nodded.

“Why?” He asked.

“She tried to kill me first.” I answered.

Kiah chuckled again before standing to his feet.

“Do you want to come with us kid? We can take you out of here. No more torture. You’ll be free.” He offered as he held his hand out.

Freedom?

I looked at the women before looking at Kiah again. Placing my hand in his I stood up. I will never be a prisoner again.