The White Room

Chapter 15

I no longer sit strong. Where has the strong girl gone from before? The one who could defeat anyone who crossed her path?
All I know is nightmares. But yet, how can I give up? I won't endanger others' lives just so that I can get relief. Who knows if they'll be able to change that as well.
I slowly fall asleep knowing that I'll find no rest with my dreams.
Slowly I stretch as I wake up. I'm no longer in the white room but I'm standing on a roof. Yay, more simulations, I think sarcastically.
"What's the point of this?" I yell into the air.
Then people appear. Their eyes are cold and don't hold souls like normal humans. They press me up towards the edge of the building. My heart turns cold as I see the drop. It's as if I'm on top of the world. Looking down on it. I steadily grow more nervous as they grow closer.
When I'm no longer able to back up any further they stop. Then through the crowd one man with clear eyes steps forward. Something in my heart stops. I feel as if I should remember who this is but my mind won't cooperate.
Whoever this is, I know I hate them. I don't know why. There is no reason. Or is there?
But I have no time because he pushes me hard. Then I'm falling. So? I fell before I'll just be in the white room again. No.
I slam hard into the ground. Every ounce of me hurts like I've broken every limb.
Then I'm in a dark room and I see a frightened girl in the corner. In another, I see a girl full of anger banging against the glass, in another room a girl who is madly talking. The last room is someone whose eyes are devoid of everything her body slump against the ground broken beyond belief.
Noticing me the girl who is angry bangs against the glass demanding to know something. The girl who looks frightened Weeps and angrily asks why. The mad girl is talking nonsense. Then they talk louder until the only thing I can hear is them. And it worms into my head until all there is is the sound.  I can't think. I can't breathe. Then I realized. They're all me. Why? WHY? They're all asking me. What did I do? Why is one on the floor not talking at all? Then I realized. It's me dead.
I scream in pure horror.
Then I'm in a different room. Lying around me are moaning people. I'm afraid to look. My bones being broken makes me slow.
"Help me!"
"Help me!!!"
I look.
Littered around the room are the bodies of the people I love.
In one of my hands I clutch a vial. Inside is the antidote. But there is only enough for one! The moaning grows louder.
"HELP!" One cry is louder than the others. It's desperate, I would know that voice anywhere. I run.
People try to hold me back, each begging for me to help them. But I can't, the only thing that matters is to get to him.
I stop cold as I reach the voice of my boyfriend.
"No," I whisper in horror.
I didn't get here in time. He's dead. I sob, grief engulfing me as I slowly am engulfed by another vision.
AXEL'S POV
I fight against Mr.Vellin's grip. It surprises me how strong he is. It took four people to hold me down when I first got here.
But, I have to get free. I can't watch this again.
I can't watch them kill another. Break them till they're willing to do anything to help them. Just to get away from the horror.
I look away, not wanting to watch.
But Mr. Velling somehow holds my head to watch and holds my body.
Tears are silently rolling down my cheeks.
Then, the simulation starts. Her heartbeat monitor goes up as if she's noticing something. This lasts a little but then, Her body shakes and her heartbeat goes up farther. She audibly gasps as if something has just hurt her. Her heartbeat slows as they start the next simulation.
Her heartbeat slows, thankfully much to my relief.
Mr. Vellin thinks of something I guess because he drags me towards the screen that shows the simulations.
"Now, you can truly suffer."
Bethany is looking around in horror at different people in different windows. She doesn't yet know that each of them is a mirror of herself. Yet... They all start yelling at her. Then she looks at the dead version of herself, and screams in pure horror and agony.
I struggle against the arms of Mr. Vellin, tears of anger and agony pouring down my face. The look of pure horror passes as she looks down to the faces around her, dead on the floor. I see myself. But, she rushes to the voice of Will, her only love in the world. But then she sees that he is dead. She wails, and holds Will in her lap sobbing as if the whole world had disappeared.
I'm fighting violently now against Mr. Vellin. A man walks into the room. It's him.
"How could you do this to me, to her!" I yell at his face.
The betrayal and hurt could never go away.
"Do you know why you love this girl so much? Why are you pouring into instant agony every time she is in pain?"
"No," I say, stubborn to the memories buried trying to come up.
"I think it's time you both remembered."
"Put him in."
I've never been scared to go into the simulations before. But I know this is different.
I fight to keep awake as I have many times before. I succeed, but Mr. Vellin puts a cloth against my face, making me go into the simulation. Blackness, then I see her.
"Bethany" I say, knowing she will turn around.
Tears are still streaming down her face.
"Go away, leave me alone. Tell your stupid makers that they've won."
"Bethany, it's actually me."
"No, it isn't, will they go to no end to turn everything into ashes?"
"Ask me anything, anything you said to me outside of this building."
"What did you ask me when I followed you?"
"What? Oh, right I asked you if you were going for ice cream too. I was pretty dumb."
She looks at me in shock.
"But if you're actually here then are you in the white room with me as well?"
"No, act-"
"ARGH" I groan as pain courses through me and I fall to the floor. I hate them. Why does fake pain feel like actual pain?
"Thank-you" I say looking up to the sky as if I'm talking to Mr.Velin.
"Yes, I am in the white room with you." I roll my eyes.
She gives me a questioning look but decides to ignore my outburst.
"So, why are you here?" She asks.
"Well, they said they wanted me to 'share' a simulation with you. He said it was going to make us talk."
"Ax, I can't take much more."
"I know. Just take it one step at a time."
"Speaking of... where are we?"
"Abandoned warehouse. Two boys will come through that door soon, one of them will be me." I say knowing the warehouse as if it had been yesterday.
"How do you know?"
"Well, it's my past, and they've shown it to me multiple times."
"Yeah, yeah, pain, past, fears, nothing, and I can't remember."
"Death of your loved ones and just the white room. I'm surprised you remembered." He smiled.
Suddenly, two boys enter the room.
They're arguing the same old argument. 
"I'm telling you Dad is running experiments on children!"
"I can't believe you, if he is bad then what do we do?"
"I say we get out of here. It's only a matter of time before he uses us as experiments." He sighs and takes the other boy's shoulders.
"Think about her." He emphasizes the last word.
Then there is a loud crash.
"What was that?" Bethany asks.
"You'll figure out." I say impatiently.
Soon there is a hole in the wall.
Soldiers file in surrounding the boys.
The taller of the two takes a defensive stance trying to protect the younger boy.
A man walks in.
"You may lower your guns" he orders.
"Who's that?" Bethany asks.
"My father."
"You can't take him!" The taller yells in panic.
"It's for the best. You know that."
"No! I won't let him experience what I have."
"X," My father sighed.
"That's not my name! It's Nolan it always will be."
"Do you have a different name?" Bethany asks.
"I don't know. When your father is in charge of a bunch of scientists they do things to you. Such as erasing my memories."
Bethany's forehead scrunches in confusion
"What?"
We're interrupted.
"X, you know this is outrageous. Calling me a common thief does not serve you well."
"I'm done playing your games." He takes a gun and points it at his father.
"A gun? Now where would you get the notion that you could possibly ever shoot me."
"Oh yeah?" A loud bang rings in the air, and in the blink of a second, two things happen. One of the bodyguards takes the bullet saving my father, and second, all of the guards have their guns pointed at my brother.
"Choices, choices. Even out of the sim you're still playing my game."
"I will never play your game." Nolan kicks the gun away from himself.
"You're trying to play with my head trying to get me to kill myself. That won't happen. I will always choose the choice that isn't yours."
My father growls in frustration and gives the order.
"Take them both. This one, take him into the labs and study his brain. the other send him to the white room"
The soldiers advanced on the two.
He quickly grabbed the gun and began shooting them down one at a time, kicking and punching when needed.
Then one of the soldiers suddenly realized the easier way to do the process. He grabbed the little boy pointing a gun to his head.
"Stand down." the soldier said calmly.
Nolan slowly placed the gun down.
"Kick it over to him." The soldier nodded towards my father.
With a soft growl he did as he was told.
"Get on your knees and put your hands above your head."
As he did this two of the soldiers ran up and detained him.
As they were almost out of the hole one of the soldiers asked,
"What of the girl?"
"Wipe her mind and leave her here. I have no need for her."
Now it was my time to talk.
"You can't leave her alone! She's barely 6!"
"She'll survive, I'm sure, if she's half of what you two are."
"I love you" were Nolan's last words to the young boy.
"Were those the last words you heard from him?" Bethany asks quietly.
"I never saw him again."