Stage one

I wake up to my 6:30AM alarm clock and see a note on my nightstand.

Went to another city for my work. I will be back in the next couple of days. Be safe

-Love Mom

I read it over and over, it just doesn’t make any sense to me. I shrug it off and continue with my morning routine. I checked the mail and nothing from Lila as expected. I put the mail opener in my pocket and eat my breakfast.I go to the gym around 7:30 and do my daily workout. I pushed myself beyond my limits with all the thoughts going through my head, and I almost fainted.

“I’m done”, I shout to the workout teacher and wave to him goodbye. As I'm leaving the gym building I get a phone call from the science department. I quickly swipe the button to answer it.

“Hello”, I say desperately.

Waiting for a response from them, but all I hear is heavy breathing. I hang the phone up and try to call them back, but no answer. I continue walking to my car confused. What was that? I whispered to myself. I’m standing near the front door of my car, then suddenly I see someone from the reflection of my

car window. My heart skips several beats which cause me to have a delayed reaction. By the time I turned around they had already injected me with the sleeping drug.

I wake up feeling sick and strapped to an electric chair. The site is awful. The ceiling is dripping, muddy water puddles, and stains on the wall. It smells like many things died in here. I feel like I'm in a sewer. The door to this room opens and I'm greeted with a masked person wearing a white coat with barely visible red stains on it along with what looks like a mask where it is sharpened at the end like a penguin nose. The sound coming from his mask sounds like a nebulizer when it‘s turned on. The masked person takes out his checklist and speaks into his headset piece and says “ get the first stage prepared”. the masked person comes up to me and chuckles. When they walk out another person enters with the same mask on. They grab my arm and inject me with yellow drugs, one in each arm. The burning sensation races up to my face and spreads all over my body. Grunting and holding onto the chair, I begin to

shake as if a demon is being exercised from my body. Yelling in aching pain louder and louder. Am I dying? What's happening? What is this constant pain? I think to myself. Shaking back and forth, for what felt like hours, the masked doctors called out 45 seconds.

“Stage one is finished”, said the masked doctors. The masked doctors leave the room for about 5 minutes and bring in someone else. They strap her to the chair, and I can hear her struggling to try to get out of them. Still feeling the pain, from the injections, I look over and say

“Hey……You…. What is this place?”I say trying to catch my breath

“It's A testing facility. Where they run tests on people to give themselves monstrous powers”. She says trying to struggle her way out.

“ How long have you been here? I ask her

“ Months now. At least 3 or so”. She replies

I grunt loudly in pain, as I still feel the burning sensation going up and down my body.It burns hotter than any fever, maybe even worse than it. Shocked by the side effects of the drug, I slowly get my eyesight back and start to look around the place again. I look to the left and see the girl who just got brought in. I know her. That ‘s

“Lila?Lila is that you!”I exclaimed.

“Liam? What are you doing here? How did you get here?” She says in a nonplussed way

“So this is where you've been all this time”.

“Yup. Stuck in this trap and constantly get tested on”. She replies in a sardonic tone

We sit there in silence, and I slowly start to doze off’.

“Hey”. Lila yells at me “ don't go to sleep, it’s dangerous”. She tells me.

Rocking back and forth to keep myself awake, whispering to myself don't go to sleep just yet. The door beeps and opens, I look over and see them bringing another girl in.They give Lila a blue one shot I'm the arm and the girl the purple one, shortly after that the masked doctors quickly leave the room.

“Those dang freaks!” the girl shouts

“I swear to God when I get out of here I'm going to”. Lila stops midway in her sentence

They started shaking back and forth and the girl's eyes rolled to the back of her head and you can almost see her eyeball come out, blood coming out of her

nose. Lila started choking onwater that came from nowhere, banging her head against the back of her chair. Shocked in fear of not knowing what to do, I slouch back in my chairwith the constant fear of hopingI'm not next. Once Lila and the girl stopped shaking I asked them if they were okay. The door beeps and the masked doctors come in. “You did great”, They said to us, and walked back out. Every time they come into the room I feel immobilized,I just want to live life and keep moving forward.

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