The Other One

Chapter Twenty

I no longer bother pretending to fit in with the Erudite. I sprint down the hall and follow the screams. I am lead to two metal doors that are locked shut, and there are no windows to climb through. Marie screams again. Come on...think... My gun. I rise my gun to the handle of the door, and fire. The door swings open and I run through, keeping my gun raised. Marie lays on a lab table that sits in the middle of the room, her limbs strapped down. She is surrounded by four nurses who now squat to the ground with their hands above their head.
"James!" Marie shrieks
"Marie!"
I run toward the smaller, glass table next to her and pick up a small knife from a tray that looks untouched.
"How'd you get here? How did you know I was here? How did you escape from the guards in Amity?" Marie pounds me with questions as I start cutting her left wrist free from the table.
"We don't have a lot of time." I reply to her. "There will be guards coming after me any second now." I start on her left leg. "What's going on in here?"
"They were torturing us. Serum after serum, needle after needle. I couldn't take it..." Her voice trails off and her eyes become red and wet. I never thought I'd see the day where Marie would cry. And she starts to cry - hard.
"Its okay now, its over." I reassure her, looking into her eyes so she knows I speak the truth. She nods and begins to dry her eyes with her sleeve. I break through the last strap and help her up.
"Now, where are the others?" I ask quickly.
"Down in there cells." She looks down. "James, you should know something..."
"What? Marie, what happened?" I demand.
"Arnold, he... Uh," she swallows down more tears, but the pain continues to linger in her voice. "He refused to take the serums. They took him away last night and when he didn't come back this morning..." She lets the tears fall from her eyes again. "...We knew what happened."
My heart sinks and my throat tightens. My body can't handle anymore pain. I physically cannot take the grief any longer, so I swallow hard and bite my tongue.
"Nobody liked him like I did." She continues.
"I know, he must have been an amazing friend." I say.
"No." She stops me. "I didn't like him like that. I liked him more."

My heart skips a beat and I take a step back. Marie, the tough as nails, wild, and courageous Marie likes Arnold? The innocent, caring, and hilarious Arnold?
He was too old for her.
She was too young for him.
But I can't judge her because if she loved him as much as I love Dove, than age is nothing but a number.

I don't know what to say or how to respond, so I pick up my gun and look her in the eyes.

"Lets get the others."