My eyes flutter open. The blurred world around me slowly became clearer. I lean up, I was laying down on a long white bed, with plush pillows and soft white blankets. The room was completely covered in white.
The brightness was alarming, but calming at the same time.
The blood had been washed off of my hands and I realized that underneath the blood, my skin had completely healed. I turn my hands back and forth examining them. No bruises, or cuts, or any kind of blemish.
On my wrist there was a grey metal band. I didn't remember it being there before. I tug at it with my left hand and as soon as too much pressure is applied it shocks me, vibrating my arm with a painful buzz.
Shocked, literally, I uncover my legs and stand up. A pair of folded clothes was neatly folded on the white nightstand next to the bed. A pair of socks and shoes were placed next to it, and I should have been grateful but for some reason I couldn't get over the fact that they put the shoes on top of the nightstand. Shoes, should never be on any kind of raised surface.
I felt uncomfortable changing in a strange room that I couldn't remember how I'd gotten into. But it was heavily implied that I should.
The short sleeve grey T-shirt was soft against my skin. The pants were a dark grey, several shades darker than the the shirt. Everything fit perfectly, even the shoes.
I was relieved, and frightened.
These people definitely didn't like colors that much I noticed.
I hear a knock on the door. I walk over to it, slowly and stand behind it.
"It's Robert." I hear through the other side.
"And Mia!" I can hear her soft voice chime in. Robert knocks a few more times. I could tell it was him because of how much force he used.
"We've brought food."
I opened the door.
I'd forgotten how hungry I was. Everything was so chaotic I hadn't stopped to think about my stomach.
Robert and Mia walk inside. To my surprise, Eddie also walks in. He smiles and nods.
Robert plops down on the bed waving a paper bag in the air.
"Good morning sleeping beauty. This is all yours."
I walk over and snatch it out from his hands. When I open the bag, steam flies up and it smells amazing. Even though I'd forgotten how it tasted, I knew that pizza was inside.
"I didn't know what kind of foods you like," Robert says pointing at the bag. "But I figured everybody likes pizza so I'll just get that."
I lift the pizza in the air by the crust, steam rising from the cheese.
I take a bite and close my eyes, engrossing myself in the flavor.
Robert laughs.
"Those science freaks may have taken your memories but at least you still got your tastebuds."
Mia slaps his arm playfully.
"That's insensitive!" She scolds him. I would have guessed he was around twenty years older, and here Mia was acting motherly.
"This is..." I pause between bites,"Amazing."
Eddie places his hand on my shoulder.
"I heard about yesterday, are you feeling alright?"
I lift the pizza in the air, dangling it in front of his face.
"I feel amazing."
I had almost completely forgotten about what happened. The last thing I remembered was passing out in the training room.
So much for training.
After I finish my pizza Mia grabs my hand.
"Uh, Mia?" I question her raising an eyebrow.
She rolls her eyes dramatically, completely out of character.
"I'm seeing if your monitor is activated. Do you mind if I test it?" She motions to the band around my wrist.
Robert and Eddie both start laughing together. I had no idea what was so funny.
"Not at all." I reply, nodding my head.
She lifts my arm up, examining the bracelet on my wrist.
"If I slapped you in the face, would you get mad?" She asked.
I started to laugh, unsure if she was serious.
"Um, yeah."
A pain surges through my cheek, Mia slapping me in the face.
I started to get angry, and I clench my fists. But the bracelet sends a shock through my wrist, and I jump back.
"What was that for?" I ask, rubbing my burning cheek and my stinging wrist.
Robert and Eddie are laughing loudly, unable to contain themselves. Mia giggles herself, her cheeks flushing a bright red.
"Test attempt 01 successful."
"What does this thing do?" I say looking at it. It just seemed like an ordinary wrist band.
Mia points her finger on the bottom of it, facing my wrist upwards.
"When your blood pressure gets too high, it sends a shock through your body. Basically, instead of getting mad and wanting to hurt me-"
"Or throw a two hundred pound weight at a treadmill." Robert laughs interrupting. Eddie had finally calmed down, but starts laughing again.
Mia glares at him, waiting for him to finish.
"Instead, it calms your nerves. So pretty much, you wont get as mad as you normally would. You should have normal control over your emotions."
I look at the bracelet and twist my wrist around. I knew it wouldn't be coming off anytime soon.
"You didn't have to slap me that hard." I complain.
Mia crosses her arms. "And you didn't have to hold a knife to my throat." She points to her neck, a small cut placed there. I hadn't realized the knife had actually cut her skin at all. She seemed to have more confidence now that she could electrocute my arm whenever she wanted.
My cheeks turn red. Eddie stops laughing, his face completely serious.
"I thought that came from Dad!" He says rushing over.
Mia stops dead in her tracks.
Her dad?
She looks at her wrist. "Oh look at the time! Shouldn't we get going soon?"
I looked at her arm, she wasn't even wearing a watch. She grabs Eddie's and starts tugging him out of the room. I stare at Robert. He lifts his arms up in the air innocently.
"Don't look at me." He says calmly.
Robert gets up, and I follow him out of the room.
I was thankful Eddie didn't get mad at me when he found out I cut her. His thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.
Why did he assume that their dad was the one who did this?
I instantly felt bad for Mia, even though I didn't know the whole story.
I'd forgiven her for unnecessarily slapping me in the face.
"Good morning Sub." Abbie says, smiling.
I nod in return. Gesturing a thank you.
"Are you ready for your first assignment?" She asks.
"I guess I am?" I don't know what else she expected me to say. Nope, I changed my mind. I'm just gonna walk to the home I don't have to the family I don't know.
Robert was eating a corndog again. It was drizzled in...
"What is that?" I ask disgusted.
"Maple syrup." He slurps, a look of satisfaction on his face. I grimaced at the gooey food as he shoved it in his mouth.
Mia seemed to have forgotten about what Eddie said before.
"Ew," She said. She had the same look on her face that I had on mine. "He practically lives off of those things."
I refrained from throwing up in my mouth.
"Eddie,"Abbie says. "When you leave, why don't you take Sub down the stairs?" There was extra emphasis on the word stairs.
"Yes Ma'am." He responds. Yesterday he was so angry with her for letting Mia tag along. Now, it was like nothing happened. Did she say something to him?
Eddie shakes my hand smiling with those big white pearly teeth of his, and his famous single strand of brown hair dangling in front his face.
"Lets get going." He says, walking away. Robert looks across the room at the caution tape strapped in front of the elevator. He glares at me, mad that he was going to have to walk.
In my defense, I warned him I didn't like elevators before hand.
I follow Eddie to a long staircase. I look up and shrug. This was my first time regretting breaking the elevator doors. I only dented them, so hopefully they wont take too long to get fixed.
The staircase was long and spiraled. I felt like I was walking up a futuristic silo. We had already walked up several flights of stairs before I stopped to rest on the railing.
Robert ended up walking behind me so he could shove me forward whenever I stopped. I might have gotten shocked a couple times...
After what seemed like half an hour of just steps we reach a flat spot, a long pathway with a door at the end.
I lean against the railing and instantly close my eyes when I realize how high up we were. I steady myself in the center of the path opening my eyes, not daring to even look to the side.
Apparently, I'm afraid of heights.
As soon as Eddie opens the door, I'm the first one out. Even before him...
We were outside,
I was now standing in a large pipe looking area. Just five feet in front of me was a bluish greenish river.
We were at the top of the waterfall.
I could see in the distance to my right where the water cuts off, plummeting to the lake below.
We continued walking through the pipe until we reached our exit. We were greeted by more colorful trees and a variety of colors and plants. It was hard to believe a world as beautiful as this one wasn't even real.
For the most part at least.
"We can't use our Unit bikes up here, one two many reckless drivers have fallen into the river." Eddie says.
It was nice of him to remember that I wasn't familiar with the same world they were.
"There's a path that should lead back to the city," he says pointing down a narrow trail. "It's not too far from here." He adds.
I was clearly the slowest one amongst us.
Robert kept yelling at me to keep up. Mia had to remind him that my stamina was probably really low since I had been inside the lab for so long.
But how long exactly had I been inside the lab?
Mia stopped and waited for me to catch up. Robert and Eddie were both pretty far ahead, but still in range of my field of vision.
"Thanks for walking with me." I say, breaking the silence between us.
She smiles and a strand from her blonde hair falls in front of her face. She pulls it back into her messy bun, securing it by poking it back in several times.
"No problem."
We continue walking for about ten minutes, neither of us talking.
"I'm sorry about your neck." I decide to say.
"I barely felt it, don't worry about it." She assures me. A sad expression washes across her face. She reaches her hand up to a necklace, fidgeting with it in her fingers. It just looked like a soda bottle cap to me.
Either it was a nervous tick for her to reach up and grab it, or it had a lot more meaning than I thought.
I decided not to press on the subject of her personal life.
In the distance, I can see two buildings. The path slowly turned into a cement alleyway between them.
I could finally see the city, I could hear vehicles passing by, and I could smell amazing freshly cooked food.
We walk through the alleyway, avoiding trash and crates of moldy food.
"Sometimes restaurants dump their leftovers back here," Eddie says, kicking a cardboard box to the side. "You're lucky that the food in there, masks the smell of the food out here."
Eddie was right. It smelled great even with all this rotting food. Whatever was cooking definitely had some kick to it.
We passed the alleyway and entered the main sidewalk. We started walking along the stores and restaurants looking for our destination.
"Here it is!" Robert says, inhaling dramatically.
Through the window, I caught a glimpse of a woman with long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail.
It was our contact, Vanessa Berg.
We walk in the restaurant and slide in the booth across from Vanessa.
"I don't like pickles." Robert says, smiling towards her.
She sets down her cup of steamy hot coffee.
"I prefer them on rotating Thursdays."
Eddie reaches up and scratches his nose. Mia tugs at her ear.
I was debating wether or not I should stick my tongue out. I felt very out of place, they were making me uncomfortable.
Their weird slang must have been their way of confirming each other's identities.
Or Vanessa only likes pickles on rotating Thursdays.
Mia reaches over the table and gives Vanessa a half hug. "I've missed you," she smiles. Vanessa smiles back.
"I hate to ruin your reunion but What did you learn on your business trip?" Eddie asks, folding his hands together and putting his elbows on the table.
Don't do that, elbows don't belong on the table.
It's common courtesy.
"Not as much as I would have liked to," she sighs. "There is one thing," she smiles mischievously. A waitress walks by, her eyes were dark, clouded with black makeup.
"Do you want anything?" She shrugs, chewing pink bubble gum and popping it in her mouth.
"Coffee please," Robert smiles. "Sub, do you like coffee?"
I scratch behind my ear unsure if I did or didn't. "I don't know," I turn towards Robert. "I can't say I remember the last time I had any."
"Two coffees," she types onto an electric device. She walks off, I didn't even ask for coffee. I guess I was going to find out if I liked it or not. Robert better not have expected me to pay for it.
"So," Vanessa continues. "There's a guard in Decipula Unit 2 who might know the date of when the virus is going to be released. If we could figure that out, it would be a huge leap forward in our search."
Robert, Eddie, and Vanessa ramble back and forth about saving the world or something.
The waitress returns and plops two cups in front of us.
"They're probably cold," She says hugging a silver tray to her side.
How did she get hired exactly?
She picks up a plate off the table behind us and it slips from her greasy fingertips, falling to the floor. It hits the ground with a clang and she shrugs. "Don't worry," she says picking up food off the ground. "I'll get you more. These steel plates can take any kind of beating and not even have a scratch."
She disappears into the kitchen, and she probably wouldn't come back out for awhile.
Mia nudges my leg from underneath the table. We start discreetly playing Rock Paper Scissors. She won most of the time...all...actually.
A man slides into the booth next to me unexpectedly.
"Do you need something?" I ask turning to face him directly.
But then I realized who he was, even though I'd only been able to see part of his face the first time we'd met.
I don't know how I could forget him telling me to drop the knife as I ran into the elevator. He warned me that they would find me, that I didn't know what I was dealing with.
"Hello." He says, breaking into a grin. He lifts a gun underneath the table and presses it to my kneecap.
The table got quiet, all of us knew what was going on.
"I would like Subject 016 to come with me," he acted as if his demands were simple and reasonable.
Just one hostage, that's all.
"You see, there are three other of my men in here and you have no way of finding where they are. So even if you all were armed, we have the element of surprise," he tilts his head back, like he was the coolest person in the world.
"Oh my gosh!" I scream. "Their poisoning everybody's food!"
Instantly, people started flooding out of the restaurant. All of them scurrying between the narrow doors.
Everyone had left, the cooks running after them.
Except for three other men, casually sipping coffee around the room. Mia face palmed herself and Robert was trying not to laugh.
"Found them," I say. I actually felt really smart until he grabbed my throat.
His nostrils were flaring up and down. He was mad, and I realized what I did might not have been as smart as I thought.
He practically throws me out of the booth and onto the floor. I tried not to freak out, because I knew I would get zapped by Mia's stupid invention. And then he'd think I have turrets.
Robert starts yelling.
"Man, I've got a strong feeling about this," his voice was overly dramatic. "I strongly suggest you do what they say."
I started to catch on. And then it dawned on me, did Akerman Laboratories even know what they did to me?
Still, I wasn't the one with the advantage. A strong dude verses four armed gunmen...I wonder who'd win that one.
I really wish I was bullet proof. There were plenty of scars on my body to prove I wasn't invincible. Not even close to invincible.
He starts escorting me out of the building, walking through the kitchen to get towards the back doors.
To my right, I see a stack of the silver plates. I could hear the waitresses words like she was there, these steel plates can take any kind of a beating and not even have a scratch.
I knew it was a dumb idea since I wasn't sure if she was serious, but I grab one of the large plates and jump over the counter, hiding behind the wall.
The man laughs, and I hear his gun click.
"I didn't want to shoot you. But you have to make it complicated." I circle around the counter.
"If necessary, I will kill you. You know too much," he says.
It was odd, being told I knew too much when I felt I knew too little.
The man shoots, and my reflexes cause me to pull the plate in front of me.
Ping.
The bullet hit the plate denting it severely. Another shot could possibly cause it to go through. There was only one thing in my way to the others.
A tall scary man pointing a gun at my face.
I close my eyes, regretting my next choice. I drop the plate and dive between his legs not looking back. I was surprised when I realized I had done it successfully.
I run back to the tables to see Mia, Robert, Eddie, and Vanessa all together with their arms up.
Several plates were on the tables from the people that abandoned them.
Who knew how afraid people were of poisoning?
I pick up plates and start to throw them at the men as hard and as fast as I can. They create a swooshing sound in the air as I throw them. Food glopped onto the floor.
They all miss miserably. I actually almost hit Eddie.
But the men all turned around which was just the distraction they needed.
Robert jumps up and kicks one of them in the back. Eddie follows by kneeing him in the head. I hold my arms up in the air uselessly as they continue to fight.
Mia jumps up on top of one of the other goons, grabs his neck and twists him to the ground. I stare at her agog.
"When did you learn how to do that!" I scream at her, impressed.
She smiles back, slightly shaking. She was clearly scared and I wondered how someone who could take somebody down in two seconds could be so frightened. Why didn't she do that to me when we first met?
"Training," she replies.
One of the men was still left, and Vanessa just kicks him in the crotch. Very, effective. He crumples to the ground in pain.
I feel arms wrap around my neck, a gun presses to my temple.
My arm zaps me and I flinch. I take a deep breath.
I was going to stay calm.
The three other men lay unconscious on the floor. Robert and Eddie both had a gun pointed at him which made me uncomfortable since he was using me as a shield.
"Release him," Mia says trying to sound confident.
He continues holding the gun to my temple.
"I don't want to kill him," he pauses. "We can still continue our research if he's alive."
I knew there was no way Robert or Eddie would shoot in my direction.
I had to get out of his grip somehow. Fortunately, I had been very good with distractions.
"Dude," I say as seriously as I can. "What are your thoughts on women with leg hair?"
"Wha-" his grip loosens and I smash my heel on his toes, grabbing his gun from his hands. I push him in front of me and press the gun to his head.
"How does it feel?" I yell. My arm zaps me, but because it had happened several times in the past couple minutes it doesn't affect me as much.
Terrified he lifts his arms in the air.
"Don't do this," he begs for mercy.
Eddie approached me cautiously.
"Hold your fire Sub."
I shove the man forwards into Eddie's grip. Robert walks over and hits him in the head casually. He falls to the ground unconscious. He was going to have a really bad migraine later...
Everybody stares at Robert angrily.
"What?" He says. "We all were thinking it."
He nudges the man with his foot.
"Let's put these twerps where they belong."
I nod.
A sudden pain surges into my skull.
"Ah!" I yell, gripping my hands into my hair.
From somewhere, I could see a picture of a little girl. She had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. She was crying and screaming as men were pulling her back.
I didn't know where the image was coming from but there was something about her I recognized. I couldn't tell where I had seen her before but I knew I had because,
I remembered her.
Hope you liked Chapter 6!!
If you ever get the chance to put maple syrup on a hot dog or corndog, do it! It's actually delicious. 🌭 👅
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