Capture

Chapter 6: Clean Minds

Chapter 6: Clean Minds

While everyone's eyes where on the hallway doors, mine were thinking back to all the sleeping rooms that connected to the canteen. Thinking back to my screw safely hidden on my person, I wondered how far I could get. All the guards were currently outside of the room, if I were to make a dash for it...

The hallway doors swiveled open, knocking into the wall. I missed my chance.

I know that I had very little experience with Naturals, but I sure have never seen them exert themselves. A fewer number of the beasts came back puffing and ruffled. The rest must have stayed to restraint it. One in particular looked like he got the front end of the angry monster, his shirt was slashed and sections where dripping blood. Those things heal fast so whatever was hit must have been deep.

"Damn, Harrison!", a guard said to the bleeding one. "He got you good. Need to go see Bethany?"

"Nah, I'll heal before I would get there. Besides, you'd need my help with them," He said.

He gave a pointed look to our table and showed his teeth. The other Natural swiped the napkins from the stack on the table. Rebekah and I had to diverge to avoid being hit by his hand.

"At least clean yourself up a bit?" He threw the napkins at Harrison's chest.

After the bleeding stopped, our meal time was over, and we were taken back to our sleeping rooms. I stuck to Rebekah's tall frame. My height had caused me to be overlooked in the human ruled world, but around Naturals, I might have well been a mouse. Not being noticed was a good thing.

Once we were free of the beasts' presence, the room grew in volume. The cliques had reformed. I walked back to the bunk Rebekah and I had claimed. The short haired girls where siting on the bottom bunk and the bunk adjacent, as well as the floor. They weren't overly friendly, but they accepted me because Rebekah was there.

"Did you see- "

"I bet- "

"What I want- "

"Can we please- "

They were all rambling all at once. It was very hectic and hard to focus on one consistent conversation. Rebekah came up behind me and nudged her elbow against my ribs. I hadn't fully entered the circle of girls, leaning against the metal frame of the bunk.

"You're squinting," she whispered.

"I can't see very well," I mumbled back, rubbing my temples. "I think I'm getting a headache."

"-stronger than- "argued the blurry girl dangling upside down.

"What do you mean?" I tried to enter the discussion.

The girl gave me a tart look from interrupting her. She righted herself and addressed the group.

"It seems pretty obvious that whoever was trying to get to us was powerful. All the other Naturals couldn't control them, and those ranked guards aren't low on the power status themselves." She stated.

"Wait, you don't think that was an Alpha? Do you?" Asked a girl from a bed over.

"Probably not. I mean Alphas tend to just step over the rules by ordering all the other Naturals around. If an Alpha wanted to get in here, they would without any fight from the guards." She explained.

"So what position do you think they were?" Another girl asked.

"Robin took advance Natural Gov and History last semester and likes to act like she knows everything." Rebekah whispered under her breath. I wasn't sure if it was due to jealousy or for my benefit.

Robin continued. "My best guess, they were above guards by their strength and fighting ability, I mean they got pretty far in the building, but under Alpha that they could bypass any of the regulations. Possibly Beta, but Betas can get away with bending rules most of the time. So, I'm thinking Gamma."

Wow, I lived this long to have been possibly mauled by a Gamma. Great.

"So, anyway- "

Another set of chimes went off interrupting Robin. The tone was different that that of the meal chimes. Once again, all the humans lined up, but the mood was more somber. We exited out a different set of doors and were brought to what could pass as a classroom. Next to the listed room number was in block letters, "Human Re-education Facilities".

"Brainwashing," Rebekah sang lowly to me.

"Scrub-a-dub-dub," the boy behind me sang back.

We all scraped back our chairs and plopped down. A Natural woman and man entered. With a look between the two and the guards, the guards left. Closing the door behind themselves. I wonder if they as still out in the hall.

It turns out actually cleaning our brains would have been more entertaining than what I just had to sit through. The Natural couple explained that they were mates and all that being a mate entails. Doesn't that sound just lovely? Of course, we couldn't do anything but stare at them, bored out of our minds. And with nothing to write with, along with freaky Natural hearing, we couldn't even talk to one another.

I think at one point someone in the back actually fell asleep but just as it happened, they were silently removed from the room. The only proof they were gone was an empty seat. I didn't even get a good look at whoever it was, but I felt sorry for them. I don't know much about Natural-to-human punishment, but I somehow doubt it was a timeout chair.

After that torture was over with, shutter, too many facts I never wanted to know, we where lead out again. I recognized the guy near the front to be the Natural who was bleeding from this morning. I guess there were no spare shirts around. He was still wearing the ripped one with blood. It appeared that he had used the napkins to clean up a bit, but the tissue had stuck and dried to the blood.

With two more meals for the day and a bathroom break (I had hidden my screw under my mattress temporarily), it was lights out. I hadn't see my dad or Emilee all day, but I was getting a clear map of the building in my head. At least that was some form of a plan.

I had time. I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.