"Jonathan, this is absurd! He hasn't even been in the outside world for... years! He was just a little boy, surely there has to be someone else that can do the job. Someone more experienced, better trained..."I sit back in my chair with my arms folded and wait patiently for the argument to end in the only one it possibly can. There is no one else that is right for the job- that would be willing to do it, of course- but they don't want to entrust such a critical mission to the idiot kid that caused our living nightmare in the first place.Grandfather sighs and raises his hands. "Unless you are suggesting that one of the senior staff go, there is no one else. None of us are young enough for such a trip. Of course, there's always Mirele-"Mirele's father, Doctor Hansen, glares at Grandfa

Despite my best efforts and Candy's constant, tender care, my fever continued to get worse. I started to hallucinate, crying out in pain and fear. She had to gag me to keep my screaming from scaring the children or drawing attention from the outside. I moved in and out of reality, my dreams full of terrible visions. In one, the world seemed to implode, taking both Candy and Mirele into a swirling vortex of hellish flames, desperately screaming my name as they fell. I had the faces of the various controllers scream at me, condemning me and my very existence. I found myself trapped in a small enclosure like one of the zoo animals, starving and weak, fed only when the zookeeper came in to use me for his sick, sexual fantasies. I heard the cries of dying children, the screams of the little girl I'd saved, and the roar of lions that pursued me relentlessly. The dr

It's time... I look down the long hallway that leads to the outside world. I reach into my pocket for my tablet to confirm my orders... It's not there. I bite back a curse. This isn't exactly the most auspicious start to my mission. I don't even have my most important tool with me! I trudge back to Grandfather's office to pick it up, hoping that he has already left so that I can covertly snag it and still manage a graceful exit. No such luck. He's still in there, and now, someone else is with him. "...mean you didn't tell him?" "Of course not! Would you?" That's Grandfather's voice... tell who what? Something tells me they're talking about me, so I just pause to listen. "For

Once I had left the prison, I hurried down the hallway to a cross hall. Still empty. I had done my best to count the corners and turns on the way in here. I took a few wrong turns, but eventually, I found the entrance.There were guards here, of course. They gathered around a computer screen, watching something and snickering. I had to get to the door, but they would see me as I ran past.It was time for my diversion. Grabbing a handful of the pills, I hauled back, then chucked them as hard as I could into another hallway. They skittered loudly along the slick floor into the darkness.The guard station erupted. Several ran into the hallway, guns in hand, shouting about intruders. Only two remained at their station and they had their eyes riveted on the chase.I bolted to

The room fell silent as Dr. Hansen told the others I was awake. Drat. No more spying. Of course, it wasn't like I could have stopped him from spilling the beans. I couldn't move at all. I waited through a long, uncomfortable silence, then I heard a fit of giggles. "Good grief, Mirele... take a breath, girl, you're turning purple!" "Toby... he's... oh my, I think I'm going to be sick." "No, just take a breath. Deep breaths, that's right..." While Candy tended to Mirele's panic attack, I heard the two sets of steps approach me. Something brushed up against my bed, on either side, then hands clasped around each of my hands. "Toby? Can you hear me?" Grandfather. I still couldn't