Inside

by Kyra Anderson

  “I-I didn’t choose…” I defended nervously. I glanced around and saw that the younger male and the man he had been talking to were standing and walking to us. The woman who had her feet in the stream was watching silently from her position. The three talking on the other side of the stream were turning to watch the confrontation.

  “No?”

  “Stacie,” the man started, “Mark and Griffin chose.”

  “So…this is Lily Sandover,” a dark voice said. Everyone turned to the approaching woman. She was also beautiful, but obviously foreign. She had an accent and her thick, wavy brown hair with her wide brown eyes set into dark skin gave her a very exotic look.

  The other experiments backed away and the woman stalked forward. I figured she was the experiment in the tree who had been watching me. I was very nervous about the fire in her large eyes. Even though I had no idea who she was, it was obvious that she knew me and she hated me.

  “I have something I need to ask you,” she started sharply. “Is Griffin dead?”

  I hesitated, but finally nodded slowly.

  Her hand was lightning fast across my face and I fell to the ground with the force of the slap.

  “You little bitch!” the woman screeched. “You decided to come in with your plan to take down the Commission and you kill the best people we had in this dump!”

  “Maria!” the woman sitting in the stream called. “Don’t do this! It wasn’t just her!”

  “I don’t care!” Maria snapped. “She survives, but Griffin, Mark, Tori,” she listed with a growl, “they’re dead because of her! Why did you survive?!” Maria turned her attention back to me, falling to her knees and grabbing my hair violently, pulling my head up. “If you hadn’t stuck your hands into this place, they would still be alive!” She smacked me again and as my face snapped one direction, her hand in my hair increasing my pain. “It may have been some kind of game for you, but for us and for them, it was survival!”

  I kicked her in the side, pushing her away roughly and scrambling to my feet.

  “You think it wasn’t survival for me, too?!” I growled. “I loved them! I loved Griffin and Tori and Mark, and all the others…” my voice broke as I listed their names. “I thought we were going to win!”

  “You were playing with fire!” Maria snapped, grabbing my ankles and pulling me heavily to the ground before grabbing my hair again and slamming my head into the ground repeatedly. “It wasn’t a fucking game to win!”

  “Stop it!” the younger boy cried. “You’re going to get us in trouble!”

  “Get off me, bitch!” I snarled, moving my leg to push her away by kicking her chest. She fell backward and I wasted no time jumping on her and punching her across the face before grabbing her hair as well, slamming her head into the grass once, angry and hurt. “You have no idea what I’ve had to go through!”

  “Boo-fucking-hoo!” she growled, spitting at me. I dug my nails into her scalp and pulled her upright before dragging her to the stream and dunking her head into the rushing water, pulling her up again angrily.

  “What the fuck did you say?!”

  “You think you’re the only one who’s suffered?!” Maria spluttered angrily, trying to reach back and grab me. I pushed her hand away, putting my knee in her back. “Griffin was the only one who gave a damn about me and you got him killed!”

  Her hand finally latched onto my shirt and she pulled me down. I tumbled into the river, but not before I grabbed her, pulling her with me. The other experiments were yelling at us to either stop or to kill one another. I ignored the rushing water that made it harder for me to keep my stance and clawed at Maria, who was clawing back, her nails scraping open wounds across my face. Using my position upstream, I kicked her ankles, causing her to collapse further into the water where I pushed her head under. One of her flailing hands connected with my face, punching me in the jaw and causing me to see stars.

  I let her go, holding my jaw and cringing in pain.

  She leapt on me and pushed my head underwater. I tried to struggle, pulling on her clothes in an attempt to pull myself to the surface, fighting on an adrenaline high.

  Just when I was starting to panic from lack of oxygen there was a hand on the back of my collar, yanking me out of the water and dumping me on the grass as I gasped for breath, taking in precious oxygen as orders were shouted.

  “Don’t you two fucking move!”

  I blinked the water from my eyes and saw seven men in black uniforms pointing their guns, ordering us to remain still as we both choked and spluttered.

  “She started it!” Maria snapped.

  “Don’t fucking talk!” another man ordered. “Get your asses up slowly.”

  Raising my hands, I got to my feet, wobbly as my oxygen-deprived limbs began shaking. Maria did the same, glaring at me hatefully.

  “Alright, both of you, walk,” one of the men said, poking me with the barrel of his gun in the shoulder. I began walking as two of the men led us out of the Dome. Maria looked ready to kill me, but she was not suicidal enough to try something when the guards were so close.

  We were led toward the labs but we turned into a small hallway just before Lab One where four smaller cells remained empty. One of the guards opened the door to the nearest one and motioned with his gun for us to get inside. I walked in, shivering and frightened, but also very angry.

  As if I didn’t feel guilty enough over the deaths of everyone in our revolution…I still did not know who survived and who was taken back in the Commission. I had purposely tried not to dwell on the question.

  “Don’t you fucking move,” one of the men snarled.

  There were gloved hands on me and my wet clothes were pulled from my body. The fear came through me that I was going to be raped. Maria had the same fear.

  When we were both stripped naked, we stood, facing the guards, shivering and exposed.

  “Turn around, put your hands on the back of your head, and get on your knees,” the same man ordered. Slowly, wary about turning our backs, both of us obeyed, getting to our knees, our hands clasped behind our heads against our wet hair.

  “Punishment is ten strikes,” the man announced.

  As soon as I realized what was happening, the blunt club connected with my back and I fell forward, catching myself on my hands as the pain radiated through my back.

  “Sit up!” the man behind me ordered, grabbing my hand and pulling me upright again, holding my hand in the air as he hit my back again, causing me to let out a choked scream. Maria let out a sob as well as her second strike was delivered, barely able to keep her hands on the back of her head. She had clearly endured the punishment before.

  The fourth strike immediately followed the third and I felt hot tears spill down my face at the pain. I fell limply, but it did not stop. The man beating me hit my sides and shoulder, putting so much force behind the strikes, I was sure he was going to break bones.

  I did not count the strikes. Even when the ten were finished, I flinched and shivered, waiting for the next punishing blow, curled on my side, crying, my body throbbing.

  “Don’t fucking fight in the Dome,” the man snarled, finally dropping my hand and walking away. My back was turned to Maria, so I did not know how she was faring but I could hear her breathing hard and crying behind me.

  “Really? That’s it?” one of the men asked. Fear returned stronger than ever.

  “Yeah, you don’t want these cunts,” one of the others chuckled brokenly. “The Latina has been had by so many and the young one is Mr. Christenson’s sloppy second. There are a lot better pussies to be had.”

  “Eww,” one of them groaned, spitting into the room. “Fuck that.”

  “Get them some dry clothes,” the one who had been giving commands ordered. “You two, stand your ugly asses up and get ready to be put back in your cells.”

  I heard the sound of boots walking away from the cell. When those had faded, I weakly pulled myself to my hands and knees. My body throbbed at the
movement, my ribs trying to recover from the clubbing. I pressed my head to the floor to support myself as my hand gently touched my protesting ribs.

  Hearing a whimper of pain that mimicked mine, I turned to see Maria trying to straighten, her face creased in pain.

  Taking a few deep breaths, I finally pushed myself into an upright sitting position, panting heavily through my nose at the pain.

  I got to my feet as Maria stumbled getting to hers.

  “Maria,” I said slowly.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “I’m sorry…”

  “Fuck you,” Maria snarled. I sighed closing my eyes, understanding that I was not going to make her believe that I was legitimately sorry. If I could trade my life to save Mark, Griffin, Tori or any of the others the revolution had doomed, I would have without second thoughts.

  “I know you hate me, and I’m sure that you loved Griffin and the others, but Dana is the one who killed them, not me.”

  “You stuck your nose where it didn’t belong,” Maria hissed. “Dana will kill all of us eventually, but at least we could have been together. You tore the family apart.”

  I was silent

  The sound of boots returned and dry clothes were thrown to the floor in front of us.

  “Get dressed,” the man in charge growled. “You’re both going back to your cells.”

  We did not look at one another as we pulled the clothes on, silent and angry. I wanted to scream at her that at least she had not watched Griffin die in front of her, or any of the others who perished. But in the Commission, there was no sympathy for pain, no regard or empathy for emotional scars as it existed in the outside world. Everyone was suffering. It was not a petty contest to prove who had endured the most. It was a struggle to get through the current pain and to help others who were enduring as well.

  Be there for one another…

  Don’t take what the others couldn’t give, including pity.

  * *** *

  My period started as Dana had predicted. Because I wasn’t given anything to help, I spent most of the time sitting on the toilet, in pain from cramps that had only started since I began eating poorer nutrition in Fort Daniels.

  I fell asleep on the floor which meant that I was covered in blood when I woke. The cleaning crew that always managed to get the cell back to pristine white also cleaned me up. On two occasions, the same man took the opportunity while wiping down the backs of my thighs to violate me with his fingers.

  There was nothing I could do but endure it, worried about worse if I made a fuss about his actions.

  During the four days of my period, I came to understand why the experiment in the cell across the hall always stared at me. It was boring, waiting in the white cell. My thoughts could only occupy me for so long before I began to go stir-crazy.

  On the third day of my period, eating the hard bread and drinking the soup, I saw movement up the hall. All the experiments I could see in the cells were grabbing their trays and darting to the backs of their cells, eyes wide with fear.

  Confused, I remained where I was, watching.

  Through the two glass walls of the cell of the woman across from me, I saw what appeared to be over twenty armed guards following four scientists, two holding rifles themselves.

  There was only one experiment that would draw so much attention.

  As the entourage moved past my cell, I moved to the other corner, eager to catch a glimpse of the Machine of Neutralization. I saw one scientist without a gun step in front of a dark cell, opening it while the others continued down the hall.

  The small hallway was packed with black-clad guards, so it was difficult to see what was going on, but through their legs I caught a glimpse of one man lying on his belly, readying his gun outside the food slot.

  All the guards and scientists jumped as a flashing red movement sped across the front of the cell and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

  The scientist emerged from the dark cell with a set of chains and cuffs I remembered being called “The Teeth.”

  The guard laying on his belly pushed the barrel of his gun through the food slot and his entire body gave a jolt when he pulled the trigger.

  I gasped and fell backward at the sound that radiated through the ward. It was not a shout or a roar of pain, but some sonic mix of the two that had an animal-like quality, leaving me shaking, my chest rattled by the sound.

  Several of the other experiments also jumped, their faces pale and eyes wide with terror.

  I thought the cells were soundproof.

  It sounded again and left a dull ring in my ears as the echo died away. I assumed they were tranquilizing him so I was also very curious as to why they still needed guns.

  I was beginning to have an undying curiosity about Eyna.

  Resuming my position in the corner, I watched as the scientists waited for the drugs to take effect. They were studying the cell, their eyes locked ahead as my eyes remained glued to them.

  I scarcely breathed when the group moved forward, opening the cell and filing in to retrieve the Machine of Neutralization.

  I spared a glance at the experiment across from me. She was hiding in the back corner, crouched with her arms pressed to her chest, her eyes wide with fear as she stared at the wall next to her, listening to the sounds of the group extracting Eyna.

  I looked back down the hall, pressing my face against the glass.

  Two men backed out of the cell, both of them pointing their guns forward and my heart sped up, thinking Eyna was breaking out.

  Two more people backed away, holding the thick chains attached to the cuffs around Eyna as he was guided out of the cell, stumbling, his head low. The others filed out of the cell, blocking my view. I craned my neck, though I knew it would not change what I could see. The group moved awkwardly and slow through the narrow corridor, their guns ready, pointed at the chained experiment.

  When they had fallen into their ranks, I slinked away from the corner, waiting for Eyna and the others to pass the front of my cell so I could get a good look at the Machine of Neutralization. I felt my heart beating rapidly in my chest, excited and frightened. I didn’t blink, worried I would miss him.

  The first guards that walked past were facing forward and I jumped a little at their hard expressions, my nerves on edge. The guards behind the first three were facing backward, their guns aimed at the Machine of Neutralization over the shoulders of the people who were holding the chains to his brutal restraints.

  I watched, fascinated, as the most powerful creature ever created by the Commission of the People began to stumble past my cell. His head was bent and his hair hid most of his face, long and unkempt. His frame was not broadly built, but there was a strength in his presence that I could feel through the thick glass. His skin was pale, but it was not chalky or unhealthy. It was smooth, pristine, without flaw or hair. His baggy shorts hung from his hips, stained with blood, though I could see no open wounds on him.

  I stared at the cold grey metal of The Teeth that held him, unable to see puncture wounds. Carefully, I inched forward, but as soon as I shifted my weight, I was startled by Eyna falling to his knees heavily, his head almost reaching the ground as his arms remained useless at his sides, held by the chains.

  The party stopped. My eyes followed a single bead of blood trail down Eyna’s side. It was dark red, sharp against his pale skin, and slid with no resistance over his perfect skin. The sight was fascinating, beautiful, captivating. I watched the bead of burgundy stain Eyna’s side, slipping over the curve of his ribs and reaching the fabric of the shorts.

  Before I knew it, I was close to the glass, staring at the line of stained skin.

  I stopped moving, looking over the experiment in front of me.

  His back slowly rose and fell as he breathed, labored, fighting the drugs coursing through him.

  There was a sharp tug on his restraints, causing him to flinch and tilt his head to the side as the neck cuff hit his chin.

 
His eyes lazily focused on me. I froze in fear.

  Every instinct told me to run, but another part of me was saying that if I moved too fast he would pursue me. I could not turn my back on him and I could not move a muscle or he would pounce, like a lion waiting in the grass, watching his prey.

  His eyes were a light hazel, bright with power and fire, even through the fog of the drugs. Even as his eyes rolled around, unable to focus, I could see that there was power there, like a wildfire, uncontained and dangerous.

  We locked gazes and my breath left me.

  He’s beautiful…

  Another painful tug on the chains caused me to cringe with him. I wanted to scream at the guards for harming such an incredible creature. Even though I knew he was more dangerous than anything that had ever walked the earth before, I could not stand how they were treating him. He had an air about him that called for worship.

  I saw the muscles flex under his skin as he pulled himself to his feet unsteadily, his eyes leaving me to drop to the floor as his head rolled forward once again. I watched as those muscles moved his body forward, taking him wherever Dana wanted him to be. He rounded the corner with the entourage, the other experiments averting their eyes or backing into corners to stay as far away as they could.

  There were conflicting emotions running through me when the Machine of Neutralization disappeared from sight. I understood the fear the experiments had of him, but I also did not see why they felt the need to avert their eyes, as though they would be scolded for looking at him.

  Perhaps there was something about him I still did not know.

  Eyna did not come back for a very long time.

  I entertained the idea of seeing him return while I sat in my cell, wondering when they would bring him back and what they were doing with him in the meantime. When he did come back, he was just as drugged as when he had left. I watched him stumble past my cell, looking him over again, trying to study every detail.

  This time, he did not look at me.

  He was dumped unceremoniously in his cell and the group of guards left shortly afterward.