Refracted

- - 19 - -

Anxiously, I watched the DigiClock as it ticked its way round to midnight. The nurse had swapped shifts to a younger boy who obviously had less experience than the woman before him. From the corner of my eye, I could see him. His eyelids drooped but he was still attempting to fight the futile battle against sleep. There! His eyes fully closed and they didn't open again for a while.

1, 2 , 3....

I counted all the way to one hundred before braving even shifting an inch. I had to be certain he wouldn't wake up before I left for the abandoned wing. The thought of going back there terrified me but I knew it was something I had to do, plus Elyse would be there too. At first she would be annoyed and angry with me but I hoped she'd understand. I was never one to just sit by and let others fight my battles and I was the one that dragged her into this so the least I could do was partake.

Satisfied that the nurse was now oblivious, I crept out of my hospital bed and searched for my clothes. They were neatly folded on the armchair that Elyse had been sitting on earlier. Perfect. Endeavouring to make as little noise as possible, I got dressed and left the infirmary, the doors clicked as they closed but other than that I had been silent.

Now, I had to find my way back to the abandoned wing. This part of the compound I was unfamiliar with but I heard movement on the right tunnel so the only other choice was left. Attracting attention was most certainly not something I wanted to do and being caught was unimaginable.

The corridors were longer here but that gave me hope and I hadn't seen anyone yet. Gloomy darkness was in front of me and behind me now, everything was so much scarier in the dead of the night but I pressed on. I felt it suffocating me. Eventually, I came to the dormitories which confirmed that my path was the correct one. I paused at the corner to ensure no one was coming or going. Then I continued.

Click! A door right in front of me creaked open and a figure crept out. I ducked back the way I came and they disappeared into the darkness, I doubted they saw me but my heart was still racing and adrenaline coursed through my veins. Keeping at a safe distance, I tailed the figure to the abandoned wing where they stopped.

"So you decided to disobey my orders."

I sighed, knowing the act was up.

"What did you expect me to do? I couldn't just let you fight my battle for me."

"It's my battle too," Elyse replied.

I guessed it was but I still felt bad for dragging her in this deep. Our actual lives were at stake, then again, when hadn't they been?

There was no point in remaining behind so I jogged ahead to catch up to Elyse. My footfalls were soft but still echoed in the silence, earning me a severe shushing from her.

"Sorry," I murmured.

I followed Elyse deeper into uncharted territory, her hands guided me in the darkness until we stopped, deep enough into the maze. She rustled around in her pockets before finding something and snapping it on. Immediately, the tunnel was illuminated by the neon green haze of a GlowStix.

"I thought a torch would draw too much attention," she explained.

We walked on. Tension was radiating from Elyse's body and I recognised what she was searching for: a cave-in. Proof that we hadn't been deceived and that this wing was only abandoned because of health risks.

We saw the soot on the walls and floors. We saw debris and rubble from holes in the walls. We even saw shattered glass in places where dividers has been smashed. We didn't see a cave-in.

We also didn't see an animal.

Upon reaching, the last place I remembered, we halted. This time, it was my blood that stained the concrete floor, blood-red footprints leading away from it.

"Somebody picked me up here. I was close to exhaustion after getting trapped in one of those classrooms and they found me."

I tried so hard to remember but I could recall nothing other than the same, undefined shapes as before.

"They must have left me elsewhere for Juan to find me," I explained to Elyse.

"Lead the way then," she replied as she handed me the GlowStix.

Eager to get out of there as soon as possible, I took the GlowStix and followed the footprints further down the corridor.

They stopped at another room, not far away from the classrooms. I forced open the door and stepped into a massive auditorium with more rows upon rows of seats. Ignoring the growing déjà vu, I walked towards the stage where a wooden frame lay deserted. Two thick ropes, hung from the top beam with wrist sized holes knotted in them. More blood on the floor. I cringed, not knowing if it was mine or Rachel's. This blood covered more ground and was spread thinner, signs of a fight. Rachel's blood then, I wasn't conscious to fight. Again, I didn't know which was worse.

I left the room and Elyse silently followed.

We continued deeper and deeper into the abandoned wing until we came up to a dead end.

"Should we split up and search?" Elyse suggested.

I nodded in reply, utterly in awe of what I was seeing. In great big, black letters the words: 'Protect, preserve, prosper' adorned the walls.

"Why is the government campaign slogan written across the walls?" I wondered out loud. If it was possible, my heart beat harder. Soon it was sure to explode.

Elyse snapped another red GlowStix, creating an eerie mist of colour. She proceeded to then stand next to me and read the propaganda for herself. It didn't make sense. This writing represented the very things we were supposed to despise, to oppose. Yet, it was written on the walls of our safe haven?

Nausea was building in my stomach and I felt the very real urge to throw up. My head pounded and my fractured ribs felt tight. The answer was locked away in my subconscious, something my brain was refusing to tell me. We needed more evidence.

I turned away from the slogan and investigated one of the nearby rooms. We had passed the classrooms a while back and now I appeared to be in a common room. Faded sofas and chairs were scattered about the room with space for a primitive Visual HoloPad in the centre (what Earthlings used to call TVs as I recalled from one of my many pointless school lessons). This place brought up a lot of painful memories but I wasn't sure why since the rest of the compound didn't.

"Verity!"

I heard Elyse quietly call from the next room. I went I find her and saw her staring at the metal frame of a bunk bed, her GlowStix pressed right up close. My mind flashed back uncontrollably to hundreds of memories and suddenly the answers from my subconscious were unlocked.

It felt like I was treading through a swamp as I walked over to Elyse. The nausea accumulated and I started retching but I had to see, had to confirm what I already knew.

I peered down at where Elyse's gaze was directed and read the familiar wording, engraved on the steel ladder:

'PROPERTY OF THE UNITED NATIONS."

It all made sense: the coverup of the fire, the lie about a cave-in, the abandonment of the wing, the obsession with footprints not left by us at the tunnel entrances.

We were in a facility.

I was back.