The water flowed between her fingers gracefully, arms swaying back and forth, and within the slight state of consciousness, it created a sense of tranquility. The world around her was silent, all but the feeling of the cold that ebbed its way through delicate veins is what made this seemingly dreamy moment a nightmare. Her navy-blue hair danced elegantly, and her almost white, blue eyes were open to slits, darting around in an endless loop, as if in some type of daze.

From one of the doors to the side entered a short statured woman with short, naturally ginger hair held up in a ponytail. She pushed her round glasses closer to her face, walking closer to the round glass tube where the blue haired girl was dormant, putting the palm of her hand against the glass and learning her head forward. "Today is the day. You will escape. I promise, Helice." Then she turned and walked over to one of the brightly lit screens, hovering her fingers over it before she started tapping on the cold glass.

Helice could feel the wires slowly disappear, crawling out of her veins and onto the surface of her skin. Her eyes finally focused on what was ahead of her, air bubbles that floating to the surface. A sigh of relief.

The normally dim room was lit up with the fully lit LED lights that hugged the columns holding the ceiling up. The walls shook violently, knocking over some stray objects to the ground, but the ginger remained calm, turning on a speaker on the machines. "False alarm, everyone remain calm. I repeat, this is a false alarm, remain calm and return to your duties." She then pulled away and winked in Helice's direction. "Time for you to get out of this hell hole. Maybe one day we can chat about this in the future, the great escape." She then walked closer to the glass tube and leaned her head against it. "Not like you can hear me, but farewell."

She left the room, leaving everything where she left it, and everything was still. What only could be heard was the pitter patter of dripping water, and the sound of footfalls. They grew louder and closer with each second, more fast and rapid in pace as if they were running from something or someone.

But all that appeared was a peculiar looking woman seemingly in her early 20s, dressed in a dark blue dress with silver stars, moons, and the star signs dancing along the flowy skirt, as if she was going to some ball. Her sclera's were pitch black while her irises were an electric blue, giving her a somewhat terrifying appearance. As she passed each room, she spotted different things, such as dorms, where children seemed to rest, with small twin beds, and other rooms with machinery.

That's when she stopped. A girl. Caged in a prison of glass and water. A human but locked up like an alien who was just discovered. She approached cautiously, looking around to check if anyone else has entered the room as well, before knocking on the tube. "Hey, girl, you alive?"

The only response was eye movement to the sight of another being.

"Good enough. Now..." She looked over at the panel at the edge of the room, tapping her char black index finger against her chin. "How do we get you out of here?' Making her way over to the panel, she examined the screen and all its buttons. "Hmm..."

There was a note on one of the buttons, in which the woman looked at.

"Press this button to dismantle the tube."

"Ok." She pressed the button, and in return, the water began to drain out from inside the tube till Helice was on her knees at the metal, and the glass folded and went down into the holes at the bottom.

Her hair was plastered against her back, and her bangs stuck to the sides of her face, her mouth gaping open as if in shock. The woman kneeled and shook her, and in response, she pulled away. Fear danced through a hazy stare that did not move away from the floor. "A-Are you one of them?"

"Them? You mean one of those scientist creeps? Nah. I am Avanellie." The sound of footsteps came from the hallway at the opposite entrance to the room. She grabbed at her arm and quickly yet softly pulled her to her feet. "We need to get out of here, think you can run?"
Helice gave her a blank stare, before looking back and forth towards the sound of the footsteps and Avanellie. "Y-yeah let's go."

They made a run for it to the front door of the lab, making their way out into the hallway and weaving their way around the maze of rooms and long entryways. It looked endless and inescapable, and the footsteps were getting closer. At last, they found a big metal sheet of a door, like that in a garage, and a large metal lever on the floor nearby.

Avanellie made her way over to the lever and pulled it with all her strength and it slowly moved. Helice was anxiously looking around, before bending down beside her and assisting her and the door finally pulled its way up, sending dirt and shaves of grass to the ground. They made their way out onto a sandy beach, which caused her to reel back in shock, kicking at the sand in panic which caused the older woman to giggle.

"Never seen sand before?"

"No! Why is it so hot? Is it going to take me away?"

"Just come on, don't worry about it, it's not going to kill you." Avanellie pulled at her arm, and they ran down the beach. soon they could hear shouting from just a bit away. Just ahead of them, they could see specs of people in a colorful array of bathing suits and laughter and chatter rang loudly through the air. It was their best chance of escape, but then something whizzed past them.

It was a tranquilizer. Bright red in color and easy to spot from a mile away. Their hearts raced as the woman began to let out a string of curses, trying to pull them along faster. Helice's eyes let off a dim white glow, which in result gave her a curious look. Suddenly, the scientist faceplanted into what looked like an invisible wall made of glass, stopping them dead in their tracks.

This gave the duo time to book it into the crowd, pushing people out of the way and throwing grains of sand into the air with every step of their feet. The salty air stung their eyes, and people angrily yelled after them, but they did not stop to apologize. They needed to make it to the boardwalk, where they could reach Avanellie's car, but the crowd was crushingly tight and hard to navigate through, making it easy to lose one another. The scientist had finally made their way around the invisible barrier and was back on their tail.

When they did reach the boardwalk, there was very little people making their way down it, allowing them to sprint down it and make their way to the parking lot. Avanellie unlocked her car and threw Helice into the back seat, before she proceeded to get into the front seat and zoomed out of the parking lot.

The city in the day was bustling and loud, where cabs zigzagged their way to their locations and others honked and yelled at anyone going at a slower pace. Large buildings towered over them like large giants, with windows that glistened like eyes. For Helice, this was something extremely new. She sat by the car window, eyes glistening in awe at every person and building she saw, leaning her head against the palm of her hand.

Avanellie on the other hand, was flipping the bird to many drivers she passed that were driving recklessly or too slowly. She was too tired to deal with them and wanted to get home as quick as possible and wanted nothing to do with careless people. Looking back at Helice though gave her a feeling of happiness, seeing her face light up at her first time seeing the city from outside the lab.

"So, once we get to the duplex, I'll get a bath going, and put out some extra clothes for you. I am sorry if they don't fit, you aren't exactly my size." She stated, as they pulled up to the side of the apartment. It was an old red traditional brick styled building with elm trees planted on either side of it. "Well-maybe we should get you dressed in at least a shirt before entering, just to throw on until we get to my apartment."

As she left, Helice looked down at what she was wearing. Her clothes practically blended in with her skin, in shorts and a sleeveless shirt that didn't cover her stomach. She traced the scar that ran down her chest then disappeared. "Why what's wrong with it? And what's a bath?"

"You serious?"

"Uh, yes?" She responded. "Is something wrong?"

"Well for one," Avanellie stated, "how do you not reek like a pile of garbage with a family of skunks living inside?' She then grabbed a blue shirt with a drawing of a kitty patting something and threw it over the back of the seat, landing next to Helice. "And second of all, if you wear that out in an apartment, you are destined to stand out like a sore thumb."

She reluctantly slipped the shirt on. "Is this a trick? Is anyone going to jump out and drag me back again to the lab?"

"Girl, no. I am not pulling a trick on you, just get out of the car so we can get you a bath asap." Avanellie gazed over the top of the back seat and saw Helice reach for the door, only to see her fumble with the handle, unable to open in it. She sighed. "They never taught you anything, did they?"

"Uh... No, I did learn reading and math though." She stated, still struggling with the door.

"Nothing about opening a car?"
"Is that what you call this moving box?" Helice questioned.

"Ma'am!" Avanellie walked over and unlocked the door, and she slid out from the car. "This should be considered abuse. Cars have existed for ages, and you don't know what it is? And baths, how did you get clean?"
Her light blue eyes blinked slowly. "I was in water, a lot."
"For how long? Wait not just that, did the filter the water?" Avenellie threw on some dark shaded sunglasses and led the girl to the front entrance, pulling the green painted door with a small window section at the top open.

"I never had a chance to question anything. I did what I did to stay alive I guess." Helice shrugged her shoulders. "The experiments would only get worse if I resisted, so I never questioned."

"That's really messed up. I'm sorry." She waved over to the front desk, where a lady peeked up from the crescent shaped desk and smiled.

"Good afternoon! I see you brought a guest with you. She is so cute!" She squealed, bringing her hands to her face.

Helice looked over at the receptionist before running over to her, bringing her face a foot away. "Aw so are you! My name is Helice, what's your name?"

"My name is Emma, nice to meet you!" Emma held out her hand for her to shake, a large bright smile still on her face.

She stared down at her hand and tilted her hand. "Are you asking for something?"

"Ha-ha- such a silly girl making some silly joke, of course she knows what a handshake is. She is totally not just really oblivious of the real world." Avanellie said the last sentence through gritted teeth.

"What wait what's a hand-" She was interrupted by Avanellie pulling her away by her shoulder as Emma watched, completely dumbfounded. "Hey, I want to continue talking to the pretty lady!"
The tall woman pressed the elevator button, tapping her foot impatiently as they waited for the elevator to come down. Helice pouted before staring down at the woman's foot, staying quiet before becoming uneasy with every moment. Her heart began to pound in her chest, where the sound rang loudly in her ears. She grabbed the pointy tops of her ears, staring down at her own feet.

"What is taking this elevator so long?" Avanellie checked the non-existent watch on her wrist before looking at the younger girl, "Helice? What's wrong?"

"Please stop." She stated. "Please please, stop." Tears ran down her pale cheeks, clutching at her ears tighter.

"What?" The woman looked around, then down at her foo that she was still tapping, and immediately stopped. "Oh my foot? I am sorry if that bothers you in anyway, I'll stop." Then the elevator finally dinged, its caramel marble metal doors whirled open, revealing a beautifully metallic inside. The walls were tawny in color intricate designs in gold paint of birds doing a variety of things, such as checking over their nest or preening their feathers.

She looked over at her, and Avenellie slowly began to piece together what was happening. Holding her hand, she gently led her out of the elevator, and down the hallway to where her apartment duplex was located. They made their way inside, where there was a large wide sliding glass door that led out into a long thin balcony, and within the room itself, the floor was Vanier hardwood. The carpet that laid across the floor was made of gray faux fur, and gray cushioned couch and two chairs with dark burgundy wood. Fake fan palms and peace lilies dotted the room here and there. The woman pulled one of the bar stools out from under the marbled counter from the kitchen island and sat directly in front of Helice. "You are disassociating."

"Disassociating?" She echoed.

"Yes." Avanellie stated. She then looked around for something that had some type of texture before her eyes landed on a pair of rubber gloves she had left on the counter and grabbed it. "Hold this. Rub your hands along them, or you can smell them, they should smell of rubber."

Helice held them in her hands, staring at them as she messed with them a bit for a bit, feeling the rough leather in between her fingers. She could feel her brain slowly un-fuzz, grounding to the situation around her. "Your apartment is really beautiful." She commented finally.

Avanellie smiled. "Thank you. I am going to set up the bath now. Do you think you will be ok on your own?" She then let out a whistle, and a medium sized fluffy white dog ran into the room, wagging his tail enthusiastically. "If not, Nika here can stay with you until I finish readying the bath."

Helice bent down at the pup's level and gave him neck scratches, and Nika tilted his head in response. Avanellie stayed for a bit to watch and then made her way upstairs to the bathroom.

☽

Soon, Avanellie made her way down the stairs and called for Helice to follow her but got no response in return. The girl had made herself comfortable on the couch, curled up around Nika, whose fur almost hid her. Avanellie made her way over and nudged her lightly, and she let out a small groan in response, rubbing her face and looking around. Then she sat up quickly, tensing up, nearly knocking Nika off the couch. Her shoulders relaxed when she seemed to realize where she was.

"I'm sorry for waking you, but the bath is ready." Avenellie stated, and Helice stood up, allowing her to lead the way to the bathroom. When up there, she pushed the door open to reveal a tub full of water with bubbles floating along the surface. Helice gave her a look of uncertainty, eyeing the tub. "Here is your towel." Avenellie waved over to the towel holder on the wall, then pointed to the edge of the tub where two blue bottles labeled shampoo and conditioner laid. "Those you scrub with your hands in your hair, shampoo first then conditioner. Any questions, just yell my name and I will come up." Without another word, she left, closing the door behind her.

Helice peeled off the oversized t-shirt but left on the tan colored clothing, used to always wearing it while being near or around water, and created a certain secureness. She dipped her toes in, pulling away as some of the bubbles popped, some foam floating into the air before falling back into the water. She ascended down slowly, till her butt hit the bottom, her chest was just above the surface, and she grabbed the shiny blue bottle of shampoo. It smelled of blueberries and honey, and she squeezed the bottle over her head, allowing it to fall onto her hair. Then she read through the directions on the back of the bottle and rubbed it through her scalp, dunking her head underneath the to wash it out then did the same with the conditioner.

Once she had finished, she grabbed a group of bubbles and blew them out from her hand, where they flew all around the bathroom, leaving the walls and floor a bit sudsy. Then, she exited the tub and used the towel Avanellie had left on the side and dried off, enjoying the soft texture it had.

She opened the door a crack and called out. "Avanellie! I am done!"

The young woman made her way up the stairs and into her room, coming out with an orange wool shirt with long sleeves and a folded neck. Helice gasped at the sight of the shirt, pushing the door farther open.

"It looks so comfy!" Helice exclaimed, taking it from her hands. "It is!" Quickly she threw it on over the tan colored clothing and hugged herself.

Avanellie smiled. "I am glad you like it, though we should really get you something to put on underneath so you no longer have to wear that clothing, bur for now, it will have to do." She then turned around and started heading towards the stairs. "Want to go watch TV?"

She followed close to her heel; hands knotted together behind her back. "What's a TV?"

"I keep forgetting you know nothing about the outside world." Avanellie sighed and began to go into detail about what a TV was, making their way to the couch where they sat side by side, Nika curling up by their feet.