Hunt the Hunter (Revised Version To Be Uploaded)

Starting routine

10th April, 3049

The next day, we were woken up by the speaker.

It had only been a day, but I was already getting annoyed by that thing. The voice on the other side was just so cringe evoking.

We woke up either way, showered and got dressed in our all white uniform. Us, like everyone else who came out of the rooms at that time, followed the green lines until we reached what seemed to be the cafeteria.

Through the glass window, I could see the huge, bland interior. They were about fifty metal tables in the area, with long matching benches, but there were only enough of us to fill about twenty of them.
As we turned to get inside the cafeteria, the corner of my eyes caught something else, someone else down the hall.

No longer in a suit, but dressed in grey shirt and black trousers, and complete with a long black coat to finish, a smiling Cameron watched me, his lightning blue eyes sparkling slightly. I blinked one or two times and rubbed my eyes to see if what I just saw was right. When I was done, he was gone, and I was nudged into the cafeteria, where I found found myself a plate and joined Melanie and Katy.

"What were you still doing outside?" Melanie asked, eating her cereal.

I took a spoonful of mine and was met with the horrible pang of its pure blandness. I didn't get how she was eating it without problem, cause it was surely going to be a battle for me.
She was staring at me for an answer, so I forced down what was in mouth before I shrugged.

"I thought I saw something." I stated, partially trying to spit out the blandness.

Before Melanie could say anymore, Ash and Gemma joined us. And Gemma, oh sweet Gemma. However she'd done it, she managed to get a dress instead of the white shirt and pants everyone else was assigned.

They sat at our table with their own copies of bland cereal and we ate in silence, for a little bit, observing the other girls and people around us, until Ash asked a question:

"What happened to Mother Rachel?"

Melanie and Katy froze and cast glances at me, making the others look my way as well.

I won't lie, I've never been good with handling death or other personal things, and I hate attention. I barely remember my parents, that's why Mother Rachel's death came as a big shock to me, and the pressure my friends gave was weighing down on me too hard.

"Shika...?" Gemma began, but I was saved by a voice calling our meal time over. I saw it as my chance to bolt.

Before I could be asked anymore questions, I had left the table and had distanced myself from my friends among the sea of other girls.
There were plenty of girls with pale copper skin such as mine, so it was easy.

We were being led to labs, and despite knowing I'd see them at the end of the day, I wanted to avoid them and feel as nonexistent as ever.

When I got to my assigned lab room, I saw a few nurses and a doctor talking to another guy. Their backs were facing me. I couldn't make out the conversation, but when the guy turned around, I didn't know whether to be glad; to see a familiar face, or angry; because of the current happenings.

Cameron.

"Hello Shikarukia. Oh right! Happy belated." He greeted me in a casual tone, like he was seeing an old friend.

I smiled from eat to ear, firstly because someone had remembered my birthday. Then I frowned from one end of my chin to the other, mostly because I wondered how he knew it.

I peered over his shoulder, goodness he was tall. I mean, I was a nice height for my age, but he was still taller than me. I felt dwarfed. I pouted and half frowned, staring at the doctor and nurses preparing equipment for whatever experiments they were about to conduct.

"What are those for?" I asked, slightly pointing an accusing finger over his shoulder.

He cast a glance backwards, "There's suspicion that when you guys were captured, they might've tampered with your bodies, chemicals, genes and all." He looked at my shocked, flaring eyes. Then he smirked at me, at my slight fear.

How could he?!

"They just want to make sure you're okay, no abnormalities, that's all. If you're scared I'll wait outside."

I didn't verbally take up his offer. Instead, I went straight to the observation table they'd set up for me and sat down.
I could see them mix some weird looking chemicals, and fill a bunch of syringes with them. These weren't hospital syringes, nope. They were big.

Suddenly I wasn't so eager to be in the room, not by a long shot.

I began to slip off the table, but I hadn't taken notice of how many people were in the room. Someone gripped my shoulder tightly and I went numb all over. The next thing I felt was one of those big looking needles in my neck, and everything else was blurry.

"... She shows no signs of it."

"Her results seem lower than the others, maybe we should let her—"

"No. She shows promise. She can still be of use."

My head was still spinning when I woke up, so I wasn't sure if what I heard was real or not.
I think I was still on the observation table, but I was strapped down by my wrists and ankles. I jiggled them a bit and one of the nurses untied and let me leave.

How long was I in there?

I reached the door and walked into the hallway.

"Oh! You're finally out."

"HECK—!" I squeaked, defensively putting both hands to my face. I really did not expect Cameron to be outside, and I definitely didn't need him to frighten the living daylights out of me.

"What?" He asked me.

I was used to people constantly bugging me, thanks to Katy and the others. But he seemed too enthusiastic about it. The little scare he'd given me took another second to set in, and that's when I realised how weak I felt. My knees buckled, it probably looked like I had knocked knees like a new born colt. I helplessly reached out for a wall or door to keep from crumbling.

But I failed.

Miserably.

Surprisingly, he caught me and helped me walk back to the dorms, placing one of my arms round his shoulder and wrapping his around my waist. He did the carrying and I did the stumble-walking.

Okay, no, he did everything. The walking and carrying, while I simply dragged my useless feet on the ground. It was slightly fun.

I didn't know what time we got back, but I found myself easing into the beddings of the semi comfortable bed in my room, and someone tucking me in.

So cozy.

Should I have cared then? I don't know, and didn't at the moment. Because right now, I was probably doing the most important thing in the world.

Yes, you guessed it.

Sleeping.