5

6.2K 146 18
                                    

Alex unlocked the door and pushed it open. I looked up from my bunny and made eye contact with him.

"I take it you're mad at me." He said as he leaned against the door frame.

I didn't budge from my spot. I wasn't backing down. "You could say that."

He glanced at his wrist, at a silver watch that was tucked just under his sleeve. "We have about twenty minutes. That should be enough time to clean up what you did."

"You better get started then."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not asking."

I leaned back in my chair. "I'm just a baby. This stuff could hurt me so I better not risk it."

"You're on really thin ice, Lyla."

"I know."

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do you insist on making your life harder?"

"You do that well enough for me."

"Everything we do here is for your benefit. We've been trying to make things easy on you. We're not asking much from you."

"I beg to differ."

He walked up to the desk and leaned on it, using his hands to hold him over it. I shrunk back and watched him carefully in case he tried anything. "Your parents take care of your every need. They keep you safe. You go to school and you play all day. You get to take a nap when you want and you don't have any responsibilities. There's no pressure on you to do anything difficult or taxing. So why do you insist on fighting us?"

"I don't belong here. I don't fit in here. I don't have friends and I don't want to have friends. I don't want to be comfortable here."

"You don't have a choice."

All of the anger I'd been feeling up until that point seemed to boil over. My hands began to shake and I felt like I was going to explode. I pushed the computer monitor and phone off the desk and onto the floor. I threw my bunny across the room and got to my feet, mirroring Alex even though I was shorter than him.

"I hate it here. I hate all of it. And I especially hate you, Alex."

He reached across the desk and grabbed my arm. He pulled me around to his side and then from the room. My shock caused me to obey silently, my mouth open in surprise.

We walked down the hallway and around several corners. He pressed his thumb to the black pad beside a random door and it opened to a room similar to what a hospital room looks like. He pushed me inside then shut the door behind him.

"Sit."

My heart hammered in my chest. I didn't know what we were doing in there or why he brought me there. "What is this place?"

"We do small procedures in here. Nothing too painful."

I took a step back as he walked over to a tray full of needles, syringes, and medications. I didn't know what any of them did and I certainly didn't want to find out.

"Sit before I make you."

Slowly, I sat on the bed, gripping the edge tightly.

He pushed his sleeves up before he walked up to me, causing me to push myself further back on the bed, keeping a distance between us. Only he was faster than me and grabbed my ankle. He pulled it toward the foot end of the bed and lifted a black strap from the side. He strapped my ankle to the bed then reached for my right leg.

I screamed and tried pushing him away. "Get away from me!"

He overpowered me and strapped my second leg down, making it impossible for me to get away.

Then he grabbed my hands and tied them down at my sides, leaving me unable to move or defend myself. At that point, I was scared more than I'd ever been. Clearly, his plan wasn't a good one if he was tying me down.

"Alex, please. Please, stop."

He walked away from me and toward the tray of supplies. He opened a sealed pack of something and looked at it for a long second before he turned and walked back to my side.

"Alex... please."

He ignored me and stuck the point of a needle into my arm. He pushed it in then slowly pushed down on the top, injecting something into my arm.

"N-no, please don't."

"You've left us no choice, Lyla. We gave you more than enough chances to turn your attitude around but it's clear that this is how it has to be."

"W-what are you doing to me?"

He pulled a stool up beside the bed and sat down. "Once the injection kicks in, we'll perform surgery to modify your body. You'll be in a far better position to adjust to your life here."

"Surgery? For what?"

He reached up and brushed my hair behind my ear. "Do you remember what I told you about Megan?"

I swallowed and nodded.

"She never disappeared. She just isn't the same as she used to be. We're going to do the same to you."

"What does that even mean?"

He stood and stuck his hands in his pants pockets. "It's a new experiment we're rolling out. A new medication. We're hoping to get it on the market soon. Megan was our first test monkey and she's doing far better than we could have expected. She's not the same girl she used to be but this is much healthier for her. You'll have the same done to you."

"Alex, I-" My head started to feel heavy and my mouth started getting dry. I blinked several times, trying to clear the nauseous feeling from my body.

"Get some sleep, Lyla. I'll come and see you when you're out of surgery."

Tears filled my eyes. I felt absolutely hopeless. I didn't know what was going to happen to me. Megan hadn't disappeared... but she wasn't the same. What did that even mean?

What did that mean for me?


NurseryWhere stories live. Discover now