The Price of Immortality

Chapter 3

Jasper kneeled in front of the air vent, still feeling slightly disoriented. Her fingers brushed the screws on each corner, holding the cover to the wall. She bit her lip tried to pull on the cover. Nothing. Sighing in defeat, she put her head in her hands. Wait! She looked up and put a finger on the screw in the top right corner. It didn't feel secure. Gaining the slightest bit of hope, she tried to untwist the screw from its hole. Slowly but surely, the screw fell out of its place as she twisted and wiggled it. There was a soft 'CLANG' when it fell to the concrete floor. A smile spread across her face and she reached for the next screw. Just as her fingers brushed it, she heard the soft padding of footsteps toward the door. Her head lifted and she quickly moved away from the vent and scrambled onto the bed. Her eyes were locked in the door to see who it was that had come.

As the footsteps grew closer, she heard the pattern of the soft padding of the person's feet. She noticed that it was two people, by the way their steps were right after each other. The stone door slid open with ease as a man and a woman stepped inside the dark, cold room. The woman had a smooth, slim face, that was white and oval-shaped. Very beautiful, dominated by enormous pale green eyes, and an enormous quantity of silvery blonde hair that spilled over her shoulders in a waterfall. She wore black gloves, a black silk blouse, and pencil skirt, and a black scarf tied around her throat. She looked like a masterpiece painted as a statute with intelligence, grace, and beauty. But her face was stone hard as she stared down at the girl dressed in a simple white skirt and t-shirt. This woman was the only thing Jasper had seen here that wasn't, in fact, white. Even the man, with an expression that was unreadable, was wearing a white suit, pressed delicately, with no wrinkles to be found. His dark hair was slicked back with jell, not a single hair out of place. He, however, was not looking at her, he was staring straight forward at the wall, his hands behind his back.

This man, Jasper noticed, was the same man who had thrown her in there. She looked away from him and to the woman to see that she was speaking, "-do you understand?" She asked, her voice stern. Jasper stared at her blankly, "um... I think I got it... But just in case, tell me that whole thing again I wasn't listening..."

The woman clenched her jaw, obviously frustrated. The man rolled his green eyes but didn't move from his stance.

"Test Subject S-300, you were brought here as a young child, at the age of six, along with hundreds of others just like you, correct?"

Jasper nodded.

The woman's stare was hard and cold, making Jasper shift in discomfort. "You were brought here as a test subject, did you ever know why?" She pursed her lips. Jasper couldn't get her words out, so she simply shook her head.

"Did you ever ask anyone why?"

"No, we were given explicit instructions not to..."

She nodded, "have you ever left the grounds of this property without permission?"

Jasper shook her head once again. A small, satisfied smile rest on the woman's face, "very well, thank you for your time Miss Elaine," she nodded her head slightly towards her and turned slowly to face the door. "Wait..." Jasper stood, stopping her, "I just have a few questions...?" She said hopefully. The woman considered it for a moment. She pursed her lips and spoke, "you may ask three."

Jasper nodded, "okay, first question... Who are you?"

The woman sighed and, without turning to look at him, flicked her wrist toward the door and the man bowed slightly in respect and left obediently. "My name-" she hesitated, "is Parthenia, I am the-" she hesitated once again, thinking about her words. "Leader, you might say," she nodded slightly, happy with her choice of words. She pursed her lips again, "next question."

Jasper thought about it, "hmm... What exactly did I 'succeed'?"

"That-" she shifted her weight to the other foot, "is confidential information. You will know soon, I assure you." She nodded slightly

Jasper furrowed her eyebrows but moved on quickly, "last one, what are you going to do with me..?"

Parthenia's face went hard once again and she looked down at Jasper, "you will be prepared for war." And with that, she left.