One Tortured Soul

Chapter Four

When I finally came to, the first thing I noticed was the ache behind my eyes, piercing my skull. The pain made it hard to think clearly and I struggled to ignore it. I tried rubbing my eyes to alleviate the pain, but found that they were restrained by straps across my wrists and ankles.

After some pulling on them, I came to the conclusion that they were quite sturdy and I wasn't going to be able to get them off.

Frustrated, I resigned to just looking around. Right away I noticed that my shirt was gone and in its place were several sticky pads that had wires running from them and off the table. There were two attached to my chest and two attached to my stomach. At first, I almost panicked and tried to get them off, but without the use of my hands that didn't work out too well. Then, after calming down considerably, I realized that they weren't hurting me at the moment. That helped to relax me so I continued looking around.

The room was brightly lit by fluorescent lights on the ceiling, illuminating my surroundings. There were several machines in the room with wires and screens connected to them, but I had no idea what they were. Besides that, there wasn't anything else in the room that I could see accept for a door to my right.

The room wasn't very large at all, and as my eyes roamed over the circumference of it, I noticed something in the upper corner, near the ceiling.

A security camera.

Most likely the people who put me here were watching me right this moment. I shivered, not liking the thought of that. Goosebumps rose up on my skin and I didn't know whether it was from the chilly air in the room or from the fact that I was nervous. Both seemed like plausible reasons at the moment.

Abruptly, the door to the room was swung open and a man stepped in. He had on a white lab coat similar to the one that the other doctor from the police station had been wearing, but he was a stark contrast from that old man. His dark hair was neatly combed back and he had an air of professionalism about him. In his hand he carried a capped syringe and a metal clipboard stuffed with papers.

The man came right up to where I was restrained down and stopped, staring at me. He didn't say anything, and his gaze made me feel uneasy. He wasn't just staring at me; he seemed to be studying me.

Finally sick of the silence, I spoke out. "Where am I?" I pushed my voice to sound firm and confident when I was a far cry from feeling that way.

His eyebrows raised slightly and he scribbled something down on his papers after tucking the syringe into his coat pocket.

Right away, I knew this man was trouble. Nothing about him or this place felt right. And I wasn't going to lie; I was scared out of my mind.

"Who are you?" I demanded, "Tell me where I am!"

Once again, all I received was silence and the occasional sound of his pen scratching against the paper. If I wasn't restrained, I would have punched him then and there. But to be honest, it wasn't just him. I felt like punching anyone right then. I wasn't in the best of moods.

"So you're Lucas Williams..." he mused, finally speaking. But it didn't seem like he was talking to me.

"What's going on?" I growled, pulling on the straps and wishing they would just disappear.

He placed the clipboard down by my leg and went over to one of the machines. After messing with it for a moment, he slowly wheeled it over closer. I could hear a faint hum imminent from it, telling me it was on.

The man set to work pulling at the wires and moving them around. I tried to follow his actions with my eyes, but I didn't understand what was going on so it didn't do much good.

Finally, he finished what he was doing and looked down at me. His face was completely devoid of emotion--barely even human.

"You can call me Doctor Madsen. I'm going to be your test overseer for the time being. There are several rules you will be required to follow for your stay, and if you break any one of them, you will be punished. Rule one, listen to me at all times. Rule two, don't try to leave. And rule three, don't try to use your powers. Is that clear?"

My head was spinning with everything that he was saying. I could barely wrap my head around any of it. But what I did know, was that I didn't like what he was saying.

"Where am I?" I asked again, hoping he would answer my question now that he was actually talking.

"You are in the TIMP, the Test Institute for Mutated People. And like I said before, don't even think of trying to leave," he explained, crossing his arms.

He was serious. He was actually serious! Unbelievable...

"You're serious?" I said, dumbfounded. I didn't have a power. All I had was a freak accident that caused me to lose my wife and kids.

"Completely. You didn't think you could hide from us forever, did you?"

Everything he was saying was complete and utter nonsense to me. Hide from them? I didn't even know who them was!

"Hide from you?" I croaked, my voice cracking. I struggled to keep it steady, "What do you mean? I don't have a power. I think you've made a mistake!" Maybe this was all some misunderstanding... Maybe he would just let me go...

Doctor Madsen barked out a mirthless laugh, causing another shiver to go down my back. "Do you think we are all brainless idiots?" He shook his head, but didn't say more after that, setting to work on the machine again.

I stared at him in astonishment. This couldn't be real! I had no idea what was going on, but from what I could tell the man seemed to think I was someone else. Or at least that I knew more than I really did.

Doctor Madsen pulled the syringe back out of his pocket once more and popped the cap off. Then, he pressed on the inside of my right elbow with two fingers, causing the soft skin to lightly throb.

"What is that?" I asked, craning my neck to keep my eyes locked on the syringe.

He didn't answer before sticking the thin needle smoothly into my skin and pressing down on the plunger.

There you have it! The fourth chapter! I hope you are enjoying the story so far :) Please don't forget to leave a comment, vote, or follow if you liked it! Thanks so much everyone! I appreciate each and every one of you! Even the ghost readers!

Ithildae