Thirteen

Thirteen - Chapter Three

I stretched my sore muscles and my palms brushed against cold wall. I yawned and shivered, turning onto my stomach. If I could get a few more hours sleep-
    "Danielle!" Naida yelled. I shrieked, fell off the bed and onto the hard floor. I clutched my stomach and opened my eyes to see Naida's smug face. "Oh good, you're up. Listen, I'm gonna have a look around so you do whatever you want," She skipped to the door, seeming to be in a good mood, grabbed the door handle but hesitated. "Just... don't get into any trouble"
    "I wouldn't bet on it" I grinned and she rolled her eyes and walked out the door. Pulling myself into an upright position, I lent against the side of the bed and rubbed my eyes. Do I try and get more sleep or do leave before they come to get me? I wouldn't want to be asleep if they did come. Shivering, I jumped up and examined my clothes.
    My jeans were splattered with mud and my shirt was frayed at the edges. Someone had stolen my favourite jacket and my trainers were no longer white.
    I looked around but the only things there were two beds and one nightstand. Yanking each draw out, I found a pile of clothes in one and a pair of shoes in another. When I got out the orange jumpsuit and investigated it. A black number Thirteen was printed on the breast pocket. Sighing, I dragged my clothes off and pulled the black t-shirt over my head. I tugged the jumpsuit on, tied the arms around my waist and slipped into the black chunky shoes.
    Once I'd shoved the dirty clothes under the pillow I grabbed a brush from the nightstand and dragged it through my tangled hair. I caught my reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall and my mouth fell open.
    My hair was black. It was a crazy mass of black mess abstracting with my pale face and a fringe that fell into my red eyes. My eyes had changed from brown to red! I held my breath and concentrated on the image of my real look but my appearance didn't change. I tried again, shutting my eyes and picturing my look so vividly I could've been thinking about someone else. Opening my eye slightly I saw I still looked the same and heaved a huge sigh, glaring at my reflection as if it had personally offended me.
    "This isn't my day" I groaned and stepped out into the hallway, my shoes thudding on the floor.
    I paused outside the door. What do I do? I didn't know how to get around without being pulled on chains and I didn't know what was here in Nova; I'd never even heard of it and I wasn't going to be asking scientists for directions.
    "I should look around" I decided out loud. I started walking down the hallway and made mental notes on everything around me. After the incident I realized these guys were prepared for anything so I knew it was a good idea to get used to every twist and turn so I was ready for anything they threw at me.
    I stalked down a corridor slowly and shivered as I stared into the cages embedded in the walls. Each cage held odd-looking bright creatures and but one cage caught my eye in particular.
    There was a guy.
    He had light brown hair long enough to cover one eye and was sat bent over in the middle of the cell. The veins in his arms stood out against his pale skin and his jumpsuit had a number nine printed on the breast pocket. His jaw was clenched and his palms were flat on the floor. I got closer to the bars and his head shot up, revealing large turquoise eyes that burned into mine with curiosity.
    I took a deep breath to pull myself together and smiled at him. "Hi" My voice still shook slightly as I spoke and he shot forward, grabbing the bars in his iron grip. His knuckles turned white and he growled deep in his throat when I jumped back.
    "Why are you here?" He released his grip and let his arms fall to his sides, never taking his eyes off mine as if he were searching for something. I took a cautious step forward and he flinched.
    "I-I don't-" I gulped. "Why are you in a cage?" I shoved my hands into the pockets of the jumpsuit and stepped an inch closer. His eyes took on a darker edge and an odd sound escaped his throat.
    "I eat people" He grabbed me through the bars and yanked me towards him, burying his head into my neck. I gasped and held my breath, paralyzed by fear.
    He was actually going to eat me. I was going to die being mauled by a guy behind the bars for a reason. Why did I have to trust him? Why did hope in everyone I came across?
    And now I was going to die because I was stupid.
    Just as I shut my eyes and went limp he released and threw me to the floor.
    "You're a shapeshifter" He sighed, rather disappointedly. I tried to calm my beating heart and breath normally as he stared at me with his big blue eyes.
    "Y-Yes, I am," I shook my head, almost believing I wasn't a shapeshifter because of how dazed I was, and scrambled to my feet. "The hell was that?!" I screamed, growing confidence when he was away from me.
    "Sorry," He sat on the floor and crossed his legs. "As I was saying, I'm in here 'cause I eat people"
    "I can see that," I rubbed the back of my neck and tried to smile at him. "So..." I rocked on my heels, feeling awkward. "What's your name?"
    "Merlin" The half smile never left his face and I bit my lip.
    "Merlin? Isn't that the name of a wizard?" I asked. I was probably being very ignorant by asking but I was curious.
    He laughed. "Yeah. I wasn't named after him though. People called me that so I assumed that was my name," His voice went quiet, probably remembering something about his life outside Nova. I opened my mouth to speak but he interrupted me. "Sorry, I presume you just got here so you don't need me ruining the greatest experience of your life," He laughed bitterly and his expression turned sour. "Anyway, what's your name?"
    "Danielle, but call me Dani," I grimaced. "I hate when people call me Danielle. It sounds too posh"
    Merlin laughed. "At least it's better than Merlin"
    "There's nothing wrong with Merlin," I smiled. I remembered what I'd been doing in the first place and sighed. "I have to go," His smile dropped and he stood up and walked over to the bars. I started walking down the corridor and turned to wave. "Bye Merlin"
    "Bye Danielle" He smirked the grin I was already used to and I stuck my tongue out.
    "I'll get you back for that" I smiled and started running down the rest of the corridor. I didn't want to see anymore of the sad locked up creatures. That's when I decided I would get them out. Just like Merlin and anyone else trapped here against their own will.
    I'd get them out.
    I slid to a halt when I came across a white door with a circular frosted window. I peered through the glass and saw it was some kind of lunch room, with a high ceiling and a lunch bar going across the left side of the room. There were seven long metal tables aligned perfectly in two lines and one against the wall. It looked as if no one was in there but I still cautiously pushed the door open and stuck my head in.
    There can't be that many people here. I thought, examining just how long the tables were. I slipped through the gap and went over to the lunch bar. It was empty, shining as if it had just been cleaned. Searching the cabinets underneath I came up with a crushed box of Shreddies and looked inside.
    "I wouldn't do that if I were you," I jumped as someone reached over me and took the box. "Sebastian won't like it if you eat his cereal" I spun round and craned my neck to look at the man towering over me. He looked about eight foot tall, with one huge hand holding the cereal box and the other in his trouser pocket. His hair was long and bright blonde and his soft purple eyes looked at me with amusement. He was dressed in the jumpsuit trousers and a plain shirt.
    "I wasn't going to eat them," I straightened my back, trying to make myself bigger so I didn't feel as insignificant as I did in his presence. "I was just looking around" I snapped, my voice shaking as he continued to eyeball me with large eyes. He raised an eyebrow and put the box back in its original place.
    "You're the new girl, aren't you?" Before I could answer a glowingly beautiful girl waltzed into the lunch room, IPod booming out some unknown song. She didn't walk normally; she skipped as if she were happy and she looked to be a little bit taller than me.
    She went straight for the chocolate Shreddies and poured some into a bowl she found in the cabinet. Her thick curly black hair bounced about as she danced on the spot to her music and her dull grey eyes darted over the empty trays. She wore the same jumpsuit as me, having had the same idea and tying the sleeves around her waist, and a plain white t-shirt. Her trainers squeaked on the shiny floor as she danced about to the song.
    The girl smiled at the guy with bright white teeth and fished around in the cabinet. "Morning Derek," She dug deeper, getting her head right in. "God, there are no spoons in this place..."
    "Good morning Lexi," Derek sat down at the table near the wall and picked up the newspaper that had been left askew. "And good morning to you, honey" He said brightly when a equally beautiful woman walked in. Her beauty was less obvious than Lexi's but it was there needless to say. She looked amazing with intense orange hair and joyful pink eyes behind her round glasses. She sat next to Derek and smiled.
    "Morning sweetie," She leaned in for a kiss but stopped when she spotted me standing awkwardly. "Is this Danielle?"
    "Yes, I'm Danielle. But please call me Dani" I sat down at the table and fiddled my thumbs, still feeling very awkward. Lexi still searched furiously so I got up and helped her, looking in the cabinet next to her. I found the spoons instantly and passed her one and she raised her eyebrow. I sat down at the table again and Derek kept looking up from his newspaper, obviously not interested in whatever he was reading, and the woman stared confusingly at me.
    "Oh, my name's Saffron. I'm Derek's wife" Saffron stuck out her hand and I shook it. We sat in silence for a while, the only sound being heard was Lexi eating her breakfast.
    "If you don't mind me asking, but what's wrong with you?" I looked over my shoulder at her perched on the edge of the counter with her legs crossed. She'd removed her ears bubs and discarded the silent IPod next to her.
    "Excuse me?"
    "I think what she meant to say was why are you here. You look like a normal human to me" Derek folded his newspaper and put it to one side.
    "I meant what I said otherwise I wouldn't have said it" Lexi murmured. Derek ignored her and watched as I had trouble putting it into words.
    "I'm, well, I'm kind of a shapeshifter" I said, still feeling very out of place.
    "What does kind of mean?" Lexi left her dirty bowl in a tray and put one headphone back in, pressing play.
    "It means I'm not a fully fledged shapeshifter. I can't use a person's or animal's ability while in my human state. I should be able to once I'm older" I shrugged. After that everyone fell into silence again. The only sounds were faint crash's that sounded like a heavy object being thrown.
    "Who's training today?" Saffron asked casually.
    "Sebastian got Rufus to train. He can't leave the guys alone; I'm surprised he hasn't got you to train yet, Derek" Lexi laughed, through the expression on her face told me she didn't like training.
    Derek chuckled but Saffron sighed, not finding it even slightly funny. "He never takes a break," She shook her head and stood up, putting on a exasperated smile. I knew just by the look that she was tired of the way someone was acting. "How about I show you around, Dani? You can meet the other subjects"
    "Other subjects? There's more?" I asked. Saffron didn't answer; she just towed me out by the arm.