The Escape Series Collection

Chapter 13

My mouth dropped open. My gaze fixed on B2"s face. The light had once again returned to her eyes, and I hoped it would stay. My lips moved, and I spoke J"s name, but no sound reached my ears. I forced more air over my vocal chords. “J,” I whispered.

“Hmm,” he acknowledged as he kept his head bent over his cart and prepared B2"s injections.

“She"s back.”

J"s head tilted up, giving me a full view of his masked profile. I stared at the respirator on his face; his amplified breathing was louder than usual. I concentrated on the sound. Was it always like that? I tried to recall hearing the echoed inhale and exhale of his breath. I suppressed the urge to whip my head around and look at the room from every angle. Am I becoming more awake? I closed my eyes for a moment and refocused my thoughts on the immediate issue.

Was it always like that?Am I becoming more awake?B2 stared at the paper I held against my chest. She squinted for a moment then resumed her steady gaze.

I moved my hand over the paper and blocked out part of the image. B2"s eyes scanned up to my face. We glared at each other and then her gaze dropped back to the drawing pressed against me.

I slid the piece of paper down my chest until it curled and travelled across the table in front of me. The whole time B2 followed it with her eyes.

“I think she knows who this is,” I said to J as he stuck B2 in the arm.

“Perhaps,” J stated in monotone. His breath hushed through the respirator. The sound irritated me.

I glared at the back of J"s head. “Don"t you care that she"s awake?”

“Of course, but it may not be permanent. There is no point in getting our hopes up.”

Heat rose up my neck and settled in my cheeks. “This is different,” I hissed.

J straightened at the sound of my voice. Despite the bagginess of his white suit, I could sense the tension of his muscles underneath. He sighed; his shoulders rounded as he relaxed. “Give it a little time, A2. If her eyes still register awareness for the next twenty-four hours, then we can move forward.” J gave B2 her second injection.

“No, it"s different this time, I know it. Before it only lasted a couple of seconds, maybe minutes. But now…” My attention returned to B2. She squinted again as she maintained her focus on the drawing that lay on the table in front of me.

J cleaned up his cart and turned back toward me as he pulled it away from the table. “The same thing happened with you - several times. I too, thought you had come around only to find minutes or hours later, that you had returned to your previous state.” He pushed the cart toward the door. It slid open. “Twenty-four hours,” he said again as he left the room.

I stared back at B2 and folded the drawing with care. She watched my every move as I tucked it inside my paper robe. It is different this time, I whispered inside my head. I stood up from the table and pushed my chair back into place. B2 remained seated, her eyes focused in front of her.

It is different this time,“You better get up, too, before they notice.”

B2 rose, pushed her chair back into place, and headed for our dresser.

My underwear and green dress were laid out on my bed. I peeled my robe from my body and put on my clothing before moving toward the desk. I sat down, pulled my book from the shelf and placed it in front of me. I heard the gentle whoosh of the door. The camera buzzed; it followed B2 out of the room and would soon be focusing its attention on me.

I opened my history book. How many chapters had I pretended to read? I slid open the drawer and grabbed my yellow highlighter and a pencil. I stared at the words not reading any of them as my thoughts swirled in my head. My hand gripped the highlighter and picked out sentences and words in pretense. I cared little for whatever it was I studied. I flipped a page. The movement of my arm caused the paper in the front of my dress to shift a little, reminding me it was still there.

How many chapters had I pretended to read?More words bombarded my eyes. I tried to refocus my attention, but having not read anything before; the words did not make sense.

I highlighted text at random. A single word caught my attention, and it seemed to jump from the page. To me, it looked larger and darker than any others that surrounded it. My highlighter ran over the word, back and forth. The bright yellow accentuated it and burned it into my mind. I closed my eyes. The word had imprinted. In the blackness behind my eyelids, the bright yellow stain turned into a purple blob. In its centre was the word “escape”, and it glowed.

It was all I could think of; that one word was like a tiny seed planted in the soil, only it was an idea planted in my brain. All it needed was light and nourishment to grow and turn into a plan.

The buzzing signaled the end of the study hour. I closed my eyes and shook my head in slow motion. When I opened them again, they focused back on the yellow word. I had been so lost in thought, trying to develop a plan; I hadn"t turned a single page.

I cleaned up my desk, my ears tuned into the sound of the doors behind me. The impulse to turn and look at B2 was almost irresistible. I needed to know if she was still aware. What if she isn"t?

What if she isn"t?My heart thumped in my ears at the thought. I continued cleaning, and when I finished, I sat on my bed and waited for B2 to finish in the bathroom.

It was hard to sit still, hard to keep my feet from tapping on the floor. I squeezed my hands together in my lap. When the bathroom door finally opened, I jumped from my bed. The camera with its ever-watchful eye whined at my sudden movement.

Oh no! Did I move too quickly? The thought spun in my head.

Oh no! Did I move too quickly?B2 plodded toward the table and took her seat. I continued toward the bathroom; my pace slowed by my worry and opened the door. The warm air left over from the blast of steam rushed into me. I stepped through and closed the door behind me. I leaned back against it and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and let the air escape from my pursed lips. With each slow exhale, the thumping of my heart slowed to a near normal pace. I washed my hands and exited the room. I stared straight ahead as I moved to join B2 at the table. I had to be more careful.

Tension released from my body as I looked at the food in front of me. B2 picked at her meal, in the same manner, she always had. Her eyes were trained to her plate, and I waited with patience for her to raise her head. I needed to look into them. I only hoped when I did it wouldn"t be my reflection staring back.

B2 kept her focus on her food. She seemed fascinated by every bite she took. She chewed much slower than usual as though she were relishing every mouthful. Look up, I willed. But she denied my wish.

Look upI rushed through my sandwich, realizing that it sat untouched on my plate as B2 moved onto her salad. She picked up her fork, gave it a quick inspection and plunged it into the bowl of greens. I matched her every bite as I kept my focus on her face. I wasn"t about to look away and miss what I"d been waiting for – hoping to see.

B2"s lips glistened from the dressing, and she ran the tip of her pink tongue over them. She picked up her apple and turned it around before sinking in her teeth. The crunch echoed in the room. I followed suit, though my bite was much smaller. Apple juice ran down B2"s chin as she chewed. She reached inside her mouth with her fingers. The brown spec landed with a plink on her plate. B2 continued eating. Her throat moved up and down as she swallowed the pulverized chunk of apple.

“Seed,” she said, and she looked into my eyes.