She ran down the long hallway, hoping to God that there would be a room that she could squeeze into. Metal panel after metal panel passed by as she ran. She began to whimper as she heard his heavy footsteps behind her. Finally, she got to what looked like a simple screen door, with metal fencing covering it instead of screening. She flung the door open and ran inside, closing the door quietly.
The room was just that, a room. No other exits, no twists or turns in the walls that she could hide in. Just four square corners and a bare floor. She hid in one of the corners beside the door, hoping that he would just pass by, thinking that she kept running. She had no such luck today.
"I know you're in there. You may as well come out so we can talk face-to-face." He had a deep voice, but it was scratchy, like a pinecone on the skin. She debated on responding, but finally decided that he really did know she was here. "Why don't you come in here? Scared?"
He laughed; a deep belly laugh that didn't sit right with her. She didn't think it was that funny. "I may not be scared, but I'm not stupid either. Why would I come in there with you? As long as I'm blocking this door, I know that your only exit is covered. Besides, why should I come get you when you've put yourself in this pretty little cage yourself?" And before she could respond, she heard the tell-tale push of a button.
The wall behind her began to vibrate hard and painfully, she stepped away from it, only to be in line of sight of the door. She locked eyes with the man, and he smiled. It was a cold, cruel smile. She finally saw what the vibrating was. Two large metal bars on either side of the door were pushing across the surface of the wall, blocking her only exit.
"No!" she screamed and launched forward to stop the bar. As her hand landed on it a sharp electric current zapped its way up her arm. She screamed in pain as her arm dropped to her side, twitching rapidly. He watched her as the bars locked in place. He still saw glimpses of the hellion that plagued him when they first met. No matter, she'd give up soon.
When she saw him watching her intently, she spat at the door. A lazy but confident smile crept across his face. "I'll send some men by with food and bedding. If you could be a dear and not stab one of them this time, it would be greatly appreciated."
"Fuck you."
He admired her courage, but the intended intimidation was greatly diminished by the tears in her eyes. As he walked away, she huddled down on the floor, arm awash in pain. And she cried.
Later that evening, after what felt like hours had passed, she heard the bars on her door pulling back. She stood, ready to make a run for it as soon as she had a chance. When the bars finished, two large men came in the room as a woman in a lab coat stood on the other side of the door. She rushed them anyways. Before she could even make it to the door, the two men grabbed her by the arms and lifted her so that her feet couldn't touch the ground. They carried her to the back right corner, and when they were sure she was subdued, the signaled to the woman outside.
She nodded, then opened the door for a team of people. Their armor made it almost impossible to tell them apart, so she just focused on struggling out of the men's grip. The team brought in a bed frame, a mattress, and two small bowls full of food and water. When that was all set up, they saluted to the woman and left. The woman pulled a remote out of her pocket then pushed one of the buttons. The bars slid back into place. The man on her left let her go, and just as swiftly, the man on her right looped both of his arms under hers and held his hands together behind her head. Her feet were touching the ground now, although it didn't make her feel much better.
The woman walked over and crouched down in front of her. She kicked, aiming for the woman's face, but quicker than she thought possible, the woman dodged, and grabbed her leg. The girl screamed out in pain as waves of heat burnt her skin. "I would rather have not done that, but truly, what were you thinking? What would kicking me have accomplished?" She stared up the girl's face, calm and collected. They stared at each other, one calm, and the other furious. They stayed like that until the man who left came back and handed the woman a chain with a large manacle attached to it.
She showed it to the girl, who visibly cringed away. "This is made to put around your neck. I would rather not do that, but this is our only option right now. This part is very important. If you try to remove it,
it will shock you.
Imagine touching the bars, but that pain is on your neck. My name is Dr. Marie Levitt. I assume we'll be seeing a lot of each other, so I'd like to introduce myself now."
The girl spat again. "Why? Do you run the experiments here? That's why I'm here isn't it? For your bullshit 'testing'?"
"We don't experiment on children."
"I'm not a ch-" She screamed again as Marie once again put her hand on the girl's leg. She clamped the collar on her neck as she recovered from the pain. Marie gestured to the men as she opened the bars on the door. "You boys can leave us. Tell Wolfgang that she's set up in here." The man holding her in place dropped her roughly on the ground. They both smiled cruelly at the girl as they left. When the bars were in place and Marie was sure they were gone, she turned back to the girl.
"Listen to me. You're small, and since you're most likely an orphan, I can doctor your birth records, if you even have any, to say that you're younger then you are. Now, unless you're so willing to start the experimentation, I suggest that you shut up, and pretend to be a child for as long as you can."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Do you think I like experimenting on people this way? I became a doctor to heal, not to harm. And that's all these useless experiments are for. Harming the victims, and making everyone else fear our name. That isn't what I want."
"How many people are you doing this for?"
"As many as I can. I can get you switched over to a leg chain as long as you are good. Just act like you're defeated when people are around, and that should work."
"What is your end game here? Are you holding out hope that someone will rescue us?"
Marie sighed and thought for a moment. "I truly don't know. Part of me knows that this won't do anything unless someone acts, but I don't think anyone will."
