Blood of My Death

Blood of My Death: The Ancient Earthscrapper - Chapter Twenty

Memory Series Sequence 351001002451983...

Memory Series Sequence Sub-002-0909 - Evasion doctrine is active.

It was another day for physical therapy for me. Dr. Warren was going to monitor my progress on a workout bike explicitly designed for paralyzed people with injuries from the waist down. We would work in the same gym as my sister and Dr. Iris had previously. They had a test scheduled for today at another facility. Before separating, we said our usual pleasantries and headed in opposite directions.

The workout station we were going to use was in front of the mirrors, so I could see how well I was doing. The point of the test was to see how long I could keep my legs going on my own. I have done these kinds of tests plenty of times, which usually lasted about two hours. For example, after pedaling my legs for thirty minutes, I would slow down for fifteen minutes and then push myself again. I could usually get through the entire session without quitting.

A person standing in the doorway stopped us at the gym entrance. It was the blonde woman. She stepped out of the way, allowing Dr. Warren to push me inside.

"The first physical test pushed you to your limits. I would like to know if your broken body can survive today's test. I hope not. Please, take that as an insult. Good luck, you'll need it," the blonde woman said, walking away, but she stopped looking over her shoulders.

"I wonder if you have figured out why they are testing you to such an inhumane degree. Hmm. I don't care if you do or don't," the blonde woman said, smiling.

Dr. Warren and I watch her hips sway as she slowly saunters away. Then, finally, a male voice from inside draws our attention to the gym.

"Dr. Rachel Warren and test subject Kristen Howel, could you please come with me?" a man in a white lab coat yelled across the room as two assistants ran over to our location. One of them had a wheelchair with him.

"What's going on? We have a test to conduct here!" Dr. Warren yelled back.

The two assistants came up to us quickly, and the one with a wheelchair gestured for Dr. Warren to sit in the chair while the other roughly pushed her aside, taking hold of my wheelchair. The situation filled her face with confusion as she watched them push me away. Then the assistant grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

"Hold on, what is going on here? We were on the schedule to do a fitness test by Dr. Ashland," she protested.

"As a matter of course, Dr. Warren, I understand your concern. However, you do not have authorization to conduct this test. You were mistaken. The test we will conduct will take place on a different floor. It will be a full day's test. Please take a seat, as you will need your strength," the doctor replied.

"Who are you, and why do I need to save my strength? I am a doctor, and there is no reason for me to be going through any tests," she questioned again.

"I am Dr. Adams, and I will be both of your doctors today. Please come with me," He spoke in a respectful tone.

The assistant grabbed her hand and led her to the wheelchair, forcing her to sit in it. Then he pushed her over to where Dr. Adams and I were. Once she was by us, we left the gym. Unfortunately, no holographic arrows were on the wall to show us the way. As we followed Dr. Adams down several corridors, I had never seen elevators before. Finally, his hand touched a glass tablet, and one of the elevator doors opened.

The two assistants pushed us into the elevators, with Dr. Adams following close behind. Again, he tapped on his glass tablet, and the elevator moved. The holographic display that would typically display the floors as we went down was off. I didn't know where we were going, and this was nothing like what we usually would do. Until now, Dr. Iris and Dr. Warren have been in charge of our physical tests. Even though we still did our lab routines in the morning, things had changed over the weeks to something I was more comfortable doing.

Presently, this was different, though. We had met other doctors, but none of them had ever taken over the test our doctors would generally give us. Despite not being able to go where we pleased, the routine was comfortable. The physical resistance test wasn't something I expected to continue. The security may be because of the nature of their research. That level of protection would weed out corporate spies or protect their intellectual property.

"Where are we going? I mean to which floor?" I politely asked.

Dr. Adams turned around and just stared for several moments before finally speaking.

"Please know that I do not have authorization to answer any of your questions," He politely told me.

"Why not?" I asked again.

"I'm sorry that I cannot inform you of the reason. That will be all," Dr. Adams replied respectfully.

"Then, may I ask a question for her?" Dr. Warren announced.

"You do not have authorization to know this information, either. I am sorry for both of you. We will be there shortly," Dr. Adams replied with sincerity in his voice.

After another ten minutes, the elevator stopped, and the doors opened to another clean, pristine corridor. I sighed as they pushed me off the elevator.

'They could at least put some pictures up or add some color. This place doesn't have to look like it's straight out of a Sci-fi horror movie with zombies waiting to bust out of every closed door.' I rolled down the bleak corridor in silence.

As we turned down several corridors, which I had become accustomed to, there was something strange about it I couldn't explain. As soon as we reached the end of our hour-long journey of being the 'Maze Runner,' there was a large black double door that opened when Dr. Adams tapped on his glass tablet.

This room was round, almost as big as the gym where we usually did our workouts. When I examined the room's layout, I noticed a raised platform in the center. The ramp and stairs were wheelchair accessible for those who couldn't walk. Dr. Adams walked to the stairs as the two assistants pushed us up the ramp to the platform's top. If I had to guess, the platform was at least sixty feet in diameter.

The platform's top was void of anything noticeable, but that soon changed. Dr. Adams tapped on his glass tablet, and from beneath the floor, two openings appeared from thin air. The openings turned into black spheres as two spherical machines appeared from within them. Each had a design comparable to omnidirectional gyroscopes with what looked like a unique bicycle in the middle. I immediately felt dread about this, and my stomach dropped a thousand feet.

"Today's test will take place on our state-of-the-art omnidirectional gyro bicycles. My assistants will help each of you with them. Test subject Kristen Howel, my assistants will strap you in first," Dr. Adams explained.

"I don't see the reasoning behind this. Do you mean you want Kristen to take her physical test on that? I have never even seen one of these," Dr. Warren protested.

"I'm sorry, but yes, and not just her, you will also take this test. Both of you will need to change into the clothing provided. This room is one large MRI machine, and you will need to remove your clothing. For the record, I did advocate for you to take the test with your clothing on. Unfortunately, my superiors overruled my recommendations on this matter," Dr. Adams said in a sincere voice.

The two assistants brought us our new clothes, and, to my surprise, they were comparable to underwear. But unfortunately, the clothing provided looked more like lingerie than underwear, and Dr. Warren expressed her disapproval.

"We have to wear this?" I asked with a frown.

"Yes, I am sorry about this, but orders are orders," Dr. Adam replied with rosy cheeks, but there was sadness in his voice.

I hadn't heard sadness from anyone else working here, but it was an undertone of many workers. Not all of them, but many had this feeling to them. It shocked me he even answered my questions.

"You don't have to make us do this," I said, looking up at him.

"I'm sorry, but Dr. Warren knows I do, and you should know too by now," Dr. Adam replied.

"Why? None of these tests makes sense. Who are you afraid of? Is it that woman? Who is she?" I said in a demanding voice.

"We all have our masters. That does not differ from the person in question. But that is neither here nor there. For now, it is I who is your master. I must do my given job regardless of the circumstances," Dr. Adam answered.