The Voice of Reason [In Progress - Please Read!]

[WhiteFang121]

Alright, so recently I've been practicing my writing skills (been getting a bit rusty!) and I've been writing the odd chapter for a storyline I came up with. I'm actually pretty pleased with how it's turning out, so I though it could be worth posting here. I'll be posting a chapter every now and then (school's been pretty full-on recently, so it really will be occasionally!) and I would love some reviews and even ideas if you have any to spare. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the fruits of my boredom!

THE VOICE OF REASON

Summary:
'Wake up.'
'Open your eyes.'
Some people label the little voice in their head a 'conscience'.
Although in Mina's case, things were more... complicated. When
she wakes up in a white, empty room with a sore head and no
idea what's going on, things get a little more complicated.
When she meets a boy named Calix, things begin to get
REALLY complicated.

[WhiteFang121]

The Voice of Reason
Chapter 1
Epistemology

Epistemology (noun) : study of grounds of knowledge

Darkness was complete. It had wrapped itself around the room, filled every corner and pressed in on every sense.
Wait.
Not every sense.
Something disturbed the silence of darkness. It was a muffled sound, the rhythmic thumping of a heart, somewhere deep within. The thumping grew stronger and louder with each passing moment. It seemed to overcome the blackness, pushing it back slowly to reveal another sound; a voice echoing through the dark
“Wake up.”
Sharp and insistent, the voice seemed to blow away the silence. There was the sound of a door closing, followed by the clicking of heels hitting a solid floor. The sound stopped. Whoever was moving stood still. Another sound was now heard; the quiet inhale and exhale of breath. Then the rustle of papers somewhere nearby, followed by some clinking and shuffling of small objects.
“Open your eyes.”
As the surrounding world came into focus, two golden orbs met a pair of steel grey ones. Their owner was no more than a few centimetres away, his eyes flicking up and down, appraising the sight before him.
***
The man was slightly taken aback at the person tied to the chair. He had been sent in with orders to interrogate the prisoner and had expected someone similar to the others; strong in build and a little rough looking; a suspicious figure.
What he found in the chair, however, was not the person he expected. A girl sat there, bound roughly to the metal chair. Her dark hair had at some point been tied back but the ribbon had slipped, letting most of the hair fall down her back. She seemed to be around 15 years old, but her small, unconscious figure was hunched, giving the impression she was even younger than she was.

He walked towards her, wondering how on earth this child could have wound up in this room, where so many others had been held for serious crimes against the government. He walked around to her front, where a large metal desk sat. A pile of papers and a folder sat there, containing no doubt answers to his questions. He flipped through them briefly before looking back at the unconscious figure, taking in her small, round face and girlish features.
The only hint of anything suspicious was a large bruise near her left temple. That, he thought to himself, would probably explain the lack of consciousness.
Looking at her injury, he wondered how best to get her conscious. He walked to the table and rummaged through a draw for a pack of smelling salts. As he looked momentarily back down at the girl, she gave a small jerk. The man saw her eyes twitch and then open a tiny amount. He then saw two dull golden orbs peek out at him through the miniscule opening. As he held the gaze, the girl’s eyes opened wider and dully focused on his face.

***
The girl’s eyes finally focused on the figure, it took a moment to register that there was someone right in front of her face. The bright grey eyes were looking into hers with cold curiosity and irritation, the black pupils meeting hers in a stern gaze. She blinked twice and tried to move her head a little. She felt the thuds of a strong headache, but moving helped her regain some clarity and control.
She gave a strangled squeak and jerked backwards, away from the figure fast approaching towards her. The chair tilted precariously with the force of her movement. She felt the awful sensation of falling towards the ground but helpless with her hands and legs tied, she had no chance of stopping herself hitting the ground. She braced for impact, but just as she felt the ground draw closer to her, she was stopped with a jerk.
The grey eyed man had caught her just before she hit the ground, stopping her fall with powerful hands. He pushed the chair upright before sitting down across from her at the metal table. The girl blinked and looked back at the man now in front of her. He was looking at her eyes again, but void of the other expressions he had shown previously. His face was blank, his eyes unreadable. He was looking at her in a way that made her feel cold and small, but she stayed determined to stare right back at him.
‘Mina Strate.’
The sound made her recoil slightly. Hearing her name said by this man felt scary. She looked him straight in the eyes.
‘Yes.’
The man did not look away. ‘Mina Strate, age fifteen. I believe you know why you are here…’
Mina was about to play innocent and reply with a ‘no’, but something inside her stopped her voice. A small voice seemed to be talking to her.
“No good. You do know.”
She recognised the voice. It was the same voice she had heard back home just before she had run away. As she recalled the fateful day, she remembered full well why she was here.
‘Yes. I know…’
The man looked at her; his piercing eyes seemed to be able to see into her very depths.
‘So you are aware of why you need to be here.’

It was such a cold statement. An image of a girl’s smiling face flickered across her mind. Now really thinking about it, she didn’t exactly know why she needed to be there. Everything had been explained when Flora had fallen ill, but nothing had been mentioned about returning to the laboratories.
‘I don’t know why I’m here actually. What is this room anyway? I’m not even supposed to be anywhere near the lab.

Mina immediately realized that her answer sounded rebellious and she feared for a moment she had gone too far. But the man looked calmly down at the papers he was holding and ignored her to study them for a moment.
‘You are here because we need to make sure that you will not run again. We also need somewhere to contain you until things have been checked out.’
Mina didn’t like the way he had faltered slightly when he said ‘things’. It made her feel uncomfortable, like there was something big going on that was being kept from her. Still, she couldn’t think the slightest clue as to what it was, so there wasn’t much she could do.

The man seemed not to notice her look of suspicion and continued on. He rifled through the papers again and picked out one with a ‘NuGen Laboratories’ watermark on it. He scanned the paper quickly and looked at Mina with an unreadable expression. He then put the paper down and cleared his throat.
‘So you are aware of the situation you are in and why?’
His eyes bore into Mina, and she felt again as though he knew something she didn’t.
‘Yeah sure.’
Her tone was icy and more hostile than she intended, but the anger she felt was hard to keep out of her voice. It was their fault that she was in this ‘situation’ after all.
He raised one eyebrow very slightly at her tone. ‘Calm down. There is no reason to be angry with me.’
Mina looked incredulously up at him, but he continued. ‘Anyway, since you are obviously aware of the state of affairs, I now need to inform you that you will stay in this facility until further notice.’
Mina looked at the steel-eyed man, horrified. Things had gone from bad to worse. She opened her mouth to protest when she heard the soft female voice again.
“Stay.”
She sighed and looked uncertainly at the man who was still looking fixedly at her.
‘Right.’
The man smiled at her, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. ‘Very good. In that case, I will release you to follow me to your living area.’ Mina nodded and the man began to untie her from the chair. She wondered if the ropes were really necessary. Sure, she had run away, but to bind her to a chair? Then again, the way those men had chased her before showed that they were willing to go as far as needed to stop anything go wrong. Mina cringed as her head throbbed and felt where her bruise was. They were clearly very willing.
With the last of the ropes loosened, she stood up, rubbing her chafed and bruised wrists. She wobbled a little on her numb feet. How long had she been unconscious? Every part of her body felt tired and tingly. She stretched a little and watched as the man unlocked the door and motioned for her to follow.
They left the small room and began walking down a large corridor filled with rows of identical doors. As the man led her past a window, she saw it was around the middle of the day. She remembered it being almost dark when they had caught up with her. Had she really been out of it for that long? Mina looked around her, taking in the sterile whitewash walls and blinding LED lights that seemed to make up every corridor inside the building.

There seemed to be very few people around, the only sound Mina could hear was the rhythmic click and squeak of the pair’s footsteps. After turning into a maze of corridors, her guide stopped outside a metal door. It was identical to all seven other doors up that corridor, with a keypad lock and one small window in the centre. He punched in a few numbers, blocking his movements by standing between Mina and the door, and pushed it open.
Inside was a small, square room. The walls were a very sterile white and there were no windows. There was a single bed in one corner, a desk in the other and a small clock on the wall. A small door led to what she assumed was a bathroom. An office chair and a wastepaper bin seemed to be the only movable objects. The steel eyed man gave her a small push and she stumbled inside. Her mind then registered where she was and she turned to face him.

‘This is where I’m going to be staying?’ Mina knew the answer, but she didn’t want to believe it. This sterile room was suffocating and lifeless; staying here couldn’t mean anything good for her.
‘Yes.’ the man responded, ‘you will be staying in here except for meals and free time outside. Everything else will be explained later.’
Before she could respond, the man locked the door and walked away. She pounded on the door, calling out for him to come back. Her mind was reeling. What could they possibly need to check out that required her to stay here? The room seemed designed for a long term stay, and the mentions of the meals and ‘free time’ made it sound like she was going to be confined her most of the time.
She sat down on the bed and put her face in her hands. Things were getting out of control; it felt like she was in a cell rather than a ‘living area’ as her guide had put it. ‘Living’ didn’t seem to quite fit this room. The monochromatic colour scheme, the minimal furniture and the promise of no freedom caused her spirits to sink. She laid a hand on a small dial placed on a nearby wall. Wondering what it did, she gave it a wary twist. It seemed to diminish the brightness of the lights, which were starting to give her a headache.
At least now she had some recovery time alone. Closing her eyes, she lay down on the crisp white sheets and rested on her back. Against her expectations, the bed was actually comfortable and quite soft. It suddenly reminded her of her bed back home. She felt a warm comfort from the memory and allowed herself to relax a little. The softness of the pillow made her head feel heavy, and before she knew it, Mina was sinking into a deep sleep.

[WhiteFang121]

The Voice Of Reason
Chapter 2
Bionomics

Bionomics (noun): study of organisms interacting in their environments

The slam of a door caused noise to bounce off the walls of the small room. Mina sat up with a start, her head still full of dreams. Rubbing her heavily-lidded eyes, she looked up at the person who had just barged in. A woman was standing in the middle of the room. Her light hair was done up in a tight bun and she was wearing a white lab coat that went down to her knees. On the coat, Mina noticed a small nametag saying ‘Dr Wyler’ and a few pins of different designs.
Doctor Wyler looked briefly through the papers attached to the clipboard she was holding, and then back at Mina.
‘Mina Strate?’
Mina gave a slight scowl. Was this the way everyone would be greeting her while she was here?
‘Yes, that’s me.’
The woman gave a slight nod and glanced back down at her clipboard. ‘You are required in the dining hall for lunch. Follow me; I’ll explain more on the way.’
Mina gave a small yawn and nodded. She was in no mood to argue, and besides, she hadn’t eaten in over a day. Following Dr Wyler out of the room, she rubbed her head a little to clear it. She was still groggy from her nap and the bright lights making her head ache. As they made their way down a new hallway, Mina mentally mapped the route for later reference.
‘Now’, Doctor Wyler began, ‘we are currently making our way to the dining hall. That is where you will have all your meals during your stay. I assume you are familiar with the canteen system?’
Mina nodded.
‘Good. The door at the back leads to the courtyard. When you finish eating, you may proceed out there. You may return to your room anytime during the two hour meal break, but once there you must stay until the next mealtime. The maximum time you may stay in the dining hall is two hours. After which you must return to your room, which by the way is D13. Do you understand?’
Mina nodded curtly, expecting the doctor to continue, but she was apparently finished with her instructions. They continued down the corridor until a thought occurred to Mina.
‘Um… excuse me, Dr Wyler? If they have a dining hall, does that mean there are more people who are staying here, like me?’
The older woman looked at Mina for a moment as though the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. Mina gave a small scowl. No one had told her anything, how was she supposed to know?
After another moment of silence, Doctor Wyler answered.
‘We do have others staying here currently. I don’t believe we have anyone like you per say, but we do have another person here of the same age as you. In fact, that person had been appointed as your buddy.’
Mina was slightly suspicious about the way she had said ‘like you’. What did she mean by that? Did she mean the fact that Mina had run away, or was she referring to the small voice that rang through her mind on occasion? Her thoughts then moved to the mention of a buddy. Having someone she could talk to would be great. She could ask them about all the stuff she hadn’t been told.
Before she got a chance to ask more questions about her ‘buddy’, the doctor ushered Mina through swinging double doors. As she walked in, Mina was greeted by the sights, sounds and delicious smells of the dining hall. She felt herself drool slightly at the sight of all the food. It made her realise just how ravenous she was.
Her eyes widened as she took in the pristine dining hall. To the right were large counters where the food was served and to the left were two large doors. At the end of the hall were several large tables where a few people were finishing their meals.
Still following Doctor Wyler, she walked past the cafeteria-style counters, mentally picking out what she was going to pile on her tray. As they made their way further down to the back of the hall, Mina looked closer at the two doors on the left and realised they led to a wide, grassy courtyard. Quite a few people were outside enjoying themselves; running, sitting or just hanging out. She wondered if her ‘buddy’ was among them.
They continued down to where the tables were. The area was almost clear of people now; there were only two still sitting, each at a table. One was a small dark haired girl and the other, a blond boy who looked around Mina’s age. The doctor led her over to the table where the blond boy was sitting. Mina decided he looked unquestionably sullen; with a small frown plastered on his forehead and his arms folded irritably.
‘Calix.’
Doctor Wyler’s voice was sharp and held an edge of exasperation. The boy looked up from his empty tray and his scowl deepened.
‘What is it?’
The doctor gave him a stern look and then turned to Mina. ‘This is Mina Strate. She is going to be your buddy.’
Calix looked over at Mina as though he hadn’t noticed her earlier. His eyes flickered up and down and he gave a snort.
‘That ‘s going to be following me around? I don’t even know why you bother sometimes. She’ll probably be out of here in a week anyway.’
Mina’s face fell slightly. This jerk was going to be her buddy? Her only companion?
The doctor gave the boy another stern look, but she seemed to be slightly uncomfortable when he mentioned Mina leaving. She cleared her throat, but there seemed to be the slightest lingering discomfort in her tone as she addressed Mina.
‘Calix will show you around the free areas and you can address your questions to him. Understand?’
Mina felt reluctant. She had never been friends with a guy before and having this grumpy one for a start made her feel uneasy. Still, it was better than having no one so she gritted her teeth and put on a hopefully convincing tone.
‘That sounds fine Doctor Wyler.’
The doctor gave a small nod and turned back to the boy. ‘Now, Calix, I expect you to look after Mina, and no funny business.’
Calix gave a large, very fake smile and put on a pitchy, would-be angelic voice. ‘Oh but of course, I wouldn’t want any trouble for our new friend.’
Mina gave an involuntary shiver at the way he dragged out the word friend. It felt menacing and dark. Doctor Wyler, however, simply rolled her eyes and walked off, leaving Mina and Calix alone. The two teens were left to sit in heavy silence, broken only by the sound of the small girl leave her seat at the other table and dump her tray in the bin. This reminded Mina of how hungry she was. She cleared her throat awkwardly and looked at Calix.
‘I am going to get some food…if that’s ok.’ Mina felt his gaze shift to her and he gave a look of annoyance.
‘No need to ask me permission. Are you going to be a nuisance?’
Mina felt like lashing out, but shook her head quickly. ‘N-no, I just-‘
Calix glared at her.
“If you want some damn food go get it.’
Mina rose abruptly and scampered off towards the serving tables. She could sense Calix’s glare on her back. He was supposed to be her buddy? That obnoxious guy was the last person she would think to ask for help. She grimaced at the thought of even having to ask him for directions.
The thoughts, however, were swept from her mind at the sight of food. She grabbed one of the plastic trays and made her way down the table. There sure was a lot of choice, from fat large burgers to warm, filling stews. If there was one thing Mina loved in the world more than Flora and her family, it was rich hot food!
She filled her tray with everything she fancied. By the time she reached the last table, she had chips, a bowl of stew, a bagel with butter, a chocolate peanut butter bar and a carton of milk. She returned to the dining table and sat down with a satisfied look on her face. Until she saw the look on Calix’s.
He looked down at her huge tray of food with a mixed look of curiosity, irritation and disgust. Mina snorted at him. Calix looked up at her and then back at the tray.
‘You’re actually going to eat all that? No wonder you have a crap figure.’
Mina blushed a little but worked hard to keep disdain on her face.
‘I haven’t eaten in almost two days smart ass. Who wants to be a stick like you anyway.’
Calix put his hands up defensively and raised his eyebrows. ‘Okay, okay, no need to get pissy.’
He looked back down at his own empty tray and muttered under his breath, ‘Someone’s PMSing…’
Mina heard him but she was too hungry to respond. As she began to eat, her senses filled with warmth and her expression softened a little. It was so good to fill her grumbling stomach.

***

It had been a dull day for Calix so far. He had woken up on the floor next to his bed, his back throbbing slightly where he had landed on it. After an early morning spent lazing around in his room, he had made his way down to the dining hall for breakfast. When he got there, word had spread that some girl had been brought in late the night before. The rumour didn’t interest him, very little did. Since he had arrived at the Lab, life had just been a monotonous string of experiments punctuated by attempts to keep himself entertained.
Calix had never been a social person, but the doctors seemed to be dead set on him making a friend. He had been subject to many attempts at getting him to become ‘buddy’ with new arrivals. His response had always been the same: sullen, rude and disagreeable.
Most people ended up leaving after a while anyway. There had been Tom, Kyle, Alyse and Flora. During breakfast that morning, Dr Wyler had confirmed the arrival of Mina.
Calix was disinterested in Mina, as he had been with the others. She was just another girl who was sent to the lab. She was probably broke and her parents had been paid by the lab. That’s why most of the kids were here. The older people either had something wrong with them genetically, or the lab had brought them in for a special reason. Those people were separated from the youth and kept apart.
Calix went off for some tests just before lunch. That always put him in a bad mood. There were two scientists who worked with him, McAllister and Hodman; they always found a way to get him seriously pissed before too long. After 2 hours, during which the two found many different ways of making him feel stupid, Calix was released for lunch. He sat at his usual table and munched grumpily on his burger. At least the food was good.

His mood was not improved with the arrival of Wyler. She came and stood opposite him and introduced his latest ‘buddy’. Mina was not horrible looking, but she looked unkempt with that giant bruise on her head and she barely spoke. She looked like the type of girl who would be hard to ruffle.
After Wyler left, the girl had only said a few words. She might seem tough on the outside, but he could still get her pissed. His thoughts had drifted; at least he would have a bit fun tormenting her; anything to help break the dullness and monotony of life was a bonus.
When the girl had returned to the table, she was holding a full tray of food. His eyes had flickered back to the girl. How could a girl eat that much? He has teased her but she had bitten back. This had taken Calix aback slightly. No newbie had ever snapped at him. Most people were too scared to even talk. He had felt a small frown line appear between his eyebrows. The girl had started eating her pile of food and seemed to somewhat relax. Being ‘buddies’ with this girl was going to be interesting.

***

When she had finished eating, Mina stood up to put her tray in the bin. She took a step but faltered. Glancing back, she saw that Calix still hadn’t put his tray away either. She turned back towards him.
“Want me to put that tray away as well?’ Her voice had grown low and hesitating, partly because she was so full, and partly because she felt so awkward. A look of genuine surprise flashed through Calix’s eyes, if only for a moment. It happened so quickly, Mina wondered she had seen it at all. He mumbled quickly a ‘Suit yourself’ and Mina picked up his tray as well as hers.

When both trays were disposed of, Mina walked back and half sat down. She and Calix were once again at a stalemate. Mina was too uncomfortable to bother, and Calix too uninterested to start a conversation. After a few minutes, a voice ringing through the hall broke the silence.
“Lunch break is now over. Please proceed back to your rooms now.”
Mina looked over at Calix, who had risen from his seat. She fumbled with her clothes before starting to speak.
‘Uh… -‘
Calix looked at her for a moment and then gave an exasperated sigh.
‘What? You don’t know how to get back to your room?’
Mina stared at him, and he rubbed his head with his palm.
‘Ok, well I am your buddy apparently, so follow me.’
Mina gave a sight of relief and got up.
‘So which room are you in anyway?’ Calix asked.
Mina thought back to when she had been talking with Dr Wyler.
‘D…13?’
Calix nodded and began to walk towards the doors giving on to the hall. Mina followed him, making sure to keep up with his quick strides.
Now she noticed that Calix was actually quite tall, with long legs, which made him walk very fast. Mina almost had to trot to keep up pace. The boy seemed to know exactly where to go, which was a relief because she now felt quite disoriented. Every corridor was the same, with the blinding lights and walls that were way too white. She tried to picture the route in her head, but gave up after too many turns.
Finally, they turned into a corridor she recognised. It had seven identical doors, each leading to different rooms. As she looked at them, she noticed a small number just above each door, from D08 to D15. She walked up to the door labelled D13 and peered in through the small window in the door. Indeed, her blankets were still lying messily on the bed where she had left them. She felt somewhat comforted by the sight. She suddenly couldn’t wait to be alone again.

***

Calix looked over at the girl. He was surprised at the expression on her face. She was looking through the small window of her bedroom door. She actually seemed pleased by what she saw. When she turned to face him, there was also a sort of amazement showing on her face.
‘Wow, you actually found it! Everything looks the same here - I lost track after two minutes!’
Calix was taken aback by what seemed genuine happiness. Was this the same unfriendly girl who had barked two and half words at him? She seemed to have changed personality in less than five minutes.
‘Well I’m D14 so I kinda knew the way.’
Mina hummed and waved her hand at him.
‘Cool. Well, bye!’
Before Calix could react, she had slipped inside her room. He moved away slowly and then opened the door to his room, musing over how weird this kid was.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
AUTHOR's NOTE (hehe, "author")
Well, That's chapter 2 up! Woop!
To the few people who have read this story so far, THANK YOU! It's always great to know that at least one person who acknowledges my terrible writing. -sigh- it's coming along. sloooowly. Anyways, just a little note to say that the next chapter will be up really soon because the holidays are finally starting at the end of the week. Finally, sleep and time to write without interruptions!
I will send everyone who reads this *le gasp* a telepathic cookie for their kindness. Oh yeah.