MORTALS

/05: I Have No Idea Where I Am

The first thing I smelled was the antiseptic fragranting my nostrils. I coughed a little, which only made pain flare in my chest. The only sounds in the room were my steady breathing and the stable beep, beep sound from the heart-rate monitor. I slowly became aware of the cast wrapped around my right foot, and the pain whenever I moved it. I slowly peeled opened my eyes, squinting. I tried to sharpen the fuzzy images around me. I glanced around and took in the empty, off-white hospital bedroom.

I groaned. How long have I been here? I shut my eyes tightly, trying to remember exactly what happened. Then it hits me all at once, and the memory of it all flashes across my mind:

My spat with Mom; Running from rooftop to rooftop; Meeting up with Addy, Leo, and Dan; Twisting my ankle; Fighting them—and kicking their butts; And finally, the needle piercing the side of my neck.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the woman come in. She was an older woman, maybe in her early seventies. Her graying hair was styled up in a tight bun, and she was wearing a dark blue business blazer and skirt. She carried a file folder with her. Despite her outfit, she had a warm demeanor, like that of a caring grandmother.

A few minutes passed in awkward silence. Eventually, she finally broke it.

"Forgive me if I startled you," she said kindly. She gave me a small smile as she sat on the edge of my bed. "My name is Marilyn Drezza."

I stayed silent for a few moments. No, not because I was shy. On the contrary, I was waiting for the perfect moment to cuss this woman out for sending my friends to kidnap me. Marilyn looked at me expectantly, watching my every move. She looked as though she was waiting for me to say something.

I took a deep breath and counted to three, trying to calm my nerves. When I looked back at Marilyn, I gave her a simpering smile. "My is Everly Bell."

Marilyn held out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Everly." I took her hand and shook it. "I'm glad you came."

"I didn't come here willingly." I snapped, not caring in the slightest that I was being rude. "You sent Addy, Leo, and Daniel to kidnap me."

Marilyn sighed. "Yes, Agent Reyes told me what had happened."

I raised an eyebrow. "Agent Reyes? I know Leo. He's way too clumsy to be anyone's agent."

Marilyn said nothing and opened her folder. On the tab, I could clearly see the name Everly Bell written.

"Hey!" I said loudly. "Why is my name on that folder? What's in there?!"

Marilyn just ignored me. I huffed and folded my arms. Marilyn took her sweet time, reading... whatever crap they had about me. When she finished, she looked up at me with a smile.

"Miss Bell—"

Miss Drezza." I cut her off. She looked slightly affronted but continued.

"Miss Bell, I'm sure you have many questions about all this," I was about to ask another question, or perhaps make a snide comment. Marilyn noticed. "But I will only be able to tell you everything if you save your questions, all your questions, until the end, okay?"

I considered it for a few seconds before responding. "Okay, fine."

==== ====

I stiffly followed Marilyn through the hallway. It looked like a regular hospital hallway, with a fair amount of doctors bustling around. It is going to take me awhile to get used to... everything here, starting with these skinny jeans. They were similar to the ones Addy was wearing when I had met her earlier, only they weren't broken in.

"Can I please just wear my own clothes?" I asked, trying my best not to sound like a baby.

"Please hold your questions until the end." Marilyn said simply. I groaned and stumbled over my feet, nearly falling flat on my face.

As soon as I had woken up, the doctors had gotten to work patching up my broken foot. First, they injected me with something—against my will, might I add—and told me it would only take a few minutes.

A few minutes later the pain had gone away, and according to the x-ray, I was fully healed. The only side effect was that my leg was numb.

"Can you at least tell me where we're going?" I asked.

"To the conference room. You'll hear everything you need to know there." Marilyn said.

After a few more minutes, we reached an elevator. Marilyn pressed the down button and the doors slid open with a hiss.

"After you." Marilyn said, gesturing at the elevator car. I strode in, Marilyn following closely behind. The elevator ride was awkward, to say the least. There was no gentle music, no TV in the corner, nothing distract me from the fact that I knew nothing about where I was, or what I was doing here.

After a few more seconds, the elevator car stopped, and the doors opened with a hiss. The corridor beyond was wide, people walking to and fro. It wasn't too busy, but not deserted. The walls were made of dark oak and the floors were covered in a red plush carpet, with the occasional plush chair outside each room. Everything was polished clean. I could smell the professionalism behind the doors. Is that a word?

Marilyn led me down the corridor, the sound of her heels clicking muffled by the carpet. Another woman passed us. She looked younger, maybe in her early thirties or so. She was dressed in casual teacher's attire and carried a clipboard under her arm, her black hair cut in a bob. She looked nice enough.

"Marilyn," the woman said with a polite nod.

"Amy, are you busy?" Marilyn asked.

"I'm giving orientation to a few of the new kids, why?" The woman, Amy answered.

"Can you take this one with you?" Marilyn asked, handing Amy my folder. The woman looked through it, scanning my information. After a few seconds, she nodded.

"I can fit her in the next session." Amy said. She started walking down the hall, only to stop and turn back. "Aren't you coming?" She asked me.

I turned to look at Marilyn. But she had already started walking down the hall, clearly in a hurry to be somewhere. I glanced back at Amy.

"Sure."

I was done waiting for answers. I needed to know.

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Hello, everyone. I'm sorry if this story has been moving really slowly. By the time I've published this chapter, I will have the next 19 chapters lined up and ready to go. I'm only updating once every week because if I ever go on hiatus I can still update. Anyway, this chapter should start getting the story to move along faster. I've tried to write little-to-no filler chapters, so that's good. Next week is a two-parter chapter, so I'm thinking of uploading both just to move the story along a little quicker. Okay, that's all for now, my dear readers. Have a nice life!