Misdirected

Chapter 3

Misdirected: Chapter 3

Chaos filled the hall. We were all shoving one another out of the way, desperate to find our cells in the time granted. The air was hot and sweaty, making it more difficult to breath. I was near the middle of the hall, so it was harder to see the cell numbers. I felt something hard hit my face as I grunted.

"Watch where you're going!" I looked up to see a large, hairy man rubbing his elbow as he cursed, glaring at me. Rubbing my eye, I noticed blood on my hand. I could still see, but blood was never a good sign. Instinctively, I covered my eye as I stumbled forward, getting shoved from side to side in the process.

Using my good eye, I looked at my ID card. Cell number 368. I pushed past the crowd so I could see the left side of the hall more clearly. Cell number 359 was about four feet away. Moving forward, I could see cell 361, which meant that my cell was on the right hand side. I groaned as I began making my way to the right, enduring the wrath of the mad crowd.

"Ten minutes left!" Everyone panicked at the sound of the speakers. I winced as I felt someone punch me in the stomach. People were tripping and tackling one another in an attempt to clear the way. I tripped on multiple occasions, but falling was not an option. With much difficulty, I made it to the right side of the hallway. Panting, I leaned face-first against the wall. I could feel the pressure on my back. Carefully, I began turning around, making my best efforts to avoid getting punched or kicked. With my back now pressed against the wall, I slowly moved in the direction of my assigned cell.

362. . . 364. . . 366. . .

The numbers were printed neatly beside the barred doors, with slots to swipe our ID cards beneath them. I tried swiping my ID card at the cell 366. The numbers above the slot changed. Instead, they read, "Access Denied." I grimaced.

"Five minutes left!" I jumped at the speakers and continued inching  forward against the wall. As I approached cell number 368, relief overcame me. I swiped my card. The numbers changed to my name and the door opened. A bunk bed was positioned in a corner across the room. Aiden slumped against the wall, panting and sweating. He was covered in bruises, and one of the sleeves of his shirt had been torn off. He looked like he'd just been attacked by a wild animal. Slowly, he lifted his head and gave me a weak smile.

"Hey, you don't look so bad." he cocked his head to one side.

"Yeah. You too, I guess." I lifted my arms, inspecting them. As expected, they were covered in light bruises. Pain seized my wounded eye as my hand shot up to cover it. I walked over to the bed, sitting on it. The sound of men tramping one another could still be heard. I tried to tuned it out, leaning against the wall.

"Two minutes left!" By now most of the convicts had found their cells. The few that had not were either laying on the ground in defeat, too injured to continue, or had simply given up. I let out a satric laugh, trying not to imagine what would happen to them. I could still hear men both in and out of their cells, groaning, crying, and calling out for help. Taking deep breaths, I closed my eyes in an attempt to tune out the noise.

"Time's up!" Too quickly, my eyes snapped open. I could see guards dragging away the convicts that hadn't found their cells. Some put up a fight, others did not.  Silence filled the hallway once the guards and remaining prisoners were gone. A few minutes passed before I could hear faint whispers, as fellow inmates began talking. Aiden and I didn't utter a word. Eventually, he fell asleep, slumped against the wall.

That night was probably the second worst night of my life. I couldn't bring myself to rest. Images of corpse-like people rushed to my mind. And I knew I was next. I could see the corpse I would become, yet I didn't have the energy to shudder. Not the will to scream. Not  even the humility to cry to myself. I only possessed fear that sent chills down my spine.

I couldn't recall how much time had passed until the speakers came back on. Instead of a distant voice, a loud beep blared through the speakers, waking Aiden and the rest of the prisoners. We waited to see whether someone was going to announce what was to happen next. After a few moments of silence, it became evident that no one was going to say anything. I sat up in the bed, annoyed by the  disturbance.

Individuals wearing lab coats began making their way down the hall, occasionally pointing the inmates. Some would enter the cells, taking a prisoner or two with them when they left. Guards stood beside each set of doors to ensure the safety of the experimenters. At some point, a few experimenters entered our cell. 

I immediately recognized  the old man who had scouted my prison bus. There were two more researchers hovering behind him. One was a tall girl, with a slightly pale complexion that contrasted her dark brown eyes and hair. She looked about my age, give or take a few years. The other was a boy who had similar features. He looked too young to be here. The way he was sweating and staring at Aiden and I made it clear that he was nervous.

"We'll take them both." He looked me in the eye. I stared back, standing my ground. He swiftly turned and walked out of the cell. "Clean them up." The girl nodded as she jotted something down on a thin, electronic notebook, following the old man. The youngest of the trio jumped, as if to realize he was almost alone with two convicts. I gave him an evil smirk before he dashed out of the cell.

Aiden turned to look in my direction. "Think we'll make it through the week?"

"I sure hope not."

"You know," he began staring off into space, "I don't deserve this."

"You don't think so?" I retorted sarcastically. He glared at me, but continued to talk.

"No one deserves this."

"Right." I rolled my eyes. There was no telling who deserved what.

"I'm not a cold-blooded murderer." His tone was slightly threatening.

"I'm not a  murderer. Period." He raised his eyebrows at this.

"And that's exactly why you're here." He snapped bitterly. I shrugged innocently. Even if he thought i was delusional, there was no point in explaining anything. I'd probably be dead by next week anyway. Aiden seized this as an opportunity to talk about himself, though I didn't catch most of his story.

"When they closed off the border, I knew I'd never see my brother again. I didn't have a choice." I raised my eyebrows, but nodded regardless. I was never a good listener. At some point, he stopped talking. We both drifted off in the silence, until the cell doors opened. The girl I'd seen earlier walked toward me, accompanied by tree armed officers.

"You." She barked. "Come with me."

I know the pace of this story is a bit slow (and my updating is too) but it'll pick up in the next few chapters. I just don't want to rush it because this is setting up the rest of the story. Plus there's really only a few more chapters that are going to be like this. Anyway, I didn't spell check/proofread so let me know if there's something wrong grammatically or if something doesn't make sense so I can go back and revise.

P.S: Do YOU think Logan and Aiden deserve this? I honestly don't know. I have a very basic outline of the plot, but no themes so I guess we'll just have to wait and see where this goes.

VOTE.COMMENT.FAN!!