Chapter 3
My head throbbed as my eyes opened. I was in the large craft that the familiar eyes had come from. The room I was in was made of all glass with nothing in it but a bed, a bright light dangling from the ceiling, and an oxygen station. There were rooms to my left and my right. The glass was blurry but I could make out both of the faces. One was Lucile and one was Conrad. Both were asleep or in a clouded daze. How could that be? They had both died in the hovercraft!
They both had gauze and a bandage on their left arm along with a symbol. It was an eye with feathers coming off of it. As I continued to look around the symbol appeared everywhere. I wasn't frightened by this fact until I looked at the palm of my hand and discovered it there too. I licked my hand and tried to rub it on the bed I was bundled up in. My hand became red and the symbol still remained.
My hand began to throb with a vibrant red glow. I could still feel pain. I wasn't just hallucinating on the island these things were all real. The sounds, the tastes, the colors, and the feelings. Nothing was fake. The Island had flipped my sense's on! But how?
A buzzing noise blared from the tip of the room I was trapped in. The door swung open and the familiar eyes appeared. He was still in his mask, unidentifiable.
"Anastasia?" he questioned. His voice was deep with a soft tone similar to the one my father once spoke to me with. "How are you?"
"Who are you? What have you done to me? Why am I here?" Tears began to stream from my green eyes. The man stepped toward me and stroked my honey hair. I yanked my neck away still stuck to my bed not able to run.
"You don't remember me?" his hands slowly rose to remove his mask and reveal his face. Tears flooded down my face. My father was standing in front of me. He was the same man who had left me. The only thing that was different was he had a new strength to him. He wasn't the same scrawny nerd that had left me. His hair was more shaped, his eyes more blue, and his shoulders broad. He leaned down and grabbed my hand. "How are you?"
"Fine. Why am I here?" I asked hoping for a real answer.
"You're here because you passed the test. The groups of people that you came from were all desensitized. Blinded by what was put in front of them. Each amelioration you went through was a test to see if you would be able to look past what was engraved inside of your head by others."
"I don't understand what the marrower had to do with anything."
"It's what blinded you from seeing what was going on if you allowed it to. It's rare for anyone to pass that test. You and your friends were special. You all passed by your second amelioration." he grinned.
"So where are we?" I asked.
"We are on another island north of where you were at. Everyone who belongs here has the same tattoo you have. Without it you are to be banished. Before you are fully integrated into our new society however you must take a test." Thoughts came flooding into my mind. Some were doubts, others were questions. They were interrupted by the beeping of his suit. "Goodbye I will see you soon, I promise!"
The door shut before I could murmur another word. The thud of the door was not enough to drown out the sound of Conrad's panicked voice. He began to scream and jerk his body in attempt to escape. My father walked in and I could faintly hear what was being said.
The next day we were all given clothes and a schedule. They said theme controlling us was only temporary till the test.
I followed the schedule as precisely as possible. I was cautious of what I said, what I did, and what I thought. That was my first time seeing Conrad and Lucile we talked about the islands we were stranded on. None of us understood what was going on still all we could do was sit and wait for the test.
Two days had passed the halls of the building we were stuck in were becoming familiar. Though they all looked the same, white. Walls were all curved no corners, no edges. I followed the schedule exact. That was until I turned a corner and was yanked into a room. The room was pitch black, nothing was visible. A light flicked on to reveal a table with one object on it. An object I had never seen. Then a voice on a loudspeaker explained "Describe how it tastes, smells, looks, and feels like."
I slowly picked up the object. "It feels like it has mini boulders barging into its surface causing it to be sticky yet smooth," I said with a hesitant breath. "It looks like a vibrant explosive color. Rather than being dull it's exploding with orange paint." The light flickered messing with my vision. I peeled the peel back and sunk my teeth into it. "It tastes juicy and citrusy. It tastes like long summer days!"
"Okay! Enough! Find the door!" A voice yelled with anger behind it.
I rushed out in panic. My hands groped the wall in effort to find a door handle. I fell to the floor and cried. I was unsure of what was going on, what I had done wrong, what the symbol meant. How was I supposed to live somewhere where the yell and try to shoot you for no reason. I did not understand. I felt switch inside me close back down. The world I lived in was better in black and white. Nothing to confuse me, nothings to scare me, everything was easier. But how do I go back?
