Fracted (Book #2)

Chapter 53: Captivated

The sack was squeezed tightly, suffocating me. I gasped for air but it was all dust and grime. It was too big for me, despite being only able to move my wrists. I scream, but there was not much space for the sound to bounce off of. I tried kicking, but it was small needle my leg that merely hit my leg. I suck in a breath full of air and shut my eyes in pain. The sharp pain was inevitable.
I didn't see the point of them injecting me with who-knows-what, I am easy to capture, despite the skinny attributes and the fake detachable arm. Unless I phase and run out as fast as I can. But then I realized--they injected me with a neutralizer.
They're traitors, I thought. If they were impatient with me they should've said so. It didn't have to be this way. Then I start to ask myself, Have I been sticking with the wrong people this whole time? Should I ever forgive them? I mean, trust is the only thing that got us together, but would I be doing the wrong thing if I trust my other friends? Or should I even call them that?
I never thought I'd say this, but I never want to sleep ever again. However, the chemicals in the syringe were too strong for my desires.

My wrists were aching from the rope's tight fiber. My ankles were tied as well to a wooden chair. The ropes felt so heavy, as if I'm shackled with chained handcuffs, like the ones in Escape From Alcatraz. It'd be silly of I was on Alcatraz.
My vision has been obscured with the blankness of the room. I could feel the empty spaces that surround me, all the unclaustrophobic features. I must say, joke's on them I am comfortable on this rough chair. I close my eyes, no difference was made.
The blinding light radiates throughout the room, making my eyelids were see-through. I squinted hard and opened my eyes slowly. The brightness gives me headaches.
"Well...well...well--look who's awake." I recognize that croaking voice anywhere. André. "I remember the first time you were trapped in a chair and couldn't get out." He wraps his fingers tightly around my neck, where the chip is. I didn't know he was behind me.
"I had to listen to you cry like a baby while inserting the fish hook onto your lip. You still remember that?" he asked, intentionally trying to control my thoughts so the chip would function how he wanted them to.
"What are you going to do to me?" I ask in a low voice.
"If you behave correctly, I promise you you don't get hurt in accordance to my plans." I'm not promising anything, André! I wanted to bite off his nose until his white lab coat is drenched in crimson blood.
"I'm not promising anything," I said instead, collecting all the aggression until it's the right time. When it's time for the escape attempt.
"I'm trying to be patient with you, Jess." I'd say otherwise. You only want to kill me, right?
"You'll get nothing from me--whatever it is you are looking for," I said.
"So you wanna play it the hard way, yeah?"
"I will if I have to."
"You better watch out, kid. You don't even know what I want from you. You don't know if it's your powers, or your life."
"What is it then? Just tell me and we'll settle this without anyone dying. Not my friends' lives, please."
"You already know I'm planning to do," he guffawed hoarsely. "We're gonna get along just fine." He pried his hand from my sweaty neck.
"Just please don't hurt them," I said. Jackson will be devastated if he finds out something bad happened to me. I wonder if the three are going to get caught. I'm already seeking justice even though I have no clue what's gonna happen to me. Don't jump to conclusions, Jess. You won't die, I promise. But I don't think optimism is my greatest weapon right now. I am gonna die.
"Looks like you're situated now, huh, Jess?"
I felt a slight pull on my wrists, sensing he's untying me. This should be the time before I try to escape. But do I know my way out? There wasn't much in the room that I could use as a weapon; No loose screws or even a broken piece of paper clip. There were no tables or any other chairs I can use as a stake except for the one I'm sitting on right now. Nothing else but the whiteness of the whole room.
"Don't even try to escape, Jess. This place isn't so easy to escape from. And don't even get me started on the electric fence surrounding the entire compound. I'm tellin' you, climb over five feet and you're dead meat, son."
"Don't call me "son"."
"If you want your friends to live," He finishes untying. "then you have to agree to everything I say. Got it?"
"You're taking things too lightly, André...Why?" I ask.
"Don't want you to escape when I'm not looking. I want you to stay."
His trustworthy innocence is coming back. I know it's not real, but I was mesmerized by his deception. I am hopelessly convinced. No, Jess. He's a cold-hearted killer who will twist your own words in order to achieve his desires. You are not the only smart one in this situation, and he will crush you to pieces. And the ones you love the most.
"Just tell me what you're up to and I promise I'll behave," I said.
"You're so persistent," he says. "But you cannot cross me that easily."
"I just want you to reveal what needs to be revealed. I'm empty-handed, obviously. Getting sacked while sleeping was part of your plan, right?"
"All right. Follow me."
We head down to a hallway smelling like wet paint and spilled ink. A combination scent of chemicals and antidotes. My mind forces me to have thoughts of being injected with something that will turn me into some kind of monster. He held me by my left arm, his grip so tight that my prosthetic arm would have a chance of busting out of my stump.
"Are you the real one?" I ask.
"I believe that's an inconclusive question, Mckidd."
"Let me be more clear: Are you not a clone?"
"Yes, I'm the real one. What are you gonna do, kill me so the rest of the clones would disappear as well? That's not how my job works."
"Job?"
The footage. Of course.
He was silent for at least ten seconds. He regrets what he said. That man cannot keep his mouth shut, that's his number one flaw. He's a bulletproof glass--see-through but hard to crack open. I want more information from him but he only reveals fragments.
"Cat got your tongue?" I grinned.
The sleeve on my long-sleeved shirt tightens up because of his grip. The heels of his boots squeak on the floor after stopping next to a door marked, "quarantine". He slams me against the titanium wall and slides a card to the access system panel beside the door frame. Within three beeps, the door swings inside slowly.
"Get inside. Move it, come on!" he snapped. He pushes me inside, too hard.
I fall on my knees and I my wrists scrape against the rough floor. Scattered whispers sprinkle half the room, "It's him","Look it's Jess","It can't be", "Why is he here?","He did not turn himself in. I know him."
"Jess!" Two hands helped me up. One was warm and the other was cool. Almost corpse-like.
"Jess, are you okay?" The girl asked. I only know one girl who has extremely warm hands. Sarra.
"Of course he's okay. Look at him." The boy's frozen touch made me realize it was Zach.
More hands pull me into the crowd.
"Jess. It's so good to see you," Ace said. He wraps his arms around me, and so did Robert.
"Hey, Jess. I need my glasses back, dude." Instead of being furious, Robert celebrated with a smile after wearing his glasses again.
"Alright. Enough with the reunion, people!" André shouted. "Sun's about to rise and I still haven't gotten enough sleep for the past few weeks. I've been working my butt of for a long time and I am not willing to waste all the hardwork I put into it." Alice snorts. "Good thing I have enough guards to occupy the entire compound."
"Is there a point to what you're saying? 'Cause if there is, then get on with it fast. We're all sleep-deprived." A chorus of shushes target the girl who snapped at André.
"Don't try and cross me. Unless you're tired of living."
"Alright, I'll shut up."
"My guards will be checking on you guys every half an hour. They'll be bringing you some food and drinks every six hours. I got some things to take care of that don't involve shooting people like you at the wrong time."
He shuts the door behind him. We started conversing after hearing his footsteps depart.
"I'm guessing you guys ended up here the same way I did," I said. The five sit with me at the corner of the room. There was only one window inside, but it was just a one-foot hole at the very top of the wall across the door. A few rays barely made their way inside. This is a dungeon--but specifically for just us Innates.
"Actually, no. It was actually our fault that you're here, Jess," Sarra said.
"What? How come? You guys can't be blaming yourselves."
"No," Zach said. "When Jackson called us, we were already captured. But André threatened to kill us if we don't answer. So he made Sarra convince her relatives to let you guys stay in their house, but that's where André's clones were heading for the next attack."
"But there was no attack when I was taken away."
"What?" Sarra said.
"Yeah. So all that happened at the park--before Jackson called you guys--was just a setup?" I try to keep my voice down, but I'd rather release the beast before it threatens to take over.
"The guy's a con man. No one can trust him. I can't we were all so stupid that we didn't know it was him who switched the guns in the first place," Alice said.
"Speaking of switched guns, Clare was one of the people who took me here."
"What?!" Ace exclaimed. Three girls shushed him.
"Jason and Patrick were on it too. I think they're working alongside André. And that's not all--André's working for someone as well. We didn't get much information on it though."
"What did you learn so far?"
"Nothing much. But he's working for some guy named, Dr. Garcia--even when we're still in the academy."
"How long do you think he's been doing this?" Robert asked.
"I don't know."
"What does he want with us?" Zach asked.
"No, not you guys," I said sadly. "It's me."
"What?" Ace grabbed my arm, worried I'll be separated from them again.
"All this time, he's been controlling me in order to unlock new abilities. He's turning me into a monster I've been risking my life to get rid of." I turn my back against them and pulled down the back of my shirt.
"Jess...what is that?" Zach touches the chip with his cold finger. "What'd he do this time?"
I sighed. "He must've installed this chip device on my neck to keep track of my actions and my emotions mostly."
"Oh gosh..."
"But don't worry," I said. "we'll find a way out of this mess."
"Like what?"
I know this is one of the things I would say the least, but I wish Hunter would forgive me already and save us from this prison.