Chosen

Chapter Three

Chapter 3

"Hello, Hayli," Shelly said, turning to me.

I looked up at her. She looked as an assistant anyways should. Kind of pretty in a sort of ugly way, her brown hair cut into a short bob. She was wearing a black pencil skirt and a silky white blouse, a clipboard in hand.

"Ready to go?" she asked, fixing her glasses.

I stood, saying "As ready as I'll ever be,"

"Great! Let's go then." she said with a smile. And with that, we headed out the door of that small room down the narrow hallway. We walked into a much larger room, probably three times as large as the other one. A short man in a white lab coat and dress pants greeted us as we walked in.

"Hello, Hayli, and thank you Shelly."

"My pleasure, Dr. Reta." Shelly said with a small nod, then left the room.

"And how are you, Miss Hayli?" Dr. Reta said as if he had known me his whole life.

"Good, I guess," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Why, aren't you a brave one," He said looking at me from head to toe.

"That's good. VERY good." He said, a smirk appearing on his face. I was a bit confused, I don't know what bravery has to do with anything. Hmm.

"Well. There's no time like the present, right Hayli?" he said, walking over to a large tank-like dome. He took a set of keys out of his pocket and unlocked the tank. Pushing open the door, I saw nothing too extravagant. There was a small bench to one side, a small, one-way port that seemed to be for food, a tiny drain at the back, and a ceiling full of tiny holes.

Just then, Dr. Reta handed me a plain white bikini-like outfit. "Put this on." he instructed.

I didn't want to, this was barely a covering, but I knew I would be in big trouble if I didn't, so I took the clothing and Dr. Reta turned his back to me as I took off my old clothes and put on the new ones. I looked down at myself. I was disgusted at myself for wearing such revealing clothing, and I mumbled "I'm done," telling Dr. Reta it was okay to turn around. He turned, and smiled.

"They fit perfectly!" he said with a smile. "Now, it's time for a little surgery," he said, holding out a needle. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, the needle was plunged into my arm and I was out like a light.

I didn't see or feel anything during the surgery, but somehow I could still hear. I heard many different voices, using sciency terms I didn't really understand at all. I also heard the sounds of clips and drills and other similar, terrifying sounds. I knew those tools were being used on me. When I could finally move and see again, Dr. Reta and I were back in the room, a needle in my arm.

"Welcome back," he said with a small smile.

"What did you do to me," I said, a little scared to figure out what they had done.

"Just a little brain rewiring, that's all. We changed some of your natural instincts to fit those you will need for this assignment." he said super casually. "We have also removed all unneeded memories of your past."

Just then, I realized I couldn't remember any of my old friends, or even my parents' names and faces. I was terrified. Everything I had ever known was gone now, replaced with what? Instincts? I thought about getting up and leaving, never turning back and just getting out of this horrible place. I knew that was impossible, though.

Dr. Reta stood up and led me to that tank, gesturing me inside. Once I was in, Dr. Reta closed the door and locked it up. Then, I realized just how awful this was going to be. With my past removed from my mind, all I could think about was my future.

I looked around the tank. There was a panel of buttons to my left, witch I couldn't see from the outside. Each button was labeled with something different. Food, water, bathroom, and other necessary things needed for human survival. I pressed the FOOD button, and the one-way port I had seen before opened, revealing some raw seaweed. Ewww. I cringed as I picked up the slimy green plant and took a bite. This tasted absolutely awful. "Great." I mumbled under my breath.  Just then, warm water started pouring from the tiny holes in the ceiling. There was no way of avoiding the water as it poured over my head, filling the tank. I thought I was going to drown. that the water would fill up the tank and I would die. But I didn't, thankfully. When the tank was filled about waist-level, it stopped, and I stood in the water, not really knowing what to do.