by L. J. Suarez
Sarah giggled as she skated toward her clumsy date. “Are you alright?” she asked, trying unsuccessfully to hold back her laughter.
“Oh, just peachy,” Aaron said.
“Here, let me help you, silly boy.” Sarah bent over and grabbed Aaron’s hands. After a couple of failed attempts, she finally got him onto his feet.
“I’m so glad you’re finding this all so amusing!” Aaron said, sarcasm dripping from every word.
Sarah noticed they were standing in front of the golden statue that overlooked the ice rink. “Picture time!” She grabbed Aaron by the arm and pulled him close, their hips touching. She then took out her cell phone and pointed the screen directly at their faces, making sure that the statue was visible in the background. “Smile,” she said.
Aaron forced a crooked smile, and Sarah snuck a kiss on his cheek as she snapped the picture.
***
Taking a few steps back from the window, Six paused, searching for some rational explanation for what he’d just seen.
There was none. Could it be another side-effect of the virus I contracted? Six wasn’t sure if he was ever sick to begin with. The people holding him at this facility could have made up the whole virus story to keep him here. For what purpose, he didn’t know. He wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. One thing he did know was that this facility was all wrong.
Whoever these people were who were keeping him here were hiding something. Whatever their reasons were for the deception, there was only one thing in his mind right now; escape.
Turning his head to the side, from the corner of his eye he saw the camera was still trained in his direction. They were watching him, though he wasn’t sure if they were listening. Regardless, he could not give away any sign that he was on to them. He needed to find a way out of here. Six turned his head back toward the window and examined the frame. The glass was thick, and there didn’t seem to be any way of opening it from the inside. The door with no handle was another issue.
Whoever was running this place wanted to make sure he didn't leave this room.
Come on, think!
Only one idea came to mind. It was insane, with a very small chance that it would actually work. One thing was certain, he had no intention of waiting around any longer to find out what their true intentions for him were. It was worth the risk, but in order to pull this off he would have to give one hell of a performance.
Six turned from the window, and as he was about to walk back to the bed he started to lose his balance. He then collapsed onto the floor. His body lay flat with his eyes closed, his head on its side with his face and cheek resting on the cold floor.
After a moment, Ionne’s voice returned. “Six, are you alright?”
Six didn’t reply.
“Six, can you hear me?”
For a while nothing seemed to happen. Then Six heard a loud clunk. The heavy door made a swooshing sound, and two sets of footsteps entered the room. With his eyes still shut, he felt a pair of fingers press against his neck.
“Is he alive?” asked an unfamiliar male voice.
“He still has a pulse,” a female voice replied. It sounded like Ionne. “Let’s put him back on the bed,” she said.
Six felt someone grab onto his shoulders and lift him off the floor. As soon as he was standing upright, he sprang into action. Opening his eyes, Six reverse head-butted whoever was standing behind him while he simultaneously pushed the person in front of him to the floor with all his strength. Six approached the woman sprawled out with her back against the wall.
Nothing could have prepared Six for what he saw next. The woman before him looked to be about seven-feet tall with an abnormally large head and eyes, and wearing a gray, two-piece white lab jumpsuit. Her big eyes blinked sideways wildly. The rings that formed around her pupils glowed yellow like a leopard. Her oversized nostrils flared as she breathed rapidly, and sweat formed above her hairless eyebrows. Her short, glossy dark hair covered one side of her brown-colored face.
Ionne was not human.
• •
