The Facility

Chapter Six

Thursday, October 5th, 2018
6:45 a.m. Fen-Rock Facility
Meredith Gray

A warm hand glided up and down her bare back, and every once in a while his fingers would spray out across her spine, tickling her with their feathery touches. Meredith would tuck her chin into her shoulder, hiding her soft giggle under skin and silk sheet.

When the soothing hand slowed to a stop, Meredith gazed lazily up at him, losing herself in his green eyes. She hummed softly in response. She hadn't been touched by a man in what felt like eons, and now laying here, she never wanted to leave his embrace.

"Sometimes it's hard to see the non-conventional beauty. You're so much more to me than something physical." He brushed the damp hair off the back of her neck, kissing the exposed skin. "Though I don't mind looking at you."

A sort of sappy smile slid onto her lips with an ease she missed. She slid her fingers down his naked stomach.

"Dido."

He leaned in to kiss her, his lips pressing heavily down on her bruised ones. The tingles she felt all evening skipped across the length of her spine. She needed this. She wanted this.

Meredith woke with a start, her phone alarm reading 6:45 in the morning. She reached across the bed and turned it off, rolling back over her hands spread out to the empty space on the mattress. Her fingers fell off the edge quickly, her body filling most of the twin-sized bed. She clung to the sheets, her breath fanning her bare hand.

Turning her head, Meredith stared up at the white ceiling, her eyes shifting in and out of focus.

Her mind slowly moved to work, that and her dreams were the only things she really ever thought about these last few months. Even Diana was casted away in the untouched parts of her mind at times. She felt like a terrible mother when she realized this. But Meredith needed to learn more about Fen-Rock, and last night's tour did little to explain the cultural dynamics of the facility.

Stretching her legs and cracking her toes, Meredith felt the morning's haze start to leave. Her bare feet touched down on the runner laid next to the bed. She wiggled her toes in the cool touch of the shag. When she stood, her knees and back made their usual popping sounds as she stretched.

Meredith blandly gazed around the cramped room. Everything was white, the walls, the floors, the sheets, and the furniture. Whoever designed this room had never stepped foot on Redd's boat, the whole nine square feet screamed simple and dull. In some ways it made Meredith feel as though she was in a sanatorium rather than a high security prison, not that there was much difference to begin with.

Meredith made her way to the bathroom and after a quick hand search, the narrow room was illuminated in a bright fluorescent glow. First moved to the sink, she looked in the mirror and she could see the obvious, dark rings under her eyes and the ghostly touch on her cheeks, absent of any lively glow. Forcing herself to look away, she moved to the toilet.

Meredith was washing her hands when the soft ring of her phone filled the room. She let out a muffled curse and quickly dried her hands. Rushing into the other room, with slightly damp hands she answered the phone without looking at the caller ID.

"Meredith speaking."

"Ms. Gray, it's Eddie." Eddie's hurried voice carried through the speaker.

"Eddie, how are you?" she asked politely.

"I'm doing well, Ms. Gray, thank you for asking." There was a brief pause before he asked. "And how are you?"

Meredith's leg bounced in annoyance, she was far too impatient for these formalities. "Fine. Why did you call Eddie?"