Evolution - The Oasis Project Book 3

Thirty-Seven - Linkin

My entire body felt heavy. My head weighed as much as a bowling ball and it throbbed as if someone was using it as a bowling alley. When I finally had enough strength to open my eyes, the grogginess I was feeling made it difficult to focus.

I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be heavily sedated. I blinked a few times, attempting to keep the fog at bay as I slowly looked around. I was in a small room, not much bigger than a walk-in closet. It was dark; the only faint bit of light I had came from under the door. It was enough for me to be able to look around at the concrete walls.

There was nothing special in here. I looked down to my feet and noticed they were hovering just above the ground. That quickly woke me up. My eyes flickered to above my head where there was a chain suspending me from the ceiling. It groaned as I swung a bit.

My chest began to rapidly rise and fall when I noticed the amount of blood that had dried and stained my forearm. There was a bandage haphazardly taped to it. It was soaked through with blood and the tape was peeling off in the top corners.

I couldn't help but panic. I couldn't feel the air entering my lungs and I began to jerk and pull at my wrists. I was swinging and the chains rattled, showing no sign of giving. Tears gathered in my eyes as I attempted to stay calm and focus on the contact, wishing someone would send me a message now that I was awake.

It took a moment of forcing myself to be calm before I allowed myself to panic again. I couldn't feel the mild irritation of the contact lens. It was gone. I couldn't stop the floodgate of tears now as it burst like a dam.

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Though the sedative was out of my system, I was even more exhausted than when I originally woke up. Traces of tears stained my cheeks, but I let my head hang. It took too much energy to keep my head high when I knew I was a failure.

The idea that I could single-handedly get all the information for an assault on Russia was delusional. I was cocky, naive, and now it could cost me my life. I couldn't help but wonder if Thierry would be foolish enough to come after me, or if the others would talk him out of it.

It did bring some comfort knowing that Four probably wouldn't let anyone come after me unless they had a foolproof plan. Now I just had to make sure that I survived long enough for a rescue and hope that Nita managed to keep the ruse going.

The concept of time and the pointlessness of it was something that quickly became normal to me. After Dell Island and Alaska, I had come to accept that days, weeks, months, didn't matter.

What mattered was that I was alive and I wanted to stay that way. My eyes were out of tears for now and I did my best to focus on the mental snapshots I had of those I loved. I let them flash by, one after the next, and I relaxed as I went through my own private photo album.

It was good that Russia had no plans of forgetting me any time soon. It was picture number 247 when there were loud footsteps and conversations coming towards my confinement.

"... kill her if you keep up your tactics." It was Nita.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Doctor. Are you attached to your guard dog?" A man spoke with a thick Russian accent. I could only assume this was either the equivalent of Doctor Connor or my torturer.

"She could be useful, Petya. Whether she's telling the truth or not." Doctor A was the deciding vote on my fate.

The trio grew quiet outside my door. There was a brief pause before there was the sound of clicking of locks. The thick metal door opened with a creak and only the man I hadn't met walked into the room I was being kept in. I'd seen him before, from Nita's memories. A rough-looking blonde, Doctor Petya had a permanent scowl.

"Doctors," my voice cracked as I attempted to speak. I begrudgingly lifted my head and I opened my mouth to speak again, but thought better of it and licked my lips instead.

Robot me didn't sass and if I could keep up that ruse, it'd be for the best. I focused on Nita. She looked tired, especially with her black eye, but she smiled nonetheless and gave me a brief nod. I knew better to take that as a sign of hope, but my heart did briefly flutter.

"Nita says you need your glasses to read. This true?" Petya demanded.

I nodded stiffly. "I do. I spent too much time on the computer."

The three exchanged a hesitant glance before Doctor A nodded to Nita. She stepped forward and reached a hand into her pocket. "Are you okay?"

"Always, Doctor." I breathed and my heart started to beat faster seeing Nita unscrewing the lid of a contact lens holder. Maybe hope wasn't dead. "Is that my new prescription, above the strength of my reading glasses?"

"It's what they removed from you upon our arrival." Doctor A clarified for Nita as she focused on placing the contacts into my eyes for me – left was regular, right had the camera. It was a strange feeling, but one I was more than welcome to have, knowing what this meant.

I blinked as blackness took over my vision. Evidently they didn't have the camera on back in Australia, but it was hope. Blind hope. "What did you need from me?"

"Doctor Petya has questions for you. We don't want you hurt, but if you lie or hide the truth then you will be," Doctor A said with a smirk before leaving, motioning for Nita to follow.