The tests were the worst part.  The constant poking and prodding and being forced to give blood before submitting to scans and exams had a way of wearing on a person.  The medical procedures were a regular part of her life; she had never known differently.  As a child, it had been simple enough to accept that this was just the way things were but now, as an adult, she found herself wanting to push back, to find out what would happen if she ever said no.  Yet she knew she could not.  They owned her.  Despite how special she was, the fact of the matter was that these white coats and the people who employed them owned her.<br/><br/>“You’re free to go now, Chryseum.”  Dr. Nowak barely looked up from his computer screen as he casually dismissed her.  Nowak was an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and a thick mustache reminiscent of Tom Selleck.  He was also the most business-like about their regularly scheduled appointments.  Most of the other white coats tried to make casual conversation to alleviate the way they treated her like a science experiment.  But not Nowak.  Even after twenty or so years of these appointments, he still treated her as an experiment and not as a person<br/><br/>Chrys slid off the exam table before she tugged the fitted black tank top on over the dark gray sports bra she wore.  She raked a hand through chin length reddish brown hair and turned shockingly golden eyes towards the man.  A smirk curled one side of her lips.  With her enhanced eyesight, it was easy to see that he was scanning the results of her blood tests.  “See you next time, Carl.”  He hated being called by his first name and she knew it.<br/><br/>The linoleum floor was cold under her bare feet as she crossed the room to leave.  The smell of the lab was bothering her more today than it ever had.  Even contained as it was in test tubes, the scent of blood always irritated her.  Combined with the constant low buzzing and humming of all the equipment, it was enough to drive her mad.  She was glad to be dismissed rather than be subjected to more exams.  There had been mention of studying her reproductive organs more now that she was older.  Chryseum was not in the mood for anyone to be poking around down there, treating her like a collection of organs instead of like the young woman she was.<br/><br/>The hallway floor was cold too but she didn’t mind.  The chill felt good.  She remembered the scientists realizing years ago that their experiments’ average temperatures were always a bit higher than a human’s 98.6.  That discovery had led to tests galore where the white coats had subjected the children to various experiments as they attempted to find various temperature thresholds.  What would be considered a fever?  What would make them hypothermic?  How long would it take for their core temperature to return to their normal temperature?  She remembered crying and pleading with them that she was cold, so cold, and could she please just get out of the ice bath, she would be such a good girl if they would just let her out.  It was one of the first moments when she realized that these people didn’t see them as human.<br/><br/>Chryseum had already been feeling itchy in her own skin, anxious to move or do<i>something</i>to burn off the excess energy that was making her feel like she wanted to climb the walls.  She picked up the pace and headed towards her room.<br/><br/>The door wasn’t locked.  It never was.  In fact, there wasn’t even a lock on the door.  After all,<i>people</i>are provided with privacy, not science experiments.  In some aspects, it made life easier; she never had to worry about losing her key, for one.  Chrys entered her room and grabbed a pair of socks from the dresser before sitting down on the edge of the bed to put on her sneakers.  The easiest way to burn off the feelings was to go work out.  It took her a few tries to get the laces tied just so but soon enough she was strapping her iPod to her arm and putting in her headphones.  The tension in her shoulders began to ebb as the music blasted in her ears.  As she headed for the door, she gathered her hair into a messy knot on top of her head.<br/><br/>The company had kindly provided their<i>creations</i>with a well-equipped gym, fully understanding that there would be a need to expend copious amounts of energy.  Chrys hit the weights first, pushing her muscles to the point of exhaustion.  Once her arms were shaking from the amounts of curls and dips and kickbacks and presses she’d done, she put the weights back on the racks and pushed sweaty pieces of errant hair from her face.<br/><br/>Swinging her arms back and forth and in front of her, she headed for the track.  After a deep inhale followed by a slow exhale, Chrys began to run.  The pace she set was one she could maintain for a long time yet it was one a normal human would be hard pressed to keep up for that same amount of time.  Around and around she went until the number of laps and distance had long been forgotten.  Finally, she slowed down to walk a few laps, her hands resting on top of her head as she cooled down.  Despite the substantial amount of exercise she had just completed, that feeling of being antsy remained.<br/><br/>Her skin was coated with sweat once she finally headed off to her room.  She needed a shower and she needed to eat.  Sweaty clothes were stripped off and tossed into the hamper as she stepped into the shower.  The water was hot and the small bathroom quickly filled with steam.  Chryseum leaned forward to rest her arms on the cool tile wall and her forehead on her forearms as the water pounded down on her back.  A game of Whisper Down the Lane had brought rumors to her ears that they would be going out on a mission soon.  “God, I hope so.  That’s one surefire way of ensuring they can’t slice and dice us,” she muttered into the empty room.  After standing in that position for what felt like forever, she finally straightened from the wall and set about washing her hair and body.  That part went quickly and before long, she was wrapped in a towel and wiping the steam from the mirror to stare at her reflection.  Gold eyes stared back at her and narrowed slightly.  She smacked the mirror once with an open palm before heading out of the bathroom to get dressed.  Maybe someone would be in the cafeteria, someone she could talk to in order to help relieve the antsy feeling that just wouldn’t go away.<br/><br/><div class="bbCodeSpoiler">
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