Vision Zero

Chapter 6

  Eva opens a door that says DO NOT ENTER and shoves Quinn inside. An oversized high-back wooden chair with wrist and ankle straps sits in the center of the dimly lit room. There are no windows. No way of escape. Quinn strains her eyes to see an array of monitors hanging on the wall behind a splintered birch wood desk.

"Why are we here? What is this room?" Quinn asks.

"You will sit in that chair."

"It looks...painful," Quinn says, rubbing her arm where Eva twisted it.

"Sit," Eva says, pushing Quinn down and applying the restraints to her wrists and ankles.

"What are you gonna do to me?"

"This is part of your treatment. You will wear a virtual reality headset which will project a stream of images. Electrodes attached to different parts of your head will control what you see and monitor your responses. This will not hurt. You will experience your greatest fears in a controlled environment."

"No...no...please!"

"Do not close your eyes."

"Wait...don't!"

"We will begin now," Eva says as she attaches the electrodes to Quinn's head.

"Please... Please... Don't do this! I can't... I... Please..."

"Silence. Do not fidget."

"But... Why me? Why just me? I didn't do anything."

"You do not question me. You do not question my methods."

"Shouldn't the others be here? Dr. Hale? Dr. Sinnott?"

"No more talking, Miss Ryder."

"But..."

"This is your final warning. Remain silent while I perform the procedure and you will stay out of the box. Keep speaking and..."

Her mouth snaps shut. She sits very still, doing what she's told when a sharp jolt shocks her.

"Ow! You said it wasn't gonna hurt," Quinn blurts out.

"I lied. Stay still or the pain will intensify."

Quinn does as she is told. She watches, immersed in the altered reality that flashes in her eyes and deceives her brain.

"Very good. You are learning," Eva says.

Quinn's heart pounds. Her face drains of color. Sweat drips down, saturating her shirt. She feels herself, alone, on a stage in a huge stadium, millions of eyes upon her. Her legs, like jelly, quiver and she collapses on the elevated platform. Hissing and booing fill her ears as she sits, scrunched up with her knees deep in her chest. She drops her head so she can't see the unsympathetic, disdainful stares that burn through her and reduce her confidence to ash.

"You are almost done. Today's session is nearly complete," Eva says, injecting a fluid-filled syringe into Quinn's arm.

Quinn's heart continues to race, her breathing labored and shallow. Eva disconnects the electrodes and removes the headset as Quinn gasps for breath.

"Your first session is now complete. You will be returned to your sleeping quarters where you will await further instructions. That is all for today."

Quinn, still shaking, silently follows Eva back to the room where the other girls are talking and laughing, trying to pass the time. Quinn collapses on her cot, exhausted from her first treatment. Just as she is almost asleep, Delphia opens the door.

"Come with me, Miss Ryder."

"But I just got back here. Can't I do it tomorrow? I just wanna sleep," Quinn says.

"No, it must be now, Miss Ryder. It's part of your treatment. First, you work with Dr. Sacavage, then with me."

Quinn rubs her eyes and follows Delphia down the long corridor that leads to the auditorium. As they get closer, Quinn's stomach wraps in knots. Delphia pushes the heavy wooden door open and they step inside.

"Please take your place on the stage, Miss Ryder," Delphia says, adjusting the spotlight so it shines directly on center stage.

"Why are you making me do this? What did I do?"

"This is all part of your treatment. Your behavior is inappropriate. My job is to fix you. You must learn how to conform."

"I'm not broken! I don't need to be fixed!"

"I thought you understood. That's why you're here. To modify your behavior so you can rejoin society. If you prefer, you can still be transferred to a prison cell. That is, as long as there's space. When there's no more room, well, you know what happens."

"Okay, okay. I'll do whatever you say. What do you want me to do?"

"That's better. You're improving already. Now get up on that stage."

Quinn shuffles her feet across the floor, picks up the microphone and stares out at the rows of empty chairs. She pictures all the imaginary faces looking back. Staring at her. Laughing. Judging. Her stomach still sick, she cringes as she steps into the circle, the spotlight burning her eyes.

"Tell me about yourself, Miss Ryder. How do you feel standing up there?"

"Stupid. I feel stupid. This is never gonna work."

"You need to make it work, Miss Ryder. If you ever want to rejoin society, you need to make it work."

"How? Tell me how. What do I do?"

"You do whatever I tell you to do."