The Race Against Time

Chapter 25

Brooklyn POV

Tyler's body was shaking. If steam could come out of his ears it would. He grabbed me by my neck lifting me into the air knocking the air out of me. His hands were grasping at my throat, leaving me without air. I clawed my fingers at his hands uselessly and used my last breaths to scream for help.

I look over Tyler's shoulder only to notice Lucas and Xander already running towards us with worried looks. The serum made him much stronger than he was before. Even though I tried digging my fingernails into his wrist to dislodge him my efforts are futile. He was much stronger than me.

Lucas and Xander tried to pull Tyler off of me but Tyler's hold on my throat didn't weaken. Where was Carl when we needed him the most, wasn't he supposed to be watching us? Small ragged gasps were escaping my throat as his palms pressed against my throat; I could feel my esophagus closing. I tried to stay awake but he squeezed on my throat tighter.

My heart, once quickly beating, is now slowing in tempo. I stopped struggling, it was no use. His eyes burned with emptiness and anger as my lungs burn with pain. I looked down into Tyler's eyes only to see something red glowing in his eyes.

My mind grew hazy and the edge of my vision suddenly went dark. I felt his hands loosen from my throat, I expected to fall on the ground but muscular arms stopped me from falling. Even though I tried to keep my eyes open I was exhausted so I fell unconscious.

I woke up feeling better than ever. Where was I? I hadn't opened my eyes yet but somehow the environment felt different. I opened my eyes seeing white everywhere. I was in some type of hospital room. It has a stagnant smell like it's cleaned with plain water instead of disinfectant. The beds sit low to the ground, the frames bearing the signs of rust and the mattress worryingly thin.

Its walls are simple cream, not peeling or dirty, just cream. There is no decoration at all except the limp curtain that can separate my bed from the three others in here. It was perhaps once the kind of green that reminds people of springtime and hope but it's faded so much that the hue is insipid. The room as an undertone of bleach and the floor is simple grey. At the far end are windows in brown metal frames, only openable at the top.

My memories then came flooding like a waterfall. I touched my neck expecting it to hurt but it didn't. I felt perfectly fine. I knew this already happened to me once but I was still taken aback. I ripped out the monitors out of my hand and swung my feet off the bed.

The door swung open and Esmerelda came through it walking towards me with her heels clicking on the tiles.

"Where's Tyler?"

"He's in the process of being checked upon to see if there's anything wrong with him."

Just by the tone of her voice, I could tell that she was lying but I wouldn't say it out loud. I needed to tell her about Tyler's eyes.

"When Tyler was strangling me, I saw something red in his eyes. Does that have something to do with the serum because he's never acted this way before." I told her watching her closely to see her reaction.

"I think you were hallucinating darling, I'm sure there was nothing red in his eyes." She said nervously.

That slipped out smooth and easy like melted butter running down toast. It slipped out a little to easily. I wasn't buying it.

"Believe me Brooklyn it's nothing, some people tend to hallucinate in situations like these."

I knew she knows something about what I saw and I could tell that she trying her hardest not for me to find out what it was.

"We ran some tests on you but your blood samples show that there is nothing abnormal in your system other than the serum that we gave you. We'll run some more tests, but not right now we are doing our best to figure out why this is happening to you but as of now you are perfectly fine so Carl will escort you to the gym area where your friend will be."

I nodded and took my leave following Carl to the gym room.

"And Brooklyn please do not mention anything you saw, I know I told you that it was nothing but do not mention it to anyone I don't want people thinking what you saw was real."

"Sure thing."

I perceived that her reason for not wanting me to tell someone what I saw was fake. Why would she tell me not to mention if she was positively sure it was just my imagination?

This woman has something dirty up her sleeves, I just know it.

Xander

Since we came out of virtual reality Tyler was acting quite eerie and I was not here for it. When he grabbed Brooklyn by her neck a switch flipped inside of me. Lucas and rushed towards Tyler trying to pull him off of her but he didn't move a muscle. Even with both Lucas and I using our full strength we weren't powerful enough.

I had no idea why Tyler would do something like this to Brooklyn. Wasn't Brooklyn his best friend? I don't think that he did this on his own. Someone can't be friends with someone their entire life and all of a sudden wants to kill them.

One-minute Tyler was strangling Brooklyn then next thing you know he just dropped her. I caught Brooklyn before she fell. Right after Tyler dropped her Men began bursting through the doors taking both Tyler and Brooklyn with them. Right now, Lucas, Yori, Xiomara, and I was waiting for them both to be back but hours pasta and they did not return.

It was night time now so we all decided to take a nap for whatever was to come the next day. I just hoped that Brooklyn was doing ok because dread was eating me alive right now. The dread creeps over me like an icy chill, numbing my brain. In this frozen state, my mind offers me only one thought as I lay down on the bed. There is no avoiding it. I'm like a cow being herded into a truck for the slaughterhouse, only the cow doesn't know where it's going.

Bright and early the next day we were all woken up by Carl. I looked all over the room to see if Brooklyn was brought back but there was no sight of her neither Tyler. Carl took us to a room in the building full of exercising equipment. The area was massive. This was my kind of room.

I was actually beginning to get excited but my excitement died down when I noticed men dressed in suits standing in the back of the room.