Chapter Eighteen

                                    

                                          
[ E I G H T E E N ]
                          
"STOP!" LIA'S VOICE bounced off the walls as she ran, sprinting towards the tiny square of light at the end of the corridor. Her short legs carried her as far as they could go, covering the pristine white tiles in watery splotches. "Stop!" she cried again. 
                          
She couldn't stop in time before the light grew larger and she was throwing herself through the open doors, glancing in both directions before pitching her body to the right and running towards the flashing red sign as the end of the hallway. 
                          
"Stop!" By then her voice was spent, but she kept on running as she grew closer and closer to the exit. "You have to stop..." 
                          
Another voice called out, helpless against their grasps. "Lia!" it screamed. "Lia! Help me! Oh, God, please help me!" 
                          
"You can't take me!" the voice begged. "Please, I can't go back there! Please! You already took him! Please don't take me!"
                          
Lia made it to the end of the hall and followed the sign, flinging open the double doors with all the strength she could muster. She was greeted by a massive room with a reddish tint, complete with flashing blue lights from massive computer monitors and whirring machines. 
                          
"Lia!" The voice cause her to snap her head to the side. 
                          
"Amy."
                          
The prisoner's name rolled off Lia's tongue so easily, as if she had said it countless times. 
                          
"Lia," the girl whimpered, amber eyes shining in the darkness. She was being held back by two guards wearing black jumpsuits. There were guns in their belt holsters. 
                          
Lia took one step forward. "It's all right," she said, cautiously eyeing the guards. "They aren't going to take you."
                          
"That's where you're wrong, Lia." This voice belonged to a woman. She stepped out from behind the largest computer, which was wired to every other monitor in the room. "I'm afraid she has been chosen as Maze B's newest Variable." The woman smiled sweetly, and turned to the amber-eyed girl. "You should be grateful - I'm sending you to a place you know."
                          
"You can't do this," Lia choked out. "Please, Chancellor-"
                          
"No, Lia," the woman said abruptly, her blue eyes stern. "This is crucial to our research - to our experiments."
                          
"Your experiments are sick!" Lia protested. "Can't you see what you're doing to these people by trapping them inside that place?" She took a daunting step towards the chancellor. "You're killing them! I'm supposed to be helping people, not sitting back and watching them die!"
                          
The chancellor stepped forward. Her blonde hair was pulled taut into a ponytail at the back of her head and she was dressed in a white uniform, covered with a lab coat like Lia's. "You don't seem to realize the progress we are making here, Lia," she said dangerously. "We are changing the evolutionary path. Can't you understand that?"
                          
Lia spat in her direction. "I can understand that you're a psychopathic bitch."
                          
The guards beside Lia flinched, almost releasing their grip on their captive, but the chancellor held up one hand. "It's all right," she told them. "The girl has an opinion. She should be treated fairly for it."
                          
Lia's eyes narrowed. When the woman signalled to the guards, they let the amber-eyed girl go and snatched Lia's arms, holding her in place with iron-like grips. "Hey!" 
                          
"I'm very sorry, Lia," tutted the chancellor, "but those with opinions should be terminated."
                          
"Terminated?" the amber-eyed girl exclaimed. "No! You can't do this!" She lunged for Lia, but she was just as soon shoved to the ground by one of the guards pinning Lia to the wall.