ㅤㅤHer heart thumped in rapid rhythmic beats, thudding through her body, and a drop of icy sweat rolled down her forehead, running down chin line and onto her own arm. Twitching at the feeling of something wet on her shoulder, Сelina crawled backwards on the bed in fear, looking around as if there was someone or something in the room besides herself. Her heart was pounding and her breathing was getting heavier, and her hand dropped to the side of the bed and fumbled for something, a ragged stuffed toy barely visible in the darkness. Without thinking, she grabbed the little devil, pulling him to her and curling up on the bed, trying to calm the frantic pace of her heart, which was trying to jump out of her chest and make her take her last breath. Inhale. Exhale. She breathes deep and slow, feeling her body shudder with each successive convulsive exhalation. She's not crying, no. Only animal fear envelops her from head to toe, but she's learned to deal with that too, over time. A few more breaths, and then she's almost calm, her body shuddering only occasionally, a reminder of the stress she's been through. Feeling her lips dry, the girl rises from the bed, fumbling for a bottle of water on the bedside table and taking it in her hands, she takes a few sips. It gets a little better, and Lina sits down on the edge of the bed, rubbing her eyes and only now realizing that she's lying in her street clothes. "Ah, it's nothing..." — flashes through her mind, and the girl fixes her red hair, pulling it away from her face and revealing her forehead for a couple moments, before letting go of the strands, causing them to fall back onto her face. "What time is it?" — her hand reflexively reaches for her smartphone, immediately unlocking it. "Twelve at night?" — she sighs, — "I thought it was at least three o'clock." Her gaze falls on the red messenger notification circle, and after a brief moment of thought, Celina opens it along with her correspondence — it turns out to be a cool chat room where everyone writes some nonsense — and is about to put the phone aside, but she's interrupted. The noise coming from the kitchen sends shivers and chills down her spine. "Parents?" — is the first question that arises, — "No, they aren't due until morning. Then...what?"
ㅤㅤAlmost silently the girl gets out of bed. Scary. She takes a few quiet steps toward the door, still holding the plush toy. Leaning her ear against the tree, Lina focuses on the sounds behind that one. Quiet. She can't breathe a sigh of relief, there's danger hovering around - at least she can't shake that incomprehensible feeling. "Is there really someone out there? Did I forget to lock the door? What should I do..." — she fumbles around the door, unable to do anything. This continues until the barely audible monotonous creak of the floor can be heard behind the door again. Breath catches, and heart sinks in terror. Body stiffens, and cotton legs take a step backward. The muffled sound of feet echoes through the room. Celina freezes. Everything seems like a nightmare, so unrealistic that she wants to wake up. "What should I do? What should I do?" — panic begins to take over and the girl has no choice but to walk over to the bed and, stuffing pillows under the covers, hastily hide in the closet herself, leaving the door barely open and hiding in a pile of her belongings. "Even if it's a dream, I need to hide," — she huffs and waits, — "If someone is really in the house, I'll hear when they come into the room." She holds her breath for a second to listen, and at the same moment clamps her hand over her mouth to hold back a scream. From the side of the door, treading silently on the barely creaking laminate flooring, something — a tall figure, completely black with a white head — comes out and stops in front of the bed. Her lungs constrict for lack of oxygen, wanting to take a welcome breath, but this creature, taller than the girl by several heads, is right there. It's frozen right above the bed, as if thinking or waiting. "Mom...I'm scared..." — she doesn't even hide her fear from herself, recognizing how much she would like to be in her parents' arms right now, just to make this nightmare end, — "Please...go away...please." The girl takes a breath, clamping her hands over her mouth to make less noise, gulping air greedily, holding herself back, and then looks through the gap at the thing. Her heart leaps to her heels. Resinous bottomless eye sockets of varying shapes point straight in her direction. She can see nothing else but them. And then everything goes dark.
ㅤㅤ— She should get better, don't worry, — a woman's voice came through the humming in ears, — It's good that you got her here in time. It's been twenty-four hours, she should wake up soon. Yes, I'll call you as soon as she comes to.
ㅤㅤThe fingers of her left hand twitched, and in the meantime her eyelids slowly opened.
ㅤㅤ— Oh! She's awake now, don't worry, we'll keep an eye on her, — the woman said, starting to fumble with something in her hands and moving closer to Lina, — Come back in the morning to talk to the doctor. Goodbye.
ㅤㅤBlurry gaze can't focus on anything around, darting in and out, trying to get a grip on something, only gradually making out a few things around — the hospital room and the blue-clad nurse are the only things she can focus her floating gaze on. The nurse takes another girl's arm, sticking a needle into a vein, inserting it under the skin, making her shiver. "Ouch..." — she wasn't in pain, more like discomfort, and even through all the confusion the girl feels at least something.
ㅤㅤ— Lie down for now and rest, — the woman finishes with the IV that stands next to the bunk, and then raises her hand up, — How many fingers?
ㅤㅤCelina focuses on the stranger's palm, frowning her eyebrows slightly.
ㅤㅤ— Two... — the nurse nods satisfactorily.
ㅤㅤ— Your parents are coming tomorrow morning. You'll be discharged a little later, because we need to monitor your condition, or better yet, send you for a checkup if there have been any such cases, — she picks up the girl's medical records and heads for the exit, — You fainted, so you'll have to stay here for a while. The call button for medical personnel is on the wall to your right.
ㅤㅤWith those words, the woman smiled and walked out the door, leaving Lina to herself. Her thoughts slowly began to unravel and her mind began to clear. Taking a deep breath, she covered her eyes for only a moment, but the back of her eyelids were imprinted with something remotely similar to what had happened the night before in her house. Goosebumps traveled down her body, and Celina shivered. Red strands tangled and came up into her face, but the girl was in no hurry to remove them. "What on earth happened? Do my parents seem okay?" — all she was interested in at the moment, — "Time...?" — her hand reflexively reached for the place where the nightstand usually stood, but not finding it there, the girl came to her senses. "Right, I'm not at home," — she looked around: there was a chair near the bed, on which the girl's home clothes were neatly folded, her backpack was at the bottom, and on top of the clothes was a cell phone and a soft little devil — it looked exactly the same as it had been given to her by her parents for the holiday: not a single torn seam, not a single thread sticking out. Not believing her eyes, Lina rubbed her eyelids, returning her gaze to the toy. The smiling devil looked even more cheerful than before, as if he was glad that the girl was finally awake. Reaching out her palm to him and hesitating for a second, Celina still pulled him to her, beginning to examine him. Twirling her friend around in her hands, she was taken aback. "He's exactly the same...no different," — she peered into the spitfire's inky eyes, as if trying to discern the authenticity of her companion in them, — "It's really Ren," — Lina summarized. That would all be fine, but...how? She remembered exactly that the toy had been torn to shreds by her classmates. What had happened in the first place? "If I believe that I was faint...then from what point? And then what was all the stuff I saw earlier?" — the questions imposed themselves more and more, but the answer couldn't come at this moment. Everything was too confusing and strange. Along with that, an inner sense of disbelief in herself overwhelmed Celina with incredible intensity. Was everything she was seeing around her true then? As if to check the reality, she pinched her hand as hard as she could, then yanked it away. "It's not an illusion," — the answer comes immediately afterward, — "Then..." — her hand reaches for the smartphone again, and it unlocks almost immediately. Eleven o'clock in the evening. "How long have I been unconscious?" — Lina is horrified, mussing the red top of her head. Everything around her now seems somehow even stranger and more dangerous, — "I'll be fine..." — the girl tries to reassure herself with a similar conviction, though it rarely ever helped her. Her finger touches the screen's touchpad, opening messenger — there in the class chat room, messages from her classmates are visible. "I won't even read it," — she decides, and switches to a dialog with her mother. "Lina, how are you feeling? Is everything okay? What should I bring you in the morning?" — the girl sighs. Such care has always seemed excessive and sometimes undeserved to her, but she can't force her parents to treat her differently. And does she even need to? Of course not, — "It's okay, I'm better now. Of the things...I want glazed cheese curd," — her finger touches the send button. Celina thinks for a couple minutes, but still writes a new message. "Mom, did you fix my toy?" — she holds her breath, hoping for a welcome answer, — "No, it got torn somewhere? When you get home, I can sew it up," — everything turns upside down. Now events are even more confusing, — "No, it's okay, I imagined it." The phone is next to her on the bed, and her eyes are drawn to the pludh toy that had been lying on the girl's lap all this time.
ㅤㅤ— What happened, Ren? — there's no answer, so she can only sigh.
ㅤㅤSleep wouldn't come. It became unbearable to toss and turn in her unfamiliar bed, and Celina climbed out of the warm bed, immediately putting on her soft slippers. She stands up on weak legs, ready to go to the window, turns around and picks up her toy and phone. Two hours and forty-one minutes. The cell phone flies to the bed again, and the toy clutches tighter to her chest. "Even though I don't remember or understand anything, I don't want to leave Ren," — she touches the ink devil's forehead with her nose for only a moment before straightening up and walking toward the exit of the room. Reaching the door, she yanks the handle, quietly slipping into a gloomy hallway that resembles one similar from horror movies. "Why is there only creepiness surrounding me lately?" — of course, getting an answer to the question would be much scarier than not getting one, so the girl shakes her head, warding off all sorts of thoughts. She made her way down the long, white, beige wall-to-floor corridor to the landing, which, fortunately, was not locked. The yielding door creaked open, echoing in the deserted hallway. "Still creepy..." — taking a step into the stairwell, Lina headed upwards, passing about nine floors and eventually ending up on the roof. Stopping far from the edge, she sees a dimly lit street, with cars driving along it, companies bustling about, discussing something and laughing wildly. Her gaze drifts upward to the beautifully bright lunar disk — the yellowish glow around it is mesmerizing — and Celina stares up at the celestial body floating in a myriad of stars.
ㅤㅤ— It's beautiful, — she said aloud, sighing.
ㅤㅤOnly now does she notice that she's wearing a pastel mint-colored hospital shirt, and on the left side of her chest hangs a tag with a number — seventeen. "A number?" — she perplexedly raises an eyebrow, lifting the garment and examining the label, — "What else is that for? That's odd...I should have looked up my room number," — with that thought she lets go of the taut corner of the shirt and hugs the soft toy again. After waiting a few more minutes and savoring the beautiful moonlight, Lina takes a step back, turning around and heading for the rooftop exit. Just as she opens the door, she sees pitch blackness. There is absolutely nothing to see. "What is it? Where's the light?" — only somewhere four floors below, a glow could be seen, — "Okay, I'll have to be careful. I don't really want to break anything," — stepping slowly and carefully down the stairs, the girl finds herself on the floor where the light was on — the number seventeen greeting in large print right at eye level. "Seventeen again? This is really starting to get scary..." — peeking through the stairwell, she realizes there's no light downstairs either.
ㅤㅤ— It might be night, but they could have left the lights on through the floors instead of on one... — Celina says out loud, slightly irritated, turning back to the floor where the lights were on in the hallway. Her eyes widen for a moment, then narrow afterward along with the oncoming frown of her eyebrows. "A doctor?" — she sees a tall man standing there in the depths of the long walls, standing right in the middle of the road, — "Someone's gotten sick, maybe? Is it worth approaching...but why?" — an incomprehensible obsession arises instantly, as if screaming that she must approach this hospital worker, and unable to resist, the girl takes a step into the doorway, finding herself on the seventeenth floor. Contrary to her obsessive thoughts about various scary stories from the Internet about ghosts and all sorts of evil, she takes another step forward, soon just calmly approaching the unfamiliar, as it turned out, man. When he's a few meters away, Lina's voice comes from behind her.
ㅤㅤ— Uh, excuse me, — she begins cautiously, slowing down, — I think I forgot my floor and room number. Could you help me?
ㅤㅤShe could not think of anything more convincing, so she began her speech with such a request. As she passes the remaining distance, she pays more and more attention to the white head and the imposing stature of the man in front of her. Something in her chest tightened as she almost reached the figure, but she stopped suddenly in confusion as she took off, a measured but brisk step separating the distance between herself and Celina. "He reminds me of someone..." — she jumps up from her seat following, — "White hair...medical coat...too tall..." — the step slows for a moment as the man rounds the corner into another wing. She sees his neat profile and her heart goes to her heels and her body begins to shake. "It's him..." — the look of white eyes hasn't erased from her mind since imprinted in it, — "But what's he doing here? Doesn't he work as a teacher at the Research Institute? Then why..." — a barrage of questions floods over her head, only to be realized when the silhouette disappears completely behind the wall. The girl jumps up from her seat, running the entire distance from the middle of the corridor to the turn. The man is already somewhere in the distance, and she has to run after him as fast as she can. Obeying an unknown feeling inside, she tries to catch up with the so-called "doctor" to find out why he is here, though she realizes that she will probably not get an answer. She throws off her slippers on the way, sliding on the smooth tile surface, and continues to run barefoot. There's another turn ahead, and another. "How many corridors are there in here?" — Lina exclaims in frustration, turning again and seeing the man in the robe walk through one of the doors, — "Finally!" — she leaves behind the last meters to her destination and stops, trying to catch her breath and paying attention to her bare feet. Her chest is buzzing from running like this and it's hard to breathe. About a few minutes pass. "Should I come in or would it be better to wait here?" — she shuffles from foot to foot, feeling uncomfortable in the deserted hallway, and still, she takes a few knocks on the door and lowers the handle, stepping inside and peering out from behind the door. The room inside turns out to be empty. "Wait, what?" — Celina can't believe her eyes, she steps inside the room, closing the door behind her and looking around the room. No one. Not a single living or non-living soul.
ㅤㅤ— Is anyone here? — the voice stutters and trembles slightly, but quickly returns to normal, — Excuse me?
ㅤㅤNo reply follows, only a sepulchral silence hangs in the air, filling the space around with a kind of forgetfulness and longing. "I must have gotten the door confused..." — it would be a foolish decision to make such a conclusion, since she had definitely entered the right room, but to accept the fact that no one is here...a chill runs down her spine. Pictures of the night's events resurface with painful memories, as if someone had pulled a switch in a dark corner of her mind. "Ouch, my head hurts...why would it hurt all of a sudden?" — the girl grabs her head with her hand, leaning down. The pain doesn't go away, — "I should go back to the room and go to bed. Too much going on in a day," — she turns back around, lowering the doorknob and, closing the door behind her, steps out into the hallway. Dazzling white tile on the walls, white tile on the floor, and a long endless hallway on either side is what comes into view as soon as Celina raises her eyes in front of her. A minute passes in agonizing anticipation. The confusion numbed brain, preventing from making even the slightest bit of sense of the situation. Hands reflexively reach for eyelids, rubbing them. Nothing changes. And again the action is repeated. There is no result. "What?..." — is all that flashes through the sickly empty head before the girl turns on her heels back and grabs the doorknob behind her. The door opens and a hospital room comes into view — there are about ten beds on either side of the wall, with nightstands next to them to the right of the headboard. Celina slams her eyes shut. Genuine shock plays across her face with pale colors. "What...is...even...going on?" — she yanks open the door, examining that and the hallway to either side. It's empty. No one and nothing. "And...what's next? I don't understand what to do now..." — the girl takes a step into the chamber, walking inside closer to the center. Her attention is caught by the numbers above the beds — eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Feet stop by themselves in front of the number seventeen. Gaze immediately falls on the tag on the left side of the nightgown. "Is it a coincidence this time too...?" — Lina jerked her head, chasing away the new intrusive thoughts, — "Nonsense. It can't be. It's probably just a bad dream I'll wake up from soon. I must have fainted again. Okay, since it's a dream, there's nothing to be afraid of..." — she exhales convulsively, calming herself down, and she actually feels better. Since it's a dream, what's there to be afraid of? That's right, nothing. She already has nightmares almost every night, it's a regular thing for her, so there's nothing to be afraid of this time either. The girl takes a quick glance at the soft toy, grasping it tightly before heading for the exit. Opening the door and stepping out into that long hallway, she stops, noticing someone's figure not particularly far away. "I should probably go in there, even if, if it is some kind of monster, it's only a dream. There's no point in being afraid," — she steps relaxedly in the direction she's facing, approaching the figure — a girl a little taller than Celina, with pitch black long straight hair, the same color eyes, and pale aristocratic skin stands still for a moment, then steps down, apparently walking away around the corner of the corridor. "A trick of the eye? Well, of course, in a dream it's just like that..." — Lina speeds up her step to a light jog, making an audible thumping sound on the floor tiles with her bare feet, and in no time she is around the corner, where the girl disappears behind another one. Celina follows her again, avoiding many turns: all the corridors are similar, and she forgets how many times she had to turn around. Eventually she manages to get as close as possible to the stranger, who in turn turns another corner and finds herself facing a double door. "I'll just observe for now," — Lina trails off into a huge room filled with a crowd of people, and manages to notice that everyone here is exclusively girls. Her gaze moves around the room: still the same white walls, no different from those in the hallway, nothing of furniture or any other distinctive things. And now her attention is drawn to the men in bright yellow radioactive suits positioned around the perimeter of the room against the walls, weapons clutched tightly in their hands. Her body shivers at the sight of them, and her legs shake slightly. Walking deep into the crowd, Celina stops somewhere in the middle, hiding her red head between a few taller girls. They only glance around unhappily, and at Lina herself, who clutches plush toy tighter to her chest. None of the people present say a word, but there is a tense, hostile aura flying around that makes you cringe. Attention is drawn to what begins to happen up ahead. An obese man of very short stature with his bangs brushed to the right side steps out in front of the crowd so that he can barely be seen behind the rest of the people and adjusts his glasses in a businesslike manner. He stands much farther back from the crowd.
ㅤㅤ— Welcome, ladies. My name is Dr. Samuel. I am the deputy director of the Dr. W.D. Gaster Laboratory Complex, the founder of this wonderful place you are fortunate enough to find yourselves in. This laboratory is located in what is known as the "anti-void," that is, outside of time and space. Time does not flow here, there is no limit to matter. Consequently, every open door leads to the unknown. Only personnel can move freely through the complex, regulating the direction of matter in the void. What about you? It's simple. There's only one reason you can't do that — you're test subjects, brought here for your own purpose. Each of you knew why you came here. Your drive and determination are commendable. Turning to your purpose for being here, the laboratory is based on experimenting on test subjects to create a "higher being" — a matter that controls the anti-void. An object that has reached its limit point is subsequently given the name null-void, which in turn denotes its belonging to the void. However, our experiments have been failing lately, however sad it may sound, so the probability of crossing the boundary to the Null-Void object is extremely small. But don't get upset! Perhaps you will be the one who can surpass your own hypostasis. All the previous willing participants in the tests failed the final stage, failing to reach the required indicators. But most importantly, in the course of many studies, the scientists of the Complex came to the conclusion that the most resistant to the effects of drugs are female especially under-aged, so it was decided to stop at girls of fourteen years old. If we talk about the experiments being conducted, there are four stages, each of which is regulated by separate groups of scientists engaged in the study of astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology. Each of the personnel is located in the appropriate allotted place, later you will learn their location. In addition, you may notice guards and other subordinate staff. Hmm, should I tell you about the final test? Ha-ha, it's best to keep it a secret. We're done with introductions. Since one hundred subjects have arrived this time, you will now be divided into several groups of ten, each group will be assigned a supervising scientist, a so-called "doctor", and later taken to the wards. Please behave calmly and do not cause conflict. You may begin.
ㅤㅤThe man shook his head, waved his hand and began to watch the sorting process, looking around the crowd. His quick glance was quite deft, it was as if he could immediately look in the crowd for the right person, as if he knew in advance where he stood. His gaze seemed to glide over the tags on the left side of his chest — everyone who was here as a test subject was dressed in a pastel mint shirt with a label on it. Celina's face turned pale after what she had heard, and it seemed as if she stopped breathing for a moment, waking up only when she was yanked by the shoulder and dragged somewhere to the left. The place in front of the girl was already empty, and her gaze swept over the russet-haired man who had spoken earlier — his eyes widened so much as if he saw something truly terrible in front of him. Not understanding why he was looking at her like that, the girl only hurriedly turned away, noticing how many people around were looking at her with a similar expression. "What's wrong with them? Do I look terrible or something? Okay, forget it, it's just a dream," — Lina exhaled a sigh of relief, obediently heading towards one of the guards who had already gathered her "team" together, then trotted off himself, indicating to follow him.
ㅤㅤThe corridors looked much the same as they had on the way to that semblance of a hall. The eyes of the others were no longer on Celina, who followed the rest of the group at a leisurely pace. It seemed to her that this time it took much less time to get there than before, and that seemed odd. "Wait, didn't that scientist say something about emptiness and changing space," — she looked thoughtfully at the demon plush in her hands, — "Does that mean...wow. Such an unusual dream. I'm starting to get curious about what's going to happen next, but it's worth being prepared for some..." — her musings were interrupted halfway through.
ㅤㅤ— Your room, — the man in the yellow suit opened the door, ushering the girls inside, — A supervisor will be with you shortly. Make yourself comfortable.
ㅤㅤSaying this in a very monotonous manner, he closed the door from the back, leaving the girls to themselves. Each of them took their place without delay, making themselves at home on the beds, which Lina was a little surprised by, because this behavior was unusual for her. On the contrary, she slowly walked to her seat, looking at the number above the bed. "Still a dream," — the conviction worked as before, so the girl quietly sat down on the edge of the bed that was located on the right wall from the entrance of the room. After her was another bed, in which her newfound roommate was already snoozing. "I wish I could fall asleep so quickly in a new place," — the soft toy was on the bed, and Celina lay down next to it, covering herself with the edge of the blanket. She was extremely uncomfortable in her new place, not to mention being in the same room with strangers who could throw out anything at any moment. She squeezed herself into a ball and covered her eyes, hugging her plush and feeling the stares of strangers on her.
ㅤㅤAbout an hour passed. She couldn't sleep, on the contrary, she was growing anxious inside, because the sensation of the gaze of other people's eyes was climbing up her skinny back, getting under skin, going through gut with an intrusive chill, which gave off a periodic shiver in her body and a freezing of her heart. She didn't understand why it was happening. "Even if it's a dream, this kind of attention to my person is extremely alarming," — she thought, until the doorknob creaked and a visitor appeared on the doorstep. A tall white-haired man silently stepped into the interior of the room, stopping somewhere not far from the door, apparently not planning to stay long. Glances drifted toward him, and Lina was no exception. She sat up on the bed and her eyes widened in surprise, for she had failed to catch up with this man earlier. "But what's he doing here? Wait..." — the obese man's speech, the exhibition, and the words of that unremitting fellow who had called him sort of came to mind... — "...Dr. Wingdings? So the acronym W.D. is Wingdings, the last name, and Gaster is the first name? Or is it the other way around? Wingdings is the first name and Gaster is the last name?" — gray eyes stared at the now-familiar clipboard in the stranger's hands. To look up at his face...the mere memory of his white, seemingly glowing eyes made girl shiver. "But if this is a dream...will his eyes be the same? Usually dreams don't have such clear details," — her gaze slid higher from the papers in his hands to his face, her heart seeming to skip a beat. The white irises stare straight at her, eating a huge bottomless hole in her, sucking in everything around her, consuming her very soul like a tidbit. Celina breaks into a cold sweat, but she can't look away from those eyes, and she just continues to stare meekly into those pupils, afraid to even take a breath, not even trying to remember why she ran down the corridor after him that time, why she apologized, why she ran into him at that exhibition, why she found out about him at all. But there's something else about it — she's drawn to that penetrating gaze. But why? It lasts for about two seconds, but feels like an eternity. When the image of the white circles with pupils becomes blurred in her gaze, and their owner is not in the room, Lina blinks a few times, still looking at both of the man's eyes. The girl blinks several times, still seeing both of the man's eyes in front of her.
ㅤㅤ— Why do you keep looking at me like that? — came out of her mouth faster than she could think, and then she stopped talking abruptly, startled out of her boldness by the anxiety that had sprung up.
ㅤㅤ— Why? So you're one of those people who play hard to get? — a firm and contemptuous voice is heard somewhere to the left of the girl, and she turns her head in that direction, — Don't pretend. How could you attract the attention of the founder of this laboratory?
ㅤㅤ— Get attention? — Lina is stunned by such a statement, staring at the black-haired aristocrat in front of her and raising an eyebrow, — What do you mean? I don't understand what's going on in this place...it's just a dream.
ㅤㅤIt seemed it was now time to wonder about all the girls currently in the same room with Celina. That's about how it felt from the outside.
ㅤㅤ— Are you kidding me? Everyone here... — the dignitary began to speak, but was interrupted by Lina's sudden quick remark.
ㅤㅤ— Wait! I have no idea what I forgot here. It's true! — she awkwardly raised her hand forward, holding the toy with the other, — If you can, please explain before you continue to accuse me of anything.
ㅤㅤSeveral of the girls looked at each other uncertainly, some fixed their hair casually, and some coughed.
ㅤㅤ— So, you mean you're not here to become an immortal and higher being, roughly speaking? — the question was asked by another girl. She had a pretty face, big green eyes, and blonde hair tied into two low ponytails.
ㅤㅤ— Ha...ha-ha, what? — hysterical laughter burst out faster than Lina could answer the question, — I've never dreamed such nonsense before.
ㅤㅤShe shook her head, looking at the devil in her hands with her eyes, then continued.
ㅤㅤ— So...why are we really all here?
ㅤㅤThe awkward silence lasted for a moment, as if mourning all previous knowledge of this place, as if preparing Celina for the awful truth that was about to be spoken aloud.
ㅤㅤ— They say Dr. Wingdings never gave anyone the number seventeen before, — came the black-haired woman's muffled voice, — I heard that it was once the number of an experiment that took his own life. Since the moment he disintegrated in time and space and lost his true identity, no one had ever gotten that number. And here you are, bearing that fateful number.
ㅤㅤHer finger swept upward, pointing at Celina in a threatening gesture that made the girl pull back slightly.
ㅤㅤ— We don't know what he saw in you, — the black eyes burned a hole in Lina, — But since you're wearing that number, things are worse for us than we thought.
ㅤㅤA lump rose in her throat at such words, and all she wanted to know now was the only question twirling on her tongue in impatience.
ㅤㅤ— Is this not a dream? — her voice trembled, sounding high pitched.
ㅤㅤ— No, — she said, her eyes resinous, and one could see that there was a flame of enmity in them and a longing to get rid of the girl in front of her, but there was no way to do so, for no one knew the consequences of such an action.
ㅤㅤThe staring would have continued for a long time if the tension had not been broken by the sound of the door opening. A familiar obese man appeared on the threshold, rocking back on his heels with his hands folded behind his back, and strode into the room, stopping and stretching a playful smile that looked more like a lewd one. He looked around at everyone present, shaking his head up and down approvingly, then put his fist to his mouth and coughed as he began his speech.
ㅤㅤ— Ladies, I am your supervising doctor. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, — he smiled smugly, walking a little further and stopping not far from Celina, — What a wonderful number! Very symbolic.
ㅤㅤAfter saying that, he looked at the girl with his eyes. His gaze became repulsive. Only a sick freak could look like that. Such a conclusion is quite valid in this situation. Lina, contrary to her inner feeling, did not reduce his gaze in response, wanting to show that she would not allow herself to be treated like a piece of meat. Realizing this just from the coldness of her eyes, the russet-haired man grinned, fixing his bangs back into place, then turned and headed for the exit. There he stopped in the aisle and continued.
ㅤㅤ— Gray eyes...impressive, — Celina had no way of knowing why that phrase was said, — Although time doesn't run here, we have a schedule for the day to keep you in shape for further experiments. So every morning you will be awakened by guards and sent to meals and baths, experiments, and you will have plenty of free time while the serums work on your body. I think we're done here. It's an honor to be your host. Rest easy, ladies.
ㅤㅤHe took one last look around and, with a tsk-tsk, left the room, leaving the girls with the guard.
ㅤㅤ— Bedtime is at ten p.m. From then on you are allowed to leave the room for the restroom, just go to the door and make a gesture, — he raised his right hand up and showed the word "restroom" in sign language, — Repeat after me.
ㅤㅤThe gesture was made again, and everyone began to repeat it. It didn't work the first time, but it was enough to memorize it at least muscularly.
ㅤㅤ— This gesture works only at night, otherwise, warn me by knocking on the door itself, — he was silent for a second, and then continued, — It's bedtime, the lights will go out in five minutes. Good night.
ㅤㅤThe figure in the yellow suit walked out the door, and a countdown timer appeared on the wall at the end of the room, exactly in the middle. Celina gave a surprised sigh. "Wow..." — she was gripped by an unbearable feeling of panic inside, growing only stronger with each passing moment. But what to do about it in a situation like this, when the reality she thought was a dream turned out not to be one at all?