"Thank you all for coming."

The mans voice echoes around the room loudly. I stand with Electra, Sorrel behind us. The man stood on the podium in the exact same place where just a few nights ago, Sorrel had been whipped.

"We have received news that our last experiment was not a complete fail. Two of the citizens in experiment K survived and made it out to somewhere outside where they were able to send a short message saying that they made it. We do not know where abouts outside they are, or whether they're North or South, but they are alive and that has given us the will to organise another experiment that will be known as experiment K+. It will run off the same basic plans as K, but with a smaller group and an improved objective and route. Any participants of experiment K that survived and are still here today are elligable to join the new experiment, but only selected others will be allowed to join them. To apply, visit the administration office in the East wing." The man looks around as whispers start to grow.

"That is all. Resume your regular schedule." He says and turns and walks off stage. The whispers grow to a roar and I can barely hear my own thoughts, but when I turn, I see Elle grinning wildly and I realise.

We would get another chance at escape.

-*-*-

I see his eyes everywhere I turn. I can't escape their green. I see his smile whenever I close my eyes.

The nurses in the hospital tell me I'm getting better but it doesn't feel like it. It feels like every day is worse.

Maybe it is all in my head, but the pain of losing him is worse than the occasional pulse of intense hurt Lockart gives me. Lockart. They don't call it by any other name.

It sounds like a person. A person, flooding through my body, causing me to double over every second day. Just when the nurses are saying they've gotten rid of it all, it hits again and they find it has spread.

They've stopped working on a cure and started working on something that will keep it at bay. Something that will stop it from ruining my system.

For people who hadn't cared at all about the life of Calix Theon, they cared an awfully lot about the F.

The F.

That was what I was. Calix had told me I was a beacon of hope, the proof that you can have freedom and live. But I know that isn't true.

Yes, I am proof that you can have freedom for however small amount of time. But he was wrong about the other thing.

This wasn't living. Living was enjoying the life you had. And how could I enjoy it when Aril stole everything I ever cared about from me moments after I thought I was safe?

I don't eat anything. Not that it matters, they just feed me through the tubes inserted in my neck. I've stopped trying to pull them out, learning that they seem to numb the pain, at least a little bit. A little bit is all I need.

Reese hasn't visited me since she told me. Actually, no one has visited me. The only people I see are the nurses.

Then, one day, about two weeks and a half after I was administered into the hospital, while they have been trying me on a new drug they think will delay the attacks, I wake to someone beside my bed.

Aril Trey.

Her lips are pursed in a frown and her gaze is murky and unfocused. Her brown hair, usually pulled up into a professional looking bun, is let out and falls over her shoulders unevenly. It looks like it hasn't been cut in a while. Grey is creeping into the roots but if she had noticed, she hadn't cared enough to dye it.

I slowly sit up and she snaps out of her haze and turns to me. Her face is expressionless as she looks me over and nods.

"You're doing okay, I see." She mutters and I raise an eyebrow. Okay? I was not okay. Far from it, actually, physically and emotionally. She must notice my expression because she sighs.
"You knew something was coming Maedana, don't act like it was all a surprise for you. You committed a crime against me and because of it I had to show you the consequences."

I can't contain my anger. Not now. Not anymore.

"You killed him." I snap. "He did nothing and you killed him!"

Aril doesn't squirm like I expect her to. Instead, she just laughs.
"Maedana, Calix did not do nothing. He committed treason against the complex just like you did. He was a member of the defiance, and soon you will find out just how big of a member. But I am not the one to tell you. You'll discover that yourself. For now, I need to talk to you about a different matter entirely. Your act with that gun."

I shake my head and swallow the lump that is in my throat. "What about it?"

Aril smiles at me. "I want to know that you have learnt your lesson."

I look at her eyes and for a moment I see something. Some sort of emotion. Then it is gone an all I can see are the black pupils. I purse my lips together. "My lesson? In what? Don't defy you?" I don't know why I say what I do. I just can't hold it in. I'm in a rude mood.

Aril nods and smiles at me. "Yes. Do not defy me because I have far more power than you know."

I mentally take a note to slap myself later, then retort in an anger filled tone, "Aril, you may be powerful but I have a different kind of power. I have the power of freedom. The power of hope." I grin and wait for her to frown at me in disappointment but she doesn't. Instead she just smirks and laughs. My grin fades.

She stops laughing but continues smirking at me. "Maedana, you have no idea what freedom is. Freedom is not hope. Hope is different entirely. And besides, no one needs your hope. The Complex is a safe haven. Yes, it's system may be harsh but it is what's necessary. You have no idea what is outside this dome, and I hope you never find out. Inside, you and every other citizen is safe, despite what you believe. And if to keep that safety I'm required to keep you and your hope and freedom in check, I will do anything." She leans in and her face wears an expression of steel.
"Maedana, if you do not stop, neither will I. I will not stop at Calix. I will kill Tala, Reese, Elyria, Grief even Glore if I have to. I will take anyone you ever care about away, and I will strip you until you are bare of any form of kindness. Calix was your warning F. Don't let him have died for nothing."

She moves away and for a moment I can't breathe. Her words had cut through me like knives, each blade digging deeper into my heart.

Suddenly, a knock comes from the door and Aril stands as it slides open to reveal Tala.

Black stains her eyelids and she looks like she hasn't slept in weeks. Her dark brown hair has started growing out of the shoulder length bob it was, and tiny dreadlocks of plaits twist through it, clearly having been in there for far too long.

"Oh. Aril. I'm so sorry I can come back another time if you need me to." Tala says, looking worried.

Aril shakes her head and smiles. "No, no. I was just leaving." She turns to look at me one last time. "Don't forget what we talked about, Gemma."

The last word echoes around my head as she leaves. She knew how much my old name agitated me. That was why she used it. I can't help but fill with fear. Everything she had said was getting to me.

As soon as she has left the room, Tala's face turns sour. "I hate her so much it's sometimes hard to act like I don't." She says as she turns to me. She looks me up and down and I try to conceal the fear from my face. If she notices, she doesn't say anything.
Instead, she walks to the machines by my bed that record everything the wires that line my body take in. She reaches up, and turns off the machine, and suddenly I feel strangely calm. The wires had been buzzing and vibrating on my skin, but now they were still.

"Come on. We are going for a walk." Tala says. I frown at her, confused.

"Are you sure the nurses will be okay with that?" I ask.

She shrugs. "Yeah. I already checked with them. They said that usually you wouldn't be allowed out but since you haven't had an... attack in a few days, it would be fine."

I nod and Tala starts peeling the wires away from my arms and legs. Once she's done that, she pulls the tube out of my back and smiles at me. "Okay. You're free to get up."

I nod and push myself out of bed. I'm shaky for a moment but Tala grabs my arm to steady me.

"I feel so weak." I mutter. Tala grins.

"That generally happens when you stay in bed for two weeks." She says and slowly leads me to the door.

By the time we have gotten there, I've regained my balance and I let go of Tala as I walk out. She closes the door behind us, and I hear a lock click. Even if I had been able to get out of bed, I couldn't go anywhere because the door was locked. I sigh and look away. Tala catches up with me and we both walk down the white hallways to the door.

"Where are we going?" I ask. Tala smiles.

"Just a walk. Maybe around the black block. You can only be gone for a while or else I'll get in trouble."

I nod as we reach the entrance lobby. Like the rest of the hospital, everything is white, including the people. If I wasn't used to it, I would feel self conscious wearing black.

Suddenly, I realise something. I was still wearing a loose black nightgown. I groan and halt to a stop. I turn to Tala and she gives me a confused look.

"What?" She asks. I look down at my clothes and back at her with pleading eyes. For a moment she is confused. Then she grins and laughs for a second. She tries to conceal it as a cough but I can't help but roll my eyes.

"Tala, I'm not going for a walk around the black block in this." I tell her. She doesn't stop grinning.

"Okay. But there aren't many places you can go without anyone seeing you in that." She says. I bite my lip.

"Can't I get changed?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "No. Not enough time. Plus, they wouldn't let you. In that they can easily reattach you if you have another attack."

I sigh. "Where can we go then, where no one will see me?"

Tala shrugs. "Not many places. The rubbish tip maybe. The cemetery..." She trails off. I know why. She thought if I even heard the word 'cemetery' I would break down in tears. Well, after my recent conversation with Aril, I was taking none of this 'fragile' act.

"Let's go there. There's no quieter a place than the field of the dead."

I don't wait to see her surprised look, instead I just turn and walk towards the doors, suddenly sour.

I was about to see his grave.

~~~

"Mae, we don't have to do this. We don't have to find him. It would be okay if you wanted to turn back now." Tala says nervously. I hated this. The pity in her voice. The fear I might fall apart. No. I wouldn't let myself because that was what she wanted me to do. Aril wanted me to break so she could rebuild me, her own robot to recreate whenever she needed to.

"No it wouldn't Tala. I need to do this. The sooner the better." I tell her and she nods, her face sour.

"Alright. His grave is over there." She points down a few plaques to a grave that looks like it has been freshly dug. In the brown, compact dirt I see a bright white plaque. I slowly walk towards it and see the distinct E marked on the plaque in black. Below it I make out his name.

Calix Theon.

There is nothing else but seeing just this one white piece of stone makes me feel empty. Below it I know is his body. His blonde hair I would never see again.

To my own surprise, I don't find myself crying. Instead, I just stare at his grave, void of any emotion. Maybe I had cried all my tears already. Or maybe I just didn't feel emotion about him anymore.

"Maedana, are you okay?" Tala asks. I nod silently.

She tentatively walks over and places a hand on my shoulder. "She killed him you know. Aril did this." She whispers.

I nod. Of course I knew. But all I can hear are her words in my head.

You will find out just how big of a member.

What did she mean? Calix had only just joined the defiance. He couldn't be a big member, could he? I couldn't help but feel there were secrets being hidden from me. Secrets I deserved to know.

"He didn't have to die Mae." Tala says, her voice filled with emotion.

I nod. "But he's dead now." I whisper.

Tala sighs. "I don't know what she told you but it's not true. You don't have to let her play with you whenever she wants. You're more than that."

I nod silently. Tala places a hand on my shoulder and I look at her. Her face is full of willpower. "I'm serious Mae. Don't let his death be for no reason."

That snaps me out of my haze although I'm not sure why. Maybe it was the fact that Aril had told me almost the exact same thing or maybe it was the fact that her words meant so much. I don't know but suddenly, everything is slipping out. Anger, fear, sadness, it was all there. A tear filled my eye.

"You don't have to be her slave. Never forget your freedom Mae." Tala says. I shake my head and her hand falls away.

"No." I mutter and the tear falls down my cheek. I feel it as it leaves my face and it seems to drop in slow motion. It touches the ground, staining the dirt darker. The only water the ground in the complex would ever have was tears.

I move my gaze back to that white plaque and whisper the sentence I had always known was true but always forgotten.

"There is no such thing as freedom."