A/04 - The Beginning

A/04 - Six (6)

The days have gone by slowly, and I find myself again the misfit of the clan. This place is just a replica of high school, but makes me feel even more claustrophobic and confined. It feels humid and dry, and the air breathes as if it’s processed. The meals are tasteless, even we we’re presented with the richest of foods. There are three tables set for us all in the cafeteria. I sit at the last, closest to the door. I don’t trust the others. The others don’t trust me.

Every day goes according to schedule; Wake up, breakfast, intervention, lunch etc. It’s tedious, and to break the boredom I ask Samarius for literally any form of stimulation. He only replies blandly;

“Your interventions are held outside, what more do you want?” Ah … The interventions. See, because of my unusual test results and the abnormality in them, Samarius was given the clear to take me outside for the time they were held. I wasn’t in a questionnaire and mental examination like my peers.  No, I was taken outside for a physical. This involves throwing numerous objects at me, testing my strength, defining my combat skills. It’s fun most times, Caspar, Samarius and I always laugh a little. The only time I truly felt fear while performing the examinations was the time when we played with fire. But oddly enough I find I’m beginning to trust Samarius.

…

“We’re doing something different today, Jane,” he says. “Don’t be afraid though. We’ll keep you safe,”

“Why? What am I doing?” I answer with a small tint of happiness in my voice. Anything a little different is exciting in this place - anything that doesn’t conform to the set schedule.

“You’ll see in a minute,” he finishes, shooting me a worried glance. I ball my hands in to a fists out of nerves. The guard escorts us towards the familiar steel elevator, which then carries us up to ground level. Samarius asks the guard to leave and he does so, then we walk towards the black door: the same from the video that was only aired last week. Its metallic scent drifts up to my nose and I scrunch it up. I run my hand along the barred exterior and sigh. Just another reminder of how imprisoned I really am.

Samarius fiddles with a key but eventually slots it into one of the holes and starts to open the many locks. We listen in silence as the thick steel bars slide back from inside the door, the only sound apart from Samarius’ jangling keys. We wait until the last one settles and proceed outside. The wintry air slices across my face in an instance, however the thick fur coat given to me provides a nice layer of warmth over the crisp white clothes I still wear. My white boots sink in to the fallen snowflakes as we make our way towards the training field. My hair has been pulled back in to a clean ponytail, and none of it slips out of place. I keep a hard expression as we walk towards the open field. Caspar awaits us. I see his slim figure grow closer as we approach.

“Welcome, welcome,” he smiles brightly. I peer past his shoulders and see a copious amount of sizable machines sitting quietly on the snow, a soft humming emitting from them. I feel the heat radiating off of the nearest one and shudder from the abrupt temperature change.

“Caspar, what is this?” I ask, pointing towards the large piece of machinery. His eyes follow my finger and he frowns.

“It creates fire. Well, it projects fire,” he quietly says. It takes me mere seconds to process this.

“You’re going to … Fire? Won’t I burn?” I wheeze. The Doctor shakes his head and continues to rest his eyes on the machine.

“We’ll see.” Samarius locks his hand on my arm and begins to drag me over to a drawn white circle, in front of the fire-maker.

“No! I’ll burn! Don’t do this!” I plead, as he locks my legs in to the ground, doing so with two large chains rising from the concrete. The metal weighs heavily on my ankles and I try to move, but end up bruising my ankles and feet. Samarius joins Caspar and they run towards the machine. I look up in to it, dragging my head from its hanging state. I see it. The machine is a monster.

“I trusted you!” I finally shriek from across the enormous field. A large beam of light hits me and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to deflect it. I hear the machine adjust itself and slide its long barrels in to place with a final click. My coat has been removed and I stand here with nothing but the uniform worn in A/04. I feel a rush of warmth hit me like a stampede in short time. It disappears just as quickly as it started.

“Jane!” I hear someone yell, but I ignore the calling. Fire is all I can think of. I can see my damaged body already, the black marks covering my helpless arms and third degree burns wrapping my body up like a tight blanket on a cold night.

“Jane,” someone mutters, sucking my dreary state in to a vortex and presenting me with reality like the snap of fingers. I open my eyes and stare in to a man’s face, full of worry and dismay. Caspar exhales loudly behind and holds his hands on his head like a child in preschool, clipboard also in hand. I feel the shackles on my ankles release and arms embrace me, their warmth encircling me immediately. Not that I need any of that, though. Samarius holds a strong grip on me and then mumbles something, which I can’t quite catch.

“Jane. Jane. Jane!” Caspar snaps, now in front of me. I nod.

“Are you hurt?” I shake my head.

“In pain?” I shake my head again. He scribbles down something on blank paper. The language is foreign so I don’t guess what it translates. I stand there shaking, the bags under my eyes from the lack of sleep the night before standing out against my blood ridden face.

“Back to your dorm, then,” he says casually. I nod.

…

I sit inside the cafeteria and eat my lunch. My skin’s suffered in the least from the fire but my ankles aren’t doing too well. They rest bruised and beaten against the cold white floor. I slowly turn them around to examine them but the bruises only appear on the front half of my legs.

I finish whatever I’m eating and sit for a while, thinking about yesterday. Why would they risk something like that? Why was Samarius being so friendly? What was he mumbling? An alarm goes off in my head. He likes you. I roll my eyes in disbelief. He couldn’t possibly have grown in the slightest bit attached to me in these past two weeks. I’m just a nomad from the woods - no more, no less. The thought clears itself out of my mind quickly and I focus on the present.

The empty plates and dishes erase themselves from my sight and a guard coolly walks up to my side and handcuffs me for the trip back to my dorm. We stand and walk towards the empty white wall.

“Bye loner!” Someone shouts from the large circular table at my right. My head snaps around and I witness as the entire group begins to shout insults at me. I ignore them effortlessly. The white wall opens up and the guard and I stroll towards my dorm calmly. I’ve dealt with this too many times before.

I enter my room and survey my surroundings. What can I do now? My eyes land on a small reflective object on my desk. A glass panel. I run excitedly over to it and carefully pick it up. I almost squeal, feeling like a child suddenly by the little surprise laid on the shiny white surface on my desk.

I pick it up rapidly and notice something fall off of it, which I soon discover is a note. I pick it up and read it.

I thought you might enjoy some ‘stimulation’, as you call it. To open: press your hand on the surface and write your name with your finger in any language. Enjoy.

 I’ll speak to you soon.

Samarius.

I smile at his kind gesture, as this probably took a lot of effort to sneak in. I press my hand on the panel and begin to discover just how far technology has really advanced …

...

Thank you to all who've read my story, and please please please write your feedback in the comments!