Desolation

Chapter Seventeen

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I stare down into the black abyss, my stomach churning. The thought of going back down there makes me nauseous.

The man gruffly unties the rope around my wrists, then pushes me towards the edge of the hatch. He shines the flashlight down into the tunnel, right onto the rusted ladder.

'Go down," he says coarsely

I swallow hard, looking down into the blackness.

"Now," he demands.

Reluctantly, I kneel down then slowly begin to climb down the ladder, descending into the gloom. The man stands above, shining his flashlight down on me. My entire body is trembling, and often my sweaty palms keep slipping on the rungs of the ladder. Finally, my feet hit the ground. After wiping my palms onto my shirt, I look up at the man, who is about thirty feet above me.

"Go inside. They are waiting for you," he shouts down.

Fear pulsates throughout my entire body as I turn around, facing the large steel door built into the earth. I reach one of my shaking hands out and twist the door handle. Slowly, the door creaks open and I am once again blinded by the white, fluorescent hallway. I walk inside, closing the door behind me. My nose is immediately greeted by the sharp, pungent odor of antiseptics.

I stand there for a moment, unsure what to do. The silence of the hallway is unnerving, making the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I back up against the metal door, my heart racing. Then, I jump when someone rounds the corner into the hallway.

Hal.

He looks at me, his blue eyes piercing into mine. I recoil back even further, sickened to see him again. He then begin to walk towards me slowly, his arms crossed across his chest. His pale lips break into an unpleasant smile that sends shivers down my spine.

"Hello Tessa, what a pleasure it is to see you again," he says icily, his false smile still plastered on his face.

I glare at him, trying not to let fear show on my face. 

"You are probably wondering why just you are down here right now," he says, stopping right in front of me.

I continue to glare at him, thinking about how bad I want to kick him in the shins as well.

"You are down here Tessa because we have been listening to you. And we heard something you said that was quite...unusual"

I immediately know what he is going to say.

"You have had some memories, is that right?" Hal asks.

I don't respond.

"Now Tessa, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. So I'll ask again, you have had a few memories, is that right?" Hal says chillingly.

"Yes," I say curtly.

He nods, eyeing me.

"Well that's quite peculiar," he says.

"And what are you going to do about it?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"We are going to stop it," he says sharply.

My blood runs cold. 

"H...H...How?" I ask, fear spreading across my face.

"Just a short, quick procedure. So short that you'll barely feel a thing. And if you cooperate, you will be released back to your cage," Hal says.