After checking us both for broken bones or any serious wounds Caspar stands back to sterilize my leg. I grunt in pain as he pours the clear liquid that burns like fire on my leg. I catch a glimpse of a silver patch underneath the damaged skin and see the platinum for the first time. It sits like a pool of silver on my leg, and I gasp. Samarius stares intently at my gash and knits his eyebrows together.
“That wasn’t a physical,” he mutters to me, trying to keep quiet. I spin my head around to face him.
“Then what the hell was it?” I growl. “You force fire upon me and then send me in to a forest to shoot at me? Am I just hunters game to you?” I pause for a moment, “I know this isn’t just a physical, Samarius,” I finish with menace.
“Is there more of,” I gesture to my leg, “Of this?” He leans in to his hands and massages his temples.
“Jane, it’s already started. I was busy this week trying to figure out what exactly the asylum was going to do with you,” he sighs as he re-positions himself on the root he’s sitting on. I see him grit his teeth in pain as he brings his leg up to cross his knee as he usually does, but this time the pain is too much and he rests it back down on the dirt and patches of grass lining the forest.
“Oh …” I mumble. That explains some of what I was going to ask.
“Why are these ‘physicals’ getting so violent?” I question, grunting again as Caspar wraps a thick bandage around my leg. It stains with my blood but the numerous layers of white cover up the now red fabric.
“I told you we had to escape, but I didn’t know how soon,” he says, “How soon is now. The physicals are violent because they’re trying to kill you, Jane. They’re trying to kill you off and make it appear as an accident. You're unstable, and that causes you to be a threat. We can't have that here,” he stresses.
“We have to go within the next few days. No more than four no less than three,” I look down at Caspar.
“What about Caspar?” I say, worried for him. I may have only been here three weeks but I follow my instincts, and my instincts know they can trust Caspar. I know I can trust Caspar. The man himself nods and smiles like usual.
“I’ll – I’ll be coming with you,” he says in his quiet voice. I smile at his timidness. He sounds so nervous, but then again we all have a reason to be. Samarius continues.
“I can hack in to the control rooms. I can distract the guards, just follow where I tell you to,” he says. Caspar nods in agreement.
“I’ll be with you, Jane,” he says louder. It almost boosts my confidence.
“We’ll get out of here, Jane, I promise,” he says finally. I feel as if I’m being injected with information. Short boosts of it days apart, like a split vaccine. Everything has happened so fast, I’ve barely had time to absorb it all. I’ve only been in this asylum for so short time and then I’m being pushed and shoved around in to physicals, where they’re actually trying to commit homicide, and then make it appear as an accident. Where did time go? Why am I trusting these two so thoroughly? Shouldn’t it take a lot longer for me to trust others, considering the situation I’m in? Why are being so friendly?
“I shouldn’t trust you,” I say, attempting to stand. “I’ve only known you for three weeks, you could do anything …” I finish. I suppose it’s one of my many faults … Forgiving and forgetting. Not this time though.
“Why shouldn’t you trust us? You may have only been here three weeks but we’ve spent almost every day together. When have we harmed you?” I look at him as if he’s stupid.
“You throw fire at me and then you shoot at me!” I shout. He becomes agitated at my volume. “I don’t think that’s counted as something a friend would do!” I hiss. Samarius rolls his eyes and I for the first time see him express some real emotion.
“That wasn’t real fire, Jane. And the bullets? We weren’t shooting, the defence team were. The men that captured you … To them, you are hunters game. We must be quiet or they will realize that you aren’t dead,” he says.
“Why should I trust you, then?” I hiss. His face becomes sorrowful.
“Because we’re the only chance you have,” he finishes. I look down, because I know that it’s true. Without these two I wouldn’t have made it through the fire, and definitely burnt to death. I take a quick check of my leg and see a thick green liquid draining out of the wound.
“Poison,” Samarius mumbles shamefully. “You’d have been gone within a heartbeat.” I sigh and he lays back down again, bringing his hand to look at his wrist. A glass bangle sits on it with a green laser-like light ticking away the time on it. It reads 13:04. I couldn’t care less what time it is, though.
The sun lays directly overhead and I let it spread it’s warmth over me. It’s nice to go outside, and I envy those who do so daily. Before becoming completely distracted I ask Samarius one more question.
“The boy … His eyes are bruised?” I say cautiously. I have a feeling that I already know the answer. He doesn’t need to say it, so I stop him. His
“Lobotomy. I know,” his voice bathing in pity. ”It’s started. We have to get out …now …” He trails off. I look in to his eyes once more, and for once see the hate and anger I myself possess. His eyes glow dangerously with fury.
“I hate them just as much as you do, Jane. It wasn’t my choice to work here, and it was an accident what I discovered about this place. More importantly, you. You’re more powerful than you think.” He says as we lie on the grass and roots. I wait for him to speak but minutes pass. Caspar has stopped bandaging my leg and is sitting down at my ankles, scanning it with something. I hear a beep and wriggle around as I feel something crawling over my skin. Caspar smiles in sympathy but continues to scan my leg.
Pain strikes my leg and I grasp someone’s hand, almost shrieking in agony. What is he doing? The liquid continues to ooze out of my leg at a now rapid pace. My chest forces itself upwards and my eyes roll back and soon the forest become a blur. My hand squeezes another and my fists pound against the ground. But as soon as it’s started, it’s over. I pant in shock.
“I had to extract the poison,” Caspar says calmly. I hear Samarius groan lightly from my left and see him pull his hand away from mine, rubbing his joints. I frown and sit up. The two of them nod at each other and stand, Samarius leaning over and giving me his hand so I can stand. I grab it once more and try to pull myself to a standing position, brushing off any help from Caspar as Samarius stand three feet away, looking around. They begin to walk off further in to the wood.
“Wait!” I call.
“You said … Now?” I question trying to move my leg, which is now numb. Caspar offers his help again and I gladly take it. We begin to hobble over the dead leaves, his white coat pressing up against the burnt fabric of my matte black body suit.
“Yes. We’re leaving. Now.” He states clearly, walking in to the woods once again. I thought there was a long wait for prisoners who’re trying to escape? Was this not sudden? What about the planning and the suspense that leads up to the big escape? It doesn’t sound right. Walking out in to the forest is too simple.
“I told you I could disrupt the system.”
YOU ARE READING
A/04 - The Beginning
Novela Juvenil- Is there really any control, if even our thoughts are being monitored? Jane, among others, is stolen and tested by a team of scientists to study human behaviour for those who aren't of the race themselves. A story of those who survived the apocaly...
