Bound

fifteen

Thomas sat down in the chair, his heart beating rapidly. Scientists moved around him at a busy pace, preparing everything for the proceeder. Last time he had been surrounded by this many scientists, they were going to crack his head open. 

One of the scientists grabbed his arms and legs, beginning to strap him down against the table. His eyes went wide with fear as he began to panic, the feeling of being trapped all too familiar "Wait" he cried, struggling against the man. 

A tear ran down his cheek, his body weak with fear. He was scared; he was always scared. He thought he was free but he had thought that after the maze; being strapped down sent him to another level of fear. "Please wait" he groaned, trying to pull his arms free.

"Excuse me" he heard a voice say, the scientists that surrounded him parting for a moment as someone made their way through. Finally, she reached him, standing over him. He let out a sigh of relief as she sat on the edge of the chair that he was strapped into. "Hey" she soothed, running a hand through his hair. "It's gonna be okay" she said, wiping a tear off his cheek. He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. "You still want to do this, right?" she asked, a deep shaky breath escaping Thomas.

"Yes, of course I do" he replied, opening his eyes to find comfort in the gold specks of her irises. "I just don't like being held down after the whole 'I almost got my skull smashed open' incident" he attempted to joke but his voice came out nervous and jumpy. Emma offered a warm smile, slowing his heart beat a little.

"Just relax" she said softly, slowly raking her fingers through his hair. "They're going to put the mask over you and then you'll be asleep. When you wake up, I'll be right outside and you will have all your memories back; everything they stole from you" Emma explained gently, her voice slowly soothing him. Thomas nodded, feeling relaxed now in her presence. 

"Okay, he's ready" Emma told someone. Thomas opened his eyes as a man in a lab coat leaned over him, placing a mask over his face. Thomas swallowed his nerves, Emma squeezing his hand. Thomas leaned back into the chair, the sleeping gas instantly kicking in. "See you soon Tommy" she whispered before it kicked in, and his sight went black.

Thomas woke up with a jump. He groaned, rubbing his forehead where a splitting headache had formed. His muscles were sore too, like that time Emma had dragged him on a four mile run but he was too nervous to tell her he could only do two so he ran the whole thing and nearly passed out.

Thomas froze, a grin creeping across his face. He remembered. He sat in his chair, flipping through the memories like a scrapbook. One page was all the times Emma and him had kissed. Another was all the times he had made Emma laugh so hard she cried. He knew her habits and her quirks; he knew everything about it and loved every second of it. He remembered the time his family had taken her with them on a family ski trip.

His parents. For a moment, he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He loved having his memories of his hilarious sister back and the memories of the love his life that he had spent most of his life with, but then there were the memories of his parents. He liked knowing what they looked like; he liked knowing how much he loved them, how much they loved him; he liked remembering all the family dinners and movie nights they had shared. But he didn't like how much it hurt. Remembering them meant remembering that they were dead and W.C.K.D had killed them. Thomas felt overcome with misery as he pushed himself off of the chair where he had been sitting.

He stumbled to the side, grabbing onto the edge of a counter which was covered with shiny silver tools and tiny bottles of liquid. It brought back memories of W.C.K.D., Thomas stumbling back as sickness filled him. 

He turned around, searching for the door where Emma said she would be waiting. Finally, his eyes landed on the silhouette of a solid white door that blended well with the white walls that surrounded him. He lurched forward, trying to ignore the dizzying feeling that came to mind when he recalled memories of his parents. Then another thought occurred to him. At least I still have my sister. Thomas hadn't lost his entire family. Not like Emma.