I stay frozen on the stretcher, though my body screams to move. My lungs ache from keeping the same painfully slow rhythm of breaths.
Terror shoots into my stomach as the beginnings of a sneeze starts in my nose.
I don’t take any more breaths, in the futile hope that it will somehow miraculously stop the sneeze. It doesn’t.
Although no noise escapes my sealed mouth, my chest and shoulders jump slightly upwards from the force of the sneeze.
At first, nothing happens. The stretcher keeps on moving forwards and the near silence isn’t disturbed. Maybe no one saw it? Maybe I, for once, got lucky?
Then a shout rings out, “Official 323. Halt.”
Somebody saw. I’ll be caught and executed without question. The same will happen to the Official who was pushing me. What if Brinn and Piper get caught too?
I keep my eyes close and lie absolutely still. I hold my breath. I might still be able to get away with this.
The voice continues, “I believe I just saw your patient move. Let me take a pulse.”
I decide that if I’m going to die, I may as well draw all the attention to myself. That way Brinn and Piper will get away safely. I can only hope that Brinn and Piper don’t try to be ‘brave’ and make a hopeless attempt at trying to save me.
I wait tensely as a gloved finger pushes against my throat. I may be able to lie still and not breathe, but I can’t stop my own pulse.
“This patient is still alive.”
The voice, surely a loyal Official, probably thinks I’m unconscious. Maybe I can make an escape, if the loyal Official isn’t expecting it? But where will I escape to? I’m in some part of the Complex that I’ve never been to. I can’t hide. Besides, this place must be filled with cameras. Officials are watching me right now.
The loyal Official continues in a hushed tone, “We should probably inform Ellen. She’ll want to know that one of her experiments didn’t work out. I heard that another case like this turned up, where the injections weren’t working on a girl. I can take her. I’ve got the clearance to get in Ellen’s lab. If you could just give me the MCC containing her information…”
I see a shadow across my eyelids. The loyal Official’s arm reaching over me to get the MCC.
I jump into action. I bite down on the Official’s arm over me while jumping off the stretcher. The loyal Official lets out a slight hiss and swings his arm to smack my head with the back of his hand.
I allow a shrill scream to fly out of my mouth. The pain doesn’t reach me, my adrenaline too high. I scramble down the hall in the opposite direction that Brinn and Piper. Footsteps pound behind me.
I risk a glance backwards. Both the Officials, loyal and rogue, chase after me. The rogue Official follows me to avoid suspicion.
The glance slows me down. The loyal Official leaps forward and wrapping his arms around my waist.
I fall forward, my chin slamming against the floor. My elbow is tucked beneath me, spears of pain shooting from it. I scream again, this time from the pain. Dots dance across my vision.
The Official pulls out a syringe of deep green. I don’t feel it pierce my skin, the other pain too great. I almost welcome the oncoming unconsciousness, just to escape the throbbing pain.
My vision darkens, but I keep screaming. The same thought pounds through my head. Get the attention away from Brinn and Piper. It’s my last thought as I fade away.
˚˚°˚˚
My eyelids flit open. I can only see the gray steel ceiling above me. I try to turn my head slightly to the side, but it’s stuck in place. A strap pulls tightly against my head, making it immobile. It’s the same for my arms and legs. I’m entirely frozen.
“She’s awake.” The whisper comes just a couple paces to my left.
“Sh.” A different voice whispers.
“Well, we should do something. Notify Derek?”
Derek? As in, the Derek? Derek Windsor, a Head?
“Fine, but let’s go get him. He told us not to use our PNDs, because…”
The first voice interrupts, “Don’t say it. He said not to say it. There are microphones in here. El-, I mean, an Official could overhear.”
The second voice snaps, “Oh, you just gave it away. Let’s go now before it’s too late.”
I hear the whoosh of the door sliding open and then closing. The room fills with silence.
Less than a minute later, the whoosh of the door fills the room again. I want to simply be able to turn my head to see who entered, but the straps hold tight.
Light footsteps echo across the floor. How many people have entered?
Someone clears their throat, “Are all her vitals okay?”
“Yes, they are perfect. My only guess as to why she slept so long was the combination of stress, the lack of sleep from the night before, and the green, sir.”
I hear a sigh, “How many times do I have to tell you, Jonathan, you don’t have to call me sir. Derek is just fine.”
Derek asks, “Why is she strapped down?”
The Jonathan explains, “When we captured her, she, uh, bit me. We just wanted to make sure that she didn’t wake up and start attacking someone.”
A snort of laughter escapes Derek’s mouth, “I guess that makes sense then.”
I hate how they are talking about me as though I’m not even in the room. I don’t know about Derek specifically. He’s always stayed in the boys’ Complex. But I know Ellen, the other Head, kills Officials if she has the slightest excuse. Derek can’t be much different.
The Official who found me thinks that I was an experiment of Ellen’s that was supposed to be dead, but survived. The Officials and Ellen must think that I am just like Sienna. They must think that I somehow survived one of her poisons. Ellen killed Sienna. How long will it be before they do the same to me?
YOU ARE READING
987 (Complex Series, #3)
Science Fiction-third book in the Complex series- Dana has been captured by Officials. She doesn't know who to trust and who to avoid. Anything she says or does could quickly cause her death. How long can she protect the secret of her and her friends' past? How lo...
