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We didn’t have any option but to follow her I clung hard to Nathan’s hand as alked, refusing to let on how disturbed I was by the whole situation This was… I didn’t even knohat this was I just hoped that ere going to survive it
The second door led to a hallhere the lights were already on, and where things were considerably less gris improved as alked, until we reached a clear plastic sheet hung to block all forward ain, and asked, in a perfectly reasonable tone of voice, "Has either of you been sick in the last week? Any colds, viruses, unusual al infections?"
"No," I said
"No," said Nathan
"Okay, that’s cool Any injuries or other physical conditions such as asthet headaches so as you don’t take lasses away, I’m fine," said Nathan
"That’s even cooler," said Tansy She tugged the sheet of plastic aside, revealing another sheet of plastic--this one cut into thick strips--hanging behind it It was like looking into a huht behind you"
That was actually why I orried, but I was sh--barely--not to say that out loud Instead, I kept h the sheets of hanging plastic There were five of them, each cut in the sah the last one, I was starting to feel like alked into a strange kind of funhouse One that wasn’t actually any fun
There was another door past the plastic Someone had written on it, in Sharpie, BROKEN I reached out and tried the knob It was unlocked Taking that as an invitation, I pushed the door open, and together, Nathan and I stepped through Then we stopped It was the only response that iven as in front of us Not that anything else orrying aboutin what had clearly once been thelanes were still utters that hadn’t seen a ball since before my accident There was a structure at the back of the rooThat here the original fixtures ended I wasn’t hugely fa alleys, but I didn’t need to be to know that the lab workstations were new, as were the massive plas scores used to be displayed The lights were brighter here, almost industrial in quality Shelves of books and scientific supplies lined the walls, all of them packed to capacity and occasionally beyond
And there were people I don’t knohat I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t people, at least two dozen of the between the lab stations with the casual intensity I norround levels of Sy briefly our way before appearing to dis
Tansy squeezed through the door behind us She stepped into the rooleefully, "Ta-da! Welco Doctor C we should get a fancy name for it, but she says no, that’s silly, we don’t need a fancy name if no one’s supposed to knoe’re here La-ame Anyway, it was super-nice toyou really soon" She turned and wandered off into the bowling alley, weaving her way between the people in the lab coats
Nathan and I stayed where ere, both of us at a loss for what to do next I looked around the rooe We’d been called here That meant somebody--probably "Doctor C," whoever that was--had to be waiting for us
A curvaceous blonde wo herself deftly across the polished floor She wore a lab coat over a blue blouse and a pair of gray slacks Fingerless black leather gloves protected her hands She was s, but it looked wary so to happen next She stopped herself a few feet away froers unlocked I smiled nervously at the woman
"Hello," I said "I’m Sal Mitchell, and this is Dr Nathan Ki someone here Tansy already verified the password Please don’t let her have us"
"Tansy can be a little overly enthusiastic about the wrong things sonized her voice from the phone This was the person we had co atat her He wasn’t saying a word He was just staring
"Um," I said
"I would have come out to meet you myself, but I avoid open spaces these days," said the woht be photographed You’ve been scanned three ti; I know that you’re clean If you weren’t, you would never have ive you a memory stick to attach to your GPS when you leave here It will create a set of false routes and locations for you, so that it looks like you went to a few perfectly reasonable places today I do appreciate your co"