A/N: Hey guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter :) It has a little more exposition this time, so you'll learn a bit more about Gis' world. I hope you enjoy reading it and I'd love any feedback you send my way! Have a lovely day, all :)

-

01 - 17 - 2089

This time when I wake up, I'm back in my room. Which is strange, because as far as I can remember I've always woken up in the testing room--or more recently, the new room-- so they can check things before they let me go.

The burning, fiery pain from my eyes is gone, and for that I'm grateful. Although, I have a feeling that they were the cause for the pain in the first place. But that's not unusual; they've even told me before that sometimes they bring the pain to watch how my body deals with it. As sickening as it sounds, it's not so bad. They always take away the pain not too long after.

I slowly sit up on my bed and lean back against the cold wall. There's no rush to get up since I'm not exactly sure what's going on. Perhaps I'm just done for the day. Or maybe this is another test. I shrug, feeling completely confused as usual.

My room's as bland as always. The desk and chair to my left, then the bathroom and towards the right corner, the door. Sometimes I like to stare at the door and wonder what everything is like out there in the world. I've learned plenty about it from history books, but it's not the same as experiencing it for myself.

I wonder what it was like before the dissolution of the United States. Things--according to the books-- really changed after the Federal Reservation of America, or FRA, arose. It was all because of the 2045 virus that struck every electronic in North America. And from what I read, that caused a total collapse in everything pretty much. Panic, wars, fighting, looting, and lots of problems came from it. It was crazy from what I could tell.

I can imagine all the panic and how scared people probably were. Doctor Acosta really relies on her A-book. I don't know what she'd do if it got hacked. But we have stuff to prevent that from ever happening again, of course. That's the one thing that the Council decreed as their base law when they rose up from the ashes of the Unites States. A security protection to prevent such a virus from ever occurring again.

And that's why they renamed the states into special territories. They claimed that it would be a fresh start. Unfortunately, for some odd reason I haven't been allowed to read into the individual territories. I only know the name of the one I'm in, which is Anteria, the special territory name. However, I don't know if that is the actual name used for this place. I have a feeling Doctor Acosta told me a different name to keep it confidential, as she does for most everything else. It's freezing outside, according to Barr. And covered in white stuff that's cold: snow.

I like snow. I wish I could roll around in it like people used to do in the books I read. It's light and fluffy and probably tastes good too. Just like waffles, another thing I have yet to try. But Barr brought me a book full of food instructions and waffles look delicious.

Wait, there I go again, getting lost in my mind. I shake my head, frustrated with myself. I feel like I'm always wondering about something or other and wish I could just know for sure one time in my life.

I feel like they are hiding things from me. Things that I deserve to know. But why? Why can't I know these things?

I scoff and cross my arms, feeling my frustration growing. I ask questions, and they don't answer. And then what do I do? I let it go. I don't ask it again.

Maybe it's my fault. Maybe I need to try harder to understand. I want to understand.

And why shouldn't I? Aren't I entitled to learn and understand things? I feel like I should be able to do those things. And Doctor Acosta is keeping me from that. Her and all the other people who work here. I just need to try harder.

I hop off my bed and stalk over to the door, gathering my hair and swinging it to one shoulder as I walk. My bare feet pad across the floor, cold as usual, but I'm used to it.

I come to a stop just a few inches from the door and raise my fist, questioning whether or not I'm going to do it. I breathe in deeply. Am I brave enough?

Then, before I can talk myself out of it, I rap on the door with my knuckles, hard. The sound resonates through my room like a faint pinging noise, softer than I had hoped. I listen, but don't hear any sounds from outside.

Drawing in my courage again, I bang on the door harder, hitting the metal until my fists sting. I keep banging for several minutes until I hear footsteps approaching.

I back away from the door in a hurry as it clicks and slides open. I'm half expecting an orderly to be there, but instead it's Barr. And he looks annoyed; his forehead is all crinkled and his lips are pursed in the usual "annoyed at Gis" fashion.

"Hi, uh--"

"Gis, what in the world has gotten into you?" Barr cuts in, stepping into the room far enough so the door can close behind him. He crosses his arms and shifts, his face expectant as he stares at me.

"I... I just..." I stutter, now wishing I had thought of something to say before I banged on the door. What a great plan, Gis. What exactly were you thinking of doing?

"Are you going to answer me?" Barr says in his "I'm more mature than you" voice. My blood boils at the sound of it and I huff internally. No way am I going to let this go now.

"I want answers," I say deliberately.

Barr's eyebrows shoot up. "Answers..." he says, like he doesn't believe me. I don't blame him. I've never done anything like this before. In fact, the last time I did something even remotely rebellious I ended up in solitary for a week.

My hands shake at the thought of solitary and I start to wonder if I made a mistake. Barr's the nicest of them all by far, but he still follows the rules.

I swallow before answering, "I'm confused. I just want to know what's going on."

Instead of being frustrated at my outburst, Barr sighs and runs a hand through his hair, messing up the thick strands. "You know I can't tell you anything, Gis. It might compromise the tests."

Valid point. But I can't just give up now. I search my mind for some way around his rules. Then something comes to my mind. "But... what about the last test? Can't you just tell me what happened? Please, I just want to know what happened. What did they do? Please, Barr, please," I beg shamelessly, clasping my hands together in the hopes that he'll listen to me and maybe change his mind.

"I don't know..." Barr says, his voice conflicted.

"Please."

"Gis..."

"When was the last time I asked for something like this?" I probe, raising my eyebrows. Barr sends me another one of his annoyed looks, but I can see his resolve cracking.

"Fine," he finally mutters. "It was a test, as you already know. We... they, infected you with the aedvenorious virus to test your body's response to it. You had a unique reaction and that's why your eyes were burning."

I consider what he says before asking another question. "But how did they infect me? I don't remember getting a shot or anything like that." I search through the memories for the past few days, but nothing comes to mind that might have been the cause for the virus.

"Your food. It was in your food. That's why they gave you new food, Gis. If we had given you the usual, you would have tasted the difference with what we put in it. But because you were trying the food for the first time you didn't know any better." Barr sucks in a breath and crosses his arms again. "Now, I've already told you too much. Just calm down and be good, okay?"

I'm bummed that I won't be getting any more answers today, but perhaps I will at least escape any punishment for my acting out. "So... not solitary?" I hesitantly ask, then regret saying it immediately after it comes out. I clamp my mouth shut and search Barr's face, praying he won't go through with it.

"You know the rules," Barr says, his tone regretful. "I have to take you there for acting out."

I take a step back, suddenly noting just how fast my heart is beating. "I don't want to. Please, can't you forget about this?"

Barr motions to the ceiling and my face falls. Cameras. Speakers. Microphones. My room is completely and utterly bugged. They can probably even hear my thoughts.

"Okay," I relent, trying to keep the picture of my last time in solitary from my mind. But I'm quite unsuccessful. Images of the tiny, dark and cold space resonate through my mind. I shiver, shaking a bit harder with every passing second.

"Let's go." Barr places a hand on my back and leads me out of the room. We walk in the opposite direction of where we normally head to the testing room, down a darker hallway with sparse lights. It slopes downward and the temperature drops steadily the lower we go. I can hardly breathe, the expectation of what is to come consuming my mind. I hate it. I hate that I have no control. That I can't do a thing.

But maybe one day that will change. Maybe one day I'll have a choice.

-