Comatose

Part One

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The Lab

January 10th, 2022

8:00 PM 

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"Run! Now!"

They cracked another whip across the small of his back. He winced and stood up straighter.

"Faster!"

He placed everything he had into running down this hallway. To get from point A to point B in a new record time, or he would add another painful scar to his back. He had run it a million times in his life, always here, always trapped, never free...

CRACK

"Man, the boy doesn't even scream. How broken is he?"

"Don't know. Don't care. I just want to get this done so I can go home and get drunk. My wife is staying late again, I don't know how much longer I can keep her in my house," The man laughed, "Boss says one more test and then we can lock him up for the night."

"Ugh. Fine."

The boy stopped and leaned over, taking deep breaths. They stuck more electrodes on his bare, sweaty chest and plugged them into a monitor. The boy sat down as they shoved a bottle of water in his hands, and he downed it in moments. He coughed and looked up at the men who wanted to rip him to shreds, well, at least that felt like their motive. They never actually tried to give him the sweet release of death. They lived just run him again and again, or shove him into some other godforsaken test for the heck of it. All just to see if they could get him to scream; he would never give them the satisfaction.

"Normal exercise heart rate, and low oxygen." The man looked around and pointed at a tray stocked with medical instruments, "Hand me that rebreather." The man said as he scribbled something on a clipboard. He took the clear, oxygen-filled mask out of the other man's hands, and strapped it around the boy's mouth.

He took deep breaths of fresh oxygen as the men wiped the blood from his back. Each touch felt like they were digging knives into his skin. He forced himself to hold back his tears. He would never let himself appear weak to these monsters.

Once his oxygen levels were back to normal, the two men viciously ripped the mask off of his face and pulled him to his feet. Each of them grabbing a wrist and pulling him violently along the ground.

The boy was used to it. The aching strain of his muscles was familiar and oddly welcoming. It was better than having his limbs broken, that always hurt the worst.

He had been through so much throughout his 17 years of life.

The men opened a small cell and shoved him inside. Shackling his wrists and ankles to the floor with a length of chain. He could still stand, but moving farther than three feet was fairly impossible. Good thing his cell wasn't all that big.

He sat down and leaned his head against the wall. Closing his eyes and praying that the familiar sting from the open wounds on his back would subside.

A small lilting voice suddenly rang in his ears.

"H-hello? Is...Is anyone there?"

He stood up and peered through the small barred window that existed between the cells. He had always thought of them as a tease, for as long as he could remember no one had ever been his neighbor.

Ever.

A small girl with bright blond curls had her delicate hands gripped around the bars. Her face lit up with a smile as he walked up to the window.

"Yes! There is someone else here!" A single tear fell down her rosy cheek. She had to be no older than twelve, and she was as skinny as a twig. "I...I don't know where I am, those mean men shoved me in here, and I... I'm scared." She took a shaky breath. "Hey mister, don't you say anything?"

The boy shook his head.

"Huh? Not a word?" The girl said.

The boy shook his head once more.

"Oh," the girl's smile had faded instantly. A cloud of sadness falling over her features. "I've never met a mute before."

The boy reached out his hand and brushed it against hers, his shackle chain rattling. She looked up as he gave her a smile.

"Well, I guess I'm just...confused. Where are we?" Her eyes sparkled with tears.

The boy gave her a shrug. He wanted to reach out and hug her with everything he had. Which, to be honest, wasn't much with what he had been through.

"Do you have a name?" She said, then frowned as the boy shook his head. "No name, weird." The small girl looked at her boring surroundings and sighed. "Well then...I have to call you something..."

The boy inched closer to the girl. The shackles tugged and rubbed at his wrists, but a few blisters were more manageable than whip wounds.

"Kaleb." She said. A small grin playing about her lips. "I have a brother named Kaleb, and his...his eyes are like yours. Dark brown and sunken in just a little bit. Like you're scared of the world, and wish to protect anyone in it," She looked the boy in the eyes, "May I call you Kaleb?"

The boy thought for a moment. Mouthing the name she had said, but no sound came from his throat. He liked how his tongue moved as he tried to say it, and he gave her a short nod.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Kaleb, I'm Elle." She stuck her hand between the cell bars and Kaleb shook it.

Then her cell door opened and one of the men walked in, forcing Kaleb to pull his hand away quickly.

"Hey! Get away from that window!" The man grabbed her and pulled her back by the shoulders, stepping between her and Kaleb. The man turned and frowned at the boy, "You should know better. Are you asking for a beating boy?"

Kaleb shook his head and looked down at the ground.

"As for you, you're coming with me, boss has plans for you." The man unshackled Elle and twisted her wrists behind her back. She screamed.

Kaleb slammed his hands against the bars so that the shackles collided with them and made a loud noise.

It worked as planned and got the man's attention.

"Oh! Would you look at that! The mute can show emotion!" He cackled, "Boss would be happy if you could show that in your tests." The cackling stopped and the man glared at Kaleb. "Now be a good boy, and sit down. You'll get your turn later," He shoved Elle forward, making her wince.

She turned her head and mouthed for Kaleb to stop. She gave him a pained smile.

"Stop. It's okay. I have met you now. I can be brave for a few minutes" She said. Her voice was strong, but her eyes showed that she was terrified.

Kaleb nodded.

"Oh, how adorable true love," the man mused as he shoved her out of the cell and slammed the door.

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