No Pain: Book 1

Chapter 18: Najee

         "Is Star okay?" John asks nervously.

"As far as I know, she put up a fight and he gave up on her for the time being, but..." We're walking toward the building, John is dressed in a suit with a brief case. I'm in the guard's uniform with a fake beard covering half my face and dark green contacts. It won't be hard to get Star alone, the guards abuse their power in there, no one will question it.

"I'll have to ask her myself when I see her in there." I almost wish I let the guard live until after I got Star's version of his story.

"What if you get caught?" John asks.

"Me and Star in there together?" I almost laugh "we won't be." We enter the building. There's a receptionist.

"Hello ma'am." John goes to the receptionist, it won't take long for him to get kicked out. I need to get in quick.

"New guy?" A hefty guard sits in a chair at the back of the room. I head toward him.

"How could you tell?" I ask with a laugh.

"You look like it." He says waving to the door passed him "You're with Rob, he'll show you the ropes." The guard punches in a number and the door slides open. Sneaking in is nothing to be proud of, it's easy to get in. Getting out is the trick.

"Thanks." I walk in and am greeted by a man several inches taller than me with greying hair and a military stance.

"New guy." This must be Rob.

"Rob?" I ask purposely looking less confident. He smiles, I'm an easy target for jokes and hazing.

"Welcome, you'll be handling the most dangerous resident we have today." He hands me a belt with a taser, a tranq gun a few gas bombs. I fasten the belt around me and I wonder how many times Star has been tranquilized here so far.

"What's her defect?" I ask playing the part.

"Nothing they're letting us know yet but there's been some talk." He leans into me as if he cares about keeping Star's secrets.

"I hear she doesn't exist." He's smiling as if he's the smartest person in the world. "Rumor is, no pain sensors."

"What?" I jerk back as if I'm surprised, as if I can't fathom being so close to one. Most people never meet an abnormality like Star and if they do, they never know it.

"Yeah, you might get to see some action today after all." He clasps me on the shoulder and swipes his card against the wall, the door slides open. I'm still trying to decide if he was serious about Star causing a scene or if its just the beginning of the hazing.

The sight of Star makes my stomach knot up, she's sharing a bed with someone. I can't see if it's a girl or a guy. I can't tell if she's chained up. I can only see her face scrunched up as if she's having a bad dream. I grab the door before I can think about it and swipe my card. There's a loud clank and Star stirs, she doesn't open her eyes though. She's hiding her training. I feel a surge of pride, we did train her well.

"Wake up."

Star peels the blankets away and detaches the arms encompassing her. Relief washes over me when I see it's a girl and no chains. I grab her arm and haul her to her feet. There's a wave of an emotion I can't identify when Star is finally in my hand again. She's here, she's right here, I can see her and touch her and I almost lose my cover. She's staring at me, she recognizes me but she's not sure from where.

"Let's go." I push her ahead of me so the she can't stare at me too long, the others will get suspicious. I walk behind her as the other guards surround her. I watch Star's head bob in front of me as she walks. Her hair swaying with each step, it's longer than it's been in a while. Keller usually would have made her sit still for a haircut by now, if Star had been with us.