No Pain: Book 1

Chapter 15: Star

             My shackles stay on as I sit at the table with my food. It's gruel, a concoction of all the nutrients we need shoved into a single mush. I don't mind eating it. It's not so different from the stuff Najee and the others made me eat when they first recruited me. You have to earn the good food. I sit alone at my table. The others already know what I am. I'm one of the dangerous ones, the ones even other abnormalities are afraid of. We can't be trusted. I don't blame them, I've almost killed Najee before. There aren't many of the dangerous ones here. Mostly those like Drew and Chase sound seers, dyslexic human computers. Some mid-levels like Kader and Keller. Rubbery bones, incredible memories, the ones who don't sleep, super endurance, super strength. Then the higher ups, like me. The most dangerous, or the most useful, depending on who's looking at you. No pain, no fear, no conscience, DIDs.

"You like to be alone?" The girl from my cell leans on my table. She's emits an air of dominance.

"I enjoy my space." I say casually, I feign no fear, although there's nothing to fear here. They can't hurt me, they can't contain me and this girl doesn't stand a chance against me.

"There's a lot of buzz about you." She takes a seat and dares me to challenge it, I can't draw attention to myself.

"I'm new." I shrug "and I'm high level."

"Yeah, you're right." She takes my cup of water and sips it. "But I didn't get this much attention when they dragged me in here." She swirls my cup around trying to look nonchalant but there's tension in her jaw.

"How long have you been here?" I ask. She lifts her eyes dangerously, as if that's supposed to scare me.

"They dragged me in on my thirteenth birthday." She narrows hers eyes at me. Still older than when I was recruited

"I'm nineteen." She waits for me to care, I suppose. She watches me, she's trying to figure out exactly what I am because she doesn't believe I'm no fear, that's what she is.

"You must be their prized possession here. I can't imagine they'd make it easy for you to escape."

Her eyes widen as if I'd just broken some law. But she relaxes and leans in close to me. She's smiling as she says, "I don't know what you are, but I do know you don't look like someone about to spend the rest of your life here."

I shrug and take another bite of gruel.

"You're taking me with you." She declares.

"How are you going to make me?" I ask equally as cocky.

She smirks, it looks like she's played this game before. "If I don't get out, you don't get out." She says simply "you fill in the blanks." She leans back and smiles as if she's won. We consider each other for a moment. If she thinks she is enough to stand between me and my team, she is delusional. But I guess so long in a place like this will do that to you. I smile, glancing back at the guard.

"Alright," I start to nod as I bring my eyes back to her. "You've got a deal."

"Perfect." She stands and strides away with her long legs. Wish I could make a dramatic walk away exit like that I look down at my own short legs. They're lean and have always gotten the job done but outside of the missions and fighting for our lives, walking in a group is annoying. I turn back to my food and play spot the exit.

Three guards covering each corner, one exit, one door to the kitchen. The guards are normal as far as I can tell.

"What do you see?" Keller asks as we eat. I give her a look, "food?" I say.