Page 14 of Fixation of the Mind

Judgmental whispers floated across the room, five sets of eyes watching me as they talked amongst themselves until Mrs. Ricci sat in her seat and addressed me. “Layrin Smith, we here at the council have a few questions for you. Once you answer them, we will let you know the outcome and what will happen next.” Remembering what Rion had said about lie detectors, I rubbed my sweaty palms on my clothes and tried to covertly look around, seeing only one red dot in the far left corner. I tried not to take too much comfort in that. With how advanced Foedus’ technology seemed so far, I was sure their system was more complex than just a single camera.

I took a breath, nodding for her to continue because I wasn't quite ready to use my voice, fearful that it would come out shaky and make me seem untruthful.

“Where were you born?” The voice came from my left, so I turned to look at the shadow person that spoke.

“Mintsburg, Virginia.” I tried to keep it short and sweet, only answering what they asked.

“Where did you grow up?” a smooth, cultured voice asked from my right.

“Same place.”

There was a puff of a laugh before the same voice asked, “What was your home life like?”

Well, they were sure getting personal. I lifted my chin, refusing to feel intimidated by these rich assholes. “I was in an orphanage from birth, left the orphanage when I was eighteen.” I decided to change my strategy, hoping to get ahead of a few of these probing questions. “The government checks stopped coming, so I got a job a few towns over in a diner.”

A snooty male voice scoffed. “Did you at least have any honors classes or learn extra skills in high school?”

I took a breath, not letting his attitude affect me. “I took a few AP courses, but that doesn't really amount to much in the real world. No one regularly asks me to do calculus or recite Shakespeare for them.”

The acoustics in this room was great because I could hear his pompous voice say under his breath, “At least she's not a complete idiot.”

A woman’s voice drifted down, holding a hint of kindness that marked her as different from the others. “It says on your application that you’re already twenty-one years of age, yet you are only a beginning freshman at Messores. Why didn't you go to college when you graduated high school?”

The fighter in me reared its head as I mashed my teeth together. It wasn't something I was proud of, obviously. I knew that was the path normal people took, but when you were poor and starving, all you could think about was your next meal, not about how you should be getting a higher education. Sweet old Mel was the only one who had ever pushed me to do any of that.

“At the time, getting money to fill my belly was more important than filling my mind.” I bit my tongue, mentally chastising myself for the slice of attitude I’d added to my answer.

The room was quiet for a second before Mrs. Ricci asked, “Then how did you end up here?”

My blood froze as I realized we didn’t talk about what I should say if that was brought up. I now knew that the guys had tricked me into coming here, and I was nervous that if I said anything else, the lie detectors that they had would pick it up.

Rion’s voice floated through my head. It all depends on how you think about their question and rationalize it. Rationalize it. Okay. Keep it short and simple. Stick to the facts.

Taking a breath, I answered her. “I received a scholarship to come here. It was like a dream come true.”

The room buzzed with low voices at that, but I kept my hands clasped together at my front, hoping none of the computers or videos would notice the sweat that was dripping between my palms.

“Shhhh. Not now. That's not important,” I heard Mrs. Ricci scold someone before she turned the conversation to me. “About your necklace. When you were taken by my children, you had a necklace with a solid gold triangle with an inverted thorny rose in the center. Where did you get it?”

My fingers ran up my shirt and pulled out the necklace from underneath, letting it hit my chest. “This was on me when the lady who ran the orphanage found me in the forest in her backyard.”

Their collective silence was defining. This was some major piece to the puzzle, but I didn't understand it. It seemed like forever had passed in silence before Mrs. Ricci’s voice rang out.

“I call for her to be tested. Everyone who agrees say aye.” Tested? Tested for what?

While their faces were hidden in darkness, I could still make out five raised shapes as a collection of voices called out “Aye.”

“Well, the ayes have it.” Three quick claps sounded, then the light in the room went up, blinding me in the process.

My head whipped around when I heard footsteps coming toward me before my eyes adjusted. I could make out a large shape coming closer even though I put my hand up, then a set of what felt like iron pipes wrapped around me.

My intuition kicked in, and I kicked at the legs of the man who was holding me. As my heel connected with his calf, he grunted out his pain. I wiggled some more, trying to find my opening to get free. By the time my eyes fully adjusted, a short man with thick-rimmed glasses was coming my way.

Mrs. Ricci tried to reason with me. “Miss Smith, we need to take a blood sample.”

Blood sample? What the fuck did they want with my blood? Whatever it was, I was sure it wasn't to save the world, and that was the only reason I would give my blood without a fight.

My pulse beat harder the closer the glasses guy got, then he pulled out the syringe and I went into survival mode. Smashing my head back, I hit the guy who was holding me down in the face. I positioned my leg between his and tried to kick back, hoping that I would hit his dick, but a thigh shot would do too.

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