A pair of BNSF visitors lead an intermodal past the scenic farmland near Fladt on a beautiful Ohio summer evening. CSX Scottslawn Subdivision. Marysville, OH. July 12, 2022.
If you’re residing in Marysville, OH, and hoping to have the perfect date night, you can rest assured because this charming town is known for a wealth of leisurely activities that can be done with a partner. Also working in your favor is Marysville’s close proximity to the bustling city of Columbus, which has a vibrant nightlife. Here are a few ideas that are guaranteed to bring some excitement and romance into your dating life!
I called Dr. Owens, though technically I had reached the phone number of another government agent, who then redirected me to Dr. Owens. He had asked me to meet him at a diner to talk, telling me that it was better to speak face to face rather than over the phone, as we never knew who could be secretly listening. Eventually I had told him of my wishes, that I wanted to know the truth of what had happened, I came to him with all my questions from before about subject B-5126.
Dr. Owens sighed. "I think I know who we can turn to for answers, but I don't think you'd like it."
I swallowed, furrowing my eyebrows. "It doesn't matter, all I want is to know the truth."
"One of the scientists who had worked there was imprisoned, on what charges I still don't know. I can take you to see her, but I will warn you, meeting her may trigger something within you."
"I'll be fine." But the way my fingers twitch and my heart starts to palpitate says otherwise.
This is what led me to Ohio Reformatory for Women.
I feel my heart practically skip a beat when Dr. Owens mentions the name of the inmate we were about to pay a visit to.
Amelia Peters.
....
Dr. Owens looks at me, concern filling his features. "You can leave anytime you want if it gets to overwhelming." He assured me as he placed a hand on my shoulder.
I nod silently, carefully eyeing the door that led to where I would meet with her. As the guard ushered me into the room, I felt a chill rack my spine as I came face to face with the woman, who I could now barely even recognize.
She had always worn her hair neatly, held herself in a graceful and reserved manner, but the woman I stared at currently had no resemblance of that woman. Her hair was frayed and knotted, her face lined with exhaustion and scratch marks. Whether she did that to herself or not I didn't know. All I knew was that whatever happened to her had completely destroyed her.
As I came into view, she stared at me with those same cold gray eyes I was all too familiar with.
"What a nice surprise," she stood up from a chair. "hello, Red."
I clenched my jaw as I heard that name, sinister and cruel with how it came out of her mouth, as if taunting me, hanging memories of my past over my nose.
"Dr. Peters." I regarded her.
She cocks her head to the side, smirking at me as she crossed her legs. "Must be nice for you to have the roles reversed for once, me locked in a cage," she gestures towards her cell. "While you stand there watching."
I glance at the guard, giving them a look for them to leave, to which they quirked an eyebrow at me.
"Don't get too close to the bars, she's grabby." They say as they turn, leaving me alone with her.
"Let's skip the formalities," I say once the door closes, folding my arms as I glared daggers at her. I reminded myself that she was the one behind bars now, not me. I had the upper hand. "Why was I experimented on? Out of the people you could have chosen, why me? And what is project Fordus, who is (mother's name)? Why did the report state me as her spawn?"
She purses her lips, grimacing as she paced around her cell. "So many questions, Red, you sound so much like me."
"I am nothing like you." I spat, words dripping with noxious venom. "I don't hurt people, I am not a monster."
"Oh? Is that what you think?" She cocks her head to the side, her voice lilting as if she were amused by my reaction, she stepped towards me, standing proudly while she held her hands behind her back.
"You were made for war," Dr. Peters smiled. They said the eyes were the windows to the soul, and as I gazed into hers, I realized she didn't have one; her gaze was cold, devoid of any joy despite how her mouth stretched into a grin, I felt sick to my stomach as I looked at her.
"I created you, I blessed you with unimaginable power to make armies fall to their very feet, to cause chaos and disorder, the moment I laid my eyes upon you, I knew. I knew that one day you'd conquer and divide, that if I pushed you just enough you'd finally reach your full potential, you'd conquer the world."
She plopped down onto the chair, leaning backwards, chuckling to herself. "When I saw you that day, frustrated and angry when you couldn't activate your powers the way you wanted to, triggering them in the process, absolutely tearing apart the room with a shockwave, I thought you were weak, worthless compared to the others who could control their abilities so flawlessly," she shakes her head. "But I was wrong. See, as I observed you, how you crawled like a dying animal, I saw just how strong you were, admired your determination. And as you transformed very stone into nothing but ash, I marveled at you. By God, the power you have, the power you wield, the potential for utter destruction, it—it was so beautiful."
Her nostrils flared as tears started to stain her cheeks, sniffing before she started to sob. I furrowed my brows as her sobs turned into laughter; sick, maniacal laughter that could only come from a madman.
She lurched forward, grabbing the iron bars of her cell, I backed away, fearing she may reach out and grab me.
"Let me tell you a secret," she whispered, her tone amused, entertained with how I instinctively flinched away. "All you will ever do is hurt people, because that was what you were made for. You can fool yourself, lie to yourself so much to the point you actually start to believe those honeyed words of yours, but you are still my creation, my masterpiece, and a part of me will always live within you, no matter how much you try to hide it and push it away, I'll always be there, whispering into your ears, reminding you of your purpose."
She jumps backward, landing onto a chair with a sigh.
"You never answered my question." I seethed, eyes glimmering as I fisted the cloth of my jeans.
"Oh," she nods, her gaze trailing upwards to the ceiling as she rests her chin in her hand. "B-5126 was your mother, I say was because she's barely even alive now," she looks straight into my eyes as she points her finger at me. "Thanks to you, of course."
"What—" I huff, my breathing becoming labored as I heard her words. "What do you mean by that?" I felt my entire body tense as my heart hammered against my chest.
"Exactly what you think it does!" She cackled. "You, my dear little Red Riding Hood, put your mother into a coma." Her lips form into a pout, feigning hurt to mock me.
"Tell me exactly what happened, right now." I spat, glaring at her. If looks could kill, that bitch would be six feet under, left to rot in dirt and filth.
"Oh, I will, if it'll make you happy," she shrugs, cocking her head to the side. "But it won't—its a very sad story actually. See, when I started working for 'Them' with a capital 'T', I was placed under Project Fordus, altering genetics and blah blah blah of our subjects so that they could conceive the perfect little specimens for the next step: the Colors—you. Mommy dearest seemed to be sick and tired of it all, so she escaped, taking you with her, thinking that she could somehow just leave it all behind."
She shifted in her chair, her smile twisting into a frown as she scowled.
"She was stupid, naively so, didn't bother covering up her tracks, so it made it so easy for us to find her. So we took her back to the lab, ran some tests, and turns out that giving birth you made her infertile. She was no use to us anymore. But you—you had so much potential, even as an itty bitty little tot who could barely even walk," she let out a sadistic giggle. "She tried to put up such a fight! She tried to take you, runaway again in hopes of living her fairy tale life, I was there for it all—saw what happened on the cameras. The guards took you from her, tased her and threw her on the ground. Seeing your mother in such distress must have upset you, which only triggered your dormant powers. You sent a shockwave so powerful it scrambled their minds! You pulled the very electrons in their nerves, disrupting their orbit or something, I dunno, but as we went to check on them, they were all brain dead!"
Her eyes crinkled as she chortled, rocking back and forth in her chair. I knew of her reputation as a well respected woman of science, but as I gazed at her now, she was nothing but a mad scientist, cruelly tearing people apart to serve her own depraved agenda.
"No," I muttered, shaking my head in disbelief. "You're lying, I didn't do that, I-I'd never hurt anyone."
She cocks her head at me, pouring again as she feigned sympathy. "Of course not, Red. You were only an innocent, harmless widdle baby. You didn't mean to destroy their lives," her mouth twitched into a smile again. "Just kidding! That's all you're meant for, really—see! I told you, all you'll ever do is hurt the people you love, because you're a weapon meant for devastation!"
My lower lip trembles, my hands shake and my thoughts spiral—the voices and whispers growing louder by the second as my fingers gripped at my scalp.
I gasp for air, realizing I had been holding my breath as I stood up, wanting nothing to do with her and her twisted game.
I spun around as I heard a commotion, only to see Dr. Peters slamming her hands against the iron bars.
"Don't you fucking turn your back on me, Red!"
A stray tear slides down my cheeks as a shiver crawled up my spine, terrified of the person I had even considered to be a mother figure. I place my hands to cover my ears, attempting to muffle out her voice, to silence the memories and cries in my head.
As I shut the door behind me, I lean onto the wall for support, shaken to my very core.
"Is everything alright?" Dr. Owens stepped towards me, offering me a hand, which I took gratefully.
"Take me to see my mother."
"Of course, I'll go get the car—"
I shake my head frantically. "No, no, I want to see my biological mother—the woman who gave birth to me."
He stared at me for a moment, eyebrows furrowed at my request, placing his hands on his hips as he nodded.
"I'll do my best to find her."
....
July, 1986, Medford, Oregon
I stared out the window, admiring the sprawling forests and the mist that hung in the air as the skies poured, even thought it was summertime, it seemed as if this place was locked in an eternal gloom. In spite of the downcast weather, I found it peaceful as I listened to raindrops pitter patter on the roof of the car.
I shuffled in the car seat, twiddling with my fingers as we approached a hospital, Dr. Peters' words echoing in my mind. One of the men that Dr. Owens had brought opened the door for me, to which I responded by muttering a small 'thank you' as I slipped out.
After going to the front desk, they had given us visitor's passes, Dr. Owens placed a hand on my shoulder, noticing my unease as we faced the door to her room. I could see a figure from the window, laying peacefully on the bed.
"It's now or never, kid."
I close my eyes, preparing myself, hardening my resolve as I breathed in, turning the doorknob and pushing the door open.
A breath hitched itself in my throat as I gazed upon my biological mother's form. Her eyes were shut, her breathing shallow as a heart monitor beat softly. In spite of her current condition, I knew her face. The same one I had seen in each memory. I felt my hands twitch involuntarily while my eyes focused on the various machines she was connected to.
"I did this?" I whispered as I look down upon my hands, trembling furiously no matter how much I tried to relax.
I turned to Dr. Owens as I heard his sigh.
"Do you know anything about this? About her?"
He looks down, as if thinking over his words carefully, lips forming a tight line before he spoke.
"Dr. Peters was telling the truth," his words hit me like a speeding truck, my heart sank to the pit of my stomach as I tasted the bitterness of bile in my throat.
"Your mother she—she was one of the initial experiments, she was orphaned at a young age, struggled to make her way through life when she was kicked out of the system. The organization that managed this experiment promised her financial compensation in the contract, which she signed. Evidently, she had undergone a fair share of trials. She..miscarried those first few times they tried to impregnate her, you.." his voice trailed off as he looked at me. "You were her only successful pregnancy. She escaped along with you, just as Dr. Peters said, but they found her and brought her back, they tried to take you away from her but.."
I close my eyes. He didn't need to finish his sentence for me to understand. It was true. Everything Dr. Peters had said was true, despite her deranged mental state, she was telling the truth.
Memories, as fragmented and distant as they had seemed, flashed through my mind as clear as day.
"Shh, shh, it's okay (Y/N), we're going home." Came the soothing voice of my mother as she picked me up cradled me in her arms.
What happened next was an absolute blur, stressful and surreal as I was dropped onto the floor, tears prickling my eyes as I searched for my mother, only to be picked up by someone else—a man? He was dressed in dark green.
"Please, give her back—no! (Y/N)!” My mother sobbed as she was thrown to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain as she was struck by rods of electricity.
As I let out a cry, the man that was holding me dropped to the floor—all of them did. I wailed so fiercely that my throat burned.
“Mama!”
Without any hesitation, I run out of the room, past Dr. Owens who called out for me, voice filled with concern.
I don't turn back, I only run.
I don't even know where I was going as I sprinted my way through crowds of people in the street, ignored the honking of cars as I sped through the road, running faster and faster even as my calves burned and heart ached.
Eventually, I found myself deep in the woods, slowing down to a stop when I realized that no one was around me. I dropped to my knees as I howled with anguish, finally letting my thoughts and emotions consume me as I wept.
Power surged through me, exploding outwards, in blaring red, sending trees crashing to the ground as I heard the crackling of wood. I lurched forward, sobbing; clawing and pulling at the grass beneath me, wanting the earth to swallow me and hide me away.
I hide my face in my hands as my body racks with sobs, guttural shouts resounding throughout the air.
I had spent my entire life being forged into a weapon, I thought I had left that all behind me, but no matter how hard I ran or how much I tried to escape it, the pain had remained. It was as if it was seared into my very DNA, and there was no changing that. No drug could ever cure me of what they had done, of what I am.
I hiccuped, covering my mouth with the back of my hand, unable to cry anymore as I had exhausted my tear ducts. As I look around me, nothing but fallen trees, burning bushes, and scorched earth, irrevocable destruction surrounding me, a revelation dawns on me; a thought I was too afraid to acknowledge.
I was born to lay upon wreckage, wherever I went, whatever I touched.
If you love sports and you live in Marysville, OH, you’re in luck! There are lots of amazing stadiums in the area where you can enjoy everything from football to soccer. Keep reading to find out five Ohio favorites!
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