Unusual

10

The second time we walked back to my cell I looked around to try and remember where I was. Every little detail could count so I made sure to observe everything without being caught. Then, we arrived at my cell and I was forced back into my small space, shoving my face into a corner as I smirked to myself.

Bingo.

It was night time, or at least I thought. No one was here and there were wind gusts pushing against the warehouse violently shaking it. After willing up my nerves, I stood up and walked to the cell door.

My leg started to feel better, there was just a big bruise but I didn't let that stop me from walking on it like nothing happened. With the sharp tool in my hand, I picked at the lock before stopping myself. Did I want to do this?

The consequences were probably going to be unbearable but what would happen to Jade if I didn't try and find her? Disregarding my thoughts I kept picking at the lock until I heard a click.

A creek sounded from the hinges of the door as I slowly pushed it open. My heart race picked up a little while I walked to the place I thought I heard Jades voice.

"Jade?" I called out. Nothing.

One specific door caught my eye, the one where I thought I heard Jade cry from. Ghostly, my fingers brushed against the cool metal and turned the doorknob. Before it turned all the way, a click made my hand halt from turning it.

"Are you serious?" I mumbled to myself. She had to be in here if this was locked. "Jade?"

When howling air answered me, I pulled the tool from my jeans and played it around the knob. It wouldn't budge at all so I kicked the door with frustration. After forcefully pushing and yanking on the knob it opened.

Just standing at the doorway and looking in upon the dark room sent chills down my spine. I don't think I was ready to face what was in there but I went on in anyway. Since it was dark, I struggled to find the light switch, but once I found it I flipped it up. 

Bright white lights turned on and illuminated throughout the white room. There was a navy blue sofa sitting in a corner and a brown table in front of it. A couple cabinets were scattered through the room and a desk with a chair in a corner. The thing that caught my eye was a file cabinet that was left wide open and a couple papers that laid on the ground.

Cautiously, I approached it. Once the text written on it started to become more apparent, I bent over and picked one up. Parts were highlighted and there were small pictures.

One picture was of a girl with blonde hair. Under it was a name, Alice Ruth Wilson, that was highlighted. There was her birthday, age, location of living and some other information. My eyes started to widen when I realized this was a profile of someone, and that someone could be a victim. Once I lifted the front paper up there was another picture. Another one laid under it and more under that one too.

I cautiously put everything back how I found it, only to move by the file cabinet. My fingers pulled up a random file and opened it. There were scribbles and yet some more highlights. It appeared to be a shipment.

3 office chairs,
12 pounds of steak meat
and 2 gallons of Clorox bleach.
4 bottles of nail polish remover,
hydroelectric tools,
white pillow case,
and pepper spray.

The list continued on with weird combinations. I started to breathe irregularly. Not knowing what some items have to do with anything made me anxious. It could be for anything but how uncertain I felt about the things and other shipments of drugs and unusual items. Without hesitation, I pushed the file in back how I found it.

Shaking my head, I was reminded why I escaped my cell in the first place. "Jade are you in here?"

Like usual, nothing odd sounded. Only the groaning sounds of wind that pushed through the building. I scoped out the rest of the room and didn't find anything.

But when I heard a steady thumping sound I paused in my steps.

I tried to strain my ear to hear closer to the source of it, but the wind made it difficult. For a couple seconds I got a clear shot of the sound which undoubtedly wasn't just from the wind. Yet when I looked around to where I heard it coming from, I was just faced with the wall. Looking all around for one more time I didn't see anything.

A funny feeling bubbled inside my stomach and I began to get scared. Before I left the eerie room, I called out Jades name one more time. Like the rest of the times, nothing answered my call for the missing girl so I quickly and swiftly left. I made sure to leave no traces of my presence behind as I entered back into my cell.

I made sure to hide the tool that got me to the suspicious room. With a shaking body and a new fear raking my mind, I laid onto the ground and shut my eyes as hard as I could to rid of anything I just encountered. 

---

After a couple days of the same thing happening, between making sure my wounds healed properly and the people finally finishing what they started with, the place got a little too busy for my liking. However, what they created was another cell, but it was made out of metal right next to mine. I assumed that they also created another pair or cells a little further away because of the same supplies and routine a couple other workers followed. Hopefully the cell next to mine was for Jade if she was still alive.

I've been repeating the same thing every night; sneaking into other rooms and getting nothing. My hope for her presence started to falter. There was strangely no trace of Jade except for that one night where I heard thumping.

The other two cells were for the other people who Jade said would come for the experiment. One was named Alice Ruth Wilson. The other was Ian Nicholas Moore. Which of the two was the crazy one? I had no idea. 

"Now all we do is wait." smirked Brian. He looked over at my way. From him being a couple feet away, standing in front of his own appreciation at his work, his eyes glistened in evil and happiness. The pride in them fell when he saw the tool I've used to escape, laying on the ground a little ways away from me. He hesitated in picking them up and eyed me.

I was too busy thinking to really pay attention to what was happening. Ever since I was left without Jade by my side, her personality starting seeping in my system from her invisible corpse. It was like rain drenching me completely. Every day I felt myself just going one step further with carelessness and power. If I were to ever completely become like her, she would still overpower me.

"Wait what?" I whispered to myself. "What am I thinking?"

"Who you talkin to fool?" Brian asked, his voice laced with venom, hands playing with the silver tool he picked up.

"Myself who do you think?" He got closer to me and squinted his eyes.

"Shut the fuck up before I electrocute you boy."

I cowered back and looked down. Knowing that someone had already ordered some hydroelectric items, I knew he wasn't joking. Brian laughed and walked away. "I have to stop myself. I can't be like Jade."

And just like that I spent the rest of the day crying and thinking, wanting to be home more than ever. Just as I stopped crying, the doors opened and loud screams filled the air. They belonged to a girl, and not Jade.

Rewritten February 25, 2016.