Sea Titan's Queen

Chapter Three: Part II

"Excuse me! Where are you taking her? Let me see those papers again!" an agitated voice, one I groggily recognized as that of my kind doctor, broke through my deep slumber and roused me to consciousness.

I cracked open my eyes, wincing as the overhead view of florescent lights assaulted me. I noticed the ceiling above me was moving, and then I realized as more of my senses came online — it was actually me that was moving.

I turned my head gingerly to the side, seeing that I was on my gurney and being wheeled down a hospital hallway by several people all surrounding me, but not in scrubs or white coats. No, they wore dark uniforms reminiscent of security guards. Some even had weapons holstered at their side, I noticed.

A jolt of alarm shot through me. This did not feel right at all...

"Ma'am, please let us do our job. You've done yours remarkably, but this is now a matter of international security. We will not harm her," a gruff male voice answered.

International security? What the –

"It's Doctor. And what in the world does this poor girl have to do with international security? She is in no way fit for travel!" Dr. Augustine echoed my thoughts.

"I'm afraid that's classified. Now please step back or my men will be forced to restrain you."

I realized we were now in an elevator, and dark uniformed figures around me were blocking my doctor from getting in.

I was terrified, but my body was too weak to react to the situation, and I could only gaze around me in distress, moving my limbs ever so slightly. My voice had returned though, and I yelled out as the elevator's doors closed, "Help! What are you doing? Where are you taking me? Someone help!"

"It will be alright Constance! I will be reporting this to your superiors," Dr. Augustine said.

"You do that. Ma'am," one of the officer people answered with a condescending tone as the elevator doors closed.

Shit. What the hell was I in for?

The man who was seemingly in charge stepped into my view, leaning over me as he spoke, "Apologies Miss Easton. I know you must be frightened, but please know we are doing this for your own protection, and indeed for the protection of humanity at large. You will be treated with the utmost care and respect and should not be in our custody for too long."

His words were clearly meant to be reassuring, but they were anything but. Protection of humanity? What the fuck?

"Excuse me, what?" I asked, dumbfounded.

"All of your questions will be answered when we reach our destination."

"Ok so where exactly is that? My dad will be wondering what happened to me you know."

"Don't worry, someone will be in contact with him to let him know what's going on and assure him of your wellbeing. And as for where we're go -. Ah, here we are!" The man exclaimed.

He had been interrupted by the ding of the elevator, and I glanced up at the illuminated screen above to see we were at level "B."

The basement. Oh good gawd, nothing good ever happened in basements...

I tried to keep my breathing steady and under control as I did on dives, trying to prevent myself from going into a full-blown panic attack. That would really not be helpful.

The doors opened and I was promptly wheeled out of the large elevator, entering an atmosphere much different from the hospital floor above. It was darker, with no windows, the hallway lined with occasional sturdy, metal doors labeled with numbers. We sped along said hallway — all five people helping to propel me along efficiently.