Silent Feathers

Ruby

Two years have past since they took my past, and life in the Lab, as I now know to call this torturous place, is dull and depressing. Ruby warns me of all the dangers, to know which foods have been given dosages of poison or "medicine" and how to avoid the worst punishments. If it weren't for Ruby, I think I'd have tried to burst out of this place like a violent maniac. Of course I couldn't of, with all the security. Too concerned for our safety.

I've wondered over and over again what the purpose of all this is. If they wanted to torture us or hold us as captives of a war or something, why take away our memories? Why lock us up in little white rooms and hold us back from outsiders, but let us have contact with the other captives? Ruby is the only person I can call a friend, and I ask her repeatedly but she doesn't answer. No one will.

I cry myself to sleep that night. Back home, did I have friends? I reach back in my head and grope for any sign of a memory returning in my mind, but nothing comes. I can't be left in the dark anymore.
I need to know what's going on here.

The next day, at mealtime, I demand an answer.

"What is this place? Honestly, you're scaring me by keeping silent. Ruby, why do they keep us here?"

She gives me a look of pain. "It's not just hard telling it to you, it's also hard to acknowledge the truth for me. Are you sure you want to know?"

My heart beats faster. "Yes."

She looks away. "You know how I asked you your age?" I nod, remembering the times she did, I had wondered why. "Well, when you're age 11 the Katai take you to the Experimenting Room. Then they connected you to a number of tubes, always a pastel color. " She looks at me with an unreadable expression. "And then they insert a needle in you and you black out. "

It takes me a moment to process the information. "So...what happens then?"

"We don't know for sure, but the Experimented never come back. It's more than likely all of them didn't survive. "

I'm sickened. So this is to be my fate. Tears well up in my eyes as I imagine my life before, a little girl without a care in the world. If I really get take to the Experimenting Room when I'm 11, that gives me four more years of life. But I'm hit with a jolt as I realize what this really means.

"Ruby, how old are you? When do you turn eleven?" My voice shakes, and I'm not sure if I want to know the answer.

"My 11th birthday is next week. "