Becoming New

Chapter 14

I found myself once again in the school, Chloe staring at me like she had seen a ghost. Her face was as white as a sheet and her jaw dropped wide open. She wanted to say something, but so many people were passing that she resisted the urge.

"Chloe. I need to talk to you. Now," I say.

She nods, slowly breaking her trance. She lowers her head and takes a deep breath. Then she starts sprinting in the direction of hideout. I notice Summer staring at her, confused and unsure of what to do. I sprint after Chloe and Summer follows, her cat instincts pushing in. Her steps were light and quick, her running mimicking that of a cat.

We reach hideout in no time, but we find that the door had already been slammed closed. Through the door, I could hear Chloe's soft sobs as she cried. Summer gave me a worried look and I returned it. I knew that I went through things. So that's what I needed to do to get to her to help her. I took in a deep breath and walked through the door.

Chloe was sitting on a stool, her face wet and tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What have they done to you?!" Chloe wails.

I sigh. It was so sad. Chloe saw me. She didn't know what I was going through. But she saw her friend being modified and it was the saddest sight she had ever seen.

"They did more tests. I just got these. I don't know why they are doing this, but they are. I don't want it to happen though. I feel as if my life is being ruined. They are shredding me to pieces."

I hear a sob escape from Summers mouth. We both look at her and she clamped a hand over her mouth. She was trying to control her emotions, but it wasn't working out very well.

"It was my fault," Summer says, allowing the tears to stream down her cheeks.

"How could you?!" Chloe yelled.

She had forgotten all about her sadness. Now all she felt was anger. She lashed out at Summer with her comment. What I realized was that she didn't understand how guilty Summer had felt ever since she had been captured with me. She kept accusing herself for all the bad things that happened to me.

"I tried to rescue her. And I failed! I was captured with her and they immediately started testing! I tried to rescue her from this and I failed! And now look at what has happened to us!" Summer wailed.

Chloe immediately recognized the guilt etched deep into Summers voice. I watched her features soften. Her voice grew soft and gentile as she spoke.

"It's not your fault"

"I keep trying to tell her that and she won't listen," I say.

"It doesn't matter. She will learn and figure it out eventually"

"Thanks, Chloe"

Chloe pulls out her phone and checks the time.

"Everyone keeps getting suspicious where I disappear to 20 minutes before school starts. I have 5 minutes. I better go," she says.

I nod.

"Bye, Chloe," I say.

"Thank you for visiting me, even if you can't be here in school with me," she says.

She slips out the door and I find the world fading away back to a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, I found Summer in tears.

"I failed you," she sobbed, "and this is what it has lead to."

I shook my head. She wouldn't get it through her thick skull that it was NOT her fault. Her sobs were ruining the old Summer that I once knew.

Perhaps John saw her like this and took advantage. Maybe he was giving her a syringe that made this thought the one and only though that she had. And then he made the pain so strong that she couldn't stop moaning about it. "It's my fault, my fault, my fault!" That is all you hear from her.

"It's not your fault," I soothed for the millionth time.

She wiped away the tears and mumbled that she was sorry. I looked at her. She truly was a wreck and I could tell that the tests were not helping her at all. I desperately wanted to ask her some questions, but wasn't sure whether or not it would be rude. After some debating, I decided to go ahead.

"Hey, Summer?" I asked, trying to keep my soothing tone.

"Yes?"

"Why do you keep on blaming yourself that it was your fault that I was captured and tested on and wasn't able to escape? I mean, is that the only thing on your mind?"

"It's the only thing that I can think about. I mean, if I had succeeded, then you would be at school with your friend and I would be here, undergoing your treatments as punishment."

"But you don't need to be punished. What you did was heroic. Your letting what happened take over your mind. You need to forget it. I want the old Summer back. I miss the old Summer. Where did she go? Why hasn't she come back? My capture was a long time ago. Why do you still cry? Should you not look to the future for another way out to save yourself?"

"I only need to save you."

"You must come"

"I can't"

"And why can't you?"

"Because," she sighed,"I just can't. When I was removed as a test subject and became Johns personal assistant, they, of course, had to update my file. I was scanned and put into a computer. It tracks wherever I go. Even if I leave the facility, John has camera's everywhere. All over the globe. If I left with you, then they would track us through the cameras. And they probably would install more cameras to track where I am and where I had been. They would find me soon enough. It's too dangerous for me to leave."

Despite the sadness of her story, I smiled inside. This was the true Summer. This was the Summer I needed. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything, the cell door swung wide open.

"You're coming with me," John said.