“How did you get in here? How did you get past security?”

“I couldn’t possibly tell you…it requires too much backstory…”

Jaspers response to my question dies on his lips as his eyes drift across the room, analyzing the simple design. As expected his attention isn’t held by the surroundings for long; there is nothing to see in the white walled room aside from a tiny single bed and a desk piled high with books. They had confiscated the matching chair for the desk a while ago, scared that I’d hurt myself after last weeks outburst. Apparently throwing a chair across the room in a fit of rage was a sign I was capable of what? Using said broken chair legs to somehow kill myself? Sometimes I think they went too far trying to protect me from myself; it got rather suffocating.

“I think we have a few minutes to spare. Tell me how you got in here. I’ve been trying to escape this place for months and always get caught”, I say, resting my back against the headboard of the bed with my legs stretched out in front of me.

My older brother, Jasper, who had just barged through the windowless iron door, glances nervously down the corridor before sighing. He walks towards me, heavy boots squeaking along the polished white tiles. Jasper, in his all black ensemble, was the only spot of darkness in the room; even my own jumpsuit was as stark white as the walls.

“We don’t have time, Kit. I’ll explain everything to you as soon as we-“

Before Jasper can finish his sentence I’m already leaping from the bed. He flinches as I draw near but his rigid body softens when I wrap my arms around him, pulling him in for a hug.

“I missed you”, I mumble into his chest.

Jasper replies with a “I missed you too, little brother” and lifts his arms to return the embrace. He seems to have grown even taller since I’d last seen him, soaring far above by willowy figure. I wonder how long ago it was that I was an only an inch shorter than him.

I’m not entirely sure how long I’ve been trapped in this place. I lost track of time around the 3 month mark when I found out they were messing with my perception of time by slipping sleeping pills into my drinks and locking me in windowless rooms.

Jasper pulls away from the hug and gestures to the stack of books on the table.

“Didn’t really peg you as such a book worm”, he teases with a grin.

I let out a laugh a genuine laugh at his statement. We both know that I can’t read, not well anyway. I had been out of school for hospital tests and aptitude tests so many times growing up that my reading skills were comparable to an eight year old. A rather embarrassing fact considering I was nearing 19 years of age.

“I keep telling them that Shakespeare is too advanced for me but they won’t listen. I’ve taken to reciting dramatic monologues out loud though. I’m sure it entertains the dudes watching the cams”, I say, pointing to the rounded camera at the center of the ceiling that gazes down at us like a watchful eye.

Before either of us can open our lips to speak, the blaring sound of the warning alarm travels through the open door. The loud sound instantly pierces the joy in the room, like a needle bursting a balloon filled with helium. Jaspers face goes pale at the sound and he snatches my hand in his.

“We have to leave. Now”, he says, pulling me through the door.

We sprint down hallway after hallway, Jasper pulling me along roughly as my bare feet slap against the cold concrete floors. I can distantly hear the sounds of heavy boots as the guards follow after us. They won’t let us go so easily; they’d never let Jasper escape with their greatest scientific discovery in tow.

When we get to a set of double doors at the end of the corridor Jasper pulls out a walkie talkie from his pocket.

“You can open now”, he says into it breathlessly. The buzzing sound that follows indicates that’s someone on the other side has pressed the emergency ‘open’ button. Jasper nudges the doors open with his shoulder and I follow behind him. I’m fully prepared to thank the person who helped us, but I freeze almost immediately when I see who it is.

My hand slips away from Jaspers and I stumble back a bit, fear urging my legs to run.

“What are you doing here?”, I mumble, barely hearing my voice above the rush of blood pounding in my ears.

Leo watches me, his hand still hovering above the button that opened the door.

“Kit, we are on the same side here”, Leo says, voice rough like sandpaper, “I’m trying to help”.

I turn to look at Jasper who is avoiding my gaze.

“THIS is how you got past security? By working with that monster?”, my voice rises in pitch, a dark edge pulling on every vowel. Leo, the second in command to the man who owns this place, looks at me as though I have offended him.

“I’m not going ANYWHERE with him”, I add, pointing to Leo.

“We have no choice, Kit. This facility is too secure for me to have done this alone. We can trust him- for now at least”, Jasper says, eyes flickering briefly to meet Leo’s before returning to me.

Jasper reaches out a hand for me to take but I ignore it and shake my head. Tears brim my eyes as I look at the man who’s made the past year a living hell.

“No. I’m not going anywhere with him. He’s the reason I ended up here in the first place. Jasper, you don’t know what they did to me in there it-“.

Jasper takes two large steps towards me and pulls me into a half embrace, bending down so his lips touch my ear.

“Kit, I know about all the horrible things they did to you in there. I know about the field tests and the pain evaluations…but listen. We need him to get out of here”, Jasper whispers, and then, lower he adds, “as soon as we are somewhere safe I’ll make him pay for what he did to you”.

As Jasper pulls away I lift a sleeve to wipe my tears and nod.

“Okay”, I say softly avoiding Leo’s gaze. Just then the set of doors behind us burst open and dozens of guards spill through the opening, weapons at the ready.

Jasper looks up quickly and his hand reaches to hover over the gun I hadn’t even noticed at his hip. He uses the other hand to pull me into a run and I follow, Leo trailing closely behind.