Thriving in The Dark [(TDM) ENG]

III

It was a gust of wind that woke me up. As soon as I felt the sharp cold on my skin, I jerked up and opened my eyes, but my vision was still blurred from the pain. Instinctively, I tried to cross my arms over my chest for warmth, but I was handcuffed to something I could not see well.

Memories of what had happened earlier came back to me, and a wave of panic assaulted me. 

I had so many questions... Where am I? Who brought me here and why? Where is Mom? Did she know everything? I didn't even get to say goodbye to Dad...

My vision slowly cleared up. I was in excruciating pain in every muscle in my body and had unbearable migraines.

That place looked like ... a hospital? I was in a crib and smelled a very strong odor of disinfectant, typical of hospitals. Then why was I handcuffed? Why wasn't Mom with me? Why wasn't I feeling even the slightest bit better?

Having completely regained my sight, I noticed some kind of poster attached to the wall in front of my crib. Printed on it was a pyramid divided into five lines of different colors. Green, blue, yellow, red, and orange. At the top of the poster was written 'Psi Identification System'. What the heck had I gotten myself into?

As if he had heard my thoughts, a man walked toward my crib, and when he saw that I was awake, he stopped and pulled out a notebook from his white coat. A doctor, perhaps.

"I see you are awake. My colleagues told me you gave them a hard time this morning." he said, snickering "You're probably wondering where you are. This place is called Thurmond, and it's a rehabilitation camp for all the kids who, like you, have survived the mutation. Do you know what that means? Has anyone explained it to you?"

I shook my head, confused, and he huffed.

"It means that you survived the disease and developed psionic abilities. Some people call them 'superpowers,' but unfortunately, this is not a comic book and you are not heroes. You will stay here until we find a cure, which I doubt. It says here that you are Yellow, that you were taken during a Collection, and that you caused some trouble for the PSFs on duty. You don't look like a quitter." he said.

"Gathering... PSFs...what are they?" I asked, pushing back the waves of panic that were assaulting me to focus on the present and get as much information as possible. I would let myself go later.

"Psi Special Forces are soldiers trained to work with you kids, take you to the camps and so on. A Collection is a preestablished day when parents who don't feel safe with their kids at home take the kids to school and the Psi Special Forces take them to the camps. That's your case, right?"

No. That wasn't the case, it couldn't be. "But-but Mom didn't know anything, did she? She didn't choose to abandon me," I asked, my eyes watery and my throat on fire.

He sighed. "Listen, little girl. You'll soon notice that I'm not like the other doctors, or like all the other people who work in this camp. You must not speak to them even at the brink of death. But you will understand later on. I will not lie to you like the girls in your cabin will try to do. If your mother took you to school, it means that abandoning you was her choice."

The man could have kicked and punched me, but it still would have hurt me less than that sentence. I scared Mom when I changed, and she decided to get rid of me. I had to take long deep breaths to keep myself from bursting into tears in front of him.

"What I really want to tell you is that this place is hell, for you as much as for us. It feeds itself on your weaknesses, your sensitivity." he paused to think "Leave the past behind and don't imagine a future outside of here. Disappointment will eat you up from the inside. Focus on the present and only look ahead of you, otherwise, you will die of it. But now that we know you are alive and well, it is time to take you to your new home." he bent down to free my wrists from the handcuffs and offered his shoulder to help me stand up. When I looked down and noticed that I had a large yellow X on the front of my white shirt, the doctor added, "This is your temporary uniform. They made you wear the shirt with your name on it to be better identifiable during the Collection. You will notice that your roommates are wearing a yellow uniform with numbers on the back. You'll get one in a few days, too. You'll have to memorize that number: it will be your new name from now on."