Free The Face of Earth by Kirsty Winkler Page A

feet and led her to the elevator. He input the code and the doors opened. Then he helped her into the waiting elevator. The two armed men boarded, and one of them took Karina’s other arm, helping the man in the white coat support her weight. The elevator dropped slowly, but in her drugged state, Karina was sensitive to its movement. She felt like a leaf floating down from a tree. She had to close her eyes against the sudden dizziness.
    The elevator stopped at the lobby and the men led Karina out. They took her across the street to the metal building. Once they were through the doors, a guard closed and locked them. They led her through the same door that she had been taken through when the cops had first brought her here. She wanted to struggle, to escape, but somehow she just couldn’t find the energy. They walked her down the spiraling hallway to the room below. The metal table she had been strapped to on her first visit gleamed in the bright lights. She feared they would strap her to it again, but they led her past it to an elaborate construction tucked away in an alcove at the end of the room. It looked like a futuristic coffin, ducting and wiring running all over its sides. Inside, it boasted a plush bed.
    The man in the white coat turned to her. “Are you tired? Let me help you lie down.” He and his companions maneuvered her into the contraption and closed the lid. She tried to protest, but she was so very tired and the bed was so very comfortable. She could see the men through the clear top. Their faces became fuzzier and she closed her eyes against an abrupt feeling of nausea. She felt an unexpected chill creep up her spine and tried to open her eyes to see what was causing it. They wouldn’t obey. She tried to lift her hand to her face, but it was as if it were made of lead, and too heavy to move. She felt colder and colder, until she couldn’t feel her body at all anymore. Her sluggish mind slowed, and stopped completely for a moment. Then it restarted, and Karina became aware of her body again.
    She was cold. So cold. Her heart beat slowly. Her skin began to warm, and she felt goose bumps on her arms and legs. Her eyelids fluttered, then opened. The lid of the coffin was open and men in white lab coats stood around her, checking her vital signs. One reached into the coffin and stuck a needle into her shoulder. Karina felt a liquid enter her muscle. Her body continued to warm, and she tried to sit up, but a familiar sense of lethargy crept over her. They must have drugged her again. The men helped her climb out of the coffin, taking her to the metal table and sitting her on it so they could continue their tests. One of the men patted Karina on the hand.
    “You’ve done well,” he said, grinning with satisfaction. Karina turned her head to look at him, even though it was a chore to do so. That voice was familiar. She stared at the man next to her. It was the same man who had given her the first shot up in the penthouse prison. She squinted at him uncomprehendingly. He laughed. “You’ve just made history. It’s a shame no one will ever know of your accomplishment.”
    After Karina had been poked and prodded for what seemed like hours, they led her back to the coffin. They passed several similar coffins, positioned upright at an angle and more futuristic than hers. Odd. They hadn’t been there before. How did they get them here so quickly? Karina furrowed her brows in confusion. Her brain told her that she knew what was going on, but she couldn’t quite grasp it. The answer seemed to remain just out of reach.
    They arrived at the alcove in the back of the room where several men were engaged in modifications on her coffin. They stepped aside to allow the men in white coats to put Karina back into it. Karina feebly fought to get away, but they overpowered her. A young man lifted her up and deposited her back into the coffin, closing the lid to prevent her escape. She pounded weakly on the lid, wanting to