My eyes open a little and all I can see is my arm in the darkness of the room. I push myself up, yawning. I spent the entirety of yesterday in the infirmary and I have got to say, that was possibly one of the best days of my life. I got to sleep all I wanted and eat anything I requested. My only problem with it is that it slowed me down. The deadline for getting out of here is getting closer so if I want to carry out this plan, I have to get off of my ass.
Sitting up, I throw my hand back to the wall and press a buttion to call a medic. I guess I’m thankful that the government doesn’t force anyone to be a medic. People have to apply for that job so thankfully these people are qualified to give medical help. Scientists do administer the antidote though so I haven’t seen too much of medics throughout my time in this room.
I close my eyes and await someone to come. For a moment I just soak in the loud silence until a door to my left opens, the noise echoing throughout the room.
“Lights are coming on,” Says a woman before the sound of a switch being flipped and the bright white light of the lab turns on.
She walks over to me. She’s wearing red scrubs and her blonde hair is tied back into a bun.
“I’m ready to go,” I say, turning so my legs are hanging off of the bed.
“Now? You do know it’s four in the morning, right?”
“I have things to do.” I answer.
“Okay then. I’ll go get you a change of clothes-”
“I’m not going home.”
“Ms. Hunt said you were to have the day off, Miss Hailes.”
“Well tell her I want to meet with her.”
Her eyes dart around before she leans over to pull a drawer from a table next to the bed I’m sitting on. From that, she produces a clip board with a pen chained to it. She scribbles something down and rips the paper from the clipboard, setting it on the table.
“I’ll be back. Stay here please.” She says, leaving the room.
I take a look at the note on the table. It seems to be a signed letter to Ms. Hunt confirmed I’m not breaking any rules or anything.
When the medic returns, she hands me a black t-shirt along with some leggings of the same color.
“Put this on and take that note with you to Ms. Hunt’s office. Then, you may speak to her about whatever it is you want.”
Before she leaves, I thank her and watch as she closes the door shut. I pull my pocket watch off of the the table and flip it open, relieved to see my father’s picture still inside. I run my thumb over his face and close the watch.
“Don’t worry dad, I’ll get out of here soon.” I mutter in the silence of the room.
I follow the medic’s directions and change into my new outfit. I slip on the shoes next to my bed and grab the note, heading off to talk to the woman I hate the most.
A few knocks at the door and a few seconds and the door swings open. A surprised Ms. Hunt looks down at me and instructs me to come in.
“So Destiny, what are you doing here so early?” She asks, leaning down to pick up a box. She falters a bit as if the contents inside are too heavy but successfully lifts it, placing it into a cabinet behind her desk.
“I wanted to speak to you about working.” I say.
She sits down behind her desk. “Don’t worry about it. The experiment has been taken care of and back in her unit. You have the day off for your hard work.”
“I don’t want to take the day off. I’d be happy to continue today.”
She studies me for a moment. “Okay... I’ll put you and your substitute back on your normal schedule then.”
“Thank you, Ms.,” I say, watching her type something into her computer.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without guards like you.”
I want to laugh. Whatever kind of guard she’s talking about, I am certainly not one of them.
“Go home and get ready now. You have about an hour and a half before today’s shift begins.”
I nod and leave the room, happily making my way downstairs and out of this metal prison.
The warm breeze blows on my face as I walk up to Eva’s house. I figure if there’s any scientist here who can help me out, it’s her. We’ve had a few encounters before so we’re practically good friends.
I walk up the steps to the door and knock but there’s no answer. Okay… I’ll knock again. No answer. Squinting my eyes, I look into the small crack in the curtains in the window and the house is completely dark. Maybe she’s already at the lab. I’ll check there.
Before returning to the lab, I run home and get ready. I eat, take care of my hygiene and hair and finally, I put on my guard uniform. I shove my watch into a pocket and grab my tablet.
It’s about five-thirty when I arrive and I skip the training room, I won’t be needing that much longer.
Leaning on the wall of the guard’s prep room, I open my tablet and open up a map of the lab to check where I’m supposed to be today. I run through the experiment unit side of the lab first but before I can even find my name, I see something out of place. Inside of one the units is the name “Eva Hansely” next to some other girl’s name. I tilt my head. That can’t be right, she’s not an experiment. But then it dawn’s on me. Was that her punishment for losing an experiment? To become an experiment herself?
I have to take a second to breathe and think of what to do next. This is going to be way more difficult than I expected and my deadline is tomorrow.
Outside of the unit is the name “Everett Cyrpus”, the guard in charge of escorting Eva and the other girl. I look up and scan the room, reading either the name tags on the front of uniforms or the surnames on the back. Standing at the table in the front of the room is a guy with blue hair and the name “Cyprus” printed across his back. That’s my target. He closes a journal and looks behind himself, directly at me. My eyes evade his. Great, now he’s gonna be suspicious. Wait, his eyes. I know him. He’s the guy with the two different colored eyes, brown and green. The guy who gave me instructions to the infirmary when I came back with Dawn.
I turn my attention back to him and he’s walking out of the room. Now I’m going to lose him. I check the map once again and figure out which unit he’s assigned to and where he’s taking the experiments. Then, I place the tablet into my locker and speed walk out of the room after this guy.
YOU ARE READING
24 Hours
Science FictionDestiny Hailes lives in a world where people are forced to serve in labs across the world. Tired of the messed-up system, Destiny gathers a team to attempt to escape. Will she be successful?
