Subject One

XI. Skin

Luca stares at me as if I have grown horns on my head. I wave my one hand in front of his glassy-eyed face.

"Hello? Someone in there?" I snap my fingers.

"You would willingly go to Daphne so I don't get a Reprimand?" He asks, dumbfounded. He must think that my distance earlier meant I had no care for him, which is completely false. While I'm smart enough to be on my guard with him, I can't ignore the fact that he was the only being on this shuttle that treated me like an equal, and I owed him for that.

"Of course," I say. "I've seen your mother, and I'd rather not let that happen to anyone, even my hard-headed, cocky doctor that's a pain in my ass."

He pauses.

"Just take me. I'll be okay. I can hold my own, I promise."

"I can't just hand you over to her." Luca seems torn. He starts to pace back and forth. "Fuck it, I'll take the Reprimand. Let them terminate me, I don't give a--"

I grab his arm and it causes him to freeze.

"I would just go myself but I don't have access to the subject's lab. Let's just make this as painless as possible. Do you have time to talk with her before you have to do your justices?"

"Yes, I..."

"Alright, then. Take me to Daphne and go ahead and tell her what you expect with me being in her care. I'm sure she will understand."

"You don't know her, Margot." Luca hisses. "You don't know what she's capable of."

"Trust me, I've been through worse. Ever since I woke up my life has been a cake-walk. There were a few bumps along the way, sure, but I'd take this over the slums any day." I pull him along and we head out the door. My hand drops as soon as we're in public. Seeing the camera hidden in the room earlier makes me more cautious of what I say and do. For all I know, they have cameras all over the place. Watching. Listening.

Do they have cameras in my room? Luca's?

The thought is terrifying.

"I don't like this." Luca whispers just loud enough for my ears as I walk behind him, letting him lead me toward an unknown thirty days of justices. The thought of being in anyone's care beside Luca's is full of unknowns that I don't care to think about but it's just the way it is. With my time in the old world, I've learned to take the joys of life with a grain of salt and to expect that they won't last long. If you believe anything else then all you will know is devastation.

Besides, it's only thirty days, how bad could it be?

We stop short at the entrance to the subject's wing. Luca recomposes himself quickly and then strides in, playing every part of the noble doctor, despite having been on trial just moments ago. Doctors and nurses stare, and I'm surprised that I'm not the brunt of their looks anymore. All eyes are on him. We'll have to be extra careful now.

The hallway seems to go on for miles but we eventually reach the end where the large metal door sits tucked into the wall. The subject's lab. Exclusive, private, and oh-so-cold. Goosebumps raise on their own accord and I swear I feel them where my arm used to be. I scratch at the end of my arm. It itches.

"We can turn away right now." Luca whispers with his back turned to me. "You don't have to do this."

"I do," I tell him. "There is nowhere else to go."

Luca sighs and types a code into the keypad and scans his fingerprint before opening the door and ushering me inside. It's freezing cold.

"How are you expected to live here for thirty days in this?" I ask as I wrap my good arm around what's left of the other one to try and get some warmth. My eyes scan the lobby, which looks the same as the first time I was taken here. At the end of the hallway is the same mantra in bold black letters. ADAPT. Many desks are scattered throughout, overflowing with test tubes and small machines. There are less doctors here today, only a few mill about, focusing on their work after giving Luca brief, even somewhat sympathetic glances.