Sleeping

Chapter Three

The next four months passed in a series of different kinds of physical therapy. To repair my muscles, brain functionality, nervous system, circulatory system, digestive system, etcetera, etcetera. Viola became some kind of a motherly figure to me. Doctors ran blood tests. Six freaking times. MRIs, cat scans, whatever test you could think of they ran.

I did therapy as I mourned my old life and accepted my new one. I cried—a lot. Like everyone and everything I’d ever known was dead. Why me? Is all I could think most of the time. I learned more about this new Earth I had entered. The new and strange culture—scientists are kinda akin to the celebrities of my year. Viola is like Madonna or Britney Spears or something.

One day as I was walking through the halls to the cafeteria, (I had been given a limited access key card in June as a birthday present) I passed a door and a voice wafted from it. “So what are we going to do with her? She’s been here for six months.” What? Were they talking about me? They must be. I stopped and listened through the door, checking carefully to make sure no one was watching me. “We have to tell her about them sometime.” Who’s ‘them’?

“I’ve been speaking with the board. We’ve decided she’s too human. We’re just going to get rid of her.” I couldn’t believe it. That was Viola’s voice. They were going to kill me. My eyes went wide with fear and my heart and thoughts raced.

“So you’re going to kill her? Such a shame, she had so much potential.” the other voice said.

“Unfortunately, yes—Snow must die.” I almost screamed.

“It’s probably because we coddled her too much.” I began to shake like a leaf.

 “I almost feel sorry for her—she actually thought we cared about her.” Tears ran down my face.

“She was just a means to an ends.” I ran.

I raced down the hallway to my room that I had been given mid-April. I grabbed a giant duffel bag from under my bed and grabbed some necessary stuff to live. Leggings, shirts, shoes, shorts, some power bars from my nightstand drawer, a few sets of undies and bras. I swapped my sandals for running shoes. Hopefully, I would just look like a jogger in my comfy exercise shorts and tee. I quickly pulled my long hair into a ponytail.

I’m going to escape.

Then I remembered something from a few days after I first came here. Viola was showing me around the facility and she said, “This entire center was actually built in a series of old sewer lines. It’s really a remarkable piece of architecture.” Then she said there are probably some secret places that they had not found yet, that no one knew about.

After they gave me my access card, I found this old janitor’s closet that had cleaning supplies that looked like they hadn’t been used since I was a baby. It’s small and dark, but good for taking naps in. One day, I was bored and found a metal door in the floor. It looked like I could barely get in there. Maybe, just maybe, it would lead me somewhere.

I put the bag on my shoulder and took stock.

Food? Yes.

Clothes? Yes.

Sanity? For now.

Safety? No.

My life? Yes.

My mind raced as I walked through the hallways trying to look inconspicuous and staying in the blind spots of the cameras as much as possible. If anyone asked, Viola was taking me into town. I had a change of clothes for if I got cold and power bars for if I got hungry. My heart pounded. What if they saw through the lie? What if I ran into Viola? What if my plan didn’t work?

What if it was too late?

Relief washed over me when I came to the old lab where the janitor’s closet was. I stepped inside the lab and closed the door behind me. It was empty, save a few lab tables with empty beakers and test tubes on them. I walked over to the closet on the other side of the room. I opened the door. Except for the cleaning supplies, the tiny closet was empty.

I shut the door behind me and began looking around for something to open the door with because it had no handle. I finally just broke an old and brittle broom handle—hoping the entire time no one would hear me—and used that to wedge the door open. Everything was going according to plan. I sat down with my legs dangling off the edge and stared down at the blackness of the trapdoor. I heard the opening of a door. The lab door.

“Search it! Search the whole room!” I heard Viola’s voice scream then a lot of crashing sounds.

Now or never. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath—

And jumped.