She seemed shocked that I had responded, as if she hadn't thought I'd be able to speak at all. Her composure was quickly recovered, though, and she consulted her notes again.
"Right. Well, you're wanted in Lab Eight. So, if you'll come with me." She unlocked my cage and held the door open as I crawled out. I stood slowly, watching her closely. I didn't like where this was going. No one in my flock had ever been to Lab Eight, but we'd heard the rumors. No one came back after being sent to Lab Eight, because that's where the executions were held.
I could see Ash as the white coat turned to lead me out of the room. He was pressed to the front of his cage, his knuckles white from clutching the bars so tightly. All the blood from his face was gone. Beside him, Lyric sat in her cage, just beside the door. She had tears streaming down her face.
"Lillian…" she started, but I shook my head. If anyone was going to die today, it would not be my sister. I was going to make sure of that. And Lyric, always so small and compliant to do what others told her, listened to me. My sister, the only blood relative I knew I had, shrunk back quietly and lowered her head to her knees. forcing her sobs to be quiet. It broke my heart, but I knew I had to do this. So, lifting my head high, I turned and followed the blonde white coat out of the room.
"You're new here," I said as we walked down the halls. She gave me the same startled look she had before, shocked I could actually deliver a coherent sentence. It made me want to roll my eyes, but I didn't think that would end very well for me. She cleared her throat slightly, obviously determining whether or not she should respond. After a moment's pause, she did.
"Yes. I am new here," she told me stiffly. "But that won't stop me from doing the job I was given. The avian-human experiment has become outdated, and the lab wants to start over. Begin a new process which will result in better, more definite results." She spoke of it proudly, as if she had no doubt that this was how things would turn out. "First, however, they would like a final assessment of your generation to see what you're capable of exactly. That's what you've been chosen for, experiment eleven. You'll be tested and your results will help in the creation of a better, more advanced being." She gave me a big grin, as if this was terrific news. In response, I gave her a grimace that wiped the smile right off of her face.
It was obvious to me now just how new she was. Perky, excited, and so ready to prove her worth to the other white coats. She hadn't even brought an Eraser along for back up. If I were Ash, she'd be bleeding from some part of her face by now. Unfortunately, I wasn't as strong as he was and not as keen on getting in trouble. More than all of that, though, she was way too willing to offer up information. Death row or now, most white coats wouldn't even bother with a conversation. But hey, I've never been one to pass up a good thing.
"So they're going to kill us," I said, prompting her to tell me more. Instead, she pursed her lips, her face scrunching as if she didn't quite like to think of it that way.
"No…" she said lightly. "Not just kill. They're going to learn from you. Use you to be better."
"By killing us."
She sighed, pursing her lips again and giving me a look that suggested I was nothing more than a stubborn child who wouldn't eat their vegetables.
"Experiment eleven, you've proven to be…special. I can see just from looking at your papers that you're different from the others. Your withstand pressure better than any of the other avian-human experiments, and your stamina is off the charts. Your reflexes are more responsive than we've seen in a while and I can see now that you show a much clearer understanding of human interactions than they have given you credit for." Holy shit, this was my sister she was talking about. My tiny seven year old sister, who cowered at the sight of her own shadow. was outranking all of us in terms of experimentation. As sickening as that was, I couldn't believe it. "This is why you should take pride in being the one the Board of Directors has chosen to give the final assessment. It's your work thus far that has given you this opportunity."
Opportunity. I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't get my mouth to open. The Board was in for a rude awakening when they found out which experiment they were really getting for this final assessment. Not experiment eleven, that was for sure. Though, by the sounds of it, my standing in Lyric's place wouldn't have much of an effect if they were planning to kill us all anyway. Still, there was always the chance that this would give the others the bit of extra time they needed to escape. That thought…that single possibility…made everything else seem okay.