Maybe

Chapter 29

I woke up suddenly and gasped. A cold sweat poured down my face as I tried to catch my breath. I looked around me. Everything was white and looked incredibly sterile. It was also cold. Where was I? Where was Grayson?

Suddenly, as I was huddled in my corner, I heard mumbling from outside. It was loud, but I couldn't make out what the person was saying. I heard metal clang to the floor and I shot straight up and walked to the metal door. There was a small window cut out of the top of the door and I looked through. Grayson! He was spotless, his hair freshly cut, and dressed in a clean black T-shirt and black jeans. He was fighting against the guards that held his arms. As they got closer, I could understand what he was yelling at them.

"Where is she? Let me see her! Don't hurt her! Please! Just let me see her!" Grayson yelled as he passed my cell door

I pounded on the door as loud as I could, but he didn't turn to look.

"Grayson! I'm here!" I yelled

I pounded on the glass window, but no one heard anything. Soon they turned a corner and were lost from sight. I slid down the door into a heap of sobs. Suddenly, I heard the lock of my door switch out of place. I quickly slid away from the door as fast as I could and pressed my back into the corner of the room. The door slowly opened.

There he was again. Standing at the door. With his haircut, dirt cleaned off, and dressed in a black T-shirt and black jeans, I could almost mistake him for Grayson. But, no, there stood the boy that I loved.

Loved. Past tense. An intense feeling of deep affection that is now gone. There one second and gone the next in an explosion of red and orange flames. Love is gone. It disappeared once I felt the blistering heat on my arms. It left the second Ethan made the decision to die. It was carried away with the ashes of the boy that I loved.

He stared at me with not a fleck of recognition in his eyes. I know I had cuts all over and was covered in dirt, but it had only been 6 months, how could he not recognize me? He loved me!

"Get up." He said harshly

I stood up on wobbly legs and followed him out the door. I trailed behind him as he led me to another door. I looked up at him, wanting to wrap my arms around him and have him tell me that everything is going to be ok.

"Get in." He said as he motioned towards the door in front of me

I stepped through the door and was placed in the middle of many faucets and holes in the wall. All of a sudden, a mechanical voice began talking to me.

"Get undressed, and press the red button." It said

I did as I was told and was immediately blasted with hot water. Next came the soap, then the water again, at some point guards came in and cut my hair, more water, new clothes, finally, cold air to dry my hair. I was dressed in a plain black T-shirt and black ripped jeans. I could only imagine that the jeans were ripped not for a style choice, but from use. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My skin was smooth and... dare I say, perfect. My hair was cut to the same length that it was the day that I cut it in the farmhouse with Ethan. If Ethan hadn't recognized me outside, he was bound to now.

The mechanical voice came back on and ordered me to step back outside. There waiting for me was none other than Ethan. I looked up at him with hope in my eyes, waiting for him to wrap his arms around me and tell me how much he missed me, but I was met with unfeeling eyes.

"Come with me." He said

He started walking again, but I had mustered the courage to ask him.

"Ethan?" I asked hesitantly

"Don't talk." He said firmly

I stopped talking and followed him down another hallway. We turned a corner and entered a room. This one had professional looking monitors, equipment, and men.

"Sit." Ethan said as he motioned for the long metal table in the middle of the room

I followed his order and sat down on the cold table. Ethan left the room and closed the door behind him. I turned my attention to the man that had talked to me in the woods.

"Hello, Olivia." He said

"How do you know my name?" I asked taken aback

"We've been trying to find you and Grayson for months." He said, "You two are very good at hiding."

"Apparently not good enough." I said

"Oh come on now, you are safer in here then you are outside." He said as he picked up a very large syringe

I instinctively pulled away from him.

"I don't believe that for a second." I said

"You don't think Ethan would lead us to you only to put you in more danger do you?" He said

"What are you talking about?" I asked

"Oh don't make me remind you about your young love." He said sarcastically

"He died in a fire months ago." I said

"Well, then who's that boy who's been leading you around everywhere?" He asked

I looked down at my hands.

"I don't know." I said

"Yeah, well he doesn't recognize you does he?" He said

"What do you want with me?" I asked in annoyance

"He also won't recognize you for the rest of his life." He said

"What do you want with me and what do you want with Grayson?" I asked harshly

"He made a trade. A trade for science." He said, "The same sort of trade you are about to make."

"And if I don't?" I said

"Trust me, you will." He said

"Grayson didn't." I said, "He remembers me."

"No, Grayson didn't yet. We'll give him some time to think about it and he'll get back to us." He said, "See, we aren't monsters."

"What's this trade?" I asked

"You allow us to experiment on you with different antibiotics to bites from the infected, and we give you a new life. A safe life." He said

"I would rather be thrown back out into the woods." I said

"You think that now." He said

"So that's what Ethan traded?" I asked

"Not exactly, we also trade for memories. We found out through Ethan's memories that he has a twin brother. We found out that he is somehow immune to the infected and we found out where he could be. After we watched his memories, we had no other use for him besides being a guard so we gave him a dose of memory blocker. No emotions and memories mean a perfect guard. We want to use Grayson to find a cure for this disease and we want to test it on you." He said

"Absolutely not." I asked

"Well, you can have time to think about it." He said

"Fine, I'll think about it. On one condition." I said

"Depends on the condition." He said

"Let me stay in Grayson's room... please." I said

"No." He said sharply

"Ok then, I guess you can be dropping me back off in the woods now." I said

"You get 10 minutes to talk to him." He said through gritted teeth

"Everyday." I said

"Everyday." He agreed

"Alone." I said

"Alone." He agreed

He backed up as I hopped off the table and headed for the door. I opened the heavy metal door and looked up at Ethan.

"Take me to Grayson's room." I said