Conspiracy Theorist

“I have a neck. I have a neck. I have a neck.” Scarlett used the technique she always used to calm herself down, telling herself she had a neck. She rubbed the smooth skin comfortingly.

Jocelyn threw her a strange look. “We all have necks,” she whispered to Scarlett.

They came to a door that was just as brilliantly white as the rest of this strange place they were in. Gem started banging on the door, her hands started fidgeting and sweat beaded on her brow. This Boss must be terrifying, Scarlett mused, even Gem is scared.

“Come in,” a raspy voice choked out and it was followed by a fit of coughing.

Gem swung the door open and pushed Scarlett and Jocelyn in before her and Jason followed. A middle aged man sat in a pure white chair at a pure white desk. Scarlett wondered what all the white was for and she couldn’t figure it out. If they were planning on murdering the two girls then why would they pick the most easily stained color?

The forty-something man ogled Scarlett and Jocelyn, lingering a little long on their chests. Scarlett resisted the urge to say, ‘Keep your eyes up, Buddy.’ She bit her lip; she was smart enough to know it would only get them killed faster.

“Hello, Scarlett.” He nodded his head towards her, and then focused his attention on Joz. “Hello, Jocelyn.” Jocelyn’s features showed no fear, but Scar knew her well enough to realize she was terrified.

When the two girls remained silent he sighed. “Do you know why you’re here?” He chuckled, “No, of course not.” His raspy voice and his cold gaze made Scarlett’s skin crawl.

“Why are we here?” Scarlett barely managed to keep her voice from cracking, but she knew not to show fear.

The Boss licked his lips and there was raw lust in his eyes. Scarlett couldn’t help but wonder if he was planning on selling them into prostitution or human trafficking. “You two have been chosen,” was all he said and all sorts of appalling scenarios swam through Scarlett’s mind. She blinked back tears to keep from looking like a baby in front of her kidnappers. Jocelyn was looking strong and confident so Scarlett had to mirror her image.

“What do you mean ‘chosen?’” Jocelyn’s voice sounded meek, but she made up for it with straightening her spine to her full five foot five stature. She wasn’t extremely tall but the way she carried herself showed she was not to be messed with. Jocelyn’s blue-gray eyes looked dead and older than they should be, all the beatings had really aged her, and she wasn’t the carefree teenager she should be.

Delight played in the Boss’s eyes, he had been expecting the question and he was thrilled to answer. “Now dears, you have been chosen to participate in our program. We have been injecting you in your sleep with a medicine to change you into extraordinary individuals. Something told Scarlett he had given the speech before.

“So we’re you lab rats?” Scarlett tried her best to keep her voice even, but even she could hear the shrill edge to it. “What do you want to do to us? Isn’t this illegal?”

The Boss chortled and Jason and Gem looked extremely uncomfortable. “Well, somebody has to be our lab rats, right? You two ladies get the pleasure of being the experiments, isn’t that nice? It really is a great privilege.” The way he looked at Scarlett made her feel like a new toy a little kid got on Christmas.

Jason cleared his throat uneasily and drew Scarlett and Jocelyn’s attention to him. “Of course it’s not illegal, were a government division.”

Scarlett felt as if she had been slapped. “Tax payers are paying to do this?” She couldn’t even fathom what was going on.

“Of course,” the Boss continued for Jason, “they’ve been paying for it for twenty-eight years.”

Jocelyn tensed up next to Scarlett and she felt her heart drop to her stomach. “What happened to the people in this program before us?”

The Boss stood and walked over to Scarlett, he ran a repulsive finger down her arm. “They either died from the serum or the missions we sent them on.” His hot breath made Scarlett want to crawl into a hole somewhere and die. She wanted desperately to slink away from him, but she wasn’t about to show weakness. “Oh Babe, I wouldn’t worry.” He really was abhorrent and nauseating. “This time the vaccine should work, you’ll be stronger than subjects ever before. Hopefully you’ll be invincible,” the Boss winked a dead gray eye and Scarlett dug her nails into her hand, desperately trying not to knee him in the same place she planted one on Jason. Scarlett knew this guy wouldn’t take it as lightly.

She weakly nodded her head and motioned for Jocelyn to do the same, the sooner she was out of the room with the Boss the sooner she’d be able to breathe properly again. “Okay.”

He smirked, “Now get out of my sight.”

Jason and Gem led the girls out and Scarlett’s heart gradually slowed back to its normal pace. Jocelyn let out a shaky breath of relief and stopped trembling. Gem seemed pleased with how petrified they were. “It’s seems that it’s time to start your training.”

***

Scarlett and Jocelyn stood in a giant arena, and it was huge. It was at least double the size of Scarlett’s house, well, her house before she was brought here. They were now clad in black and held a shocking resemblance to ninjas. Scarlett wondered when they would expect her to go all freaky spy girl on somebody. She half expected the Km Possible theme song to start blaring.

“Time to meet your counterparts, ladies,” Jason declared.

Scar and Jocelyn exchanged a confused look, after all that’s happened in the past day this just added onto it.

There was a loud hiss as a door on the other side of the massive stadium slid open. Two baffled looking boys strode in behind a man and a woman who must be the equivalent of Jason and Gem.

The two boys confronted Scarlett and Jocelyn half way through the training room. One of the boys had to be extremely arrogant and he had a good reason. Scarlett took him in and her hazel eyes widened with wonder. He truly was gorgeous, soft green eyes, shiny tousled brown locks and a stature of at least six foot two. And then, there was that body. Under his thin black T-shirt Scarlett took in his defined chest and muscled arms.

He smirked at Scarlett, obviously noting her discomfort. “I’m Adam,” he stated bluntly and held out a calloused hand for Scarlett to take. He only had eyes for her, he hadn’t even noticed Jocelyn.

“Scar,” she said gulping. She noticed scars zigzagging along his arms and a slightly crooked nose. It looked as if it had been broken at some point and net properly set to heal.

“And you are?” He directed his grass-green gaze to Jocelyn.

“Jocelyn,” she said coolly, oblivious to dazzling looks. She pushed a brown lock of hair off of her pale forehead.

The slightly more timid boy stepped out from behind Adam. Scarlett almost let out an embarrassing ‘Awwwww,’ but she figured the guy wouldn’t appreciate it. He was average height, maybe on the short side. He had fire red hair, soft brown eyes and a splattering of freckles over his nose and cheeks. He reminded her of an oversized child, she could just picture him in pajamas dragging around a teddy bear.

Scarlett had been able to refrain from the ‘aw’ but Jocelyn let out a squeal. Arrogant Adam turned and glared at the red head, he had obviously never had girls show interest in someone else when he was around. Especially not someone like the gangly teenager next to him.

“Hey Scar. Hi Jocelyn. I’m Kasper, by the way.” Scarlett had been expecting Carl, but Kasper was cute too.

“Hiiii, Kasperrrrr.” The two girls stretched out his name and giggled. Adam’s scowl grew bigger and bigger, threatening to engulf his face. He seemed to think he was all that and a thing of fries, but Scar and Joz had different ideas.

“Hey, remember me? Adam?” He waved a hand in front of Scarlett’s face and she blinked slowly, just now registering that he was still in the room.

“Oh right, you.” Jocelyn glared at him with distaste.

“Yeah me,” Adam drawled.

“Well, sorry to break up this little love fest,” Gem started, “but we need to start training.”

All four teens looked at her and then around the room. Scarlett sighed at the same time Adam grinned wickedly.

Jocelyn threw her a questioning look; it seemed to say ‘What do we do?’

Scar shrugged, “What choice do we have.”