3Jacquie finished her tests with Dr. Akai and was lead back into the examination room where she had started. She was told to sit and wait as Dr. Akai conversed with another doctor in the next room, and Jacquie did so. She watched, though, and could see from the shadows that the other doctor was a man and a few feet taller than Dr. Akai. He had to be about six feet tall from what Jacquie could tell. Interested, Jacquie stood and walked quietly towards the door. She soon heard murmurings of voices and moved a little closer, straining to hear.
Unable to hear most of what was being said, Jacquie could only make out something about the results being better than Dr. Akai expected and that the other doctor didn't seem as impressed. Creeping a little closer, Jacquie could tell the two doctors were having a disagreement about her and had differing ideas on how she was to be treated. Lucky for her, Jacquie noticed Dr. Akai was on her side. At least she wasn't as bad a judge of character as she thought she was. She seemed to have fingered Dr. Akai's personality rather accurately. Sadly for her, Jacquie soon knew Dr. Akai was losing the debate. Before she knew what was happening, the door burst open and the two doctors were now staring down at her.
"See what I mean? She has to be detained. She's a loose cannon."
"Relax. She's just curious."
"It doesn't matter. What I say goes. Orderlies! Hold her down."
"What's going on!?"
Jacquie yelped in confusion as the orderlies from earlier came over and picked her up, holding her down on the examination table. Struggling like her life depended on it, Jacquie bit an orderlies hand as he tried to quiet her down and kicked another in the groin as her legs flailed. Dr. Akai was yelling something about leaving her alone and pleading with Jacquie to calm down at the same time, but she couldn't hear her over her own screaming. She didn't want to be sedated, and had no idea what they had planned for her after this, so she had no reason to trust them or anything they said.
****Meanwhile****
As Giddeon roamed the halls, passing groups of employees who laughed and chatted like they hadn't a care in the world, he noticed a couple guards sitting behind the reception desk. Joining them to see what was so interesting, Giddeon recognized the scene of the news report he was now hearing. It was the mall Jacquie had told him about.
"Early yesterday evening, Tintagel Village passers by noticed an unconscious man laying in an open parking space outside this rural shopping center. Near the injured man was a bicycle which had been stolen from outside the public library on Maple street just hours before. The man, who is suspected to be the thief, was taken to Grace Memorial Hospital for emergency care and as of yet hasn't awoken. He is scheduled to be flown to St. Marcus Protectorate Medical in South Dakota sometime within the week if his condition doesn't approve. More details as they come in."
The tv screen shifted to an overview of the weekend weather, and Giddeon moved on down the hall. He now knew for sure that Jacquie had told him the truth, and even felt a little guilty for bringing her straight here without explaining anything to her. He knew she really didn't have anything to be scared of, but she didn't. He realized just how much she wouldn't understand, and how much of that fact would be considered his fault. Sighing, Giddeon soon found himself in the elevator and heading down to the floor where Jacquie was being held. He knew nobody else would explain what was going on to Jacquie, so he took it upon himself to put her fears to rest, even if she didn't believe him. It would make him feel better, at least, and that's all that really mattered to him. He couldn't stand feeling guilty for doing his job.
*********************
Jacquie struggled, but was overpowered within thirty seconds and felt the prick of the needle. Damn. Why was all this happening to her? She never did anything in her life worth this treatment, Sphaira or not. Why was she unfortunate enough to be the new friend of these creatures? Why couldn't it have been someone else? Tears fell from Jacquie's eyes as she stopped fighting the orderlies, who in response loosened their grip thinking the sedative was taking effect. She curled into a ball and cried as Dr. Akai bitched out who Jacquie now knew was named Dr. Mindakin. She even spoke of having his licence revoked if he caused her patient any psychological or emotional damage. It was a heart-warming speech to listen to. At least someone cared about her.
A second later, however, Jacquie realized the orderlies weren't holding her anymore, and she snapped into action. Jumping to the ground, she made a run for the door as the doctors and orderlies stood in awe of her tenacity. Slipping just outside the door because of the tile, Jacquie slammed into the opposite wall. Not letting that stop her, she continued to run towards the elevators, knocking down employees and medical staff as she passed. Nobody saw her coming, so it was a fairly easy task. But getting into the elevator was another altogether. Jacquie tapped the button about twenty times before getting a response. She looked nervously around her as she waited, noticing some of the fallen slowly rise and curse at her, while a few of the others yelled down the hall for security.
"Jay?"
Jacquie turned as she heard the elevator door open only to see her biggest obstacle standing right in front of her. Gasping, she fell backwards in surprise and landed on her rear end with a thump. She hadn't expected "the traitor" to show his face anywhere near her again, and her scowl reverberated that feeling to Giddeon. Giddeon seemed to shake it off rather easily, grabbing her wrist and pulling her to her feet. He did it all with a silly expression on his face like he hadn't done anything wrong in the world, and that infuriated Jacquie. Clenching a fist, she swung her free hand around to wallop him and take the elevator by force. Sadly, Giddeon was better prepared than the orderlies and blocked with a wince as it was his injured arm he uplifted. Now cross in his own respect, Giddeon backhanded his friend of seven years.
"Behave yourself. We aren't here to hurt you. We're only interested in the creatures and how well you can control them. If you stop fighting us, it will all go much faster and you can go home sooner."
"Why should I believe you? TRAITOR!"
"I was doing my job. I'm not a traitor."
"You betrayed me, Trey!"
"I didn't. You'll understand soon enough that I didn't."
"LIAR!"
Feeling the effects of the sedative sooner than she thought, Jacquie leaned against the wall and slowly drifted down to the floor, her cold gaze fixated on Giddeon. He continued to talk, but the words seemed garbled by the effects of what she'd been given. He sounded concerned, however, and that made Jacquie wonder about him. Maybe he was telling the truth. No. He was still a traitor, bringing her here against her will. Not helping her when she asked for it. Everything felt so wrong as the world around her became blurry and she closed her eyes.
She soon felt like she was floating in midair, almost like she was a puppet in a puddle of water that supported her and told her where to go. She couldn't seem to move on her own no matter how hard she tried. Her limbs felt tingly but didn't respond to her impulses. And there was still the sounds of garbled voices all around her as well, but the words still didn't make any sense. The tones did, however, and her mind was quickly bombarded by numerous aggressive voices as well as one woman's voice that sounded supportive. Jacquie's eyes now felt like they had been glued shut, but she was able to open them enough to realize she was being carried, not floating. There was a patch on the man's shirt that she noticed, which Jacquie read silently just before passing out, "Born into darkness. Lead into light. September, 1749."