Chapter #12

   New panic welled inside her as she realized this. Why hadn't she recognized her own image in a mirror? What was going on? Those deep set tired eyes were hers, as well as the bruise. How long had she been here? The bruise was fresh, so not too long. Oh, if only she could remember what had happened...

   She heard herself take in a deep ragged breath. He throat was parched. She had to get out, but how? There was another iron door on the wall with the mirror. A few painful steps and she was there, examining the handle. The door was locked of course. Bluren shuddered with the thought that someone had locked her in here. That was one of her biggest fears, not being in control of herself or her safety. 

   The lock was had a small electric handprint lock. When it rejected her own print, she decided to try something else. She crossed the room again to where the medical supplies were set neatly on a table. When she got there, however, she realized they weren't medical supplies at all. Laid out on a tray, were six screwdrivers in several different sizes, screws, and a small pile of bendable scrap metal. 

   Taking the top sheet of metal, she rolled it into a thin cord. The biggest screwdriver she used to roll the metal flat, then she folded it again, and did the same thing until she had a nice hairpin-like object. She repeated this with every piece of metal, until she had a pile of little chords. Then she punched the sharp screws into two of the chords to connect them, doing the same until she had a long strand. Now for the light. The light that was shining on the bed thankfully had wheels, and she soon assembled the her cord of metal to be touching the lock, light, and also resting on the table to keep it from falling without her having to touch it. 

   Now came the tricky part. She was going to try to break the light, cause a spark, which would travel through the cord, fry the handprint sensor, and unlock the door. The chance of her plan working wasn't very high, but it was all she had. Just as she looked up, she noticed a small circle on the wall. As she came closer, it suddenly dawned on her. A camera. She was being watched. Thinking fast, she grabbed a screwdriver and smashed the camera with it. Now she had to work quickly. She smashed the light bulb with screwdriver as well, which sent sparks flying everywhere, the room smelling like smoke, and ending with a loud sizzling sound. 

  Bluren had been covering her ears and squeezing her eyes shut, so when she opened them, she found herself in complete darkness. Standing up, she felt her way to the door, moving aside things she had used to fry the lock. She could feel a burning hope in her chest that it had worked. She felt the door knob, and it turned! A wave of sweet relief washed over her as she pushed the heavy door open. 

   Outside she was alone in a long hallway with fluorescent lights. There were doors like hers on each side. She thoughtlessly ran and looked in windows on the walls of the rooms. That's was it. A window on the outside, and a mirror on the inside. Most of the rooms were dark, but at the far end of the hall, there was a light. She ran, every step full of pain. She pressed her face to the cold glass, like a child looking eagerly into a bakery. 

   Inside was Tara, with her unruly orange hair fanned out on the hospital bed. She was still asleep- or unconscious -with the same light beating down on her tanned skin. The same table, with the same objects, were also there by her bedside. Was this a test? Just as she was about to call out to Tara, a sweaty hand clamped down on her mouth.