Abnormal {Book 1: Completed, Book 2: Ongoing}

Chapter 21

Lyanna's POV

I jolt awake to a sharp pain in my left shoulder. I roll over onto my back, and see a short, dark skinned doctor leaning over me. He's holding a metal object in his hand. It looks like a dull blade.

"It's time to wake up, Ms. Collins."

I glance at the digital clock next to me. 6:15:32. My normal wake up time is 8. I stayed up until midnight to finish packet, and now I have to wake up almost 2 hours early? This must be their new method of torture---messing up my sleep schedule.

My neck stings from the small cut the blade made in my skin, and I'm suffering from morning nausea when the doctor silently motions for me to get out of the bed. 

Now that I'm used to following orders, I do exactly as he tells me to, walking with him down the long hallways and countless flights of stairs until we reach a large metal door. 

The metal looks strange, as it is shiny and smooth but there seem to be...ripples on the surface. I blink, look again, and the ripples are gone. 

The doctor guides me to the door, then motions for me not to open it. 

"We have decided that you will start attending our morning rituals, starting today."

"Morning rituals?" I feel my nausea becoming worse by the second. Is this another of their tests?

"Each of your actions in that room will be monitored. So stay in line. Don't speak unless spoken to. Don't move unless you are commanded to. Observe the others at all times. Watch and learn. Are we clear?"

"Yes."

He opens the door silently, and I walk in. 

This is not what I expected. In fact, it's a million times worse.

There is a single doctor standing in the middle of a circle made up by about two dozen teenagers, each with gaunt faces, sunken cheeks and hollow eyes. Their skin is yellowish and sagging, and I can see their bones showing through their shirt. 

They all turn towards me when I enter the room, silent. Their eyes follow me as the doctor gestures me to the only empty spot in the circle, between a blonde girl and a dark haired boy. 

I sit down gingerly on the ground, careful not to touch either of them, and try to maintain a calm composure. "Hello, Ms. Collins. Welcome to the group," the doctor says.

I nod and force myself to smile, trying not to make eye contact with anyone other than the doctor. 

But a few seconds later, the group speaks in a soulless voice, "Hello, Ms. Collins. Welcome to the group." 

I'm chilled to the bone.

The doctor speaks again. "Now, let us begin our session."

He then walks around the circle to give each of us a small, red pill. I watch as the others swallow their pills, dry. 

"What is this for?" I ask as the doctor comes by to give me mine. Every single set of eyes in the room stares at me, their lips pressed tightly together. Suddenly, I remember the words of the other doctor, the one that woke me up this morning. "...Don't speak unless spoken to..."

I swallow, hard, as the doctor's gaze seems to burn a hole through my forehead. "Don't speak to me, or any other person in this group unless you're spoke to, Ms. Collins. Since this is your first time attending our morning ritual, you are forgiven. But there is no second chance if you cross the line again."

I nod, taking the red pill and swallowing it without hesitation. It is strangely sweet, but with a bitter aftertaste. I can still feel the powder from the surface of the pill dissolving on the tip of my tongue. 

In a few moments, everyone has swallowed their pill, and the doctor returns to the center of the circle. Abruptly, the floor lights up underneath us, and a red circle appears in front of each of us. Some of the circles are fully red, glowing even. Some are half faded, and some are so faded that they seem white with only a faint tinge of color.

My circle is bright red. 

"Now, I want all of you to breathe in and out for 30 seconds and starts clearing your mind of all thoughts. Any thoughts." The doctor turns and makes eye contact with me. "The less thoughts you have in your mind, the closer to white your circle is going to be. At the end of 30 seconds, the circle should be fully white. Time starts...now."

I watch in horror as the circles around me begin to fade as the other members of the group start clearing their minds of any thoughts. I try desperately to imagine my mind as a white wall, but it's not working.

I glance at the timer on the floor. 18 seconds left.

My circle is still bright red.