Refracted

- - 31 - -

We came to a set of double doors with a BioLock on them. There were no windows so I couldn't even get a glimpse of what horror I was about to be thrown into. The scientist hauled me off the gurney and forced me to stand up while they unlocked the BioLock with a scan of their iris, the exact same lock as the ones on the bedroom doors of the compound. I shivered at the similarities between these places and cringed at Lucas' betrayal.

The left door clicked and hissed with a release of pressure as it popped open. I gulped and the scientist pushed me inside before closing the door behind me.

I looked around the room in amazement; it was filled with people and people I knew too. Juan was playing a card game with some other people in the corner nearest to me while others sat on couches and watched HoloPads, some were simply talking. I searched for Rachel before chastising myself. She was the one who put us here not the one trapped here. Shaking my head, I tried to spot Elyse instead. She was slouched against the far wall in the most isolated space, her head was burrowed in her knees as she sat in the foetal position. I was about to head over to her when Harleen met me and steered me off in a completely different direction.

"Wow, Verity! Everyone's been talking about you."

I nodded but the guilt was eating me alive. I had led us here. I had fallen for Rachel's tricks! I had got distracted by a girl and the consequences were the rebellion being ceased and thousands of lives being lost.

Harleen prattled on.

"I know I didn't know much about you when we first met but isn't it amazing that we're friends, right? I mean, of course we're friends. It's so awesome that you stood up to Lucas and risked your life to try and save us all."

Damn that curiosity.

I pulled Harleen to one side and forced us to turn away from the cameras as much as possible.

"What do you mean? When did I risk my life?"

"When you confronted Lucas personally on the stage, that's what started the rebellion in the homes of Zyphia. You went up there despite the VISORs and contradicted his lies. You proclaimed the truth to everyone! Didn't you?"

"I never did that."

"Of course, you did; you're just being modest. We all saw it: Jackson, Elyse, Sam and I. We held off the crowd at the bottom of the stage while you risked your life."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I could have sworn that I didn't do that and yet there were witnesses. Someone had to have done that because what else could have started the rebellion? I doubted Lucas' rallying speech of fear was what lit the fire in those undisciplined hearts. It could have been someone else too but Harleen was sure it was me; I had to ask Elyse.

I turned away from Harleen and suddenly walked off. Initially, she attempted to follow me but soon gave up and went to join her friends. How had this place not even affected her? Did she still think there was a rebellion? Did anyone know the truth?

Elyse didn't even acknowledge me as I sat down next to her. She didn't lift her head, or move a muscle. It was as if I was a ghost.

"Elyse?" I asked.

She moved her head up and faced me dead in the eyes. Her own eyes were bloodshot as a sign of extreme fatigue and her whole upper half was covered in bruises. I sucked in a deep intake of breath while simultaneously trying not to scare her. Her hand lay limp on the floor and I tried to ask permission to take it without saying anything. Whatever I was going through, this was far worse.

She didn't respond to my offer, gone again in her own world. Hesitating, I stroked it first and assumed the lack of acknowledgement meant that she was okay with it. I moved closer to her and picked up her hand, resting it in both of mine. We stayed like that for while until eventually she moved her head over to my shoulder and rested it there. I played with her matted hair and tried to pretend it was her usual soft, blonde curls.

We were both content to remain like that and we did.

Some time later, the doors hissed again like they were opening but I felt the immediate fear in the room. This wasn't like when I was entering. Suddenly, two security guards stormed in, dressed like they were fighting a war. Everyone in the room looked down to the floor, except me as I stared at the two figures walking towards me. I nearly submitted as they grew closer and closer but instead of taking me, they took Elyse.

At their first touch, Elyse's eyes snapped open and she was alert to them attempting to snatch her away from me. She didn't relinquish her grasp on my arm and hand and I didn't let go either. Our malnourished bodies were too weak though and we weren't strong enough to hold on for long.

Her fingers slipped out my hand and they carried her away kicking and screaming.

"Verity!"

I didn't know how much time passed after that but I was silent again. I ignored everyone and soon they got bored of me, even Harleen left me alone. I guessed she had realised that I was one of the most broken out of all of us and not the shiny, new hero she had been dreaming of.

They came for me too after Elyse's departure. I didn't resist though, there was no point. Their goal in bringing me here had been exceeded and the fight had completely gone out of me. They could do what they wanted. I didn't care.

As I was practically dragged down corridors, back to an interrogation room, I sensed the Shadow watching me. It lurked round every corner and I willed it to save me, to invade the guards' bodies and let me be free. But the Shadow worked for them and it did their bidding. Its only role was to torture me and it has succeeded. They had won; I had no hope left.

We eventually reached another room, probably the same one as before but this time it contained a singular chair. Lucas was already in there, waiting for me. With mild surprise, a realised that a day must have passed since I had last seen him, it most certainly didn't feel like a day, perhaps a couple of hours. Time in this place was all screwed up anyway. I walked in and sat down on the line chair.

"I heard of your meeting with Elyse," he prompted.

I didn't reply.

"Oh for the love of Terra, Verity. We all saw you talking in the common room so I know you are perfectly capable of doing it. If you refuse to speak, you will be punished until you do."

I waited but knew it was futile, as did Lucas. When I next spoke, my voice sounded like I had aged thirty years. It was cracked and wobbly and it didn't belong to me.

"What do you want to know?"

"Oh Verity, it's not a case of what I want to know but what you can learn."

"I don't understand."

"You will, in time. Now, let's begin."