Survival

21

The room was small, only with a metal table in the centre along with two chairs. There was a large mirror on the wall opposite me, next to the door which camouflaged into the wall. I was currently sat on a tough mattress, covered by a thin blanket and a sturdy pillow.

I hadn't been awake long, and I hadn't moved since. At first I forgot everything but there was a pain in my shoulder and my arm that sent a sharp stab through my muscle.

"I was beginning to worry the anaesthesia we used on you was too strong" I must have been to focused trying to remember because I didn't hear the door open or the footsteps of the man now standing in front of me. He was probably five foot ten with a mop of peppery blonde and green eyes. He wasn't muscly, but rather slim and skinny with his lab coat rather baggy on his frame.

His voice was harsh, his glare enough to make my skin crawl. I said nothing but I watched as he put down a black briefcase and unlatched the lid. What was he going to do to me?

"Where are my friends? Are they alright?" I asked, not moving from my position on the bed.

"You know, they said exactly the same thing when I went to their cell. Master Blue barely let me touch him and the others" he replied with a monotone voce, and I watched him take out a needle and syringe along with other things I recognised as things normally used for medical check-ups. "Would you mind coming over and sitting on the chair?"

I stared at him, and then glanced at the things he had set out. What was going to do? What had he done to the boys? What about Coop?

Anger began to steadily fill me. They had kidnapped me and my friends, and now he wanted me to willingly let him run tests on me. They wanted my flare, something I had grown used to having. If we gave them what they wanted, it would be put to use for something Karsten didn't design it for. He died defending us.

Another flush of anger went through me.

"What do you think you'll find doing tests on us?" I asked, noticing that my question took him by surprise.

"What makes you think I want to find anything?" he replied smartly.

"Why else would I be here, isolated from my friends and with a doctor who wants to do a medical exam on me?" I replied just as smartly. He just blinked at me, not speaking. I continued to stare at him as he seemed to struggle for an answer. "Why else would government agents want me and my friends bad enough to kidnap us?" I was beginning to unsettle him, I could just tell. His tough act was crumbling slowly under my gaze.

"They didn't tell me. I'm just here to do a medical exam" he said, but I didn't move when he gestured the chair.

With a certain amount of resistance, they would be able to tell I was hiding something, so I had to be careful how much a resisted and refused to do as they asked. If I played my cards right, I would be able to convince them I was a scared teenage girl who was nothing special. But perhaps Thompson already knew too much. I needed to know what they knew.

"You could find our medical records at the hospital" I pointed out. They only wanted my blood to find and extract the virus that made us Virals. The doctor paused.

"I want to see for myself about your muscle capacity, your heart and your lungs. Nothing including blood extraction, I assure you" there was a twitch of his eyebrow and I knew it was a lie.

But I also know that I was too scared to say no to him.

Thompson would have my blood extracted with or without my consent.

"What about my dog?" I whispered, wanting to see and hold him again.

"He's taken care of" the doctor said rather quickly.