Patient Twelve

Chapter Ten

Ben had me stand up on the stool. It slightly rocked under me, and I curled my toes. I was about an inch taller than Ben now. I had my arms crossed over my chest. Ben's eyes scanned me from head to toe.

"Uncross your arms," he said.

I let out a deep breath and unfolded my arms.

"Drop the attitude," Ben said. "When you're asked to do something, you have to do it with a smile."

I spread my lips into the most outrageous smile I could create. Ben shook his head.

"Tone it down a bit," he said. "They really don't like the sarcasm."

"They don't seem to like a lot of things," I said.

"That's true," he said. "But they love a perfect subject. Stand up straight."

"I am standing up straight."

Ben put his hand on the small of my back. He pushed it forward to straighten my spine. He put his other hand on the top of my chest and pushed it back. Ben looped around me once. I yelped when I felt my hair be pulled back.

His fingers were tangled in my hair. He pulled my head back so that he was towering over me. My hands covered his and tried to push him away. I gritted my teeth as the sharp pain ran across my scalp.

"Let go of me!" I yelled.

"Settle down, Diana," he said. "This may happen."

"They're going to grab me?"

"They may. Dr. Kozlov can be pretty rough with subjects. Oliver doesn't have much of a spine, so he'll probably not say anything."

Ben let go of me, and I straightened my body. I rubbed my sore scalp and watched him as he took a step back.

"If that happens, try to look a little scared," he said. "Those doctors love fear."

"How many doctors are there?" I asked.

"Last year there were fourteen. There'll be a few more this year."

"Where is this dinner?"

"Somewhere in the Caribbean."

I raised an eyebrow and bit down on my lip. They would have to bring us to an airport. They would have to look at my ID. They would know I'm missing, and arrest Sweeney. The problem would still be not having the medication to keep my vision.

"There are going to be some questions you'll hear a lot," he said. "Since Oliver is trying to become a member, he'll probably be standing by you all night. If you answer everything perfectly, he is sure to give you privileges when you get back."

"Do you think Dr. Sweeney will be accepted?" I asked.

"Yes, what he did to you is really impressive," he said. "Also don't call him Dr. Sweeney when it is just the two of us."

"Why not?"

"They're not really doctors."

"They're not doctors?"

He ran his finger through his hair before pushing up the sleeves of his sweater. My eyes darted to the patch of scales on his arms, but he didn't notice.

"They are doctors," he said. "They have the training and they work in hospitals, but who does this to people? It's sick. When we get out of here they are all going to lose everything."

"Okay, I'll call him Oliver," I said.

"Only when it is the two of us. Whenever you're around other people then you have to call him doctor," he said. "They get off on those kinds of things. The same goes for Dr. Phillips. Call her Bethany."