I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. I had no choice if I wanted to live. I wouldn’t be a test subject. I broke free from the Chancellor’s grasp. “Run!” I screamed at Joshua as I tore past the Chancellor for the end of the hallway.
“Jacqueline!” I heard Collins smug voice and the exit door opened with two armed guards pointing guns at me.
“No!” I shouted stepping backward, eyes wide as I glanced around and tried to see the best place to run. There weren’t enough exits. I dashed through the crowd of recruits, pushing Cate out of the way as I ran for the stairs. I didn’t make it. I felt strong arms pushing me down onto the ground, restraining me as a needle pierced the skin of my neck. “No!” I screamed. “You can’t do this to me!” I tried to shout again but no sound came out. Everything blurred as I tried to focus and find Joshua. My eyes were heavy, my body grew limp as they carried me into the stark white room.
The woman watched me suspiciously as she helped them place me on the cold metal table. “Don’t try and fight it,” she breathed, as my vision grew black. My eyes shut, there was no fighting whatever they had planned for me.
CHAPTER 20
My eyes felt incredibly heavy. Slowly I opened them, realizing I was no longer on the table but in a cold metal chair. My feet were elevated and my head rested back as I stared up at the ceiling. I shifted and focused, taking in the room, wondering if I was alone and could escape.
“Relax.” The woman I’d briefly seen before I had blacked out was in the room with me. “The Mindonsiphan worked, but it will take some time to adjust to the new drug in your system and the changes in brain chemistry. Right now you need to relax.”
I didn’t want to relax and found it difficult to sit still. As I shifted in the chair to get up, the room began to spin and I cupped my head in my hands, feeling an awful pounding.
Her hand found my shoulder and helped me sit back, with my legs propped up in the chair. “You need to relax,” she insisted. “You’ll be brought to your dormitory soon enough. Right now you’re in recovery.” She reached for a plastic cup of water holding it up for me. “Try and drink a sip,” she suggested, seeing my grave expression.
I wanted to refuse, to throw the water down on the ground, but my lips were parched. Willingly I took a sip as she helped bring the cup to my lips. “That’s good,” she told me, making sure I didn’t get up from the chair. There was no way I could get up. My stomach was queasy and my body felt heavy as lead. “There’s a boy who keeps asking about you,” she smiled at me knowingly. “Are you two more than friends?”
“He’s okay?” I was silently grateful he hadn’t left, and at the same time disappointed he’d endured the same torture I had been through. What had they done to us?
“There’s nothing wrong with a little crush.” She laughed.
She had no idea what went through my mind. I opened my mouth, though still dry, I tried to speak, “What did you do to me?”
“Nothing that you weren’t already capable of, just perhaps unaware of,” she mused, a growing smile on her face. “Consider it a gift.” She didn’t further elaborate. “You are one of the lucky ones, Jacqueline. If the world knew what talents you possessed they’d be begging to be just like you.” She had no idea who I really was, but her words still sent a chill down my spine.
“So I’ve been told.” I didn’t feel lucky, just tired from the sedative. “Can you please tell me what you did to me?” I hated begging, but worse I didn’t like being kept in the dark. I didn’t feel different though slightly dizzy, but I couldn’t be certain it wasn’t from the sedative and not the procedure.
The woman smiled. “If I did that then you would have an advantage over the other recruits.” She offered me more water. This time I had the strength to hold it myself without making a mess. “Good.” She watched as I relaxed into the chair. “Soon the Chancellor will come for each of you, drive you back to the dorms and have one of the nurses watch over you until morning, just to make sure there are no ill-effects from the Mindonsiphan.”
Before I had time to ask, Sydney knocked on the door and helped me slowly down the stairs and to the van. I recognized her from the first night in town. She had tended to Joshua’s injured foot. I wanted to ask her why they were doing this to us, but the words never reached my lips. I was exhausted by the time I sat down. No wonder they insisted on driving us.
I sat in the van with the air conditioning on, waiting as Sydney brought out each recruit, one by one. It took a while, but by the time Joshua joined me last, I could already tell the feeling was beginning to wear off and I felt slightly better.
“Hey.” He took my hand, sitting beside me. Immediately, I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, seeing a fleeting look of fear in his eyes.
“I’m right here,” I assured him, knowing that if I had gone in first, I was probably the most alert as it was wearing off. “You doing okay?” I asked, sitting up against him.
“Been better.” His voice was soft, quiet in my ear. I stared at him, not caring if the Chancellor drove us and watched our interaction. It was no secret the way I felt about him. Sydney sat in the front row. I suspected she would be the one to watch over us today. There would be no sneaking out tonight.
Already I wondered how much time had passed. Glancing at the sun, I estimated it was late afternoon and we’d missed much of the day. The ride was short and bumpy. I hadn’t noticed it before but after having some strange procedure and sedation, every jolt felt a hundred times more intense. I was glad they hadn’t fed us breakfast.
Sydney helped me from the van, giving me a polite smile. I wondered if she liked seeing me so helpless. It was the first time I’d seen a smile on her face when she looked at me. It made my stomach queasy. I swayed on my feet as she held an arm around me, escorting me to my bed. One by one, she escorted all the recruits back to the dormitory.
Lying on the mattress, staring up at the bunk above me, I wondered how Joshua was doing. Sydney brought him in and helped him up into bed, but he hadn’t said much. I knew I didn’t feel great and by the look on his face, I hoped he wouldn’t get sick.
Reaching out to touch the bottom of the mattress, though I knew he couldn’t feel me, I wanted to be close to him. I’m so sorry, Joshua. We should have tried to leave last night.
I felt a few stray tears on my cheeks and though the room was incredibly quiet, Joshua spoke out, “Quiet, Jacqueline.” He emphasized my name, coughing, trying to pretend nothing was going on.
I sniffled, wondering what he was talking about. I hadn’t said anything aloud. I shut my eyes, willing myself to fall asleep. I was tired, exhausted and over-thinking things. I was sure of it.
CHAPTER 21
Unlike the previous morning, no one had taken care to wake any of the recruits. Perhaps after the procedure they thought it best to let us rest and recover from the entire ordeal. I still wondered what they’d done to us. I didn’t feel any different.
Reluctantly, I pulled myself from bed, careful not to hit my head on the top bunk as I climbed out. After having a good night’s sleep, I felt refreshed.
“You awake?” I heard Joshua’s voice and glanced up at him with a smile.
“I am.” I gave a nod. “How’d you sleep?” He was looking better than he had the last time I’d seen him. I imagined I looked better too.
“I was out cold all night,” he admitted. “Had the strangest dream,” he shook his head. “Want to shower and grab breakfast?”