1 was Xeneba's first test (for her experiments and to see if Camille would love her), and once Camille passed on, Xeneba felt the need to blame all of her stress and misfortunes on her and to tell her that she made Camille die even though Xeneba was the one that did the deed. Since 1 was the eldest (and the "source of everyone's problems"), she'd get shot up and tested on the most. Despite all of this going on, she was a kind and brave teenager, and she gave her sisters love and attention whenever she could. If they did something bad, 1'd take the blame for it (so that 2 3 and 4 wouldn't have to go through more tests). She'd tell the others stories about the outside world (from what she'd read from the sh_tty internet connection she'd get on her secret phone) and stories about their other mom (she knew her name was Camille, but the last time she said it out loud, Xeneba heard and she injected sh_t in her eye [which made her blind in one eye & sensitive to light/able to see faded colors in the other]).
Even though she knew 2, 3, and 4 liked her and appreciated her, 1 would still feel horrible and guilt-ridden about everything she did. Yes, she knew that she, nor her sisters, were the cause of Camille’s death, but the fact that Xeneba had to “remind” her every day just hurt. It stung. It felt like salt in an open wound, like a needle in the eye.
Plus being pushed around and forced to submit to tests wasn’t making her life any better.
Xeneba had forced her trained her in the strength field, as in picking up heavy obstacles, punching through walls, snapping people’s bones and necks, etc. But what she couldn’t seem to understand was that 1 was human. She couldn’t do everything her “mom” wanted her to do, even with all of the chemicals and toxic sh_t in her system. If anything, the injections made 1′s health deteriorate. She’d show up to her tests woozy and coughing, and she’d try her absolute best to meet her “mother”’s standards.
But she’d always fall short.
As punishment (other than the shots), she’d be locked in a room for hours at a time, and she’d be forced to punch the walls. No breaks, no exceptions. If she didn’t want to comply, she’d be threatened with her sisters’ deaths (and how she’d be the cause of those deaths as well). In order to not upset her “mother” any more, 1′d punch the walls until her knuckles bared bone (is that even a phrase?? idk but it is now), or until she’d faint from exhaustion (or dehydration/malnutrition, whichever came first). After so many times of being in “the blood room” (as 1 would call it), she’d gotten scars and bruises all over her hands. It was a pain in the ass for her to grab things, which made her training even harder, and her relationship with Xeneba even more strained.
All of the pain and training made her body an absolute mess. She’d be in pain all of the time (she tried to hide it around her siblings so that they wouldn’t worry; that only worked on 4, 2 and 3 knew better), and she’d be weak and bruised from all of the syringes being stabbed into her skin. One day, Xeneba shot her up with a new mixture of chemicals, and she was assigned to complete a session of training. However, this training was a bit different than her other sessions; this time, she was going up-top and training on the roofs of New York’s skyscrapers. 1 knew about this (as did 2, 3, and 4; in fact Xeneba demanded them to go with the other number), and they all arrived at the designated meet-up spot at midnight. 1 looked as if she was about to faint at any moment; she knew what was about to happen. She looked at her sisters and she gave them a weak hug (during which she whispered “I love you guys so much, don’t forget it. You’re all so strong and brave. You can get through this.”) This confused her sisters, as they’re not supposed to touch each other in front of their “mother”, but before they could even question her, she darted off.
1 dashed with her fists exposed towards the edge of the rooftop, and she could feel her body start to slow down. She suddenly felt something shoot up her throat, and she screeched to a halt right at the edge, coughing up blood. Too much blood. The other numbers started to get concerned, and as 4 was about to run towards 1, Xeneba commanded her to stop.
They watched in horror as 1′s coughs got longer and louder, each one more pained than the last. Suddenly, she stopped. She stood still, hunched over in pain, and she fell to her side. 4 immediately sprinted towards 1, pulling away from 2 and 3′s grasp, screaming and crying for her older sister to get up. Once she arrived, she saw her good eye rolled up and blood pouring out of her mouth, and she gave out an ear-piercing blood-curdling screech. Xeneba was storming up towards the two, once she arrived, she threw 4 out of the way and towards her sisters. She stared down at 1′s lifeless body, analyzing every little thing wrong about her oldest test.
She walked back towards the remaining numbers and yelled at them to follow her. They reluctantly obliged, slowly walking in their “mother”’s footsteps, keeping a tight grip on a sobbing and shaking 4. When they asked what had happened and why 1 didn’t get back up, all they got as a response was “failed experiment, her body didn’t accept my recent batch. Now shut up.”
She may have been seen as a failed experiment by Xeneba, but 2, 3, and 4 saw her as the best sister they could have had. They wear some of her old clothes out of respect; 2 wears her black combat boots, 3 wears her old black jeans, and 4 wears one of her soft and cozy black jackets. Their “mother” hasn’t noticed, and they hope that she never will.
