The Room

I already knew where I was when I opened my eyes.

The sting on the back of my neck confirmed my worst fear.

I never liked needles.

I stood up on wobbly legs, struggling to stay upright. I could feel whatever they injected me with, coursing through my veins. I studied the room, but there was only a chair in this empty white room.

Typical.

It was all they offered whenever they began their interrogations.

Sure enough, a voice echoed from an invisible speaker.

“Welcome back, number sixteen.”

I spat on the white tile floor.

“That’s not my name.”

“Why did you run away? We gave you everything that you needed to survive. A roof over your head. Friends. Family.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’m sorry for what we did to you.”

“Sorry won’t bring back what you took from me.”

“Number twenty — five was special to you. We saw it. Your first kiss.”

I shut my eyes; picturing how soft his lips were before they pulled us apart. There was no time to think about that. I needed to focus if I had any chance of getting out of here.

“What if I told you that number twenty-five was still alive?”

“I don’t believe you. You kill anyone that is perceived to be a threat.”

“He escaped before you did. He also thought you were dead. I saw the pain in his eyes.”

“Don’t lie to me. I don’t like to be lied to.”

“Then it’s best if I show you.”

One of the white walls lifted up slowly, exposing a familiar face that I have come to hate for 5 years of torture. Johann stepped into the room, clipboard in hand. He was dressed in a white lab coat, glasses over his handsome face.

“Rain. It’s good to see you.”

I scoffed.

“Oh, so now you are going to call me by my name?”

Johann cocked his head, watching me.

“I thought you would prefer that. It’s what he named you.”

I stayed silent. Johann released a sigh when he noticed I was no longer speaking.

“You were one of our most difficult subjects. But you are also one of our best. Even though you murdered so many of my men, I think you deserve a reward for providing us with what we asked of you.”

Johann took something out of his pocket. It was a folded piece of paper. I opened the paper, finding his face, number twenty — five, staring back at me, along with his personal information.

“I’m surprised I was able to find even a piece of his information. That lab base was destroyed by two people that are now raising him as their own. They are calling him their son.”

I blinked back tears.

“You’re not bullshitting me.”

Johann chuckled.

“I always tell the truth. Running a business on honesty is how we can expect good results.”

I wiped at my eyes.

“If I find out that you’re lying to me, I will come after you.”

“I very much doubt that.”

I know that I shouldn’t have tried, but something in his tone made me snap. I made eye contact with him, about to use my mind to force him to rip out his own eyeballs, but he was much faster that I anticipated. He threw his clipboard to the side, and charged at me, grabbing my face.

The power from him caught me off guard, and my hesitation led to my body getting thrown across the room. I crashed into the chair, landing on my back. The pain from my chest was unbearable for a little while, but I was able to muster enough strength to begin healing my wounds.

I could feel cuts and my possible broken ribs starting to slowly fade away, as Johann was casually picking up his clipboard, acting like he just didn’t throw me across the fucking room with immense strength.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“My mistake. I forgot how fast you were.”

“You didn’t forget,” Johann said with no humor.

I didn’t say anything. It was probably for the best. I was slightly afraid that he would attempt to rip off each of my limbs if I did.

“My son is going to escort you.”

“Why are you letting me walk free? What makes you think I won’t come after you?”

“If we know where number twenty — five lives, then it would be wise not to do something so stupid. Anyway, by the time you come back here with a chance of revenge, we will be long gone.”

I stood up, not breaking eye contact with him.

“Of course. Running away like cowards is the safest bet, right?”

“How can we run our program in peace with you and your lover coming after us? I don’t want any more of my employees getting slaughtered. Each of them are valuable to us.”

Johann snapped his fingers, and a man that I was hoping I would never see again entered the room. His son, an evil son of a bitch that took delight in harming anyone that would dare to piss him off. Or worse, say something untoward about his father. He was your typical daddy’s boy.

David blew a kiss.

“Hey, lover boy. It’s been so long since we saw you. It’s been a month, right?”

“It’s been more like almost a year,” I said with as much kindness as I could muster.

David grinned, exposing sharp teeth that shouldn’t belong in the mouth of a person.

“A whole year, you say? How time flies.”

I retained a smile, something I didn’t think I was capable of after 5 years of hell. Johann waved a hand, beckoning me to come closer. I almost tripped over the chair as I walked over to the two men. I ignored the snicker from David. I did not need another reason to end up getting beat up again.

I didn’t stand a chance against these two fuckers. David especially. I witnessed plenty of moments when he harmed many of us behind the scenes. How I wish I could rip out each of his teeth, as he would scream before me.

One could dream.

“Don’t cause any trouble, Rain. I don’t want to come after you again. This is your only chance to find some sort of happiness,” Johann said.

I gave a curt nod. Johann smiled.

I left with David. I looked back over my shoulder once. Johann was still standing there, watching me go.

David brushed his shoulder against mine.

“You’re lucky the old man doesn’t want to kill you anymore. He has bigger problems on his hands now.”

“What kind of problems?,” I asked.

“They are thinking of shutting down my father’s program. They are thinking of starting fresh. A brand-new vision, in their own words.”

“Who’s they?”

David shoved a finger in my chest, startling me.

“Who gives a fuck? I’m here to escort you, not answer any of your questions.”

I detected a small break in his voice, and judging by his stiff posture, he was secretly scared. I had heard stories of the people that were above Johann and his company in rank, and what they did to those who disobeyed them.

I had heard a story that David’s little sister had her head removed and placed on a pike as an example, but I think that was just a rumor.

If it wasn’t, then that was a relief.

His sister was a total bitch.

“Here is your stop.”

We had arrived at a plain white door, reminding me of a nightmare I used to have when I was a child. Johann shoved me toward the door.

“Get the fuck out of here. You’re no longer needed. Say hi to number twenty — five for me.”

David stormed off, leaving me to face the world on my own again.

I took a deep breathe, and opened the door, revealing the outside world. There was nothing but trees for miles. I could see some sort of path in the distance. I walked forward, and the door slammed behind me.

I pulled out the paper that Johann gave to me. I stared at the face I had kissed 5 years ago. I thought he had been dead for so long. I could feel tears coming again, but this time, I let them fall.

No one was here to belittle me for showing weakness.

I was free. Free from these monsters. For now.

I thought of the million things I would say to him as I began my journey to find him. In the end, I thought saying a simple hello would suffice.

We were going to have many days of harmony, with no one to come between us.

Falling in love takes time.

Time is all that we had now.

And hopefully it would be much more than 5 years.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn