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Chapter 7: My Pet

When Anna came to, the first thing she noticed was the cold. She didn't know where she was, but it was cold. As she took in her surroundings she noticed the cold steel walls and the clean tile floor. It appeared to be some sort of laboratory. She was being kept in some sort of cage... as though as was an animal. She opened her mouth to cry for help, but no sound came out. She panicked, and tried again to say something.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a crisp voice drawled from behind her. She tried to turn to see who it was but she couldn't move either. The heels of shoes could be heard hitting the tile floor as the footsteps came around to the front of their cage. It was Teddy, but his hair was no longer blue. It was a shocking white; he must have been in wearing a wig. Her eyes widened as he stepped up to her. "My darling Anna... Don't be afraid. We won't hurt you too much." He caressed her cheek in only a way she let her father do, and she yanked her head away, only to be rewarded with a shock of pain. Her eyes watered with tears and Teddy let out a low chuckle of laughter. "Be a good girl now and that won't happen again." He turned on his heel and strode across the room to a counter. He poured something into a vial and walked back to her. "Drink this." The liquid was a clear color, like water, but she was sure it wasn't water. She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head no.

"Come on love, drink up." He stuck his hand through the bars to hand her the vial. She shook her head again and scooted back away from his hand.

His eyes flashed and he grabbed Anna by the shirt collar and yanked her forward. "I said 'drink this'!" He hissed, his saliva hitting her in the face. He roughly opened her mouth and forced her to drink the solution. Anna nearly gagged at the taste, but he kept her mouth shut. "Swallow." He growled, and she did so. Once he was sure she had swallowed it all, her let her go and stepped back. Wiping his hands on his lab coat he smiled cruelly. "As you so have discovered, my pet, not doing what you are told results in punishment." He put the vial back on the counter and made a note of something. "I shall return later to record the results." He spun on his heel and went out the door, shutting the lights off as he went.

As soon as she was sure he was gone, Anna began to cry. She didn't know where she was, her head really hurt, it was dark and cold, and she didn't like the names Teddy called her. She wanted to leave, to go home, but most of all, she wanted Alex. He would comfort her. He would tell her it was okay...

~~~~

Anna was awoken by the slamming of the door and the sound of someone, she had a feeling it was Teddy, walking into the room. It was indeed Teddy, who picked up a clipboard form the counter and now stood in front of her. "Tell me, my darling Anna, how do you feel now?" She hadn't thought about how she felt after drinking the solution, but now that it had been called to mind, she felt lighter. Not lighter as though she had just revealed something that had been on her mind for a while, but lighter as in she was physically lighter. "Lighter?" He asked, giving her a critical look. She nodded her head a tiny bit, causing a something resembling a smile to appear on Teddy's lips. He made a note of that on his clipboard and then looked up at her. "I'm going to take you out of that cage, now, and have you walk around. If you do anything incorrectly or against my wishes, you will be punished. Do you understand?"

She nodded her head a tiny bit again. "Good." Teddy pressed his thumb to a scanner on the underside of the cage, and the door popped open. Anna uncrossed her legs, and Teddy lifted her by the arms and pulled her out. His touch sent chills down her spine and she glared at him to tell him to stop. He wagged a finger at her, not allowing her to speak. "Ah-ah-ah. You can't talk. We gave you something before you arrived to shut off your vocal cords. It's so much nicer when the subjects can't scream..." He paused to laugh at her reaction and continued, "Now I want you to walk across the room from the cage to the counter." She gave him a look, trying to calculate why he wanted her to walk.

"Walk!!!" He exclaimed harshly. "Remember what I told you! Rebellion results in pain!"

She turned away from him and began to walk. Walking is an activity that is as easy to you as riding a bike; once you learn how to you always can. That's what Anna thought, anyway. It wasn't the case this time. She lifted a foot to move forward, and was surprised at how light her foot was; it was almost weightless. She stepped forward with the other foot, and had to grab onto a chair in order not to fall forward. Why did she feel so light? Teddy noticed her struggle and laughed and wrote it down on the clipboard. Anna was afraid to let go of the chair, afraid she might float away. "That's enough for now. Let's go back in the cage now, darling." Teddy lifted her andan stuck her back in the cage and quickly shut the door. He picked up the clipboard and turned to leave the room and shut off the lights.

"Sleep well, my pet."