Area One

15

WARNING: This chapter contains torture scenes. If you don't want to read things like that, please skip it.

Junmyeon woke up with a fading, but stinging pain in his neck and a weird feeling spreading through his body.

"He can take more. Raise the voltage."

The cold, indifferent voice was followed by the same feeling he had woken up to, only this time, it was so intense that it actually hurt.

Confused, Junmyeon opened his eyes.

He closed them again almost immediately due to the intense light that stung in his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, he could still see it.

"Oh, he's awake." Contrary to her words, the woman didn't sound fazed.

Junmyeon opened his eyes again, slowly, to get used to the bright light above his head. He had seen Baekhyun create artificial light, but it had always faded away quickly. It took his eyes a while to take in his surroundings.

The room he was in was dark, there were no windows, the only light source being the blinding light above him. He didn't dare to look at it again. Slowly, he was also able to make out the profile of the person who had spoken.

Her hair was in a firm bun, in her hands were a small board and a pencil. Her attire consisted purely of white clothing, a long, light coat on top of it. She seemed to be around 40 years old, Junmyeon wasn't sure about that. Her expression gave him an unsettling feeling. Her eyes didn't show a single sign of gentleness or even just interest.

"Raise it."

This time, Junmyeon screamed. Now he knew what it was. This feeling as if something hot shot through his veins at an unbelievable pace, leaving a sensation as if thousand needles had punctured his body. Jongdae had once accidentally touched him after using his power. Only, back then, it had just been a part of what he was feeling now. This was lightning. Electricity. The thing which Baekhyun had told them was used for energy in the city. He hadn't told them that it was a torture method.

Junmyeon wanted to say something, but his body didn't listen to him. He had nothing to compare this pain to, nothing he had ever felt had been this excruciating.

"Do you know where you are?" the woman asked. Even Luhan's voice showed more emotions.

He carefully shook his head. But there weren't many possible answers. Her next words, even though he had expected them, made his heart drop low.

"You're in the city. In our practical research facility."

"Practical research?" The anger that shot through him brought back his voice. "You're experimenting on human beings."

The woman gave him a smile. If anything, it made her appear even more cruel. "I guess you could phrase it like that."

He ignored her answer. He already knew that, if she wasn't lying about his whereabouts, there was no use to argue about things like ethics. "Where are the others?"

He had seen Luhan go down as well, so even if some of them had managed to flee, more than a few of the others had to be here, too. There was no use in acting as if he didn't remember anything. The woman's expression didn't change. "There's only us in here. Only you, me and our technician."

Junmyeon figured that technician was a nice word for his torturer. But that person and whatever was creating this pain were out of his sight. He guessed they were behind him, but he couldn't stand up. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't even raise a finger.

Panicking, Junmyeon took in his state for the first time. There were some kinds of metallic straps around his arms and legs, fixing him to what felt like a mix between an uncomfortable bed and a chair.