Bring Me to Life

Chapter 2

The next morning I woke up when the cart carrying my cage hit a bump. When my tailbone slammed against the bottom of the cage, and I made a failing effort not to groan. Hearing my small whimper of pain, the doctor that was pushing the cart peered between the bars.

“Good, you’re awake. Today is a big day for you, and us.”

“Really? Why? What’s going to happen?” I inquired.

Grinning, the man said, “You’ll see when we get there.” Something about that smile was very unsettling. Something in me half-expected him to reach for the handgun in his hip, under his lab coat like the other workers.

The room I was pushed into wasn’t anything special. All the surroundings were white like the rest of the building. Unlike the other rooms, this one looked like a simple gym with slightly modified equipment. They let me out of the cage, all while quickly explaining what I was going to be doing.

“Today is your first endurance test. You'll have one a week. You will go to the different pieces of equipment and use it until you feel you can’t. You must also use every device,” the woman said blankly with her head facing her clipboard. “Now, begin.” She pushed up her glasses.

Okay, that was simple enough. I tentatively walked over to the treadmill while one doctor came over to set the speed at 9 km after I stepped on.

I started sprinting. After about four minutes, I was already exhausted. I had yet to have any food, so I was low on energy. But as soon as I slowed down, the moving ground beneath me heated up, making me yelp.

It was the hottest sensation I’d ever felt. Immense pain wracked through my body. I sped up for a moment, knowing if I slowed down that I would get shocked again. Remembering that feeling, my legs grew heavy with fear. No, keep going! Don’t stop! I yelled at myself.

But I could’t keep up. The speed had only gone up, now at 15 km. My feet felt the familiar scalding sensation as it radiated through every nerve in my body. I couldn’t do it anymore. I tried to slow down, but I couldn't or I’d fall, and it would be painful without a doubt. But I couldn’t jump off the sides either, or I would fall onto my head.

My vision started to get fuzzy, and all I saw were dots of flaming red, cerulean blue and forest green. I knew what was going to happen. My feet tangled, and I barely saw the ground rushing at me as I fell.

I woke up on the floor, feeling my forehead pounding right in between my eyebrows. As I reached up to apply pressure, my hand felt warm and wet. Really wet. I retracted my arm, and saw all of the blood. All of my blood. Looking down, I saw a bloodstain on the edge of the treadmill where I was lying face down; and a larger splatter on the white linoleum. I hadn't noticed until then how much contrast everything had compared to white. Especially crimson. I looked up, and two doctors jotted down notes, before they put down their clipboards, placed their hands under my arms and half-dragged, half-carried me to my cage.

As I was rolled out of the room, I looked back and saw the splatter. The only evidence that I ever existed. Lying against the side, I peered over to see the doctor who first woke me when I was "reborn," they said. It wasn’t until that moment that I noticed his jade green eyes, wide with horror, flicking between the bloodstain and I. His sandy hair was slightly ruffled, his glasses almost falling off the bridge of his nose. One word described the way he was looking at me, and I for one couldn’t believe it. Pity.

As I was rolled back into the dark room, I recalled the name on his plastic tag the second before we exited the room. Dr. Atherine. All that echoed in my mind was his expression. Pure, untainted pity.

My cart stopped, unloaded, and the doctors walked out, slamming the heavy metal door behind them. After a few moments, or hours, or even days, the door opened again. One of the doctors walked in, and to my surprise it was Dr. Atherine. He strolled up to my cage.

“Hey,” he said with a smile that had no joy. “I brought you something.”

Really? He actually brought me something? He reached into his pocket of the white lab attire he was suited in, and pulled out a gold frame. Not just a frame, but a picture.

The picture had a girl holding an award, a paper certificate that read:

THIS AWARD OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

IS BEING PRESENTED TO

Zoey Smirnoff

ON THE 23RD OF THIS FEBRUARY, CLASS 92

The girl had a bright grin spread across her face, positively glowing with pride. When I looked at her face, I gasped. She had long, midnight black hair; and electric blue eyes. Without a doubt, it was the girl from my "dream."

Zoey Smirnoff... The name was so familiar, so welcoming...yet so foreign and unknown. Dr. Atherine chuckled at my reaction.

“Do you remember it? Does it feel like you’ve seen it before? It should, because Subject A-12-L-9-1, it’s you.”