In Vendetta House (The Vendetta Series #1)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Nightmares haunt my conscience all night. I am running down an endless hospital corridor. I cannot surface from this horror. I cannot stop. Blood-splattered patients in hospital gowns and grotesque-torn zombies jumping out at me. Shadows lurk in the edges of the ceiling and faceless spirits suddenly pop out from the walls, screaming.

Millions of invisible hands grab my arms and hair as I run past to an unknown destination.

I am only trying to get out of the dark. The lights above flicker off just as I reach a new section of this never-ending corridor. As soon as I reach the light, it turns dark. I can never make it into the light. I am always in the darkness, always running. Surrounded by fog, shadows and dust as they swirl in this gloom and murk I can't seem to let go of.

I am suffocating.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

"ARIEL!"

My eyes fly open. Someone is calling my name and tugging my arm. They tug a little too hard and I yelp while falling off the side of the bed onto the carpeted but hard floors. I blink a couple of times while memories rush back. Well, I'm still in Vendetta House but at least the endless corridor was just a nightmare. I glance up slightly to see Sasha standing over me.

"For crying out load," I groan, "What the hell, Sasha?"

"Well, somebody isn't morning person," she remarks.

"No kidding!" I tilt my head up from the floor and use my elbows to hold myself up as I squint at the clock. I realize my bedraggled hair is in the way. Stupid loose scrunchies. Even after I brush my heavy mop of hair out of the way, I can't focus on the clock. Everything is always blurry in the morning.

There isn't a lot of light in the room, even though the curtains on the lone window above our beds are pulled back. I would guess the sun has only just risen, but since I had no idea what country we are in, I couldn't use the sunlight to estimate the time. So I ask Sasha.

"What time is it?" I croak.

"Six AM," she replies.

"What! Six AM!" I exclaim, horrified. "Why the hell have you dragged me up at six am!"

Sasha doesn't even seem offended. "Dr. White went around knocking on the doors a few minutes ago which you slept right though."
She helps me gather the fallen blankets as I stumble to my feet. "Your testing is today. House tradition, we all went through it two years ago while everyone else watched."

Is this the stimulation Jesse was talking about?

"What's wrong with testing at 2 PM?" I grumble.

Sasha is nervously checking the clock, "We have to leave now. Dr. White said you have to be there six on the dot."

"But I'm still wearing sleepwear! And my breath smells! And I need a shower!" I complain, my voice whiny.

Sasha hands me a breathmint from a container in her drawer, "Your clothes will automatically change in the stimulation room. You can shower after, trust me, you'll need it."

So this IS the stimulation room. She grabs my arm and drags my still-asleep legs, "Come on, lazy bum!"

I follow along grudgingly.

We step into a large room. Half of which has a giant screen with smaller controls and monitors surrounding it, half of which has seats in rows and lines.