Waiting for Amber Skyy

Chapter 9

CW // Drowning

So of course, I tried to keep that "ability" to a minimum. But it was difficult, especially when I saw some of the kids that came back from testing. I could only reach out to the few cages beside me. At first some of the kids were startled, just like Leon, but soon craved for it once back in their cages. Not only did they press their bodies against their cages towards me, but they cried out when I told them I was too tired to help them. It was draining, and I usually ended up sleeping off the energy I gave away. Thankfully, the white coats didn't notice, but they probably did see how quickly the others were healing and put them through testing sooner than usual. That was probably the major factor keeping the kids at bay from me. Having to bear the remaining pain was better than going right back for another test.

I let out a huge sigh and slumped against the back of my cage, making the bars rattle. It woke up a nearby mutant and she sat up with a whine. I didn't dare to look over, knowing that she'll try to get me to "heal" her again (I assumed she was a she, she was so young). Hearing the soft coos from her cage, I closed my eyes and tried not to hear her. But they escalated into loud whines and whimpering, so I couldn't help it and opened my eyes.

She was staring towards a handful of scientists walking towards us, all in their usual lab coats. They were chatting immensely as a cart rolled behind them, a werewolf guy pushing it. The toddler scurried to the back of her cage, and I could tell she was shaking in fear, hoping she wouldn't get chosen. I tensed up, also hoping I wasn't next. But it had been a while since I've been through testing, so I had a hunch.

They stopped in front of both of our cages. I focused on their conversation.

"It's been at least a month and its growth has been phenomenal," one said with glee in their voice. Geez, giddy much?

"It has, and its speed is good too, but it needs to be tested more," another added.

"Has its wings come in yet?" I froze. They were talking about me. One of them bent down to look at me and squinted.

"I can't tell. Put it on the cart," they said and the big guy threw me on it, making my head smack against the bars. I groaned and hunched over, feeling nauseous. I faintly heard murmurs of discontent and then I was rolling away. Turns out I wasn't fully developed, at least not with my wings coming in. My shoulders always ached because of them, which indicated their growth, but it wasn't enough. I would've thought they would leave me behind because I wasn't ready, but they must've had other plans for me.

I glanced back to see the kid sigh in relief. I couldn't blame her.

𓆩 ────── 𓆪

I didn't bother to remember the route to the lab, because it was no use getting out of here. Once inside, they locked the door behind us as I stared into my knees. I wondered what they had in store for me today. Hopefully something not too intense.

"Okay put her in," I heard as large hands pulled me out of the cage. I writhed a bit from the harsh grip the werewolf dude had on me. The look he gave shut me up. He half-dragged me to a large glass tank towards the back of the room. It was a large cylinder at least six feet tall and the width of a coffee table and capped off at the top. It had a heavy duty door on it that a nearby white coat cracked open with a code. Before I could react the guy shoved me in harshly.

I slammed into the glass and rubbed my shoulder area. Of course, that's all I needed, more pain. I cursed under my breath as the door shut. The hell? I looked around, seeing a beveled lab room and a handful of scientists looking at me intensely. The big guy stood by the door with his arms crossed looking bored.

What were they going to do? Keep me isolated for hours or days on end? I eyed the stoic people before noticing large pipes around the room. There must have been hundreds of them overlapping each other and connecting and leading to... me. The tank. My heart started racing. The pipes held something, well at least transported something towards me. Was it a noxious gas? Were they going to kill me?

Before I could think of any other options, water splashed in and around my feet. I jumped, noticing the water level rising rapidly. I screamed. No, no, no, no this cannot be happening! They were going to drown me! I screamed again and banged on the glass as hard as I could. I slapped it, punched it, even tried to ram my body into it. It was no use, it was unbreakable. I could feel my heart pounding in my head, in my toes.

The water was up to my thighs now and I screamed again. How could they do this to me? Why me? How could this be another test? Did they want to drown me? They're sick! They're psychotic! They just love to watch innocent kids die like this!

I felt water lap around my armpits and I struggled to tread in it. I could swim fine, and tread water for hours, but it felt like I was trying to swim in molasses or something. I stretched my arms out and pushed myself up with the rising water, trying to keep my head above it. But once I got to the top, the water was already up to my neck. The beating was everywhere in my body, especially my head. They just wanted to drown me; that was their intention all along. They knew that I wasn't going to "develop" in time, and this was my punishment.

I pressed my face to the capped surface, feeling the water crawl up towards the top. I quickly took the deepest breath in and let the water consume me. Closing my eyes, I felt myself bob in the water. I tried to focus on keeping my heart steady, try to slow it to a minimum, but it was hard. I peeked out at the room, a blue beveled area with men holding clipboards. I wanted to cry, knowing their intentions, but I had to hold it out. Maybe they were testing my lung capacity or something. Maybe after a minute they would let me go.

But a minute passed, and it felt like my lungs were going to explode. My heart started to pick up again, and I knew I had to let it go. Maybe they didn't intend to kill me. This is a test after all. Maybe they would drain the tank, let me go, run some numbers, and keep testing my lung capacity. Hopefully I was right. Well, here goes.

I breathed out bubbles and coughed water back into my lungs. I choked, feeling the water surge into me. I tried to cover my mouth, but the water splashed inside me, and it hurt. It hurt like I was being thrown against a rock over and over again. It filled through my nose, my mouth, everywhere. I flailed, kicking the tank with as much force as possible. I gulped in water and squeezed my eyes tight, waiting for the rush of water to leave.

It never happened.