A STUDY IN BLACK ✓

XXII

Josh didn't know how long he stayed there. At one point, it didn't even matter anymore. They started experimenting on Josh on what he thought was the third day of him being stuck there.

It started off easy. They forced him to swallow pills and occasionally would connect him to an IV bag of a weird blue liquid. After a while, however, the experiments escalated, as did Josh's temper.

They started injecting him with painful serums, making his body convulse. The nightmares on those nights were worse than the ones from his time as a solider. Whenever the scientists deemed him ready, they had him spar with some of the guards and cult members to see the effectiveness of the experiments. Josh was sure he'd killed at least six people on accident, but they never confirmed nor denied if he did whenever he asked.

Josh started losing himself more and more in blind fits of red rage. He'd wake up with either a shattered "bulletproof" glass wall or with bodies suspended in the air by electrical wiring Josh had somehow ripped out of the concrete walls.

The only upside to the experiments is that he earned privileges for his compliance. They allowed him to wander out of his rooms with electrical restraints or a guard present. Any time he tried to escape- which happened on a daily basis- they would shock him until he passed out.

His memory faded in and out when this happened, but he could tell by his bloody knuckles and the new bruises on his face and chest that he didn't go down without a fight.

Then one day, they let him go wander through the whole facility unsupervised except for the cameras watching his every move.

Josh hadn't seen Tyler since they were separated after the meeting with the Way brothers, who also seemed to disappear into thin air.

He was afraid the experiments had killed him, but the terrifying screams that would wake him up in the middle of the day/night always confirmed both his worst fears and gave him hope.

But what he didn't expect was what he found in a different glass room three halls down from him on his search for Tyler's cell.

All the rooms were elevated about three feet off the ground with concrete underneath them. The glass wall let Josh see into all the rooms he passed. Most of them were empty, all except for one.

A woman was strapped to a chair in the middle of the room, head on her chest. Her hair fell over her face in matted blonde waves, and she was in black clothing, like Josh. A single light was lit above her head, casting menacing shadows on her thin frame.

Metal glinted on her skin from the single light, and it took a moment for Josh to realize they were implants. One of the other experiments the scientists were doing. Josh refused to let them anywhere near him with any pieces of metal.

Her feet were bare and the straps keeping her in the chair looked too tight for comfort. Two people lied limp around her, in a pool of blood.

Josh froze in front of her room and gasped the slightest bit at the sight, seeing the woman's wrecked state and the bodies around her. Her head jerked up at the sound.

She hardly looked human.

Her bright blue eyes were wild and frantic, darting back and forth through the room. She jerked at her limbs, the straps ripping like ribbons under her strain. The woman slammed herself into the glass, looking everywhere until her eyes landed on Josh.

"What the hell?" Josh was stuck between running the hell away and going up to her. He chose the latter, approaching the glass cautiously.

There was a small etching into the glass.

BLACK BIRD.

"What's your name?" Josh asked.

He didn't actually expect her to respond, but when she did, it sounded like she hadn't spoken in years.

"Jenna."

His heart stopped. "Jenna... Jenna Black?"

Jenna nodded frantically, her eyes clearing. "You know me."

"Sort of. My name is Josh Dun. My friend knows you. Do you remember Tyler Joseph?"

Her eyes widened and she fell back on her butt, running a hand through her hair. "Tyler is here?"

Josh nodded. She looked up at Josh and held a finger to her lips.

"Don't speak. The walls have ears."

Josh assumed she meant the cameras, so he nodded and watched as Jenna stood and made her way to her bed. She crouched and reached a hand underneath it, getting whatever she was looking for because she turned to Josh with a big smile.

Jenna sat cross legged in front of Josh, watching him intently. "The voices are gone. For now. Tell me, how do you know Tyler?"

"He broke into my apartment which used to be yours and recruited me to solve crimes with him," he explained, not realizing how ridiculous it all sounded until then. "It's, uh, it's a weird origin story now that I say it out loud to you. His fiancée."

"Why would he recruit a Cerberus member?" She said aloud, mostly to herself.

Josh shrugged. "I don't know, he knew Heaven's Templar wanted to get me and he wanted to avoid it. Guess it didn't work out that well. Wait- you know who I am?"

Jenna pressed one hand on the glass. Josh impulsively did the same. He could clearly see the abundance of scars and metal implants in her arms and legs. Even her face glinted with glimpses of metal under the skin.

She smiled sadly, retracting her hand.

"Don't worry, Blue Rabbit. You'll find him soon enough."

"Blue Rabbit?" Josh echoed. "Is that my cult name or something? Why would you call me that?"

"I've been here longer than you and he combined. I know things you don't know yet."

They must've tortured Jenna into a cryptic prophet of death, because all Josh could make of two conversation was that there was no escape. Jenna, before being kidnapped and losing her mind, was a high class assassin that caught Tyler, of all people, and converted him into a detective. If she couldn't escape, then there was no hope for Josh.

Still, it didn't hurt to try.

"I'll come back for you," he promised. "And when I do, we'll get you out of here."

Jenna smiled, a little more hopeful this time, and blew him a kiss. "I wish you and Tyler the best of luck. You're going to need it."

She let out a hysterical giggle. Josh saluted her and made his way down the hall, pausing when her maniacal laughter turns into the oh so familiar screeches of torture.

A loud whirring sound took over her screams, and then there was a sudden silence. He kept walking, knowing he wouldn't be able to stomach what he would see if he walked back.