Today, I had been assigned to work in "The Rainbow Room". I didn't know where that was or what my duties in there were, but judging by the name, I felt slightly optimistic of it being better than any of my previous assignments.
The head orderly led me down the hallways of the second underground level to a set of double doors that looked identical to all of the other doors for the rooms that didn't belong to the subjects. When he pushed it open, I found a room with a rainbow pattern painted across its walls, aside from the door and the mirror--which I assumed went one way for observation. There were tables, chairs, and shelves filled with toys and games. It looked like some sort of playroom.
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"You are to stand in your designated corner to watch over the subjects. Make sure they are behaving at all times and stay out of trouble."
He handed me a stick that I immediately recognized upon receiving it.
"Wh-why are you giving me this?" I looked at him in horror. Was I going to torture another child today? This time with a stun baton?
"To use in the most extreme circumstances," he answered as if it was obvious.
I stood alone in the corner next to the mirror for about ten minutes before the doors bursted open. Children of various ages, all with shaved hair and wearing hospital gowns, flooded into the room. I spotted Four among the crowd, but Six was nowhere to be seen.
Probably still recovering in the infirmary from yesterday. A wave of guilt washed over me as the memory of my fingers on the switch replayed itself. I guess I brought her candy for nothing.
As I scanned over all the unfamiliar faces, my eyes finally landed on the blonde who was holding the door open. Though I had heard his name being called with Brenner this morning, I hoped he would stay in this room with me. We didn't have to talk, we didn't have to do anything, we didn't even have to make eye contact. I just wanted his company. Standing in the other corner of the room next to me.
But I knew my hopes were in vain when I saw the slight nod Brenner gave him, signalling for Peter to leave. Without catching his gaze, I watched him disappear behind the light grey doors.
Having no one to keep me company, I turned my attention to the children in front of me. There were young children who looked less than a decade old playing with cars and dolls. A little more older children, who would be in middle school had they been raised in the outside world, toyed with mazes and blocks. Then the oldest, which consisted of late teenagers, played more complex games like chess and putting together empty puzzles.
I watched in amazement as a small child crawled along the rainbow path that was painted across the floor after a toy fire truck. The truck seemed to be curving along the track on its own, but really, it was the boy who was controlling its movement with his mind. Another older boy was manipulating a ball through a maze only by hovering his fingers over the path he wanted it to go. It was truly a wonder to be witnessing something as awesome as children so young being able to do these incredible things.
I don't know when I'd get used to seeing this.
Suddenly, the sound of snickering on the opposite side of the room brought my attention away from the other children. I looked to see three of the older subjects hovering over a small child who seemed to be drawing at a table.
"What's this?" a mocking voice came from the tallest of the looming teens. "Is that the strange woman who broke in and tried to take you away?" He pointed to the piece of paper in front of her.
The boy was stout and appeared to be the eldest of all the children in the room, and he towered over the little girl sitting at the table. The other two beside him were also only a year or two younger than him. One boy and one girl.
The older girl bent down at the child with a sneer. "She probably wanted to take you away because you were too weak for any use."
"Yeah, Papa doesn't want weaklings like you." I heard the main boy say as I began to walk over to the group.
"Hey." I looked at the older subjects sternly. "Stop bothering her."
The younger two bullies scowled at me as they backed away from the smaller girl. But the eldest boy stayed where he was and stared at me. There wasn't any defiance in his eyes; instead, what seemed to be curiosity caused him to linger.
I began to worry if he was planning out some strategy to get rid of me so that he could continue harassing the girl, but before I could take action, he walked away from us, while still looking at me with intrigue.
Once they were at a safe distance, I turned to the girl. "Are you alright?"
She nodded shyly.
This didn't seem like a first. These kinds of situations rarely were.
"Do they pick on you a lot?"
The girl shook her head frantically, averting her nervous gaze from mine.
She's lying, I noted. It was only going to get worse for her if she didn't let someone know and help her.
"It's okay, you can talk to me." I smiled kindly at her. "What's your name?"
She looked down at her upturned wrist. The number "011" was tattooed on her pale skin.
I gasped. How did she have a tattoo at this age? Then I remembered where we were. How could they brand her like this? As if she was some sort of farm animal? I was surprised they didn't put orange tags on the children's ears like they were cows or something.
"So Eleven, right?" She nodded. "Do you like candy?"
The shy nod transitioned into a more enthusiastic one.
"Why don't you tell me more about those kids from before, and I'll give you my favorite candy?" I offered, reaching into my back pocket.
Just as I'd revealed the pink wrapped treat, the double doors bursted open. "Alright, children. Playtime is over," boomed a familiar voice.
Brenner stood at the door, glaring irritatedly at me as the children began to line up.
Then, Miller strode quickly into the room, stopping in front of me. "Come with me."
