Spectrum

2.3: Grey

An alarm rang out in the laboratory - something was wrong, very wrong. A crazed man ran out of a room that multiple gunshots had been heard from, his clothes stained with dark spots. In his hand was a small pistol, and insane thoughts filled his mind, thoughts of murder and bloodshed, thoughts of death. 

And not just of those around him. 

He didn't last long, a bullet sent through his head - a bullet from his own hand - took care of that. 

Out of a room that he had entered walked a tall woman, who - although had entered with a young man under her arm - left alone. 

In her hand was a vial of black liquid. 

-

Mikky looked up as she heard footsteps echo down the hallway - the tall woman who had left the room when she arrived was walking towards the four. Dean and Howell immediately stood, and saluted, worried expressions adorning their faces. 

"Mrs. Juliet, Ma'am, is everything alright?" Dean questioned with a military tone in his voice, as if he were a solider. The woman - Mikky presumed her name was Juliet - nodded, and smiled slightly as if to prove her point.  

"I can meet with the girl now. Good day, Howell, Collins, Dean." As the three agents walked off down the hall, the female felt an increasing feeling of dread growing in her stomach. She didn't know a thing about this strange woman, she barely even knew her name. 

The door to the office had opened, and Mikky realized (to her embarrassment) that she had been standing there like a dummy. To cover up her mistake, she quickly dashed into the tiled room and took a seat in front of the desk. 

"Hello Mikky." The woman's voice was soothing, smooth, and reminded the colorblind female of her father, and the tales he had told her about his time in the war, the women he had met in faraway places, places that had been rich and full of life once upon a time, and the people there that had been so sweet and kind. "My name is Juliet. I am the leading officer of the SRU."

"Why am I here?" the female didn't want to waste time on pleasantries when such a question was weighing down on her shoulders like a yoke on an ox. It had been burning a hole in her mind, much like money supposedly 'burns a hole' in one's pocket upon assimilation. All she knew was that she held the key to 'return colors to the world' or something likewise, but she didn't know what that meant. 

The woman's hands moved from the table to her chin, and the girl noticed that in their wake was a black syringe, as her hands moved quickly down to a drawer first. It wasn't grey, like the rest of the world, and so she then wondered if it contained Liquid VantaBlack, if such a thing existed. Her fingers met each other one by one as she moved them, as a pianist played the keys. 

"I'm sure you know that already, don't you?" impatience filled the waiting girl. "You have part of the formula to return colors to the world." 

"Yes, but that means nothing to me. Absolutely nothing." Mikky could see interest in Juliet's face, shadowed by a slight smirk that angered her. "What do you need me for? Is this about my birthmark? The boy I saw you with had an identical one. Where is he, anyways? He's not with you now…" 

"Hm. It seems you know a lot already. I had to tell the boy the information you already know. I guess this little sit down was not necessary. However, I would be grateful if you would just follow me for a couple moments." She was out of her chair as she spoke the words, and Mikky felt no other choice but to follow her. 

"Where are we going?" her question was met by quiet, and that angered her greatly. "Hello?" 

"To a lab." 

"That doesn't tell me anything!" Anger was evident in her voice now, and Juliet swung around, her eyes ablaze with an angry fire. 

"Listen here, Mikky Stone. One thing you will have to understand about this process: you are not supposed to know anything. You will be expected to blindly follow our instructions. If you do not, it could result in multiple deaths. Do you understand?" The leader of the SRU had snapped. The constant wearing down of her job had gotten to her, resulting in such a lash. She felt the pain of a thousand suns every day, for she knew that even if she restored the saturation to the planet, her view would not change. 

Her chances were slim.

"I didn't have to explain all of this to the boy, for he followed us blindly without having the option of not. Do not act like you are deprived of information because even the lowest agent in this facility will always know more than you. Hell, even the custodian knows more than you, always will - and his memory is wiped after the end of every day." They were stopped in the middle of the hallway, and the elder female's words echoed out against the stone and tile walls. "Do not question my motives, do not question what we are doing. Here, we have a one worded motto - Trust - if you do not trust, you are nowhere, lost, wandering the halls of this facility. Do you understand, Mrs. Stone?" Her face was at the same height as the youth's now. "Will you trust?" 

"Y-Yes Ma'am." The woman's words were a blow to the chest for the teen, for never before had someone spoken to her in such a manner. Her father had occasionally chastised her for some outright manner issues, but never as harsh as this. "I w-will trust." A hum of approval escaped from Juliet's throat, and she turned back around and continued her given path, her shoes clicking against the tile loudly. 

"Well then, come along."