The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Forty-Five

Aiden slumped against his seat, his head in his hands. It was dark, and he could see little from the cell that the Eskium soldiers had placed him in following his capture.

He wasn't sure how many hours had passed, but he was confident that it hadn't been a whole day yet. All he knew was that he was starving, exhausted and close to death. He'd realized that there was no way Xylem wouldn't publicly execute Aiden and his friends now, especially knowing their involvement with the broadcast meant to expose him once and for all. Even more troubling, Aiden wasn't sure what had happened to Zariah or Rania after the mission had gone awry. All he knew was that Theo had been shot, and Virgil had been taken.

Aiden had failed all of them.

A distant noise stirred him from his mindless state, causing Aiden to rise from his seat and wrap his hands around the icy metal bars. He was reminded of his Test when he was ten, and how familiar his situation was now as compared to back then. Only this time, escape was unlikely, and there would definitely be more blood spilled than that of a single boy.

Footsteps approached him, steady and sure. Aiden drew in a sharp, quick breath, bracing himself for whoever had decided to pay him a most unwelcome visit.

Thirty seconds later, a bright light stared him directly in the face, and Aiden shielded his eyes from the sudden change in brightness. It was an Official, seamless and curt, peering at him with a cold gaze.

"It's time to go," he said harshly, unlocking Aiden's cell and swinging it open. "Cause any trouble, and it will be my genuine pleasure to see you and your little friends die."

Aiden drew his lips into a thin line as he stepped out of the cell, following the Official down a long corridor illuminated by tubes of fluorescent light and towards a series of concrete rooms. The Official walked until they reached a room marked with the number four, and pushed Aiden inside.

The room consisted of a dented metal table with two chairs at opposite ends of it and a pane of one-way glass framed along the opposing wall. The interrogation room was completely colorless except for a few orangish stains that dotted the floor and walls; the only evidence that indicated that people had once sat within it. However, whether those people were alive or dead to this day, Aiden wasn't sure.

"Take a seat," the Official barked. Aiden obeyed, sitting down in one of the metal chairs offered by the table and pulling it forwards so that he was positioned squarely to it. Once he was seated, the Official fastened a new pair of handcuffs to Aiden's raw wrists, locking them tightly and making sure his hands and feet were securely chained to the wall and floor.

"You know, I never thought I'd end up in here," Aiden remarked, looking around as the Official worked. "I was always the good kid."

"That's enough talk from you," the Official snapped. "The General will be in to speak with you shortly."

The Official left the room, and Aiden couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't expected a visit from the General, especially after what Aiden had done against him. After he thought about it some more, Aiden supposed that Xylem would probably be the gloating type, coming to give Aiden one last send off before sentencing him to death.

What Aiden could only assume was fifteen minutes later, he heard the metal door to the interrogation room open, and in walked Xylem, accompanied by four well-armed Officials.

"Colonel Aiden Lycroft," Xylem greeted him, his snakelike gray eyes alight with amusement. "Imagine me seeing you like this." The General turned to his guards, who stood attentively at his sides.

"Give us some privacy, gentlemen," Xylem waved at them dismissively. The soldiers instantly filed out of the interrogation room, leaving Aiden and the General alone in the empty space.