The Escape Series Collection

Chapter 8

The door opened with its usual airy sound. I entered my room and pulled at my t-shirt, glued to me with sweat, and stepped into the washroom. The mirror on the wall captured my attention. I stared at my flushed and sweat soaked face. My hair hung in limp strands, damp and tangled.

I pulled my wet shirt over my head. The smell of perspiration caused my nose to wrinkle. My shorts and underwear clung to my legs as I worked at sliding them down. When I"d finally stepped out of them, I stood back up. My reflection showed the dampened papers sticking out from my b*a. I unhooked it and let it all fall to the floor in a heap with the rest of the wet clothing. My shower would be brief as it was almost time for lunch. My stomach rumbled at the thought.

Feeling fresh and dry, I picked up my clothing and the note from the floor and opened the door. The warning bell followed me out of the room.

The sight of her sitting at my desk surprised me. I had almost forgotten about my new roommate. It was difficult trying to keep my focus in front of me as I crossed the room. I wanted to watch the new girl.

I hesitated before depositing my clothes and the note into the laundry chute. My damp clothing had been my only protection, and now I had nothing. I drew in a sharp breath as I stood in the far corner of the room under the ever-watchful eye. n***d - I gasped. How had I ever done this before? The thought came to me again.

How had I ever done this before?I took a deep breath and walked toward my dresser, all the while I told myself to act as though clothed. I hadn"t cared before, I thought, as my hands pulled a packaged set of underwear from the drawer. But before, I hadn"t quite been myself, though I wasn"t sure if I was now. It was like waking up from a dream, in that state where you aren"t asleep but aren"t awake either. I was stuck somewhere in the middle.

I hadn"t cared before,I sighed as I pulled on my dress and sat on my bed. I stared at the dumbwaiter and waited for the door to open. When it came seconds later, I stood and traipsed to my chair. The girl walked to the washroom and entered.

The first tray in the compartment was labeled B20130623L. It was her tray. Do they call her B2? I placed the tray on the table. A moment later the dumbwaiter opened again. I reached in and pulled out a tray labelled with my ID.

Do they call her B2?The girl, B2 I"d decided, returned to the table and took her seat across from me. I stared at her and her blank eyes for a moment. Did I look like that? Did my eyes look as though they saw nothing? A shiver ran through my body as I wondered about my previous trance-like state. I pulled my lid from my tray and began to eat.

Did I look like that? Did my eyes look as though they saw nothing?B2 finished her meal before me and placed her empty tray back in the dumbwaiter. Did she even taste her food? I looked down at the few bites still on my plate and devoured them. I was suddenly afraid to arouse suspicious if I didn"t behave like B2.

Did she even taste her food?For days I followed B2"s lead, acting as she did, but it was getting difficult with each passing moment. I was growing tired of the act, tired of the procedures, and tired of B2. The expression “bored to death” popped into my head like so many other things. I wasn"t sure if it was based on truth. If it wasn"t, I was close to actually being boredom"s first victim.

bored to deathDuring the day, flashes of moments from the past flickered in my mind like bits of a hazy dream. Some things I understood, while others were out of reach, and I couldn"t grasp their meaning.

J had begun backing off on the memory blocking/hypnotizing d**g on B2 on the first day she"d moved in. But, the process was slow. I"d learned it had taken almost three months for the effects to begin reversing on me. I was still a long way from being normal.

Restless sleep filled my nights. Strange dreams invaded the peace I had grown accustomed to. There was nothing that made sense and as the weeks passed even B2"s blank gaze began haunting my dreams.

B2 and I sat at the table and waited for J to arrive. She gazed with her usual blank expression as I stared up at the light above the door. As it turned out, it wasn"t unusual for me to do so, and so I continued. The light flashed red, and the door slid open with its familiar whoosh. J stepped inside and pushed his cart toward the table.

I stared at the array of syringes on the cart. J kept his head down as he prepared the needles and placed blue stickers on half of them. As usual, I got mine first, the ones without any labels.

“Are you still giving me the memory blocker s***h hypnotic stuff?” I said.

J stuck the last unprepared syringe into a bottle and pulled back on the plunger. Clear liquid seeped inside. He stopped it as it reached one of the many lines marking the appropriate dosage. “Yes,” he said as he pulled it free.

“Why?”

“I give you an injection daily, if I stopped altogether, they would notice.” His voice was flat.

“What are the other two?” I kept my focus on the cart. It wasn"t clear to me how many injections I received on a daily basis as three syringes had been prepared for me this day. My head tilted back as though I looked at the light above the door.

“You certainly are filled with questions.”

“I"m bored.” I was careful not to shrug as I spoke.

My eyes wandered away from the door to J"s face. His head bent over his work, but his eyes looked upward, and our gazes met for a moment.

“This is the alcohol swab,” J said as he rubbed the cold and damp piece of gauze over my shoulder.

I smiled. He"d never explained the process before, and listening to his words interested me. J picked up the first syringe with a small amount of liquid inside.

“This is the memory block hypnosis d**g – Cecil designed it. In its full strength, it keeps the patient in a trance with no memories of their past. A small amount must be administered daily to keep the patient in that state. This dosage, however, is much smaller and diluted.” The tip of the needle pierced my skin, and I closed my eyes for a second. “This one prevents menstruation for three months.” He poked me in the arm again with the new syringe.

The word was familiar. I looked away as if the definition of the word could be found floating in the air. “Oh!” The memory came to mind. That was a good needle to get. How many of those had I received?

How many of those had I received?“And this one,” J stuck the needle into my shoulder, “is the booster to the vaccine I gave you the other day.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to recall both the shot and the meaning of the word vaccine. “Against what?” I said as it came back to me.

J pressed a piece of gauze on my shoulder for a second and replaced it with a bandage. “You always bleed a little.”

He avoided my question, and so I tried again. “Vaccination against what? Do you get one?” My voice rose a little.

“Nothing you need to be concerned about. And no, not for the last year,” he said as he prepared B2"s arm.

B2 sat motionless as J injected her with her three injections.

“I have backed her off her block a little more today.”

I rubbed at the creases in my forehead, “Why are you dressed like that? Are we sick – are you?” The questions blurted from my mouth without thought, and my heart picked up its pace.

J sighed through his mask. “You are not sick. I am not sick. The garb is merely a precaution. Now, I must go.” J finished packing up his cart and left the room. I was sure he had not told me everything.

We sat a few minutes longer; each of us stared off into space. While my brain buzzed with thoughts and memories, B2"s gaze was as blank as ever. I was tempted to wave my hand in front of her face. The phrase “The lights are on, but nobody"s home” whispered in my head.

The lights are on, but nobody"s homeHours later we sat eating our dinner. Seated at the table was the only time my body relaxed as the camera behind me focused on B2. My boredom turned me into a little child, and I made faces at B2 between bites of food. I mimicked her movements. Head down – take a bite of food, head up – chew. Only when I put my head up, I changed my expression. I fluttered my eyelids, stuck out my tongue, and puffed out my cheeks. Not a single face produced a reaction. B2"s eyes continued their blank stare.

I sighed, dinner would be over soon, and the long night would begin.

I put my head down and stared at my last bit of food before finally placing it into my mouth. In unison, we tipped our heads up to chew. I opened my mouth wide; my chewed food rested on my tongue.

B2 stared at my open mouth, and I stared back. She blinked. The dark shades behind her eyes lifted, and the light filtered through. B2 had suddenly returned home.