A “Dead” End

Chapter 11

Sarah was relieved to be finally out of this room, it gave her the same feeling as the prison where she spent the first 18 years of her life. This underground medical facility/laboratory type of construction was one of the reasons she was unable to put her trust in Hope and her mother….. it reminded her of the complex she grew up in…... It made her think that these people might be connected to “the organization” that had her or maybe they were a rival organization…was this a case of “out of the pot, into the fire”…she felt so helpless right now, she was not in the physical condition to escape from this place.. nor was she in mental or financial capacity of surviving in the “normal world”…like it or not she had to stay here and survive…. even if she had to pretend to trust them, she will gain their trust….that was the only way for her to survive…..

Her heart was palpitating as they got into the lift…she just hoped the upstairs was more open and normal like otherwise she will never be able to pull the whole “I have ready to start trusting you act”….no matter how hard she tried. Hope met them outside the lift and took charge of Sarah, I will take it from here mom…Hope said excited to be with her new friend, come Sarah I will take you to your room. Sarah was trying to take everything in….this place was huge and so open…a total contrast to that prison with dull, white walls. The hallway, where the lift opened was very tastefully decorated with several paintings. The walls were painted a beautiful shade of very light and refreshing mint green colour. There were so many vibrant paintings decorating the walls here….it was like a tasteful explosion of colours…

The hallway opened up into a huge living/dining room, on the way in she noticed what looked to be a powder room and a couple of closets that she assumed were for coats, shoes etc. The living room was separated from the dining area via a double-sided fireplace, on a thick stone wall situated right in the middle covering about 2 meters in length. There was a stunning marble staircase with a glass border leading to the upstairs area. The flooring here was smooth, polished marble with tastefully inserted strands of black. Every decorative piece in this place was chosen with utmost care and suited the place perfectly. 

One of the walls was dedicated to family pictures… she could see Hope and her mom in all of them, some included another girl about Hope’s age…she assumed that was Hope’s deceased friend. There were also a few pictures with an elderly couple she had yet to meet. There was one thing common in all the pictures …. The love in Hope’s mother’s eyes, the feeling of pride and wonder on her face as she looked at her daughter and the confidence of knowing you are loved in Hope’s eyes was quite evident as well…Sarah could not help but think about her own family… the mother she had never seen, never known…the mother she was snatched away from…the mother who was murdered by “him” these pictures were bringing so many questions…so many what if’s….regret and anger… she could not help but feel envious of Hope who had clearly always known her mother’s love, support and her place in life.

While Sarah was lost in her thoughts they passed through the dining room, without her really “seeing” anything…so deep were her thoughts, before she knew it they were in front of another lift. They lift stopped on the upper floor, which turned out to be the living quarters. The lift opened to reveal a smaller version of the downstairs living room…same smooth and polished marble ran through the entire floor, there was comfortable looking furniture and a small coffee table… from there they headed towards the rooms….

Hope guided her to the second room on the right side, the very first thing she saw was a “Welcome Sarah” banner outside the door. The room itself was huge and beautiful with a massive bed, a side table, a dresser and a couple of funky but comfortable looking…plush bean bag chairs. Hope helped Sarah settle down on the bed so she could get comfortable…she flopped down next to Sarah and turned her face towards her, so how do you like your room… she continued excitedly, without giving Sarah a chance to respond to her question… I choose all the furniture, decorations, your bedspread, comforter….everything in this room. I did not know your preference so I went with baby pink colour for the walls, I thought that most girls like pink so it might be a safe options and it’s light enough that it could be easily painted over in case you do not like it or prefer something else. Do you like pink if not what is your favourite colour?.... Sarah looked at Hope blankly and said….I do not know…..

Hope could not understand what Sarah could mean by that?.... How could you not know what colour you liked best….before she could question Sarah further noticed that blank, far away look in her eyes again…. Sarah thought to herself…I have studied a lot, I know about colours and palettes but the only colour I have had around me….always surrounding me is white….white walls…white uniform….white sheets….so no, I do not know what colour I like but I will find out…she resolved, now that I have out of that prison I will find out about everything I like……. I think I like all the colours I have seen so far in the hallways and the living room and the walls up here….I like everything, Sarah said , I will let you know when I have decided which one I like the best. Hope, who was glad to see that blank look fade from her friend’s eyes, gave her a 100 watt smile and said cool….I bet you will….so why do not you think about the colours while I go and get our breakfast, just then Abby entered the room, followed by Susan who said…no need to go anywhere, breakfast is here. 

Abby laid the bed table between the two girls and Susan transferred the breakfast tray on it. Abby sat in one of bean bag chairs while Hope filled a plate for Sarah…..Hope filled up Sarah’s plate with some fresh fruits, scrambled eggs, a few strips of bacon and some toast… She looked up at Abby and said, wow mom… Susan made my all time favourite comfort food….bacon and eggs… Do you like them Sarah? What is your favourite comfort food? Is it savoury or do you have a sweet tooth? Ooh… there’s some much I do not know about you, I can not wait to find out everything my new friend likes. Sarah looked at Hope and said….I have sorry Hope, I do not know what food I like best….

I eat what is served, Hope’s heart was breaking seeing the blank look return into her friend’s eyes… she hated this look, she was sure it meant Sarah was locked, far away in some painful past… Hey, I have an idea… we will try a new dish everyday and each week you will choose your favourite for that week and then we will make it together on Sundays… we can do that mom, right? Abby who was not liking what Sarah was revealing through her words and expressions said yes immediately….that is a good idea girls…we will do that. Now you guys finish up your breakfast and rest up….Sarah, I will see you in a couple of hours to take you down for imaging and then we will talk about your condition and treatment plan in detail….

Elsewhere, Garett was organizing Sarah’s “accidental death”. The plan was in motion, tonight at 11:30 pm, just a minute before the guard’s shift change was going to take place there will be a leak in the west wing’s small laboratory….this acidic leak will burn through some slabs containing dangerous chemicals, mixing them together and causing a devastating blast…..a blast that will be like a bomb exploding, unfortunately poor Sarah’s room is located right beneath the laboratory so not only will the acid….dripping down the floor will fall on the poor girl, melting her skin down to the bones but the explosion itself and the resulting fire will destroy her room along with the laboratory and erase any traces of her bones too….leaving ashes behind… yes, it will be a touch lesson for us all….never ever will the laboratory be left unattended, never have anyone occupy a cell directly under the lab and take better care of such dangerous chemicals. 

The only positive, if it could be thought off in that way, it was around the shift change time so a lot of our guards were saved…otherwise the loss would have been too great…sadly the security chief Garett did not make it out alive, he died saving his pears… “The Voice” was very happy to contain the entire blundered episode …the security footage was already taken care off, the incident was minimized and reported as a failed attempt made by the prisoners to escape during a power outage, the issue of their “lost asset” was resolved with this “death sequence”, the guards who knew about the “asset’s”escape were disposed off in the blast and resulting fire along with Garett… the only other person who knew the entire truth… forever silenced… there were no traces left of the entire debacle all he needed now was to ensure that “she” remains dead………