Deep in the Woods

Chapter 5

Clang. My eyes snap open and I jump to my feet in fright, my heart hammering inside my chest. My mouth is dry and tastes foul against the fabric secured around my face and I struggle to wet it, stopping when it causes the gag to rub against the raw cuts in the corners of my mouth. I instead turn my attention to the hallway, searching for the source of the sound. Three unfamiliar men make their way up the passage and stop in front of my cell. I scramble backwards into the corner, watching them warily. But they pay no attention to me and pull out a set of keys, inserting one into the lock of the cell opposite me. They push the door open, and approaching the girl calmly they remove her cuffs, detaching her neck chain from the wall before yanking against it. I watch as she is dragged forward and seems to fight for a second, digging her heels in before giving up entirely and following them. No fight, nothing. I wince as they pull her along, faster than she can walk, she is weak but they don't care and end up half dragging her behind them. I whimper as they leave my line of sight and sadness fills me as I hear a responding one, then a door slams and I hear no more.

I pace along the length of my cell, unable to sit still, waiting for the girl to return. But she doesn't and I revert to sitting down. I let my thoughts distract me, sending me into a daze. Where did they take her, will she come back? Will I follow? Suddenly footsteps enter the hall and I yank myself back to reality, preparing myself. I watch as three more men stop outside my cell, the men from yesterday. I retreat to the corner once again, but this time the turn towards me and unlock my cell door. I tense, prepared. They notice my movements immediately and hold their ground, studying me. But not for long. They simultaneously leap at me, knocking me against the wall. My breath leaves my lungs and I wheeze, staggering on my feet. One of the men now has a firm grip on my hair and the other two are position on either side of me. Dread fills my stomach as I realise I am outnumbered, but I fight anyway, spinning around violently as I kick my legs out attempting to delay their attack. But they are ready and I am pinned to the ground almost immediately and before I can react a needle is sliding into my neck and I feel a fuzziness spread throughout my body, my limbs relax and I sag against the floor. I can't move, I can't move. I tremble with terror; the only thing my body is capable of doing and I fight to regain control over my limbs as the men remove my cuffs, an escape would be easy, if only I could move. They lift me up between them, my neck chain dragging uselessly behind us as they take me out of the cell and down the hallway, unlocking a solid metal door before entering.

I find myself in a small white room, tiled with blue lino. Tools line the wall and I shrink into myself at the sight of them. What are they used for? But I don't have time to think about that as I am thrown roughly onto a metal counter positioned in the centre of the room. Goosebumps spread along my body as I make contact with the cool steel, laying uselessly in wait. For what? I don't know. Soon a movement out of the corner of my eye captures my attention and I watch as a woman in a white coat comes to stand in front of me, bending down so that her face is in level with mine. She studies my face, her greasy black hair brushing over me as she leans closer, her rancid breath washing over my face. I am locked in a silent fight with my limbs as I try to regain feeling in them but it's useless, they're useless.

Finally the woman backs off and moves to a counter beside me, pulling open a draw and extracting a needle, small knife and a a tool resembling a mini hammer. I stare at her terrified as she carries them over to me and sets them down beside her, seating herself on a chair opposite me. She reaches for my arm and I flinch at her unexpected movement, my stomach dropping as she pulls my arm in front of her and inserts the needle into it, leaving it in my skin while she darts back to the drawer to retrieve two tubes which she then proceeds to connect to the vial and fill them with blood. I squeeze my eyes shut, thankful that I can't feel anything. When I open my eyes again the needle is gone and two tubes filled with red liquid are in her hands, my blood. She places them beside her and pick up the knife. My stomach drops, and I begin to sweat as she moves it towards my face. She steadies her hand and yanks the knife upwards, slicing through my gag swiftly. She pulls it from my mouth, turning to put it down as my aching jaw falls shut, my teeth slamming together with a snap. I wish that I could wet my mouth, eliminate the foul taste, but I can't; even my tongue won't obey me. And this time when the lady turns back to me she is holding the little hammer and reaching towards my face once more, she yanks my mouth open forcefully and begins tapping my teeth with the tool, taking notes as she goes. I seethe with disgust and fear, what is she doing? What are those notes for? Soon she has tapped all my teeth repeatedly and seems satisfied, smiling to herself as she replaces the gag with a new piece of fabric and fastens a plastic band around my wrist, its printed words leaping out at me 'Subject 12'. Then I am taken back to my cell.