Predominance by H. I. Defaz Page A

lives in the hands of Dr. Walker… and R.C. Labs.
     
     
     
     

Chapter Five
    Blast from the Past
     
     
     
    THAT NIGHT, I lay on my fluffy, too-comfortable bed at R.C. Labs, thinking about how Dr. Walker's miracle cure might represent a new beginning for me—a new chapter in my life, one without pain, misery, or isolation, or doctors feeding me pills that didn't work. I believed that I'd found a way to fulfill my promise. I should have been happy. But the stress of it all—and something niggling at the back of my mind—kept me awake, staring at the annoyingly white ceiling.
    The more I fought the feeling, the more distraught I got. I felt as if that stupid white ceiling were collapsing on me, along with the four walls that surrounded me. Soon, my distress triggered the familiar, dreadful headache, and I was brought back to my feet again. I looked for my pain medication and took it—but it wasn't enough. I needed to get out of that room or go insane. So I decided to take a walk and let the fresh air help me clear my head—after all, I was in the middle of a forest. What better air to breathe than that? But my plans were defeated as soon as I reached the lobby, where I was intercepted by two armed security guards.
    “I'm sorry, sir, but nobody's allowed outside the facility at this time,” one of the guards informed me, a smug tone in his voice. “Dr. Walker's orders.”
    His attitude triggered one of my nasty mood-swings. “What?” I demanded angrily.
    “I'm sorry, sir, but it's for your own protection,” he insisted with an arrogant grin. Dr. Walker's words flashed into mind then, reminding me that it wasn't in my best interest to break any of his rules—at least not with them watching.
    “I'm sure it is,” I conceded sarcastically, and stalked back to the elevators.
    Back in my room, I tried to calm myself down—although I ended up punching a hole on one of the walls instead. Once they took over, those foul mood-swings were very difficult to control, and sometimes they made me do things that weren't in my character to condone. That's why I hated them so much. They turned me into a very nasty person—if only for a few minutes.
    Once my tantrum was over, I decided to open the window to at least let in some fresh air. I was leaning out and taking a deep breath, trying to reorganize my thoughts, when a strange rustling sound caught my attention. I looked over to my left and noticed a huge pine tree gracing the wall next to my window. Its branches were so close together that they might as well have been a ladder. I smiled at the tempting invitation.
    You see, I have this problem. If you tell me I shouldn't do something, I just might listen to you. But if you tell me that I can't, then you can bet your ass I will find a way to do it. And that's exactly how I felt when I saw that tree and thought about what the guard had said to me. I decided to fight my acrophobia—to trust the invitation of this nature-made ladder, and take the walk I had initially wanted.
    After an awkward descent, from which I emerged scratched and battered, I found myself in the meadow, looking for that perfect mixture of green, yellow, and purple I'd seen when I first arrived. But the opulent moonlight shining upon the field had replaced these colors with various shades of gray, which created a somber beauty for the eye of the beholder—a beauty I'll never be able to forget.
    Lost in my own thoughts, I began walking towards a light at the end of the meadow, when my attention was caught by the soft whisper of a half-familiar voice. “Stop! That's their security booth. You don't want to go there.”
    I followed the voice to a silhouette leaning against a stately weeping willow tree. “Unless you're trying to get caught, of course,” the voice added.
    I thought I recognized the angelic figure. “Yvette?” She stood barefoot under the tree, a pair of sandals dangling from her hand. Her hair—as black as the night—draped the right