Enhancement

- - 30 - -

Stephen and I bolt down the hall, the lights overhead now flashing red. The alarms continue to scream into our ears, both deafening and frightening. Unable to speak over the sirens, I yank on Stephen's arm to steer him to the right. We skid past endless white walls without any doors or passages. For all we know, those white walls could have Project prisoners blockaded behind them.

Pounding down the hall, Stephen and I make another turn and storm down a long hallway. Yards away from an intersection of white passages, a trio of hazmat men reveal themselves. My heart jumps into my throat.

Stephen grabs my hand and turns us to the right again as the men begin to yell. We race down the hall, our boots stomping as three other pairs of shoes trail us. I clutch Stephen's hand tighter as we run, not caring if it slows us down.

Making a left turn, Stephen and I run about ten steps before another group of gasmask-wearing men pop out from an unseen corridor. Stephen and I scramble away from them as they shout. We hardly make it to a new part of the hall before the original three guards slam into us.

Stephen is grabbed out of my peripheral vision, but I'm somehow able to slip through the hands that want to stop me. Somewhere in the confusion I manage to scream and step on someone's toes. Either way, I make it through an extra three unbalanced strides before a body tackles me from behind.

The attack occurs both slower and faster than I thought it would. I fly through the air for a small eternity, and then I hit the ground in fast-forward. The unbearable weight of the guards threatens to collapse my lungs, but he scoots himself off me within a handful of seconds. I use to opportunity to claw away from him, but he shoves his knee into my spine to stop me.

I growl in response. The man rips my arms behind my back, locking them together with EletriWrist cuffs. I have no say in the matter as I'm dragged to my feet. The masked man pushes me next to Stephen as a lanky figure speaks.

Tanner turns around to face us, clearly distraught. His facial expression practically shouts angered and annoyed, but I still can't force myself to be afraid of him. His personality vibe is too good-natured.

"Great job, you two," Tanner says. "The last thing I wanted to do was start a wild goose chase."

Stephen and I don't say anything, mostly because Tanner isn't fitting the "bad villain" role. I can't wrap my mind around him; he's not acting overly rude or cocky at all.

"Well?" Tanner asks.

"You're kidding, right?" I deadpan, sticking to my hunch. "Do you realize what this place resembles?"

"No, not really," Tanner says, "and I'm not in a position to explain either."

"Tanner, this place is the Enhancement Project. You should have already killed us by now."

"What?" Tanner gapes. I repeat myself for him while he paces around. He lets out a exclaim when an idea clicks in his mind, specifically when I say the word "Enhancement" again.

"I was going to take you to Liad as soon as we got here, but obviously this got in the way." He motions to Stephen and I with his right hand. "Liad and Delphin need to hear about this. You said this is what the halls of the Project look like?"

We nod.

"Then can one of you kind men open this room?" Tanner suddenly asks the gas-mask people. One of the men agrees. He approaches a blank wall and knocks two times. A blue holographic keyboard lights up in front of him, and he types in a password of fast-paced numbers. A doorway opens up, identical in style to the ones from the Project.

Tanner leads Stephen and I into the room, but I don't step pass the doorway. The room itself has the exact same dimensions, color, and lighting as the one from my chilling memory. Ignoring the dull blankets sprawled across the floor, I recognize every inch of the room with déjà vu.