Operation Regrowth

Reality kicks in

I tried to keep it together as my spine was drenched in shivers. My palms grew sweaty in an instant and I longed for my nice, warm shower back home. Nerves caused my body to tremble and my knees to change state. As a little kid, I had often dreamed about what it would be like to see the surface, or even go near it. And then growing up, the daydreams were shaken loose, by the grim reality.

The surface was no place for squishy humans like us. Not anymore.
It was suffocating, intoxicating, vicious, deadly...

I shook my head several milimetres. 'You haven't agreed yet Alexa, calm down.' No longer frozen to the spot, I stepped past the doorway and into the endless halls of glass, and gazed around for something to distract my brain with. Ignoring Carter slouched in the corner, I walked over to one of the glass panels. The glaring, white, overhead lights boucned harshly off every surface, stopping me from seeing anything but my own, faint, reflection as I held my face up to look. My eyes began to loose focus and the room around me went fuzzy. The intense, overwhelming brightness didn't take long to flood through my eyes and start up a splitting headache.

I stumbled noisily back on the white tiles in surprise pain, then looked over to Carter again. Face down I could hear a slight giggle come from him. Balling up my fist I pushed back the urge to punch him. But I couldn't deny that his method worked, stepping back to the wall I was just at, I slid back and ducked my head down. The dizzying pain ceased, and I fell into a slumped position like Carter. Suddenly I was aware of what The Wall's second line of security was. Squinting to look back at the door, I saw it hum closed as Peter prodded one of the buttons on a keypad that then retracted into the brightly glowing wall.

I stuck my head back down and fished around in my bag for the rest of my nutbar. My fingers enclosed around the crackly plastic, then froze as John joined me by the glass wall. He lowered his head slighly and spoke in a quiet voice only I could hear.  " Miss Wright, now is not the time for nutritional sustenance. You can eat later." A smile ended his last sentence and I lifted my head enough to get my thoughts around how he could even talk in the paralysing light.

As I cocked my head quizzically at him, John handed me a pair of sunglasses identical to his own. My hand moved like lightning as I accepted the headgear and put it on. I let out a sigh of relief. No sore neck, and no headache. With restored vision, I had another go at a now not so painful visual sweep of the room.

I stood still to take in the odd but wondrous sight. Infront of our small group, stretched an endless hallway of highly polished, transparent glass.

Robotic arms and lab technicians worked busily behind every wall. With each new room came an array of coloured liquids sitting in complex apparatuses, strange metals being bent and reformed, and odd coloured specimines undergoing tests and procedures. It was the most high-tech, expensive, advanced research facility I had ever set foot in.

"Alexa," Peter came and stood by my side, " I would like to welcome you to The Wall's scientific research facility." His smile was somewhat reassuring. But my eyes still flicked over to John standing behind him. The left corner of his straight mouth quirked slighlty, I didn't need to look past his sunglasses to know there was a wink behind them.

Peter began walking at the head of the group down the endless, reflective hallway. I lagged behind for a second, then brought up the rear next to John. I nudged his side and we initiated a hushed conversation.

"Yes Miss Wright?" His gaze remained straight ahead. I pretended to look at the array of scientific contraptions, half of which I recognised and pondered their purpose in a facility like this. "You've been here before, haven't you." I didn't even feel John blink as he replied, "What makes you think that Miss Wright."
"Peter only introduced me to the facility, therefore I can assume that everyone else, you included, have been here before, and met the Professor." I waited as the dry, air-conditioned room soaked up the silence.

" Wherever President Yarraman goes, I go." John replied eventually.
"I suppose you've met Carter before then?" I questioned airily. John's only reply was a slight twitch in his right hand.
Mine was a smile.

I decided to end the interrogation as we rounded a somewhat rare corner, and entered one of the labs.

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Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading this extra long chapter! I felt a bit bad after leaving you with a really short one. Also, I am curious, I know there isn't much of the book written yet, but do you have any favourite/least favourite characters yet? Comment pls! :3