Hidden Under Perfection

Chapter 22: Doran

I jerk awake and my arms scream in pain, they are chained up behind me on the bed. The Clandestine's tatto is a dark contrast against the white walls of the cell. There is a pulsing headache at the base of my skull. My contacts are still in, my eyes still brown. I look to the left and I see a spotless white wall, but to the right there is glass. Through it I see the prone figure of a girl laying on the bed. Her head is turned away and all I can see is the dark color of her hair. It is Claire, I'm sure of it. I make as much noise as I can to get her to wake up and look at me. She turns in her sleep and my heart falls, it isn't Claire, then I see the red color at the bottom of her hair. It is Lynn, and my heart falls even more. They cought us, they were expecting us. They knew we were back in the city, they let us come to them. Rage fills my chest and I struggle against my restraints, my hands pull against the metal and the skin of my wrists break. I am breathing fast and all the blood has rushed to my brain in the struggle against the chains.

A man wearing protective gear with The Clandestine's symbol embroidered on the chest pocket. He wakes up Lynn with smelling salts, she slowly rises from the bed and looks around with bleary eyes, confuses. The man yells something at her and then takes her out of the room. I stare at the ceiling and I get pulled into the depths of my mind. I look up when Lynn comes back into her room. Instead of the black that she was wearing before, she is now covered in all white hospital scrubs. The man chains her against the bed and then locks the door behind him with a loud click. As soon as the guards footsteps aren't audible, Lynn turns to me. She mouths something, but I can't quite make out what she says. When she sees the look of confusion on my face she tries again and I get, "have you seen John?"

I shake my head and her face falls, she lifts her head and mouths, "can you keep an eye out?"

I nod and mouth, "have you seen Claire?"

She nods and my face grows into a smile, she mouths something but I am so happy that I cannot understand what she says. She tries again and I see, "her mom is alive."

I can't believe it and my brows furrow in confusion. Her mom has been missing for over five years, it is almost impossible for her to be alive. then I start to think, it isn't impossible, just highly improbable. Claire's mom was captured by the Clandestine years ago, if she is still alive that means that they need her for something. The sound of the door to my cell unlocking snaps me from my thoughts

A man who looks about the same age as me, maybe a little younger, walks in. His hair is red and his eyes are brown. He unlocks my chains and then cuffs my hands in front of me. He says, "I'm going to take you to the showers, and once there you will unlock your cuffs with the key provided in the locker with your name on it."

He turns and I follow, I pay attention to the turns that we take, left out of the cell, right through a threshold, right down a hallway, and left through a door. In front of me there are two paths, one labled women and one labeled men. The guard with the red hair says, "once inside, take a shower and dress in the clothes provided. Then walk out and don't fight me as I try to put the cuffs back on."

I nod and walk into the room, along the left wall there are lockers and only two are labled, one with my name and one with John's. He is still alive, that is good. On the right wall there are shower stalls, the doors are a bluish green color, a contrast to all of the white. I walk up to my locker and it almost hits me in the face as it opens unexpectantly. I take a step back and inspect the contents, there is a towel stacked on top of a pair of white clothes and there is the key to my hand cuffs. I reach up and grab them, I have to manuver my hands until I finally get the key in the lock and turn it. The metal clinks against the tile and I rub the irritated skin on my wrists. I take the towel and clothes from the locker and walk into one of the stalls. I hang the towel on the hook and put the clothes on the bench. I turn on the water and I step in. I let the water run over my head and i grab the sope from the rack. I start washing my hair when I hear a large crash. I peak my head out of the shower as my heart starts racing, "hello?"