Dimitri and I were currently in an examination room. I was sitting on the table while he studied me, occasionally stopping to make notes on his clipboard.

I watched as he murmured something to himself before speaking up. "It seems your body is finally reacting to the Red Virus, Lia. Hmm, and it's happening at an exponential rate."

He paused as he mulled this over before turning his eyes to me with a smile. "My prediction is that being Outside in an uncontrolled environment must've caused the change in you, both physically and mentally."

I considered his words quietly, and after a moment, agreed with him. The Outside had changed me, but perhaps not necessarily in the way he was suggesting. My perception of the Lab had been altered much more than I liked.

I had thought that what I desired was to return and for things to go back to normal. However, here I was. I was finally back, yet I wasn't satisfied. Things weren't normal. Bigger changes had been made and I didn't like them.

I had learned that the Lab was built on lies. He had lied to me numerous times about the Outside and it made me wonder whether He thought it was wrong. He had taught me to never lie, that it was bad, but had done so to me.

Now, my movements and actions were more restricted than ever. I wasn't aware of where the shocker was anymore, and that worried me. It would be easy to forget that it was here, right in me, and that I could be punished at any moment without being touched.

I no longer knew the passcodes. I could not go as I pleased. I was stuck, isolated in an odd room that was not my own. He wasn't here, but instead Dimitri was. Everything had changed.

I had always thought the Lab had sufficient reasonings for its actions. There was always a higher, better purpose. At the moment, that vision was unclear, and I didn't know how to react. Perhaps Varian had been right about the Lab all along.

"Why isn't He running the tests?" I asked, curious. He was always the one who ran them before on Testing Days and I didn't see why this should be any different.

Dimitri responded in an equal tone as he said, "He has other priorities now, Lia. He's been given the task of taking a new experiment under his wing."

I frowned at his comment, knowing who it was without Dimitri saying. It had to be the odd girl, the one who resembled myself too closely. I felt hurt that He was no longer the one to watch over me, yet I couldn't determine why. He had left me in the Outside to fend for myself, and had lied to me more times than I knew.

Dimitri had been staring at me, studying my expression as I thought about this. I stared back, and he smiled as he realized he had my attention.

"Don't worry, Lia. I'm not going to allow anyone so foolish near you again. The man couldn't even find you when you escaped.

From now on, you could think of me in the way that you thought of Him. I'll be the one running your tests and taking care of you. After all, the only way to get things done to your liking is to do them yourself."

I watched him, wondering whether it would truly be efficient or not. He already ran everything and adding myself to it didn't seem like the most logical decision. It was likely something would be dropped in trade for me, or I would be the one who was dropped.

"Alright, Lia, I think we're all done. Let's go to your new room," he exclaimed, clapping his hands together. I flinched at the abrupt noise before getting off the table and waiting as he put away the supplies.

He headed to the door, glancing over his shoulder at me before quickly typing in the new passcode. I could feel frustration build, upset by my lack of knowledge.

"After you," he said, sweeping his hand as the door opened. I hesitated before walking out and allowing him to lead me to my new room.

He typed in yet another passcode and the door to the room slid open, beckoning me. It didn't feel as welcoming, as inviting, as my room. It felt foreign and as if I wasn't important. As if this Lab wasn't named after me.

I walked in despite this, sure the punishment for doing the opposite was not appealing. Dimitri followed in, observing the room.

"I don't like this room," I whispered, my head lowered as I said it. I waited for the shock to run through my veins, paralyzing my body, but it never came. I peeked up and saw Dimitri looking at me expectantly, as if waiting for more.

"Is there something wrong with my room?" I asked after a moment of silence.

Dimitri sighed, staring up at the ceiling before giving an answer. "I know it wasn't your fault, but you should've never left the Lab, Lia. When someone disappears, things change rapidly to make up for the loss.

While you and Experiment Varian were gone, things were changed. Shockers and cameras were improved. All the codes here have been changed and I've only given certain codes to certain scientists. No one except myself is clear for each room."

He walked over to the bed pressed against the wall and sat on it, patting the spot beside him. I obeyed, the bed sinking underneath me.

"Even you had to be replaced, Lia. It was a precaution that had been put in place in case of emergencies, and in case your disappearance was more permanent."

I frowned, hurt forming. "I don't like it here anymore. The Lab is cruel too, just like the Outside," I snapped, surprising both myself and him.

I braced myself for punishment a second time. But a minute had passed, nothing happening. It was then he asked me a question.

"Do you want to hear a story?"

I waited before answering, thinking about which choice was best. I had already made several mistakes today, all without receiving punishment. It wasn't likely that I would continue to be unharmed.

I didn't want to talk to him anymore, but saying no didn't seem like the correct choice.

"Yes," I replied, and his expression remained neutral conveying that I had made the right choice.

"My story's about when the world was caught in between. It was shifting to the world you've grown accustomed to. However, at the time science was still trying to gain the upper hand. Things like religion and other things were clouding the path, but I suppose in the end it didn't matter. Science won."

He paused for a second, a faraway look in his eyes as the ghost of a smile appeared. "Did you know the Outside used to be a beautiful place? Now it's simply various shades of gray and black. But it used to be mesmerizing, Lia, all the colors. The Outside used to be filled with every color, with every hue, that you can imagine. It was a beautiful thing that was taken for granted.

The streets were filled with hundreds and hundreds of people, some oblivious to the war that was going on. Others were simply born into it, and bred soldiers.

There was a little boy who was born into it, during a time when sides were continuously clashing. Some considered science both a danger and threat to the world while others considered it a necessity. It had been a war that occurred every day, but it wasn't until now that it had escalated.

The boy was a natural. He learned the skills of a fighter at a very young age. He was a successful experiment, so to say. He was groomed and encouraged by older soldiers, but it wasn't until he met someone like himself that he became experienced in his field.

She too had been born during the war, just like him. The two were trained together and it quickly became obvious that they paired well together. They were even more deadly together than they were alone.

She was his closest friend, probably his only as well. They would lie up in the night, whispering to one another. The two of them were constantly together, never apart. It was apparent that they had an inseparable bond, both in and out of battle.

One day they had been sent out to buy supplies at the market. It was more efficient if they split up and gathered the supplies that way, so that's what they decided on. The one time the two were separated was the one day they were ambushed.

She had several cuts, but it wasn't enough for medical professionals to look into. They had more gruesome things to deal with. She died because of those simple injuries, something that science could've fixed. Had someone treated her correctly, she'd still be alive."

Dimitri's voice was off from its normal tone. It had grown more serious during the end of his story. It wasn't as light as I was used to. Someone shouldn't use such a heavy tone when telling a story.

"What about the boy? Did he die too?" I asked, curious. The story had been about the boy, yet he wasn't mentioned in the end.

Dimitri's eyes flickered as he answered my question. "He almost did. He still has the scars to prove it, despite the Perfection system.

But he had a scar that was more visible than hers so they assumed it needed immediate treatment. Someone patched him up but they wouldn't do the same for the girl, no matter how many days he stood there at the various medical centers, begging someone to help. Sometimes he still wishes it was him that had gone untreated, not her.

The day she died, the boy made a vow to make sure the world didn't erupt into such a violent time when not everyone was treated, but only those who looked like they needed it."

I sat there even after Dimitri left, wondering whether the boy still believed in his vow.