White Walls

Chapter 4:

Luke had no idea what to expect, and couldn't work out why he was so surprised at what he'd walked out to. Luke had just exited a room of nothing other than white walls, and entered a corridor of nothing other than white walls.

Luke knew there must be doors along the walls somewhere and must lead to rooms where other captives were held, but he had no time for them. It's their own fault, Luke thought, if they're just going to sit there. I'm not saving them.

He scanned the corridor and there was no one to be seen. As quietly as he could, Luke walked the corridor. He had no idea what he would do if another lab-coat wearing man came down the corridor. He supposed he would have to talk his way out of it, that he was an employee there and the other had just never seen him. It was, after all, part of Luke's day job to talk his way into and out of situations. If all else failed, he'd just have to turn to violence or run for it.

The thought of what this place was hadn't really been at the forefront of Luke's mind, and had never grabbed his interest. All Luke was concerned about was saving his own skin.

He had always relied on his brain. Never in the academic sense of course - he'd never had to use it at school. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of doing the work, more that he knew he would have his father's job so never tried to get good grades. No, Luke used his brain to analyze situations.

He would analyze the scene, people, and their motivations and then manipulate them to his advantage, and never once did he fail. This was what Luke was most proud of. Luke knew that the best chance he had of getting out of this place involved his analytical and manipulative skills.

Luke evaluated the situation he was in. What seemed to be perfectly square rooms. A very long, white corridor with no doors, no windows, no nothing. Not one dust particle, no spec of dirt...

"A hospital." Luke gathered. "I'm in some kind of hospital. But I'm not sick. I know that. They know that. Perfectly square rooms, with nothing to hurt yourself and no way of escaping. No... This isn't an ordinary hospital, Luke. Something's happening and I..." don't like it, the voice inside his head finished, stating what he did not want to admit aloud. Luke often said his name while talking aloud to himself. It made him feel as though he was not alone. But all the people in the world surrounding him would not have made him feel any easier.

The conclusion Luke had come to did not sit well with his gut. He had a sense of dread that only your insides can justifiably express and Luke did not like it. For the first time in his life, Luke was truly scared.

As his mind raced, Luke was unaware that he had reached the end of the seemingly never-ending corridor. It was difficult for him to distinguish the end, however, as the walls, being one colour, seemed to dissolve into one another, giving the illusion that there was no end to the corridor.

However, Luke spotted a sign on the wall. Two signs, in fact. He stopped at the corner and slowly checked to see if anyone was coming.

The sign on the right read: 'R&D' and the sign on the left read: 'Active Area.'

Luke had no idea what 'R&D' stood for, but did not like the sound of 'Active Area'. All sorts of things raced through his mind, each gradually becoming wilder than the previous.

Luke crept between the two signs in the hope that there was a door invisible to the naked eye. Nothing appeared and Luke made a decision. He would take the 'R&D' corridor.

Just then, an ear-splitting scream, not unlike the one he heard earlier, filled Luke's ears. If there was anything needed to cement Luke's decision in his mind, it was that. The scream came from the 'Active Area.'