In June, We Don't Use Calculators

Chapter One

"Okay, here we go. You know what to do, June."

For what seemed like the hundredth time that week, June stood in a small glass room, readying herself to 'work her magic' as her mother put it. In one swift, sudden motion, her head jerked back and the lights in the room turned off. It was silent except for the beeping of monitors in the other room - more data for the lab's 'experiment'- and then, muffled clapping. As if she was a circus animal, performing a trick for curious onlookers. Her hand rose to her head to relieve the throbbing headache her actions had caused. Lights were turned back on as a scientist entered slowly. She carefully removed the sensors attached to June and offered her a nervous smile.

"Great work today. I have a feeling that these results are going to help us a lot."

With what, June wondered but didn't comment. "Can I go home now?" She had been in the vicinity for over a week, and it seemed that they were getting nowhere close to being done.

"I'm afraid not," the scientist replied in a clipped tone. "We have to make sure you're..." she thought about her words. "okay to be outside."

The newly dubbed test subject rolled her eyes. "And how long will that take?" The scientist stayed silent. She didn't know whether her question wasn't heard, or was being purposely ignored. It was hard to decide which option she hoped for. Something felt off - strange-but she kept her cool.

As the woman's grip secured itself around her arm in a rough manner, June found herself being dragged into a bleached white room that matched the hallway she had been walking through previously. June realized that this was not the way to the room she had been put in prior, but was too scared to comment. All in contained was a bland bed in the corner, and a single desk, nothing else. There was no opening to the outside world besides the heavy door that was presumably locked. A sense of unease trickled through her, chilling the young girl to the bone. This wasn't right, wasn't anything like the comfortable quarters she had been staying in before. It felt more like a prison cell, cold and desolate. This wasn't right at all.

She was trapped.

Before she could turn around, the door slammed behind her with a thud that made her heart sink. With all the might her thirteen-year-old body could muster, she slammed into her only exit with no avail.

Not now, June attempted to calm herself, you will not freak out. Everything had escalated so fast, she didn't know what to do.

"Let me out!" June cried in anguish, trying to ignore the oncoming b screamed over and over, pushing against the door until she was too weak to stand. Against the wall she fell, hot agonizing tears staining her cheeks. In her rage, the lights flickered in a meaningless order. For once, she had no control.

A speaker on the ceiling crackled as the voice of a man echoed off the barren walls. It was the doctor from earlier, trying to calm her down. "June. Miss Rivard, would you please stop that? It is not going to do anything but cause inconvenience."

"Why have you trapped me here," Jude shot back? Her fists shook in anger, but her voice stayed eerily calm. Although he was blind to her stare, it was deadly. The anxious feeling had yet to fully fade but was becoming less suffocating as she grasped the situation.

"Despite what you may think, we have not trapped you. We just had to move you to a different facility, as to test your abilities further." The man's voice was equally as even and sounded sincere enough. Jude almost wanted to believe him but decided against it.

She gave him nothing in response except a sarcastic scoff, complete with her trademark eye roll. Because she had finally calmed down, she decided to evaluate her new space. Along with the speaker, there was a monitor. Great, 24/7 surveillance. The chance of June getting out of here on her own was slim to nothing.

She took a seat on the nearly empty bed, the crisp covers smelling newly bleached along with the rest of the room. She wrinkled her nose in response to the odor, sighing in temporary defeat. As she laid down to calm her mind for a moment, she heard an indistinct shout that came from down the hall. It was quiet, but unarguably there. Whether it was from another "test subject", she could not tell, but from that shout, there was a single fact that lingered in her mind.

There was someone else there.