Experiments

Chapter two

Riley sits still in the old dentists chair, several machines hooked up to her, flicking a cat ear, glancing at the clock.
11pm.
Rileys father comes towards her, syringe in hand "Hey!  What are you doing?!" she growls, her cat ears laid back in fear. Her father snickers
"It is just a shot, princess, daddy wants to run a few tests on you. That's all." He says, offering his daughter a smile. Riley looks nervous 
"Why? I'm fine." She says, flattening her ears against her head, her eyes turning a reddish color, causing her father to put down the syringe, backing away
"Come with me, Riley. I think you're ready to go outside."

He leads Riley to an open caged door, closing it behind her and opening the one into the large caged-in backyard, bulletproof glass over the caging. Riley goes outside, looking around, not noticing the other kid at first, having never been outside. Riley tilts her head, noticing the boy with the bright orange hair, both of them just staring at each other, dumbfounded before Riley comes nearer to him, her eyes purplish as she watches him walk around her, examining her. She understood. This could be considered his territory. Riley tipped her head at him as he stops in front of her. Riley offers a weak smile, feeling normal  about her ears, before noticing his lacking of neko ears. Riley reaches up, playing with his hair some, in the place that his cat ears would be.
"Where are your  ears?" she asks, tilting her head at him. The boy shakes his head 
"I don't have any."
"You're weird."  Riley replies, smiling at him "But that's okay. I'm different, I know. Daddy doesn't have ears like mine either."
"Where'd you get 'em?" the boy asks, reaching up and tenderly touching her fuzzy, black cat ears. Riley shrugs
"Don't remember." She says softly, looking at him "What's your name?"
"My name's Damin. What's yours?"
"Riley."
"Riley… It's a cute name." Damin says, pulling his hands from her soft ears. Riley blushes
"Thank-you, Damin." She says  softly, smiling at him.
"Riley! Damin! It's time to come in!" Rileys father yells. Damin smiles at Riley, following her in. The man smiles "You two will be sharing an area." He says, leading them into a bedroom with tunnels going every which way.
"Cool!" Riley grins, glancing over at Damin, who keeps his space from her father. 
"It's a maze. It gets changed every night while you're asleep. Or in Riley's case, occasionally being tested on." her father smiles, petting her. Damin goes over to the blue bed, sitting down and Riley romps over to him, licking his hand
"Can we try the maze, Damin? Pleaase?" she asks, glancing at the clock.
1am.
Damin shrugs "Sure." Causing Riley to smile. Riley's dad nods
"I'll see you both in the morning." he says, leaving, three locks clicking. Damin sighs
"Why do you act like you trust   him?" he asks, petting her. Riley shrugs
"Habit." She says, nuzzling into his hand, going up some of the steps "C'mon, lets see if we can make it." She says, smiling at him. Damin smiles, following Riley into what appeared to be large, round, plastic hamster tubes. Riley walks around, sniffing each tunnel before deciding which way to take to escape. The clock chimes in the distance.

Ding… Ding…

2am. Riley whimpers, leaning her back against the rounded wall, cupping her hands over her ears, her breathing accelerating higher as her heartbeat speeds up. 
"Riley! What's wrong?" Damin asks,  grabbing her shoulders in his firm grip. Riley keeps whimpering, shaking, her eyes emotionless yet full of pain. Suddenly the tube jerks upward violently, concrete visible through either exit. Damin nearly falls on Riley as he guides her to the floor, attempting to keep them both in the shifting tube. Riley keeps whimpering, worrying Damin further, her hands clasped over her furry cat ears. The tube jerks again, causing both of them to lurch and Riley goes quiet. Damin looks down at her, his stomach churning "Riley?" he asks, the tube lurching hard right, sending Damin into the curved wall. He moves fast, standing and picking Riley up from the floor, her lithe body limp in his arms. Damin stumbles as the tube lurches again, still holding Riley in his arms, glancing at her and then looking back. There was blood oozing from a cut on her forehead.  Damin grimaces as he notices, steadying himself against the wall as another tube clicks into place. He runs down the first path he see's, seeing light coming from there, almost falling into the open air, high above the rest as the tube becomes a dead end. Damin looks around hopelessly, starting to worry as he turns, going back down the tunnel the way he'd came, taking a turn, getting worried as he glances down at Riley. He looks around, winding through the tunnels, a yawn escaping him. Riley whimpers softly, causing Damin to stop, still holding her in his arms "Riley?" he asks, watching her reactions. Riley opens her eyes some, looking up at him 
"Damin..?" she asks quietly, a soft whimper escaping her throat. Damin sighs in relief, leaning back against the wall and pulling her into a hug
"You're okay." he whispers into her hair, smiling weakly. Riley pulls away some, confused
"Why wouldn't I be?" she asks, lowering her ears some. Damin runs his thumb lightly over the cut, smearing the slightly wet blood. Riley brings her hand up, touching the cut, wincing. Damin pulls away some, looking around
"Can you walk?" he asks her, standing, offering his hand to help her up, regardless.  Riley takes his hand, offering him a weak smile
"Yes, I can walk." she says, standing, mostly stable. Damin releases her hand, letting her walk, keeping a close eye on her. Riley slowly but surely found the way out of the maze, walking over, collapsing onto her bed. Damin looks over to her, sitting on his bed. He stands and goes over to her, petting her hair, listening to the soft sounds of her sleeping, still slightly worried about her.