Reality

Chapter 3

You run full circle here, each day is basically the same as the last. There's no windows, no recess outside. There's literally no way to see the sunset and there's no telling how long I've actually been here. They could've cut my days short to make it feel like a longer process, or maybe drag them out longer just so I can find a part of the wall more interesting than the rest. However, I'm pretty sure I've been stuck here for three weeks give or take.

Each day Seraphina visits, giving me my blue pill and doesn't take her eyes off me till I swallow it. Not to mention, each of those visits consist of unwanted conversations, questions, and compliments. Apparently she loves the shade of my eyes, has a younger sister, and is only 24 years old. Something about her seems too innocent, too nice for a place like this. She's very calm and collected and yet an extremist when it comes to talking about herself. As if she has nothing to lose or gain from feeding strangers every word of her story. There's something about her that's reserved in other ways. As if she uses her talkative trait to make up for something.

But that could be my reluctance to trust, every person has a dark side. Not a single soul is pure, my dad knew everything on that. He preached it to me for years when I first started middle school. "Never share your secrets, never share your money." He'd laugh at himself, as if it were some sort of inside joke. Of the two weeks, I've been safe from my mother. The thought of the woman even considering seeing me right now makes me sick. I want to ask if she was lucky enough to go to jail for what she had done. Obviously I'm still stuck here trying to prove myself not guilty to the world, but maybe karma will tear her from her roots and plant her in a cold dark cell.

With all that's been going on I've been so numb to the pain of loneliness, don't get me wrong the first few days were restless. Nightmares after nightmares, every time I'd shut my eyes. As the days went on the tears dried, the nightmares stopped and so did the dreams. Each thought of the outside seemed like wishful thinking. They've trained me to do trials and interrogations, I've become accustomed to the rituals. They started testing me every other day. They'd take me to the same room I was first introduced to Mr. Price. The clown of a man, he had dyed his greying hair as I thought he would. I've had to see his 2D face a lot, so we're practically BFFs now. Almost as if his only vocabulary consisted of the same words, each day he'd ask me the same 100 questions and I'd answer the same 100 answers. Once he's satisfied I'm sent back to my little room.

The motivation burns still, kindled by the thought that one day they'll realize how wrong they are. I've started frequently rearranging the bed and desk in my little white abyss. It's a fun little game, once I fall asleep the next morning everything is back to their original places. It gets harder each day though, I feel like I'm losing a lot of my youthful strength. The food they offer has to have little nutritional value, but I could only tell by taste. Who knows what they're actually feeding me, human flesh doesn't sound far fetched at the least. Mr. Price seems like he'd dip his 6 ounce kidloin in battery acid.

The buzzer plays as the door opens, I'm in the middle of pressing my back against the wall using my leg to shove the bed across the linoleum floor. "Copeland, come with us." The soldier who had entered announced. I look up at the serious face and mustache, I stop and push off the wall approaching the soldier, "Where to today?" The soldier wields his cattle prod, "Mr. Price has scheduled a session." I sigh turning around and allowing them to cuff my hands behind my back. We head into the monochrome hallway, the vivid lights cast no shadows as if they never even existed. Both soldiers place themselves in front and behind me.

Something I had done since the routine trials and questioning began was count the steps to the room I had met Price in every other day. But we didn't stop at that room, we carried on down the hallway. Now that's a change of pace, although my curiosity's not playing on my side today. I'm almost nervous as to where we're heading. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I hope it's something good. I peek around the soldier in front to gather any information, all identical to the hallway behind us. The man behind me grabs the metal cuffs and pulls me back in line with them.