Clio jumped out of bed when she heard a low beep coming from her bedroom door before it swung wide open and spat out people in white coats who looked so stiff. There are four people in total. The first person, as well as the man who stood in the front row and seemed to be the leader was a man around forty years old with slightly long black hair, almost touching the collar of his shirt. Clean face. It was too shiny even for a man living in the middle of the war that had been going on all this time. No mustache or sideburns. The man had a sweet and reassuring smile. Clio was enchanted by the look in his eyes that were so gentle. He walked very slowly toward her, hands in his coat pockets and people of lower rank began to follow him behind.
"I'm Doctor Bryce. Leader of the health facility on the White Wall."
"What do you want? That bastard general must have sent you here to do something to me. You look like a crazy doctor."
Doctor Bryce smiled gently. He saw Clio's eyes staring at the young doctors behind him. Clio must have noticed the small trays in each of their hands.
"I came for a routine check-up. Yesterday you just arrived at the White Wall. You were seriously injured from the Hyperion army's attack."
"No. I'm fine. I don't need any checks."
Clio stepped back, her eyes moving warily towards the white-coated people. Doctor Bryce looked like a mad doctor in her eyes. He was hiding something in his coat pocket. That is for sure. She had learned many tricks from her father during this time. People with suspicious demeanor and smiles that appear insincere are suspect. Especially since the people standing behind Doctor Bryce's back were holding small trays of syringes and several bottles of suspiciously brightly colored liquid.
"No need to be afraid. Lie down in your bed."
Clio's position and doctor Bryce's position were only separated by a medium-sized bed. The rest Clio has enough space to run away from Doctor Bryce if the doctor keeps forcing her to lie down. But the exit was right behind Doctor Bryce's men. Clio tried to focus her mind so she could escape from this place and not become Doctor Bryce's guinea pig.
"I said I'm fine. If that bastard general wants to punish me here, just leave me alone. I don't need any medicine."
"Yes, you need to." Doctor Bryce looked over his shoulder and motioned for his men to move.
Clio noticed the movement, swiftly moved to the right and dodged doctor Bryce's men who started moving to catch her. Clio pushed a man who was trying to block her path hard. The man tumbled backwards and Clio jumped over him with ease. But the other two people chased after her. They tried to pull her hair and block her from reaching the exit. Clio elbowed the man in the head, then kicked him hard in the stomach until the grip on her hand was released. After that Clio punched a female doctor who had a syringe in her hand. A suspicious-looking green liquid glittered in the tube. Clio grimaced softly, she shouldn't have to hurt a woman. But she had to. In order to protect herself, she kicked the woman's arm hard and stepped on the syringe that had fallen from her hand. Green liquid spilled and pooled on the floor.
Clio smiled satisfied seeing her work. Years of training with her father was very useful in protecting herself. She then hurried towards the exit and forgot about Doctor Bryce who was waiting for her at the door.
"Don't make me have to hit you too."
Doctor Bryce gave a small smile. He suddenly grabbed the doorknob and opened the door wide.
"You want out right? Come out."
Clio frowned in confusion. She was getting more and more alert because she was sure this was all just a trap.
"What are you planning?"
"No idea. Hopefully you can find a way out and escape from the Hyperion troops. Because if you don't, you'll be caught and tied up for injections of serums that are more lethal than the serum you just squandered on the floor."
"Thanks for the warning. But I won't be caught by the Hyperion army."
Clio walked out, still alert as she passed Doctor Bryce's body leaning against the door frame. And before she left, she turned her head to Doctor Bryce for an apology.
"I'm sorry about them. I didn't mean to hurt anyone."
"Don't think about them. I will treat them."
Clio hurried away and didn't even look back. She remained alert to whatever could happen around her. Especially the kindness of Doctor Bryce who generously allowed her to go. She wasn't sure Doctor Bryce would let her off that easily. There must be something doctor Bryce is planning.
Clio followed her instincts and turned left. She didn't know where to get out of this place. But luckily the area around the place was empty. There was no one but her here and so many doors. Clio tried to approach one of the doors closest to her. She put her ear to the surface of the door. There was a voice she could hear though faintly. Clio then pressed the doorknob and tried to push it inside. Unfortunately it was locked. She then tried the other doors and they were all locked. She then walked away from the hallway to look for the fire stairs so she could get down from this place.
Where exactly is she now? She does not know. She didn't even know which floor she was on. She might be at the very top of a building, or in the middle of a huge pile of floors. Clio wondered why this place was so empty. She had circled, in every hallway she passed, but she had not found the exit. She finally gave up and chose to sit on the floor because her legs were sore. Looks like this place has no exit. Or one of the closed doors she goes through is the exit. She hadn't even met Bryce's troupe of doctors after walking around this place. The former room also no longer exists. She was sure she had taken the same path back to her room, but she found only an empty, deserted hallway.
Frustrated, Clio pressed her head against the surface of the door and closed her eyes tightly. She was sure this place had something like bugs and tiny cameras that she had never been aware of. If that was the case, General Colten would have known that she had beaten the white-coated men until they lay helplessly on the floor. And Doctor Bryce had let her out of the room on purpose because Doctor Bryce knew she wouldn't be able to find a way out.
In the midst of the frustration that surrounded her, suddenly Clio heard a low beep from somewhere. She gasped in surprise and stood up alert. All the doors around her were still tightly shut. But she recognized the low beep as the sound of a door lock opening.
"Who is there?" Clio asked quietly. Sweat dripped down her forehead. She did not carry any weapons to protect her. If Hyperion's army came to capture her, she wouldn't be able to defend herself or escape from them.
Clio's eyes rolled left and right, making sure all the doors were still closed. Suddenly the door at the end of the hall swung open. Clio held her breath, waiting until a foot appeared and someone's face came from behind the gap in the door. The woman turned to her with a big smile and moved towards her excitedly.
"Clio! I finally found you."
"Giselle? What are you doing here?"
Clio walked towards Giselle. She was still wary, but there seemed to be no one else she could trust here other than Giselle. At least Giselle had shown kindness worthy of her trust.
"Taking you out of course. I heard Doctor Bryce tell General Colten that you ran away and injured his men. You have to get out of here, Clio. This place is not safe. You'd better go to building B. That's where the women who are being prepared to carry General Colten's babies are."
Clio's body froze. She stopped in her tracks and glared at Giselle sharply.
"I don't want to carry that bastard general's baby. I'm not a bitch."
"At least it's much better there than you hanging around here. This place is a prison. Soon the Hyperion army will come for routine checks. We have to get out of here."
Giselle's hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards the still open door. Clio frowned in confusion, wondering how Giselle would open the door. She was sure a few minutes ago she had tried to open the door, but it remained locked.
"How did you know I was here. In this hallway." Clio spread her arms, making gestures in a frustrated motion.
"I have sharp instincts."
Clio narrowed her eyes. She couldn't believe whatever Giselle was showing her right now. Her facial expression looks unnatural. Her smile was bland and stiff. It seemed that there was indeed something that Giselle was hiding. But she was forced to follow her to walk out of this place. There was a fire stairs behind the door that Giselle had just opened. And it surprised Clio because she had come here before using the elevator.
"Where is the elevator I saw a few hours ago when some Hyperion soldiers dragged me here."
"It's somewhere in another hallway. Every ten minutes the doors here will change and their positions will change. You'll get lost if you don't carry a map like this." Giselle showed Clio a small screen wrapped around her wrist. There were two red dots flashing on the screen which were their vital signs.
"Is there anyone else being held here besides me?"
"Yes. General Colten punished several people in this place."
"I thought only the Black Hole prison belonged to general Colten."
"It's a special prison. For criminals with unforgivable crimes."
Clio nodded in understanding. She heard rumors that her father was being held in the Black Hole prison. Several others told her that her father had died. No one knows for sure where her father is now. Her father never returned after attacking with some of the Centurion's soldiers. All this time she had been trying to find her father in the various places she visited with the Centurions, but still her father could not be found anywhere.
"Let's go. In five minutes the Hyperion army will arrive."
Giselle grabbed her wrist and carried her down the fire stairs quickly. Clio nearly tripped over her own feet as she was pulled down one step at a time. She had tried to warn Giselle to let go of her hand and let her walk alone down the stairs. But Giselle seemed to be deafening and not listening at all.
"How many stairs do we have to go down?"
"Pretty much. You're being held on the eighth floor."
"This is crazy. You have to let me walk alone. Let go of my hand, Giselle."
"We have to hurry, Clio. The Hyperion army has entered the building. They move using the elevator."
"You shouldn't have to help me like this." Clio stopped talking to catch her breath. She felt the oxygen around her running low and her heart pounding harder and harder in her chest.
"Yes I have to. You shouldn't be caught and sent to the Black Hole because of what you did today. Hang on. A little bit more."
Clio didn't pay much attention to what was in front of her and just let Giselle drag her increasingly heavy steps. Her legs moved in sync with Giselle's tug on her wrist. She was panting and nearly crashing onto the grass when at last Giselle led her out of the building and locked the door behind her.
"Breathe slowly and relax. Everything will be fine."
Clio knelt down and breathed heavily. She wondered why Giselle wasn't panting at all like that. Giselle was even still able to stand proudly while watching the area around them which was very quiet.
"Why do you seem fine and not panting like me?"
"I've been trained. Remember that I've been a resident of the White Wall since this place was just a small building to develop medicines needed after the war. I've been trained to run around the stairs like before." Giselle smiled proudly. Her chest swelled and her hands pressed against his chest.
Clio ignored the woman and focused on herself who was still gasping for air. She told herself to relax so she could think of her next plan.
"Ok, I'm fine now. Where are we going?"
"Building B. It is at the front, not far from the dining room. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Positive. Let's go from here."
Giselle smiled a little and led Clio to building B through a path made of beautiful river stones. This time Clio had no other choice but to follow everything Giselle said. After all in this place everything looks gray. She didn't know who was truly a foe or who was truly a friend.