Shape Shifter

Chapter 9- Captive

I wake up on a table in an empty room with white walls, ceiling, and floor. For a moment the memories are held back by the sweet haze of sleep only to come crashing back in a blur of images.

The operation. They must have been successful.

I sit up and swing my feet off the side of the bed. I wear a loose white T-shirt and shorts that weigh nothing. I wince in pain and reach up to my right shoulder where something that feels like a burn has made a welt in the skin about two inches wide. I frown. There is no sign of any insisions. Maybe Dad changed his mind. If so, why the burn?

This room reminds me of a prison cell rather than a recovery room. The thought settles on my mind like a smothering weight.

Still a little unsteady on my feet, I stagger across the room to the door. My fingers find only flat surface. No handle. There is no way out from the inside.

Refusing to panic just yet, I hit my fist against the door.

“Hello? Is there someone out there?”

I turn and look at the room I am trapped in. The walls are a strange plastic material that feels soft but gleams in the bright lights built into the ceiling. After checking the entire room for any finger-holds or ways of escape I realize there is nothing I can do.

Uneasiness is replaced by panic. What is going on? I pace the room, waiting for the person that I know will never come. I have no concept of time, whether it’s day or night, how long I’ve been unconcious, or where I am. The only thing I do know is that I am in the wrong place.

The door clicks. I freeze in my steps and frantically search for something to use in defense. As I already know, there is nothing that I can even pick up. Even the bed is built into the floor.

Slowly, the door opens. I brace myself, preparing to fight or flee. A man wearing a black uniform steps into the room and visibly startles when he sees me standing there.

“Take it easy,” he says with raised hands.

“Who are you?”

He smiles. The door clicks locked behind him. “I think you already know that.”

I make a quick assessment of this potential enemy. He’s well-built, at least a head taller, and looks extremely familiar. I step back in surprise when I realize it was the man who was with Talon the night they attacked me.

“My name is Scrape.” He says.

“Why are you here?”

He steps toward me. I back away again.

“I need you to calm down. I’m here to help you.”

His voice is soft, gentle even, but I know lies come in all forms.

“Do you feel alright?” Scrape asks.

“I guess. Where’s my dad?”

“I’ll answer that in a minute Kevin. But tell me, do you feel any different?”

The two of us, on boy and one young-adult stare at each other in the struggle to read into what the other is thinking.

“No.” I reply.

There is silence again while Scrape bites his lip. When he opens his mouth to say something, he closes it again. Then he sighs.

“Alright. There isn’t an easy way to tell you this so I’m just going to say it. You have been brought into a facility run by RESIST.”

“Why?” I fail to keep my voice from showing my confusion.

“RESIST has been interested in you for quite some time. You’ve had your powers for five years right? Well my mentor and I have been assigned to watch you. We had to be sure you were the right one for our leader’s plan.”