Orange is a burning color

Cate

I woke up in the infirmary, just in time to see a female doctor walk in. My head felt groggy but I had to fight through it. I wasn't about to slip up. I watched the woman smile at me and start towards me.
"It's alright, you'll be fine." She said as she sat on the chair beside. She grabbed a wet cloth and started to wipe the dirt and blood off my face. I went stiff. Once she was done she put the cloth down and smiled.
"Are you in any pain?" She asked shining a light into my eyes.
I pulled a bit against the Velcro cuffs. Trying to make distance between me and the woman.
"Not much anymore." I said stronger then I meant too.
She was wearing blue scrubs with a white lab coat, her skin was pale and she had platinum blond hair that disappeared into curtain behind, but that could've been because of my eyesight. It had gotten worse over the years a bit. I tuned out everything and focused on her.
"My name's Dr.Begbie. I'm a volunteer with the Leda Corporation." She said.
I immediately sat up straighter, eyes going wide. Some kids had said that was where they sent some of the Reds and Yellows.
"Leda? Do you know my brother Andrew? He's a red." It escaped my mouth before I could keep it shut.
She gave a surprised smile. "I do actually, but let's not-"
"Is he okay?" I interrupted.
"Very. But let's please focus on you." She said. "Do you know why you're here Elliot?"
"They turned on the calm control. I'm guessing someone threw a rock at a PSF." I responded.
Or they'd been trying to fry my brain.
Dr.Begbie had no hesitation as she unstrapped my wrists and ankles. I saw the bloody towel she'd used to clean my face on the guardrail. I ran my hand over my face. When I pulled then away I saw the dried blood from my nose, lips and a cut on my forehead.
"You cut your forehead somehow." She said with a sincere frown. "May I ask a few questions?"
It was rare any adult asked permission. She must be doing this for a reaction, well I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.
"Sure." I said as guarded as possible.
Dr.Begbie pulled a pen from her pocket. "Elliot, when they turned on the Calm Control, do you remember falling forward and hitting your face?"
"No," I said confused. "I was.....already on the ground, and I didn't fall I accidentally bashed my knee into my face." The smile on her face stretched, and there was a sense of smugness to it.
"Do you usually experience this much pain and bleeding from the Calm Control?"
"No."
I couldn't see what she was writing, only that her hand and pen were flying across the paper, writing as though her life depended on it.
I stayed deathly still. She's a camp controller, she's one of the people who took Andrew. I kept reminding myself over and over again.
"I see from your chart that classified as 'abnormal intelligence' in sorting," Dr.Begbie said after a while. "The scientist that sorted you—did he run you through all the of the tests?"
Cold ran down my spine. She knows. She must know. I won't be like Andrew, I won't allow myself to become a rat in a lab. I thought. I kept my face guarded.
The sound of boots against pristine tile forced my eyes away from her. Each step was a warning, and I knew they were coming before Dr.Begbie turned her head. She moved to push herself away from bed, but I didn't let her. I couldn't let her walk out and expose my secret. I grabbed her coat sleeve.
"It was worse this time," I whispered and let got of her sleeve.
Dr.Begbie only had enough time to nod. The slightest head movement before a hand ripped open the curtain.
The Psi that opened the curtain looked like the grinch without green skin.
He cast one look at me, his top lip peeling back in annoyance, "Are you done with her, you still have one more," he said annoyed. More?
She blew out a sigh and set her clipboard down on my lap.
"Thank you, Elliot," she said. "If you're pain gets worse, call for help, okay?"
She was definitely crazy. Who was gonna help? The kid throwing up a few curtains down or possibly the other unconscious kid?
I stayed still as she turned to go, dragging the curtain back around with her. Nice of her to give me privacy at least, but stupid considering the giant cameras everywhere.
After I was sure no one was going to open the curtain, I looked down at the clipboard. I knew that no was watching me on the camera. Who was going too? There were three thousand kids stretched across the rest of the camp, what was one sick girl going to matter. I flipped it over quietly.
It wasn't my medical history.
It wasn't my current injuries, or lack thereof.
It wasn't even my answers to Dr.Begbie's stupid questions.