Snippet #1760227

Alex Coulton

Alex switches his clipboard from right to left hand, so he can take the keycard from his pocket. He swipes it, then follows it with a code: 589421
The door slides open, and he enters.

"Good morning, Anja."

He did not wait to hear the response, nor did he expect one, from the purple bundle curled up in the corner. Slowly, a pale face reveals itself from within, as the subject stretches. Whilst she is waking, Alex sits on the edge of the bed, and takes out a pen, noting the date lazily in the corner of his notes. Eventually she seems to be alert enough to know what's happening, and says with a faint smile,

"Good morning, doc. Are we... doing tests today?"

Alex's sigh turns into a thoughtful breath. "Nothing is decided yet. We have new arrivals today."

"I know. I saw both of them in my dreams, but only one of them is special like me."

Intrigued, Alex asks, "Really? What else do you see in your dreams?" He hears footsteps from the corridor outside, but ignores them - too busy scrawling notes.

The girl smiles and says simply, "Home."
Home... Such a long way away, for all of us...

"...and what is your home like, Anja?"

"My home... my home is free. I don't have to hide who I am, and I can do whatever I like...."
Alex begins to feel a little sleepy, and his eyes close over, without his consent, but he is not falling asleep - he is seeing her thoughts, as if she is planting them right into his head.
"...and there, everyone is like me. Everyone is special..."
Before his eyes a village in a forest appears, the buildings made of white alabaster and stone. More feyfolk are here - a whole town of them.
"...and there are no more tests. No more pain..."
The forest fades, and Alex sees the testing rooms - he hears the sound of various tools, such as drills. He begins to feel pain throughout his body, reminding him of what is going on.

"Anja, stop now!" he yelps.

The visions clear, and his eyes open to see Anja opening her own. His breathing is heavy. She looks at him with a sad expression.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry, I didn't mean it! Please don't make them hurt me!" She curls up again, crying in fear.

Alex looks down at the girl, almost with a sense of pity. Silently he stands, and heads to the door.

"There will be no testing today, Anja. Relax."

He uses the keycard, and leaves the cell, then makes his way out of Sector 3, without another word.