The Serum

T W E N T Y - S E V E N.

The capital is huge. White marble buildings seem like they're going to pierce the dome, the turrets of the White House and Capital building the highest and most impressive. 

My hands and face are pressed to the cool glass as our private car easily navigates the windy streets of Washington DC. I never truly understood why there's a state named Washington, and the capital's name is Washington DC. 

"Will you stop that? You look like an idiot." Lucas snaps, twisting on the leather seat. I give him the stink eye, crossing my eyes. I like to frequently remind him that I don't give a whit about what he thinks about me. 

"No, I don't think I will." I grin impishly as he grumbles, but turns back around. The large government buildings are getting farther and farther away as we go. Wherever we're going. You would think that since we got the stupid vaccine in the first place, we would get to know more.

Apparently not. I'm still in the dark, just like I had been when we first took on the mission. 

Our driver is a bulky, bald guard with a body that's way too large for his head. Honestly, it looks like a golf ball compared to the rest of him. Lord knows how he managed to squeeze in the tiny seat. 

"Hey, Stoneface, are we there yet?" I knock on the glass divider. But he remains silent, as he has every time he's asked. 

I sit back, defeated.

Finally we turn and enter this private facility. It's surrounded by wrought iron gates, with terribly sharp points. There are more impossibly buff guards surrounding the gates, looking at us through tinted sunglasses. Fear lances my gut. Wherever we are, it's definitely top-secret. It sends fear and exhiliration speeding through my body. 

We come to a toll booth and Stoneface rolls down the window, sharply nodded.

"Are these the kids?" The guard instead the booth asks in a gruff voice.

"They are."

"Alright, you're cleared to go, Kade." 

The gravel cracks and pops under the car tires, kicking up on either side of us. The facility is a block of solid metal and concrete, a freckle on the open roads on either side of us. I had been so excited to be here I hadn't even noticed that we had left the main city. 

Stoneface opens our doors and we slide out. Another professional looking women briskly takes us from Kade, silently bringing us inside. While it looks like a fort on the outside, inside it looks like a...

hospital. 

My gut churns at the scent of sharp cleanliness and vaccines. Hospitals always make me a bit woozy. 

"Hey, kids!" President Harper strides towards us and I force to keep the creeping scowl over my face. The president has been getting on my last nerve. Based on the twitching faces of the others, they feel the same. Lord knows how this man has been in office for 8 years. No wonder the country's falling apart. 

"Mr. President," greets Oliver stiffly. 

"Beautiful place, isn't it?" 

"Sure," I say sardonically. If President Harper knew I had been sarcastic, he didn't show it. He rubs his hands together, whooshing past us. After a stupid moment, the four of us hurry after him.

"I've brought you here for a very important reason." He says gravely. I roll my eyes. "Today, we are going to conduct an... experiment of sorts."

I don't like the way he said that. 

"What kind of experiment?" Lucas asks, treading cautiously. 

"Oh, nothing harmful." President Harper waves a hand. 

"But what is it?"

A flash of annoyance flickers across his face but he schools it into that fake smile.

"We are going to test the serum."