Escaping Elysia

Chapter 24 - Panic (cont.)

Evita

I curl up in the waiting room chair with my feet perched on the edge of the seat and my knees pulled up to my chest. The nurse will call me back for my shot any minute. The girl next to me chews her nails, her eyes hollow, and a boy across the aisle rocks back and forth, clutching his elbows. Everyone is on edge.

The walk here from the cafeteria was a blur, my mind numb, but I've started to accept the reality of the situation. Tasia's gone. The yellow and purple groups are gone. They're dead. I rub one thumb against the other, back and forth, back and forth, until it becomes raw and red.

How did it happen? Did Tasia know what was going on? Was her heart beating furiously as they tore her from her bed in the middle of the night? Or did they end it before her eyes could flutter open?

Nadya was in the yellow group, but they didn't take her. Why? I think of the bottle of pills under my mattress, and wonder if they might have something to do with it. Could Sheer have protected Nadya, in the hopes that the pills will work? A ball of guilt forms in my stomach and I shudder. Those pills may be the only thing keeping Nadya alive. If Sheer knew I wasn't giving them to her...

A nurse calls out, "307?" and the girl next to me shrinks back in her seat. When she doesn't stand the nurse sighs, trudges over, grasps her arm, and yanks her up. My chest tightens. They have such complete control over us here, it feels pointless to fight back. I'm sick of letting them do what they want with my body. My fists clench as the nurse drags the girl through the doors and into the clinic.

The seconds tick by. A guard shifts to my right, the ever present taser tucked into his belt. Dread fills my stomach as I wait for my number to be called. I can't go in there. I won't. I feel feverish. What if they decide to get rid of me next? My mouth is dry. I don't care if this will never work.

The nurse steps into the waiting room. "354?"

I dash for the clinic doors.

"Hey!" she calls after me, but I don't look back. I catch the gaze of the boy who was rocking. He's stopped now, and he's staring at me with these huge eyes, reflecting the emotions swirling through me. Fear. Panic.

I race past a guard, snatching the badge from his pocket and waving it over the alarm. My heart beats against my ribs. I can't catch my breath, and the panic blinds me to everything except for this door. The light changes from red to green and I'm out of the clinic, yanking open the door to freedom.

Except I'm not free.

In my panic I didn't think much past this one door. I'm still deep within Elysia, and that guard will be on me at any second. I bolt down the hallway, toward those doors, those same doors Simon ran through.

But I have a badge. Maybe I'll make it.

It's a crazy thought, because I can feel the guard on my heels, like the hot breath of a dog ready to strike and tear me to shreds.

Out of the corner of my eye I see two more guards join the chase. The other test subjects are wide eyed. Terrified. I imagine I wore the same expression when Simon ran.

But I can't think about that now, because the door is so close and my sides ache and it hurts to breathe and those damn guards are on my heels. Except now they're really on my heels, and I'm lifting into the air.

There's screaming, I'm screaming. I thrash and kick, and one of the guards lets out a satisfying oomph. But there are too many, and one wretches my arm behind my back. A sickening crack echoes and pain explodes down my left forearm. I cry out.

The guard carries me back to the clinic, and the door, my escape to freedom, becomes smaller and smaller with every step.

I knew I would never reach it, but I had to try.

I'm dizzy from the pain, yet I still kick and thrash with everything I've got as the guard carries me to one of the exam rooms. They pin me on the exam table and the nurse opens a drawer to my right. I sob as she plunges a needle into the crook of my uninjured arm.

Warmth spreads through me. I fight it, but the drug hurtles through my veins. The pain in my arm slips away. The grief I've felt since breakfast follows, until I feel nothing.

***

Author's note: Thank you so much for reading! Please don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter :).

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