The Outsider

CHAPTER 2: The Laboratories

A few months later...

I yawn and stretch wearily as my alarm clock bleeps arrogantly on my bedside table. I slide out of bed and get ready for the day. Once I'm done, I sit on the boring, grey bed. My room is small-ish, but brightly lit. The walls are tiled white and the floor is cold concrete. My feet shiver against it, even when I'm wearing socks. It's bare, too, nothing more than a bed, a dresser, a bedside table and a bathroom. I lie back, staring at the concrete ceiling. This is my life now. Soon, I hear a knock at the door. I unlock it, curious. Nobody ever knocks around here, they just barge in. Outside is a woman, her hair tied back taught and dressed in a pure white suit. She smiles, and it actually looks genuine.

"Good Morning, Heather," She says, "My name is Doctor Paige."

"Er - I think you have the wrong girl. I'm not Heather. My name is Y/N," I say, slightly taken aback. Barely anyone speaks to me, never mind introducing themselves. Doctor Paige's smile transforms into a look of pity.

"Haven't you been told? Everyone's names are being changed," She says sympathetically, her smile fading. I remember back to when I signed the form for Drake. Heather had been written inside the renamed box. Is that who I am now? Heather?

"What if I don't want to be Heather?"

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice."

I sit back on my bed, sullen and confused. My name is the only thing I have left from my parents, and now they're taking it away? No. They can't do that.

"My name is Y/N."

"Heather, listen. I don't want this to be difficult. If you don't accept your new name now, more... drastic measures will be taken later."

"My name is Y/N."

"Look, if you had a choice, I'd definitely let you keep your old name, it's lovely, but -"

"My name is Y/N."

Doctor Paige sighs. She says she'll be back tomorrow. I am dreading it now. Three weeks of solitary confinement in a dull, average room with a bunch of doctors taking me for tests every day. It's been torture. All I have is a notepad and pen - I doodle in it all day long. It's the only thing I can do, really. I flip through the pages, looking back at drawings of flowers and rivers, glimpses of serenity in this violent world.

Later that night, Doctor Paige comes in again.

"Good Evening, Heather," she says smoothly.

"Y/N."

Doctor Paige gives me a wry smile.

"You know... once you accept your new name, you'll be moved into the barracks with the others," says the Doctor, clearly bribing me, but it might be protocol.

This piqued my interest. Others? I won't be alone? I consider her point. I'll still remember my old name, even if I don't use it...

Snap out of it, Y/N! I tell myself.

"What happens if I don't accept my new name?" I ask. I need to measure the pros and cons.

Doctor Paige looks at me, silently, then says, "You'll be kept here until you do."

With that, she shuts the door and leaves.

The next few days are stressful. All the doctors call me Heather, and I honestly can't be bothered correcting them. They won't stop. I doubt if they even know it isn't my real name. The tests are constant, my arm is itchy from all the needles they stick in me. Sometimes I consider running, but I remember my Dad. The mad eyes, the bloody teeth... the thought brings tears to my eyes. There are plenty of cranks out there. I'd never last a day.