The Cube

Chapter Four

 Serenity unlocked the door with what I assumed was our room's key.

"Follow me, please," she requested. I followed her out into the hall and walked past many rooms much like mine. The halls were fairly empty, only a few other bizarre creatures roaming the halls aimlessly. We moved out of the clean cream halls with grey and white tiled floor into a mint green hall with greyish tile. She unlocked a room and opened the door. She motioned for me to enter and I obliged. The room was the same mint green as the hall. It appeared to be an x-ray room with hospital gowns and another room, which I assumed to be a changing room in the corner.

"Please go change into a gown. The x-rays will not be able to penetrate the clothes your wearing now," Serenity requested. I changed into a gown and sat on a stool Serenity had moved to the center of the room. She positioned the x-ray camera behind me and went in a separate room to take the x-ray photo. She exited the seperate room and positioned the camera in front of me and returned to the room to take another photo. "You may change back into your other clothes while I examine the photographs," Serenity stated from behind the door of the other room. I changed out of the paper gown and back into the bodysuit, boots, and belt. While the x-rays were developing, I sat on the stool and looked about the room. It still looked the same so I just sat there.

How long has it been since I solved the puzzle cube? Is the time here the same as it is out there? Will I be old and grey when I leave this place? I had so many questions and I was scared of the answers I would receive. In fact, I was scared of everything in here. I never knew if I was going to get hurt if something was going to kill me. I don't even know how I got in here. Was I teleported here by some portal created by the Rubik's cube or was I shrunk and teleported inside the cube? I had so many questions and every answer spawned another question. I was confused and scared. Would I be able to see Ashie or my Mom again?

"Tristan?" Serenity waved her six-fingered hand in front of my face, bringing me out of my thoughts and back to whatever was my reality right now.

"Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts," I shook my head.

"That's alright," Serenity opened a manilla folder and removed an x-ray photo. A lightbox suddenly appeared out of the wall when she approached. Serenity slotted the photograph neatly into the light box alongside two more. She turned on the lightbox to reveal pictures of my ribs and upper arms. Serenity motioned to the x-ray photo, "Do you see this dark line right here?"

"Yes," I replied.

"This is a break line," she stated, "This means your rib is cracked, but not broken. It should heal with rest and medication. I will have to check on you fairly often, though."

"Alright. Am I allowed to go back to my room?"

"Yes. I will accompany you back to your room to ensure you get back safe and sound." Serenity opened the door and we began the trek back to my room through the mint and eventually cream hallways.

"Serenity, what are you doing out in the halls at this hour? By this time you should be asleep," a voice echoed from around the corner that I'd never think I'd hear again. The grey being that "welcomed" me here was back and I wasn't certain why.

"I had a patient to take care of Ms. Siv. Maybe if there were more doctors and nurses in this place I wouldn't be tired all the time," Serenity talked back to the beast that I feared in such a manner that I would be afraid of being swallowed whole by the creature that's called Ms. Siv.

"I understand that you're unhappy with the way that you are being treated in this place, but trust me, I will recruit another doctor to help you. Who is your patient?" Ms. Siv asked.

"This is another matter that I needed to talk to you about," Serenity prepared another argument in her head, "Tristan, the human you recently 'welcomed' to this facility, has sustained multiple injuries from the teleportation here. Some of said injuries could have been life threatening if pushed any further. I insist you talk to teleportation staff if you would like to have more humans in this so-called school."

Ms. Siv froze, I guess from not usually being talked to in this manner. She turned her head and spotted me. She turned back to Serenity and spoke, "I will talk to teleportation staff and see if something could be done."

"Thank you. If you could also solve the medical staff problem, that would be wonderful," Serenity responded.

"I will try to correct what you feel is wrong," Ms. Siv stated. I glanced up at Ms. Siv's face. She looked as if she was lying. She had a smile that curled slyly. I was concerned that Ms. Siv would hurt me or Serenity.

"Let's go back to my room, Serenity," I attempted to disarm the situation.

Serenity seemed to snap back from her trance, "Oh! Yes, of course,"she starts walking be to my room before stopping suddenly and turning her head to look over her shoulder at Ms. Siv. "This argument isn't over, Siv," Serenity promised.

"I don't plan on this argument being over," Ms. Siv simply replied. Her mouth said that she was smiling, but her eyes showed a burning hatred that I can only describe as being from an enemy of war. Afterwards, we walked to my room to greet Wallace once again.