The next morning I woke to a loud knocking on my bedroom door.
I groggily sat up, stretching my tired limbs as I rolled out of bed ungracefully.
I made my way to the door apprehensively, not knowing who was going to be on the other side. Considering everyone I had met so far, I was hoping that it would be Diane knocking aggressively on my door at six o'clock in the morning.
However... somehow, I sincerely doubted it.
I opened it slowly, peeking out of the crack of the door suspiciously. After Brian's warning about locking my door at night, I wasn't too keen on opening it to a possible stranger. The most annoying thing was that there was no peep-hole in the door to prepare myself mentally.
And, just as I had been expecting... Brian's miserable face was the one greeting me this morning. I was tempted to tell him that his face would be stuck like that if he continued to make the sour faces I had grown accustomed to, but I was sure it was too late by now for him to change it. His facial muscles probably didn't know how to smile anymore.
The polite almost smile that had been ready and waiting on my lips died, and I gave him a flat looking expectant stare.
"Good morning to you too. The delivery of the equipment you demanded is scheduled to be here in half an hour. I'll wait outside and escort you to the cafeteria so that you can get breakfast. So hurry up." The action seemed to pain him greatly.
"How kind of you." I responded dryly, closing the door tightly in his face.
I moved somewhat quickly around the room, not for Brian's benefit, but more so for the breakfast that supposedly awaited me. I couldn't remember the last time I had anything besides stale pizza. I quickly did my business, brushing my teeth and pulling my hair into a high ponytail. I was sure I was going to be doing most of the heavy lifting if it was between Brian and I.
I rolled my eyes; working with him was going to be a pain in the ass. Well actually, working with any of these people was going to be... challenging, to put it lightly. I just needed to ensure that the girls- well, girl, was well taken care of while she was here.
I found a t-shirt and a pair of leggings and put them on, as well as a pair of runners on they had also brought over from my house. I was pretty sure that these ones belonged to my older sister.
My heart leaped painfully at the thought of her. What would she say about me working here?
I was sure it wouldn't be anything good.
With a heavy sigh, I opened up the door to a waiting Brian who looked to be nodding off against the wall. I scoffed, closing the door loudly behind me. He jumped, startled and sent me a heated glare. "This way." He raised his chin and practically marched down the hallway.
I followed after him, trailing a little ways behind as I pondered my thoughts. The General taking my recommendations into consideration was a surprise to me. It was one point for the Department of Defense against my weird suspicion that there was something odd going on.
Maybe I had grown to be too skeptical for my own good.
We reached a new part of the hallway that I hadn't been to before, and upon pushing through some large metal doors entered in to a large cafeteria. It smelled decent in here, which made my stomach grumble excitedly. At least I was guaranteed meals here, which wasn't something I had gotten for the last few months.
Brian led me towards the queue of people waiting with their metal trays. Brian didn't acknowledge any of them, merely walking to the front of the lineup. I moved to line up behind the rest of the people already waiting, but Brian sent me a glare and gripped my wrist tightly in his.
"They have jobs because of us. We get the front." He spat vehemently, daring me to question him. I didn't, but it didn't mean I was immune to the grumblings behind me from the other employees. I didn't understand what he meant, but chose to fight one battle at a time.
I turned to the person behind me, giving him an apologetic smile. He looked to be a guard, but not one I had encountered while working here yet. His narrowed eyes met mine after a moment, clearly annoyed with Brian's behaviour.
I mouthed a sorry to him, pointing blatantly to Brian and shrugging my shoulders. Brian was busy staring at the food in front of us being brought out by the cafeteria staff. The man looked to be relatively close in age to me and raised an eyebrow at my behaviour. Before I turned back around, I noticed the mans lip turn into a slight smirk. I blushed; it had been a while since I had been around guys my own age.
When the cafeteria workers finished bringing the dishes out, Brian moved forwards, barking orders to the older ladies that were plopping mounds of food onto his plate. Next in line, I moved forwards, looking at the options in front of me.
"I'd like a bowl of fruit and some eggs and pancakes, please." I smiled at her warmly. The old lady, whose name read Margaret looked startled. She gave a quick nod, before moving to the other side of the display case which had smaller portions of food put out. She piled food on to my waiting plate. "Thank you." I gave her a grateful smile, but was a little miffed when she only gave me a strained one in return.
"O-kay." I muttered under my breath. Clearly, these weren't morning people.
I followed Brian to one of the tables at the far end of the lunchroom. It had several people in lab coats already sitting there. Before reaching the table, Brian stopped suddenly, putting his hand up to my face. "This table is for scientists only. Your table is over there." He pointed a bony finger to a table with several women already seated.
"Sounds like the better alternative, to be honest." I smiled, turning towards the women. I took pleasure in the outraged expression that crossed his face by my blatant disregard for his importance in this facility. So far, he hadn't seemed like anything but a terrible nurse.
I approached the women slowly, not sure what I was supposed to expect going in to this. The wore blank expressions and they ate their food in silence.
"Hi, my name is Emily. I'm new here. Mind if I sit with you?" I asked the woman nearest to me. She had bright red hair, and when she looked at me I resisted the urge to gasp. She had one startling, unearthly blue eye and a regular looking brown one. Her face was heart shaped, and her skin was rather sallow looking. She looked a little sick, if I was being completely honest.
"Wow, your eyes are beautiful." I said, genuinely meaning it. She looked like she wanted to respond to me, but when she opened her mouth no sound came out. I furrowed my brows, a little taken aback. Not wanting to seem rude, I grinned at her.
"Actually, I think I see a friend from earlier. I'll talk to you later." I gave her an awkward wave and headed towards the guard that had smirked at me in line earlier. He seemed to be the only uniformed man in the cafeteria at the moment, besides the scientists. And he was sitting alone.
Still feeling unsettled from my encounter with the red-headed woman, my nerves were on edge approaching him.
"Hi. Mind if I sit here? I prefer a little conversation with my meals." I gave him an awkward smile, hoping he wouldn't shun me like everyone else seemed to be doing here.
He didn't respond right away. He glanced up mid bite, and simply shrugged at my request.
Taking that as a yes, I took a seat across from him. "I'm Emily. Nice to meet you."
"Connor." He responded curtly, focusing his attention back to his meal. I frowned in response. I was surely going to go crazy here if I couldn't have more than a one-worded conversation with anyone besides Brian.
"I'm new." As if he didn't know that already. I wanted to roll my eyes at my sad attempt at making a friend here. "How long have you worked here, Connor?" I inquired politely, slowly cutting up my pancakes after slathering syrup on top.
Connor put his fork down. "I've been here two years. Came straight here from University." He seemed on the fence about whether he wanted to talk to me.
"How do you like it?" I asked, a little bit of sarcasm laced in my tone. His eyes seemed to spark with mischief.
"Best job I've ever had." He responded, just as sarcastically. His voice, I noticed was hushed; as if he was worried someone would overhear what he was saying to me.
"Ah, yeah. I'm feeling the exact same way. Really feeling the love from everyone around here." I rolled my eyes, knowing I was probably risking my luck here. There was always a chance that this guy would run along and tattle on me. But for whatever reason, I felt as though I could trust him.
I studied him as we ate and made small talk. He seemed nice enough, and I learned he had gone to school out of state and moved here after being accepted for a position for the government.
"What did you go to school for, Connor?" I inquired curiously.
"Law." He answered somewhat quietly. I noticed the tension in his shoulders, wondering why he would choose to work as an armed guard for the government when he could have been a lawyer. That was an expensive waste of school, if that were the case.
We ate in silence for the rest of the meal, and I rubbed my eyes tiredly when I was finished. A wave of tiredness hit me, and I yawned loudly.
"Sorry. I didn't get the best sleep last night." I laughed, somewhat sheepishly.
"It was nice to meet you Connor. Best conversation I've had in a while." I teased slightly, knowing I was the only one who knew just how true that actually was. It had been a while since I had the chance to get to know someone new.
He gave me yet another near smirk as I turned, heading back towards Brian who seemed to be getting ready to leave as well. His fellow scientists looked me up and down expectantly.
I looked to have just interrupted a private discussion. "Sorry, would you like me to wait outside for you?" I inquired, sounded bored even to my own ears. Brian looked like he may have been about to scold me when one of the men at the table spoke up.
"Emily, is it? Brian here was just telling us what a joy it has been to have you on the team," The guy speaking looked like your typical frat-boy. Not exactly who I would picture wearing a lab coat. I inwardly cringed at my stereotyping, knowing that my parents would scold me for it if they were still around.
I turned to Brian with a fake smile plastered to my face. "Were you, Brian? How nice." I raised a skeptical eyebrow at him, knowing I was sure to appear disrespectful. A part of me wondered if I should be toning down my attitude; however the other part of me hoped it would get me fired.
The money be damned.
"He was." Frat boy grinned at me in a way that was anything but friendly. "In fact, he was saying that he liked you so much as an assistant, he was willing to share you."
"Oh?" I responded flatly, now staring Frat-Boy dead in the eyes. He wasn't bad looking, but there was something about him that screamed for me to stay away.
Brian began to speak but the much younger man cut him off with a sharp glare. "Yes, it seems that he's volunteered to unload your equipment alone while I show you some of your new responsibilities."
"New responsibilities?" I echoed, sounding just as displeased as I felt. I didn't particularly like where this conversation was headed. Now, it appeared I would be dealing with two douche-bags instead of one. And this time, it almost felt as though Brian was the lesser of two evils.
Frat-Boy nodded, "So this morning you'll be with me. Not to worry, it's nothing too strenuous. Good for your health."
Movement to my right caught my eye, and I turned slightly, noticing Connor looking at me from the doorway. He looked angry. Really angry. But his anger didn't seem to be directed at me, but towards the man that seemed to have power over even Brian.
Just who is this guy?
The man stood, and I swallowed hard. He towered over my average five foot six frame, and I found myself a little speechless at the sheer size of him. The hairs on the back of my neck seemed to stand up straight.
"My name is Kyle. Nice to meet you, Emily. Now, since we're both done breakfast why don't we start our tour? I have some time before my samples are ready at the lab, so we might as well get going." Kyle moved towards me, putting his hand on the small of my back as he led me out of the cafeteria without another word. Connor, I noticed was now long gone.
I looked back at Brian, whose face seemed to show pity. Oh dear god, if Brian was pitying me then this surely was not a good thing.
Kyle may have been good-looking if it weren't for the intimidation that seemed to radiate off his body in waves. My skin prickled at his touch as he guided me through the never-ending maze of doors.
"How am I ever going to know where I'm going in this place?" I muttered under my breath in frustration, not entirely meaning for Kyle to respond.
He gave a dark chuckle. "You're not."
My eyes widened slightly in alarm as I stared up at him in mild distress. What in the world could that possibly mean? Was I not supposed to be an employee here like the rest of them? How was I supposed to do my job if I didn't know how to get anywhere on my own.
I was safe here, wasn't I? Surely the government didn't hire psychopaths?
One thing was for sure, and that was that my Spidey-senses were in overdrive, telling me that I couldn't trust this guy as far as I could throw him. And I sure wouldn't be able to throw him far.
The fatigue I had felt come over me in the lunch room seemed to only be getting worse. I stumbled a little and Kyle chuckled to himself. He pulled an unopened drink from his coat pocket.
"Here. Your electrolytes must be low." He handed me the blue drink. It was labelled in what looked to be a different language.
"What is it?" I asked somewhat suspiciously. Kyle looked down at me, causing a blonde lock of hair to fall into his eyes. He shook it away, rolling his eyes at me.
"It's like Powerade. Imported from Sweden. It's good. Now drink it before you pass out." He gestured towards the drink in my hands as we continued to walk down the abandoned corridors.
I was feeling sort of out of it. I sighed, torn between wanting to feel better and trusting this guy I had only just met. Satisfied when I heard the sound of the seal breaking when I twisted the lid, I drank it greedily, suddenly feeling extremely thirsty.
Before I even realized, I was finished the entire bottle. "Feel better?" Kyle asked as we neared the end of the hallway. I nodded; I really did feel better.
Maybe he wasn't as bad as I thought.
We opened the door and Kyle led me in to an enormous gym. I wanted to turn around immediately. Did he want me to clean the gym equipment? Because that I could do.
But I was absolutely, without a doubt, not going to-
"Your new responsibilities include working out in the gym two hours a day. We need all of our employees to be strong."
That. I was not going to do that.
"Um... I don't work out." I responded flatly, annoyed this was what Kyle expected of me. And two hours?! He really must be insane. I had never enjoyed physical activity. And I wasn't about to start liking it now, either.
Kyle leveled his gaze at me. "This is a job requirement. It is essential you make your health a priority or you will not last long." His words struck a cord with me.
"What do you mean by that?" I all but hissed out. "You know, this place is probably the capital of Sketchy town." There. I finally said it.
Kyle raised a brow at me. "Is it really that strange that we care about our employees and their well-being? I think you will find that keeping your body strong is in your best interest. We're only trying to ensure you have the best chance at s-succeeding."
I pursed my lips. "Is that all?" Okay. Whatever. I could use some more muscle. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all. Getting paid sixty dollars an hour for working out?
Kyle laughed, shaking his head. "No. But we'll start with the gym two hours a day. The rest of your shift will be with Brian assisting with the patients."
I sighed, "Kyle. You must be able to see how this all looks to someone that is thrown in the middle of it, can't you? The first day I was here I witnessed Brian let a woman die. How do I know that this is legitimately research to save lives?"
Kyle paused, looking to be deep in thought. "I do see your point. I have some video footage of the patient that died before she got to that point. Let me bring it up." He brought out what looked to be a work phone and was silent for a moment as he searched through it.
"Here we go." He pressed play and held the phone out to me.
I watched in mild fascination and dread as the girl smiled up at the camera. She wasn't in a hospital bed. She was in this very gym we were standing in right now. She laughed at something that Kyle said, rolling her eyes with humour. She looked fine. She looked healthy.
"This doesn't prove anything." I looked back at Kyle. "She doesn't even look sick."
"That was several months before her diagnosis. She was actually Brian's assistant before you. Her name was Carly."
I paled, looking at him in poorly veiled horror. "You mean to tell me you all knew her personally and left her on that bed to die? Brian showed no remorse at all in that room. She deserved better than she got, Kyle."
"Then it's a good thing that you're here. However, as you can see, she was perfectly fine before she got sick. She volunteered for the experimental treatment. She believed in the cure."
I wanted to roll my eyes. "Whatever. Can I see it one more time?"
Kyle shrugged as he pressed play once again. I watched, studying her expression and the calmness in her features. She didn't seem stressed, or like she was in any sort of danger at all.
My eyes widened as I noticed someone in the corner of the video frame. Watching her intently as she laughed with Kyle.
Connor.
He was looking at her as if she held all the answers in the universe. And now she was dead.
I knew the next person I needed to talk to about this was Connor himself. Maybe hearing it from someone that looked to have cared about her would give me the closure I was looking for. The proof I wanted that this place wasn't evil. Not taking advantage of women.
"Thanks for showing me." I all but muttered, still teetering on the edge of believing him or not. Kyle's features seemed to relax as he grinned at me.
"I want you to know that you can come to me for anything. Trust me, Em." He gave me a playful wink that made me want to cringe into a ball and roll away.
"Uh... thanks. Do you mind bringing me back to the hospital room so I can check out the new equipment? I'd like to see the improvements. Do you know the name of the girl still in there?"
Kyle nodded, leading me out of the room once again. "Her name is Jade."
Don't worry, Jade. I thought to myself, I'm doing to do everything I can to make sure you pull through this.
_______
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