I found myself doing what I always did right before the inspectors did. My eyes roamed the room for useless tasks to do. Did the table need to be dusted? No. But the simple act of wiping the table gave me something to do and it also kept me from feeling too stressed. The others were sitting perfectly still in the middle of the room. I could feel their eyes watching me as I worked. I couldn't let the stress show. With gritted teeth, I tightened my grip on the rag and prayed that my hands would stop shaking.
"I think I'll watch for them," Sadie said suddenly. She got up and made her way over to the window.
"Thanks," I said. That was something that I could have done that would have actually been helpful. Oh well, what mattered was that someone was doing it and for all I knew, Sadie also needed a little task to focus on. I glanced over at Vera and Blake with a bright smile on my face. Vera had her knees hugged to her chest and her eyes were wide.
She was staring up at the ceiling with her usual look of pure terror. I could see tears trickling down her cheeks. Who knew what she was thinking about now? All of my attempts to comfort her had been useless. It didn't really matter. So long as she didn't act violently, she would be alright.
This was one of the few times when Blake actually looked afraid. Her angry glare was still there, but I could clearly see sparks of fear in her eyes. When she was like this, it was best to not speak to her. I had learned that the hard way. Last time I tried to comfort her, she had given me a delightfully painful bruise on the cheek. I turned my attention back to the table. Sadie let out a sudden scream and stumbled away from the window.
"They're coming! T-there's so many of them!" she gasped. I rushed over to the window. She was right. Several figures could be seen moving through the woods. They looked strange and ghostly with their masks and long winter coats. I had forgotten what humans looked like when they weren't covered with dirt and blood.
"Alright. Stay calm. Let's all just keep our eyes on the ceiling and hope this ends quickly," I whispered, sitting down next to the others. Sadie took hold of my hand. I smiled at her. "We'll be okay." We had made it through this before. We could make it through this again. We sat in silence, savoring the stillness. But soon the calm was shattered, and the door was flung open. The four of us raised our hands in unison and then froze. The room was filled in an instant. I tried to keep my facial expressions calm and relaxed as I was tackled and pinned to the ground. I met Sadie's eyes as she was also wrestled to the ground.
I gave her a reassuring smile. These three were looking to me for comfort and reassurance. We all needed to stay calm and not resist. That would end in disaster. There was a sharp pain in my neck. Now they were injecting some of that strange blue stuff into me. For a moment, my vision blurred. A chilling, numbing sensation was filled my head now. Blake's face was twisted with silent rage and her eyes were squeezed shut.
This was one of the only times that I could bring my heartless self to feel sorry for her. There was nothing on this whole planet that Blake hated more than needles. She really was doing a great job controlling herself. Vera stared off into the distance with that same empty look on her face. The tears on her cheeks were the only sign that she was the least bit aware of what was happening to her.
One of the two people who had tackled me tilted my head back while the other held me down. What came next, again? Was it eyedrops? Yes, it was. I was getting better at remembering. Sometimes the inspectors would add in new things. A part of me wondered if being able to see their faces would make this whole process more or less terrifying.
More than anything, I just wished they would explain what they were doing and why. But asking questions or talking at all was always a bad idea. Sadie had coughed at one point during our last inspection, and she had been knocked out and restrained for the rest of the inspection.
My eyes remained focused on the ceiling. I tried not to look at or think about the stinging in my head or the bright purple liquid that was being forced down my throat. It would all be over very soon. I just needed to hold out a little longer. I could feel the eyes of my friends burning into me. Calm, relaxed, everything was alright. This had happened before, and I had made it out just fine. There was nothing for me to do but grit my teeth and wait for it to end. At last, I was pulled to my feet and my hands were cuffed. The inspectors had actually been surprisingly gentle with us this time. Other than a few bruises, I was fine.
We were all dragged out of the shack and into the open. Now there would be a moment of peace. A cool breeze blew by and gently caressed my sweaty brow. I closed my eyes and savored the cool sensation. It was probably safe to talk now. The inspectors would give us a little while to let the medicine kick in. The purpose of those injections were supposedly to keep the attacks at bay. But from my personal experience, they made no real difference. Once an attack began, there was nothing you could do to stop it.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"You guys alright?" I asked after working up the courage to speak. They nodded. "It's almost over," I added. But the worst part was next. If I were to guess, it took about five minutes for the medicine to "kick in." But that's just a guess. There were about twelve people standing in the clearing. That felt a little excessive. We hadn't had this many visitors us before. Why the sudden change? After a little while of standing around and talking at a safe distance, the inspectors approached us once again. Hopefully they wouldn't be so aggressive now that we had taken the medicine.
At least we all knew what was going to happen. The first time we had been inspected had been a pure nightmare. None of us had known who these people were, why they were attacking us or what kinds of medicine they were giving us. Things had gotten easier once we had known what to expect. As two of the inspectors approached us, I stepped forward. The other three girls huddled together as I was dragged away. It had been a while since I had experienced any of the attacks. So, naturally I wasn't too worried. But I was concerned about Sadie. After all, she experienced an attack two days ago.
The inspectors led me back into the shack. They began by shining bright lights in my eyes and mouth and sticking things in my ears. Then they removed my jacket to examine my rash. It was still there. But all the scars and stains and dirt on my arms probably made it hard to tell. Then they stuck some needles into my neck and gave me a finger prick.
Neither of the two inspectors started yelling or arguing at any point. So, I assumed that I wasn't mortally infected or anything like that. Hopefully things would go smoothly for the other girls as well. My jacket was returned to me, and I was led back to the others. Vera went after me, then Blake, and then Sadie last. I had never understood why it was necessary for us to do this separately. It seemed to me like it would be much more efficient for us to all be examined at the same time.
But then again, I was not doctor. I gritted my teeth as Sadie was dragged off. Hopefully she would be filthy enough that the dirt would cover her rashes. I really had no clue as to whether or not her condition had worsened. Thankfully, none of us had had to be put down yet, but it could still happen. We hated each other, but if one of us was put down that would send everyone else into panic and I would lose what little control I had over this little group. However, worrying didn't make anything better.
I followed Vera's example and stared up at the sky. The pale fluffy clouds were a somewhat comforting sight to focus on. It actually was a really lovely day. I would have liked to spend it resting and relaxing. Why was this taking so long? Had something happened? Just when I was about to go into panic mode, Sadie remerged from the shed. Her face was pale, and she looked a little frightened, but it didn't seem as if anything horrible had been discovered. She sat down next to me, and I smiled at her.
"See, it's over now. You won't have to do this again for several months," I whispered. A weak smile appeared on her face. Misery mixed with quiet rage mixed with relief on the faces of Blake and Vera. Yes, it was over now. We had made it through another inspection. So, why were the inspected still here and why hadn't they removed our handcuffs yet? Had something happened after all? Should I ask?
"Excuse me, would you please remove our hand cuffs now?" I did my best to keep my voice calm and free of panic. But no one answered me. Now my heart was racing. Why weren't they letting us go? I took a few deep breaths and prayed that my rising panic didn't show on my face. Now I could feel Sadie's eyes boring into me.
But I didn't meet her gaze. All that I needed to do was stay to calm and things would be alright. My eyes remained focused on the inspectors. They were quietly talking amongst themselves. After a moment one of them nodded and headed off into the woods. We all turned to watch him.
"What's happening?" Sadie whispered.
"I don't know. Please be quiet. Things will be alright," I whispered to her. Blake shot me a glare.
"Things will be alright," Blake said in a high-pitched tone. "That's what you always say."
"Because it's always true. We'll be okay. Also, you need to work on your mocking skills, I have a much deeper voice than you. If you want to mock me properly Blake, you'll have to learn to imitate it," I couldn't help but say. This was not time to be silly. But it was also no time to panic. Sadie giggled as Blake turned away to hide her amusement.
"She does have a point," Sadie whispered. I could feel the terror slowly fading away. Hopefully, that joke had done some good. Just when my heart rate was beginning to slow down, Vera let out a sharp gasp. I turned to her. Now, Vera looked frightened most of the time. Terrified was the best way to describe her resting face.
But never in all my time of knowing her had I ever seen her look like this. Her eyes were wide and her gaze unblinking. There wasn't a trace of color on her face. She looked exactly how I had always imagined a ghost to look. What could have upset her so much? I followed her gaze. The inspector that had left was returning now. Behind him walked an elderly lady wearing a bright green uniform. I had never seen her before. She looked up at us and smiled brightly.
It was a warm, friendly smile. But something about it made my stomach twist. I had learned the hard way to trust Vera's instincts when it came to danger. As the lady approached us, the fear on Vera's face grew more and more intense.
"Vera?" I whispered. She didn't answer. I edged my way over to her and took hold of her hand. She gripped my hand so tightly that I feared she would break my knuckles. I could already feel the fear in the air returning. The lady stopped right in front of us. Unlike the inspectors, she wasn't avoiding our gaze. She was looking for us right in the eye. I couldn't remember the last time an uninfected had looked me in the eye. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat and began to speak.
"Hello there," she said.