"Fine." She breathed, it was scarcely louder than a whisper, but that was enough for Jack, he smiled real big and laughed for a while as if the answers surprised him to no end. The delight of getting his way was that of sheer craziness. What had Nadia gotten herself into?

"I was hoping you were going to agree. All that I require of you is to allow me to do an extra procedure on you. It is so cool and amazing I can't begin to tell you. It's a surprise and you will find out when you wake up from this routine procedure with the added bonus of the mystery surgery. Lucky you, lucky you." He was poking Nadia playfully, but nothing about what Jack was saying seemed to lighten anyone's spirits. Nadia was waiting to hear the information about her brother, but Jack seemed to be withholding the information.

"Well, aren't you going to tell me about my brother?" Nadia was getting frantic, knowing full well that there was only a few more minutes before it was too late for Jack to say anything concerning her brother.

"I'll tell you, geez, don't get your panties in a twist." Jack paused for a moment, deliberately trying to freak Nadia out, before he continued. "He is alive and from what I have been told he is doing exceptionally well. Does that satisfy your curiosity for now?" Nadia let out a sharp breath, as if the air in her lungs was forced out by the news of her brother. And for the first time in a long time Nadia was unable to keep her emotions in check and a tear fell down her cheek. A feeling of relief filled her being and for a split second a wave of calming peace flooded her. By closing her eyes, if only for that same brief second she could imagine her brother beside her. The last of her family was alive, for sure. Jack had won this round against Nadia, but to her it was well worth the loss to know that she was not alone in the world.

"All right you little pretties, I don't think I have to introduce you to this room again, do I? Good, your counterparts are waiting inside and your surgeries will start momentarily." Jack opened the door, and stepped in. Nadia still had the tear on her cheek and she quickly made a move to wipe it away before anyone could notice. It was too late though; James had already seen it and sat up straight in his chair with a look of concern on his face. When Nadia went to sit next to him she tried to cover up the fact that she had cried, but James was not stupid, he knew what he saw.

"What the h.e.l.l happened? I know what I saw so don't try to deny it, spill it, now." James was not in the mood to argue and Nadia did not put up much of a fight. They only had a few minutes before they were to start the operation so Nadia only had about a minute to give James the sparks notes version.

"For the first time since I came here I found out whether or not my brother was still alive. He is alive, and doing fine. I can tell you more afterwards." James took the information he was given and was satisfied for the moment. It was no longer than two minutes later that James and Nadia were called up for their turn. Together they walked up, side by side. Jack smiled down at Nadia and gave them a brief explanation as to what procedure this was.

"In this round of surgery the two of you will be receiving a new set of ears. Since they have to be done at the same time the surgery will be a bit longer. When you first come out you will not be able to hear anything, your bodies have to heal before we can turn them on. It will be at least of week of silence, I hope you have a lot to think about." Jack have a satisfied grin as he turned to Nadia.

"For you Nadia, your little extra something special with be an additional few hours. Enjoy and I'll see ya on the flip side." Jack shoved the two of them in before James could get a word in. There was a flash of concern on his face as Nadia was whisked away from his side and sent to be prepped for the surgeries. He had not been informed about Nadia's little deal with Jack and he would have to wait until after the ears were turned on to find out exactly what had happened. Nadia did not look at James but stepped forward through the doors embracing her fate.

Chapter 6.

With the surgery complete Nadia was returned to the infirmary to recover and heal with the rest of her group. She was still unconscious when the hospital staff placed her in the bed beside James and he looked at her with eyes full of questions and uncertainty. For the staff working in the infirmary it was odd not having any noise whatsoever. Usually the four of them squawked and rambled endlessly during their recovery time, since there wasn't much else that they could do. But without being able to hear one another communication was difficult and thus not attempted very often, hence leaving the room in nearly complete silence. James watched over Nadia's unconscious body for nearly an hour before she awoke from her medically induced slumber.

Nadia opened her eyes and she could tell something was different right away; as though something in her mind had changed. Unaware of James's stare Nadia had a face of utter confusion and fear at what they had done to her this time. Not only could she not hear but even the most human and central part of her being had been tampered with and Nadia could not just sit there feeling like a foreigner in her own head. She remembered Jack saying something about an extra procedure, but she had not gotten any more information than that. By putting one and one together Nadia related the violated feeling in her mind to the extra procedure Jack had been talking about.

Nadia finally looked over at James and her mind reeled with knowledge, as though her mind had downloaded a vast amount of information. She grabbed her head and while sitting up she appeared to be swaying in her bed. James's look of bewilderment was lost on Nadia as she continued to hold her head and rock back and forth trying to ease the tension in her mind. Her mind was trying to tell her something but the rest of her being was not ready to handle it. It was though there was a voice in her head whispering softly, barely at hearing level. All this was happening in Nadia's mind and though it was silent all around her within her mind chaos ran rampant.

James knew that something was wrong with Nadia, she was acting strangely and the look in her eye was that of a mad person. Though he could not hear his own voice he knew that by yelling he could get somebody's attention. By taking a deep breath he filled his lungs with enough air to let out what he thought was a loud yell for at least a full thirty seconds. In little than two minutes there was personnel all around him but he only pointed to Nadia and with silent words asked them to help her. Speaking to her would do no good.

With little left in the form of help they injected Nadia with something and she fell limp and her eyes closed. They had used a sedative to calm her and then left to fetch one of the doctors and Jack. In a few moments the group arrived and looked down at Nadia, unconscious. James could tell they were talking but was unable to understand what they were saying since most of their backs faced him so he couldn't get a good enough look to read their lips.

"What the h.e.l.l happened to her?" Jack demanded to know, shooting glares all around. The doctors looked at one another and then turned to the infirmary staff and let them answer the question.

"We were checking up on the supplies in the back room when we heard James screaming. At first we thought something was wrong with him, but then he pointed to Nadia and asked us to help her. When we saw her she was swaying back and forth holding her head and whispering softly to herself. Fearing that she could turn violent at any moment we sedated her and called you." Jack was pacing in front of Nadia's bed glancing at her with uncertainty.

"Could it be the implants causing this?" Jack asked, looking to each of the doctors. The short, stubby doctor stepped forward and examined Nadia's eyes and then ears, checking for any mechanical malfunction that could have caused it.

"It's possible; none of the other mechanical parts are damaged or malfunctioning. Perhaps it is just her body's way of adjusting to the new equipment. Let's keep her sedated for a few more days while her body adjusts to the ears and implants in her brain." He stepped away from Nadia and looked back at Jack. Jack too, seemed to concur with the plan and with the solution decided they left the room. The staff was informed to keep her sedated until further notice. Commenting that they would come back to check on her in a few days. The staff nodded and the doctors and Jack took their leave.

James continued to watch over Nadia's unmoving body until he grew too tired to keep his eyes open any longer. Rebecca and Michael also kept a lengthy watch over their comrade and friend. A few days after the incident the three of them were cleared to turn their ears on. The doctors, along with Jack came around and sent the electric impulses needed to turn the mechanical parts in their head on. This time James was first since Nadia was still out of commission.

Once the shock was sent a ringing started in his head but cleared out after a few seconds. The sound was similar to how it was before but, it was like trading in your old T.V. for an HDTV. The sound quality was better, and from what they were told it could hear more frequencies and when concentrating they could hear from farther distances as well. With their sense of hearing back James, Rebecca and Michael could converse with each other once more. But before they could Jack and the doctors circled around Nadia, preparing to see the fruits of their labor pay off. The sedation drugs were wearing off, and if their hypothesis was right then they were going to see a drastic change from delusional madness to controlled intelligence.

Nadia was easing out of her sleep and when she opened her eyes she saw Jack and the doctors hovering all around her. Since her hearing had not yet been returned to her waking up in silence with a group of people standing all around her she was caught off guard and bolted upright. The whispers in her head were still their, but more audible now. They were telling her all sorts of things in all sorts of languages. The crazy thing was, she could understand each language. It freaked her out and with wide eyes she stared at the doctors around her. Their lips were moving but no sound was coming out. Then out of nowhere she heard their voice speaking to her in her head. They were talking about her, and how she still seemed to be getting used to the implants and it might take some time for her to adjust completely.

"What implants?" Nadia could tell that she was speaking even if she couldn't hear it. This caught everyone in the room off guard and they all stared at her. The doctors were obviously not expecting her to be able to understand the scope of the implants as fast as she did. The doctor looked at her and had a puzzled look on his face.

"Can you understand what I am saying?" He looked at her with hopeful eyes and waited for her response. Nadia did not understand what the big deal was, she heard what he was saying, why wouldn't she understand him?

"Of course, why? Tell me about the implants." Nadia was getting impatient and wanted to know what was going on. The way they were looking at her was setting her on edge and the faster they could tell her what was going on the faster she could get rid of the pit in her stomach. The doctor glanced at the other doctors as well as Jack, whom was grinning like there was no tomorrow. Each of the other members of the group crowding around her nodded as if agreeing to some unspoken question. The main doctor turned back around to face Nadia and starting talking to her in German.

"What is your favorite color?" He asked the question in German and for a split second Nadia was confused by the language. But the implants in her brain processed the information and translated it to a language understood in her brain. A look of surprise crossed Nadia's face and she replied in German.

"What does my favorite color have to do with the question I asked you?" All the doctors in the room smiled and laughed at the accomplishment they had discovered. Jack went up to Nadia and grabbed her hands in his and held them while grinning down at her. Without speaking he mouthed some words to her.

"The little something extra I did for you was have tiny cybernetic implants embedded into your brain. They allow you to translate any language and to speak any language you see or hear. There is also a tracking device hardwired into those implants so that we know where you are at all times. Remember that, and your welcome." Nadia was confused but knew enough that she could tell that Jack had something up his sleeve and that his little escapade with her was not over yet, not by a long shot.

The doctors, having finished testing Nadia and turning her ears on, left for the day with promises of a return visit the next day. Once the ringing in her ears stopped and she looked around her she knew that she had some serious explaining to do, especially to James. Rebecca had known about the extra procedure and the newly disclosed information about Nadia's brother but was unaware of the kind of procedure that was done to her. Nadia felt the eyes of all of them piercing her and she knew that she had to confess all the knowledge to her comrades and friends.

"Now, I am going to ask you what the h.e.l.l just happened here and also about before but I am in a state of shock right now so give me a second to wrap my head around it." James was commenting from next to her and Michael could only nod in agreement. Rebecca held Nadia's gaze for a moment, giving her a silent request for understanding. Nadia looked down, giving the boys a chance to let what had happen sink in before she went into the previous events and how she had gotten to where she was. James took a few minutes to breathe deeply and think to himself. After those few minutes were up he looked back to Nadia and nodded for her to start explaining.

"When Jack was leading us here he started to try and make conversation with me, but I brushed him off. He got ticked and said that he knew information about my brother-"

"How does Jack know about your brother?" James interrupted, unsure of how the two things connected. Nadia gazed over at James tears threatening to fall down her cheeks.

"When I was brought here so were my sibling, my little sister Sonya and my big brother Dmitri." Nadia took a minute to swallow the lump in her throat and Rebecca had a puzzled look on her face.

"If you had a younger sister, shouldn't she be with us in the community housing development?" Rebecca was trying to make sense of what Nadia was saying but the comments were not matching up with reality for her. Nadia moved her eyes to look at Rebecca and she could hold back her tears no longer and a pair of tears fell down her cheeks in near perfect symmetry.

"Before I was brought to the housing development my sister and I underwent some tests. By then they had taken my brother as from us. We had tried to escape once before so they thought by removing my brother that my sister and I would not go against them anymore. Little did they know that I was the one who orchestrated the plan and lead the way out of our cell. When I went off for my testing my sister tried to escape again and without a single thought they shot her and dragged her body back into the cell where she bleed to death. I came back from my tests drugged and barely able to move. Then I saw my dead sister lying in the center of a pool of blood and went off the deep end. Next thing I knew I was unconscious." Rebecca had moved her hands to her mouth in horror at what Nadia was relaying. James and Michael were awestruck and almost disbelieving.

"So, let me get this straight you were brought here with your siblings, all three of you?" James questioned, unable to grasp that concept. Nadia could only nod, tears filling her eyes and the lump in her throat blocking any words from coming out. James shook his head as if he did not believe, or refused to believe it. Nadia forced the tears back once more to finish telling James about her conversation with Jack about her brother.

"When Jack brought up my brother I agreed to his proposition. I wanted to know so badly about how my brother was doing, if he was still alive, anything. Jack said that if I agreed to do an extra procedure he would tell me whether my brother was alive or not. I thought about it and decided to agree to his terms. I really, really wanted to know, more than that I needed to know. He told me that my brother was alive and I was so full of happiness and relief that I let my emotions slip for a split second and a single tear found its way to the surface and down my cheek." Nadia had relayed all the information concerning her brother. "He is all that I have left, I just couldn't bear to lose him too." James frowned at her statement and c.o.c.ked his head.

"What do you mean, what about your parents?" That was too much to ask of Nadia at the moment, and all the work she had done to compose this wall of stone around her emotions crumbled at the inquiry to her parents. Perhaps the wall had never been st.u.r.dy, but it had held up during more physically torturous events. This emotional onslaught was tearing this wall down brick by brick. Her tears at that point could have been related to a waterfall, gus.h.i.+ng from her tear ducts at an alarming rate. James felt a pang in his chest as he internally scolded himself for being so dumb. Her statement should have been enough for him but he had insisted about knowing more, and now that cost Nadia to feel so much emotional pain. Had they not been restrained to their individual beds James would have comforted Nadia. The best he could do was call out her name and rea.s.sure her that she was fine.

"It's all right Nadia; you don't have to answer the question. I was just being a dumb a.s.s, ignore what I said. It's alright, you don't' need to cry. Please, Nadia, I'm sorry." James tried as best he could but there was nothing for him to do but sit and wait for Nadia to finish. By letting all the built up tension, stress and sadness out Nadia would feel better. With all the things happening in her life at the moment she had a lot to release. For having her parents killed, by getting kidnapped, her brother being taken away, her sister killed, her eyes and ears replaced, and now having to face all the painful memories again and all at once. After Nadia had cried away all the built up tension and pain she wiped her eyes and looked James right in the eyes.

"My parents were killed right before I was kidnapped with my siblings. They were torn apart and left as little more than shreds of flesh in a pool of blood." Nadia wiped her eyes and nose with her sleeve and James just gazed at Nadia.

"I am sorry for making you cry. I feel like such a a.s.s hole."

"No, it's fine, I needed to get it all out. It was going to happen one way or another I knew that. Every day that I suppressed my emotions I knew would eventually end badly. It was my decision to continue to do so despite the knowledge of the doomed end." James let out a breath, as if relieved of feeling responsible for her emotional break down. That is not to say that he did not still feel bad, just that he knew it was not his fault for her crying. Rebecca had not yet said a word since Nadia had started to talk about her family and now she too was crying. She felt a connection with Nadia and Nadia with her, so when Nadia was sad so was Rebecca and vise versa.

"I had no idea that you had lost most of your family. I feel guilty now, I don't know why, I just do. All that I can say is that I am sorry." Rebecca was bawling now and Nadia glanced at her and smiled.

"It's not your fault but I thank you, Rebecca. For the entire time that I have been here you have been like a sister to me and I don't feel so alone anymore. I have you and I know that if there ever comes a time when you need me I am always here for you, know that." If the two of them could have hugged they would have, it was just that kind of moment.

"Would you be up to telling us what was up with the extra procedure they did and why you were speaking a different language?" James inquired, feeling a bit intrusive into the girl's special moment, but he wanted to know and he was sure that the rest of them wanted to as well. Nadia nodded to him and set about explaining everything that Jack had mouthed to her as well as the little experiment with the short doctor. They seemed to understand and were quite impressed that Nadia could do those things, but also felt that she was forced into the deal involving her brother. The rest of the day pa.s.sed in a sort of whirlwind, nearly all the questions that James, Michael and Rebecca had were answered and by the time they were done it was lights out in the infirmary.

The next few days were all about recovery and learning the limits of their new ears. From the outside they looked the same, but they were nothing like regular ears. As the doctors had explained they could hear things from far away and a lot more frequencies. Nadia and Rebecca tested the long distance improvement by having one of them whisper something and the other have to hone in on the quiet comment trying to 'zoom in' their hearing range. Rebecca would whisper something like, 'pickles are purple' and Nadia would hone in and repeat what she said.

It took a few practice rounds before they could get the hang of it. James and Michael mimicked the girls and did the same exact exercises. Within a few days they had that down pat. During the free time that they were not practicing James and Nadia would talk about their life before they had been 'acquired' by the company. James used to play baseball in a little league and Nadia told him about how she had loved to play the piano. They made promises to each other that when they got out James would show Nadia his game winning pitch and that Nadia would play a song for him. These sorts of promises were made between them all the time. After they got out they would go to the movies, and eat cheeseburgers and many, many other promises.

"Tell me about your mother." James asked one day. Nadia was staring at the ceiling daydreaming, but she pulled herself out of it and smiled.

"She was a Russian immigrant from Moscow. Her name was Anastasya and she loved to cook. My favorite dish of hers was this soup that was pa.s.sed down for generations. She had promised to teach me how to make it for the next holiday, but I never got the chance to learn how to make it. Anyway, she had light brown hair and warm honey brown eyes. When she smiled her cheeks would blush slightly and her eyes would squint. Every time I wanted to go out with friends she would always tell me to be safe and I would always get mad at her for being so overprotective. It seems so silly now." Nadia remembered her mother and how much she missed her. James was smiling.

"She sounds like a typical mother, wanting to protect her young ones. I wish that I could have met her, she seems like a great person." Lately James had been asking about Nadia's family, and Nadia had learned to talk about them without tearing up. Perhaps this was why James asked, to prepare her for other times when she would be asked and could not give away emotion. He was always helping Nadia even when she didn't know it.

Though the two of them had been thrown together at near random, they could not have been more perfect for each other. It was as if they were fated to be together, they had become such good friends in such a short time. Perchance it was because they sought companions.h.i.+p with each other due to dire situations, but their bond seemed stronger and more real than that. Rebecca and Michael were a mirror to James and Nadia in every sense, the four of them were close and would guard each others backs at any cost.

It was odd, being that James and Nadia had never before touched skin to skin. Through all their time together they had been held down to the hospital beds by restraints and in the waiting room they were never permitted to sit to close to each other. Contact of the opposite s.e.x was an unspoken rule set down for the subjects of the company. They feared that two people of different s.e.xes coming together would somehow spell the end for the company.

None of the children in the housing development knew the root of this rule, but it was not exactly hard to follow. Divided by an unknown amount of distance the females were kept in one housing development and the males in another. The only time that they met up was for procedures, and later when they were complete they would become a team that would carry out missions.

As Nadia's time for recovery came to an end and the staff prepared them for departure back to the housing development James and Nadia gazed at each other and sent a silent farewell to each other. Rebecca and Nadia stood next to each other and were handcuffed to each other. James and Michael were handcuffed to each other and directed out of the doors opposite of Nadia and Rebecca. Till next time. Nadia thought, sending James her telepathic message and he too, was sending his to her. Both of them seemed to sense each others meaning and gave a nod, signifying goodbye. On the walk back to the housing Rebecca and Nadia were silent, unable to talk, due to the fact that there were guards all around them as well as escorting them. When they did arrive at the development the warden was waiting for them and opened the gate in the fence.

"Welcome backs girls, I am sure that you must have had a wondrous time. Glad to see you back so soon." The warden was all smiles and rainbows, sickening to Rebecca and Nadia whom just wanted to leave. The guards un-cuffed the two of them and then went back to the infirmary as silent as they had come. Rebecca led the way back to the beds and Nadia followed behind her. As soon as she reached her bed Rebecca collapsed on it and let out a moan. Nadia stood beside the bed and smirked a bit. Rebecca rolled over and let out another moan. Nadia eyed her and threw a pillow at her face.

"What's with all the moaning? It sounds kind of weird." Rebecca smiled and moaned again as if to get on Nadia's nerves. Nadia threw another pillow at her and this time Rebecca caught it and threw it back at Nadia. She was caught off guard and the pillow landed smack in the middle of her face. Pretty soon there was a pillow fight and for a while Nadia could forget about the trials and tribulations that she had endured. That night Nadia slept well, aided by the energy burned in the pillow fight.

The next morning was like any other morning, wake up, breakfast, schooling, lunch, training, dinner, and some free time before bed. The same routine, the same everything, Nadia felt like all she was doing was running in circles, never getting anywhere. After several weeks like this Nadia was at the end of her rope. Doing the same thing everyday was boring, not to mention the food always being the same. It was as if summer camp had collided with summer school infused with a pinch of concentration camp. Nadia was a person of spontaneous actions, fueled by the pa.s.sion of life. Since coming to the company's form of prison nothing has been like it was before, not in the family sense, not in the daily life sense, not anyway or anyhow. The futile lifestyle at the company was just about more than Nadia could handle.

Chapter 7.

A few weeks later, after much of the hype about the implants and ears had died down; Nadia was lying on her bed talking with Rebecca. They were going on about the horrible dinner they had just eaten. It had been meatloaf of an unknown meat and Nadia was sure that it was making her sick. She was feeling lightheaded and so she had decided to lay down for a bit, to see if it would go away. But after lying there for nearly an hour Nadia still was feeling under the weather so she sat up and was about to alert the warden when Rebecca let out a scream. She was looking straight at Nadia and Nadia was perplexed at her alarm.

"Nadia, your eyes, their bleeding!" Nadia lifted her fingers to her eyes and sure enough they were bleeding. She brought her fingers away and saw the red. Rebecca's screams had alerted the warden as well as a security staff and they came rus.h.i.+ng in ready to break up a fight or something.

"What's going here? Who screamed?" The warden was looking around to see where the scream had originated to see what the problem was.

"It was me warden, and it's because Nadia's eyes are bleeding. I think she has to see a doctor about that." Rebecca rushed to Nadia's side and helped her get out of the bed. The warden grabbed her from Rebecca and walked her to the fence. There he called Jack and within minutes Jack was at the gate ready to take Nadia. Rebecca was screaming in the background and Nadia started to freak out. There was such a panic that Nadia began to thrash around wanting to break free, get out of the constraints and run.

"Calm down there missy, something is wrong with you. All we want to do is fix whatever has malfunctioned, to do that you need to calm down." With that said Jack called for a sedative, which only made Nadia more anxious and skittish. Rebecca was pus.h.i.+ng her way forward and right up next to Nadia.

"Take me with her. She needs me." Rebecca was pleading with Jack but he would hear none of that. He pushed her aside and grabbed the needle offered to him.

"Go away you; this is no time to get in our way. Scram if you know what's best for you!" Rebecca was thrown back and Jack used the sedative to knock Nadia out. Within a few seconds of injecting her Nadia went completely limp. At that time Jack called Daniel forward.

"Daniel, take Nadia to the infirmary and tell them to find out what the h.e.l.l is going on with her. Tell them that they had better have answer when I get there or heads will roll." Daniel lifted Nadia over his shoulder and walked through the gate in the fence than down the hall to the infirmary. Jack looked from the warden to Rebecca, but said not a word. He too then turned and headed out the hallway. Jack had the unfortunate duty to report what had happened to the head honcho and boy would he be mad.

From around the corner came Elizabeth, she had walked very briskly. Jack stopped her from entering the housing development telling her where to find Nadia. Then Elizabeth went down the hall to keep a watch over her. Bleeding from the eyes had never happened before at the company so it warranted some concern and observation. Jack marched down the hall to the stairs that led above ground. Once at the top of the stairs Jack ran to the door at the end of the hallway where he paused and gained his composure before entering the room. He was going to get an earful today.

At the infirmary Elizabeth arrived ten minutes after Daniel did and the doctors had already stated an IV. She walked over to where Daniel was standing and leaned up against the wall as he did.

"So you got any idea what the h.e.l.l went on?" Elizabeth started to question Daniel, hoping to discover every detail.

"No, I just arrived to carry her to the infirmary. When I got there her eyes were bleeding and then she started to freak out. No one knows why and the doctors are just starting a non-invasive procedure to determine the cause of the bleeding." Elizabeth nodded as Daniel spoke. She then turned to the doctors present and started to question them as they started the procedure.

"So, doctors what can you tell me? Please explain everything as it is happening." The doctors nodded but did not say anything right away. After a few minutes of prep the doctors were ready to begin.

"Our first objective is to determine the source of the bleeding, once we know that we can work to determine the how and the why, but for now you will just have to step back and let us work. Now we are inserting this small camera up her nose and hopefully we can use it to discover the source." Elizabeth said nothing as the doctors proceeded with the camera and their investigation of where the bleed was coming from. After nearly ten minutes of silence the doctor in charge said an 'Aha!'

"What, what is it? Did you find the cause, is it serious? Answers people, answers!" Elizabeth was getting frustrated at the lack of information. The doctor stepped back and another one took over the exam.

"I found the cause of the bleed. Some of the implants we placed in her brain were not accepted by the brain tissue and the brain was trying to reject them. Problem was, there was no where for them to go and so they pressed against other areas of the brain causing bleeding which came out of her eyes. To fix it we move the implants to a more receptive area of the brain." Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief. So much time and energy had been placed into this girl. She was the hope for the future, both for the company but also for the next step for humankind. Many of the new procedures were used on her and if the scientists and owner of the company were right she was going to be the next super agent. Should anything have happened to her more than just Jack would be in trouble. Elizabeth drew in a deep breath and patted the doctor on the back.

"You don't know how many lives you just saved with that. I thank you doctors and now I must take my leave of you so as to inform Jack." Elizabeth shook their hands and went out the door and down the hallway. Elizabeth's heels struck the linoleum and made a sharp sound as she strode down the hallway to the staircase. Next to the staircase, however, was an elevator which Elizabeth much preferred. Clicking the b.u.t.ton Elizabeth waited a few minutes for the elevator to reach the bottom floor. Once inside she pushed the b.u.t.ton that would take her to the ground level. Waiting for her just outside the elevator doors was Jack.

"Everything is going to be fine, just a slight case of rejection, nothing that the doctors can't fix. They said she will be fine. I came right away to tell you so you could tell the boss." Jack nodded to her and let out a sigh of relief. That done Jack turned about face and strode back the boss's office where he explained the new details.

Nadia heard sounds in the back of her mind and when she opened her eyes there was the sound of a heart monitor. Her eyes were heavy but she managed to open them wide enough to see that she was in the hospital. For a spilt second Nadia forgot what had happened and thought that she was here with her family and that maybe there had been a car crash. But, then the memories came flooding back and Nadia closed her eyes again. She must have dozed off because the next time Nadia opened her eyes a doctor was hovering over her, checking her over.

"Oh, so you are awake. That was quite a scare you put us through, but don't worry you are going to be just fine." The doctor smiled and Nadia felt odd. This must have been a new or different doctor, because Nadia didn't remember seeing him before.

"Who are you? I don't remember you at all." The words were slow to leave her lips but they did come out, if only at a whisper. The doctor heard her and bent down to her ear.

"I am new. Try not to talk too much, you are still recovering. I am going to go get you some Jell-O, be right back." And with that the doctor was gone, but he returned a moment later with orange Jell-O. Nadia tried to smile as a form of thank you but her facial muscles were still waking up and so Nadia just accepted the bowl without saying anything. Nadia entreated her arm to lift up and grab hold of the spoon in front of her. Somehow this time the anesthesia had gotten to her and her mind was fuzzy and her muscles not wanting to work with her. After a few attempts Nadia got the Jell-O from the bowl to her mouth. The next thing to do was swallow it, which Nadia did without even chewing it.

"There you go; I knew you could do it." The doctor took away the empty bowl and then came back to sit next to Nadia.

"Why are you still here? Don't you have somewhere else you need to be? Why take interest in me?" Nadia was confused by the new doctor, why did he care so much. Certainly he was not like the rest of the employees here at the company. The doctor smiled once more and just looked at Nadia.

"I am here because you had a problem, the other doctors fixed you and I want to make sure that you recover well. It is so odd that I care?"

"At this place, yes." Nadia closed her eyes again and sleep overtook her and she went out like a light. The doctor got up from his chair and pulled the covers up on Nadia so as to keep her warm.

The following three days pa.s.sed by with Nadia in and out of consciousness, and each time she opened her eyes the doctor would be standing there watching over her. Within a few days of the incident Nadia was released back the housing development and had to say goodbye to the friendly doctor she had come to like.

"I guess it is time for you to be heading back to wherever it is you come from." The doctor got up as the staff came in to prep Nadia for moving.

"Yeah, back to the routine, not very exciting. By the way, in all this time I have yet to learn your name. Is it not unfair for you to know my name but for me not to know your name?" The doctor mockingly flinched and then laughed it off.

"My name is Dr. Turner. I hope that you have an alright time when you get back and try not to bleed form your eyes again." Nadia waved goodbye and was handcuffed. She walked out the door and then down the hallway, back to her routine, back to Rebecca, but most of all, back to her h.e.l.l.

As Nadia turned the corner and saw the housing development once more a sense of depression filled her. At that moment Nadia realized how futile her life was in this place. Within a moment of reaching the fence Rebecca came running up. She looked so happy and Nadia felt that she should have been too but was unable to muster that much emotion. The handcuffs were taken off but the mental constraints were still present and Nadia knew that they would always remain, until the day she left this place, whether that meant walking out of the building with her brother or with her in a body bag.

"Nadia I was so worried about you. Are you okay?" Rebecca had been worried, that was to be expected. Nadia looked at Rebecca, her beaming face, her s.p.u.n.ky personality; it was such a contrast to Nadia.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, just a little scare, that's all. You shouldn't worry so much." Nadia smiled at Rebecca, even if she wasn't so optimistic she could always lend some from Rebecca.

"Come on, it's almost time for dinner." Rebecca pulled Nadia's arm and the two of them were off.

About two weeks later, during the schooling part of the day a small headache formed itself in the back of Nadia's head. It throbbed for a bit then went away, every so often it would flare up and it could be quite painful. But Nadia never let it show on her face, a mask was in place and no one would be the wiser that she was experiencing excruciating migraines. The headaches persisted but Nadia never did anything about them and never told anyone either.

Another week after the headaches started lo and behold Jack showed up. He claimed it was just to check up on group seven but Nadia knew he was here to see her. He gathered all the girls together and led them to a secluded room where they could 'talk.' Nadia felt that something was going to happen, but was not sure if it would be good or bad.