Drip. Drip. Drip.

Kim twitched at the noise of water dripping into the room. Maybe she was finally going crazy. It had been years since she had gone outside and the amount of human contact she’d had was ridiculously small. Besides the doctor and the occasional nurse, Kim had been cut off from humanity for four years. Until today, she had been staying for four years in the same room. She was woken up by one of the nurses, who gave her clean clothes then escorted her to this new room. Kim cursed silently at herself for not running then, escaping this hellhole she was living in. Why hadn’t she run?

Because they’ve tamed you, that’s why. Kim shook her head. God, she was crazy. Looking around the room, she smirked. They had put her in an interrogation room. She hadn’t done anything. It wasn’t possible. Being in one room for four years limits what one can do with their time. She put her head in her hands, and a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

“Is something funny, Kimberly?” came a female voice. Kim looked up and a frowned a blonde woman sat in front of her. Her hair was held in a tight bun. She had strong cheekbones and was too skinny to be healthy.

“Who are you?” Kim asked, glaring at the woman as if it would make her disappear. She knew this woman. Clara that was her name, Clara Blake.

The woman ignored Kim, folding her hands together in front of her. Before Kim had been taken here she had dreamed of being like her, sickly, pretty and feared. Now, she wanted the exact opposite.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Kill her. Kim twitched.

“Do you know why you are here?”

“Because I’m different.”

Clara smirked at her, the edges of her mouth turning up slightly.

“Is that what you think?”

“I know it.”

“Why (maybe ‘how’ instead’) are you different, Kimberly?

Kill her. Do it now.

“Because I can kill you.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“You don’t believe me?”

Clara was smiling even more now. Kim gritted her teeth.

“Oh, I do I don’t think you have it in you. You could never go through with it.”

“Really? I think I could.”

Do it, then. Kill her.

“You’re too nice to kill someone, Kimberly.”

“Who told you that?”

Clara sighed, no longer smiling . Then she reached down next to her, pulled up a brief case, and placed it on the table. Kim chuckled.

“You know, I swear I’ve seen something just like this before, maybe a movie? TV show? Heck, maybe both,” Kim said. “I can’t really remember, though. It’s been so long since I’ve seen TV. I think about, four years? Though I could be wrong. I haven’t gotten to see a calendar of late either.”

Clara ignored her. “The company has agreed to let you go,” she began as she opened the brief case, “under certain circumstances.”

“Uh-huh. What’s the price? You want me to b a spy for you? Or do your dirty work?”

“The board of directors is curious. They want to see how you’ll do in a ‘normal’ environment. We’ll give you a tracker so we know where you are, and we’ll check up weekly to see how you’re doing.”

“Why’s the board so interested in me ? Don’t try and deny it. You just want to see if after four years of confinement I’m really safe because, to you, I’m just an monster.”

Clara’s smirk returned.

“Smart girl. But don’t worry; if you prove yourself to be safe enough we’ll leave you alone. Unless, of course, you start to cause trouble. Then you’ll be right back in this room.”

Kim thought it through. She tried to think of anything they could possibly be trying to get by doing this and could come up with nothing. It seemed fair enough. If she stayed out of trouble, they’d leave her alone and she would be free.

It sounded easy enough.

So as you can see the first chapter has been edited by my wonderful friend Kathryn! Thanks so much Kat! Anyways hope you enjoy this edited version!

Caroline