Hex had found that he was able to think more clearly. The sedative must have started to wear off. Dr Farrell reappeared and stood beside the table, frowning down at Hex.
'Prepare the injection,' he barked at a passing scientist. 'He's coming round.'
Hex's muscles involuntarily tightened. What injection were they going to give him? He couldn't help but feel completely terrified; this was a research centre therefore the injection he was about to receive had probably never been tested before. The consequences were vast and possibly deadly. He was distracted from his own problems when he tuned in to the conversation that Dr Farrell was having with another scientist.
'We've got another older one out in the storage room, sir. A girl.'
'Really? Any relation to this one?' Dr Farrell jabbed his finger in Hex's direction.
'Not even a slight chance. She's black and has an American accent. They seemed to know each other though.'
Dr Farrell's eyes narrowed. 'Are you absolutely positive that they both came with the last shipment?'
'Yes, sir.' The scientist was looking about nervously, as though searching for an escape route.
'Why, then,' Dr Farrell grated, 'is she American?'
'We've had American orphans before, sir. They move over here with their parents, the parents die, there are no living relatives or any guardians laid out... Quiet often orphanages over here take them in. Sir.'
Dr Farrell frowned and narrowed his eyes at Hex. 'Where's this one from?'
'Sounds like London, sir.'
'London? And you said that they appear know each other?' He paused. 'How well would you say?'
'Quite well from the way they were acting. Very close.' The scientist cleared his throat, not liking the way that the conversation was going.
'So, Hunter. One is from America, the other is from London. They know each other and seem to be very close. What would that tell me?'
'I-I don't k-know, sir,' Hunter stuttered.
Dr Farrell was on the verge of answering and possibly strangling his employee when a scientist bustled up carrying the vaccine.
'Here you are, Dr Farrell,' she panted. 'Got it as fast as I could. Straight from upstairs.'
'Batch number 6B?' Dr Farrell picked up the vial of vaccine and peered at it.
'Yes, sir.'
'Thank you, Alloway. Go and see if Dr Hascot needs any help with her tests.' Alloway scuttled off. Hunter started to slink away but Dr Farrell stopped him with a stern glare. 'I said Alloway, Hunter.'
'Oh. Right. Do you need my help, sir?'
'What do you think?' the doctor snapped. 'Of course not. But having you here, next to me where I can keep an eye on you, will minimise the possibility of another explosion.' Hunter dropped his eyes to the floor and circled his foot, nervously. 'Clear?' Dr Farrell turned to look at the young scientist.
'Yes, Dr Farrell.' Hunter kept his eyes downcast.
Dr Farrell dropped his voice so Hex couldn't hear. 'Make yourself useful; talk to our subject. Find out all that you can about him and the other girl in storage. I have a bad feeling that they're not from the last shipment.' He stepped back and raised his voice again. 'That idiot Alloway had messed up the vaccines. I'll be back.' The doctor strode away, muttering, 'If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. When I get my hands on that girl...'
Hunter smiled tentatively at Hex. 'Hi.'
Hex felt sorry for the young scientist but he wasn't willing to be friendly. No matter how badly treated he was, he was still a part of this horrific practise. He glared at Hunter. The scientist stepped backwards and fiddled with the edge of the table.
'What's your name?'
'Like I'd tell you,' Hex spat.
'I'm just doing my job. No need to get angry at me.' He leant closer to Hex and whispered, 'Word of warning. Don't try any funny business or the girl will pay.'
'Get away from me.' Hex turned his head away from Hunter but felt nervous all of a sudden. What if he was telling the truth?
'I've seen it before. Twin girls came in here. Eight years old they were. One escaped and tried to set fire to the building. Dr Farrell caught her and made her watch her sister get eaten alive by some of his experiments.' Hunter shuddered. 'I can still hear her screaming.'
Hex rolled his eyes, convinced that the scientist was neither telling the truth or completely sane. He tuned out Hunter and looked at as much of the lab as possible. From his rather constricted position on the table, he couldn't see much. The door that he had been wheeled through was directly behind him. To his left and right were more tables, some empty and others with small children strapped down on them. 'I gotta get out of here,' he muttered.
Dr Farrell strode towards them, the correct vaccine clutched in his hand. 'Finally!' he exclaimed. 'We can get underway.' He prepared the injection before leaning over Hex, a wicked smile on his face. 'Don't move.'
Before Hex had time to react, the needle slid under his skin and Dr Farrell was pushing the plunger down, flooding his bloodstream with the vaccine. Within seconds the injection was over and Dr Farrell was standing up, dropping the used hypodermic in a bin by his feet.
'There,' he cooed. 'That wasn't so bad.' He gave a smirk before yelling, 'Hunter! Move you arse!' He strode off, Hunter cowering behind him.
Hex lay on the table, his eyes closed, wondering what was going to happen to him now.
'So what's this plan of your's, Alex?' Li asked.
'It's very simple. We get a van and hide it down here. We can get the kids out and voila!' He smiled sheepishly. 'Does sound kinda crap, doesn't it?'
'No, no.' Li paced anxiously. 'It's a good start. We can use the van idea. That's good.'
'What about Hex?' Paulo reminded them.
'We get him out too.' Alex's jaw was set stubbornly. 'No one is going to be left behind.'
'How?' Three heads turned towards Amber in surprise. She had been so quiet that they had almost forgotten she was there. 'He was taken away by some scientists. I don't know where they took him.'
'We find Hex, then we get him out,' Li said.
'I'll go find a van.' Paulo got up and jogged off into the night, leaving Alex, Amber and Li to carry out the other tasks.
'I know this seems harsh,' Li said,' but I think we should concentrate on getting the kids out and then focus on Hex.' Alex and Amber nodded reluctantly. 'We will get him out though,' she added, seeing the look on Amber's face. 'Promise.'
'We should go and have a look. Start getting some of the kids out before Paulo gets back.' Alex walked over to the trapdoor and peered inside. 'Am I going first?'
'Go for it.' Li gave Alex a gentle push and followed him down into the tunnel, Amber close behind her.
'Follow it until you get to the end,' Amber said in a low voice. 'When you get to the doors wait. I'm not sure whether there will be any scientists or guards in there. Li and Alex nodded before starting down the tunnel.
No one spoke until they reached the doors.
'Ready?' Alex opened the door a crack but it was impossible to see everything.
'Ready.' Li moved into a fighting stance, prepared to defend herself should the need arise. Amber nodded and Alex pushed the door open. They froze but the only sound was the slightly muffled sniffs of seriously scared children.
'I think it's clear,' Alex murmured. He cautiously stepped into the storage room, an angry frown settling on his face. 'What the hell?'
'It's awful, isn't it,' Amber said sadly as she and Li joined Alex in the centre of the storage room.
'How could someone do this?' Li hissed. She looked around her. Out of the twenty or so kids in the room, only eight appeared to be awake. The others lay in their cages, completely still. 'They probably just want to forget about it all.'
Alex felt sick. He moved towards the nearest cage and peered in at the little girl huddled in the back. 'Oh no.'
'What?' Li didn't like the tone of Alex's voice.
'I don't think they're sleeping.' His eyes scanned the room, searching for something to pick the lock with.
Amber read his expression and moved towards the main door that she and Hex had come through. 'Here's a key. It might open all the padlocks; they all look similar.'
Alex caught the key and quickly unlocked the padlock. He gingerly reached his hand in and tried to find a pulse on the tiny girl's wrist. He tried her other wrist and finally her neck, just under her jaw. Alex withdrew his hand and shook his head. Nothing.
'What about the others?' Amber's voice was barely a whisper.
Alex was already opening cages. 'Check their pulses. I have a really bad feeling about this.'
Sorry if it's kinda short but the next chapter should be up soon. My two brothers and mum are going away to Noosa on the weekend with my Nanna so I shall have a chance to work uninterrupted. Once school starts again (only three days; argh!) updates should be fairly slow as I shall have tonnes of school work.
