Upon nothing

Ch 17

The journey back to the main cage room was pretty much the same as earlier.  I simply sat in my cage and did nothing while we progressed through the hall.  It wasn't a surprise that people continued staring at me, especially with the new collar around my neck.  The fact they didn't take it off when finished proved that this was intended to be a permanent accessory. 

To say that I was an unhappy camper is a huge understatement.  Of course, that shouldn't be a surprise after what I just went through.  Having the aforementioned collar stuck to my neck and having to take a shit in a litter box didn't leave me in the best mood.  If they had me do one more test, regardless of its difficulty, I might've done something that wouldn't end well for either me or them.

It didn't matter now as we reached our destination.  With a swipe of a keycard, the door opened, and we proceeded inside.  They parked the cart in front of the spot where I originally was and placed me in between the other cages.  I knew this due to the arrangement of the surrounding spheres. 

"So I assume we're going to do the same thing for the others when they hatch?"  The young scientist asked while writing something down. 

"Unless anything changes, that is the current plan."  The older one sighed.  "We need to wait and see if the others even hatch.  For all we know, this may be the only success out of them all."

"Maybe."  The young one attached the clipboard to my cage and began walking out alongside the other one.  "It would be disappointing to only have one success after ten months of waiting."

"Wait what!?"  I swiftly spun around and watched the two men leave the room.  The door closed behind them, leaving me alone to myself.  I wasn't really paying attention to their conversation, but I'm certain I heard that last part correctly.  It's also not like they're screwing around with me, so I'm certain they weren't lying.

"Have I really been out that long?"  I asked myself, still shocked by the revelation. 

Like, it would be one thing if it was a few days for something, maybe a week depending on the circumstances.  But this was ten months they were talking about, ten whole months.  At that point, I don't know if anyone would believe I was alive.  I honestly couldn't blame them, even though I was still living and breathing.

As I contemplated the lost time, a faint noise began to emanate from somewhere in the room.  It started off as an indistinct hum, but it slowly changed into an annoying rocking sound.  I wasn't sure what it was and attempted to ignore it, but it sounded pretty close, making it hard to disregard.

Fed up with the noise, I spun around and scanned the room for the source.  I spun around in a complete circle, curious to know where it was coming from.  Everything looked the same when I first came here.  I was still surrounded by cages containing egg-like things which lay motionless.

Well, except for the one right next to me. 

"...huh?"  It took my brain a moment to realize that something was off. 

I looked to my right and noticed it was indeed doing something.  The pink sphere was shaking back and forth, producing the sounds I'd been hearing.  I searched the interior of the cage and saw nothing that could be causing this abnormal behavior. 

'Crk!'

I jumped back as a crack appeared on its surface.  The fracture was small, its size being larger than a paper clip.  A faint pink light shines out from it, making it hard to miss the split. 

'Crk!'  'Crek!'

More cracks began appearing shortly after the first one.  Some of them expanded on the one already there while new ones spawned in different areas.  Following each new crack was more of the glimmering pink light.  The thing was honestly starting to appear more and more like a weird-looking colored disco ball.