Circuits and Synapses.

By Harper Doyle.

Dedicated to my family, who has always been there for me, and to my friends, you know who you are...

Prologue.

"Hurry up, we're going to be late for the movie," Nadia shouted over her shoulder. Dmitri was taking his time, while Sonya, whom just turned seven, was bouncing around, hardly able to contain her excitement. Perhaps it was the fact that Dmitri, eighteen years old, was going to see a movie about pretty princesses, and ponies. It was his fault though; in exchange for taking Sonya to the movies his parents were going to let him borrow the car for a date. Nadia had been roped into it with the promise of twenty bucks, as well as free popcorn and soda.

"I'm coming," Dmitri finally answered. Nadia gave a huff and was getting fed up with her older brother's att.i.tude.

"If we don't leave in the next 30 seconds we are going to miss the subway and have to wait 10 minutes for the next one. That would mean missing the previews, probably the only good part of the movie." That got Dmitri's attention, and he popped out of his room and was ready to go. Nadia grabbed Sonya's hand and the three of them made for the door.

"Don't get into any trouble and look both ways before crossing the street you three," the children's mother called out to them from her spot on the couch.

"We will, as always mom," Dmitri and Nadia said in unison. The typical mom speech before they left the house. Once outside there was a burst of cold wind, typical of a brisk autumn morning in Chicago. The three children had to make quick work to get to the subway a few blocks down the street. Lucky for them the subway had not left yet and they ran to make it. The ride on the subway was silent, save for Sonya's random giggles at the boy sitting across from her. Nadia looked out the window and Dmitri appeared to being sleeping.

"Destination Grand Ave, Grand Ave, exit to right," the intercom spewed. Nadia got up from her seat and kicked Dmitri's feet; once awake Dmitri pushed himself off the seat and led the way out of the subway station. Nadia and Sonya followed behind him, holding hands. The walk to the theatre was short, the three siblings got there with ease and time to spare.

Once inside the building and the cold wind kept at bay by the doors the three siblings trotted to the concession stand where Dmitri took out the money given to him by their parents. It was enough for a large popcorn and two drinks.

"I want an orange soda," Sonya piped up. Dmitri took this into account and ordered himself a c.o.ke along with the orange.

"And what about me," Nadia glared at Dmitri as he forked over the cash in return for the food and soda.

"Like I would be caught dead sharing a drink with either my fourteen year old sister or my seven year old sister, besides, girls get one cup, boys another." To him it made perfect sense, to Nadia it sounded like pathetic reasoning. Figuring that she had already lost that battle Nadia shrugged it off and the three of them shuffled into the theatre in time for the previews to start.

The movie was short, but to Dmitri and Nadia it seemed like forever. With their brains scrambled from the pretty princess and her pink pony Smiles, Nadia and Dmitri made their way quickly to the subway, eager to get home and rid their mind of princesses, ponies and the color pink. The ride home seemed longer than the ride to get there, but perhaps that was due to the impatience to get home.

This time both Nadia and Dmitri dozed off and it was Sonya who kicked their feet at the proper station. Groggy from the nap Nadia felt in a daze as she pulled the house key out from her purse and placed in it the key hole. The k.n.o.b turned slowly and once inside she threw her c.r.a.p on the ground and went to collapse on the nearest couch or chair. Dmitri seemed to have the same thing in mind and mimicked her movements. Only Sonya, still teeming with energy remained upright and laughing.

"Ugggg, I think my soul has died because of that movie," moaned Nadia. Dmitri replied with a groan and flipped to lie on his back.

"Why in the world would someone make a movie about princesses and ponies, and make the entire movie pink and full of happiness. If I may quote a very reliable source, 'the horror! the horror!'" Nadia snickered a bit and Dmitri smiled; how true the quote rang. After a few more minutes pa.s.sed Nadia noticed that their parents had not come to greet them. Usually they were all over them, making sure that they had not somehow been harmed or the like. Nadia rose from the couch and started to walk to the kitchen.

"Hey, Dmitri, did mom or dad say anything about going out today?"

"No, why?"

"Because I don't think they are here." Dmitri got up as well and followed Nadia. Even though Dmitri was four years older than Nadia, it was she who was usually the leader. Neither of them had a problem with that; Dmitri tended to be a bit on the shy side.

They walked towards their parent's bedroom and noticed a sort of stain on the wall. Nadia pointed to it without speaking and Dmitri leaned in to inspect it. He shrugged his shoulders and they continued to the door. Nadia turned the k.n.o.b to the bedroom and slowly opened the door, making sure that if they were in there, she was not disturbing them. The last thing she needed to see was her parents doing something romantic, or worse.

The door creaked and Nadia stopped for a minute, before quickly opening the door, applying the faster and slightly noisier is better than slow and noisy. What Nadia saw caused her to faint and Dmitri caught her before he looked into the room. Placing his fourteen year old sister on the floor he peered into the room and nearly threw up.

What the two of them saw was their parents, or what remained of their parents. It appeared to be the work of wild animals, but living in the heart of Chicago, that option seemed impossible. The two adult figures of the family now looked like little more than shreds of red, surrounded by pools of blood.

Dmitri could not contain his emotions and let out a ragged scream right there, soon the floor was soaked from his tears. Sonya heard his scream and came running down the hall to investigate. Nadia was slowly regaining her consciousness when she heard Sonya bounding down the hallway she bolted upright and shut the door from her little sister's view. Grabbing her Nadia held her tight and Sonya squirmed in her arms.

"What's the matter? Why is Dmitri crying? Nadia. Nadia." Sonya was pouting and pulling on her sleeve, insisting on answers. Nadia looked over to Dmitri, but in his current state he was useless. Nadia felt the sting of tears in her own eyes and the tightness in her throat made it hard to breathe. Pus.h.i.+ng herself to her feet she pulled Sonya to the kitchen and gave her a cookie as well as strict instructions to stay put. Forcing herself to go back down the hallway, her stomach knowing what to expect and ready to empty on the spot. When she reached the end of the hallway Dmitri had calmed down a bit though his eyes were red from crying. Nadia reached him and fell on the ground; she could no longer hold the lid on her emotions. Dmitri opened his arms and she fell into them, eyes releasing the welled up tears. There sat the two siblings for nearly five minutes.

From down the hall Sonya was becoming restless and yelled, "Nadia, I'm bored. Can I come out of the kitchen now? I really have to pee. Nadia!" Dmitri and Nadia rose at the same time and Nadia wiped her eyes before they started walking to the kitchen.

"Dmitri call 911 and them that our parents have been murdered. I'll handle Sonya. We need to get things under control and we need to find out how this happened and why." Dmitri nodded and made a beeline to the phone mounted on the wall of the family room, near the kitchen. Nadia walked into the kitchen and Sonya was pouting at her and making a frowny face. The tears Nadia thought she had stopped started to trickle down her cheeks again and she thoughtlessly started to wipe them away. The frowny face Sonya was making stopped instantly and she walked over to Nadia and held her. Looking up into her big sisters face and seeing nothing but fear and hurt made Sonya start crying. Nadia held her tight and smoothed her hair.

"There, there, Sonya, why are you crying? I haven't said anything to you."

"You looked so sad and you were crying that I felt sad too." Nadia pulled Sonya out of her arms and kneeled down to the ground, looking her straight in the eyes.

"There is something I need to tell you..."

"What?" Sonya interrupted.

"Well, it's about mom and dad. You see when Dmitri and I went to go check on them in their room; we found that they had been hurt." Nadia had to pause; there are some things in the world that are just too hard to say all at once. To tell someone that both their mother and father had been brutally shredded to pieces while they had been away seeing a movie is one of the most difficult things in the world. Nadia took a deep breath, then another one, before continuing.

"They were hurt very, very badly and..." Sonya was looking straight into Nadia's eyes, pleading for good news, and somehow knew there was none.

"And what, Nadia? What happened to mom and dad? Are they going to be ok? Where are they? I want to see them, now. Nadia, tell me! Tell me!" Sonya was becoming hysteric, Nadia needed to finish up.

"Mom and dad were hurt; they were hurt so badly that they are not going to...I'm sorry Sonya. Mom and dad are dead." Somehow saying the word dead made everything more real, it could have been a nightmare up until now. But, now, after saying those words, it was concrete, set in stone, definite.

"NO! Mommy and daddy are fine; they just went out for a little while, right? You're lying. No, you're wrong! You're wrong!!!!" Sonya was bawling, she pushed against Nadia, wis.h.i.+ng that what she was saying was right, trying to convince herself that her parents were not dead. Nadia held Sonya and the sobs that racked her tiny body shook Nadia as well. Dmitri entered from the family room, mouth hard and eyes red. He took note of Sonya but looked at Nadia. His voice was soft as if his very spirit has fled his body leaving a hollow sh.e.l.l that looked like her brother. Similarly, she must have mirrored him in her appearance, but now was not the time to worry over looks.

"The police are on their way. They should be here in a few minutes. I see you told Sonya." Nadia nodded, not yet ready to speak again. Dmitri took his younger sisters and led them to the couch to wait for the police. They sat together holding each other as if their lives depended on it, and for all they knew it did. It took the police ten minutes to reach the house, and during those ten minutes Nadia, Dmitri and Sonya were as stone, unmoving and silent. The police knocked on the door and the children moved to open the door.

When they got to the door, they opened it, but the police seemed odd, their uniforms were not like the usual ones. Nadia snapped out of the sort of trance she had been in and quickly took note of the people standing before her claiming to be police.

"Where are your badges?" she questioned. They flashed a badge but again they did not seem quite right. But, unable to neither confirm nor deny her gut feeling she let them in. Dmitri and Sonya made their way back to the couch and waited for Nadia to follow. Nadia hesitated but then turned to head back to the couch with the rest of her siblings. Once her back was turned to the 'police officers' there was a rush of pain in her head and then a sudden darkness overtook her senses and she fell to the floor unconscious. The other two Rachmaninov siblings fell in a similar way, unconsciousness on the floor.

The men in the room grabbed the children and dragged them to the van waiting outside. After securing their cargo the men scoured the place and planted evidence to show that the children had been taken as a part of the murderers plan. That way their company would never be suspected. These men were not part of the police, these men worked for the Theta Company. Their objective was to obtain the Rachmaninov children and to eliminate Sasha and Anastasya Rachmaninov, the parents, as they were unneeded in the experiment. Their mission complete it was time to return to headquarters.

Chapter 1.

Nadia awoke to an awful headache and some moans from around her. Dmitri and Sonya were moving next to her and were the cause of the moans. She pulled herself into an upright position and slowly opened her eyes. Once open her eyes started to adjust to the darkness of the room. Dmitri was scooting closer to Nadia and Sonya was crawling into Nadia's lap.

"Where the h.e.l.l are we? Nadia, Sonya?" Dmitri muttered from one side of the room. Nadia's mouth was extremely dry and she licked her lips before responding.

"I have no idea, but, at least we are together. Dmitri, come closer," Nadia clasped Sonya and held her tight. Dmitri made his way over to them and once together the three siblings held each other for long moments.

"We have to find out where we are and how we got here. As well as why we are here. Last thing I remember is..." Her thoughts went unfinished as at that moment the light flicked on and a burly man of about forty entered. He did not seem like the typical guard, but then again nothing about this particular adventure was ordinary. Wasting no time the man stepped aside to reveal a smaller, more fragile man well in his fifties.

"h.e.l.lo, Rachmaninov children, how do you find your accommodations? Pleasing, I hope." The man of fifty spoke, grinning with yellow teeth. The burly man stepped forward and opened the door, a barred door now that Nadia thought about it. The children squished together and continued to hold each other firmly, fearing that separation would mean forever.

"Daniel, will you see to it that they are fed an adequate dinner?" The older man commented before turning to leave. Daniel, as was his name, closed the door behind the older man and closed the barred door as well. He returned in a few minutes with a few chunks of bread and some unidentifiable meat product.

"Ugg, what is that?" Dmitri said, holding his nose. Daniel must have felt strongly about his meat because he gave Dmitri a slap across the face and dropped the food on the ground before departing once more.

"What is going on here?" Nadia questioned, delicately putting the pieces of food that had not touched the ground back on the tray. Dmitri did not respond, still tending to his wounded face. Sonya just clung to Nadia refusing to make any sound, as though she had become a mute. Nadia pulled Dmitri closer and ran her fingers across the red mark that had resulted from the present from Daniel. He whined a bit, not surprising, but Nadia continued to examine the tender spot. Honestly there was nothing that could be done for Dmitri's face and Nadia gave up trying to help and turned back to the barred door. She jangled it and pushed it, trying to find a weak spot in the make-up. Unfortunately it was rock solid, with no weak spots or even rusty portions.

"There must be a way out of here. I seriously do not like the feel of this place. Really, who kidnaps a bunch a children and puts them in a jail cell?" Nadia was working herself into a tizzy for no reason and Dmitri came to her side and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Calm down, we will find a way out, just calm down." Nadia took a deep breath and moved to the other side of the cell and started feeling around the wall. She vaguely recalled her junior high woodshop cla.s.s about drywall and such. Hollow sounds meant a break in the wood, and when banged up against enough could break the drywall and parts of the inner wall. Softly knocking on the wood Nadia came across two spots she thought could be weak points and pulled Dmitri over.

"I think the wall here is weak and if we bang up against it enough it may break and we can get out. Dmitri forced a grin, but his face hurt and he stopped his smile short, instead turning to a grimace. Nadia grabbed Sonya, who had turned into a rag doll and placed her in a corner.

"Ready Dmitri?" He nodded and Nadia prepared herself. "One, two, three, go!" The two of them started to run at the wall and Nadia hit it first putting a slight dent into the wall. Dmitri followed with a thud and increased the dent. Their shoulders were a bit sore, but they would have to do it again and again until there was a hole in the wall. No words were exchanged and Dmitri and Nadia backed up and tried again.

It took several attempts before there was a hole the shape of a shoulder, approximately the size of a cantaloupe. Nadia stopped Dmitri before he started to run again.

"I think that's a good start, we can pull on it from here." Nadia grabbed a piece of the wall and yanked pulling off a piece of drywall. Dmitri followed suit and pulled off a bigger piece. They continued in the manner until there was a hole big enough for a large child to fit through. Nadia went over to where Sonya had been laying and grabbed her.

"I'll go first, followed by Sonya, then you Dmitri. Okay?" Dmitri nodded and Sonya gave a look that seemed to mean ok. Nadia pushed herself through the opening and discovered that the inside of a wall was not a pleasant place to be. Spiders and their webs seemed to find there way into her face and a few times Nadia found herself inhaling them. The s.p.a.ce between walls was barely big enough for Nadia to stand slightly diagonal with her shoulders brus.h.i.+ng the walls. The inner wall area seemed like a maze and Nadia started to make her way down the inner corridor. Sonya stumbled a few times and Dmitri was silent from behind. Nadia realized that she had not thought this plan through and so far they had been wandering aimlessly.

"Nadia, do you have a plan of where we are going?" Dmitri called from the back.

"SHHH! Not so loud Dmitri and no I did not really plan farther than this. My thoughts are that we have to come out of the wall at some point, I just don't know where or when."

"Well, not to pressure you but I think Sonya is silently freaking out. I just think we should pick someplace to pop out soon."

"Good idea, how about a few more steps, I want to find a hollow place where it might be weaker in the foundation." Dmitri nodded and urged Sonya to continue to move. Nadia pushed forward a little while longer until coming to an older piece of wood and started to push against it. The wood splintered and cracked under only a slight bit of pressure. With the piece of wood gone the hole was easy to create. Pus.h.i.+ng was easier than pulling and in a few moments the three siblings were out of the wall.

"Fresh air." Dmitri sighed and Sonya let out a sneeze. Nadia kept silent and surveyed their surroundings. The overall appearance looked like a hospital, but they had been in jail cells only a few hundred feet away. The confusion was evident of Nadia's face, but Dmitri did not notice, due to the fact that he was deeply inhaling the 'fresh air.'

"Dmitri, be quiet, please." Dmitri shut up quickly and went to stand next to Nadia and Sonya. For the first time since their kidnapping Sonya made a sound. A sort of whimper, which caught both Dmitri and Nadia by surprise.

"What's the matter Sonya? Are you hurt? Sonya?" Nadia said to her, smoothing her hair and bending down to her eyelevel. Sonya was looking beyond Nadia, a little farther down the hall. Nadia looked confused before Dmitri got up and started to pull the girls down the hall.

"Guards I think. Quick let's get out of here, now!" Dmitri whispered over his shoulder. Nadia had little to no time to respond before her legs started to run and Sonya was on her back. Sonya began to cry, and Nadia tried to quiet her, but the sobs shook her body and the noise was louder then could be contained.

"Shhh, Sonya, everything is going to be alright. But, right now you need to be quiet so that they guards don't come after us. Okay?" Sonya nodded and tried to stifle her crying. There was the sound of clinking, as the guards started to walk down the hall.

"s.h.i.+t, they're coming. There is no where to hide!" Dmitri was panicking and Nadia was not far behind. The hallway did not have any turns or curves to hide behind, save for the one that they were hidden behind.

"We have to make a run for it. There is no other way." Dmitri was whispering into Nadia's ear.

"But, there is no where to go, the door at the end of the hallway could lead back to where we started and then all this would be for nothing." Nadia was trying to come up with an idea, but no thoughts would form in her head and the time for a decision was drawing near.

"We have to, they are almost here." Dmitri was pleading, fear enveloping his entire being. Nadia hesitated for a moment before nodding and getting up. Sonya was transferred to Dmitri's back and then Dmitri and Nadia started to run for their lives. The guards heard them and turned the corner.

The children were exhausted from lack of food and energy, so the guards caught up with them quick enough. Sonya was s.n.a.t.c.hed first, peeled right off of Dmitri's back. With the sudden change of weight Dmitri lost his balance and fell forward whereas a guard jumped on top of him and held his head down. Nadia turned around quickly to see what had happened and in that time a guard grabbed her wrist and yanked it to stop her movement. With the three siblings caught they were given harsh punishment in the form of a severe beating for all of them, including Sonya. After being beaten to a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp the siblings were taken to a new holding facility with a guard posted at all times to monitor them. The next few hours held pain and silence with random bouts of unconsciousness.

The next day, or what could have pa.s.sed as the next day brought bad news and heartache. Early in the morning, as could be determined by the spurts of light given off in the hole called a window, brought Daniel and the old man. This time there were no smiles or the illusion of happiness.

"Grab the boy; put him on the fast track. Leave the girls, they must under go tests." Daniel opened the barred door and pulled at Dmitri's s.h.i.+rt and he groaned in the process. Sonya was not awake and Nadia was barely clinging to consciousness. Her eyes flickered for a moment and then her world went black.

Hours later, or what seemed like hours later Nadia awoke. Slowly at first then with the memories flooding her mind she bolted upright, which was a bad idea. The pain flooded to her head and made her dizzy while increasing her pain tenfold. Laying back down she tried to a.s.sess her surroundings, but could see little from her position on her back.

"Sonya? Dmitri? Anyone, h.e.l.lo?" she called out, her voice cracking from lack of lubrication. Her lips were cracked and painful, her throat dry as a desert. A few tears escaped her eyes as she heard no response and the pain from the beating hit her like a wave. She lied there unmoving for several minutes, regaining her composure and trying to establish where she was.

While contemplating getting up again Nadia heard the door open and a thud as a body hit the floor. To see who it was merited the pain she would receive from sitting up. After upright and gritting her teeth through the pain Nadia opened her eyes and saw a little girl that looked like her sister. But, this could not be her sister, this girl was b.l.o.o.d.y and dirty, hair matted to her head and her face so very somber. Nadia stared closer and realized that this girl was in fact her sister.

"Sonya? Are you okay?" Nadia crept to be next to her sister and her head reeled from the movement. A moan was heard coming from Sonya, and when Nadia got there she saw that there were several needle pokes in her arms, with a trickle of blood coming from each of them. Tears stung her Nadia's eyes and she held Sonya tightly in her arms, unwilling to let go of her baby sister. Fearing the worst and expecting all h.e.l.l to break loose Nadia let her emotions go.

"Nadia, I hurt so much. I want mommy, I miss her." Nadia felt a tug in her heart and tried to sooth her sister with petting her head.

"When can we go home? I don't like it here. All they do is poke me, and I scream but they just poke me more." Sonya tried to move her arm so that she could show Nadia but the pain must have been to much and her arm slumped and then fell to the ground.

"It hurt so much, Nadia. Please don't let them take me again. Please...please." Sonya's voice was so frail and soft.

"We will get out of here Sonya. Somehow, I will find a way to get us out of here. Me, you, and Dmitri, we will all go home, I promise." Nadia was choking on her tears but pushed the words out in an effort to comfort both herself and Sonya. There was a chuckle coming from behind Nadia and she turned to see Daniel and the old man standing in the doorway.

"Don't make promises you can't keep child. I hate to break it to you, but you and your siblings will never leave this place as long as I have a say in it." The old man chuckled again and Nadia was filling with rage.

"You monster, what do you want with us? We have not done anything to you. Leave us alone, let us go home. Stop hurting my sister and give me back my brother!" Nadia felt defiant and her anger gave her the courage to speak out against the evil old man laughing at her. The throbbing in her head was pushed down and kept at bay by her anger.

"Stop speaking as if you matter. The answer is that we collect children to use and transform into cyborgs for fighting and killing. That's the basic idea of it, so you better get used to being hurt and alone. That is all that we have to offer you here. Don't expect us to hold your hand and pat you on the head, we don't do that here." Nadia was s.h.i.+vering with fear and the old man seemed to enjoy it.

"Daniel will you grab Miss Rachmaninov. It's time for her tests. I'm sure that you are just going to love them." Daniel walked into the cell and towards Nadia. She tried to push him away, but of course she was a fourteen year old female and he was a forty year old muscular man. He easily over powered her.

There was a swift blow to the back of her head, supposedly to make her easier for traveling, better than some kid kicking and screaming the whole way. The next thing Nadia knew she was in what appeared to be a hospital room, but something seemed to tell her that this was no hospital room. On one wall there were instruments that couldn't possibly be needed for everyday hospital uses, sharp knives, saws, and plenty of electrical equipment for unknown reasons.

"Wake up now Miss Rachmaninov, time for test number one. Not a particularly difficult test, not much fun either. But, protocol calls for me to do everything by the books. So-" The old man drew in a breath and Daniel, as if by cue left the room.

"What do you want with me? Why are you doing this?" Nadia was pleading with the man. Surely he had answers, anything to put her ravenously curious and exhausted mind to ease. The man seemed to ignore her and picked up a needle from a surgical table nearby and tested it, as all doctors do before injections. Seeing the needle made Nadia freak out a bit, she had never been one to enjoy needles, and in fact she sort of had a slight fear of them. At this point Nadia started to plead, beg, scream, anything that would stall the needle from reaching her skin.

"Now, now, Nadia, don't be such a scaredy cat, it won't hurt...that much." And with that the man plunged the needle into Nadia's right arm, near the elbow and pushed the liquid in.

"Test number one complete. I guess that it's not much of a test, more like a step. Oh, well, I didn't invent the rules, I just follow them." Nadia screamed at the pain resulting from the jab of the doctor man. Whatever the liquid was there didn't seem to be any direct effects.

"Tell me, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, what do you want with my family? Stop your f.u.c.king around and tell me right now!!" Nadia was screaming, pulled at her restraints that kept her tied down to the bed. All the questions boiling inside her, the memory of her parents, dead, the sight of her little sister b.l.o.o.d.y and broken, and not knowing where her brother was. She started thras.h.i.+ng around, unable to keep her emotions and feelings inside anymore. The man sighed and gathered himself for the informing talk he was about to unleash.

"Well, it is quite a long story to tell in such a short time. So I'll give you the abridged version. Don't feel bad, you are not going to miss much." The man drew in a breath and let out a sort of chuckle before continuing.

"The beginning of this story starts much like all other stories in the world, a boy with a dream. Only this boy works hard for what he believes and goes off to college and learns what he needs to know. After getting into the world of his dreams, he starts a company and named it Theta. Not sure where the name came from, but whatever. This man gathers more men like him and together they accomplished the dream of the man who started it all. You may be wondering what this has to do with you. Well, to be frank you are the materials needed to fulfill the dream." The man paused here for effect, letting the words so far sink in before he sighed and continued on.