The guard holding my hips only grasps onto me firmer, making it impossible for me to kick while the other grabs my hair, yanking my head down further. I let out another scream in response, the last of the air leaving me. I gasp on instinct, letting water into my lungs.
I’m going to die. They are going to kill me.
My mind starts to blur, my whole body is screaming at me to kick to break free but their hold on me is too strong. My vision starts to go, pixels of lights flashing as the darkness begins to consume me, my body is shutting down.
And then the world fades to black…
“PX-3, can you hear me?” a voice calls. It’s muffled and my ears are ringing. What happened? Where am I?
“There’s a heartbeat, sir, she’s back,” another voice says, this one deeper.
“Very well. Take her back to her room and increase the internal temperature. I want it at 30 degrees for the first hour so the dress dries, then drop it back down to 15.”
What’s going on?
Where is Cayden?
Cayden…
No, Cayden is a liar. I can’t trust him.
I feel hands on me, dragging me away, but I don’t have the energy to fight. I can’t. My eyes are too heavy to open, and my legs are so tired they don’t even move when I try to make them.
My chest feels like it’s tight and bruised like someone hit it, but I don’t remember being hit.
What happened? Where am I?
“What happened with the blonde?” the deep voice asks. He sounds tall, or maybe they’re just dragging me low, I can’t open my eyes to check. I go to open my mouth, but it doesn’t move. I try to beg for help, to tell them my chest feels like it’s being stabbed every time I breathe. That every time they pull me I want to scream, but no sound comes out. I can’t.
“Three days isolation. No food, no water, no lights. Sensory deprivation. Langdon thinks she will break if we give her enough time.”
Blonde? Who’s blonde? Who else could possibly be here? Why can’t they hear me? I’m talking, aren’t I? My lips part with a silent scream, but no sound comes out.
“Just throw her in, they said not to be careful.”
I don’t even have time to process what’s being said before I’m thrown into a padded room and the door is locked behind me. The second my body hits the ground, my mouth opens to scream, but again, no sound comes out. I’m weak, so weak.
My chest aches, the pain almost unbearable. I feel like I’m being stabbed with every breath, every exhale, while simultaneously someone is putting their entire weight on me.
Then it all comes back to me: they drowned me and tried to kill me, only to bring me back to life. I can almost hear Madam taunting me as the pain overwhelms me and knocks me out again. I fall asleep on the floor, only for the sound of lights buzzing above me filling the silence.
?
The door creaking open jolts me awake. I don’t bother moving, everything hurts too much. My arms are tired, my legs are weak, and I’ve decided I definitely have broken ribs. It’s the only thing I can think of that would create such agony.
“PX-3, how are you?” Doctor Langdon’s voice fills my mind, echoing around and around, filling the empty silence brought by the room. I open my eyes, blinking them while trying to adjust to the harsh lights, but I still don’t move. I just stay on the ground, unmoving.
“Ribs,” I manage to croak out, to which the doctor nods.
“Yes, a vital part of your recovery is simulation. Unfortunately that simulation went for a little too long, and we had to perform CPR.”
Simulation?
Drowning me was a simulation? They can all go to hell.
“Unfortunately your recovery is very important to us, so we do have to continue with our next session. But do not worry, sweet child, I will personally make sure there is no resuscitation needed this time.” Oh, how comforting.
Again I watch as his hand raises and two guards walk in again with the same crisp white uniforms. They put their hands on my arms, pulling me up and dragging me away. This time I do scream; the pain is so intense that I can’t bear it silently.
