The infected

24. Captured

Jason

His eyes open slowly and they let the pain in. The room he's in is dimly lit and cold. His arms and ankles are bound to a dentist chair. Jason can't see him but at this point he can sense Maxwell the same way he can others with the infection in their blood.

He steps into view, there's a gash on his head he must have gotten when Jason threw him into a car. Looking at it and imagining all the other injuries and scars Maxwell must have from all the other times Jason kicked his ass makes him smile.

"I'm glad you're amused Jason. It will make the next part very enjoyable for me." Maxwell says.

"What's that, another speech or have you finally given up on that?" Jason says taunting him again.

While he speaks Jason trie to use his powers to set himself free, but his too weak to even move his body on his own.

"No abilities today Jason, not with the amount of lead I pumped into your blood." Maxwell says.

Jason remembers the pain in the back of his head before he passed out.

"You shot me in the head, you asshole." He says and Maxwell responds by striking him across the face.

Jason laughs, mostly to annoy Maxwell further but also because he feels so weak that the attack didn't hurt.

"You should really learn to control your anger." He says.

Maxwell slams his hands on the table his face inches from Jasons.

"You believe your abilities make you untouchable, well I will teach you how wrong that is." He whispers.

Jasons chair lifts up higher and tilts. A machine behind him whirrs to life and a swarm of needles dig into his spine. Jason wails in pain as they push into him and start sucking out spinal fluid. The pain and his sluggishness make him feel sick.

"What are you doing to me?" He mutters.

Maxwell smiles again and holds up Jasons head.

"You're powers make you special, but like every part of you they belong to me. Those doctors stole you and hoarded that power for themselves, but I will have what is mine." He says.

The machine rises again and one of the machines arms appear above Jasons head. The sound of a bone saw pierces the air.

"The best thing about your kind Jason is that unlike most people you heal very fast. It makes it so much more convenient to study." Maxwell says.

Terrible piercing pain makes it's way through Jasons body as the saw begins cutting into his skull. The pain is so intense it makes Jasons vision dim till he passes out to the sound of Maxwells laughter echoing through the room.
........

Tyler

Tylers leg is on fire. He sits up slowly and looks down at it. It's made a puddle of blood and he can see his bone hidden underneath torn flesh. He can still remember the machine slicing into it as he watched too weak to do anything about it. Tylers eyes make their way to Jason.

Jason's not moving and barely breathing. They were separated when they were taken, inbetween his blackouts Tyler could see Jason laying on the floor. Jasons head is covered in so blood that his hair is sticking to it. His skin has lost too much colour. Panic seeps into Tylers heart as he drags himself towards Jason. His leg draws a line of blood on the floor.

"Jason." He says.

Tyler lifts his head and places it on his lap. There's needle scars running up and down Jasons arm, the back of his neck is bleeding and his skin is so cold it almost makes Tyler start crying.

"Please be alive...please be alive" Is all Tyler can say as he feels Jasons arm for a pulse.

He closes his eyes and prays to any and all Gods he knows to save him. Tyler doubles over in relief and pain when he feels a very weak pulse. He runs his hand down Jasons cold arm and squeezes his hand tightly.

"You need to wake up. We need to get out of here while we still can."

Tyler can feel him breathing slowly. He digs his fingers into Jasons blood soacked hair. The sight of his blood smeared on Tylers fingers breaks the last bit of strength Tyler has.

Tears stream down his face so fast that he doesn't even bother to wipe them away.  He pulls Jasons limp head closer and holds it against his chest. The crying makes his head hurt even more.

It's getting harder for Tyler to stay awake. His leg still hurts and Jasons not getting better. He can't tell how much time has gone by. The room  they're being held in is dark with smooth cold walls. There's no door that Jason can see, but he knows that he was thrown in here. The rooms getting colder and Tylers not sure if it's natural or if it's just his body again. His been talking to Jason trying to get him to wake up.

"The stuff that I told you about my dad and Olek, I've never told anyone that before. The truth is that even with everything we've been through together getting kidnapped and probed by your father included...I can't seem to let myself trust you. I want to, I really do but I've spent too much of my life not trusting people."

Jasons hand twitches but Tyler is too preoccupied to notice.

"My dad was not a good person, I think I told you that already. He was bipolar, I only found out a month after he died. He wouldn't take his pills, he said they made him weak. He already felt useless after his accident made him lose his job."

Tylers words bounce off the walls and fill every corner of the tiny room.

"I told you that I killed him, but there's more to the story. After I ran off I made some bad decisions."

Tyler gently strokes the tips of Jasons fingers.

"I was alone and angry that I was the bag guy now for killing him, so I walked to a dam I liked to visit a lot in the springtime. Except it was the middle of winter and I lived in one of the colder places on Earth."

Jason turns his head slightly which takes some of Tylers worry away.

"The dam was frozen solid and the snow was beginning to fall. I didn't care though. I sat there staring at the frozen water for hours my anger only getting worse. When I finally started making my way back home I got lost because the snow was so thick it covered the pathway. Things only got worse when I fell into a giant burrow underground."

"I was trapped, alone, freezing and still angry. Now I was even angry at whatever animal dug my frozen prison. I tried to escape but the walls were too slippery to climb. So eventually I sat down and marinated in my anger. Something was different that day, I felt this new kind of energy come over my body. My powers flared up and my skin become hot and my hands began to smoke. I didn't notice till I burned through the four layers of clothing I was wearing."

"The fire burned around every part of my body and all I felt was anger. It was like the anger was feeding the flame, like pouring gasoline into a furnace. I sat in there the flames getting hotter and hotter till all the ice in the burrow turned to steam. Even the Earth below me began to melt. I was not afraid or shocked...I was just angry. At some point I guess I fell asleep because when I woke up I was swiming in a pool of magma. It felt like being in a hot bath. But by then my anger was gone and I was able to climb out."

Jasons eyes open and he looks up at Tyler. His still cold and extremely weak but at least now he's awake.

"After that day my powers were stronger. I started teaching myself how to use them. How to start fires from thin air in my palms, how far away I have to be from something in order to set it ablaze and all the other things I can do. I used my powers to steal food and stuff after my money ran out. I didn't really know where I was going, it was like there was this thing pulling me in the right direction. After a few months of searching I found you."

Jasons eyes flutter and Tyler smiles because he knows thats all he can do to show his approval.

"I don't know why Jason but finding you is the first good thing to happen to me in a long time." Tyler says.

Jason responds by weakly squeezing his hand.