#more chapter 2

I moved to take out the IV needle, but my eyes strongly disagreed. 

⚠DANGER⚠  ⚠REMOVAL WILL DRAW BLOOD AND LEAK VITAL FLUID⚠ ⚠DANGER⚠ ⚠REMOVAL WILL CAUSE LINGERING PAIN AND SORENESS⚠ ⚠DANGER⚠

“God- fine okay!” I winced, grabbing the stand and dragging it along with me as I went to pick up my coat. 

I grabbed the hanger and slipped the coat off, taking a short look at the dress from the night before. The emerald green was undisturbed, maybe a bit wrinkled, but I wasn’t picking up any blood. It was a relief, considering that this was the least cyberchrome dress I owned, and I intended on wearing it out more often. 

As I slipped the fur over my shoulders, I quickly noticed a much larger bruise on my right arm. 

⚠BRUISE STAGE 3, LOCATION:RIGHT  BRACHIAL REGION . PROXIMAL TO RIGHT SHOULDER . WIDTH: 10 CM . PREDICTED CAUSE: MALE HAND GRIPPED AND PULLED RIGHT ARM. INTENSITY OF HOLD INDICATES ANXIETY OR ADRENALINE. 

It was an ugly, unkind bruise that left my arm too sore to lift properly. On the other arm there were no bruises, but noticeable soreness either way. I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. Based on the invasive analysis, and the memories I had leading up to my unconsciousness, I could reasonably assume it was another kidnapping attempt that put me here. If I only had a couple bruises, then the IV was to flush out my system, but if I had no guards with me, then my sister was here too. 

My pulse jumped in my chest and I rushed to the counter. The pink text blurred into my peripheral as I searched for a clipboard. My eyes were wide and I stopped blinking almost on instinct. There it was dangling from the cabinet. I was so frantic I almost missed it. 

CLIPBOARD!

Sometimes these things were useful. I snatched it off and flipped past the usual documents. 

DATE: 26 FEBRUARY 2057 . . .  BIOGRAPHY OF PATIENT: JULIETTA MARY . . .  MEDICAL HISTORY: AGE - 27 HEIGHT: 16 . . .  INSURANCE: . . .  EVENTS OF ST . . .  TRANSCRIPT OF FOOTAGE COLLECTED FROM PANDORA SET 7000

I cursed under my breath. Biting the inside of my cheek, I continued reading. 

DATE: 25 FEBRUARY 2057   TIME: 19:03 OBSERVED: PROFILES FOR DARREN WAYNE AND JACKSON KYLEA PANDORA CONDITION: NOTICEABLE INCREASE IN BODY HEAT, TEMPERATURE MODULATOR V. 5.16 DISABLED, INCREASING HEART RATE  ENVIRONMENT: PENTHOUSE 625 LOCATED IN CORREIN CITY, MASTER BEDROOM ALERT: PANDORA CONDITIONS INDICATE RISE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITY

I cringed and let the pages flutter over the transcript. I knew the rest and, unfortunately, so did my parents. I sighed and hung the clipboard back on the cabinet. My heart was still racing as I replayed that night’s events in my head. My fingers tap danced in the air while I calculated how long I had been asleep for. Lyselle would be pissed. Mama and Daddy even more so. I tried to remember what the eyes had signaled to me before I blacked out, but whatever was injected into me must’ve targeted my neural facilities first.