Hear Me

1

1

Inhale.

My back felt heavy as I inhaled a shaky breath. A pain scratched its way up my spine. I gritted my teeth.

Exhale.

My body sagged and my ache dulled.

Inhale-

The door clicked open. I weakly opened my eyes but didn't bother to turn my head. Footsteps echoed across the floor before a line of suits and jackets walked in front of me. They stopped to stare for a moment.

"What's on the schedule for today?" one voice murmured. Paper flickered.

"Just more testing."

A hand grabbed onto my arm. Their fingers pinched at my skin as they pulled me out of the bed. Just as my feet touched off the floor, more hands arrived and hooked under my shoulders. The floor tugged at the skin on my feet. The pain it brought was weak and dull. It should be after being dragged along the same floors day after day.

As I was taken out of the room and down hallways, a small desire of freedom loomed in my stomach. My toes tried to stand on their own but any sort pressure sent tingling shots up my feet. A grimace covered my face while a short yelp escaped me. The only response I received was a jolt at my shoulder.

The overbearing hands released me and dropped me onto an examination table. A throb ricocheted through my head. Hands clasped my face and shone a bright light in my eyes. It blinded me for second. Blink. Using my remaining strength, I slowly opened and closed my eyes until the variety of colours faded away. The familiar feeling of my neck being wiped clean as the scent of alcohol tickled my nose. It wrinkled up at the sharpness of it. A needle jabbed its way into my neck with pain radiating out from it. I hissed and shut my eyes. That's one pain that I never get used to. My breaths came out constricted and low. The sound of people moving around hovered the room as I tried to relax myself. Think of somewhere else. My mind ran blank. The only place I could conjure up where the same walls and bare surroundings that clustered around me. A sigh escaped my lips while I reopened my eyes. Those that scurried around in front of me keep their heads forward and avoided any eye contact with me. I'm here. You can't just pretend I'm not.

There was a light knock on the door before everyone filed out. The squeak of new shoes marked the presence of my new companion. Once my eyes rested on the mocking perfect hair, a dry lump formed in my throat.

"How are we, Miss Elden?" he chirped with a smile.

I didn't respond.

"Still not talking I see? Good."

His snide face bored into my eyes. The contempt he held forced words into my mouth.

It burned to let myself make nose but I refused to stop. In a withered voice, I asked, "Why did you do it?"

His grin grew. "Do what?"

I wetted my lips. "Everything."

"A little more specific please. You mean your first day here?"

Hazy memories floated to mind. I burnt all of their work on these experiments. Why am I here? My empty stare answered him.

He released a humourless laugh. "That was all just a bit of fun. One little injection can be quite useful. Can even cause a triggered hallucination, if your team knows what to do."

My stomach clenched as my eyes began to burn. I spat out weakly, "Why?"

He took a step closer to me and narrowed his eyes.

"Because I'm stronger than you," he spat out, his hot breath fanning my face. "And you're weaker than me."

My mouth had run dry.

"Finished? Let me go back to the room," I hissed.

He grinned again and tapped a finger under my chin. "Ah ah ah, you won't get anywhere asking like that."

Gritting my teeth, I added, "Can I go back to the room? Please."

With a sigh, he sauntered away and opened the door. He poked his head out briefly before gesturing to me to move. Shudders still scurried through my body. My hands grasped at my seat's edge but were too weak to help me stand. Within seconds, Hudson had walked into the room. Carsten whispered something inaudible to him as he disappeared outside the door.

Hudson stayed still, his only movement being his watching eyes. He stood as my arms continued to wobble as I shifted myself to my feet. They buckled under my weight, but before I could fall, he grabbed hold under my arm and pulled my body to lean against his. He trembled slightly while he escorted me from the room. He was silent bar his heavy breaths of air.

My head turned tiredly to look at his face. His eyes were sagging closed, as if he hadn't slept in days, weeks. The corners of his mouth were permanently pointed down. His gaze kept watching straight ahead.

I can understand why Carsten is doing this. But what have I done to anger him to this point of redemption?

"Why are you doing this?" My voice was merely above a whisper at this stage. He exhaled louder as he continued on the trek.

"Hudson?" I tried again, my voice wavering. Any lines around his eyes tightened with his jaw. His grip on me tightened and he tugged me harshly along with him.

I felt my own jaw lock while my line of sight dropped to the ground.