Chapter 2: The Girl

                                    

                                          


                          
Voices. No, one voice. A man. I didn't recognize him. A new surgeon? Or patient? I opened my eyes. Too much light. Closed them again. My head hurt. It was always the worst right after an operation.
                          
Silence. When did the voice stop? I listened. Nothing. Was I alone?
                          
I cracked my eyes open slowly and let them adjust to the bright light above me. Odd. I wasn't in the operating room. Or my cell. The walls were bright... pink? Maybe my vision was faulty. It wouldn't be the first time an operation messed something up. I hoped it would be temporary.
                          
The voice again. Distant, quiet, getting closer.
                          
"... to believe me." A pause. He entered the room. "Shoot, I think she's awake! I'll call you back, Tony. Yeah. Bye."
                          
A beep. Surprisingly the first I'd heard since I woke up. Where were all the machines? The silence felt uncomfortable and wrong.
                          
I heard the man's footsteps approaching me. His face appeared above me. Messy brown hair. Green eyes. Tan skin. That was strange. All his colors seemed to be right, but the walls... I checked again. Still pink.
                          
"Hey..." Back to the man. Hey? Very unprofessional. Obviously a new employee.
                          
Wait, what was he wearing? No mask, gray shirt. No, black. No, it was gray, but wet. Drenched. Actually... I shifted my attention to my own clothes. Also wet. My hair too. That didn't make any sense. I shivered involuntarily. The water was cold.
                          
"Oh my gosh, you must be freezing!" Yes. But did he care? Again, yes. The tone in his voice was... concerned. Something wasn't right.
                          
His face disappeared. I would have followed it, but I didn't want to move at all. It would hurt. I stared straight up at the ceiling. Pink. Why was it pink? No, that wasn't my business. I shouldn't care. I shoved the thought backward.
                          
"Do you think you can get up?" No. Not that I had a choice. I sat up slowly.
                          
No, no, no. Everything was wrong. Pink walls. A pink bed with soft sheets. Strange displays of color framed on the walls. A giant display on the wall opposite me, but instead of graphs and diagrams it showed... sky. And land. And other things I'd never seen before and couldn't begin to describe. The land was all stripes of green and brown, speckled with yellow. The sky, dark and... textured. Like cotton balls.
                          
"Are you okay?" Right. I wasn't alone. And I was supposed to be up. He wouldn't be pleased.
                          
I stood and bowed my head. Oh no. My legs were too weak. I fell back onto the bed and mentally cursed myself. That was sure to get me a punishment.
                          
"Here, let me help you."
                          
No, that wasn't right at all. I looked up. The man reached toward me and I braced myself. But there was no impact. No pain. He helped me stand and held me steady. I bit my tongue. No questions. But this demanded answers. I couldn't help it.
                          
"I don't understand."
                          
The man smiled. "She talks!"
                          
Of course I talk. Did the doctors tell him I was mute?
                          
"Sorry, you must be confused," the man said. "I mean, so am I. This is... this is weird."
                          
Weird. Abnormal. Wrong. I nodded.
                          
"For starters, I'm Carter. What's your name?"
                          
Name? Did he mean patient ID?
                          
Carter frowned. "Do you have a name? Do you know what a name is?"
                          
Didn't he have a patient file? It should have all my information on it.
                          
"What do people call you?" He asked.
                          
"Experiment B-8305."
                          


                          
A/N: This story will switch point of view every chapter. There will be a new chapter once a month.
                          
Cover and writing by me
                          
This chapter's photo from Pinterest, photographer unknown