A half an hour later, the cars stop in front of an office building in the heart of Washington DC. I got out first, and breathed a breath of fresh, well, smoggy air. Someone grabbed my arm from behind me, and I jumped, but it was just Alix, who appears next to me.
"What are we doing?"she whispered. Her voice trembles a bit. She's only a thirteen-year-old girl, even without the superhuman abilities. And even though she was as tough as nails, she did get scared sometimes. To tell you the truth, I was a bit scared myself.
But I didn't show it. "I have absolutely no idea. But I'm sure we're going to be fine, sweetie," I smile at her. The corners of her mouth turn up slightly, even though she knows it's a lie. And then the man called John put his hand on her shoulder, and the small smile disappeared, ruining our sister-too-sister moment.
I look back. Katelyn was resting on Court's hip, and he was holding Colton's hand. They coulf've just been an ordinary group of siblings, visiting maybe their grandparents in Washington DC. I lost sight of them as Lili came bounding up right behind me.
"Whose ass are we kicking first?" she asked in low tones that only I could hear. I smiled. Her optimism always impresses me, even if we are in situations like this.
"Whoever tries to lock us in a cell first will get it. And I call the first hit." I smile. I would actually attack Blondie right now, if it weren't for those pesky "assault" charges that might come up later. She was driving me up a wall, talking nonsense in Liam's ear right now. I looked back and gave him a little smile.
The building inside was cool, in contrast to the May heat outside. It looked like it could be a standard office building, except for the floor guide sign. You don't usually see "Animal Testing"and "Microanalysis" on an average one. Ruby was right behind me, and I tapped her hand, and pointed at the sign. She gave no sign of seeing what I had done, but quickly looked at the sign. It would be engraved in her memory now.
The people in suits led us toward the elevators. They were so huge, they probably could have fit 30 people inside, an easy fit for the 16 of us. One of the men pressed the number 19 floor button. I looked to Ruby. Her eyes rolled back for a moment, remembering, then whispered to herself "The Human Project?"
"What was that, sweetie?" asked the other woman, Lisa, I think.
"Nothing," Ruby said nonchalantly, shaking her heaad. But her wide-eyed stare gave her away. We were in deep, deep crap.
I tapped Lili's hand. She had seen what Ruby had said, too. She got Court's attention and tried to communicate that something very bad was going on. He seemed to understand and held tighter to Colton and Katelyn, protective as always.
The elevator dinged, and we arrived on the nineteeth floor. Not knowing what to expect, I was the second out of the elevator, after Blondie.
Sterile white. Like a hospital, but worse. Bars on the windows on the doors, like a jail. And observation windows. In five rooms.
Suddenly, the tall man grabbed Lili, before she could comprehend what was going on and run away. Two men grabebd Colton. Why would two men go after a little kid? How would they know that unless...
Of course. Ms Matherson was trying to help us. They must have been spying on us for weeks, maybe even months. Who knows what they had seen? (Now was the time when I cringed to myself because of that girly reaction to the thought of a bunch of old guys watching me shower or go to the bathroom. I mean, ew.)
Lisa grabbed my arms and pulled them behind me at anawkward angle. I kicked up and baack, and hit her somewhere in her "lady parts". She cringed, but didn't release her tight hold hold. Another man from inside the long hallway wrapped his arms around me, taking me away from Lisa's grasp. He lifted me off the ground, so I couldn't get any leverage with my feet.
