Photo by Wendy Wei

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It's been four days since my incident, and not once had I been summoned to the research wing. I spent most of the four days with either Anna or Mia or both, hanging out and exploring The Facility.

Thanks to Anna I found out that the 4 floors between the research wing and the Professor's top floors were dipped in luxurious amenities such as fitness centers, spas, room service with customizable meal plans, and an exuberant dining hall restricted to the residents of these four floors.

The four floors above the research wing were referred to as the Executive wing and housed the heads of every department in The Facility including top researchers, doctors, head security, engineers, and finally kids like me, who had successful and stable abilities.

My room and Anna's were on the third floor of the Executive wing, while the boys' rooms were a floor below us. The real exciting and relaxing amenities were on the second floor, where Anna insisted we spend much of our time.

I indulged in facial treatments, massages, body wraps, and multiple spa treatments alongside Anna. Had The Facility not been a place that experimented on children I would have mistaken myself to be on vacation.

I hadn't seen Jay once throughout my recovery period, no complaints there. Colin had dropped by my room several times to check up on me, he was so cute. I had only seen Ryan once in the training/fitness gym as Anna showed me around. He had been polite and wished me a speedy recovery.

I finally made it back to the nature dome, accompanied by Anna and Mia, searching for Nathan more than anything else. I didn't reveal to Anna or Mia the true intention of visiting the nature dome. However, the visit had been uneventful, since I never got to see Nathan or figure out where they were keeping him.

Anna, Ryan, Colin, and Jay had at one point been one of the kids kept on the lower floors of The Facility, so the visit to the nature dome had been a kick in the gut for her, despite meeting some of the friends she had left behind. The nature dome had been under even heavier guard since the last time I was there, so Anna couldn't interact with some of the kids as much as she wanted. The trip had therefore left us both disappointed and had ended yesterday in quite a low mood.

I didn't bother waking Anna up as I made my way to the gym, even declining Mia's usual trolley of goodies. It was about 6 am, and I planned on doing some light exercises for an hour or two before coming back to feast.

The treadmill had become my favorite workout tool over the past couple of days, probably motivated by my regenerated leg. I found it freeing how I could completely exert myself on such a simple activity. Anna could hit a top speed of 63 miles per hour, which I aimed to beat eventually, hopefully.

Anna's daily clone absorption constantly buffed her entire body which made my goal easier said than done, and impossible for any human without abilities. I was barely hitting 48mph which is the fastest I've ever been, yet Anna's fastest speed had been 60mph only three days ago.

Rather than focus on speed today, I decided to do a steady pace of 20mph to test my endurance in maintaining that for 2 hours. Apart from taking the most out of my body, running stilled my mind, allowing me to think unhindered by stray thoughts. Enjoying the past couple of days had left me guilty, feeling that I had betrayed Jack by being so comfortable here.

I needed to escape soon, and discovering the kids on the lower levels meant I couldn't leave them either. So I somehow needed to beak out of this unbreakable facility, rescue countless kids, and find our way home from god knows where we were. The professor had promised to let me go after they were done with me but I doubted that.

To get away I would first need to find out where we were, learn how the Facility's security system worked, somehow disable it, and find resources to take everyone to safety while avoiding capture or combat altogether. I couldn't do this alone, I had two options, either find a way to communicate with Jack or find someone inside the facility to help me. None of these options seemed easy.

"You seem to be back in shape already."

A voice behind me almost causes me to trip, and I have to concentrate on maintaining my rhythm before reducing the treadmill's speed down to a halt.

Melissa is the last person I would have expected to interrupt my workout. I hadn't seen her since the day of the incident when she had shoo-d away Doctor Durham. Thanks to her I had enjoyed four carefree days.

But why was she here?

I give her a polite smile, "I'm doing better now, yeah." "Also, I wanted to thank you for last time, giving me some time away from the research wing has been super relaxing." I say, trying to sound as normal as possible, ignoring my breathless pants after the intense cardio.

"Don't mention it, it's in everyone's best interest to see you healthy and rested."

Her smile was warm but the words coming out of her mouth had a certain coldness to them, a distance away from genuineness. I was facing her now, as she stood next to another treadmill a few paces from me and my was she tall, definitely over six feet. She was well built despite her height, which worsened the overwhelming feeling of being tiny before her. Now that I was done running, I could feel streams of sweat running down my back, neck, and forehead as my adrenaline slowly dropped.

"How about we have a chat this afternoon, right after lunch? Come to the first floor of the research wing and you'll be directed to my office."

A nod is all I can manage as a reply, I didn't know what to say after such an ambush. I sigh and inhale deeply as Mellissa turns to leave, noticing I had unconsciously been holding my breath throughout our interaction.

I turn to face the wall clock behind me, 6.55 am, I didn't even make it to an hour. Mellissa's interruption had taken away my interest in working out, and all I could think about was how hungry I was. I didn't want to go back to the research wing so soon, but I knew she wouldn't have taken no for an answer.

Draping a towel over my shoulders, I make a beeline for Anna's room, hoping she was awake, I needed her insight into what Mellissa could need from me. Ruby was right by her door, unsurprisingly, and I gave her a polite smile.

"She's in the shower, I'll have her come by your room after she's done, you should have one too in the meantime."

Spending more time with Anna over the past few days meant I saw Ruby a lot too, and the few interactions we had created some sort of familiarity between us. She would divulge information about Anna the moment we met, knowing that I was probably looking for her.

"Okay, thanks, make sure she doesn't eat anything, we'll have breakfast at the dining hall."

"I will inform her of your wishes madam."

I turn just as Ruby curtsies. Unlike Mia, Ruby made it clear that she wouldn't refer to me by my name, and I had given up trying to convince her.

Mia is vacuuming as I enter my room, she looks up and I wave and head straight to the shower. I bask in the scalding droplets falling onto my skin for a few minutes, and I have to consciously pull myself away before an hour mysteriously passes me by.

Denim jeans and a light pink t-shirt lie waiting for me after I'm done. Mia had started picking daily outfits for me and I let it happen. I always liked whatever she picked out for me, and I was glad to have the decision of what to wear each day taken off my hands. She had even picked out a cute pair of white sneakers.

As if on cue, Anna knocks and enters, right as I'm jamming my feet into the sneakers. She's in a white dress again, she loves dresses, which was okay because she looked great in them. She launches herself onto my bed and drags out a sigh.

"I'm sooo hungry, you are taking forever. And did you hit the treadmills without me?"

The pasted look of betrayal on her face is almost comical, she hates waking up early, and knows for a fact she wouldn't have joined me if I had asked.

"Don't you insist on working out in the evenings?"

"I'd rather decline your invite than not receive an invite at all, though I'd have hated you if you woke me up."

I laugh, "That's why I didn't!"

~~~~~

This was my second time coming to the dining hall since arriving at The Facility, and it still impressed me. It was set up as an expansive and sophisticated restaurant with high ceilings covered with majestic chandeliers, filling the entire space with warm lighting. The floor had various types of seats from couches to formal dining tables.

Over time the various members of the executive floors formed their preferred seating areas, where friends and people of similar interests pooled up. Anna and the boys had also carved out a piece of the hall to call their own with multiple two-seater couches set up in a semi-circle encircling three glass tables. The ever-present ambient melodies made the hall more than a place for meals, a place to lay back and interact with others.

After our server leaves having taken our orders, I face Anna, a grave expression on my face.

"The head of the Research wing wants to meet me this afternoon, what do you think she wants to talk to me about?"

"Oh no.." Anna's tone paired with a concerned look on her face only deepened my worry.

"What do you mean oh no? Is she that bad?"

"Well, she's a genius and was the one who came up with the procedures that stabilized abilities in the four of us." She pauses, but I don't interrupt.

"Before the success, it was rumored that her previous procedures had led to the death of multiple kids over the years."

"Was it painful?" I had never asked about her experience with the experimentation, partly for concern over the possible trauma she may have, and partly because I was scared to hear how bad it was.

"It was terrible, the only comfort was that I knew I wasn't going through it alone." Despite Anna's low smile, I can tell that talking about this brought back unfavorable memories. "But it's become a normal occurrence, almost all the kids growing up in here look forward to passing the ability program and give their families a better life."

I hadn't gone back to the staff quarters since the one visit with Mia, but  that one visit was enough to realize how bad it was. The way Anna spoke made it seem that this had been going on for long enough that a culture had formed. The more I learnt about this place the more impossible it felt. How could something as large and as wrong as this place go unnoticed by the world?

"But she's been nice to you, nicer than I have ever seen her. She stopped her lackey, Doctor Durham from prodding you and gave you ample time to rest."

"Why would she do that? To make me like her?"

"Who knows, you're special, she probably wants something from you, I'd be careful when dealing with her." Well, the Professor probably told her to play nice with me.

Our server comes back with our breakfast, rolling it on platters on top of a trolley that I'm all too familiar with by now. The hot contents seem to melt the built-up tension in the air, filling it with delicious aromas of bacon, eggs, waffles, pancakes, and sausages instead.

Once the server is out of earshot, Anna turns to me suddenly and whispers, "Also, no matter what happens, do not fight her or the tests, trust me, it'll just make it harder for you.."