NUMBER THREE.

Project Interitus

I didn't know what to think of Dr. Pace; He was lanky, and stood much taller than me but he is the least bit intimidating. A wide spread grin was etched on his face, one of those smiles that take up all of your features. He looked like he was seeing a long time friend.

"Number three! So nice to see you! Come have a seat." Doctor Pace's teeth were so white against his dark skin, its as if it never left his face with how blinding it was, such a change from the small blonde woman from before. I didn't know what to think regarding being a number, does that mean theres more like me? I didn't have much time to dwell on the thought.
His office was the first room that I've seen with an abundance of stuff. I slowly sat myself in the chair he gestured to, which honestly looks more like a dentists chair. Two large cabinets, much larger than the one in my room, sat adjacent to the wall in front of me, which seemed to be filled to the brim with different bottles, concoctions and medical equipment. Different posters lined the walls, some with dumb motivational quotes on them, some for medical usage. There was another window in here also, which faced a large tree line.

"I apologize for the pain you must be feeling today, I've whipped up something quick to help you with that." His face fell into what I gathered was concern, and empathy. His bushy brows were quick to jump back up into enthusiasm as he readied his syringe.

"This won't hurt a pinch!" He reassured at my hesitant expression, as he held my upper arm to insert the needle, and he was right, I didn't even feel a pinch and the tense muscle pain I was feeling from the bruises on my body lessened until I had no pain whatsoever.

"That works fast!" I said outwardly, rather surprised. Dr. Pace met my smile with his own once again, and shook his finger rather cockily. "I'm good at what I do." He spun on his heel and walked himself over to the cabinet full of oddly coloured liquid, the bottles colours itself would best be described as unnatural vibrant colours, if seen in nature they would definitely be toxic. They made me feel uneasy and I couldn't pinpoint why.

"Now that your pain is gone, lets do what we are actually here for today." He mostly sounded like he was muttering to himself so I didn't bother to reply.

My eyes widen at what he brings from the cabinet though and my new found trust begins to falter. The synthetic blue liquid that I woke up to in my skin, looked more threatening in a giant syringe with a very sharp and long needle point.

"I know this looks awful but it's just to temporarily put you to sleep. Think of it as anesthesia." He paused, almost as if he was considering his next words carefully, but I interrupted his thoughts.

"Why did I wake up with it then?" His bushy dark brows rose, almost taking up his entire forehead, and I could tell my question took him off guard.

"Not only is it an anesthesia, it has pain tolerance properties as well. The procedure I'm doing is located in the cervical part of your spine.." He stepped forward cautiously, his fingers reaching to the back of my neck as he pushed the pads of his finger tips against my upper spine. I tensed at his cold fingers and touch, sending a small shiver down my back. "It is a very fragile part of the body, the spine, trust me when I say it is for your benefit. We wouldn't want you to paralyze yourself with a sudden movement." I nodded, the nerves not leaving my shoulders as I gulped down a breath of air.

"I am going to be inserting this syringe into your spinal nerves, so please relax and stay still or it might do more than a pinch." A slight accent came off of Doctors Pace's lips with certain words, it was almost familiar but there was no placing it with my current memory. I didn't think on it too much, as I was paying keen attention to stay as still as possible.

Besides some pressure it didn't hurt, much to my relief. Drowsiness came quickly after he administered the blue liquid and I soon found myself falling into an easy sleep, just as Dr. Pace promised.