Under The Surface

Chapter One

"Happy Treatment Tuesday, kids!" A cheery voice blared on the loudspeaker as the blinding lights sparked on. "All treatments begin at eight o'clock sharp!" Grey rubbed her eyes as she sat up in her bunk bed. "The current time is seven-fifty. Please be with your group leader in five minutes so they can bring you to the Zone. Have a great day!" The voice announced. Like clockwork, everyone in Grey's dorm slowly began untangling themselves from their covers. She looked around at the four sets of bunk beds in the room and the eight girls who occupied them as they all crawled out of their beds.

Grey stretched her arms out wide before climbing out of the top bunk. Along with her fellow bunkmates, she slowly shuffled to the bathroom to get ready. She stopped at the sink labeled with the name 'Grey' on the left corner of the mirror and began brushing her teeth. Once she started, Grey glanced at Cyan. Her friend was usually a morning person, but she had seemed different for the past week. Her face was terribly pale. Grey noticed that the girl's hair was thinning out. She looked at if she moving in slow motion. Cyan's hands shook as she lifted her toothbrush to her mouth. Grey shivered, remembering how the girl groaned in pain as she was sleeping. Turning back to her sink, she wondered if her friend's sickness was getting worse.

"Three minutes, Girls!" Their group leader, Beatrice entered the entrance of the bathroom and smiled. "We don't wanna be late now, do we?" Forgetting about Cyan's condition, Grey spit her used toothpaste into the sink and exited the bathroom. On the way out, she pulled a bag out of a cubby labeled with her name. She opened the bag to find a pair of jeans and a beige t-shirt. Grey changed into her outfit as quickly as she could. When she was done, a bell rang over the loudspeaker.

"Please report to the Zone with your group leader," a robotic voice projected into the room.

"Okay girls, time to go," Beatrice motioned for the group of eight to follow her as punched a code into the pad next to the door handle. As soon as it gave a green light and a beep, she opened the door and began walking down the hallway. The girls followed closely behind. The door across from their dorm opened, a male group leader and seven boys spilled out.

"Good morning, Beatrice," Gary, the group leader, flashed a smile at her.

"Good morning to you too," She responded. The two sped up slightly so that they were a few feet ahead of the following boys and girls. They seemed to be deep in conversation. Grey tried to listen in over her bunkmate's whispers and giggled aimed at the group of boys, but it was useless.

"Grey," a voice drew her out of her trance. It was Amytheist.

"What?" she replied, reluctantly turning away from the two adults.

"Violet stole a small flashlight from Beatrice, and some of us are gonna stay up tonight and sneak over to the boy's dorm."

"You realize the doors are locked by key cards, right?" Grey rolled her eyes and went back to facing forward.

"Well, we thought maybe you could steal a keycard for us?" Violet's pitch rose with anticipation. Grey hesitated.

"If they found out, we would all be in solitary for a week. Do you want to be like Bryan?"

"I mean, Bryan refused treatment. That's a lot different than a harmless meet-up."

"Harmless?" Grey tried to keep her annoyed voice low so that the group leaders wouldn't hear. "You're suggesting stealing from a group leader and going out after our mandatory bedtime."

"Come on, Grey, it'll be fun. We could-"

"I said no, Amytheist," Grey quickened her speed so that she didn't have to talk to the other girl anymore. She didn't know why Amytheist was so keen on breaking rules. The doctors and scientists were helping them get better. Grey didn't know why anyone of them would want to ruin that.

"All right boys and girls," Beatrice slowed her pace as she approached a white door. As she stared at the young faces, a look of guilt crossed her face. No one else seemed to notice except Grey. She wondered what a generous scientist had to feel guilty about. "You all know the drill. When we enter, go to your chair and put your gown on. Doctor Willis and her nurses will get you guys all set up once you do so." She smiled. Behind her, Gary scanned his keycard on the blank door and opened it.

The children all pilled into the room and scattered into their assigned beds. The beds were arranged so that there were eight on each side. Behind each bed was a large machine. The machine roped out into something similar to a 'C' shape. The top of the 'C' came over the bed and all the way to the end. Two separate arms came out from the side and made a curve shaped like the big 'C'. Next to each bed was a small dresser. Grey watched as Cyan, who was next to her, stared at her dresser, hands slightly shook. Grey mentally pushed the thought aside and opened the dresser drawer. Inside was a white hospital gown, which she began to put on. Once it was on, she slipped off her jeans and t-shirt. Grey remembered when she was younger and used to struggle with this step. However, many years of practice had helped her perfect the process.

"Good morning, children!" Double doors at the opposite end of which the kids entered sprouted open, revealing a figure dressed in a lab coat. Following Doctor Willis were thirteen nurses who immediately stationed themselves. One nurse to each patient. Willis walked down the aisle in between the beds and gazed at her patients. "Treatment will take around two hours today, and you will be asleep the whole time," He announced to the group. When the doctor passed Grey, he gave a smile that made the patient shudder. There was always something about that man that put her on edge. She couldn't tell if it was his old, wrinkly skin or the way he talked. Whatever it was, it made Grey feel the creeps around him. "Nurses, you may begin."

"Could you please lie down in the bed?" Grey's nurse flashed a smile, her words echoing around the room as other nurses said the line. The boys were on the opposite side of the room, assigned to male nurses. Grey laid down and took a deep breath. For some reason, she always became slightly nervous before each treatment. The nurse walked to the head of the machine.

"No! I can't do it anymore!" A scream erupted from the bed next to Grey's. Cyan was sitting straight up and her face was pale. "You can't make me do this," She grabbed her nurse's wrist, "Please." The girl's eyes were bloodshot and wide with horror. Within seconds, Doctor Willis was by her side.

"Is there a problem?" He looked Cyan up and down.

"Please don't make me do the treatment. I'm too weak." Her eyes began watering and her lips started to tremble.

"I promise, these treatments are making you better than you ever were, darling." Willis patted her head as if she were a pet. Beatrice approached the bedside.

"Cyan, honey, just do the treatment. It will be over before you know it." She cupped her hand around Cyan's cheek and smiled. The patient glanced at Willis before calmly settling down in her bed. Beatrice softly grabbed her hand for reassurance. With a malicious smile on his face, the doctor turned to the rest of the room.

"Nurses, you may begin the treatments," he announced before walking out of the same double doors in which he entered. Each nurse started the treatment machine and followed him. Taking one final glance at Cyan, Grey closed her eyes and tried to let the medicine put her to sleep. She was drawn out of her trance when soft footsteps erupted from beside her bed. Grey's weary eyes shot open.

"It'll be okay, Beatrice," Gary whispered. Grey opened her eyes to see Beatrice caressing Cyan's hair while Gary had a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get them out."

"I know." Beatrice leaned in so that her mouth was a few inches from Cyan's ear. Grey listened in a hard as she could, waiting for the sound of Beatrice's voice. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier with each second that went on. "This will all be over soon, honey. This time tomorrow, you and your friends will be free. That's a promise." She kissed Cyan's ghastly forehead and exited the room with Gary. Grey's mind spun as her consciousness faded. Beatrice had said the word 'free'. Free from what? Why did they want to get them out? Was there something the doctors weren't telling the patients? She struggled to come up with answers, but she eventually fell into a deep sleep.