Dangerous

Chapter 12

I woke up in a dark room with a splitting headache. I scrunched my eyes closed, willing the pain to go away, but it thumped consistently. Deciding falling back asleep was no longer an option, I rose shakily from the bed and searched the walls for a lightswitch.

When the lights finally came on, I realized that I was sitting in my own room. The smell of antiseptic was everywhere, trying in vain to cover up the coppery smell of blood. I cringed. Alex's blood.

Was that person even Alex? He was definitely not my brother. I remembered the deep blue eyes that didn't belong to him, the voice that talked too quickly, too articulated and high-pitched to be his own. A shudder ran through me. Are these the types of things MMP is capable of? Switching bodies, souls, with members of the military elite in order to manipulate us, to trick us?

With a hand to my head, I walked slowly to the vanity, feeling the room swirl around me. Gripping onto the edge of the worn countertop for support, I pulled back in shock at my own reflection.

Dark blue circles controlled the area underneath my eyes, my skin so pale it seemed translucent, even in the fading light streaming in through my window. My lips, however, were bright red and bitten raw. I looked like death, quite literally, and I turned away from my reflection with a scowl.

A resounding knock on my door startled me. With a hand now on my pounding heart, I opened the door slowly, half expecting to see my brother, mutated version, standing outside.

It was Paul. He stood with his eyes directed toward the ground. I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on, but he pushed past me and into my room, shutting the door quickly behind him.

"Wha-" I began to ask, but he interrupted me by putting his index finger to my lips.

"Shh." He looked around the room, his eyes falling on my camera. I followed his gaze. The red light was off, the blinking gone. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I stared at him incredulously, waiting for him to speak.

"Listen, I don't have much time to talk, so I'm gonna start now." He looked at me as if expecting I would interrupt but I stayed silent. "There was a meeting, just a few minutes ago, in the board room. It was about you." My eyes widened, heart skipping a beat.

"Are they going to kill me?" I whispered, fear worming its way inside of me.

"No. At least, not yet. Rodney turned off your camera so I could come speak to you. You can thank him later." Confusion and disbelief laced my features, but Paul didn't seem to notice. "I eavesdropped during the meeting. Rodney and I were stationed outside as guards, but as soon as I heard your name I started to listen." He looked at me intently. "The situation with your brother was completely intentional, as I'm sure you know by now." I nodded stiffly. "Joanna was behind it. I'm sure that's not much of a surprise either." Nope, not at all. He continued talking. "They talked about your circumstances. Chase's as well. This whole thing with your brother, they think it sent you into some kind of traumatic shock. You were unconscious for two days." My jaw fell open. Two days?

"What about Chase? Is he okay?" Anxiety seeped into my tone. Paul looked at me in disbelief, probably wondering why I was so worried about Chase when he had basically told me I was going crazy.

"Yeah, he's fine," he said slowly. He cleared his throat and went straight back to business. "Listen, several undisclosed people argued at the meeting for your monitorization to be terminated immediately. They think you've already gone through enough. A majority of the room agreed, but Joanna said no. Finally, everyone agreed on a compromise: if you stay emotionally sound, as in no more outbursts, no more sneaking out to see Chase, no more broken cameras, for a week, she'll end your monitoring period. Chase's too."

I stared at him with wide eyes. A realistic prospect to be free from these stupid cameras, free from prying eyes, watching me as my walls caved in and my emotions swallowed me whole. My heart leaped. I could do this. I needed to do this; for both myself and Chase.

"Be careful," Paul warned, intensity burning in his brown eyes. "I want to see you get out of here alive." I nodded slowly, his words warming my heart. He sighed softly. "I usually try not to get involved. It only makes things harder."

A loud knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. Paul and I exchanged a glance, before he slowly walked to the door. Red light invaded my peripheral vision once more, and I turned to see the camera had been turned back on, flashing as quickly as ever. My stomach dropped to the floor, and I turned to warn Paul.

"NO!" I screamed, but it was too late. Paul had already opened the door and in rushed a group of guards, armed with weapons. They pinned him to the floor immediately, punching furiously at his face and stomach. A high-pitched scream erupted, mixing with Paul's cries of pain, and it took me a few seconds to realize that it was my own. A guard rushed to me, pinning my arms behind my back and holding me in place. I thrashed against him, desperate to free myself, but it was no good. Tears streamed down my face as I gazed through my blurred vision at Paul, throwing his arms up in a feeble attempt to shield himself from the punches and kicks.

A loud gunshot sounded, and Paul's bloody body went limp. My screaming died down in an instant. I stared in horror at his body, my legs collapsing underneath me. I tumbled to the floor, the guard still hanging onto my arms. I sobbed loudly, until I felt the cold metal of a needle enter my neck, and I fell unconscious.