Perfects

Perfects(Brianna Mitchell) The screen above Hadia flashed April 7th, while she watched the clear liquid made its way through the body. The little girl on the table was surprisingly silent as the venom coursed through her veins. Hadia was fascinated as the small girls skin changed from a dark caramel color to a lighter tan. This was the girl’s first genetics treatment, out of five. Normally the serum didn't work quite as quickly as it was today.
The serum, itself, was meant to change the appearance of each child. The basic attributes that all children would end up with consisted of blonde hair, blue eyes, and milky white skin. After the serum was finished, the children would be sent to conditionings, where they were taught the basics of how to be a “perfect”child.
Hadia was in her third year of Genetics Nursing, meaning that she was aloud to watch the injections of Serum B. This injection was the 16th one she watched, but it was still surprisingly interesting to her. She, herself, was not a Perfect, but she longed to be. To become beautiful and intelligent in a matter of a few injections was something she was more than willing to go through. Unfortunately, the injections only worked on children.
Hadia had studied the history of the Perfects Corporation and their Serum B injections more than anyone else. The Serum was originally created, by Dr. Sani Roswald, completely by accident. While trying to find a way to increase the intelligence of a rat, Dr. Sani accidentally changed the color of the rat’s fur. From there he continued to study the effects of Serum B, testing it on goats, cats, and even chimps. Each test was just as, if not more, successful than the last. When he felt that he had perfected the serum, he decided to use the serum on an actual human. Due to the serum’s inability to work on adults, Dr. Sani injected it into a small child. To no one’s surprise, the serum worked quite well, turning the young boys skin to a slightly lighter color. A few injections later and the boy had become blonde and blue eyed.
Dr. Sani was thrilled at his discovery, but wanted to do more with it. After seeing America’s drive towards perfection, he packed his things and moved to the United States. For the first five years, Dr. Sani kidnapped children and injected them with Serum B. Then he would condition them and resell them among the black market. Though this process was profitable, it was highly illegal. When the United States Government found out of this secret organization they tried to tear it down. That was until the thought of profits came about. Shortly afterward, the once reluctant government, passed the Perfection Bill. The Bill gave all rights to Dr. Sani to kidnap any unattended children as long as he agreed to governmental inspection, sold only in the U.S., and payed taxes as a business. Excited, Dr. Sani agreed and formed the growing Perfects Corporation.
At first, there were many riots amongst the citizens against the bill. Hadia couldn’t see why though. The children that were taken were unattended or unsupervised by their obviously irresponsible parents. They were then taken to live a more perfect and fulfilling life. To her there was no problem, just perfection.



As she walked, Hadia looked down at her note pad over and over again, checking and rechecking the information. May 9th, injection 5, 8:30 am, room 243. Thats all that was written on the piece of paper, yet it held so much importance.This was her key to watch another intriguing injection. This one was special though. It was the 5th, and last, injection for this child. The last injection had always been amongst the favorites to watch. It was where the eyes finally changed color.
The eyes, rather than the rest of the body, change rapidly. The eyes fade into a white haze, only to be met with deep streaks of blue coming out of the black abyss that we call the pupil. The streaks continue to fly across the white canvas until the entire iris is filled. Then, without warning, they become eerily still. Much like the ocean after a big storm has passed. This simple change is fascinating enough to cause a swarm of nurses.
At last, she arrived at room 243. She succried into the room with the other nurses. She took her place among them, behind the thick glass wall. Around them bright lights blinked and wires hung down like vines from trees. Hadia always felt as if she was in a chrome jungle anytime she entered an injection room. The nurses, she felt, were the hungry savages. Only instead of being hungry for food, they were hungry for knowledge. And rather than baring their teeth and sharpening their claws, they took out their notepads and inked their pens. None the less, both the savages and the nurses were prepared to devour the specimen in front of them. This specimen happened to be a young girl that laid on a table in the middle of the room. wires and monitors tangled themselves around her small frame, making it hard to tell if she was human or a cyborg.
The serum made its way down the wires into the little girls body. When it had hit her veins, something rather odd happened. Rather than the eyes changing to a pale white color, they faded to black with rapid pace. As her eyes were swarmed by darkness, her body began to thrash against the restraints. Her body pulled and pushed, but it was no use against the ties.
The nurses stood in astonishment. None of them had seen this happen before, although it must be noted that complications were always taught to be a possibility. The nurse that stood with the most surprise was Hadia. Her heart had stopped, her hands had frozen, and her breath had become just a whisper. She watched the girl with an alarming intensity. None of the other nurses had noticed, because they were too busy scribbling down notes, that the girl had turned her head towards Hadia. In a voice that was barely audible, the girl whispered the words "help me". Then, without warning, the girl stopped moving.
The black started to recede from her eyes and her body became clam. The rest of the nurses began to look up. Each of them stood in their spots, with slightly confused faces, for a few more seconds before taking their notepads and leaving.Only Hadia stayed behind to watch the ordinal workers carry out the body.

The lunch bell rang, echoing down the halls. Hadia trudged along, not caring to listen to the bells. She had been controlled by the bells her entire life. Just one time she wanted to have a day without bells, without rules, and most of all, without injections. All she wanted was to clear her head.
An arm wrapped around her shoulders, shaking her from her thoughts. Looking up, she realised it was only Raza. Raza had been her best friend since the beginning of medical school. He was there through every allnighter college party and every early morning hangover. He was her best friend and her brother, all in one. She knew that she could count on him for anything.
“Why do you look so down?”, Raza asked, eyes shining bright.
His eyes had always somehow entranced her. The light ice blue color often made people feel uncomfortable, but she found it inviting. She had always felt that she could see through his eyes, into his soul, and tell what he was really thinking or feeling.
Looking straight into his eyes, she started to explain to him what happened, using careful detail to explain the end results. While she talked, he listened quietly. When at last she finished her story, he grabbed her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her with such care that one might have thought she was a porcelain doll.
“I know what will make you feel better,” her said with a smile across his face.
“What?” Hadia asked, concern creeping into her voice. No matter how much she trusted him she was always scared of his “schemes”.
Without a word Raza began to drag Hadia down the hallways, leaving the idea of lunch behind. Giggles escaped her lips as the ran past each window. They both knew, all too well, that if one of them got caught, they would both be kicked out of the Prefects Corporation for life. For some reason though, this only excited Hadia more.
Finally, they stopped at the end of a deserted hallway. It was a place neither of them had ever gone to before. Every door was marked with letters, rather than numbers. Theres were no fake plants or posters hanging on the wall, like every other hallway. Instead, the walls were bare and discolored.
Grabbing ahold of Hadia, Raza led her to a door marked G. Her heart stopped and and her hands felt numb. Still, her confidence in him was solid. She trusted him. Turning to him, she looked into his eyes. They seemed to pierce her, looking for permission. Unable to stop herself, Hadia gave a slight nod in his direction and began to open the door.
The weight of the door pushed back against her. Something seemed to be blocking the door from completely opening. Only when she turned her gaze upwards did she see what it was. Bodies. Thats all she could see. Lined up and down the walls, on the tables, on the floor. It was body after body. The stench was almost as unbearable as the sight. These weren't just bodies, but the bodies of half changed toddlers. The reminiscences of the serum was unmistakable. Some of them had multicolored hair, having died without fully changing. Others were spotted with white and tan skin. Others still, look as though nothing was wrong except for the wide staring eyes. Hadia could only guess that these had taken the same fate as the girl from earlier today.
Raza pulled shut the door before Hadia had a chance to fully observe any of the too closely. Tears began to roll down his eyes. None of them had been taught about this wing of the building.No one had been told that there were so many deaths. Yet here laid the bodies of numerous children. Each of the piled on top of one another.
Raza turned to look at Hadia.Surprise swept over his face. He had been expecting her to be only the ground crying or possible hyperventilating. Instead, she was just standing there. Unmoved, and seemingly unaffected. Hadia, in fact, was far from being unaffected. On the inside she was screaming. Her concense ripped through her body, tearing apart her idea of morality. She wanted to run away screaming, but then again she wanted to stay. Her mind felt dizzy and her face felt hot yet cold all at the same time.
“How long has this been going on? How is this possible? Who else knows about this?”Hadia asked, the questions bubbling out of her lips.
“I don’t know. I...I don’t understand it,” Raza answered. This was the first time that he had ever not know the answer.
“We have to do something. We have to stop this,” Hadia said, her voice rising slightly.
Raza began to shake his head, his eyes down cast. This was new to Hadia. Raza always had the answer. He always had a plan to fix things. Now the roles seemed to be in reverse. To her, though, everything seemed to be in reverse recently. Nothing was making much sense.
“Raza, please! We can’t let this happen. We have to tell someone that this is happening. Im sure that if we just go to the corporate officers and explain what we saw, then someone will solve all of this.” Hadia explained, her voice colored with tints of hopefulness.
“Alright I will go. Just...promise me that you won’t do anything stupid.” Raza replied.

1...2...3... Each floor the elevator passed caused Hadia’s heat to beat faster. She was certain that someone could hear it drumming against her chest. Her only savior grace was Raza. He stood next to her, his face set and almost unresponsive.
The doors finally opened, causing a flood of people to pour out. Hadia and Raza followed behind them. Hadia felt much out of place, walking down the hall of the Corporate Offices. Everyone else was in suits and carried briefcases. The clicks of heels echoed down the halls as the women walked along, their faces pinched and eyes sharp. Hadia, on the other hand, was in her white lab jacket with a coffee stain from breakfast. Her hair was in a tangle of curls and it seemed to stick up in all directions. Rather than heels, she wore neon green tennis shoes.
Unsure of how to respond to the change in atmosphere, she kept glancing at Raza to read his expression. Once again he was cool. He stood tall, seemingly unaware of how out of place he too looked. His eyes, for the most part, stayed focused on his destination. The only thing deterring them from their store was the occasional woman that walked by.
Finally, they reached the main coordinator's office. Hadia began to knock on the dark wood, making sure to keep a certain rhythm to it. The door opened to reveal a large man. He stood well above the two, making them feel smaller than originally anticipated. Raza, gather all of his courage, was the first to begin speaking. He explained what they saw just minutes before. His voice wavered every so often, giving to truth to how he scared he really was. While he talked, the director noded and remained quiet.
When their story was finished, the director sat at his desk and pressed the intercom button. He muttered a few words to a brisk sounding woman on the other end. He looked back up at then and smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile or a smile of remorse, but a slick grin that cut across his face with a certain fierceness.
“I understand what has happened. I don’t think you, however, understand the reasoning to this. Those bodies are put there for a reason. That reason being to keep people like you two from seeing them. You see, the serum causes death more often than commonly thought. Those who are not ready for the serum or those that fight back usually die. We then take those bodies and dispose of them. It seems, however, that you guys found them before they were disposed of. I really am sorry that you had to see that. It isn’t fair to either of you, but I can’t let you two go out there and tell everyone what you found. The publicity would be detrimental to our company.” The director explained, drawing out the word detrimental as if it was a sin to say.
Hadia stood, confused by what he had said. That was until she heard the shots of a gun. Beside her, Raza dropped to his knees. Blood spilled onto the carpet in a pool around him.Hadia let out a sickly sounding scream before turning around to see who happened to be the culprit. There, in the doorway, stood a woman in a grey suit.
“I am so sorry,”she answered in a brisk voice.
Hadia fell to the floor. Pain streaked through her body. The world around her began to black out. Her mind seemed to go numb, leaving her with only one last thought; There is nothing more detrimental to the human race as the struggle to become perfect.