Lab 421~on hiatus~

Rec-Room

"What?!" I cried. Did I hear him right? Five years?! No, that's not right. My breathing began to turn shallow and fast.
"Oh! Uh, are you alright? Do you need me to call Dr. Vlad? Want me escort you back to your lab?" Felix offered, his brows knitted with concern.
"NO!"
"Hey! There's no need to shout! Just take deep breaths." He said softly as he gingerly set his hands on my shoulders. I held my head in my hands, my mind was racing. He had been here for five years. That was five years too long. My head felt light. Suddenly, my knees gave out, and I was tumbling toward the ground.
"Krista!" Felix shouted as he rushed toward me. My knees hit the ground with a loud thud, I sank into fetal position on the ground. No, he must be lying. There is no way he has been here for five f**** years. My mind raced, he had to be lying. I could feel my eyes sting with tears.
"Krista! Are you alright?!" Said Felix in a frenzy as he knelt beside me. "A-Are you sure you don't want me to call Dr.Vlad?"
"Yes. I just... need a minute."
"Was it a panic attack?" He asked. I nodded softly. "What set it off?"
"You said...you said you have been here for five years. That's too long."
"But didn't Vlad tell you? You don't leave once you get here. People have tried, but they don't come back." He said softly, as if delivering a lifetime sentence. I just laid there quietly, what else was I supposed to do? "Come on" said Felix as he stood up and held out a hand. "You can discuss it with him later."
"...fine." My fists trembled with rage and exhaustion. Part of me wanted to scream and tear my hair out, but another part of me just wanted to curl up and cry. I took Felix's hand and let him help me up.
"Let me help you." Felix let me lean on him as he wrapped his warm around my shoulders, trying to support my weight. I sighed and shuffled beside him. We walked in awkward silence for a long  while. Doctors and scientists would pass by, eyeing us like we were animals that were supposed to be in a cage. I hated it. Every once in a while, Felix would try to start up a conversation, but it would fall flat.
"We're almost there." He assured me. Me made it sound hopeful, but to me it sounded like hell. The closer we got to the "rec-room" the more "patients" we saw. Some had their doctors with them, some had guards, some were even being restrained. Felix pulled me closer as we approached the large steel doors. A guard stood at either side of the door, inspecting everyone who entered or left the room. They held guns, wore armor, and had tools that I don't even recognize.
"Names and patrons?" One of the guards growled at us as Felix tried to open the door.
"O-Of course! I'm Felix, Dr. Claire H. Brown is my patron. And this is Krista, her patron is Dr. Vlad Kerschiev." Felix said franticly. The guard stared us over for a while before pat searching us.
"Alright, head on in." He concluded.
"Thank you sir." Felix bowed his head before pushing past the man. He threw the door open and sound flooded my ears as I was shoved onto a landing at the top of a flight of  metal stairs. "Well, here's the rec-room" Felix sighed as he brushed his hair off his shoulder. People of all ages, races, and shapes filled the space, and it wasn't exactly a small space either. It appeared to
be about half the size of a football field. Bright fluorescent lights lined the ceiling and linoleum tiles covered the floor. There were a few metal tables as benches set in neat rows near the front of the room. The wall closest to me was made of a tinted glass, and appeared to be a sort of gym.
"W-What is is?!"
"Where most specimen spend their time, if their patrons let them. Everything here depends of your patron, they control everything about you." He explained. I bit the inside of my cheek, I was trying to forget that little detail.
"But l-let's not focus on that!" Felix added hastily "I mean, we have at least a couple hours here so why don't we enjoy ourselves!" He grabbed my hand and lead me down the metal stairs. I sighed and followed him. We finally found a spot at a table (after about 30 minutes!) a few other people waved at Felix as we passed, he actually seemed pretty popular.
"So what did you get on your Labyrinth exam?"
"Huh? Oh like three hours I think...? Maybe more."
"Oh! Wow thats actually pretty good! Mine too nearly nine hours." Felix said it like it was just common knowledge.
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah, well I passed out halfway through from exhaustion!" He said with a chuckle.
"For how long?!"
"Umm, awhile"
"Oh." I muttered. Why was he just so calm about having his life taken away? He suddenly gasped.
"Sunny! How are you?" He exclaimed as he made room on the bench.
"The usual." A quiet voice said. "Who's this?"
"This is Krista, she's Vlad's girl."
"Ooooohhhh. Hi! I'm sunny." A small frail girl held out her hand. Her skin was a lovely shade of chocolate brown. Bruises and cuts shone all over her body. Bags hung low beneath her dull green eyes. The looked thin, a little too thin.
"H-Hi" I muttered as I shook her small hand. She flinched.
"Sorry, I have a bruise there." She explained.
"A new one?" Felix asked, his brows knit together.
"Yeah, I wasn't fast enough for an exam." Sunny gave a small, sad smile. She leaned of Felix's shoulder.
"I'm sorry." He whispered to her as he stroked her back. I stared at the ground, I still couldn't accept the fact that I was in this hell. There had to be a way out. It seemed like was lost in though for days before I yawned and curled up, I had to be hopeful, I couldn't give up. Sunny and Felix had already struck up a conversation. My eyes grew heavy and my vision blurred.
"Ya tired?" Felix asked gently.
"Mhmm"
"You can lean on me if you want."
"Okay." I laid my head in his lap, he may be a stranger, by he was the closest thing I had to friend.