Subject TX009

Chapter 3

Rain had officially entered her first experiment. She felt like she wanted to cry, throw up, and hit something all at the same time. Her eyes were shut so tight out of the terror in what might be behind her sealed eyelids. Hands grasped Rain's shoulders gently, scaring her and initially setting off her fight or flight response. Her eyes shot open and she went to hit the first thing she saw in her vision. Another hand caught her fist mid swing. Her eyes trailed up the persons hand and arm. Rain's eyes met with two deep brown ones. She sighed in relief and relaxed her fist realizing that it was only Ethan and Grayson in front of her.

Rain looked past the two tall twins and saw nothing but, well, nothing. The floor she walked on was black, the space was completely empty around her, what looked like eternal darkness surrounded her. Her eyes widened with terror and panic, her breathing increased and chest tightened. Rain's fear of isolation intensified as she desperately looked around for some type of signs of life. She flinched as the hand of one of the twins is placed on her shoulder. Rain met the chocolate brown eyes of Grayson, then switched her gaze to Ethan. "W- What's going on?" Rain stammered nervously.

"You're in the mental state for the experiment," Ethan explained. "This is where they will challenge your powers and your skills and your wits. But the most important thing that I want you to remember when we decide to start the challenge, it's all fake, none of it is real. These experiments will torment you and scar you for life. You are more than likely going to develop all kinds of different things-"

"PTSD, anxiety, panic disorder," Grayson added.

"But it is all fake if you can convince yourself that what is happening, isn't real, they are going to have a harder time cracking your system. To survive this, being physically strong is not as important as being mentally strong."

As Ethan finished what he was saying the words hung in the air like an apple from a tree. Rain's mind was set on fire, questions burned through her head and the "What if's" fueled the flame. All Rain could think of to do is sit there and nod. This place can't be real, none of this is real, she was praying that she was going to wake up from this dream and wake up in her own bed with her cat snuggled up beside her head and her fuzzy, pink socks on her feet. Her parents would be downstairs making her strawberry pancakes with chocolate drizzle and not loathing in the money that they earned by selling her to this hell-hole.

Interrupting Rain's thoughts were a short buzzing noise ringing in her eardrums. She flinched at the sound of the noise and stuck her finger in her ear, trying her best to block it out.

"Welcome all subjects to the first experiment of October. Please select one of the numbers for your hardness level." The woman's voice fades and a stand appears with three numbers, a green 1, a yellow 2, and a red 3. Curiously, you walk over to the stand and eyeball them.

Rain curiously grows closer to them, she stands in front of the stand with the numbers, the rest of her comrades gathering slowly around Rain to look at the buttons. Rain runs her fingers along the stand where the buttons are located at. She runs her hand across the yellow button and a pulse of energy flies through her arm, causing her to freeze in place. Images flash through Rain's head of the group of them running through a large fire, screaming for an escape, but there isn't one.

Rain snaps back to reality, a shorter, blonde haired girl with cool grey eyes has her arm in the air, off the button.

"Are you alright?" Her voice was smooth and sweet. Rain nodded and gently pulled her hand back to her body. "What happened?" she asked with a head tilt.

Rain looked back down at the button. She rested her hand back on it, the girl disappeared and was replaced by fire. Rain set her hand on there and took it off about a total of three times.

"I can see it." Rain announced, turning to the group. "I can see what the challenge is going to be. How can I do that? What did I do? Did I do something wrong?" Rain spat questions frantically out of her mouth, completely freaked out by what was happening to her. "This isn't real." Rain put her hands to her head and closed her eyes tightly.

"Hey, It's alright! It's okay!"

Rain looked around the empty abyss that surrounded her she started to hyperventilate. The world spun in circles around her as she closed her eyes. She remembered what Ethan had told her earlier. Rain said it repeatedly in her head. 'This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real.' Rain's eyes were squeezed shut. The other subjects around her were yelling and trying to talk to her but she didn't listen. The entire world kept spinning around her. Spinning . . . and spinning . . . and spinning. Rain's breathing got quicker and quicker until she felt like she was about to burst at her own seams. Then everything got silent. Rain did not dare to open her eyes for the fear of waking back up in that dark abyss. Rain listened to her breathing for a solid minute, trying to focus on slowing it down. Once she got her breathing back to normal she opened one eye.

She was back in the white room. Rain opened both of her eyes and looked around in surprise. One of the guards saw her eyes open and mumbled in surprise. "What the hell . . ."

The two guards next to her whispered frantically to each other, glancing back at her, then up at a window near the ceiling. Out of the corner of her eye, Rain saw Miles storm over to the two guards. He started yelling at them and they yelled back.

"Why the hell is she awake?" Miles demanded.

"Your guess is as good as ours, don't take this out on us Miles." The shorter, dark-haired man snapped back at him.

Miles pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, one hand on his hip. He pointed to Rain and said; "Get her out of here and to the Bunk Room. Report back here ASAP."

Before Rain could even blink the two other guards were on her and getting the straps off her arms and legs. Once the straps were off, Rain made a jump for the exit but was stopped and held back by another guard.

"Let me out of here!" Rain shouted, trying her hardest against the guards but failed to do so when another one came up behind her and pinned her arms behind her back. She struggled and fought against the guards as they pushed her out of the door and down a hallway.

Once losing her adrenaline and energy, Rain gave into the guards and let them walk her to wherever they were going. Eventually, they reached a door with a plaque that read "Bunk Room". The shorter guard swiped his wrist along the scanner. The red light clicked green and the door to the rooms opened.

"How did you do that?" Rain asked him quietly.

"We are required to get chips injected into our wrists to open any doors. A few years back we had an incident of a subject stealing a key card and trying to escape. Before that, there was an incident with a subject figuring out the key codes and trying to escape." He explained.

"So, if I want to escape I need to cut someone's hand off?" Rain said jokingly. The guard chuckled.

"Preferably not mine, please." He replied before leading Rain into the Bunk Room. "This is where you will sleep at night. Just find a bunk without a name on it write yours in there."

Rain nodded slowly and looked around the room. The guards left the room, the door closing with a final clicking sound to It that gently echoed around the room. The room was insignificant compared to every other room in this place. There were four vertical rows of bunk beds, seven bunkbeds to each row. There was a lamp attached to each of the beds, top, and bottom. Rain took the bottom bunk of the last bed in the first row. She picked up the little whiteboard eraser attached to the sign and wrote her name in cursive. Rain slowly sat down on the, surprisingly soft mattress, and laid her head on the pillow. She rotated to her back and stared up at the bed above her and sighed. This was her life now. She tried to hard to try and accept it, but she couldn't believe it happened to her. Of all people, Her. A small tear ran down Rain's cheek but she whipped it away and rolled on her side, waiting for the door to click and someone to walk in and give her company.