The Institute (Falling Ash Chronicles #1) Read Free Page A

squeezed my eyes shut as the needle pierced my skin. I’d read more pain from the people I’d touched than most experienced in their lifetime, and yet I was still completely and utterly terrified of needles. It was unnatural.
    “Big baby,” she said. She filled two vials, hooked up a third and released the rubber with a snap. She waited for the vial to fill, then pressed a piece of cotton to the puncture wound and withdrew the needle. Relieved I held the cotton in place while she searched for the medical tape, grabbing it with a triumphant “ah ha!”
    “I’ll send your blood samples to the labs. Everything should come back normal but you can’t be too safe. You’ll tell me if anything feels off, right?” Tammy said after slapping the tape into place. I nodded, carefully pulling my gloves back on.
    “Yeah, I will. Can I go?” I asked. Tammy clicked her tongue, shaking her head.
    “So impatient. Yes, you can go. Martin will be waiting for you.” I stifled a groan. I’d been hoping to avoid that part of the physical. Didn’t they know the benefits of rest after emotional trauma? It wasn’t every day that people lived through death; though maybe for me it was. I sulked towards the door, barely resisting the urge to slam it behind me. Instead I shut it carefully and walked mutely down the hall. I didn’t want to give the eyes watching me any reason to chatter.
    Martin was waiting for me in the rec room. His room was large and open, surrounded on three sides by mirrors. It was dominated by the gym equipment that took up every available space. Martin resembled a human-sized GI Joe doll, from his bulging muscles to buzz cut hair cut. He invariably wore a white tank and camo pants. He barked out orders like a drill sergeant but anyone who knew him knew he was a teddy bear. He smiled affectionately at me when he saw me come in.
    “Ells Bells. It’s been awhile,” he said. I grinned at the familiar nickname. Martin was also the head of the Martial Arts program. When I first joined his class he told me I had hell in my eyes. He’d started calling me Ells Bells and it stuck. That nickname had followed me ever since.
    “Not nearly long enough. What kind of torture have you cooked up for me today?” I asked. Martin chuckled as he started hooking me up to the electrodes before gesturing towards the treadmill.  “Straight to the point, aren’t you?” I grumbled.
    “The quicker you get on the quicker you get out of here,” he pointed out. I grimaced but stepped on.
    “Can I just walk?” I asked. The trials of my day were starting to wear on me. I just wanted to escape to my room and sleep the night away.
    “Nope. Unless you’re not feeling well?” he said. A deliberate challenge, one that if I affirmed would lead me straight to a night in the Infirmary where they’d wake me up every half hour just to make sure I hadn’t slipped into a coma.
    “Fit as a fiddle. Set me up, Doc,” I said. Martin fiddled with the dials, setting it into motion. I hastily started to jog before the moving band could send me flying backwards.
    He made me run. And run. And run. By the time I was allowed to stop I was panting and dripping with sweat. I saw him taking notes out of the corner of my eye as I forced myself to straighten from my doubled over position and evened out my breaths.
    “Your times are off, Ells.”
    “Take it up with Erik,” I grumbled. Martin frowned, made another note on his page, and at last freed me.
    I headed down the hall, hearing the sound of students growing louder the closer I got to the commons area. I could tell dinner was in full swing by the sound of cutlery clinking and the chatter. My stomach rumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since lunch. I had a brief internal debate, my need for sleep warring with my pressing hunger, before my need for sleep succeeded and I bypassed the cafeteria in favor of heading straight for the dormitories. The last thing I needed was for the entire school to see