Chapter Twenty One
Ican barely open my eyes against the harsh light.
Everything hurts. My head is throbbing, my muscles ache. What happened?
Where am I?
I try to roll but I’m trapped. Something is restraining me, pressing tightly against my skin.
Everything around me is pure white. White walls surround me and the ceiling is pure light. Instead of any fixtures, the entire top of the room is a light. Not that the room is very big.
I feel a rough material rubbing against my skin, constricting my arms and legs. I thrash wildly, but the more I struggle, the more the coarse netting digs into my flesh. The fibers dig painfully into my forehead and hands as I twist against them, and try to sit up.
I’m helpless and completely immobilized. Panic flutters in my chest as the realization sets in—I’m a prisoner.
My mind races, grasping for answers. The last thing I remember is going to sleep behind some large equipment in the last electrical room I found after escaping the guards. They must have drugged me.
But how?
I feel drugged and I have to assume it’s the military doctors, even though I don’t recognize this place.
I clench my fists and pull with all my strength, but the netting around me doesn’t give. I’m powerless and at the mercy of my captors. Fear courses through me, tightening my muscles as my thoughts race.
What are they going to do with me now?
Of course, I won’t give up. I can’t give up. There has to be a way out of this. I just need to stay calm and think.
Breathe, Ray, breathe.
I force myself to relax and focus. Maybe I can find a weakness in this net, some way to break free.
I won’t stop fighting. Whatever they have planned, I won’t make it easy for them. I’ll get out of this.
I must.
The door slides open with a hiss, and a scaled doctor enters the room. My blood runs cold at the sight of his mottled, textured skin and emotionless orange eyes.
I thrash against the netting as a prickle of electrical energy crashes over me like a wave. I’m desperate to break free, but it’s useless. The fibers continue cutting deeper into my flesh.
“Let me go!” I yell and my voice echoes off the stark white walls.
The doctor ignores my plea and steps closer, leaning over my upper body as his flaming eyes rake down my skin.
I cringe away from him, repulsed by his alien features. He holds some sort of device in his clawed hand.
My mind races, envisioning all the horrible things he may do to me. To punish me?
Torture me?
I search frantically for any source of energy I can draw on, or any way to fight back. But I feel nothing. It’s like this entire facility is dead space. My powers are useless here.
I’m completely at this monster’s mercy. Fear grips me as I freeze in place on the table.
The doctor leans over me, aiming the device at my head. This is it.
I brace for whatever horror comes next. I won’t beg or cry out, no matter what he does. I’ll cling to my inner strength. And the first chance I get, I’ll make him pay for this. He and all the others like him who did this to me. Who turned me into... whatever I am now.
My fists clench, fury burning inside me. I’ll never stop fighting. Never.
The doctor chuckles, a strange rasping sound. “There’s no need for hostility. We only wish to continue our...partnership.”
Partnership? Is he insane?
“You’ve kept me prisoner. Tortured me. Experimented on me against my will.” My voice shakes with barely contained rage. “That’s not a partnership.”
“You should be grateful,” the doctor says mildly. “Your unique gifts make you perfectly suited to help advance our knowledge. Without our modifications, you would still be...less than you are now.”
“I didn’t ask for your so-called gifts,” I spit at him. “I didn’t ask to be turned into… this.”
“There’s no need to worry,” the doctor says. “We value you greatly, subject five-one-three. Your participation in the program has been invaluable.”
“And now?” I quiz him. They’ve managed to disable my abilities. I’m totally at their mercy.
“Regrettably, we’re relocating,” the doctor replies. “But do not worry. Your new accommodations will be even more comfortable. We aim to provide the best for our most valuable test subjects.”
Valuable. Test subject.
Those words make me see red.
I strain against the netting with renewed desperation. He has to come close enough for me to get my hands on him. Somehow. Then I’ll show him how valuable I am.
Panic and fury war inside me. I can’t let them take me away from here. Not when I’m so close to finding a way out for everyone.
A way to escape and shut this entire monstrous operation down.
“You’ll never break free,” the doctor says calmly. “There’s no point in fighting. It will only make you weaker. The netting strapping you down works like a mega grounding device. Any electrical that manages to reach you is sucked from your body and out of the room.”
Rage burns through me, hot as fire.
I want them dead. All of them.
Dead.
I swallow down my anger and take a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. Rage won’t help me here. I need to keep my wits about me if I’m going to have any chance of escaping this new facility.
“How long until we move?” I ask, proud that I sound almost indifferent.
“Two days,” the doctor answers. “We’ll sedate you for transport, of course.”
Two days. Not long at all. My heart pounds as I consider the implications. In two days, I’ll lose any chance of ever seeing Summer again. Of making things right with her before they drag me off to god knows where. The thought fills me with despair.
I can’t lose her.
I thought I could. But not now. Not when I’ve only just found something—someone—worth fighting for.
And I won’t give up.
My love for Summer has given me strength. Purpose.
I’ll find a way to escape this place and to free the others at the same time. I’ll make this doctor and his kind pay for what they’ve done.