Improvement

"Jason!" My eyes snapped open as my teacher walked towards me. "You were sleeping. Do you find this lecture boring?" I shook my head. "Now ma'am." The teacher gave a forced smile. "Good now could you tell me the last name of our eighth president?" My stomach felt like it had been twisted into a knot. "Um...well you see...I...he"

My teacher was about ready to talk when the quiet girl of my class with waist length, wavy, blonde, hair, and blue eyes stood up. "Oh that's my favorite president his last name was Van Burien." I almost laughed as my teachers frown almost touched her chin. Before she could say anything the bell rang. "Class dismissed."

As I walked out of the classroom my classmate who had helped me caught up to me. I nervously reached out my hand towards her. "Thanks..." the girl smiled and shook my hand. "The names Lindsey and your welcome." I tried to think of somethingto say."So your favorite president is... Ven Buran?" Lindsey slapped her face. "Of course not, I said that to help you out, and its Van Burien."

I gave a nervous laugh. "Oh." Lindsey gave me a playful elbow in the side. "Stop acting so weird I don't bite." Then she walked ahead of me. I felt really bad and decided to find an opportunity to apologize to her. I walked towards her when I saw she was heading outside. We were supposed to be heading to class. I decided to spy on her And see what she was up to. She went outside and stopped and stared at something in the distance. I strained to see what she was looking at. I almost jumped as I saw an eight foot tall black alien . He had spikes down his back and on its tail, a mask covered his face. His eyes were completely white.

He walked towards Lindsey calmly. He spoke in a raspy voice that sounded like it was coming from the other side of the world yet you could still hear it clearly. "You actually thought you could hide." Lindsey took out a sword. "Why hello Vexok. The creature gave a screeching laugh. "Why hello progect 23, ready to go home? The masters waiting." Lindsey clenched her teeth. "I am home, my names Lindsey, and he's not my master. You won't bring me back there." Vexok laughed. "I'm fully improved and am the fastest alien alive. You won't get away."

I cocked my head. Why had no one noticed this Vexok guy, they would walk right past him. I snapped out of my thoughts as Vexok lunged at Lindsey at amazing speed. I noticed he also took Lindsey by suprise. Vexok grabbed her arm and twisted it so she would drop her sword.

He then said a word I was unable to hear. Immediately she fell to the ground crying in pain, her eyes turned completely white. Vexok then said the word again or at least I think it's the same word. Lindsey's eye's turned back to normal but she was still weak.

Vexok lifted her up and cried out a word I could never spell or pronounce. An alien spaceship appeared in front of him. He started to walk through the door and I sneaked in behind them. Vexok shoved unconscious Lindsey into a clear tube and then call out a name. "Tenenial!" A white alien peaked through a door, she also had white eye's and a mask like Vexok "Yes Vexok?" Vexok smiled. "I got progect 23, let's head to the ship." My heart stopped as Vexok turned around. There was nowhere to hide.

Vexok saw me and before I knew it he grabbed me and slammed me against the wall. The lights started to go dim but I snapped back when I saw Tenenial run to Vexok and grab his arm. "Dont kill him, he can see us, and only aliens improved by the master can see us. Let him down."

Vexok dropped me to the ground. I was in terrible pain. Vexok turned and faced Tenenial. "How could he have been improved by the master, progect 23 is the only human to ever be slightly improved." I noticed Lindsey waking up. "My name is Lindsey."

Tenenial turned and saw her. "Ah, your awake. Now tell me progect 23, why can your friend here, see us?" Lindsey looked at me with suprise and then sadness. "Jason, you shouldn't be here." Vexok grabbed me and pulled me back. "Tell us why he can see us or he dies." Lindsey nodded. "Mabie he somehow absorbed my power when he touched me. Probably just a flaw your master made." Tenenial screeched with rage. "He is your master to and he will make sure you know that."

Something hit me. "Wait, how could I see Lindsey before she touched me?" Vexok threw me to the ground. "Because she isn't fully improved." Lindsey leaped up. "I was fine the way I was before the improving nonsense!" Tenenial shook with rage. "Enough! We will discuss this later. Put the boy with project 23." Vedox obeyed and Lindsey and I were left alone trapped in the clear tube together.

I grabbed Lindsey's shoulders. "Explain please." Lindsey looked away from me to hide her tears. "I suppose I should. It all started about two years ago when I was about twelve. I was playing in my yard when believe it or not I was abducted by aliens. I was taken to a ship just floating there in space. I met an alien there. Everybody called him the master.

He told me to call him that to. He smiled and told me to walk with him. He started to explain why I was there. He told me that I was one of the thirty different aliens he was improving. I asked what the improvement was . He laughed and told me that it was exactly what it meant, he was improving us.

The master then led me to a room and told me that he would show me. He pointed to the chair and told me to hop in. I did as he said. He turned it on and I felt like I was being burned alive. It only lasted about three minutes when it stopped. The master walked up to me and unstrapped me. I was shaking all over. He helped me off. He told me he turned it off early when I started to scream in pain. I didn't remember screaming, only pain. I told him the pain I felt and he looked at me confused. He told me that had never happened before.

I begged for him to take me back home but he said that I would stay. He told me I was quite a scientific experiment and that he would work on me himself. He then said my name was project 23." Lindsey stopped as she started to cry but she quickly recovered "He then led me to a completely empty room and said I'd be staying there.

Every day from then on I was tested and I felt the same burning pain. I was being improved, but the master told me that it was extremely difficult to so. He told me I was already growing very powerful. One day he said that there were now becoming side effects. Every time he touched me my eyes would go completely white and I would fall to the ground screaming in pain. I felt worse pain then ever before.

The master started to help so that only my hand would make me react like that. He told me the reason that happend was because my body wasn't prepared for the power I held. He then decided I would be a secret project. I could see no one.

I asked him what about me was improving besides pain and he told me I would find out on my last day of improvement. I asked how much longer it would take. He told me about a month more of it. At that moment I knew I had to get away. I had never tried before I was to afraid.

I risked opening my door. I jumped when I saw a little pink alien girl. She saw me and asked who I was. I told her my name was Lindsey. She smiled and said her name was project 18. I frowned and asked her real name. She looked side to side and whispered to me that it was Shuyal. I asked her to join me in my room. We talked and she to didn't like the improvement business either. So we hatched a plan to run away.

The next day Shuyal had found out were the escape pods were. The two of us sneaked into one. The escape pod asked for a voice recognition. Me and Shuyal had given up when a gaurd came. Shuyal ran up to him and asked his favorite color. The gaurd cocked his head and asked what in the universe she meant. Immediately the escape pod turned on but the doors shut. I clawed at them trying to open them. I screamed at the escape pod to open up but it wouldn't listen. It instead asked were I wished to go. I had no choice but to leave her. I told it earth. I came to where you were. The aliens had killed my family and I was forced to go to an adoption center."

The two of us sat in silence for a while. I shook my head. "Im sorry Lindsey." After a few more minutes of silence Vexok walked in. "Were here." Me and Lindsey stood up as Vexok opend the door. We walked out Vexok following close behind us. An alien I assumed was the master smiled at us.

"Project 23 how good it is to see you again." I was surprised that she didn't argue about her name. Instead she looked down at the ground. The master looked at me. "Tenenial told me about you and how you can see us. Spectacular. I can work on you to myself. What do you say, progrect 31?" I backed up shaking my head and bumped into Vedox who held me still. "N...no thank you." The master frowned. "You humans are so stubborn. I suppose we must take you by force then."

I turned to Lindsey who looked up at me and then looked straight at the master. "Please, let him go. He has nothing to do with me." The master laughed. "I could use another human. They are quite powerful. Tenenial find an empty room for the two." Tenenial obeyed and brought us to our room. When we were alone I paced. "How can we escape?" Lindsey laid on the empty ground looking at the ceiling with grief. "There is no way Jason."

I shook my head and was about to try to open the door when it opend and a small pink alien looked through. "I will be guarding you two just to let you know." Lindsey leaped up. "Shuyal!" Then Lindsey's face saddened. "You are all the way improved. Do you remember me?" I noticed Shuyal had completely white eyes. Lindsey was right she was improved.

"I do not know you neither do I care to." Lindsey collapsed onto the ground. "Were never going to escape." I decided to lay down and wait. After a while the master came in. "It's time!" I got up but Lindsey was frozen. I leaned down and helped her up. We slowly followed him. We walked down hall upon hall until we reached a room. Lindsey froze again and wouldn't budge. The master shook his head, grabbed her hand and pulled her to the room.

The master set Lindsey in the chair and carefully strapped her in. He turned it on and immediately Lindsey's eye's turned white but this time there was more. Her hair turned dark pink and her skin turned very pale. She remained silent but I could tell from her expression she felt horrible pain. It took about thirty minutes when the master stopped it. He unstrapped Lindsey from the device.

Lindsey fell onto the ground barely catching herself with her hands. The master helped her up and motioned for me to go. I slowly walked to the device. The master strapped me in. He walked toward the device and I held my breath as the tube lowered over me. I could see nothing but blackness. Then I felt a tingling sensation. I tried to remember who I was. Then, just like Lindsey I felt terrible pain. It felt like needless were stabbing me and felt like I was being burned alive. It seemed to last forever until it finally stopped.

I saw Lindsey yelling at the master. Then she saw that I was awake. She ran to me and squeezed my hand. "I begged him to stop but he wouldn't. You were in there for three hours. The normal time is a half an hour. Your eyes turned completely blue and strands of your hair started to turn blue to. Oh, and of course you screamed in pain." She glared at the master. The master put a hand on my shoulder. "I simply need to speed you up so you can catch up to progect 23."

This time Lindsey did argue. "It's Lindsey, ok Carl?" The master cocked his head. "My real name is not Carl." Lindsey grinned. "It is until you start calling us by our real names." The master rolled his eyes. I realized that the master didn't necessarily seem like a bad guy. I dismissed the thought. After that horrible nightmare I confirmed that he was definitely a bad guy.

The master unstrapped me. "That's all for this evening I'll get project number 31 back at midnight." Lindsey gasped. "That's way to soon." The master ignored her and led us back to our rooms. When we got back I started to pace again. "Lindsey, we need to find a way to bring everybody's memory back."

Lindsey nodded. "But how can we?" I started to pace again. "I guess we'll have to try and think of something that would jog their memory, we'll test it on Shuyal." Lindsey nodded. "Well then let's get her."

I went to the door and opened it. Shuyal was there. "What do you creeps want?" I smiled. I lunged at her and pulled her into the room. Lindsey shut the door behind us and helped me pin Shuyal down. " Shuyal, you have to remember me." Shuyal screamed. "Get off me!" Lindsey calmly let go. "Tell me Shuyal, whats your favorite color?"

Shuyal immediately stopped struggling. "Lindsey?" Lindsey laughed and helped her up. Shuyal smiled. "Pink was always my favorite." Shuyal eyes stayed white, she was still improved but she remembered everything perfectly. All of a sudden Vexok stormed into the room. "Whats going on, I heard screaming." Shuyal ran to him. "Vexok weres Cenie?" Vexok froze. "She... She's..." Shuyal put a hand on his much much larger one. "She's waiting for you at home."

Lindsey looked confused. "How did you know that Shuyal?" Vexok frowned. "I used to talk about her all the time. She's my wife." I spoke up. "We have to make the others remember." Vexok smiled. "Easy I can get Tenenial and a few others. They can get other aliens to. Let's get to work." Me and Lindsey had to stay but Vexok and Shuyal went." Me an Lindsey's hopes were high until the master walked in. "It's midnight, project 31."

My heart sank as he lead me to the room. He strapped me in. It turned on and I felt the same pain all over again. It felt way longer then normal this time. I woke up to see Lindsey smiling at me. "Mission accomplished." Lindsey helped me up. I looked around and saw the master surrounded by a few aliens. He saw me and grinned. He then said the same word Vexok had said to Lindsey. All the aliens surrounding me collapsed to the ground crying out in pain.

I wasn't affected. The master walked toward me and grabbed my shoulder. Everything went black.

*

The pain stopped and Lindsey stood up. Jason stood at the side of the master. A grey mask was over his now completely blue eyes. He held a sword in his right hand. Strands of his hair were completely blue. Lindsey looked at the other aliens. They were also awake. Lindsey looked back up at the master. The master smiled. "Glad to see you are up."

Lindsey was confused. "Am I mistaken or are the others asleep?" The master laughed. "There under our control now you see progect 31 focuses all his energy on them and I focus all of mine on him." Lindsey knew she had to quickly react to get Jason's memory back. "Jason, remember me, I'm Lindsey." Jason didn't flinch.

The master laughed. "You cannot bring his memory back. Soon all of us including you, when your under my control, will each rule a planet and mabie we'll all rule the universe instead." Lindsey desperately tried to think of a way to make him remember. Then it hit her. "Who is our eighth president, is it Ven Buran?" Jason laughed. "It's Ven Burien." He then remembered he had been under control of the master.

He hadn't been able to move or speak but he could hear everything. He knew what he had to do. He knew the master would soon gain back control over him. He looked at Lindsey. "This is my choice and it's not your fault. Remember that." Lindsey turned completely white. "Jason don't..." Lindsey didn't finish. Jason plunged the sword into his stomach. "Bye Lindsey, punch Carl for me will you?"

THE END