Ends of the Earth [DNF]

Chapter 23: Hopeless dreams

George had found some sort of comfort in knowing that they'd just kill him. But that didn't seem to be the case. They wouldn't let him off the hook so easily.

Ophelia seemed to have endured more pain and fear at twelve than most people did in a lifetime. However, George seemed to have become their new favorite subject. Every single test imaginable was preformed. Their goal was completely incomprehensible to George. He gave up trying to understand after a few days. His ability to heal quicker was often put to test meaning loads of physical pain. But even though the physical torture was horrible, the worst part came when the torture didn't hurt his skin anymore.

After weeks of being put through every possible type of pain, the lab people switched tactic. George hadn't known the extent of how cruel humans could be until his time in the bunker. The age-old question of how people built a bunker in secret, gathered the ones they presumed as worthy and left the others to die, became clear after his stay in this God forsaken place.

The psychological torment started simple. They no longer spoke directly to him, instead they spoke about him. He was no longer addressed by his name; he had instead been given a number: "404". They put him in closed rooms, where all walls, ceiling and floor looked the same, for unknown amount of time without reasoning. Never made eye contact, didn't let him sleep for more than a couple hours at a time, making sure to always wake him up during the night.

He had made a promise to himself not to talk to them, which he followed through with. But they stopped asking questions after a while anyways. George had figured out that he wasn't the only "experiment" there. The scientists brought out different animals and did their testings. George cage was located so that he both heard and saw the sadistic experiments. The scream from dying animals drove him further and further away from sanity. He noticed how they referred to him the same way they referred to the animals.

George slowly lost track of time and space. A year could've pasted without him knowing. Every day felt the same, every day except one.

It started out as any other day. Got woken up by the same loud sound, was given the same exact food, forced into to cold shower, given the same exact clothes and was then led back into his cell. He was sitting at the same exact spot on the floor as he always was when the doors swung open and in stepped a way too familiar blonde guy. George made sure to keep his eyes fixated on the same spot that he always did. His heart ached, even after all this time and after everything that had happened, Dream's presences still awoke feelings. George wanted to rip his ears out when the blonde started talking. He had by now stopped register what people were saying but the mere sound of the other's voice was enough to break him apart.

Rustling from a cell door was heard and dragged out was Ophelia, the person he was sent to rescue but failed. He'd failed her, he'd failed everyone. His mind was shut of a long while ago. It was useful in the beginning, because although he hadn't been able to read their thoughts, it still helped him to guess their intentions based on the emotions that they projected. But it soon became nothing but a torture in itself. So, he sealed himself in with his own thoughts.

When he spotted the poor girl in the corner of his eye, being dragged across the floor. Guilt overtook every cell in his body. Then Dream spoke again. George curiosity got the best of him. He did only manage to pick up a few words. But "base", "bring back" and "know the way" led George to puzzle everything together. Ophelia would be brought back and the undergrounders knew the location thanks to him. He was sure that they'd either attempt to trade her for Sapnap or just use her as an excuse to get close enough to their camp before attacking.

George felt how someone looked at him. Dream knew about the mind-thingy, but George made sure to keep it completely shut, not letting the other get the satisfaction of taunting him more. The door shut, signalizing that the blonde, and Ophelia had left. That marked the point of how much he could take.

Philza used to say that the mind was the most sacred part of a human. Because no matter how much someone might want to break into your thoughts, feelings and knowledges, your mind will always remain in your control. Even if someone breaks every part of you, what you choose to share from your mind will always be up to you. But Philza didn't shy away from the fact that it could also be your worst enemy.

Everyone at the lab had left. George laid flat on his back with his eyes fixated on the ceiling. Lonely, empty, hopeless. What becomes of a person when there's nothing left in the world for them? George knew the answer by now, you become nothing. When no one cares if you live or die, not even yourself, that's when you hit rock bottom. He'd tried, he'd tried so fucking hard to cling on to that last strand of hope. Hope is supposed to be the last thing that leaves a person. So, what do you become when it finally leaves you?

Maybe the suited man had been right, maybe George wasn't that different from an animal after all. Tears streamed down his cheeks in complete silence. He didn't care to wipe them away. Nothing mattered anymore, every minute that passed was just one more that brought him closer to the inevitable, but at least it meant that it would all finally stop. He closed his eyes and let the darkness consume him.