Circuits And Synapses Part 6

"I can't do it, there isn't enough control from my mind to tell this arm what to do." James panted out as he tried and concentrated as hard as he could. Elizabeth merely looked at him with an unamused expression.

"Well if you can't form a fist before we leave for the day, then no dinner for either of you." Elizabeth didn't even bat an eye as she laid down the rules for the exercises. Nadia grumbled at the blatant threat and Elizabeth fixed her Medusa stare on her.

"Do you disagree with my methods Nadia? Well perhaps I should bring Jack back as your handler, instead of me. I'm sure his anger for you killing his closest friend and bodyguard has calmed down some. Oh, wait; this is Jack we are talking about. He will have a grudge against you for the rest of time, or until his death." Still without a hint of emotion in her face Elizabeth went back to observing them from a distance. Nadia was fuming, but knew that Elizabeth was right. There was no way that Nadia would survive a day if Jack came back as her handler.

After a few hours of concentration and effort Nadia and James were able to form very loose fists with their new arms. Getting the arms to move up and down was another matter since neither of them could even hold up their new limbs without some a.s.sistance. But since Nadia and James had completed the exercise, even if only barely, Elizabeth kept her word and didn't withhold their food for the evening.

"I expect tomorrow to have better progress. We don't want to get any further behind in the schedule then we already are." Without another word Elizabeth exited the room and closed the doors behind her. For a few, brief moments the silence hung heavy in the air. But then James opened his mouth.

"I don't know what is worse, having a threatening Elizabeth, or a crazy Jack, as a handler. Though in all honesty I wish that we didn't have any handlers or have to rehab machine arms, but that is obviously not going to change anytime soon." James sighed and flopped back onto his bed and closed his eyes.

"I just want to be able to use this d.a.m.n arm, and then the possibilities for escape become much easier. If we tried now then we would be severely handicapped because we can't use one of our arms properly." Nadia gave James a sidelong glance.

"Ever the voice of reason, huh?" James tried to give Nadia a little smirk but it nearly died on his lips as he saw someone coming through the doors behind Nadia. Noticing that James was suddenly fearful of something behind her, Nadia turned around to see that Jack was leaning against the slightly opened door frame. For the briefest of moments Nadia felt the world freeze, as though everything was in slow motion and she could see everything clearly. Jack no longer was wearing his knee brace, but still needed some support and thus was holding onto a cane of some sort.

"Well h.e.l.lo there my pretties. Long time no see." A wide grin spread across Jack's face, distorting his face more than it usually was. Nadia barely breathed as Jack stumbled his way over to them and leaned down onto Nadia's hospital bed.

"What do you want, Jack?" Nadia tried to keep her voice even as she averted her gaze from the terrifying figure looming over her. Because of the way that Jack as leaning against her bed it pinned Nadia's flesh arm down, leaving her rather open and vulnerable. An uneasy feeling filled Nadia as Jack's bad breath filled her nose, something definitely off as she could smell alcohol on his breath. Nadia desperately wanted to glance to James, but feared moving even a finger for fear of what Jack would do to her or James.

"I'm just here checking up on the prized possessions of the company, wanted to make sure that you were progressing appropriately and all. Though, it would seem that everything is in fine order here." Jack reached up and touched Nadia's cheek softly which sent a tremor of fear coursing through her body.

"Stop Jack." She tried to sound as small and innocent as she could, hoping that it would get through to Jack and make him stop whatever it was that he was doing. And for a brief second Jack paused and seemed hesitant as he thought over exactly what he was doing, but then a flash of rage filled his features "You should know your place girl!" Without any warning Jack slapped Nadia across the face. She was too stunned, though, to even realize what happened right away. But her mind had registered what happened and out of nowhere her machine arm, the one she could barely move that day, came flying across her and landed a punch squarely to Jack's face. It sent him flying across the room and back against the doors he had entered from.

"Insolent brat!" Jack raged and then he spat blood from his mouth where his lip and inner cheek were split from the punch he had received. Nadia was quaking in her bed, what had she just done? Her body was moving on its own again, and that more than anything caused her to be afraid. But then Jack was getting up from off the floor and a renewed sense of fear wormed its way back into her mind. She had an angry Jack on her hands, and even with her free machine arm the rest of her limbs were restrained to the hospital bed.

"James?" Nadia gambled a look to her now only friend. He was pulling on his restraints trying to get free, but to no avail. He stopped for a moment and their eyes met, hers filled with confusion and his filled with concern.

"I don't know what to do Nadia. I can't get out of these restraints." James spoke but as he did he glanced back over Nadia's shoulder and nodded with his head that Jack was on his way back over to Nadia. Whipping her head back around Nadia could see that Jack had indeed gotten up and was nearly back at her bedside. She pulled on her restraints with all she could, trying her hardest to break the bonds holding her in place. But it seemed like the harder she pulled the tighter the bonds became. Jack was practically on her, his cane lifted, as though to hit her with it. Nadia closed her eyes then knowing what was about to come. And boy did Jack come down on her, raining blows with his cane left and right. Somewhere in the distance Nadia could hear James yelling at Jack to stop. But, like Nadia, who could barely make out James' voice, his pleas went unheard to Jack.

"You are no longer worth the threat you pose to the company. Killing company employees and friends, injuring an important staff member and who knows what other atrocities you have committed? I am now taking things into my own hands and doing what the company should have done immediately following Daniel's death. You are to be terminated, by me!" Jack was wailing on Nadia, who could barely take the pain and let out little whimpers of pain. Though she tried to keep silent and not give the sick man an ounce of satisfaction for the pain he was inflicting on her, she couldn't help letting out cries when he unleashed a particularly brutal strike with his cane.

"Stop Jack, I beg you stop! She doesn't deserve it! You should have just left her alone and never have brought her here in the first place. Stop Jack, STOP!" James was yelling himself hoa.r.s.e trying to get through to Jack and make him stop. But it was like yelling at a brick wall, absolutely no response whatsoever.

Finally there was a sound coming from the hallway that stopped Jack mid swing of the cane. It was the clicking of heels on the floor and Jack knew exactly who was coming down that hallway. Quickly he gathered himself and stormed out of the room through the opposite doors. Scuffling his way along he was out of the room and halfway down the hall by the time that Elizabeth and a small team of guards entered the room where Nadia and James were.

"He went down that hallway not two minutes ago. Hurry after him!" James tried to shout but his voice came out a hoa.r.s.e whisper. But Elizabeth had heard him and nodded to a guard to follow Jack down the hallway. Then a team of doctors entered the room and got to work a.s.sessing Nadia's injuries.

"Well it doesn't seem like any bones were broken, though her organs have certainly received a heavy blow, there may be some internal damage. We need to get her to an operating table now and go in there to a.s.sess the full damage and repair what we can." The head doctor spoke as he continued to look over Nadia's beaten body.

"Alright, get a move on. And while you are in there you might as well install the s.h.i.+eld. Kill two birds with one stone. Now get a move on!" Elizabeth shouted as the team of doctors sped the hospital bed out of the room and down the hall to an operating room. James just sat there in his bed, still reeling from what had just happened.

"How did Jack get here? I thought he was no longer our handler." James spoke quietly. Elizabeth glanced over at him, as though she had forgotten that he was there.

"He was very unstable after Daniel died, they were as close as brothers, so he took it very hard. We were dealing with that, and he seemed to be doing better so we let him take a walk around. Obviously that didn't turn out like we had thought. But I a.s.sure you that he will be properly dealt with this time. There shouldn't be any more unwelcomed visits in the future." Elizabeth finished and made for the door, to get back to her work and to check on the progress of Nadia's surgery.

"What did you mean by s.h.i.+eld installation anyway?" James questioned. Elizabeth let out a small sigh.

"It is a reinforced protection sheet that covers the remaining internal organs of the chest and abdomen, it acts almost like a built in bullet proof vest, but better. Though usually this procedure it done towards the end of the process. But don't worry you will have the exact same surgery now as well. We must keep you both on the same page. Doctors!" Elizabeth yelled and another team of doctors bustled through the door to come and claim James for his own s.h.i.+eld installation surgery. James was a little caught off guard with the sudden operation ahead of him. Feeling a little bit panicked James pulled on his restraints slightly, but a doctor noticed and injected him with a sedative. In an instant he was out.

The next thing they know Nadia and James are coming out of a hazy sleep. There is a deep aching pain in their chests and abdomen. Nadia lets out a small whimper and that snaps James out of his hazy stupor almost instantly.

"Nadia? Are you ok?" James calls out. He tries to sit up but both the pain and the restraints keep him on his back. He can hear a slight shuffling of bed sheets as no doubt Nadia also tried to sit up to see James. But then a soft flop indicates that she too found the pain and restraints impeded her ability to do so.

"I feel like a truck hit me." Nadia manages to get out. "And you?"

"About the same, though I would say that more than just being hit by a truck I would say they backed up and ran over me again. Though, I think that is due to the s.h.i.+eld installation thing." Nadia tried to breathe in deeply only to be stopped by the pain.

"So what, are we bulletproof now or something?" Nadia grumbled.

"Something like that." James supplied.

"Great." Nadia breathed out.

The next few days both James and Nadia were confined to their backs, but were told that they were still expected to work on rehabbing their new machine arms. They were given stress b.a.l.l.s to work on their grips, which ended up being very helpful. It was nearly a week later that the sure sound of Elizabeth's heels could be heard coming down the hallway.

"I guess that means our vacation is over now, huh?" James teased. Nadia just sighed and rolled her eyes. And sure enough not two seconds later Elizabeth came striding into the room.

"Alright you two, playtime is over. We need to get back to work on rehabbing those arms or we will never make the schedule. Up and at 'um, let's get to work." Nadia and James both pushed themselves out of their hospital beds as the nurses undid their restraints. Moving rather slowly since their most recent operation had left them tender in the core of their bodies, Elizabeth urged them to pick up the place to get to the rehab room.

"Now, we are going to pick up where we left off, though your grip strength and accuracy should be greatly improved with all that practice time. Now, get to it, work on lifting and moving your arm." Nadia looked down at the machine arm, still hesitant since it had acted on its own to hit Jack. But when she tried to move it of her own free will she found that it was just as difficult as before to make it do what she wanted. So it was just a fluke then, Nadia thought to herself. For whatever reason that thought seemed to calm her mind of the fear that had been clouding it since the incident.

While in the rehab regime of the day James had been able to use his arm enough to lift the stress ball that he had been given for grip work up to chest height and even managed to give it a little throw. His face was s.h.i.+ning with pride and Nadia couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. With a little work she too was able to make decent progress on her arm's functionality.

The next several weeks pa.s.sed in very much the same way, rehabbing their arm's to improve usage and strength. During that time both James and Nadia had regained near full control and use of their machine arms. It had been a tough job though, tougher than when they had worked with their legs. In addition to gaining control over their arms Nadia and James had to deal with the slow healing process that was the result of the expedited timetable as well as the unplanned s.h.i.+eld installation ahead of time. But then, after weeks of just working on control and usage, it was time to work on combat with their new machine part. Nadia had been dreading and fearing the day they would start combat training again.

"I am afraid." Nadia whispered barely loud enough for James to hear. But with his enhanced ears he picked it up just fine. He looked at Nadia.

"Don't worry, it won't be like last time. You know about the voices and what they are trying to tell you to do. You don't have to listen to them, and Jack wouldn't be there trying to rile you up or vent his anger on you. It is not going to be anything like last time, I promise." James gave her a rea.s.suring smile, trying to put her at ease and it worked slightly. Though Nadia was still nervous about the whole thing, James was right, the circ.u.mstances were completely different from last time. That, and if they wanted to escape it would be beneficial to know how to fight, if they had to do so to get out.

Nadia gave James a smile and before either of them realized it they were off to the combat training room. Elizabeth was there, but she was also accompanied by two large men that looked frightening and deadly. Elizabeth had her usual cold and emotionless expression on as she directed Nadia and James into the room.

"Come forward you too. I would like to introduce you to your sparring partners. They are extremely well trained ex-military. You may call them Henry and Dave. They are going to go over some basic moves with you, just to get started. And just a reminder, there will be no repeat of what happened last time, am I clear?" Elizabeth was directing her gaze straight at Nadia, who didn't falter under her gaze. Nadia nodded, as did James. Without another word Elizabeth stepped back and let Henry and Dave begin their lesson. Since James and Nadia had great control over their new arms they were able to pick up on the movement fairly quickly.

Though Nadia still seemed to be holding back Elizabeth had no intention of doing what Jack had done to get her out of her sh.e.l.l. That had obviously not ended well. So instead Elizabeth just allowed Nadia to continue to be timid until she figured out that things wouldn't end the same way was last time. James had noticed too, though, and he was not taking the backseat on this one.

"Come on Nadia, get into it. Just think of what it will mean." James left the rest unsaid so as to not draw any unwanted or unneeded attention. Though what he said did have the desired effect on Nadia and she started to push a little harder in her moves. Henry, who was Nadia's partner began to push harder himself, but unlike with Daniel, Henry was far better trained. He completely outmaneuvered Nadia like she was a baby tottering around. Even though Nadia could still hear the voices in her head she tried her best to ignore them.

'Go for the knees, he will crumble and you can go in for the blow to the head. The knees, go for the knees, everything else will follow.' The voices were persistent, but Nadia would just do the opposite that they demanded her to do. If they said to go for the knees she would focus on his upper body. It certainly led her to be overtaken several times, but it was better than the alternative of listening to the voices. But it wasn't like Nadia was ignoring all of her upgrades, but rather relied on her keen vision to spot hesitation and speed, as well as her ears to pick up changes in his heart rate and breathing. It was amazing how just tuning into those human functions she could deduce so much about a fight and she could still keep her head about her.

"Alright, time to call it a day. We will pick up here tomorrow. You are dismissed back to your rooms." Elizabeth announced before nodding to the two men and escorting Nadia and James out of the room. They complied easily and trudged back to their rooms and their restraints. The nurses were sure to tie them tight and then leave them alone as usual.

"I feel much better about the combat training this time then last time. I'm sure it has something to do with Jack's lack of presence." James half smiled at Nadia.

"I would agree with you, but I still don't like fighting people. I just don't fully trust myself not to hurt someone again. I have already lost so much in this place, but I am afraid that I stand to lose even more, including my own humanity." Nadia looked into her lap, not wanting to work herself up too much. James silently nodded his agreement.

"Once we finish the full rehab on our arms, let's try and escape, ok?" Nadia's head shot up instantly.

"Don't talk so loud about that kind of thing. What if they overheard us talking about it?" Nadia loudly whispered to James, who had the decency to look mildly ashamed.

"Sorry, but I think we need to make our move soon, there isn't much time left for us. We are practically half way through this process, and things are just going to get expedited from here on out." Nadia nodded her agreement.

"Alright then, let's talk, quietly, about it. Only loud enough for our ears." James caught the hint and they began to exchange ideas about how to escape.

"When the wheel us out for the next surgery we can try and break the restraints and make a run for it." James suggested. Nadia thought it over but shook her head.

"There will be guards around us at that time. They would be all over us in an instant if we did that." James sighed and nodded his agreement.

"You are right."

"We can work on breaking the restraints now, while no one is around, and then figure out a way to pick the locks and escape when there aren't guards around." Nadia supplied.

"They probably have cameras on us now. They would see what we are doing and send in guards before we could even make it to the hallway." James countered. Nadia looked around the room and indeed there were a least a half dozen hidden cameras that she could pick up with her keen vision.

"There are about six cameras on us now. Guess that's a bust." Nadia relented.

"We could try and convince one of the doctors to help us out. Make like they were taking us to do a special test or something and then lead us right out of here." James eagerly offered, but the idea of trusting someone else with her freedom just didn't sit well with Nadia.

"I think that would be impossible, they would more likely run and tell their bosses then help us and then we waste our most likely only chance at getting out of here." The two of them went back and forth for hours, trying to figure out a plan of escape, but ever idea they came up with had a major flaw that would make it impossible.

Then, after a few hours, the doors to their room opened quietly, revealing a familiar face. It was the doctor that Nadia remembered from the time her eyes had bled and had been taken to the hospital by herself.

"Dr. Turner?" Nadia whispered to the man softly closing the door behind himself. James looked slightly confused but didn't say anything. The doctor glanced up at Nadia.

"Oh, why h.e.l.lo there, little miss. Glad to see that you have been keeping yourself well." Something was off about the doctor though and Nadia noticed that his heartbeat was irregular, as though he was nervous about something.

"Is everything alright doctor? Is there a reason why you are here?" Dr. Turner straightened himself up and walked calmly over to Nadia's bedside. Though his heart rate indicated his nerves, sitting in front of her now Nadia would have never been able to tell just from looking at him.

"Why nothing is wrong at all. I'm just going around doing the rounds with some of the patients here. How are you both feeling today?" Nadia didn't know what was happening here, but this doctor had been the only nice person beside her comrades that she knew in the place and thus decided to just go along with whatever was happening.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired from the combat training they are putting us through. Still not completely used to having two artificial limbs attached to me. I'm also wary of fighting due to what happened last time. But that is of no concern to my well-being." Dr. Turner's interest was piqued though when Nadia mentioned what was going on behind closed doors.

"Combat training, eh? Very interesting." Dr. Turner seemed to be contemplating something and he was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"Do you like what is happening here Nadia?" The doctor asked, and the question caught Nadia off guard. What was this guy getting at?

"No, I mean I was brought here after my parents were murdered and then they killed my little sister and dragged my brother away from me. Everyone I have come to care for, save James, has been taken away from me, some never to return again. I also don't appreciate being made into a toy for others to use me for their sick killing games. Does that answer your question, doctor?" Nadia huffed and faced away from the prying doctor's gaze, but he seemed to have heard enough and nodded to himself before getting up abruptly and leaving the room. Though before he closed the doors behind him he whispered, ever so softly that Nadia nearly missed it.

"Everything will be over soon." Nadia snapped her head in the direction the doctor was leaving, confused by what he meant by that. Quietly she relayed the information to James who was equally confused by the comment.

"What was that all about?" Nadia breathed.

Chapter 10.

Several weeks pa.s.sed since the mysterious visit from Dr. Turner. Nadia and James continued to practice their combat during the day and whisper about plans to escape at night. In all that time though, they had yet to come up with a single viable plan that didn't have gaping holes in logic. And they were running out of time. Their combat training coupled with the rehab work was nearly complete, they could feel it. They had spent enough time working with Henry and Dave that they were nearly beating them in certain situations. Elizabeth would want to get them started on the next limb replacement surgery soon.

"We need to hurry up and make a plan soon. I don't think we have more than a few days until the next operation. Then we will have months to try and learn how to function before we can even reliably use the new leg." James was exasperated. And Nadia mirrored his frustration, but so far they had not been able to think of anything reliable and if they failed that was it, there was no second chance after that. Nadia was biting her lip, trying her hardest to think of something, anything that would work to get them out of the h.e.l.lhole they were living in.

Right in the middle of their thoughts the ever familiar click of heels alerted them that Elizabeth was coming down the hall to them. Nadia feared that she was there to whisk them away for the next limb replacement surgery. James gave Nadia a look that read fear and nervousness. A slight squeak of the doors let them know that Elizabeth was in the room with them and they both turned to face her.

"Good morning you two, I have a question for you. Have you seen a Dr. Turner around here lately?" Nadia thought back to several weeks ago when the fl.u.s.tered doctor unexpectedly showed up in their room and how he had asked some rather odd questions. And even though Nadia got a weird vibe from him she was hesitating in revealing that the man had in fact been in their room.

"I can't say that I know that name." Nadia lied smoothly, though she could sense James confusion for her lie. Elizabeth studied her for a moment, somewhat doubting her answer.

"Well that is interesting since we have it on tape that he was in this room a few weeks ago." Elizabeth kept her icy glare on Nadia.

"I said I don't know the name, how can I place a face to a name that I don't know? And why does it matter now if he came by weeks ago?" Elizabeth didn't speak for a while and rather huffed and glanced downwards before changing the subject completely.

"Well it doesn't concern you. For now we will just go ahead with the next part of the plan, your next limb replacement surgery. It is scheduled to start in a few hours. See you on the other side." And with that Elizabeth turned on her heels and strutted out the door. Nadia let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding since Elizabeth mentioned the next surgery. Their time had run out. There would be no escape plan, at least not in time.

"We failed." Nadia sighed, putting her hands to her face, trying to keep in her carefully controlled emotions.

"No, we haven't failed; we just have to think of something for afterwards. I guess it just means that we have more time to come up with an even better plan." James was trying to be positive but the truth was that the longer they risked staying in this place, the worse off they would be in the long run. Nadia rolled over in her bed as best she could and let her mind wander, like she had years ago in the shower of the community housing, before this transformation process had really started.

Nadia thought of her brother, somewhere in this place, alone and who knows how far along in the process. That had been another difficulty that Nadia was having with the escape plan, she refused to leave without her brother. The problem had been compounded with the uncertainty in his actual location or how to get him free. There were just some many details to work out and no information or know how to get it done. The thoughts of what could have been floated through Nadia's mind. If her memory was serving her she should be turning seventeen or eighteen, she wasn't sure, in the next few weeks. How different life could have been if she hadn't been taken here, how her family could have been alive.

First Nadia daydreamed about learning how to drive. Her father had allowed her to sit on his lap and steer the car around once or twice when she was younger, but only in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization. Nadia wondered if she would have had her own car, the freedom to drive wherever she wanted. Going to the mall with her friends, or seeing the latest movie in theaters were all possibilities for a life that could have been. But, now Nadia would never know the life she should have had, only the life you could yet have if she somehow escaped.

It was in the middle of Nadia's thoughts that the doors burst open once more revealing the dreaded team of doctors. But Nadia just continued to lie there, feeling so defeated. James called out to her once, but she didn't respond. It didn't matter anyway, soon there were wheeled off to their respective operation rooms and Nadia was put under by anesthesia. And her world went black like so many times before.

Once more Nadia felt the groggy haze of the drugs wearing off and her mind in a cloudy state starting to become lucid. The numbing feeling of having one less limb of her natural body was of little consequence to her now. The bandages concealed the damage done to her body and the empty feeling she had where her leg had once been was a familiar feeling to her now. Next to her James was also rustling around in his bed, signaling that he too was coming out of his stupor.

"Well good morning, or afternoon, or whatever. Hey." James croaked out, his voice thick with sleep and drug induced slowness. Nadia didn't even feel like talking to James at this point, having a sudden flashback to the last limb replacement surgery, when Rebecca and Michael had died. Things were beginning to pile up onto of Nadia and it almost felt like she couldn't breathe under the pressure of it all.

"James." A teary voice weakly called to her one companion remaining. The sound of Nadia's voice, so weak and weary, got James attention right away.

"I promise that we will get out of her one day, I promise. So until then, try to stay strong." James spoke softly, but Nadia heard him loud and clear. As much as she wanted to give up, they had to stay strong in order to stand a chance of every getting out of this place. Wiping the tears from her face Nadia tried to regain her composure, and it was just in time too. Elizabeth suddenly entered the room with the head doctor. Elizabeth had a harsh expression as usual and her hair was pulled into a tight bun, with not a hair out of place.

"Since you have already been through two limb replacement surgeries already we have decided to attach and turn on the new limb right away. In order to keep with the schedule of course." A swift nod had the doctor rush over to Nadia's side while rolling over the ever familiar cart that held her new leg. Even though Nadia had been through two surgeries and the accompanying connections and stimulation, didn't mean she would ever get used to the pain that came with it.

"This will pinch a bit." The head doctor spoke quickly before shoving the ball end of the new leg into the receptive hip joint that was installed not even a few days ago. The pain from the joint was still fresh and so the connection was excruciatingly painful and Nadia couldn't help letting out a small scream of pain.

Gripping the sheets with all of her might Nadia almost didn't realize that they were proceeding directly to the stimulation part of the connection process. When the electric current pa.s.sed through her and stimulated the nerves and brain connection it was like white hot fire filling her mind. Her machine hand that gripped the sheets ripped them clear off the bed but the pain caught up with Nadia quickly and she pa.s.sed right out.

James eyed the head doctor as he swiveled in his chair to face him. Dread and the knowledge of the impending pain made James flinch when the doctor rolled his cart of limbs up to James. With an audible gulp James chose to look away as the doctor prepped for the connection. Forcing himself to take a deep breath James was caught off guard with the immense pain of the forced insertion of the new leg. And like Nadia it was immediately followed by the electric stimulation. He too succ.u.mbed to the dreamless sleep of unconsciousness.

An unknown amount of time later Nadia was awakening once more to a dull ache in her hip joint and a mental soreness as well. James was already sitting up but he was merely staring straight ahead. Nadia remained laying down but turned her head to get a better look at James. For a few long moments neither of them said anything. They were still coming to terms with their missed opportunity and yet another loss of their humanity. Then Nadia opened her mouth.

"I miss them, all of them." James broke his stare straight ahead and moved to look at Nadia. With a sigh he laid back down on his bed, keeping eye contact with Nadia.

"Me too." That was all that James could get out without losing himself to his emotions. So neither of them spoke, they just laid on their backs, staring at each other. The raw emotional pain of all that had been done to them and all that they had lost was eating away at them both.

Then, as they lay there, nearly ready to give up completely an alarm went off. Nadia and James were caught off guard, they had never heard the alarm before. For a few moments nothing happened, so Nadia and James wondered if it was just so sort of drill. But then some staff members came in bursting through the door. They looked frantic and began unlocking them from the restraints.