Circuits and Synapses

by Harper Doyle

  The morning dawned with no less pain, but Rebecca pulled Nadia out of the bed and dragged her limp body to the breakfast table. After dropping her off Rebecca went off returning with two trays of food. It was a bran muffin, again, and a glass of milk. Rebecca shoved the food in front of Nadia, forcing her to start eating. Nadia attempted to bring the muffin to her mouth but was unable to move her arms very much. Rebecca ended up feeding her and got a straw for Nadia to drink through so she could get the nutrients from the milk.

  Not much was said on Rebecca’s part. Seemingly to know what she was going through Rebecca made no snarky comments, nor happy smiles. Nadia was able to regain some muscle movement after breakfast and again Rebecca pulled her to class where she was unable to do much of anything besides look at the teacher. Surprisingly the teacher paid her no heed, as if this was usual and required no work on Nadia’s behalf. The lunch break passed about the same way that the breakfast meal did, but with more of Nadia feeding herself for part of the time.

  “I know that you are feeling quiet horrible at the time, and trust me, if I didn’t have to say this I wouldn’t, but, you need to pull it together for training and check-in today. They are looking for you to be strong at this time and overcome the intense pain and exhaustion caused by the nanites.” Rebecca did seem sincere about the fact that what she said was not helping the matter. Nadia took a minute to put her thoughts together before responding.

  “Why should I care what they think of me? I sure as hell can’t seem to put a shred of understanding together about the whole thing, so again I ask, why the hell should I care?” Nadia was not censoring her language at the moment and Rebecca glanced around so as to see if anyone heard Nadia’s comment. Luckily no one did. Rebecca turned back to Nadia and gave her one of her serious, don’t mess with me looks that she only gives Nadia when what she says is extremely important and concerns the future.

  “You should care because the better you do in satisfying them the better they will treat you, giving you more freedom and less boundaries. By gaining their favor you gain their trust. With that we can find a way out, a way to stop this before it can get any farther.” What Rebecca was saying was important and Nadia took what she said to heart.

  Though she was in excruciating pain Nadia pushed through the training session, if only less polished and slower to finish. Dinner included Nadia bringing her face to the tray and shoveling in, using up the last of her strength. Once dinner was complete Nadia all but collapsed on the bed and was unwilling to get up. Rebecca launched herself to the top with Nadia and they held a mock conversation to keep the warden and other prying eyes away from the true meaning of the conversation. In between sentences they would whisper a real question, or response. Rebecca assessed Nadia’s condition and the information she had obtained from Jack. Rebecca was frightened for what Jack was planning, since Nadia was near to passing out when he told her.

  “So, school was so boring today. Did you happen to get when this was all going to happen? I wish that the teacher would have given us more time on the test.”

  “I know, I mean, I was practically falling asleep in class. Not really, if I had to guess I would say not very long from now. I needed more time, I think I failed it.” The conversation continued on until eight, when Nadia was overtaken with exhaustion and passed out for the night. The following week became easier and easier as the days wore on, the muscles were able to loosen up and to strengthen from constant use. The days went back to there usual routine and Rebecca and Nadia did not talk much about the impending procedure, or anything dealing with Jack or the torture room.

  For the most part Nadia regained her sense of self and everything was fine. Then, nearly a week and a half later, a certain unwanted guest arrived and went straight to the warden. Jack made it a point to stay hidden until reaching the warden, wanting to surprise the members of groups seven. The warden and Jack whispered for about five minutes before the warden walked over to the microphone system and turned it on. There was a screech as it went on, causing everyone to grow silent in anticipation. The warden cleared his throat before beginning.

  “Excuse me; can I have everybody’s attention? Thanks, alright, we have an announcement for group seven. Please meet me over by the fence; it is time for your first procedure. Everyone give them a round of applause.” The people in the room hesitated, knowing that this was in no way a reward. Most of them already knew what was going to happen. Rebecca’s face went white, but she had to recover quickly because her cover personality would have been happy. She put on a happy face and smiled to everyone around her.

  Even though the kids in the community housing development knew that the people who left today would come back changed they were forced to clap for them and offer words of congratulation. Nadia scowled, she did not want to go. This was what Jack had been talking to her about as she lay on the threshold of consciousness. There was no way out of it, she had to go, or risk losing favor or trust, two things she needed desperately if she had any hope of escaping. Nadia and Rebecca walked side by side, walking with a purposeful slowness to stall the imminent end to their natural state as humans.

  “Come on ladies we don’t have all day. Mr. Jack is on a bit of a time frame. Hurry up now.” The warden did not seem to get the vibe of the room and what’s worse he was hastening their destruction. Nadia and Rebecca were forced to comply and arrived third, before the last girl, who arrived only seconds later.

  “Alright, now that we are all here let us begin our journey to the center of the earth, just kidding.” Jack smirked and let out a laugh, nobody joined in with him. Group seven consisted of only a handful of girls, ranging from 12-14, with Nadia being the oldest. Jack put handcuffs on all the girls and then looped a single chain through all the girls whom stood in a single line. Nadia and Rebecca were separated from each other by two girls, with Rebecca as the leader, behind Jack. Jack tugged all the girls along and they followed single file, because there was no other way for them to walk. They walked down the hallway and into the hospital, but instead of stopping they went through another set of doors which opened into a different hallway, which they followed to the end. The hallway was long and completely white. It gave off the feeling of being part of a hospital but it was obvious to everyone that they were not going to a hospital. At the end, where the doors were Jack stopped the group and turned about face to face them.

  “Well all my little pretties, I hope you are excited for your first procedure. This is quite a quick surgery, lasting no more than three hours, and the recovery time is only a week, after that we will do the other eye. Then there will be another week and a half of recovery time before you will return to your assigned routine. Those of you who are to be placed in the special ops program will receive an upgraded version that will allow you to spot the tiniest threat; the rest of you will receive mechanical eyes, that is for sure, but they will be a more basic version. That means that Rebecca, and Nadia are the ones receiving the special ops eyes. Alright I want those two girls to stand on the left and the rest of you on the right.” Nadia did not know that Rebecca was also part of the same higher ranked group with her.

  Rebecca stood in front of Nadia and the rest of the girls stood apart from them. When the doors were opened the girls saw a group of boys sitting in chairs, as if waiting for them. They stood on command from Jack and there was a matching set of special ops males to balance the females. Both of the boys for special ops had dark hair and one had blue eyes, while the other had green. There was no time for introductions, but Nadia and Rebecca were put together with the boys of their set.

  “All right as you pass by me and into the surgery room I will assign you your male counterpart, ladies. Men, listen for your name when I call it for the lady that will be your partner. Let’s start with Rebecca. Please come forward.” Rebecca looked to Nadia and when Nadia gave her hand a squeeze Rebecca nodded and walked forward. Jack glanced
over to the male group and picked out a boy in his mind.

  “Your counterpart is Michael, come here Michael.” The boy with the blue eyes jumped up and came to stand next to Rebecca. “You two are now joined; everything you do will be together, as far as procedures go. When you have completed your transformation you two will be partners for the various missions you will be sent on.” Rebecca looked at Michael and he looked at her. At that moment their fates became intertwined and their destinies rewritten. Jack pushed them through the doors at the other side of the waiting room and they were lost from sight. After a few seconds of hesitance Jack drew in another breath before continuing. “Nadia, my little flower, come here will you?” Nadia felt a pang in her stomach and a lump form in her throat. She looked at her feet for a moment and after taking a few deep breaths she looked up, putting her emotionless mask on and walked forward. Jack smiled at her, and Nadia tried to ignore him as best she could.

  “Alright, it should be simple to pair you up, there is only one other special ops potential in the other group. James, would you step forward.” The boy with the green eyes and slightly longer black hair stepped forward and next to Nadia. He was a bit shorter than she was but he seemed pretty strong underneath his deceiving appearance. They looked at each other and Nadia could see the raw fear in his eyes, she tried to remain unemotional but the lure in his eyes forced her to lift the mask a bit and speak with her eyes. She conveyed a similar feeling of uncertainty.

  Together they were escorted through the doors and once on the other side of them there were doctors and nurses waiting to usher them forward into the surgery room. Their rooms were right next to each other and once inside they were placed on the table. Nadia was strapped down with restraints, fear bubbled to the surface and she gave a testing tug to the restraints and found that she couldn’t move an inch. Panic then stated to engulf her; it was getting harder and harder to keep the emotionless mask up. Before she could even collect herself enough to speak an oxygen mask was placed over her nose and mouth. A few shaky breaths later she was unconscious. The doctor lifted his scalpel to make the first cut. It had begun.

  Chapter 4

  The procedure went off without a hitch, or so the doctor said afterwards. Nadia was still extremely groggy from the anesthesia. She vaguely remembered nodding before sleep overtook her once more. The next time she was awake Nadia looked around for Rebecca, who was right across from her. Nadia drew in a labored breath and made a noise that she thought was Rebecca’s name. For what is was worth Rebecca knew it was her and responded with a noise of her own. Some time passed, with the patients all falling in and out of consciousness. It wasn’t until quite a while later, hours or days Nadia wasn’t sure, that she had come out of the semi-lucid state she had been in. It was then that she noticed the person in the bed next to her.

  “Nadia, that’s your name right?” The boy with the green eyes, James, was calling to Nadia and she turned to face him.

  “Yeah, that’s me, what do you need?”

  “I thought that maybe we should get to know each other, since we are pretty much considered as one unit now. At least in the sense of this company.” Nadia felt a bit uncomfortable at where the conversation was going and turned to face away from him. Apparently James did not find that to his liking and continued to talk to Nadia even thought she refused to talk to him.

  “I don’t know what is wrong with you. This is going to happen; there is nothing that we can do about it. We no longer have control of our own lives. You don’t have to like, you just have to comply with me and get to know me. I would hate for this to hinder our progress as a unit.” Somehow he knew what was on Nadia’s mind. Her only goal in the world was to get the hell out of this place, with her brother, alive.

  Rebecca had told her that the only way was to gain their trust. In order to gain their trust Nadia would have to allow them to do some of the procedures and perform excellently. By proving her worth she could gain favor. By gaining favor Nadia could ultimately gain trust. With their trust she would be given more freedom, less boundaries. As the boundaries came down the exit would reveal itself, at least this was the plan. James had known exactly what to say in order for Nadia to do what he asked. Flipping onto her left side, she had a better view of James. The procedure had been done on the left eye, so in order to see James properly she had to lie on her side, but avoid crushing her eye socket area. The healing would go faster if she lay still and let the nanites heal her faster. James gave her a half smile, not wanting to disrupt his eye.

  “So, I see that you are willing to talk to me now?” Nadia didn’t say anything; rather she just stared at James, waiting for him to say something. “Not a talker are we? That’s okay, as long as we find a way to cooperate and get along that’s all I care about.” He sighed and still Nadia said nothing, not blinking, not giving away an ounce of emotion or letting a single thought cross over her face. James shrugged as if he had expected Nadia to say something in the silence, but he gave up on that thought and continued to talk at her rather than with her.

  “Let’s start with an easy question or two. What is your favorite color? Where were you born? Can you handle that much? Sorry guess that was three questions. Before you answer I will give you the answers for me. Hmm, I like the color black, kind of mirrors my soul, all emo like that. Haha. Anyway, I was born in the sunny state of Arizona where the temperatures great all year long. Alright, now you.” Nadia was still glaring at him and really did not want to give in to his coy smile and seemingly kind demeanor.

  “Purple, Chicago.” Speaking as little as she could, something about James put Nadia on edge. Something about this boy was eerie; he seemed to be too good at reading people. This put a tinge of fear in Nadia as well as a pit in her stomach. James noted the curt answers and shook his head mockingly.

  “You will have to open up sometime. I can’t ask all the questions, then you will never get to find out what you want to know, just what I want to know. Don’t you think you should at least try to trust that what I’m saying is the truth? Lying here gets you nowhere, or haven’t you learned that yet? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, as long as I find out what I need I can still progress and earn their favor.” There he went again, perfectly reading Nadia, knowing what she wanted and what she needed. Nadia huffed at him and opened her mouth.

  “How did you get here?” She continued to look at him, waiting to hear his answer. Since her time started here, she had not found another person whom had shared her fate. Nearly everyone she met had been kidnapped but little more. No one had had their parents murdered, abducted with their siblings. No one she knew had their baby sister slaughtered for trying to escape. They didn’t have their brother taken away with little thought. These memories stung Nadia’s eyes but she forced those emotions back down and swallowed the lump in her throat. Now was certainly not the time for such breakdowns, or emotional slips. James eyed her; this was obviously not what he had in mind when he opened up the floor for discussion. He hesitated for a moment before answering, somehow this cracked his shield and some trickle of emotion was finding its way out.

  “Much the same as everyone else, I was escorted from my walk to my friend’s house to this facility and I have been here since. I think that was one year ago, or around there.” It was evident that James was hiding something, this was not the truth and anyone listening or looking directly at him would come to the same conclusion. The way he used the word escorted instead of kidnapped proved that he was censoring what he said. Nadia decided to call him out on it, putting to use the logic he had laid down.

  “Lying gets you nowhere, or haven’t you learned that yet?” Nadia spat the words, trying to emphasize the irony of the words. James lost his smirk, and all the pride he had been showing off. Suddenly his logic backfired and he was caught between a rock and a hard place, not somewhere he wanted to be, especially if the rock was to be his partner
for the rest of his lifetime.

  He tried to laugh it off, knowing full well that she was staring him down waiting for the truth to emerge. James wanted to ignore her or somehow make her disappear, but that was not exactly possible. He pulled on the restraints used to keep the patients in the beds, tight, like he expected. There was not where for him to go and he turned once more to face Nadia, swallowing the lies he wanted to tell. His cover which he had been working on to forge was going to get flushed down the toilet, all because he let his emotions slip for a second.

  “I’m waiting for you reply James; you who were so eager to answer my questions. Now look at how your words have trapped you. You should learn how to better control your tongue. This time I require no answer, but know that you should not open the door to such a situation again.” Nadia knew that revealing his answer would put him in jeopardy and Nadia did not want that. She only wanted him to think before he spoke, as she had learned to do. He was still perfecting in control over his mouth and emotions. One thing he did have though was the ability to read people with such an ease that it made Nadia jealous.