| chapter two. doctor janson |
DAWN
Slowly, the world came back to me. I blinked, trying to get a good view of my surroundings. I was lying on a bed, soft and warm. Carefully I tried to sit up and was surprised to feel my shoulder and arm didn't hurt at all, not even so much as a dull ache lingering.
My eyes studied my arm and I barely recognized what I saw. My skin was scrubbed clean, turning it into a blushing pink. A long white scar covered my elbow. My shoulder was just the same, a big scar drawing a line on my skin. My fingers traced the lines, wondering how it was possible that I wasn't even feeling stiff.
The sound of a door opening broke me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw the room I was in, blue walls, one bed, a dresser, a shower and a mirror. In the door opening stood the same woman who'd brought me to my room yesterday. The same fake smile covering her face.
'How are you feeling?' She asked.
I opened my mouth, only to close it again. Memories from last night came floating back. I looked up at her, anger flaring alive in my stomach. 'Did you kidnap me?' I asked.
Her fake smile didn't falter. 'Dawn, you're safe, we only took you somewhere we could perform the surgery.'
I simply stared at her, a siren blaring loudly through my mind.
'How about this, you go take a shower and dress up and then I will take you to Doctor Janson. He will tell you everything you want to know,' she said.
I took a deep breath, knowing that refusing would probably be pointless. 'Alright, but can I go back to my friends after?'
Her smile never faltered and it made me want to scratch it off her face. 'When Dr. Janson thinks it's right to discharge you we will return you to your friends.' Then she turned and left the room.
That wasn't much of an answer, but it was the only thing I was gonna get. A frustrated sigh left my lips and I allowed myself a moment to hate her, before I straightened my shoulders and got out of bed. Though my arm was clean, the rest of my body was still filthy and I realized that perhaps a shower didn't sound so bad after all.
I got undressed and with every movement I couldn't help but marvel at my arm, feeling as good as new. I stepped beneath the warm shower and a sigh of pure bliss left my lips.
I washed all the filth from my body, watching as the grime of the Maze disappeared down the drain. Then I moved on to my hair, which provided an entirely new struggle. There were so many knots that I considered multiple times to just ask for a haircut later, but eventually I managed and my brown curls looked like their old selves again.
It was such a long time ago I had a good shower, without having to worry that at any moment a boy could walk in and so I let myself enjoy it fully. Even if I wasn't completely at ease yet, worrying about it now would only take away from the pleasure of the feeling of warm water on my skin.
By the time I finally turned off the water and dried myself it felt as though I'd been beneath the stream for at least an hour. My new clothes were waiting for me on the dresser. Dark blue jeans, and a simple white shirt. Knee high black boots and the thing I was probably most happy with: A new bra.
As soon as I was done the door of the room opened and the woman entered again. For one terrible second the thought of a camera being attached somewhere flashed through me, but I wasn't given time to properly consider it as the woman led me out of the room immediately.
'So, how do you know my name?' I asked as we made our way through the hallways. 'I never told you but you knew anyway.' I was determined to discover a mistake, some sort of flaw in their system. An indication that my feelings of discomfort and suspicion were grounded.
'We stole some files from Wicked,' the woman explained. 'So we know all about you and your conditions.'
I nodded, ignoring the chills I felt when she mentioned my "conditions".
She gave me another smile and I wondered if her cheeks had started to ache yet. 'My name is Doctor Goonell.'
'Hi,' I responded, knowing that if Minho were here he would've been proud at the amount of sarcasm I'd managed to put into that one word. But he wasn't here and so instead all that greeted me was silence. And so my eyes wandered around the hallways we walked through. They all looked the same to me. Boring white walls, a few windows but all covered with shutters. I was getting really curious to what the outside world looked like.
Just like I'd done my first time in the Maze, I counted every corner we took. Partly to calm myself, and partly to remind the way. I shook my head and realized how much the Maze Trials actually destroyed me. I didn't even trust our rescuers anymore.
'So what does Dr. Janson want with me?' I asked when the silence started to feel too heavy.
'He just wants to talk, he does that with every kid they rescue. About how you feel, and what you've been through,' she answered.
'So, he's some kind of psychologist shank,' I noted.
Dr. Goonell smiled, even though she probably didn't understand what it was I'd just said. 'Yes, but no worries, you'll be fine.' She came to a halt in front of an iron door.
My breath caught in my throat. It looked more like a prison than a room. If I hadn't seen Dr. Janson sitting behind a table in the middle of the little room, I probably wouldn't have gone inside, and even then every bone in my body was protesting at the very idea of entering.
I glared at Dr. Goonell before walking inside, making sure that my displeasure at the situation was known, for all the good it did. I walked towards the table only to freeze when the door was closed behind me.
'It is alright, Dawn. We are just going to talk,' Janson said.
I took a deep breath before sitting down. Everything in my body was screaming to get out of this tiny room, but my mind told me to relax and listen to what he had to say.
'My name is Doctor Janson,' he said.
I nodded, scanning his face. He was old, gray hair covered his head and wrinkles had settled besides his eyes and in the corners of his mouth. It made him look like a rat, an old rat.
'And your name is Dawn, correct?' He asked, breaking me out of my observation.
I blinked my thoughts away and nodded. 'Yes.'
'So,' he said as he pointed at a brown folder on the table. 'We took these from WICKED. Every bit of information they had on you is written in there. It's your file.'
Curiously I leaned forward. 'What does it say?' I asked.
Dr. Janson gestured for me to look.
For a moment I held his gaze, my mind searching for any possible way this could be a trap but when I came up blank, I reached out and took the folder. Slowly I opened it and was greeted with a picture of myself. My eyes scanned the information written beneath it and with every word I read, my discomfort grew.
"SUBJECT A15A"
FULL NAME: DIANA
SUBJECT NAME: DAWN
KNOWN AS: THE GLITCH
GROUP: A
CONDITION: ALIVE, IMMUNE
"Subject shows mental strength and refuses to give up. Physical strength is weaker, but Subject has lot of determination to do every trial. Puts a lot of trust in the people around her, gives them second chances. Isn't afraid to show her emotional side, but hates to look weak. Believes in team work and easily builds a friendship.
Is very loyal to Subject A2. Feels responsible for Subject A15B. Has conflicting feelings about Subject A5. Subject is very skilled in thinking in logical thinking. Good at solving puzzles.
Subject has turned the Maze Trials around by sneaking into the Box. Subject originally supposed to go with Group B. Special occasion made her stay. But despite initial calculations this glitch would disrupt our progress, the glitch has instead proven to provide new and useful information. Responses are positive. Work is being made of including Subject A15A into Phase 2."
They knew exactly who I was, what I did, and how I felt about it. But it was the last part that confused me most. So what I'd seen in the Changing had been right after all, I was never supposed to go into the Maze. Though, I had no idea what they meant with Group B. With a sudden regret I'd read it, I threw the paper back on the table. The word "Subject" echoing in my mind, leaving my arms covered in goosebumps.
'How do they know so much about us?' I asked, trying to stop my voice from trembling.
Janson took a few seconds to look at the papers. 'You've been taken away from your families when you were very young. All we know is they raised you, teached you how to survive. And after that they removed your memories and send you up in the Maze.'
That wasn't new information. Thomas told us as much after he went through the Changing.
'Do you know anything about your family, Dawn?' It was the way he asked the question that made me look up. I frowned, there was something lingering in the depths of his voice. Like he knew something that I didn't. Something he wasn't telling me...And I was completely done with being played with.
'No, I don't, but I have a feeling you do,' I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
Janson sighed. 'I thought you would have guessed it by now.'
I tilted my head as dread spread through my veins. 'What do you mean?' I asked, my voice trembling.
Janson looked away from my file and settled his gaze on me. The intensity of it made me shiver. 'She is your sister,' he whispered.
I took a deep breath and looked at him again. 'Who?' I muttered, though a part of me already knew the answer.
His eyes studied my reaction carefully. 'Lisa,' he said it and the mention of her name was enough to make my heart ache as though it was being stabbed.
I should have known. All those times when the things we did felt so familiar. The times when I thought she was dead and I felt a hole in my heart. When she tried to kill me and shattered my heart in thousand pieces. I should have known.
'Doesn't matter now,' I mumbled, my voice shaking. 'She's dead.'
'No, she isn't-' 'Yes! She is!' I screamed, feeling my frustration rise. 'She tried to kill us! And then your men knocked her down! I saw it happening. Right before my eyes!' I didn't want to hear it anymore. It was breaking my foundations. Shaking my life and everything that was ever certain. Which wasn't much to begin with.
'You need to hear the truth,' Janson muttered.
I looked at him and a flame of hatred warmed up. 'Why did you rescue us?' I hissed, allowing the blazing anger to take over. 'Why did you really rescue us?'
He leaned forward, clasping his hands together as he leaned his elbows on the table. 'Why do you think?' He said, his voice perfectly calm and yet unleashing a storm into the little room.
My eyes widened and I jumped up, my chair falling over. 'You,' I mumbled. 'You're with them.'
He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, a motion mirroring my own from seconds earlier with such precision that I was thrown off for a second, before the accusation finally managed to work its out of my throat.
'You're with Wicked!' I shouted.
'Dawn, just calm down,' he shushed. 'Let me explain it to you.' He slowly rose from his chair.
'Stay back!' I growled, reaching for the chair and holding it like a shield before me.
'Dawn, just think about it. If we really were with them. Why would we kill them?'
'You tell me,' I countered, convinced I was right. There was absolutely nothing he could say that would make me trust him.
Janson sighed and took a step forward, making me step backward.
'You're being paranoid,' he said.
But I shook my head, done with being told what to do or how to feel. 'Tell me why,' I ordered. 'Tell me why you need us!'
An annoyed sigh left his lips and then, almost lazily, he lifted his hand and made a gesture.
The door was thrown open and two guards stormed in.
Rage overtook my panic and I moved purely on adrenaline. I threw my chair at one of them. It hit him in the chest, forcing him back. I bent my knees and was about to attack the other guard when a sharp sting in my back made me scream. The pain forced me on my knees, knocking all the fight out of me.
Janson's face appeared above me and I snarled like an animal desperate to escape its hunter. He was holding a needle, glistering in the pale fluorescent light.
I stretched my hands, tried to grab him, tried to hurt him. But whatever was in that syringe made my movements sluggish and Janson swatted my hands away like it was nothing more than an annoying insect.
'I should kill you,' he sneered, 'your stupid crush nearly ruined the Trails.' He tilted his head and once again the movement mirrored mine perfectly and it scared me. 'But the glitch you created turned out pretty useful after all.' A bitter smile appeared on his features. 'And besides, I couldn't kill my own daughter now could I?'
I opened my mouth to respond as my mind struggled to find a bit of sanity inside of me to tell me it wasn't true. But my mind could only tell me what my heart already knew. It was true, every word he said was true. And then the darkness took me once again.
| 𝙰𝚄𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚁'𝚂 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙴 |
Hey guys!
A lot has been revealed this chapter! Dawn is indeed a glitch in the system! But she's a lot more than that apparently...I think the reveal of Lisa and Dawn being sisters isn't a big one, but I do wonder what you guys think of Janson being their father ;)
Please vote or comment. Tell me what you think and give me some confidence to write more! I really need that! Oh and please tell me if you found some grammer mistakes, english isn't my first language and I'm still learning.
xx nelly