Blank Slates

Chapter 18

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she squinted, trying to comprehend where she was. At first, all she saw were blobs of white and blurry lights above her. Machines beeped and whirred around her, the noises creating a cold, sterile ambience. As she slowly came to her senses, she felt herself lying on some sort of bed, although not the most comfortable one, and her eyes soon fell on various tubes attached to her arm and body. She immediately snapped to attention, her heart racing, the heartbeat monitor seemingly getting louder and beeping more frequently. No no no, this couldn't be happening. Her stomach turned, her toes curled, and her hands clenched into fists, a wave of discomfort washing over her, soaking in to the bone, as thoughts of previous punishments shot through her mind. No, not another medical experiment. No, not again. Those hurt the worst, in the worst ways, in the worst places, and lasted longest. It had only happened to her once, but she swore that she would do anything to avoid having to go through it again. But this was something she couldn't prevent, something completely out of her control. The Insurgents could do whatever they wanted and she could do nothing to stop it. Would it kill her? If it would, why did they wait this long to do it? Though odd, it was certainly not off the table.

Almost immediately after she'd awakened, an unfamiliar man dressed in white with black horn rimmed glasses perched on an aquiline nose, appeared at her side. He looked older than both Kairo and her, though not by much, and he had neatly combed blond hair and dark hazel eyes.

"Hey, easy there," he spoke, trying to calm her down, his voice low with a gruff edge. She made a move to pull the IV from her arm, but he grabbed onto her hand firmly and set it back down on the bed. "Kairo told me not to tie you down, but I will if I see fit."

She looked at him wide-eyed, her legs slowly sliding up the bed as she felt the need to curl up into a ball and hide away. "What...what are you doing to me?" she asked, her voice unsteady. "What did I do wrong? Did I anger you somehow? Whatever I did...I didn't mean to...I'm sorry. Tell me what you want from me. I—"

His gaze softened slightly. "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you. You've just been pretty sick so Kairo brought you to our infirmary ward. I've been looking after you for the past few days, and you seem to be slowly getting better."

She didn't react for a few long seconds, taking in his words. Memories from when she was last conscious began slowly seeping back in. She remembered the pain she was in, lying on the floor of her cell, trying to get some rest, but being unable to. She remembered different people coming in and out, talking about things she couldn't understand. She remembered being kicked roughly by some girl...what was her name...Caris, was it? She remembered Kairo coming in and picking her up as if she weighed nothing. Things got hazy from there, but they were beginning to make sense. "Help her," Kairo had said. That was the last thing she remembered.

She exhaled slowly, relaxing a little in her bed. "Thank you. But why...why are you doing this?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Me? I'm doing it because it's my job."

"Oh... I meant, why are you helping me?"

"I just said it's because it's my job."

She bit her lip, wondering for a moment if she should continue. "No, why are you taking care of me? I'm just...a prisoner."

"What, would you rather have been left there to die?"

Her eyes widened. "No, I didn't mean...no, I'm sorry. Never mind, I just...never mind, I'm sorry..."

He smirked, chuckling to himself, as she continued to stare at him wide eyed. "Just accept the help for what it is and don't question it."

She nodded quickly. "Of course."