ZARIA'S BLOOD-STAINED HANDS were balled into fists as she was escorted down the halls of the Dittmar Bioculture Laboratory.
Her heartbeat quickened, the adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her wrists were held firmly by two large security guards wearing all white. She didn't struggle because she knew they wouldn't hurt her. They would've done it by now, especially after what she had done. It was unspoken, but the entire laboratory needed her. She had no idea why, but they did.
After what seemed like miles of walking, she ended up in front of an office. One of the guards knocked on the door. "Come in," a voice called from the other side of the door. The guard slowly opened it and walked in.
Zaria's nose crinkled up in disgust. The room was muggy and smelled like smoke and dust. In the middle of a room was a woman sitting at a large wooden desk, her veiny hands pulling a cigarette out of her mouth. Zaria glanced at a name plate perched on the edge of the desk. It read "Ms. Evans" in gold cursive.
"Oh dear," the woman said, her icy-blue eyes staring at Zaria's hands. "What happened to her?"
"She attacked one of our guards, Miss."
"Why would you do that?" She gazed up at her in mock despair.
Zaria's jaw clenched as she made eye contact with her. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
"Zaria," her gaze narrowed, "I asked you a question."
"You know why." She replied spitefully.
Taking in her words, Evans took a deep breath. Her mouth curved slightly into a smirk as she said, "You'll understand why we're doing this sooner or later."
As if on cue, the guards pulled Zaria out of the room and rushed back into the hallway. Loud footsteps and voices could be heard throughout the halls, unsettlingly different from the silence earlier.
At this point, Zaria wasn't even walking anymore; the guards were dragging her hurriedly all around the maze-like building. Finally, they slowed down, meeting a door labeled "616". The guards pushed through them and opened the door.
Zaria was quickly shoved into the room. She lost her balance and her body hit the linoleum floor. She cursed under her breath as the door slammed shut behind her. Getting up, she noticed a girl sitting on a bench across the room. The girl looked up, her straight, pastel-pink hair framing her face. She looked about 18 years old, around the same age as Zaria.
"Hey, why did they toss you in like that?" The girl spoke up, inching to the edge of her seat.
"Uh," Zaria began sheepishly, "They kind of hate me right now. I broke a guard's nose." The girl's obsidian eyes widened in shock. "Yeah, I know I don't look very strong." Zaria laughed.
The girl smiled and said, "I'm Arden. You?"
"Zaria." She sat next to Arden on the metal bench. "Are you a part of this dumbass experiment too?"
"Yeah, I've been sitting here for a few hours already."
"What are they even going to do to us?"
"It's supposed to be a psychological test or something. I think they're gonna sedate us and study what happens in our sleep," She rolled her eyes, "They didn't really explain it that well on the website."
Zaria's eyebrows furrowed. "Website? What do you mean?"
"You know, the website where you sign up to different tests for science and medical facilities."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"For money. Didn't you sign up to this?"
Zaria stared at the floor, trying to piece everything together. She definitely hadn't signed up on any website.
All mom and dad told me was that I was "randomly chosen" to participate in an experiment. Her mouth hung open in realization. Mom and dad.
"Are you okay?" Arden asked worriedly.
Zaria snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah, sorry. I just really hate my family."
Suddenly, the door swung open. The two guards strode back into the room.
"You're both starting now. We're just going to put these on you so people can know which test you're supposed to be doing." One of the guards said, pulling out two vinyl wristbands labeled "616" from his pocket. After putting the wristbands on, the guards walked them out into the hallway.
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hey!! its finally here!! im really sorry that this chapter is so short i promise im gonna make the other chapters wayyy longer but tell me what you guys think!! i hope yall like it so far
