The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

7. No One Thought To Try The Door

When I opened my eyes, darkness was all I saw once again. I looked around, and saw Benny looking disoriented. He was ruffling his dirty blond hair, propped up on his elbow, and Rajeev was kneeling, with both hands pressed to the ground. His head was bowed, and his lips were moving soundlessly. It almost looked like he was praying.

Emily was still beside me, only now there were dried tears streaking her cheeks. Her shirt was wrinkled where she had been kneading it at her hip, and it looked like she had also been clenching at the hem of her shorts.

Tony was still standing, now leaning against the wall across from Emily and me, smirking like the little bastard that he was.

I’m sorry, Emily thought, shame blackening her normally cheery voice. 

I’m fine, Em, I was proud that this wasn’t a lie. I was fine. We would be fine.

What’s going on? Benny asked, recognizing me suddenly. I could feel the panic inside him, threatening to send us all into a downward spiral of panic, but he withheld it. He fought the panic back. I blinked at him a few times, surprised.

Didn’t Emily and Tony fill you in? I asked, glaring at the latter.

Tony was too busy being all happy about you being upset, and Emily was crying too hard. Rajeev thought slowly, formulating his words carefully. He, too, was close to panic.

I let the information I had learned about our captivity flow through my head quickly. I thought that I was really getting the hang of the whole “mind-reading” thing quickly. It was easier now to sort through the unimportant, involuntary thoughts flashing through my head and focus on what was really important. 

So what do we do now? Rajeev asked in the same slow way.

Have you tried the door? Benny sounded serious, so unlike his usual self, and looked over at the closed door.

I figured it’d be locked, I thought back, embarrassed. Benny stood, walked over to the door, grasped the handle, and then twisted.

The door swung open inwards, illuminating the dull concrete.

Of course, I thought. Emily, Rajeev, and I all stood, and the five of us squinted against the streaming golden light. Emily stood beside me, and I could feel her nervous apprehension.

I still hurt. Although small, Emily’s betrayal had shaken me. But I never liked holding grudges, so I slung an arm around Emily’s shoulders and grinned at my friend. Emily smiled back, another apology.

Naturally, our small moment of happiness came to a premature finish when we stepped into the next room, and three people in white lab coats turned to us with gas masks.

I could see white panelled walls, a single table in the middle of the room, and lots of medical crap that looked like twisted metal and plastic. I did recognize the small metal cart that held scalpels and other sharp-looking knives. My gut twisted.

“Sweet dreams,”one of the surgeon/scientist/assholes said. Her voice had a slight British accent. I couldn’t look at her to save my life. I couldn’t look at anything except for the fourteen sharp little blades of all different sizes that sat in a neat row on the gleaming metal. There was a hissing sound, and then greenish gas seeped into the room, obscuring my vision of the scalpels. Every muscle in my body became heavier, and I fell to my knees with a crack. Dimly, the pain registered as my torso hit the ground as well. The last thing I saw was Tony slumping to the ground, stubbornly trying to resist the gas.

And then nothing.