The end of the mop bumped into the wall, so I pivoted and began to swipe back and forth in a different direction.
Left. Right. Step back.
Left. Right. Step…
My hip bumped a lever and the wall behind the chair made a whooshing sound. A bright blue light outlined a large section of the wall as it retracted, revealing a larger room with a blue pool.
Warm air rushed into the testing room, and I shrugged. I needed to clean that space next anyway.
I walked around the testing chair and turned to face the beautiful blue water. It was strangely enticing. I knew they had a special cocktail of medication in the water that entered the newly processed brides through their skin. Whatever was in there helped them relax. The mixture also included something to help their bodies adjust to the stress of the Coalition’s transport technology. I knew all this because I was curious, in general, and because I’d asked once. There had been a technician working on the system one night. Cute, too. Said he was from a planet called Viken. Anyway, he’d lost me after the first few sentences of sci-fi jargon. All I knew was that whatever was in that sparkling blue water helped their bodies heal. Made them stronger, so they could tolerate transport. And completely got rid of their anxiety and stress.
“Maybe I should just dip my toes in,” I laughed at my own silliness. Sometimes, working hours and hours and hours alone in the middle of the night made me feel a little crazy.
I stared at the water. It was damn near irresistible. I could use a little healing. My back and my feet ached…all the time. I’d been working long hours for months, barely sleeping. Stressed didn’t begin to cover it.
What would it hurt? What if it helped? Like, a lot?
“Just for a minute. No one’s here. No one will ever know. Right?”
I set the mop aside and toed off my shoes, put them neatly on the edge of the pool, and pulled off my socks. I stuffed the dirty socks into the scuffed, once gleaming white tennis shoes and rolled my pants up to just below my knees.
Just like sitting on the edge of a swimming pool in the summer, right? I’d just dip my feet in and see what happened.
I settled myself carefully on the floor before lowering my feet into the water, then scooted forward until the water camehalfway up my calves and leaned, bracing myself with stiff arms as a delicious heat surrounded my feet and toes.
“Ahhhh. This is nice.” Totally relaxed, I sighed as the heat climbed up through my lower legs, through my thighs, to my aching back. As I’d hoped, my feet stopped aching. My back felt warm and cozy, like I’d just gotten a massage. Eyes closed, I smiled in relief. “Good call, Paige. Totally worth it.”
I’d cycle the water through the filters when I was done, and no one would ever know.
Behind me, something hummed. I ignored it. Things in this place always seemed to have a life of their own.
Something hard shoved me from behind. I tried to scramble to my hands and knees so I could crawl out of the way, but it was too big. I was too slow.
“Ahhh!”
SPLASH!
I was so startled that it took me a second to realize what happened. The testing chair had activated and shoved me into the water. Shit!
Popping to my feet, I stood and grabbed my floating shoes that had also been knocked into the water. Great. They were soaked, too. I shoved the socks deeper into the toes, held the shoes against my chest with my forearm, and stepped back. And back. The chair was still moving. If I didn’t get out of here, I was going to be pinned to the wall. There was nowhere to crawl out on the opposite side, just a straight, smooth wall on the far side of the pool. To my right was the scary machine with all the needles and gadgets. To my left? Another wall. I had nowhere to go but over the chair, back the way I’d come.
Great. I was soaking wet.
The warmth I’d been enjoying spread through my chest and my racing heart calmed. By the time it reached my head, I was laughing. What a disaster. But did I care? No. I felt great.
The water was almost shoulder height. At least I wasn’t going to drown. I pushed my hair out of my face and saw that I’d somehow activated one of the processing systems. Maybe it was another filter? I had no idea, but the water was moving, almost like a gentle whirlpool. The water was brighter now, illuminated by recessed lighting. The entire room glowed blue, like I was in a fancy spa.
“Well, better get back to work,” I muttered. I was going to drip water everywhere. Hopefully I had enough clean rags to dry myself off a bit. I’d have to drag the mop behind me the whole way back to the storage closet. Ugh. What a pain.
Pushing through the water, I grabbed the edge of the big chair. It looked like something my dentist had, except now it was partially submerged in the water. If I climbed up over it, I could get back to the edge and, hopefully, drag myself out.
Using the chair’s armrest as a grab bar, I hoisted myself up and onto the chair. If Stohn could see me, he’d change his mind about me being matched to anyone. I couldn’t even clean an empty room without messing it up. I probably looked like a drowned rat. With blue hair.
I glanced at my bare arm. Was my skin actually turning blue or was it just the light? “I look like a Smurf.” I giggled, the sound echoing around the room and back to me, making me laugh harder. Whatever they put in this water was good stuff. So good. Normally I would be annoyed, stressed about falling behind schedule, worried about losing my job. Instead, I flopped onto the chair, stared up at the strange designs on the ceiling, and giggled.
I adjusted my soggy butt in the seat, so I’d be more comfortable.
Suddenly, a metal restraint came out of the arm rest and looped over my wrist.
