Instincts-2

When I wake up, I am in a different room.

There is no "18" anywhere on the walls, and there is no door.

"Hello, Aella. tag number one seven eight. Are you ready to cooperate?"

I get the feeling it wants me to answer with a "yes" or a "no," but I stay silent.

It stays silent as well.

I swing my legs off of the side of the metal "bed", and note that I am wearing black shorts and a grey tank top. I wondered who changed me, because this is not what I was wearing before. the thought makes me uncomfortable.

I look around the room, just to make sure I'm not missing anything. but there is no way out.

"Are you ready to cooperate?"

There is no way I'm going to get out, much less be able to eat or use the bathroom, unless I say yes.

But I still don't want to.

I sigh and stretch a bit, easing my almost nonexistent muscles.

"Are you ready to cooperate?"

"Yes." I grumble.

"good. please exit the room."

A door slides open out of a previously smooth wall.

I walk slowly out, onto a hallway that has a drop on one side. there is a railing, so it's almost like a balcony.

Across from me are more halways like mine, with one side connected to the building and the other side with a railing. they go up and down. I am on the third floor.

"what is this place...?" I say.

I mean to say it to myself, but I forget that there's a robot voice always following me.

"This is GTB4."

I wasn't asking you, I think. "What does that stand for?"

"that is classified information."

I know I can't try and barter with a robot, so I let it drop.

"Please make your way down the hallway, going right." it says.

I scowl, but again, I know there's almost nothing else I can do that will be of any benifit. so I turn to the right and walk along the hallway, with the railing on my left.

The hallway goes on for a long time, but when I get to the end, there's an elevator.

The doors open and I step in, not sure where I'm going.

The elevator goes down without me having to push any buttons.

I feel my bare feet on the cold metal ground, and suddenly I realize the situation I'm in. I have no idea where I am, I'm very weak, I'm very tired, and I have a robot voice following me.

And most importantly, I can't remember anything before waking up earlier.

When I first woke up, it said "self-induced NREM hypnosis." did that mean that I did it to myself? but why would I purposely sedate myself? and why would simply going to sleep somehow make me forget everything?

The elevator dings, and the doors open. I step out.

I am in a well-lit room, with rows and rows of tables.

And sitting at those tables, are teenagers.

Lots of them.

And they are all staring directly at me.

* * *

"Make your way to the serving bar." the robot voice says.

I stay in one spot.

It seems like it's been a lifetime since I've seen an actual person. The way noses come directly between eyes and mouths under them is so weird to my brain, that part of me wants to laugh.

The other part of me wants to shrivel up under all of the stares.

"Make your way to the serving bar."

If that robot was physical, I'd punch it. But I still have no idea where the voice is coming from.

I walk down the isle, toward where I can see is a serving bar with buckets of food. it looks gross.

"Take two scoops of the first tub, one of the next tub, and three of the last." the voice tells me.

I look into the buckets of food.

"Food."

Each one is lumpy and squishy, and a rough shade of grey. Some are pinkish grey, some greenish grey.

I gag.

Everyone is still staring at me.

I suddenly realize I must look absoloutley horrible. Heat comes to my cheeks, but I don't try to smooth down my hair or ajust my clothes because that might just make me look worse.

Instead, I quickly serve myself two scoops of the first tub, one of the next, and three of the last.

"Sit down at table 7."

I am about to ask which one is seven until I see numbers on the sides of the tables.

why seven?

"because you will get along with them."

I jumped. the robot voice just spoke in my head. I didn't know that was possible. Had it heard me the whole time?

"Sit down at table 7."

I clench my jaw. I wasn't going to obey everything the stupid robot voice told me.

So instead, I sit down at table six.

"Table 7."

I ignored it.

Everyone at table six looks at me.

I observe them.

There are three girls and four boys.

"New recruit, huh?" the girl next to me says.

I open my mouth and close it again before saying, "Yeah, I guess."

She laughs. "Well don't expect it to be easy. We're not toddlers."

Everyone laughs or smiles at that.

heat rushes to my cheecks, but I force it down. "I don't."

That's all I say the entire meal.

The others talk with eachother.

"Lunch is over."

I wince at the severity of the voice in my head.

Everyone else winces with me. Are they hearing the robot too?

"Dispose of your trays on the tables behind the serving bar."

I "dispose" of my tray with a bit more force than is nescisary. I don't like being told what to do like this.

And on top of that, I still can't remember anything before today. when I try... it's like there's just a hole where my brain used to be.

I wonder how people convinced me to do this to myself.

"Walk back to your room. your room is number one seven eight."

I wonder why.

"because that's your tag number."

I growl. I'm not used to my thoughts being answered.

Then again, I'm not used to any of this.

In a daze, I get in the elevator and the doors shut behind me.

What is GTB4?

What is this robot inside my head?

What is going on?