Pain perforated the darkness like animal scratches. The numbness was so soft, so comfortable.

"Wakey wakey, little dove," said a sweet voice. Hands caressed her cheeks in a manner similar to Ari would when she was ill. Mina's eyes fluttered open. Soft lights came from the ceiling, bathing her in a pale glow. The sun?

Her eyes focused. No, it wasn't sunlight. The light was too yellow, too coarse. She blinked again. She could see the walls now, rusting at the edges and discoloured with leaking water and damp. The speaker moved to her right. Mina's eyes darted to her face. The lady was about Ari's age, but she looked a lot older. Her hair was tied back so tight it stretched the skin across her forehead and her eyes bulged behind her glasses.

"Where..." Mina cleared her throat. It was so sandy it hurt to speak. "Where am I?"

"Safe, my dear." The woman stroked her hair tenderly, a smile on her face. Mina couldn't help but feel unsettled at her expression.

Her head hurt. The world spun for a few seconds before slowing again. Her stomach jumped.

The lady moved quickly, shoving a slim metal bowl in front of her as she emptied nothing but stomach acid into it. Her throat stung. Tears sprang to her eyes. She clutched the bars beside her bed with all her might. Several gasps later, she opened her eyes, realising just then she'd been squeezing them shut. Mina tried to wipe her mouth, but her hands were cuffed to the sides.

"Where... am I?"

The lady took the bowl away. She wore a white coat that had dirt and splashes of dark brown on the hems. She didn't look like a Healer. Her hair was in a messy bun, like a pastry someone had dropped onto the ground. Sitting up, Mina suddenly noticed her wrists were cuffed to the horizontal bars beside the white sheets. Someone had taken her normal clothes off and replaced them with a flimsy night gown.

"Why are these things on my wrist?" Panic seeped into her voice. "Let me go! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Oh, my dear." The lady swooped in again, a gleam in her unblinking eyes. She touched her cheek. Her fingers were icy cold. Mina flinched away. "Of course you did nothing wrong. You are the innocent."

"Then why am I trapped? Please, I won't do anything. I promise."

The lady smiled. "I believe you, dear, but for what is to come, I feel better with you like this."

"'What is to come'?" Mina said, bewildered.

"Yes, what is due for people like us, people who deserve more than what the wretched system has planned."

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't, darling. You are so innocent."

The lady made no attempt to touch her again. Mina's eyes darted across the room. It was empty aside from the bed on which she was strapped. The lights overhead flickered. Two metres from her feet was the door, which slid open upon swiping of a card. Even if she got her restraints off, she couldn't get out. Beside the door was a big mirror, taking up most of that side of the wall.

"Soon you will, though. Soon we all get what is ours. And they will all pay."

"They?"

"The strong ones. Their mindless bullying, their selfishness, their greed for all the credits – we'll gain everything they'll lose."

"The strong? You don't mean..."

"High-rankers, yes. All of them."

"No," whispered Mina, horrified. "No! You can't!"

"I can," the woman said, her voice hardening, "and I will."

"They didn't do anything wrong!"

"Their existence is the sole reason why our lives – yours, mine, so many low-rankers' – are so miserable, so impoverished. They take the credits, they flourish in their wealth. And we starve to death."

Fear coursed through Mina like electricity. She strained against the cuffs, but they were made of some type of reinforced polymer that resisted stress and strain.

"Why?"

"You are so brainwashed. You need help to see the light, and then you will see the greater good. You will thank me when the time comes."

Mina quaked, her mind going blank with fear.

"You'll see it my way. Soon." With that the scientist stroked Mina's head – Mina flinched away with a shiver, her eyes on the lady – and stepped back. Seeming satisfied with what lay before her eyes, she gave another vague smile and tottered off, swiping the card at the door and disappearing into the darkness beyond.

Mina was left in silence, bathed in that sickly yellow light.

Her head still throbbed. Whatever they had given her must be wearing off. She tried to sort out the flurry of thoughts in her mind. Had she met that lady before? She was sure she'd have remembered – that lady gave off such a creepy vibe. Yet she seemed to know Mina. Remembering the unblinking stares, Mina shuddered.

What was the last thing she remembered?

She whimpered, and then bit her lip, swallowing the next lot of sound. It was hard getting her numbed thoughts into gear again. Think, Mina, think!

She had taken the paper exam – that was very difficult. She took her turn in the ability exam. She didn't do well, but she gave her best. She remembered hearing the sniggers from the high-achievers in her class and she was embarrassed. If they weren't watching, perhaps she could have phased further through the block and not gotten herself stuck. Perhaps she should have taken her time – past feedback had always criticised her harried attempts and inability to cope with unexpected changes.

And then she took her seat with the sniggering high-achievers who shot her sly looks and smirks, feeling the hot blush creep up her face.

Some other students then took their turns. And then some time during that period – she remembered wondering what Ari was doing at that moment – there was a big flash of light and a deafening bang. Mina's initial thought was the overhead halogen lighting had exploded. Blinded and deafened, she felt through numbed skin small chunks of rubble bouncing off her. The surprise froze her to the spot, sticking her belly-first onto the ground, her voice box becoming stone and her body petrified. Coughs and groans reached her ears from all around her. She sucked in a breath of air that was mostly dust. The irritation gave her a coughing fit; tears streamed from her eyes. Grey shapes moved in and out of her vision. Despite vigorous blinking, her sight didn't improve. The ringing gradually decreased in volume. A pounding headache remained when her throat felt less sandy again.

The disorientation combined with shock made the whole scenario very alien to Mina.

"That was another failure," one voice said. A boy's. He sounded disappointed.

"Yeah, and that kid seemed to be doing well and all," said someone else. "Come on, we'd better get moving before the Peacekeepers get here."

The words made no sense to Mina, but for some reason they stuck in her memory. She remembered being hoisted up, her feet leaving the ground. She wondered if it was a Healer taking her to be treated, but the person seemed to be handling her rougher and in a wholly unorthodox manner, leaving her head swinging over his back like a school bag.

Something slipped over her mouth. She sucked in a breath of acidic chemicals and then blacked out.

The next thing she knew, she was in that room, strapped down in a dim yellow light.

The realisation made the nausea come back again. She swallowed the new saliva that formed in her mouth. Tiredness washed over her in waves. How long had she been here? Hours? Days? It was impossible to tell. What would Ari do?

She wished Ari was here. Ari always knew what to do. Ari would look out for her.

She wondered if Ari knew where she was. She must have known Mina was missing by now.

Ari would probably look for a route to escape. Mina swallowed. Even if she could get out of these restraints, there was no way out aside from the door. She scanned the ceiling. No air vents or anything, just a large pane of weak yellow light. The door didn't look too thick to phase through. If Mina could maintain her concentration and hold her breath, perhaps she could go through it. Then all she had to do was hide and sneak her way out. That was what Ari would do.

Feeling a little more confident, Mina nodded to herself, taking deep breaths in and out. There were too many things going on, too many things unknown. She was acutely aware of her panic rising despite the calming strategies that seemed to have worked with exams in the past. Empty your head, think peaceful things, happy things. Slow music, dancing with Ari in the kitchen, watching Ari juggle energy around like a toy, the fluffy animals she saw in biotech classes where the machines mimicked their reflexes.

The pounding in her head and ears eased. Biting her lip, she focused on the restraints. The polymers were strong, but they were light and less dense than what she worked with for ability exams. She raised her arms, feeling the contact between her skin and the smooth material. Her molecules slowly, but surely, eased through that of the restraint.

Keen calm, keep calm, Ari's voice spoke in the back of her head. Mina imagined Ari's calm demeanour in every exam, her intense blue gaze, the slight curve of a smile. Ari was always ready. Ari always kept her cool. In, out, in, out.

Her wrists slipped out of the cuffs. Mina let out a sigh of delight. She sat up, wincing. She had black bruises up and down her arms and legs through the flimsy gown. Most of her wounds were superficial, but they were all clumsily treated with just antiseptic and bandages. The hospitals in Area One would have them all healed within seconds. These people weren't with March City. They were bad people.

Her bare feet hit the floor with a slap. The cold of the stone made her shiver. She glanced at the big mirror beside the door. She saw herself, pallid and terrified, her dark brown hair sticking up in chunks around her head. Her face was covered in bandages.

Mina took another look around. No cameras.

Her breath quickening, Mina hurried to the door. She pushed against it. Nothing. She was expecting that. The swipe pad had nothing else, no keys to enter, no finger print system. She pressed her hands against the smooth metal door. It was so tough beneath her touch. Doubt gnawed at the back of her mind, but Mina tried to ignore it. She ensured her flesh was pressed tightly to the cold surface and focused, continuing on the push.

She waited for the ease into the metal, but it didn't come.

Her concentration splintered. She withdrew, despair sending panic coursing through her body. Tears sprang to her eyes. It was no use. She would be here forever. And she would never see Ari again.

Before she could stop them, the tears flowed freely down her face. The door swam in and out of focus. Her nose clogged up and she sniffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. She was doomed. She'd be here forever with these evil people and she was too weak to fight them.

Footsteps reached her ears. She ran back to the bed and jumped on, withdrawing her knees in front of her and dried her eyes.

Someone else came in this time, not the lady scientist. This was a boy only a year or two older than her. He had long sandy hair that was tied back in a short ponytail and freckles. His mouth was down-turned. The boy barely gave her a look. In his hands was a needle and syringe.

"I'm taking your blood."

"N-no," said Mina, scooting away and eyeing the needle. It looked very sharp and painful.

"Shut up. I'm taking your blood."

He grabbed her arm. Mina flinched, but relented when he bared his teeth at her like some animal. He didn't notice the cuffs dangling, empty, by either side of the bed.

"I don't have time to play games with you, stupid kid. Lay still or I'll hit you."

Quivering, Mina acquiesced, letting out a whimper when the needle hit her skin. It was over quickly. He didn't bother covering her wound or bandaging it. Throwing the needle away, he checked the syringe level. A dribble of blood ran down Mina's arm, dripping onto the floor.

"W-what do you want my blood for?"

"Checking your ability. So the leader can match you."

"Match me for what?" She dreaded the answer.

He gave her a disdainful glance, wrinkling his nose.

"Your ability transplant, what else?"

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