Right after the Colonel left some absolutely vile tasting pink liquid was unceremoniously poured down her throat. Then they grabbed her up from her armpits and dragged her out of the room. But at least she was beginning to retain some control of her body. Now she could shuffle her feet along with being dragged.
To her surprise the conditions of her surroundings didn’t deteriorate much as they moved, which was completely different than the labs. Everything here was crap, even the officers’ levels.
They went into an elevator that had the inside of it padded. That tweaked her interest about where exactly they were taking her. But it didn’t worry her so much that she couldn’t take advantage of it and she tried to lean against it to rest her wobbly legs. The two soldiers holding her up, however, wouldn’t let her and jerked her back onto her feet.
She wanted to laugh at their faces. They were tense and stone cold, staring blankly at the doors to the elevator. Most of the time the employees would talk as they transported her. Even if she was drugged up they gibbered away, bitching about their wife and kids usually. She had a sinking feeling these two didn’t bitch about anything unless they were told to.
The elevator doors slid open and it same dank green walls as the rest of the place. But there was of bars-cells-just like a prison.
They dragged her out of the elevator and started their march down the line. She peered into each cell as they passed them. Nobody. Slight worry crept up in her throat; there was nobody down there. She could even hear water drip and its echo.
“We ain’t taking any chances with you,” Sergeant Alvin said, obviously noticing her roaming eyes. “You gonna be staying far away from the others.”
“Welcome to high-security solitary confinement,” the solider on her other side added.
They stopped and unlocked one of the doors and pushed her stumbling body into the cell.
“Few days in here and you’ll be washing the Colonel’s feet is he asks,” the second soldier chuckled from the door.
She looked around the cell. The two green walls were absolutely disgusting but there was a relatively large cot in the corner. It even looked as if it had something of a mattress on top of it. And then folded and lying on the corner of it was not one only, but two blankets, and a pillow. Further optical inspection of the room revealed a sink with actual hot and cold taps. Above her was a light that even had a plastic covering over it. She turned around and gawked at the guards in disbelief. This was her ‘punishment’ for not conforming? It was a Ritz Carlton compared to the labs.
“Oh, woah is me,” she sighed and rolled her eyes as she plopped down on the cot. No springs or wood slats– definitely a mattress.
“Better warn her, Theo,” Alvin suggested, nudging the other guard in the stomach.
Theo nodded. “Right. Little thing like her don’t stand a chance. I’d stay away from those bars if I were you.” He pointed not to the door, but to one of the sides of the cage where an empty cell was connected to it.
She turned her head to peer into the other cell. It was completely empty, no cot or light hanging down. The sink was there, but if the awkward angle the pipes were bent were any indication it wasn’t functional. She raised an eyebrow at the soldiers, obviously not impressed by their threat.
“Sure, it’s empty now. He’s on a mission, but he’ll make it back,” Alvin nudged Theo again. “You can count on that. Both of them. One of them is there, next to you. The other was the next one over, but ah, they had to be-- separated-- so he was moved further down.”
“Both?” She asked, quirking her head to the side. “Ya boys ain’t real sure of tha definition of ‘solitary’ are ya?”
Theo smirked and leaned his fore arm against the bars. “These guys don’t count as people, *firefly*. So you might as well save your breath, your mutiny talk ain’t gonna get far on these two.”
“Real patriots?” She guessed.
“Nah,” Theo shook his head. “Real animals, wouldn’t understand a word you say.”
She huffed and let her body fall back against the wall the cot was up against. “Well with bein’ surroundin’ by a buncha folks that don’t know tha meaning of words like solitary themselves, ah ain’t tha least bit surprised.”
“Hey,” Theo hissed. “You better watch it, mutant. You ain’t gonna be Sie’s favorite for long. He’s got a short attention span.”
Alvin grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the bars. “Come on, man. Let it go. She’s not to have prolonged contact.”
“Right!” She yelled after them as they walked away down the hall. “‘Cuz heaven know what’ll it do ta mah vocabulary!” Her voice reverberated off the walls through the whole floor, followed by the clunking of the elevator doors shutting.
She stretched fully out on the cot. The blood was once again freely pumping through her limbs so they were no longer numb and lifeless. But she at the moment didn’t want to move them in the least. Her stomach was still killing her from the ‘goodbye’ from Hartmen and there was a soft cot under her. Unfortunately the pillow was stuck under one knee but good for that knee.
Her fingers came up to absentmindedly fumble with the wires that came out of her suit on her stomach. No more tests. No more procedures or experiments or needles or chemicals or treatments.
She closed her eyes and finally let the tears trickle out.
All the commotion dragged her out of her sleep land back into the ugly green reality. Men were hollering and banging around, nearly making the whole compound shake and they were still inside the elevator.
There was no telling how long she’d been asleep. She would have guessed only a matter of a few minutes but the fact that there were bright pink wrinkle lines on her arms suggested otherwise.
She sat up just as the elevator opened. Curious as to the roaring screams that soared louder than all the shouting, she pushed her body off the warm and comfortable cot and crept towards the door.
“Damn it, hold him still!”
“I’m trying! I–fucking hell!”
“Stun him or something, Simon!”
Wrapping her hands around the bars, she leaned closer, trying to get a view of the action. All she could make out was the men in military uniforms, piled around someone. Or something. They moved closer as a unit. Sometimes one of them would get hit back but he would quickly jump back on the pile.
She wondered she could reach her arm out enough to get a hand on one of the guards, help the mutant out. After all, that had to be who it was, what with the way it growled and roared.
As they approached her cell she calmed her nerves and released the control on her skin. But the guards got shoved out of her reached.
There was a flash of yellow and white amongst the green. And then blurred brown and black. The scream barely escaped her throat before she jerked back as a large clawed hand came flying at her. She fell to the concrete floor hard on her butt, eyes wide in fear as a beast ripped deep gauges into the bars of her cell, sending sparks everywhere.
“Fuck, get a hold of him!” She recognized Alvin as he pushed the chained man-beast away from her door and into the other guards. Her blood pressure pounded in her head and her heart showed no sign of slowing down.
The guards managed to wrestle the giant further down the line. Then there was a static sound that she easily could point out as a taser. Another angry animal cry shook the walls and she should have felt sorry for him. Instead she clenched her eyes hut and flinched in fear, curling up into a protective ball.
“I told you to stay away from the bars,” a voice puffed.
She cautiously opened her eyes to find the man named Theo standing in front of her cell. He was visibly out of breath, his chest heaving up and down. The other two joined him, exhausted themselves.
The roaring went on, an eerie wild noise that she had never heard before. It made her body immobile so that all she could do was lie there frozen on the cold floor.
“You might as well go back to bed,” Alvin said, his eyes were actually warm and nearly humane. “He’s not going to stop. Just try putting the pillow and blanket over your head.”
And then they left her. All alone with the beast-man who, from the sound of it, was throwing himself at his cage. If they were at the labs, and she hadn’t seen those teeth and claws coming at her, she would have cheered him on, trying to organize people with useful powers to help him get out. But here, when it was just her and him she scurried back onto her cot and buried herself under the blankets, wishing they had tasered him a few more times. Well, at least they left the light on.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Yes, the guards’ names are Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. The Chipmunks. I just can’t do doom and gloom all the time. I have to get my giggles in when I can.