Chapter Twenty Three
Darkness. It’s all I see at first when I open my eyes. The dim light filtering in from above the grated ceiling barely cuts through the shadows. But it’s enough for me to make out the cramped concrete walls of my cell.
How long have I been trapped in here? Hours? Days?
I’ve lost all sense of time.
A scraping noise draws my attention back to the ceiling. I glance up to see a small basket being lowered. Food.
My stomach rumbles as the scent of fresh bread reaches my nose. At least they’re feeding me. Not that it makes up for the torture of being here.
I know it’s only a matter of time before they come for me again. It’s inevitable.
More drugs. More experiments. More pain. An endless cycle I can’t seem to break.
But I can’t give up. Too many are depending on me. The others are still locked away, waiting to be freed.
I’m their only hope, even if that hope is fading…
No, I can’t think like that. This is just another trial to overcome. A test of my will. And I refuse to let them break me.
I won’t let them win. I’ll find a way out of here. And when I do, we’ll make them pay. Every last one of them.
I swear it.
The basket settles on the floor, and I approach it cautiously, ready to spring into action. But it’s only food.
I tear into the bread, savoring the freshness. It’s the one small comfort they allow me in this nightmare.
I guess they can’t have us dying. It’s strange because the entire time I was free, I barely felt hungry. Now, locked away without even a hint of electricity floating through the air—I’m starved.
They must be tied together somehow.
I finish the meager meal, licking the last crumbs from my fingers. My stomach is full, but I’m restless.
I pace the small confines of my cell, tracing the same narrow path up and down. Four paces over, four paces across. The walls taunt me with their closeness. Almost near enough to scale like I did in the elevator shaft, but not quite.
Jumping, my fingers scrape futilely against the metal grate in the ceiling. It’s just out of reach. They’ve made sure of that. Can’t have their lab rats escaping.
Slumping to the floor, I study the walls, but then a sound catches my attention before I hear the words, “Stay seated.”
My neck cranes toward the ceiling panel as it slides open. Another basket lowers down.
I lean forward, crawling cautiously over to look inside.
Clothing. Simple and plain, the one-piece jumper is made from an odd shimmering material I don’t recognize. The slip-on shoes underneath will come up over my ankles. Weird.
I consider ignoring them, but I can’t stay naked in here forever. Plus, this is a positive sign, right?
They’re planning to move me—or has it been days and they’re planning on moving us all?
Either way, it’s another opportunity to escape.
As I pull on the outfit, stepping into it through the neck, I feel the material mold to my shape, almost fusing with my skin. It’s flexible but unyielding. My fingers probe but can’t find any closures or fastenings.
Then, I try to stretch the neckline to wiggle out of it, but the material has tightened, no longer stretching enough to pull it over my shoulders. The shoes are the same, clinging to my feet and ankles just tight enough to make removal impossible. What the hell?
Unease prickles through me, making the hair on my body stand on end. What new trick is this?
The material - it’s constricting, shrinking, and tightening around me. I try to tear at it, but it’s no use. Within seconds, I’m encased from neck to toe in a skintight suit. Flexible, but impossible to remove. Panic rises as the full horror dawns on me.
I’m trapped. Again.
I rip against the constraint of the suit, but it tightens more as if sensing I”m trying to remove it until the material has me completely immobilized. Only my neck and head can move freely.
A scraping sound draws my eyes upward. A scaled face peers down while I glare. Revulsion sweeps through me, and I swallow back bile, cursing my now full stomach that’s being squeezed.
The doctor makes a series of sharp hand gestures, indicating I should stand still and not struggle. As if I have a choice!
Rage boils up inside me, but I force myself to stand motionless.
I must choose my moment carefully.
The doctor nods approvingly and disappears from view. A few moments later, an entire wall of the cell slides open.
So this was their plan all along. Not just new clothes, but a transfer to a new cell.
I should have known. But perhaps this move presents an opportunity. Not of escaping. At least not until my clothing loosens. Right now, I couldn”t run if I tried.
Scaled hands from two guards tighten their grip on my frozen suit, dragging me out of my cell and into the dim hallway. My strides are tight, shortened by the lack of stretch in the material. The doctor leads as I crane my neck, trying to get a better view of my surroundings.
The hallway stretches in both directions, lined with identical metal doors. Other cell blocks. Other prisoners like me, are trapped and confined.
A fresh wave of anger courses through me, but I shake it off, focusing on memorizing the layout.
There—a junction leading to a wider corridor. And over there—a recessed door that likely leads to a control room or lab.
I’ve studied the schematics of this facility extensively while I was hiding, imagining all the ways I could break everyone out. Now I have a chance to compare those plans to the reality of this place. There are some differences, but also consistencies. Like the air vents that line the ceiling. Too small for me, but possibly an escape route for others.
I silently repeat each turn and junction to myself, engraving the route in my mind and comparing it to the different levels I reviewed in their drawings, trying futilely to figure out exactly where I am. My body may be bound, but my brain is free. And with knowledge comes power.
The doctor pauses as he rounds the corner, causing the alien guards to come to a halt. More guards are standing there, speaking to the doctor in low tones.
I strain to listen.
“...main dock this afternoon,” one says. “There’s a transport arriving to take the prisoners.”
Really?
My heartbeat stutters. Are they moving us now?
This could be the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.
Footsteps echo down the hall past the doctor and new guards, drawing nearer. I compose my face into a mask of blank indifference as a new doctor comes into view, flanked by an additional two guards. He stops, looking me over with clinical detachment before consulting a datapad.
“Is this him?” he asks, speaking to the doctor who gave me the clothing.
He responds with a slight nod, and we fall into step behind them.
The walk to the dock seems to take forever, with each shuffling step ratcheting up the tension thrumming through me. My chance is coming, I can feel it.
Just stay calm, and wait for the right moment.
We turn a corner and I can see a massive platform looming at the end of the corridor, and a large line of train cars. Where I am clicks into place.
Freedom is so close I can almost taste it.
If that train can get out—so can we. But I won’t leave alone.
My eyes dart around, assessing the situation. Just before the end of the corridor is a set of doors I’m positive leads to a power room, sitting just behind some controls for the tracks and other parts of the area. Two guards are at the main doors, and a handful more are patrolling the platform.
The doctor leads us toward the train and we’re almost there. It’s not ideal, but it’ll have to do.
I purposefully stumble, crashing hard into the doctor. He slams against the wall with a grunt as I pin him in place, my forearm pressed to his throat as I glance at the others.
The guards shout in alarm, but I block them out, focused solely on the doctor’s wide, terrified eyes. “Please—”
In one swift motion, I snap his neck. His body goes limp in my grasp, and I fling him into the closest guard.
A sizzling sound rips through the air, and along with the scent of burning, I notice I feel… good. Stronger.
I whirl to face the guards, hands raised defensively as I edge toward the door. But they hang back, and it takes a moment for me to realize one is shooting me with a laser. “He’s not going down! Eyebeam three, take him down!” The shooter screams as everyone stares at me.
“No!” yells the other doctor, taking a step closer to me. “Disregard—”
I bolt for the door only steps away, reaching for the knob. Just a little more...
The guards hesitate, unsure if they should continue firing on me. Instead of hurting, it feels soothing. Like it’s powering me up.
A bright light envelopes me, locking my feet to the ground as a lightning bolt laser encapsulates me. The energy flows through me, and I latch onto it, drawing it deeper into my cells, savoring the sheer adrenaline now coursing through my veins.
“No!” The doctor dances around me, reaching forward before snatching his hands back. “Cancel the eye beam. Now!”
He fades in my vision as I draw on the pure energy. It wants to stop, I can tell. It slows, but I surrender to the inevitable pain, following its path to me for the information and control I need.
It hurts.
Everything hurts. But it will be worth it if I can just give everyone a chance to escape.