[color=BD892F][h3]Sophia Lemane[/h3][/color]She had lost track of the time that had passed since the morning she had awoken with that white streak on one side of her face. Leaning against the strangely transparent wall of the truck, she lifted her gaze from the floor to  gaze outside at the dark landscape as it passed in a blur. Was it late at night, or already the early hours of the morning? She didn't know the answer, but what she did know was that she felt exhausted. 

Her eyelids felt like there were heavy leaden weights attached to them, threatening to make her close her eyes. Once in a while her eyelids gave in to the weight but didn't stay closed for long. It would either be the image of her face with that white streak emblazoned on it swimming in front of her eyes or the motion of the truck as it rounded a curve that would make her eyes snap open once more. The people around her were thankfully silent, at least most of the time. Every now and then a voice would ring out, but she didn't pay attention to it.

Once again she began to doze off, but this time it wasn't an image or the swaying of the truck that woke her. No, it was the [i]stopping[/i] of the truck. Eyes opened again, she watched as the scene unfolded. She recognized Sparrow and Prism, who wouldn't? As well as... Menagerie's creations? The atmosphere seemed to change and become tenser before a command was barked and the truck lurched forward once more.

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Some time later, they were herded into a giant chamber by many armed guards.

[color=f7976a]"Welcome to USARILN East. I am Director Lina Zhang, and from now on I'll play the role of guardian and prison warden to all of you. Generally, welcoming parties at three in the morning are rescheduled for seven in the morning to allow everyone time to sleep. But as I understand it, your convoy ran into some trouble along the way. I'm here to make sure this potential mishap hasn't given any of you thoughts on escaping."[/color]

The director fit the description that Sophia had heard about her, and as Lina Zhang continued her speech, she could confirm that the director had a brutal and no-nonsense attitude. She listened as the other subnaturals around her spoke up with questions or comments, but didn't try to say anything. Then, another remark was voiced, but this time followed with a clink of chains. The girl near her had somehow managed to slip her hands free of the restraints. 

The next few events happened so quickly that Sophia barely had time to comprehend them. She saw the gun aimed by a soldier straight at the partially freed girl, and as an instinct began to move away. But before she could travel any further two gunshots rang out, one after another. One from the director as she shot at the soldier, and the other from the soldier pulling the trigger just as he was shot. 

Two loud echoing shots, and a pain. 

Pain far worse than anything she had ever felt before blossomed in her right forearm. It was as if the air had been sucked out of her, and she could only gasp, not scream. As she crumpled to the ground, her left hand came around to grasp her right arm before quickly jerking away. Touching it only made it worse, and now her head was beginning to ring. Raising her left hand in front of her face, she discovered that it was covered in blood, and only then did the realization hit her. [color=BD892F][i]I've been shot. I've been shot. I've been sho-[/i][/color] Darkness began to cloud her vision, and she sank into unconsciousness. 

[hr]
The first thing that hit her as she opened her eyes to stare at the ceiling was the smell. It was the smell of anesthetics that told her immediately where she was: in the hospital. She had always disliked that smell, hated it in fact, for it had a tendency to make her feel light headed. Being in the hospital would explain why she felt so groggy and her limbs so heavy. The next thing that she thought about was the events that had transpired very early in the morning. Slowly and hesitantly, a little afraid of what she might see, she turned her head to the right to take a look at her arm. 

All there was to see where a bunch of bandages, and a sling. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting to see, but she felt extremely relieved. But that relaxed feeling didn't last long as thoughts began to swarm her mind. She wondered how long it would take for her arm to recover. She wondered about how she would ever learn to adjust here. She wondered how her family was doing back home. Would her older sister still tell her all about what was happening at home, or would she cut off connections? The funny thing was, Sophia didn't feel different at all. [color=BD892F][i]Just don't think about it[/i][/color], she scolded herself.

To give herself something to do, she slowly eased herself into a sitting position, wincing whenever she accidentally moved her right arm. Eyes darting from place to place around the room, she took in the injured people, the books, the TV. Then she eyed the control with buttons by her bed. She supposed that she could try and press one of them and see if a nurse would come, but she didn't really feel like having a conversation. She didn't feel like reading or sitting in front of a screen either. 

With a soft sigh, she pushed back the blankets with her good arm before swinging her legs off the edge of the bed. Maybe she would try and go somewhere, wherever that was. As she swung her legs, she caught sight of the ankle cuffs that were now on her. It gave her an uneasy feeling to think that she was probably being tracked right now and that if she did anything wrong the cuffs could be activated. With her feet now on the cool ground, she proceeded to head out of the room. Once out of the area that she had been sleeping in, she stopped to take a look around her. The place seemed to be rather blank and bare, one wall looking identical to the next and the next. Choosing a random direction she began to walk, soon coming to a staircase, heading down it, and walking down another corridor. 

Then an alarm blared, coming from the ankle cuffs as well. She stopped in mid-step and paused to listen. As she listened, some color drained from her face. The people that she had arrived with yesterday were going out to fight those monsters? [color=BD892F][i]But they aren't trained![/i][/color] she thought, [color=BD892F][i]Is that what I would be doing too if I hadn't been injured?[/i][/color] It was shocking, and suddenly she didn't feel like wandering around so much anymore. The only problem was that with her bad sense of direction, she wasn't entirely sure which way she should go in order to go back. Everything looked so similar.

Turning around, it took a few lefts and rights before she confirmed to herself that she had no idea where she was going. Turning left around another corner, she saw that someone else was walking up the corridor towards her. An older teenage boy or a young man, also injured. She had two options. Either walk past him and say nothing or stop and see if he knew his way around. Stopping in her tracks, she thought about her two options as she gazed at him. Something about his face looked familiar, and she finally realized that he had been part of the group that she had arrived with. 

[color=BD892F][i]Looks like he got shot too. Since he arrived with me, that means he probably doesn't know his way around any better than I do. Maybe I should just keep walking, I'm sure to find the way soo- 

No. At least he looks more confident than I feel. It won't hurt to ask if he knows his way around. Plus, since he arrived in the same group that I did, we'll probably be seeing each other more often. Maybe I should try and get acquainted.

But getting acquainted means talking, and I don't know if I can talk to him if I know I'm going to see more of him. He seems so much older too.[/i][/color]

Unable to make up her mind, she just stood there and looked at him with her dark brown eyes. [color=bd892f][i]I'll let him decide if he wants to say hello or not.[/i][/color]

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