Two days after I got taken, I lay in a small bed. They assigned me a room. The walls were grey, the sheets of the bed dark blue, and a brown nightstand next to it. I hadn't done much these days, not that I even had the chance. All I tried to do was not to think about my now-dead family, and it was working, since I had something else going on in my mind.

Lena, Lena, Lena. My name is Lena. That's what I kept repeating in my head. Because I knew they were trying to take two things away from me; my memories, and my name. I doubted it was possible to take my memories, but the last days they kept convincing me my name was Lenora, and not Lena.

My door buzzed, then popped open. A man appeared, dressed in a green one-piece suit that looked like pajamas for grown-ups. I wanted to tell him he looked ridiculous, but based on the arguments I had been through with these people, I decided to keep my opinion to myself and close my eyes.

"Lenora, come with me." He ordered.

I stayed completely still, not daring to move or even open my eyes. I wouldn't obey to that name.

"Lenora, get up. We do not have time for games here. You're lucky we saved you from a dangerous world." He added sternly.

I held my breath the whole time, pretending to be asleep, until I didn't have any air left. I gasped for it and eventually had no choice but to open my eyes again.

"You look ridiculous." I blurted out anyways.

He stared at me, eyes full of disgust. "Excuse me?"

"You look ridiculous," I repeated. "And you did not save me. I had a happy life until you killed both of my parents. I won't obey to the name Lenora. My name is Lena!"

He then laughed, seeming more amused than bothered. "They told me you are a polite kid. Guess I'm not seeing it."

"That was before they told me I had to change my name," I replied. "The one my mom and dad gave me. The ones you took from me."

"Would that be the ones that always taught you to be nice? To never contradict?"

I clenched my jaw, not replying anymore. The stupid man.

"Look, you're just a kid. You don't understand the world or how dangerous your parents could become. You, in fact, are immune to the Flare. You're valuable." He paused. "You will have to accept your loss on certain things and go on by helping us. If we don't find a cure soon, humans are over. So here's what going to happen, Lenora. You're going to get off that bed. Follow me out this door. And I'm not going to tell you again."

So at some point, I got up and followed the man.

~

We walked through the white hallways. Doors were everywhere, along with windows to look into other rooms, mostly operation rooms.

"What's your name?" I wondered quietly. No matter if the man was mean or not, I wanted to know at least one person.

"Randall Spilker." He said as we got in an elevator. I nodded quickly and followed Randall through the building. At some point, he sat me down on a weird chair. Wireless sensors were attached to my temples, elbows, and chest. He had a console in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Lenora." He spoke and leaned in. "It would've been nicer to give you more time to accept your new name, but we're losing it. We need to handle it quickly. Don't move."

Before I could ask anything, I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I yelped as Randall let go of me again.

Panic filled my chest. "What was that?"

"It's a pain simulator." He explained. "But don't worry. It'll disappear out of your system. Eventually. So once I press this button.." He held up the console. "It'll be stimulated. Just listen and you'll be fine."

"Wh-what?" I stammered, not knowing this wouldn't even be worst torture I would ever go through. Talking about Janson..

"Tell me your name," Randall commanded.

"Lena."

He pressed the button. It sent the most horrific pain into my body. Since I was six, I didn't know any other pain than a bruise or scratch... but this, this was fire exploding in me. It rushed through my veins and muscles, and I had no words for it, only cries.

"What is your name?"

Little me wasn't dumb. If I just pretended to know my name... "Lenora."

"I don't believe you."
The button got pressed again. The pain came harder and faster this time.

A few minutes later, I was soaked in sweat.
"What's your name?"

I could barely speak by the amount of pain. "Lenora."

"I don't believe you." He repeated. I cried out, shaking my head 'no'.

The pain was no longer surprising, nor was the darkness that came after.

"What is your name?" Randall questioned once I woke up again.

"Lenora."

"Do you have any other names?"

A shaky sob escaped my mouth. "No."

"Has anyone ever called you something else?"

"Only Lenora," I told him.

~

Later I was crawled up in a ball, under the sheets of my bed. My body still tingled and shook from pain, but as Randall said, it eventually disappeared. Yet I cried quietly.

I was so lonely. I had lost my family and never saw a kid around. Only doctors and nurses. And none of those looked nice.

Then there was a knock on the door. I didn't reply to it and kept sobbing, though I got even quieter than before. The door opened as I was still buried under my sheets.

"Hey, honey." A soft, female voice greeted. A weight was put on my bed, letting me know she sat down.

"What do you want?" I snapped, hoping my voice didn't sound too weak.

"Just to talk." She assured. Her voice stayed the same.

I exhaled. "Do you work here?"

"Yes, I do."

"Is it fun?"

"You're about to experience if it is yourself." She chuckled.

I sniffed deeply, wiping some tears off my cheeks. "What are you talking about?"

"Well... you're gonna work here too."

I teared up again. "I don't want to work here. I wanna go home."

"Hey.." She rubbed my back. "It's all weird now, I know. It's a new place, and scary... but it'll get better. A lot of things are about to happen with you, but after that, you'll be safe, here, with the others."

"Others?" I repeated, confused.

"Look, in a few months, this place will be full with other kids." The woman explained. "You're gonna help with that."

"How?"

She laughed again. "Mind showing me your face before I continue?"

Hesitantly I pulled the blanket off me and stared at the woman. Her hair was dark, like mine. A few wrinkles covered her kind-looking face, but she didn't seem very old.

She held out her hand for me to shake. "I'm Mary."

I took her hand and carefully told her my name. "Lenora."

Mary smiled. "Alright. I'll explain it to you." She started. "Tomorrow you'll get an operation. A chip will be inserted. It doesn't hurt, it's just to... keep track of you. After that, you'll be going to houses. Some kids are in there. You will help search them with your chip, and help us get those kids. Got that?"

I was thoughtful for a second, then nodded.

"Actually, that's it. So you better catch some sleep. Tomorrow is important."

Again, I nodded and made myself comfortable. "Do I get to talk to the kids once they are here?"

"Oh, yes." Mary smiled brightly. "There will even be a cafeteria where you can have meals with them, classes with teachers, and weekly scans where you're also close to them. Does that sound good?"

"Yes," I answered quietly, feeling my eyelids get heavy. "Night."

"Good night, honey."