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"Eight... Eight... you need to wake up..." a muffled voice said. It sounded like they were shouting from another room. I groggily opened my eyes. An unknown pressure was pushing me, when I realized I was underwater. "Eight!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I shouted back. I swam to the surface, and broke into the atmosphere. Familiar brown hair swung down, and bright blue eyes looked disappointed.

"You've got to stop sleeping in the pool. Especially in your clothes." Avery held out her hand. Although she acted a lot younger than she was, the creases on her face said otherwise. I ignored her offer, and gripped the concrete to give myself a boost. I got to my feet. "Eight, what if we have an official over, and the first subject they see is a teen napping in the pool with a... what even is that?" Avery gestured towards my shirt.

"It's a fish," I told her.

She turned on her heal, and hissed over her shoulder, "Whatever."

I jogged to keep up. Her legs were almost twice the height of mine, so her steps were almost twice the height of mine.

"And-" she faced me "-next time you wanna take a 'lil adventure' outside of your room at night, tell someone."

"But, there was no one outside. And, air is just so... nasty. It's cold, dry, and smelly." I stepped around Avery, and left the gym. This time, she had to do the jogging to catch up with me. I walked down the hallway, took a left, and stopped, looking at the trail of water I had left. The janitors hated me enough...

Avery took out her PDA, and scanned it on my door. "How did you even get out, anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"The door. I always lock it from the outside. How did you get out?" Avery threw the door open, and ushered me inside.

"I dunno... the door was just... unlocked." I flicked the switch to the direct right of the door, illuminating the room with its light. I had taped blue tissue paper to the shade, making the walls blue, like it was underwater. If only. The only water I was allowed was a small bucket. All it could do was hold my feet when I did work. It was better than nothing.

"Bye." Avery slammed the door shut behind her, leaving me alone in the room. It wasn't much; a bed sat in the corner, with a chest at the end, and a desk with a stack of books sat on the opposite wall. All of the surfaces, the walls, flooring, everything was painted white. The rooms were so small, that was all that would fit. And Avery wonders why I always sneak out. I shivered slightly in my still dripping clothes. I stripped and threw on some pajamas.

The Lab was always so boring. Once a week, a package containing learning materials came, and occasionally I got a book, but that was it. I rarely left, unless Avery was escorting me to the pool. Three times a day, my meals were delivered to the room. And it was always the same stuff; bottled water, bread, porridge, and the stupid vitamin tablets. The porridge sucks, too. It's all vegetable-y.

There were other subjects in the Lab as well. I had only seen one of them once, though, on my way to the gym. All I could remember was long dirty-blond hair, but I had been advised not to talk to her. Which was really annoying, because I had lots of questions to ask her.

I sat at my desk, and got to work on figuring out how to find the area of Rea's triangular garden. Who keeps a triangular garden?

Three hours of useless math passed, before lunch arrived. I had slept passed breakfast. Not that I missed it. I popped the first tablet, when a scream disrupted me. It was coming from the room next door. I often heard screaming from that room, though I never knew what caused it. Pain? Suffering? Constipation?

There was usually only one scream, and then it would grow silent. Like the person had been shushed. This time, they roared multiple times in a row. Rather than being stopped, the screams only grew louder. I pressed my ear to the wall, but the sound didn't change.

This is the part where you find out that I lied to Avery. She hadn't left the door unlocked; I had picked it with my finger. The trick was to get the two shiny cords to touch. Which I did, silently, and snuck out into the empty hallway. At least, it was at first. Three Lab workers came running down the hall, in my direction. I closed the door enough to where it looked shut, but I could still see through a crack.

I watched as the workers opened the door, and went inside. They came back out, carrying a girl out. Her hands and head were covered in blood. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, as she thrashed. The workers turned a corner, leaving my field of vision.

Once I was assured that they had left, and weren't coming back, I looked inside the room next door. The door stood ajar, as I silently crept around the wall. Inside was a room much like mine. Only blankets were spilling off the bed. Feathers from the pillow were still floating through the air. Scraps if paper lay randomly among torn books on the ground. To top the mess, scarlet stains covered everything. It was the girl's blood.

I heard footsteps, and ran back into my room, closing the door as quietly as I could behind me. I tried to go back to my lunch, but the image of her mangled hair splattered with blood burned in the front of my mind.