So ten minutes turned into two days. Sorry to the few people who actually read this, haha. Maybe more people will read it soon. It doesn't really matter to me, since I'm just doing this for fun. Originally, I wasn't even going to post this, but I figured some people might enjoy it, haha. :) Anyway... I forgot to mention Nikki's powers in the bio. She, like Nico, can read minds, but she tends to use it more often than he does.
Oh, yeah. Yes, there is a bit of cursing in this chapter. It's in context, though. You'll see when you get there. Just thought I'd warn you. So if that kind of stuff offends you, you have been warned.
I know I'm totally jinxing myself by saying this, but expect the next chapter soon. I won't say how soon, in case it doesn't end up happening that way, but soon. I'm gonna start typing it right after I post this, so maybe that will help with my really bad updating problem. Read my other stories to see what I mean. XD Review! Nico POV
The scientist deposited me unmercifully into my too-small dog crate. He locked it and walked away. I glared at him until he was out of sight, then I automatically turned and scanned the cages around me, checking on all of my flock.
Mitchel lay curled up in his cage, asleep. He looked exhausted. A huge purple bruise adorned his small cheek, and he had a couple of deep gashes in his arm.
Cassie, and Alexis, her twin, were talking quietly in the cage they shared. The whitecoats only considered them one experiment, so they were forced to share everything, including their cage and food.
Across the room from me, hard-faced Nikki was looking off into space, deep in thought, as usual. Her eyes were squinted slightly, and her hands were clenched tightly into fists. She was thinking about Jasper. I knew that even without using my mind-reading.
I looked over at Brendan, whose cage was next to Nikki's. He shot me a small grin.
"Hey, Nico. What'd they do?" In response, I held up my left arm. On the back of my hand was a small scab where they had drawn blood. He nodded sympathetically.
I sighed, hunching down in my cage. We'd been here, the School -- in Texas, I think -- for as long as I could remember. Our whole lives. We're a motley crew, I guess. See, we're the only fully-intelligent, English-speaking, mostly-successful experiments in our room. We'd been friends for most of our short lives. I was the leader, I suppose. I hadn't been elected or anything, it just happened that way. Maybe it was because I was the oldest, or the strongest, or maybe I was just leader material. Whatever the reason, the rest of the flock looked up to me, and I'd rather die than let them get hurt.
Just then, a whitecoat opened the door and walked in, interrupting my thoughts. Immediately, every experiment's gaze was on him. Mitchel snapped awake, Cassie and Alexis stopped talking, and Nikki turned to stare straight at him, in that creepy way she had. Some kids whispered, their eyes shut, some crossed their fingers. We all prayed that the whitecoat wasn't coming for us.
The scientist pretended not to notice. He stopped in front of Alexis and Cassie's cage.
"I want that one," he said, glancing at his clipboard.
Cassie's face turned cold. She glared at the guy. I knew what was coming next. The twins hated the way the whitecoats treated them, like they were one person.
"Which one?" she said icily. "You know, there's two of us in here." Alexis shrank back nervously, the less confrontational of the two.
The whitecoat frowned, looking surprised at Cassie's response. You'd think they'd learn by now. Then his gaze hardened into anger.
"You don't talk to me like that," he said.
"Yeah," Cassie retaliated, "actually, I do. And I also cuss. So go to fucking hell, you fucking bastard." I winced. That kid cussed like a sailor.
The whitecoat looked shocked. In one swift motion, he opened their cage. But before he could do anything, Cassie had jabbed him in the eye and bitten his arm. He shrank back, crying out, his arm dripping blood. He slapped Cassie across the face, and she sat back, seething.
"You'll pay for that," the whitecoat muttered, examining his arm.
"Oh, will I?" Cassie asked, then lunged for him again. But this time, he was ready. He stuck a syringe into her arm, sedating her. Then he carried the limp Cassie and the struggling Alexis away. Brendan watched them go with silent indignation written all over his face. Lexi was his best friend.
Life here was awful. We were treated like objects, equipment. Sometimes death seemed better than carrying on life here, but we had no choice. This was misery. Misery in a dog crate.