Death's Exception

Chapter Four

I jerk awake, my torso springing to see who had intruded my room, and my head colides with someone. I shrink back, wincing in pain and holding my forehead.

"Forgive me if I startled you. I was just making observations." More than the intrusion, or the colision, the voice alarms me. This is neither Lilly, nor Dr. Finley. I open my eyes, and see the first face in my whole second life that pleases me. It is soft, but with overbearing features. His eyes are as dark brown as a forest with speckles of gold around the iris. His hair is brown, and untame, with what would give birth to a wave if it was longer, yet long enough to curl slightly to the left right over his brow. He is tall and skinny, yet proportionately muscular and lean. The right corner of his mouth is turned up, and his thick eyebrows raised. He looks about seventeen, but still incredibly capable and wise.

"Who are you?" I force out of my already open mouth.

"The name's Titus Crilley, assitant scientest." I slide myself up in my bed, and position my weight to look less weak than I feel.

"I am Rory." I brush my fingers through my untame hair, suddenly very self-concious about my scar. His lips pull apart to reveal brilliant teeth in a goofy, but insanely attractive smile.

"I know. Everyone does."

"Oh, yeah. I guess everyone does." I look down, and scrunch my mouth to the side of my face, suddenly realizing how vain my attempts to flirt would be. A deep, melodious laugh fills his lungs. I blush, and pull my hair to my right shoulder. A nervous habit I have adapted.

"I've come to show you around, Rory. Love the name, by the way. It is very- cute? Yes, I suppose that term would apply." Cute. "I suppose you would like to put some clothes on first? Here." Clothes. He hands me a loose V-neck gray shirt, and baggy, black draw-string pants.

"Thank you." I stand, and start to try and un-do my hospital gown. Right before it drops to the ground, I catch it as I realize he is standing awkwardly. Still looking at me. "Could you turn away for two seconds?" He looks as if he had just been reminded of something he had forgotten to do, and nods. He turns away, and I slip on the clohing.

"Ready?" A boyish grin takes over his face as he studies the girlish curiousity on mine, heavy with anticipation to see what lays behind my four white walls.

"Absolutely." Majestically, he throws open the door, which opens up into a cramped white hallway buzzing with people in white coats. They all pause, their eyes drifting towards me. I shrink inside myself.

"Yep, this is her! The amazing Rory Destiel. Resume your business." Remarkably, without a word besides the occasional Fascinating or Impossible, they resumed whatever they were doing before.

"They really respect you here." I mumble just loud enough for him to hear.

"It comes with the position. I know in your generation they limited success because of age and gender, or whatever. Welcome to 2029 when a seventeen year old can rule the world without any questions being asked."

"Wow." He escorts me into a large, round conference looking room with tables set up in a maze-like way. There are tools overflowing the tables that are unidentifyable to me, and even a table dedicated to a 3D computer springng with math equations, symbols, and graphs.

"This is where the science is executed. Without this room, you, Rory, would not be alive." He lights up with pride. I pull my hair onto my right shoulder, my hand brushing a vile full of a blue liquid. He jumps behind me and picks up the vile.

"THAT is poisonous." I retract my hand from it quickly. His laugh that I adore so much echoes through the room, and the scientists seem used to it in a wonderful way. "Yeah, we tried it on a Cryonics patient, like you, and well, they weren't so lucky."

"That is- terrible."

"What many people don't tell you is that being put under Cryonics is basically giving your dead body to science. So, there is nothing terrible about it. Just a corpse staying a corpse. Now, you, you are brilliant, Rory." He shows off his bright teeth before escorting me out of the room and down another bustling hallway.

"So, where are we, exactly?" His joy for his work seems brighter than his will to live.

"Ah, we are in the Rockies in the middle of nowhere. This section in particular is called CSI. Cryonics Science Investigation. There are more than 12 sections in the world, all dedicated to a different area of science! I have been to seven." He pauses, stares straight into my eyes. I stare blankly back. "That is impressive." He presses.

"Ah, yes, very nice job." He nods, satisfied, and continues to walk. "So, where are we going now?"

"Oh, the observation room. There they will preform harmless experiments on you." I stop in my tracks, startling him. "What?"

"Experiments?" My voice shakes with every syllable that escapes my mouth.

"HARMLESS ones. They won't hurt you, Rory! It is all for science." He glances at my arm nervously, and back at the ground. He touches my arm, his hands bigger than my forearm. I tense. Seeing that I am uncomfortable, he pulls his hand back and gives himself a sneer. "That was unlogical, and unprofessional. Accept my apologies."

"No, no. They are accepted." I smile, and awkwardly place my hand on his shoulder.

We are bad at this.

Really bad.

He smiles a bit, and we continue walking. I stare at the tiled ground, my barefeet small and frail against his big, strong boots.

"Why do they need to preform science experiments on me?" He looks at me as if I just burned a notebook filled with his greatest scientific revelations.

"I don't think you realize how cool you are." I raise an eyebrow. "Wow. The scientific discovery of the century, and you do not even know it." He grabs his hair in over dramaticized frustration. "THE FIRST CRYONICS PATIENT TO HAVE BEEN RESURRECTED." I smile.

"You get too excited about this stuff."

"I am not the only one, Aurora Destiel." We stop at a large black door. He stares me in the eyes, with that same you-are-totally-excited-about-this-aren't-you look. He opens the door, and I walk in and sit on a large metal door in the middle of a dark room with one light shining in my face. Nervous, I yell to him as he is about to shut the door.

"Wait! I am nervous." His laugh echoes through my bones, and somehow solidifies them in a massive way.

"You'll be fine. Just remember how cool you are." He offers me a quick wink, and the door slams shut behind him.