Drew's pov
I can't mess this up. Yesterday, my first day went so well and my mentor is absolutely wonderful.
My colleagues are great, and the activities that I will be doing are very fun and exciting. This internship is going to change my life, I can just feel it.
Silverstein Research Center is all about Biophysics.
West Grove is not much of a big city, but the laboratory sure makes up for the size. It is a seven- story building, full of underpaid, intelligent scientists.
I hope to get a job here one day. It's always been a dream of mine to contribute to science. Something big. I want to be one of those people that students learn about, like Marie Curie, Mary Jackson, Rosalind
Franklin, Dorothy Vaughan, Mae Jemison, Katherine Johnson-
"Ow!" I came face to face with a glass door.
My face heats up as I rub my forehead and nose to ease the pain. I awkwardly checked my surroundings and was very glad that no one but a lazy security guard had witnessed that. Shaking my head, I opened the transparent door and scanned my intern ID on the machine by the elevator.
I pressed on the 6th floor and vigorously pressed on the close button, not wanting to share the lift with anyone else. While going up, I straightened up my black skirt, blue buttoned up shirt and black blazer, appearing to look more professional than I did yesterday. Everyone showed up with formal clothing while I was the only one wearing a stupid nerdy graphic shirt with a science joke printed in it, along with black pants and sneakers. Only two people appreciated my shirt.
"Good morning, miss." A man wearing a lab coat greeted me, entering the elevator as l exited. I gave him a smile in return before walking to the left, where Doctor Maxine's office is located. It is a bit strange to see almost no one as I walk through the hall, because yesterday it was quite packed. Now there is only a couple of two old men. Also, as I am walking, I hear growls coming from Doctor Maxine's lab.
Where are all the damn interns ? Have they all left me? I swear, if they did, I'm going to cry. I don't want to be by myself.
"Lab 223B, here we go."I scanned my intern ID once again, which allowed me to unlock the room.I glanced at my wristwatch and saw the time. 4:29.
"Yo, I'm a minute early." I grinned, closing the door.
The loud growl I was hearing from earlier had stopped completely and now I am swallowed in silence. As I turned around, I was expecting the very awesome Doctor Maxine smiling at me, but instead I saw about ten men surrounding one shirtless young man.
My eyes widened at the sight of him.
Holy shit! Tall, muscular, tattooed, dark hair, gray eyes. Staring back at me with confusion, shock and a sea of emotion I cannot read, especially with my heart racing, both in embarrassment and for whatever the hell reaction this guy gave me. What the hell is
happening?! Where am I ?! Where is Doctor Maxine?!
"Miss?" One man frowned at me, obviously angry. Another man stares at me with perplexity and curiosity while the rest had blank faces. "You are not welcome here." The angry man sneered. He is holding a syringe and a knife, which makes me wonder what they are doing in this room and that intimidating man making me shrink with his gaze.
I gulped and clutched on my ID hanging by my neck.
"I'm so sorry!" I squealed in panic. "I got lost!" With that, I ran out of the room faster than anyone can say the word fucked'. Hopefully those men don't say anything that can get me in trouble or get me out of this internship.
As I anxiously waited for the elevator, I heard that loud growl once again, this time more vicious. It sent chills down my spine.
What the hell did I just accidentally walk into?
******
“After mixing the two chemicals together, you heat it up for ten minutes, then you add the last substance.
When you finish, you write down your steps and observations. In about an hour, we will all go to the second floor and apply what we' ve made to the organisms we have recently discovered. We will be running tests to see what they are immune to, how well they react to certain elements and how strong or Vulnerable they are.” Doctor Maxine explained to the ten of us interns. The woman shifted her wheelchair to face the whiteboard and wrote down exactly what we need to do. Then, everyone got to work. My partner, Rami, gathered all of our materials while I set up our work space.
After the incident earlier, I explained to Doctor Maxine what happened, that I was lost, and she nicely let me off the hook saying it is normal for interns to get lost on the first few days. I didn't exactly tell her what I had seen, because frankly I wasn't even sure what I had witnessed. I just pretended it never happened. Also, it turns out, our room is located on the third floor.
I don't know how my mind went from 3 to 6. I guess I should really get more sleep, so my brain actually does its job.
"This chemical burns a little, so we need to be careful" Rami warns, showing me a blue liquid. "My chemistry teacher in high school had one drop of this on her leather boots and it burned." It burns a little, he says.
Before I had a chance to reply, a blaring alarm rang throughout the building. The lights had completely shut off and soon screams erupted from the room,and from outside in the hallway. I also heard footsteps sprinting out, which tells me that everyone had already ran out of the room. I pulled out my phone and used the flashlight to see what is around me.
"Doctor Maxine!" I gasped, finding the woman stuck.
A table that has been pushed aside is preventing her wheelchair from moving, making her trapped.
I hurriedly moved and carefully pushed her out of the room. However, before I was fully outside, I was forced out of her way back in, as if a strong wind had hit me. My phone fell to the ground, but the light still faces up, allowing me to see a bit of what had tackled me.
Or rather, who.
My back hits the wall and my face meets the grey eyes from earlier. Two strong arms trapped me in between, and my heart is beating like there is no tomorrow. I began to breathe heavily, not knowing what to do at the moment.
My body is frozen, and all I could do is look back at the grey eyes that feels like it is staring at my soul.
Then, I was caught off guard when the boy leaned in. I closed my eyes and braced for the worst. Until I heard him sniff. My eyes opened, confused, to find him sniffing me. He had his eyes closed, but he continues to lean closer until his nose touches my neck.
My hands made a weak attempt to push him, but at the same time, I wasn't really putting an effort.
I was petrified. I couldn't even speak or breathe. I felt his soft lips on my neck and my body grew weaker.
Then suddenly, flashlights shined on us.
"17! Back away from the girl" Securities and scientists rushed inside with their weapons and protective gears, as if this man in front of me is the most dangerous thing in the planet. Maybe he is.
The boy growled viciously, exactly like how I heard it earlier, turning his back towards me, blocking me from running towards the group of men. One of the securities, holding a gun, stepped forward, and the boy gnarled louder, backing me further against the wall and spreading his arms, as if protecting me from the armed man.
I don't know what to do.Should I run? Should I hit him? Should I say something?
"Back away now" The armed man repeated, showing no sign of fear. Neither did the man in front of me. I then watched as one of the scientists, the same angry man from earlier, had thrown a white round device at us. It had landed on our feet.
My arms involuntarily grabbed onto the boy's right arm as we both backed away from the strange object. It started to beep, and white smoke emitted from it. I remembered smelling something unpleasant, then my vision quickly darkened and my body fell, not to the ground but on someone's rough arms
