Year 2XXX, The Wastelands – Hidden Lab
Dr. Annemarie Shou glanced down at her datapad and frowned. This was Trial 250.
"Please be viable," she muttered as she checked each of the fertilized egg specimens. She stopped at group Fifteen A.
After inspecting the first four in the group, she paused at the fifth petri dish. She gasped in delight. It had worked! With a whoop, she went to find her colleagues and share the good news.
Eighteen years later…
"Doctor! Doctor!"
Annemarie sat up and irritably glared in the direction of the intern who had interrupted her work.
"Yes?" she growled.
"It's Fifth! She's giving us problems again."
Sighing, Annemarie stood. Why was it so difficult for the interns to control one child? She angrily strode down the hall toward the testing center. Pushing open the door, she called out, "Fifth!"
A slender, tan-skinned girl with honey-gold eyes turned guiltily to look at her. The girl dropped the book she had in her hand on the floor.
Exasperated, Annemarie walked over to her. She smirked when the girl flinched and cowered a little at her nearness.
"Is there a problem, Fifth?"
Wide-eyed, the girl shook her head no.
"Really? Seems like it."
Fear leaked into the girl's gaze at Annemarie's change of tone.
"Grab her," Annemarie ordered coldly.
Fifth tried to run but was tackled by two burly interns. The girl struggled in their grasp, mewling her distress.
"Bring it to me," Annemarie stated calmly.
The female intern hurried over with a riding crop in her hands.
"Turn her around and bare her back."
Ignoring Fifth's struggles, the interns did as ordered.
Annemarie smiled and stroked the riding crop. She gazed at the girl's back. She could see the old scars that littered Fifth's back. Reminders of other times, just like today.
She smirked and raised her arm. With a sure and heavy hand, she began to beat Fifth mercilessly. She didn't stop until Fifth sagged in the interns' hands. She walked around and grabbed the girl's chin, forcing her head up. She stared into the eyes wet with tears and was unmoved.
"You will behave next time, yes?"
Fifth nodded yes, and Annemarie let go. "Drop her."
The interns released Fifth, and she collapsed to the floor.
"No dinner for her tonight. Lock her in her room."
The female intern went over and helped Fifth up. Together, the pair left. Annemarie handed the riding crop to the taller male intern and departed. She had other things to worry about than a disobedient child.
~***~
"In you go," the female intern told the stumbling Fifth as she pushed her into the isolation chamber that served as Fifth's room.
Fifth tripped and managed not to fall as the door was slammed shut behind her. Her cheeks were still damp with tears that she wiped away. Sadly, she studied her room. It was barren except for a cot with a thin mattress and a ragged blanket that barely covered her body. The chill bumps on her skin reminded her of how cold it was, and she wished it was warmer.
Wincing, she went to her cot and lay on her right side, careful not to lie on her back. She hated this place. It was all she had ever known. She dreamed of freedom from this cold, heartless place. Whimpers of pain escaped her mouth when she tried to get comfortable.
Doctor Shou was so cruel. She hadn't done anything except refuse to read the book the female intern was trying to force on her. That intern was spiteful and always lied to get Fifth in trouble.
She hated them all. She longed to escape from this place, but the collar on her neck contained a tracking chip. She had tried once, a few years ago, to run away. She was thirteen at the time. She hadn't gone far when they caught her. Doctor Shou beat her so badly she couldn't move for three days. After that, she did her best to obey and not cause trouble.
Today was the first time in a long time that she had been punished. It wasn't fair. Her stomach chose that moment to growl. She groaned. That was a reminder she didn't need. Not that she was fed well to begin with. Still cursing the unfairness of it all, she drifted off to sleep.