24 Hours

Eva Hansley - May 30th, 5:30 AM

It’s early. I’m standing in Ms. Hunt’s office, awaiting her arrival. She’s late for the time she scheduled herself. I’m not wearing my usual scientist uniform, aware of a punishment that will most likely keep me off the job today. Instead, I’m wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and white sweatpants.
I want to run when I hear a door open behind me. Ms. Hunt walks inside and shuts the door behind her, sitting at her desk.
“Have a seat, Eva.” She says, clearly unenthused.
I listen, sitting in one of the two plastic chairs that sit infront of her desk.
“So how do you feel about yourself?” She asks, looking at the computer infront of her, scrolling through a document, I presume.
“I’m sorry.” I manage to say.
“You let an experiment escape and now one of my best guards is out there looking for her. She still hasn’t returned. I’m getting worried.”
I want to roll my eyes at Destiny being one of her best guards. I know how Destiny is, she only obeys commands because, like the rest of us, she’s scared of the punishment that may come with messing up. And I get that now more than ever.
Ms. Hunt places a paper filled binder onto her desk, flipping through tons of papers for what seems like an eternity. Finally, she stops at a page containing all of my information. I can see a picture of my eighteen year old self on it.
She looks back up to me. “I’ve lost count of how many experiments you’ve caused a loss for, Eva. Letting one escape is my last straw. So if you can’t control your experiments accordingly or even test them without harming them every other time you perform an experiment, why don’t I help you with that?”
She writes something on my paper and puts down the pen, ripping the page from its place. She holds it out to me and my heart drops into my stomach. My file reads: Eva Hansley - Experiment #5879.