I hate Wednesdays, some people like it since it means the week is nearly over,

  But still, I hate them because that’s when they do their assessments to see how I’m “progressing”.

  Once, I lost control during an assessment.

  Only for a second.

  The walls bent inward, like the room was breathing. One of the scientists vomited.

  Another passed out, They called it a psychotic break.

  The way l see it, that's just an excuse they say so they have a reason to cut me open, though I don't understand why they even bother.

  I hate the smell of pens, they have a very distinct smell to them.

  Like burnt leather or chemicals.

  l can always smell when someone uses one,

  It burns my nose in a way I can't explain.

  I always ask for a pencil if l need to write something down,

  although l rarely need to.

  l hate dull colours like grey, it's a coward’s colour. It never makes a choice—never commits to light or dark.

  The people here say that grey is sophisticated. I think it’s just afraid.

  I’ve never been one to feel sorry for a colour, however, if l did, it would be grey.

  l hate coffee. The smell’s fine—smoky, warm,

  but the taste? Grainy. Acid pretending to be sweet.

  When l was six, one of the scientists had left a cup on the desk next to me.

  I drank some, l got in a lot of trouble for that.

  Two sets of footsteps

  One’s a man

  The other... l’m not sure could be a woman, light steps barely there.

  I don’t recognise her pattern.

  The man, though?

  Heavy, lopsided, I know who it is.

  He comes every Wednesday.

  He gives me candy when they’re done with me.

  He never joins them, just watches.

  I don’t know if he’s trying to comfort me or bribe me.

  It doesn’t matter. It never does.

  He writes down things in that bright yellow notebook of his

  Their footsteps are closer. Are they coming here?

  But why? It's not Wednesday, they have no reason to see me.

  I hear them at the door before they knock,

  “Celestia? Are you awake?” Rinco’s rough, unfriendly voice cuts through the thick, heavy metal door. I don’t respond.

  There’s no point—he’s coming in either way.

  I hear the door unlock and swing open. I hear a heavy sigh escape Rinco, l can’t see his face, yet I know he’s looking around my room at the mess I’ve made,

  l might have thrown some stuff.

  “Athena, this is Celestia number 054. She’s been here 14 years so far, she’s our best one yet, she adapts to the assessments incredibly well,” I hear Rinco say.

  I throw my red fluffy blanket over my head, wishing they weren’t here so I could sleep or do anything but have to listen to them.

  The female, Athena, I assume, says with a cold, smooth voice.

  “Her? She can’t be more than 18 years old...” I hear Rinco chuckle under his breath, That bastard.

  “Age does not contribute to how well someone adapts”,

  l can hear him walk closer to my bed. “How are you today, Celestia?”

  I don’t wanna to talk to him or anyone here, but not talking doesn’t help me with anything.

  “Fine”, my voice is muffled slightly from being under my blanket. He sighed once more, this time it was light and soft

  “I got you a lollipop, it's strawberry”

  I don’t understand why he always gives me things,

  it's not like l hate it.

  If l had a choice, l would choose savoury over sweet.

  l roll over and move the blanket off my face so l can see him.

  He looks the same as always, long black hair that’s in a low bun, his crooked nose,

  grey eyes, and that big scar that goes down the middle of his right eye.

  l look around him and see Athena leaning against the wall next to the door.

  Her hair stands out to me the most, light purple curly hair that stops at her elbows.

  Her eyes are red jewels, and she’s got two beauty marks on her chin.

  She’s pretty.

  I take the lollipop,

  There's no wrapper on it,

  I lock eyes with Rinco as l put the lollipop in my mouth.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  It tastes more like vanilla than strawberry, but it still tastes good

  “Why are you here today?”

  My voice is flat, l don’t care for the answer.

  My eyes float over to Athena.

  “I’m here today to introduce you to Miss Athena Pakepar”, Rinco says a little too cheerfully. “She’s going to be taking over section B starting today”,

  My eyebrows pull together.

  “Why? What happened to Elashor?”

  l hate him.

  l hope he rots.

  But l hate change more, l can’t stand it.

  Rinco chuckles, humour laces his voice,

  “he’s fine, still on the team, he just thought that Miss Athena would be a better fit as leader”

  He gestures for her to come over.

  I scoot further up my bed.

  I don’t want her closer than she already is.

  “Nice to meet you, Celestia”, she says, her voice cold but controlled “l will be handling section B now, so l hope we can work well together”

  She offers me her hand.

  She smiles at me. I don’t know how, but l knew she was lying. Not because of what she said. Because of the buzz behind her eyes.

  A static whisper.

  I pressed my fingers to the ring on my wrist.

  The pain grounds me.

  Cut the signal.

  l cross my arms as l look over at Rinco

  “Was that all?” I want them out of my room. Rinoc looks between me and Athena, and she pulls her hand back. He sighs as he looks at me once more.

  I think that’s all he knows how to do.

  “Yes, that was all, we’ll be on our way”, as they leave, I see Rinco put his hand on her lower back.

  Oh.

  That’s why he sounded happy talking about her.

  The room still smelled like bleach, metal, and the faint musk of too many lives passing through it. The ceiling tiles blinked above me like they were tired, like they’d seen too much.

  But l like these group things, only because I get to eat whatever I want,

  Chips, for example, l especially like the sour cream ones.

  Oh, and pizza, the cheese one. l love cheese, some people don’t see the value in it, but it's a key staple in food.

  I don't like all the people here. Like Wayne, for instance, he’s lazy.

  I don’t mind some of them.

  Like Liana,

  She’s nice, a bit too nice sometimes,

  The kind of person who would give you her lunch if you asked, then go hungry all day. She doesn’t complain, not ever.

  Like right now, Sirius, one of the scientists, is going off at her for dropping some food on him. Her head is down, and she’s fidgeting with her fingers.

  Sirius has always been a coward with a god complex. He hunts the soft-spoken, feeds off flinches.

  And now he’s winding up like she’s a punching bag.

  If l didn’t have these stupid inhibitor rings on, l’d blow his fuckin head off.

  A tary wobbled on the edge of the table near Sirius. I didn’t move. But l wanted to.

  One flick of thought and it’d crash into his face.

  Instead, it stayed put. The rings blinked red, heat pulsing against my skin like a warning.

  I looked away.

  Rinco knows what l’m thinking, he’s staring daggers at me.

  Like that’s gonna stop me, he should know better by now.

  My feet move before I tell them to.

  “Have you never heard of a washing machine?” I say to Sirius,

  My voice cold as I grab Liana's hand and pull her behind me,

  He looks at me like I grew another head.

  “Excuse me?” l can hear anger rising in his voice, his cheeks are slightly pink.

  “Are you deaf? Just wash your fuckin clothes, she’s already apologised”

  I talk to him like l would a child.

  l see Rinco put down his drink out of the corner of my eye and start fast walking over to us.

  I’ve got five seconds.

  l throw a jab—quick, clean, right to the nose.

  He stumbles back a step or two, blood drops from his nose as his hand goes to try and stop it. I can hear the gasps and murmurs of the people around us.

  Then silence comes in like a fog. All eyes were on me. Rinco’s footsteps cracked through the tension like glass.

  I can feel Liana’s hand tighten around mine, as she hides more behind me, her light pink hair covers some of her face.

  “Tia..” She whispers in that soft voice of hers to me, Tia is the nickname she gave me when we were kids.

  I know she’s worried.

  But not for me.

  Sirius looks like he’s two seconds away from trying to kill me.

  Rinco gets to him before he can even try anything

  He plants a hand on Sirius’ chest. Frim. Controlling.

  “Walk away, Sirius, l’ll deal with her. Go with Kina to the infirmary.”

  Rincos voice is smooth, not soft, just even, but the tightness in his jaw tells me everything.

  Kina steps in and takes Sirius by the arm, but not before he shoots me one last look, pure poison.

  “Celestia. Liana. Come with me now.”

  l didn’t think this was how my day was gonna go.

  If l had known, I would have just stayed in bed.

  If l had known l was gonna end up in this room, l wouldn’t have left my room today.

  My legs hurt, l got more than usual, though it will go away soon, with no scars to show for it.

  It doesn’t bother me that much, to be honest.

  What does bother me is that l’m in this room for a week at most

  There’s nothing in here, just the cold, hard floor, four plain walls, no windows, one door, nothing in the room at all.

  It's dark, no lights.

  I think it’s a tactic of theirs to leave people in the dark for so long.

  I don’t mind it that much, it’s just boring, nothing to do.

  I would rather be doing an assessment than sitting here.

  But l did punch him, knowing what would happen.

  He should feel lucky, that's all l did to him.

  I’ve been in this room before. Last time it was six months, I think. It gets hard to keep track of time.

  Liana didn't get in much trouble, she didn't do anything.

  I’m not allowed to see her for three weeks.

  To pass the time, sometimes I like to count the bugs on the ground.

  I can see somewhat better than most people, but not much.

  l like ants, they’re cute, hardworking little things, they know their roles in life, and they do their jobs to the best of their abilities.

  The dark should’ve been empty. Still.

  But for a second, l felt movement—like the wall flexed.

  I held my breath. The ring on my wrist buzzed hot.

  It’s getting worse.

  I think it’s been two days.

  l can hear someone outside. I can’t tell who it is. This room is padded to kill sound—no echoes, no footsteps. Just silence. But I can hear that someone's outside the door, and something in my gut is telling me it's not one of the scientists.

  I stand up, and the pain in my legs is already starting to go away,

  thanks to some tests. I heal quickly,

  I tuck my hair behind my ears. Rinco took my hair tie. Said he needs to take anything l can use against them, smart.

  l like having long hair, but it gets in the way when it’s not tied up.

  This isn’t the best room to fight in, my sensors are dulled, but l’m trained for things like this.

  To know how to fight with these rings on.

  The door opens to reveal a tall man with dirty blond hair.

  A scar on his left cheek and his eyes.

  His piercing blue-grey eyes look at me like he wasn’t expecting me

  I throw my hands up. Protective stance, boxing style, then l hear it

  The screams.

  I keep my eyes on him, but my ears shift outward.

  Who is it?

  Focus.

  Why are they screaming?

  Focus.

  How many voices?

  Focus.

  Is Liana okay? Where’s Rinco?

  “Who are you?” I speak first,

  my voice is low. Controlled

  “Enzo..” he looks at me like I'm some wild animal, his eyes flick down to my hands.

  “You can put your hands down, l’m not going to hurt you, Miss” His voice is soft, too soft in a way that makes my itch.

  He looks back up at me, but it feels like he’s looking through me.

  Found her.

  She’s unhurt in the left wing, Section C She’s with Kina.

  l drop my hands, a little annoyed that he even thinks he could hurt me if he tried

  “What do you want? Why are you here?” I shift my weight and loosen my stance, tilt my head slightly, and watch as he peeks his head out the doorway for a moment, then says as he slowly looks back at me, “That’s none of your concern, Miss”

  She’s moving

  Where? Why?

  “It is now”, I use that he’s slightly distracted as my chance to strike as l run at him, l step to the left quickly as l swing my left leg out and kick him hard in the ribs. He grunts, staggered, but l’m already past him. The corridor outside is in chaos.

  There are people everywhere, some l know, most l don't, and a handful are dead.

  What the hell is happening?