Paradise Among Metal

Chapter 11

Lucy's eyes searched the room, looking for a way out.

A window was open, but jumping would be painful. From the angle she was laying, she couldn't see a door. To her right was a curtain, shielding something from her view. Lucy also heard a slurping sound.

She looked down at herself. She didn't look any different, but there was an IV attached to her arm, sucking something out of her. She couldn't see where its cord led.

There was color behind the curtain, though. She could sense it.

"Don't run off like that again, dear," The Head Doctor said, stroking Lucy's hair. "You're sick. You could have gotten hurt even worse. Thank goodness you only fainted and nothing else."

"I'm not sick," Lucy growled in reply. "You're making me sick."

"You also seem to be sick inside your head, Luce." The Head Doctor stopped stroking Lucy's hair. She touched Lucy's forehead.

"You're making things up that aren't true, and it hurts my feelings that you think the nurses and I here are murderers."

Did she just call me crazy AND dishonest? I know what I saw was real! I know dismembering someone's body like that kills them! That's it, I can't stand this anymore!

Lucy didn't even try to censor herself.

She let out a scream that would make demons run.

The Head Doctor stumbled back, startled. Her large rear end bumped into the curtain, and it fell down, revealing a nurse sucking color out of a tube.

Lucy could only stare in shock.

The tube the nurse was sucking was the other end of Lucy's IV.

Outside, somewhere in the Perimeter, a girl yelled, "Oh my god! I'm coming! Stay put!"

It all clicked in Lucy's mind. No wonder everyone felt bad after they've been "treated". No wonder she always seemed to see the most color before a treatment.

They were using her and the other kids to harvest color and consume it.

The hospital's staff were nothing but hopeless Metal people.

Lucy sat up and ripped the IV out of her arm. The needle wound bled, but Lucy didn't care.

She leapt off the hospital bed and rushed towards the Head Doctor. She shoved the Head Doctor as hard as she could.

The Head Doctor fell over onto the nurse and they tumbled to the floor.

Lucy didn't stick around to see what they did next. She bolted out the door.

She barreled towards the elevator and stairs, bare feet slapping the tiles.

Would the stairs or elevator be quicker?

It would be easier to catch me on the elevator. I'm taking the stairs.

She began to run down the stairs, being careful not to trip on the first stair. At the same moment, alarms began blaring. Lucy heard footsteps and yelling.

She ran even faster, skipping steps and whirling around as fast as she could whenever she reached a landing. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, her heart pumping like mad to fuel its rush. Terror ripped at her with every step she took.

Above her, Lucy heard people rushing down the stairs. By the jangling of their keys and equipment, she guessed they were security guards of some sort, coming to get her.

She also heard their walkie-talkies. The voices of those conversing with them were as clear as day. These guys weren't even attempting to be stealthy.