Soul Stitched (book one)

Chapter 68: Aqua

        My heart thumped like crazy. What did Dr. Shep mean that I failed the test? It was all easy questions like my age! How do you fail a test like that? My mind raced and I was so confused. Suddenly the door flew open and there stood Dr. Shep, glasses frosted over, shivering. I laughed.
        "What happened to you?" I grinned. He glared at me and grabbed my wrists. "Come." he hissed as he pulled me down the hallways. I stumbled after him. I stared in awe at the hallway. Everything was white, spotless and hundreds of doors lined the wall. Then I heard screaming from behind a door. I froze. That scream was awfully familiar. He yanked me forward past the screaming.
        "Where am I going?" I asked as I looked back to the door. He didn't say anything, he just stormed down the hallway. Then he stopped in front a different door and opened it with a key. Then he shoved me in. I fell to the ground. I felt my nose break when it slammed into the floor. I groaned and lightly touched my hand to my nose. When I brought it away, it was covered in blood. I held my collar of my hospital gown to my nose. I looked around and spotted Crystal in the white walled room, identical to mine.
        "Aqua?" she squinted at me. I scrambled to my feet, forgetting about my nose, and hugged her. She embraced me tightly.
        "You're alive." I whispered. "So are you." she replied. We pulled away.
        "I'm so scared." I looked at her stitches and then down at mine. Dr. Shep pulled me back but Crystal shot him with ice. I froze. Her cuffs, they were off.
        "How?" I asked. "I don't know...my cuffs just broke apart and I tried to escape. Well, I got this far, then they locked me in here." she huffed.
        "So...why am I here?" I asked. In one swift motion, Dr. Shep grabbed my small waist and held me against his body, knife to my throat.
        "Let her go!" Crystal cried. "I will when you put your cuffs back on." Dr. Shep dug the knife a little deeper. I winced. "No, Crystal, don't!" I called out. He squeezed me and I gasped, clawing at his arms.
        "Any sudden movements, and I kill her right here, right now." Dr. Shep warned. I winced as Crystal slowly raised her hands in surrender.
        "No!" I screamed. Guards pored into the room and snapped cuffs onto Crystal. Dr. Shep pushed me away and I fell against the wall. They pulled her out of the room, I scrambled after her but my cuffs shocked me. I shuttered as the electricity ran through my body. Then I blacked out.

        I woke up back in my room. I sat up and winced when I saw Dr. Shep sitting on my operating table. I noticed new stitches on my arm, close to my palm with the water droplet. For some reason that struck a nerve.
        "Hello." he said. I stood up and leaned against the wall, trying to get as far away from him as possible. "I'm awfully sorry about yesterday, I had to do what I had to do." Dr. Shep rubbed his nose then smiled. "You understand?"
        "Whatever. What do you want now?" I asked. He snorted.
        "Just want to go over your quiz answers you took a few days ago." he said. I frowned. "Okay." I said slowly.
        "So you said you were 12 years old, am I correct?" he asked. I nodded. "You are 13 years old now, your birthday was a few weeks ago." Dr. Shep said. I processed that. I was a teenager?
        "No cake?" I finally asked. He smiled. "If you really want some." he replied. I squinted at him.
        "Alright, so you said you were still in Egypt, right?" Dr. Shep glanced down at a sheet of paper. I pursed my lips.
        "Well yes, we didn't travel over air or anything, so we still have to be in Egypt." I replied. "Or something like that." I mumbled. Dr. Shep shook his head.
        "You're in New York, just letting you know." he said. My jaw dropped.
        "H-how?" I stuttered. "How?" I repeated. He just smiled.
        "I'll just leave you to ponder on that." he said as he walked out of the room. The door slid shut and I kicked the wall in anger. I pressed my forehead against the door and hissed a nasty word. I then sat down and curled into a tight ball. I didn't understand. It only felt like we had been there a week. But it had been a month. More then a month actually. Only God knows how long we will be there. Tears fell down my cheeks and I wiped them away quickly. It wasn't fair. My life was being wasted away.

I wondered how many people were dead. How many children. How many mothers. How many fathers. How many sisters and brothers. All gone? Was there anyone left to save? Or was this all for nothing? Somehow I knew there was someone left. I also knew that Dr. Shep might've been using us for a cure, that was sure. Maybe we had something he wanted. But what? All we had was powers, and he couldn't take that away. It was impossible. But all he cared about was money. He started this virus and he knew how to shut it down, so he might be selling a fake cure just for money and fame. Then when people knew it was a hoax, he'd shut it down. He'd be a hero. So if that was his plan...then why did he need us? Maybe he didn't. Maybe he just likes ruining children's lives. I'm starting to think that's a huge possibility.