Daniel

Chapter 8 - Irene

Daniel awoke in darkness, his eyes covered by a visor. He tried to move his hands to take it off but they were stuck in place by restraints again, along with his legs. He heard murmuring close by him, before he opened his mouth to speak.

"Who's there? Where am I?" He questioned worriedly, his voice quivering.

The conversation became hushed, and Daniel could hear the sound of footsteps gradually increasing towards him. Turning his head to the left where the sound was coming from, Daniel flinched as he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Hello Daniel, my name is Irene Siffrer, you have been transferred to a special research and confinement room in the facility. We will be authorising tests to research and examine the properties of your abnormalities, and, we are willing to go to any extent to figure out whatever it may have been that triggered your abnormality in the first place." A woman replied to him, her voice stern and superior.

Daniel swallowed hard, his eyes wide underneath the visor.

"W-why are you doing this?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"I'm sorry Daniel. Now, you would have noticed that your eyes have been shielded, the purpose of this is because we are about to begin our first examination, and the light is intensely bright. If you will comply, it'll make it a lot easier for all of us."

Daniel couldn't resist even if he wanted to as he felt the woman sticking two pads on either sides of his temple, and her footsteps receded.

A silence fell over the room, and the only noticeable sound was the tapping of a keyboard, which Irene was likely responsible for.

"Okay Daniel, I would like you to clear your mind, and I will slowly introduce small electrical currents into your brain," Irene said softly.

Daniel refused to cooperate, and he heard a harsh sigh before he felt a pulse go through his head and he cried out sharply in pain.

"Let's try this again, Daniel. Calm your mind, otherwise it will only hurt more next time," she demanded.

Daniel continued to yield from the examination, as the electrical pulses became harsher. Gritting his teeth, he soon began feeling faint, and his eyelids drooping, Daniel heard Irene breathe a brief sound of approval, before he blacked out.

----

"Wake up. It's time for the final stage of your examination, which will be exploratory surgery." A cruel voice spoke as Daniel was shook awake.

He blinked a few times, the absence of the blindfold causing him to squint, but Marcus's figure soon came into focus. The man grimaced at Daniel and opened his mouth to continue to speak.

"Miss Siffrer would like to begin on you at once, so, if you will, please come with me," he laughed as he looked at Daniel's restraints, and started wheeling the stretcher that Daniel was strapped to down a long corridor.

Marcus took a left through two open doors, pulling Daniel on the stretcher along with him, and inside stood a woman with dark hair, dressed in a white coat, her unfaltering gaze piercing through Daniel. Multiple people wearing coats and surgical masks stood around too, unpacking equipment and lining them all on trays.

"Good, he's awake. Hello again Daniel, welcome to the last stage of your examination. You will be given a large dose of anaesthetic during this process, which put you to sleep while we get to work," the woman spoke.

"Are you Irene?" he asked.

"Yes, why?"

Daniel gave no response. He grit his teeth firmly and watched as a pair of hands placed a mask over his mouth, and everything began spinning around him as his eyelids quickly veiled his eyes.

----

Daniel's eyelids felt heavy, as he slowly slipped back into consciousness. He turned his head and noticed Irene talking with another person, cloaked in a white coat.

"His organs are functioning properly."

"That's not what I'm inquiring about, did you find anything that could be the cause of his abnormality?"

"There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Okay then, if that isn't going to work, schedule an MRI and an exploratory craniotomy."

"Yes Miss Siffrer, right away."

The sound of footsteps receded as another pair started making their way closer to him, and he closed his eyes again just before Irene spoke, towering over him.

"We are one step closer Daniel, once we find out what you have, you are the key to super human properties," Irene whispered softly, unaware that Daniel was conscious, "you will bring us all a new way of life."

The sound of her footsteps slowly receded, the light turning off and a door closing as Irene's footsteps became inaudible. Daniel's eyes flicked open, and he started to panic.

I have to get out of here. The words echoed in his head.