The Guardians

Chapter 2

I woke groggily and moaned as the weight of the world crashed on me. My bones were saw dust and my muscles pudding. My eyes felt like led balls weighing down on my brain and I felt as if someone carved out my guts, mashed them to mush, and made me eat them.

"Ah, he's awake," said a voice to my right. My head flopped in the direction it came from and I squinted through the bright light.

"Hello there, Mr. Carter. My name is Dr. Bartok. James Bartok," said Dr. Bartok. I tried to rub my eyes only to find my hands were bound. I attempted to pull my legs up only to find them bound, too. Panic seized me as I tried to get myself out of the bonds. I felt my throat constrict as claustrophobia started to set in.

"Get-get this off of me,"I gasped, thrashing about. My vision was still blurry and the sudden movement made my pounding headache escalate to a whole new level.

Dr. Bartok smiled at me with mock pity.

"And why would I do that?" He questioned, smirking. I started to hyperventilate and he sighed.

"This is amusing really," he said putting his hands on his knees so he's looking straight into my panic filled eyes.

"Wait til the fun really begins." I tried to get my breathing under control but darkness was eating away at the edges of my vision.

The doctor smiled without any signs of mirth.

"Oh the pain you're going to endure. Pain you've never felt before. You will wish death was inflicted upon you and when you beg for it and, well, I'm only going to make it worse. Sweet dreams, Reuben."

The doctor jammed his finger into my bullet wound. I screamed as pain overcame my senses, numbing every pain receptor in my body. The darkness leaped into my eyes stealing my vision away. Right before I completely lost consciousness the doc whispered in my ear.

"Don't worry, I'm going to make you better than ever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A cold bucket of water splashed on my face and I spluttered, bolting upright. A different person stood over me and by the assault rifle in his hands I'm guessing he's a guard. He threw a metal tray on my legs.

"Eat up. The Doc is coming soon," the guard said in a low, gravelly voice. He smirked."Oh boy, you're gonna have fun today." He laughed coldly and walked to the door of my cell.

"Good luck," he called over his shoulder. He took a key from the key ring hanging on his belt and inserted it in the lock. He gave it a twist and shoved it open. With a slam of finality, he locked the door. I looked around and took in every detail.

My room was about 7 by 10 without any windows in sight. The door was solid metal with a doorknob and a tiny window. One light shone over the bed that I was lying in and a small metal toilet sat in the corner with no toilet paper in sight. I looked down to see that my hands and feet weren't strapped to the bed. The metal tray contained what looked like a pile of wet gravel and a slop of yellow mush.

I gingerly placed the tray next to me and swung my legs over the bedside and stood. Immediately my legs gave out and black stars appeared in my vision. I crumpled to the floor and felt a wave of nausea slam into my stomach. I gasped and crawled to the toilet. I braced my hands on the rim, gritting my teeth as my stomach clenched. Bile rose into my throat and launched out of my mouth.

The foul smelling liquid brought tears into my eyes. My headache rebounded with such an intensity that I nearly passed out. I groaned and curled up into a ball trying to disappear back into the darkness.Every time I reached out to try and grasp it it retreated further and further. Soon, it disappeared leaving me to suffer.