As we went through the doors, we entered a much wider hallway with doors on either side. It was short, and there were more double doors on the opposite end. It must have led to something important, because a sentry stood guard right beside it. There were only 3 doors on either side, so my escort led me to the middle door on the left. He pushed it open and we walked into a small room. In the middle was a white table with a chair on both ends. The walls were made of one-way mirrors. I was led to the chair at the end of the table farthest from the door. I felt a click as the guard unlocked my handcuffs. My joy was short lived, because he cuffed them back to the chain-hook in the middle of the table. I sat down in the chair, facing the door. The guard walked out, not looking back and shutting the door behind him. I scooted up in my chair with my hands still chained to the table. In front of me was the empty chair and the mirrors all around me. I heard a buzz and looked up into the corner of the ceiling. I saw a small camera focusing in on me.

I decided to ignore it and stared at myself in the mirror to my left. I didn't remember seeing myself in an actual mirror before. No one at Home Base had one.

I looked horrible. My long-ish brown hair was all in my face. My jacket and jeans were still smeared with dirt. My eyes were slightly sunken in, my lip was busted, and I was just all around dirty. The only thing that interested me were my eyes. Still that icy blue, if not brighter. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. I guess I'm looking into mine now.

I looked down at my hands. The cuffs were chained to an iron bar through a hole in the middle of the the table. No getting out of these, I thought. I twisted my hands in them. The cool metal rubbed against my skin. I rolled my neck and shoulders, still hurting a bit from landing on the hard floor back in my cell. And that man. He obviously knew me. Maybe even my friend. He has said they wiped me. I guess he meant my memories. Would I ever get them back? I choked up slightly at the thought of it. Never knowing who I was or where I came from. It was.....terrifying.

I waited a couple of minutes in that room. My mind began to wander. What do they want with me? Obviously I've been here before. And that man said we were almost out. So I probably escaped somehow. Then why didn't Cyrus escape with me? Cyrus. Where was she now? Was she still here? What had they done to her? What will they do to me?

The doorknob turned as it was unlocked. I looked up as a woman in a black skirt and shirt with a white lab coat stepped in. She wasn't very attractive, and her brown hair was pulled into a bun behind her head. She held a file in her dainty hands. She set the file on the table and sat down. She folded her hands on top of the file and looked at me. Her dark brown eyes were menacing; I could feel her gaze burning through me. She opened her mouth to speak.

"Hello, 13." She said.

13. Why do they keep calling me 13? I thought. I didn't reply, just glared at her.

She opened the file and pulled out a few papers held together by a clip.

"I have your extraction team's report right here," she said as she waved it. "I'll be asking you a few questions."

She set it down and stared at it for a few moments. "Who was the man killed during your extraction?", she asked as she looked up at me.

I didn't answer. I wasn't going to give this woman anything.

She waited for a reply. "Alright. Then how did you come to be where you were when you were extracted?", she asked again.

I shifted my eyes to my hands, not wanting to look at her.

"You're not going to answer any of my questions, are you?", she said.

I looked back up at her, still not saying anything.

"You may not remember how we do things here, so let me freshen your memory," she threatened. Her voice grew louder and more menacing. "I ask, you answer. If not, I think you know what happens then."

I swallowed and clenched my teeth, still giving her an emotionless glare.
She waited a few moments.

Suddenly, she closed the file. "We wiped you for a reason", she said in a softer voice. "We don't have time for it to be wasted by you being a stubborn brat. Submit, or it won't turn out well for you. Do as we ask and your stay here can be.......less unpleasant."

Then I did something I knew I would regret. I leaned closer to her, still giving her that hard glare. Then, in a low voice barely above a whisper, I said,

"Do your worst."

The woman looked as if she might explode with rage. Almost like when someone finishes a magnificent painting, and then their efforts are ruined by a spilled jar of paint. Abruptly, she stood up and took her file.

"13 is ready for processing!," she called out.

The door opened and the same guard that had escorted me stepped in. The woman stepped out and the guard undid my handcuffs. He redid them in front of me this time. I guess he decided I wasn't a threat anymore. The guard took me by the arm and led me out into the hallway.

We headed toward the guarded door. The sentry stepped aside to let us through. It led into a new series of halls that looked identical to the ones before. I guess these were just more secret? We took a left and then a right, eventually coming to another dead end with a door.

We entered it and it was like I had just stepped into an old timey prison. The walls were stone again, except this time there was a narrow walkway with cages on both sides. Well, more like cells. Except these were just sections of stone floor separated by walls vertical iron bars. We stopped as the guard unlocked a door to one of the cells. The door, well, more like a collection of metal pieces 6-inches apart, creaked as it swung open. He undid my cuffs again and shoved me inside, slamming the door behind me and locking it. I stood and watched him as he walked out. The slam of the door echoed throughout the small hall.

I looked around. It was dark; the only light being let in was from a few grimy windows, one of which was in the wall in my cell. I suddenly heard rustling beside me. In the cell next to me, a figure stood up and stepped into the light. It was a girl, only a bit younger than me.

What have I gotten myself into? I thought.