The cold table on my bear skin woke me up, but only just. In a groggy daze, I tried to look around to see where I was. Nothing in the room was colored. Pure white walls surrounded me on every side with a white door at my feet. A pure white machine flashed numbers across the screen that didn’t mean anything to me. A white table with a single syringe and mysterious clear liquid inside was placed properly on my right. To my left, a larger table was pushed up against the wall. When my eyes came into focus, I saw that the table was not vacant. A pure white linen sheet covered a large mass, yet, leaving the pure white feet of the deceased stranger exposed.
Coming out of my unconsciousness, I tried to sit up, only to discover just how badly these people that captured me didn’t want me to move. Four white belts strapped over my chest, stomach, and legs glued me to the table, along with white wrist and ankle restraints. Surveying the room once again, in the back corner behind me, was a pure white camera that was also surveying me. I was still too weak to yell at my fullest, but I managed to squeak out, “Nick!”
Outside the door, the sounds of footsteps came closer and closer. Then, the faint beeping sound followed by a lock becoming unlatched. The door squeaked open that almost seemed to harmonize with the beeping of the machine next to me. That’s when I realized I was the thing the machine was monitoring. Small sensor pads ornamented my stomach, chest, and forehead. Not being able to move, not knowing what this machine was actually keeping track of, and especially not knowing where Nick was elevated my heart rate.
“Now, now Derek. Calm down. One doesn’t want to take drastic measures if you become... uncontainable.” the voice said as it entered the room. A tall man in a black suit stood next to me. His eyes were a piercing green color that seemed to look straight into my thoughts. What little facial hair he had was a dark contrast to his pale skin. It was definitely a contrast to his hairless head that reflected the light from the medical lamps that illuminated the room. But what did he mean by ‘uncontainable’? Clearly, I was very much contained, and there was no escaping this. Not even if I tried. But then, the memories came flooding into my mind like a bad smell when you walk past a dumpster. The night Nick and I were abducted, I had felt something. It was like the heat of the sun had burst throughout my body and the cold night air vanished on sight. I could breath more clearly, hear more crisply, and... lift more. Could I lift more weight? Was it the adrenaline from the moment that gave me superhuman strength? Like the stories of the people who have lifted cars off of loved ones from the adrenaline rushes after they’ve been in a car crash. After all, I did pull two well sized human beings out of a church window. Did these people believe that I had superhuman strength? How long had I been unconscious?
“Who are you!? And what have you done with my brother?!” I yelled, starting to get my voice back.
“Now is not the time for you to know who I am, but I will tell you that your brother is in a safe place,” the man retorted.
“I don’t believe you,” I hissed, “now let me go and take me to my brother!”
“Patience,” said the man, “you will see your brother again. But, not until our testing is completed.”
“What do you mean? What testing?” I questioned.
“Oh, just necessary precautions before we...” he hesitated, “before we decide on what to do with you.”
“Take me to my brother,” I demanded.
“No.”
“Take.. me... to... my... BROTHER!” The machine next to me beeped faster. In a fit of rage I tugged on the wrist restraints. A tearing noise came from the left one. The man looked at the security camera and nodded at it, signaling something.
“I SAID, TAKE ME TO MY BROTHER!!! NOW!!!” That’s when I felt it. That warm, tingly feeling I felt that night at the church. I inhaled a long, steady breath, and pulled on my restraints. They tore like tissue paper. I quickly pulled off the sensor pads, which sent the machine into a fit of beeping that, I’m sure if I had still been hooked up to it, would have meant something very bad.
The door burst open with several men, all dressed in black suits, pouring into the room, guns in hand.
“No,” said the bald man that induced this fury, “this won’t last long.” Who was this man to tell me how long I was going to be beside myself. How dare he deny me my brother, and then tell me what to do. I charged straight for him, like a bull seeing red. There he stood, calmly in the corner of the room, not showing an inch of fear. Then, just as quick as the warmth had come, it went away. I fell to my knees, then my face. I tried to stand up but it was useless. I had no ounce of strength left in me.
Strength. I had freed myself from the white bonds that held me to the table. How? Does rage release adrenaline? I didn’t think so. So how did I escape? With one last push to try and get off the floor, the familiar blurred vision returned. The man that I tried to attack, the man that I absolutely despised, leaned down to whisper one last thing into my ear before I slipped into unconsciousness. “And to think, what would have happened if I had actually told you your brother was dead... Sleep well.”
Then, darkness.
