BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

Chapter Ten

|Do Not Enter|

Normally, being alone wouldn't be a big deal. I used to search for privacy, hide somewhere in a corner, and watch passerby's. Now I crave for company. Wanting a friend isn't like me at all. Wasn't. Now I'm eager for the other girls to arrive, especially Bianca. I just hope they don't know why they were taken from their homes a week early. More than likely, I would be secluded from the rest.

Sighing, I push off from my locker and head toward the doors, grabbing my crutches on the way. Kyler mentioned that I have free reign of the west wing of PURE. So, what does a girl do when she is cooped up?

Get out.

The corridor is brightly lit with fluorescent lighting. An electrical buzzing noise rings in my ears. There is no one in sight as I take a left turn. I make my way further down until I reach another double door that reads in bold red letters: employees only.

"Well this isn't going to work," I say, pressing my hand against the air-cooled metal, I give the door a little push. It doesn't budge. Of course, it needs one of those high-tech key cards. Steadying myself on the crutches, I turn to head back, but the sound of voices on the other side pulls me back around. I lean into the door, pressing my ear against the metal.

"She has no idea!" a woman says.

A male voice says, "Good. It isn't time yet, Evelyn."

That's my mom's name...

"The pills are working, Julian," says the woman. "She can live like a normal teenage girl and grow into a beautiful woman. She never has to know!"

"But Sylas –"

"Don't say it," she says. "I will convince him to conceal this secret for good. I love her as my daughter. Nothing and no one will take that away from me."

"I hope you get your wish, Eve," he says.

"Hey, you down there!" someone says from behind. I look over my shoulder, watching a Borrower jog toward me from the end of the hall, waving a baton in his right hand. I turn back, and press my ear against the door again, but the voices are gone.

No!

"Step away from that door!"

Turning around, he's already in front of me, yanking the crutches from underneath my arms. I fall to the floor, looking up at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I say.

He says, "This part of the facility is off limits! I'll be escorting you back to your sleeping quarters where you will stay for the remainder of the day...and night." I continue to gaze up at him. He is tall and slender, but there is something about him that chills me to the bone. A thick pinkish scar runs from the bottom of his left eye, down his cheek, and disappears beneath his chin.

I raise my hand into the air, waving it at him. "Aren't you going to give me a hand?" He shakes his head, and looks to the right of the hallway as if checking to make sure no one notices him being thoughtful.

He takes hold of it, and says, "If I catch you snooping around again, I will make you crawl back." His eyes scan the number on my gown.

"I'll make a mental note of that," I say as he pulls me back onto my feet.

I look at the doors one last time, hoping they would open and expose the two people on the other side. But it doesn't happen. The Borrower wraps my arm around his neck, and I'm almost dangling because of our height difference. He escorts me back and tosses the crutches back into my hands.