Time seemed to move in slow motion. I looked down at my cuffed hands. A bruise now forming on my forearm from where the agent in the passenger seat had dragged me away from the motel. Recalling the events, anger nearly blinded me as I began to quake in my seat next to my trembling sister.
"Why did you leave the room?"
I said with a venom she may have not deserved.
Without breaking her focus from the window, she replied in short.
"Ice. Ice machine."
I shook my head. We haven't been able to experience ice in over 6 months since the last freezing night of winter broke. In the hikes down the mountain during the warmer months, Ashley would add ice to her list of commodities she wished to see in the supply cache. Second to only the sweet embrace of intoxication a bottle of liquor would bring. Ashley had been a wild one before this nightmare ensued.
This wasn't her fault. I tried to remember that I had the final say when she pleaded to stay at the motel. I gave into temptation. Disregarded the risk. Gave into the urge to forgo the old tent and camp on the outskirts of town until the general store opened. This was my fault.
"The bitch turned us in."
Confused for a moment, I realized who Ashley was refering to. The sweet owner of the motel. Damn, that woman was good. Really good.
"How long have we been on the road?"
Ashley shrugged. Still gazing out into the nothingness.
"Around 4 hours I think."
My stomach sank once again. We are never going to get back. Our father wouldn't know we were gone. That is, if he is okay. Wherever he is, he has to be okay. Closing my eyes tight, I fought back tears and kicked the seat in front of me. Hurting only myself. I nearly fogot about my ankle. If we somehow got away from them, my sprained ankle would slow us down. We would surely be recaptured.
"Did they say anything to you other than where we were going? Did you ask what the facility was?"
She finally decided to look at me once again. Ashley's eyes were swollen like she had been crying for some time. It must have been while I was tranquilized.
"They would only tell me it's a research and development oriented compound. And we would do our part in ensuring the longevity of the human race."
Goosebumps raced over my body. They are going to poke and prod us like lab rats. This could only end in us being cut open wide on a scientists lab table.
"We're going to escape. We won't be guinea pigs Ash."
I was startled by the drivers laugh. They could hear us? The passenger turned his face just to the side and spoke through an intercom, behind his head on the plexiglass, separating them from us.
"Just be a good girl, do what you're told, and you will get to keep your limbs Layla Jensen."
I shot an annoyed look at Ashley.
"You told them our names?!"
She closed her eyes and shook her head no.
The man sitting passenger tapped 2 thick files against the plexiglass in an answer to my question.
Oh, we're screwed. Dad was right. This wouldn't be a satisfying "told you so" for him I imagine.
Ashley elbowed me and took my attention away from my sweaty palms. I looked in the direction of her gaze. In the distance, and growing, was a massive white building. Half was surrounded by towering fences topped with a generous amount of barbed wire. The other half was surrounded by tall brick walls, also topped with barbed wire. Trees peaked over the tops of the brick walls as well. The building was huge. Surrounded on each side by trees. A short distance behind the compound was the rise of the Smokey Mountains. Ideas began forming.
"It looks like a fucking prison."
Ashley announced.
"This, Ladies, is the pride and joy of the LBA organization. You'll find it much more accommodating than whatever hut you were hiding away in."
It annoyed me immensely that he was probably right. Even lab rats were fed regularly.
We pulled down the main drive to the facility and approached the massive main gate. Stopping at the guard post, the driver gave the sickly looking man in military attire a nod before the guard began to open the entry gate. My heart felt like it could at any point leap from my chest. I shuffled over as close as I could to Ash. She was rigid.
We pulled up through the circular drive that encompassed a marble water fountain and an assortment of colorful flowers. Without the extreme prison gates, I would think this place to be a resort or at least an upscale rehab clinic. The agents in front exited the vehicle then opened our doors. To my surprise, I wasn't man handled out of the SUV the same way I was forced in. The man offered his hand to help me out, which I chose to ignore entirely. My ankle ached severely as I planted my feet. I took in the massive structure. I realize now it's two buildings connected by a large black skybridge. The large alley between the buildings, under the bridge, was what looked to be a greenhouse. Upon closer observation, I realized the glass enclosure was stocked with a menagerie of birds. The agent gestured towards the building. I found Ashley already standing a few feet from the threshold. Her escort took an I.D. card out of his vest and scanned it over a reader next to the entryway. The doors promptly slid open and we were led inside.
We both were in shock. The fourier was beautiful. A dome of glass overhead illuminated the wide open space with skylight. The sky reflected off of the white marble floors. The wall of windows to our left exposed the garden aviary. In the center of the room was a small round table topped with a ceramic vase packed with an exquisite arrangement of white gardenias. Both my sister and I were awestruck. This is nothing like I imagined. From Ashley's gaped expression, she is just as astonished as I am.
We were forced from our momentary bewilderment by the agents urging us further into the room.
"Ahh. The Jensen's have finally opted to grace us with their presence."
The sultry voice came accompanied by the steady clacking of womens heels against the marble.
A beautiful woman with long black hair came from the hall on our right. She was dressed in a lab coat and a tight fitting black skirt that met the tops of her knees. A wide smile behind a clear medical face shield told me she had been expecting us.
She now stood in front of us both. The woman looked both of us up and down, one at a time. Not with judgement, but more so with appraisal.
"I am Doctor Audry Sener, I am the brains of the operation."
She said with a wink.
"Allow me to welcome you to LBA's crown jewel. This, my dear girls, is the Lifeline Facility."