“Liam…Liam…” I heard my own voice mumbling from my throat but it sounded like a distant echo.
My eyes felt heavy as I tried to open them and as I became more aware of my senses, I could smell antiseptic so strongly that it burned my nose. I opened my eyes fully and saw a metallic ceiling above me bolted together with large nails. What the hell was going on? It didn’t take me long to realise that I was strapped to a table, and I snapped into focus as I struggled to get out.
“Ah, you’re awake!”
I strained to sit up and look around, I was in some sort of tiny laboratory wired up to a machine and surrounded by computers. Liam wasn’t there. A boy around Liam’s age, maybe a little older, was standing over me with a syringe wearing a long white coat.
“What the – where am I? Where’s Liam?” I exclaimed, paranoid that he wasn't with me.
“Who’s Liam?”
“He was brought with me! Where is he?”
“Was he? I don’t know, babe. You were the one we needed so if you were with anyone else then they’re probably dead. Sorry!” he said brightly and shrugged casually, like it didn’t even matter.
“WHAT? NO!” I tried to yank my arms out of the restraints but it was useless.
“Please stop struggling, you’re making my job very hard for me. Do you want another little dart, sweetheart? I can give you a pretty red one this time – it’s twice as strong as the blue one! You’ll be out cold for days!” he said in a sadistic sing-song voice, laughing as he threatened me.
“What are you even doing to me? Let me out of here right now! I need to find Liam!”
I was so confused and my head was pounding from being unconscious for so long. How long had I been out? How far away from the road had we been taken? Had they really killed Liam? I felt my chest closing in and I was gasping for air but no breath was getting into my lungs. It was like I was choking on something invisible, choking on my own worry.
“Woah, calm down, love! Here!”
The boy placed an oxygen mask over my face and I took long deep breaths, feeling all of the panicky whirring slowly come to a stop as I regained my regular breathing.
“Just breathe, don’t try to talk. You’re in an underground lab. I’m The Doc, and I’m gonna be carrying out a couple of tests on you. Ironic huh? I graduate with a first degree in medicine and then the world ends and I get captured, stuck inside a tin can of a lab and my job is to poke Outlaws with needles. Well worth all of the bloody tuition fees, ey?”
I frowned at ‘The Doc’ as I took in what he was saying, and I lowered my mask to talk to him.
“Tests? What tests?”
“I’ve taken some blood samples from you and I’m just waiting for the results. Nothing to worry about. In the meantime, you could answer some questions for me. Do you smoke?”
He raised his eyebrows at me, as if expecting me to actually take part in this interview.
“WHAT? I’m not answering anything just let me out of here! I need to find Liam!”
“Oh for goodness sake.”
The Doc rolled his eyes dramatically and picked up the phone receiver on his desk. He dialled a number and shot me an irritated look while he waited for someone to answer on the other end.
“Hey, it’s Lou, did you bring anyone else in with Roe? A boy called Liam? She won’t do anything until I find out where he is…oh right, yeah, okay. I might have to, yeah. No I’m still waiting for them to come back, probably about half an hour or so… don’t worry, she will. Thanks mate.”
