Chapter 21: What am I doing here?
Jelena:
It’s dark when I awaken. My visions hazy, and I can barely see a thing. That’s the bad part of being in the middle of a forest where your nearest neighbor is seven miles away, and the only sounds here are of birds and squirrels. For some reason, my head throbs excruciatingly. Arching my neck, I blink my eyes in hopes of clearing my blurry vision. I must have fallen asleep at an odd angle last night because every muscle in my body feels stiff. Taking a deep breath, I try to relax my sore muscles and move around to alleviate the ache, but my body will not cooperate. And that’s when I come to the realization─ I’m not in my bed. Eyes wide, I look down and sob in horror when I see that I’m actually strapped to a chair.
Suddenly, the memory of what happened rushes through me. I remember two men coming to my house and attacking me. Frightened, I blink my eyes, trying to adjust my vision. That’s when I see the barren white walls and the examination table. The first thing that I notice is that there are no windows. The room is large, rectangular, with several computers and large halogen lights. There’s a door, but no doorknob. I struggle against my restraints, trying to free the straps, but nothing happens. Panicked, I call out. “Hello? Is anyone there? Please, someone, get me out of here!” I scream and scream, but there is no response. I am seriously freaking out at this point. After several moments, I slide back down the chair in exhaustion. What is this place?
I sit silently on the chair alert for the next few hours, but no one shows up. Eventually, I fall into an exhausted sleep until I’m suddenly awakened by the sound of the door sliding open. Alert, I face whoever is coming through the door. Several men in doctor’s jackets stride inside and circle my chair. Every part of me is stiff with terror, but I don’t let them see it.
It doesn’t seem to matter anyway because the men are completely apathetic to my fear. They simply observe me as if I’m some kind of bug under a microscope. Mouth dry, I lick my lips and nervously mumble. “Who are you, people? Where am I?” The men ignore me as they reconvene behind my chair and begin to whisper. I might as well not be in the room. My ears perk up when I hear one of them whisper. “This is her. The subject has been spotted having sexual contact with this female.” All of the men nod their heads and glance down at me curiously.
Trying not to cringe, I watch as one of the men leans close and grasps my chin firmly in his hand with a brutal grip. Heart pounding, I struggle beneath his ministrations. “Who are you, people? What do you want from me! Tell me! Tell me!” Unfortunately, my struggles and cries only incite their ire. Annoyed by my behavior, one of the men loses patience and slaps me across the face with an enraged growl. “I suggest you shut up before things get worse for you!” I recoil back, horrified at his cruel words.
The man gives the others a withering scowl, then turns to me and sneers. “Do you want to know why you’re here?” Swallowing hard, I carefully nod my head in reply, which seems to make the man’s sneer deepen. “Well, let me tell you...” He mutters as he slides his hand across my bitten shoulder. Thankfully, the thick sleeve covers the bite, but it doesn’t stop me from flinching in pain. “We know you’ve been fucking Traeger. Now, the question is…” He says, releasing my shoulder and grasping my chin to face him. “How long have you been with him?” I shake my head, trying to deny his claims. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Who is Tagger?”
The man quirks a brow with a sneer and slams my head hard against the headrest. “So, you’re going to deny screwing Traeger?” He mutters sardonically. Before I can reply, he takes a tablet from one of the men’s hands, pushes a few buttons, and turns the screen to me. “How do you explain this?” The video is of Traeger and me in my bedroom, naked. I gasp in surprise. My face pales as I watch the video of Traeger and I kissing and grinding. Thankfully the video has no sound and seems to be recorded from a good distance. It also seems to begin after Traeger showed me his Lycan form. However, that doesn’t stop humiliation from running through me as the men watch the video too. How dare they watch such an intimate moment between Traeger and me? The bastards snicker and give each other sly looks as they watch the video.
My anger rises, and I begin to struggle in my restraints. “You sick, perverted assholes!” The man pulls the tablet back, shutting it down. One of the men takes the tablet, winking and leering at me craftily. I want to rip the knowing smirk on his face. The man who showed me the tablet moves back to my line of vision. He stands before me putting his hands on his back. “Did you like the video Jelena? I have to say to someone so young, you are very well taught in the art of oral pleasures.” The other men laugh mockingly at his words. He gives me a knowing grin placing his hand on my knee. “Now…as I was saying. How long have you and subject Traeger been screwing? How did you two meet?”
His words penetrate my angry haze. I realize then that they have no clue what I know. They might know that Traeger and I are sleeping together, but they don’t have a clue that Traeger is on to their secrets. This seems to be more about Traeger and me screwing than what I know about the Institute. I sit back, relaxing in the chair. I give as much of the truth as I can without giving Traeger’s plan away. My silence angers him because he moves closer, wrapping his hand around my neck. “ANSWER ME!” I try to pull away, feeling my oxygen restricting. “We met a few days before the video. He was running in the woods. I thought he was hot, so I told him to come back to my room. I didn’t know that he was some wacko in a hospital. Seriously, I mean, this is what this place is. Isn’t it? Is he like some psycho or something? Shit! Are you his doctors?” The man looks at me suspiciously. “What makes you think this is a hospital?” I look around the room, feigning innocence. “Well…I mean, the walls are white, and all of you are wearing doctor scrubs. Hence hospital. I guess it has to be a loony bin by the fact that you have me strapped down and are concerned with Traeger’s outside activities. Makes sense.”
He looks at the other man, who quirks a warning brow. The man turns back to me. “Yes, Jelena. Traeger is very dangerous, and it concerns us that he has been going around with a young female. Has he told you anything else?” I shake my head nonchalantly. “What would he tell me? He came to my room, we made out and had oral sex. That’s it. He was just a good time.” The man takes a moment to think. The other man nudges his head towards one of the computers. They walk away, whispering quietly.
The man walks back towards me. I try to remain calm. “Please, my family is probably worried about me. I told you everything I know. Can I go now?” The doctor gives me a pitying look before he says. “I’m sorry, Jelena, but we can’t let you go.” Angry at his decision, I begin scratching and screaming, but they are not fazed by my struggles, instead of arguing any further. The doctor snaps his fingers, signaling for the men to hold me down on top of the chair. I can see the doctor walking over to a nearby table. He reaches out, taking something in his hand. Then he moves closer to me, pulling out a syringe. I cringe back into the chair, trying to get away, but he injects me. Then the world goes black again.