An Official Introduction
Content: dehumanization, descriptions of non consensual medical treatment
“Hi, my name is Kade Ansel, and—” His lips twist into a scowl. “Do I have to use that word?”
A voice answers, calm and measured, leaning from behind the camera. “You don’t have to do anything, Kade. We can stop if you want.”
Kade inhales sharply, then shakes his head. “No. I need to do this.” His eyebrows crease in thought as he pauses. “Do you think people will understand if I don’t use the acronym?”
“If they don’t, it might actually help.”
Kade glances toward the wall, then back at the camera. “Is it still recording?”
“Yeah. I’ll clean it up later.”
He wipes his clammy palms on his black sweatpants, then rests one hand on the chair’s armrest to steady himself. His heart hammers in his chest. This is it. He's really doing this. “My name is Kade Ansel and my genetics were altered against my will.” He pauses, Matt had been the first person he'd ever told— the first person he ever had to tell— and the confession had been messy. Now, he had to say it with the kind of clinical sterility he had suffered under for all those years. He blinks, the red light of the camera cutting through his thoughts. With a deep breath, he continues, “When I was eighteen, I signed up for a clinical study. It was supposed to be simple—just testing how a new injection affected blood cell counts. I wanted some extra money for college—I had scholarships, but you know, living expenses...” His voice tightens. “I never got to go.” He gives the statement its moment, staring into the lens of the camera.
Then, he takes a breath and continues. “When I told the doctors I was having severe side effects, they didn’t help me. They didn’t let me leave. They sedated me, restrained me—they kidnapped me.” He wipes his hand against the rough fabric of the chair, fingers trembling so strongly he can hardly curl them.
The voice off camera materializes once more, gently offering, “We can stop if you need to.”
He bites his lip and shakes his head. “No, please, just— just give me a moment.”
He draws in a deep breath, exhaling shakily, then fixes his gaze on the camera. “I was a test subject strapped to a hospital bed. They ran experiments—testing pain thresholds, how my body reacted to different drugs, what my limits were. When they’d learned everything they could, they handed me off to my government.” His voice drops, cold and bitter. “They asked me to help them with intelligence work— anything was better than being in the lab.”
He takes a controlled breath, his mouth turning into a firm, thin line. “I never broke the law. I never signed up for this. With no reason, no justice, I became property.” He leans forward slightly, his features sharpening with urgency.
“I was lucky, I escaped,” He bows his head, “and by posting this, I'm forfeiting that luck.” That wasn't in his script, and for a moment all he can do is stare at his grey socks pressing into white carpet.
He clears his throat, he's almost done. “But there are others.” His eyes find the camera once more, “I know there are. People who vanished from their lives. Whose families never found them. Some of them might still be alive—trapped in labs, like I was, or doing work for the very same government that has promised to protect them. I need you to know that this is happening. I need you to help stop it.”
He takes a sharp breath, hands squeezing the sides of his chair. “Please, don't let them keep doing this. Reach out to your state representatives, speak out against NewGenetics. I'm dependent on you…” he trails off, his voice much softer, “because I'm not a person anymore.”
He grits his teeth, looking away from the camera. Floorboards creak as his friend gets out of his seat, making his way across the room.
“That was good,” his friend says, approaching Kade, “and really brave of you.”
Kade doesn’t look away from the floor as his friend's socks appear in his peripheral. When he opens his mouth, his voice only squeaks, and when his friend softly grasps his arms in comfort, Kade realizes he’s shaking. “Talk to me,” the gentle suggestion is met with the darkest thought aggravating Kade’s mind.
“They're going to kill me.” Kade manages to say, arms reaching out towards his friend in desperation.”I don’t want to die, Matt. I just can’t–” Kade clutches Matthew’s shirt like it's his only lifeline, his panicked gasps turning into sobs that tear through his body.
“I'm not going to let that happen.” Matt says, hugging Kade just tightly enough for his presence to be known. “You're safe here. And it's just a video– nobody’s seen it yet– I'll burn the SD card right now if you want me to.”
“No,” Kade says, his head painfully pressed into Matthew's shoulder as he shakes his head.
“Are you sure? Is burning it not enough? I think I could find some sketchy fireworks somewhere around here. We could blow the SD card up and get a show out of it.”
Kade pulls away, his sorrowful look holds for a moment before a laugh breaks through. A smile even manages to appear, dissipating as he wipes his face with his sleeve, sniffling. “We have to post it.”
“Okay, let's just—” Matthew sighs, “let's just take this slowly. I know you have your mind set on this— and that's good. I just want to make sure this doesn't become something you regret.”
“I'd regret not posting it every single day.”
“Okay,” Matt says, giving a solemn nod. “I'll have to edit it. There shouldn't be anything that has given your location away but I'll listen for background noises.” Kade’s head tilts and Matthew adds, “Sometimes– in movies at least– they look for that sort of thing. Then, if you think it looks okay, I'll send it to my friend in media.”
Kade nods, exhaustion seeps into his bones. He wants to go to bed, his sore eyes want to close, he wants to lie down, he wants his soft pillow, he’s so so tired, and he simply wants to forget about everything and just rest.
“I’ll warm up some leftovers,” Matthew says. “It’s been a long day.”
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