We All Fall Down

|15

     We reach a small room with two doors; it is cold and is illuminated by two long lightbulbs in the ceiling. "What are we supposed to do now?" I ask.

      "Sorry," Dr. Hale responds and I look at Marcus, confused.

      "Sorry for what?" I say quietly, a bad feeling stirring in my stomach.

      Dr. Hale does not respond; instead two men in turquoise hazmat suits come through each door, grabbing Marcus and I, dragging us through doors opposite of each other.

      "Marcus!" I scream to him and reach my hand out in an attempt to grab his.

      "Aria! Don't do what they say! Find me, we have to get out!" Marcus screams at me before he is pulled through his door.

      Thanks for exposing our entire plan. I think to myself as the man in the turquoise suit drags me through my own door.

      I am taken to a room with multiple doctors inside, including Dr. Hale. The man lays me down on a table, strapping my arms and legs to it.

      "Dr. Hale what is happening?" I ask him and turn my head to see him standing to the left of the table I am at.

      "This wasn't my decision," he says to me and moves my hair out of my face. "They didn't tell me that they were going to do this to you," he says.

      "Do what?" I ask him before hearing something to the right.

      Standing on the other side of a glass window is Marcus, strapped to a chair.

      "Marcus!" I scream and try to get up, but am held back by the straps. He looks at me and struggles to try and get out of his straps.

      "Aria!" I hear him scream. "Let me go!" he screams to no one in particular.

      "Aria we are going to brand both of you. We will first put a chip into your arm, each one will contain a code with your subject number. That way if you get any bright ideas about leaving, anyone that finds you will bring you back to us," a male doctor standing beside Dr. Hale says.

      I look to Dr. Hale for any support, any help, but he just turns and walks out of the room. "I'm sorry," I hear him whisper as he walks out.

      I turn back to Marcus, who has now calmed down slightly, but is still trying to find a way out of his chair. He looks in my direction, only not at me, and I turn to see the male doctor that was talking earlier, and in his hand he is holding a giant needle with a chip on it.

      I gulp as the doctor gets closer and closer to me, the needle getting closer and closer to my arm until it touches it, releasing an explosion of pain as they put the chip into it.

      As the doctor brings out the needle they release the straps, and I jump up and run to the glass that is separating us. I pound on it, trying to break it. When it doesn't budge I pick up a metal stool and beat it against the glass until it breaks.

     The glass showers Marcus, cutting him on his face, arms, and legs. I jump through the glass and undo the straps holding him there. I hug him, and he lets out a small yelp of pain. I let go of him and look at him; he is bloody and dirty, as I assume I am also, except I am probably less bloody.

      "Marcus, it's your turn," the doctor says.

      "No," Marcus says stands beside me.

      The doctor laughs before speaking, "If you do then we won't kill Aria," he says and pulls a gun out of his back pocket and points it to me.

      Marcus looks at the gun and then at him, "Fine," he says and walks over to the table and lies down.

      "Marcus," I whisper, but he just looks at me and nods his head.

      "This isn't going to kill us," he says. "We will be fine, I promise."