captor ❀ daniel seavey [ON HOLD]

7 ; immunity

naturally, i felt like laying on the ground and sobbing in confusion. i mean, what the hell, right? but i held myself together, stood tall, and awaited more words from the being.

"we don't have much time."

"time for what?" i asked, "where am i? what's going on?"

"you're dead, but not for long." the creature turned away from me, slowly pacing around the area. i followed her with my eyes, not knowing what to say.

"my name's amina. i know you're probably confused, i know you don't know who or rather what i am. truth is, all i am is a messenger. of what, neither of us can be sure, but i'm here to help you."

"help me with what? i'm dead. don't exactly know how you're going to help this situation."

"you're going to have to trust me," her eyes locked with mine, "if you want any of your friends to make it out alive."

eventually, i concurred, telling her i'll at least hear her out.

"your visions, as i'm sure you've noticed, are much more important than they let on to be. they're the keys to your escape, the single way out for you. heed their messages. without them, you'll never make it out."

confused, i inquired on how they're going to help. she told me it'd all make sense with time. "you've only had one so far, alison. more will come. just know you're not going insane - you're everyone's only hope for sanity. for safety." my head was spinning, not fully understanding what in the world was going on.

"alison, promise me you'll remember this. daniel's monitoring your brain, but i threw him off track of our conversation so i could tell you this without him seeing. it's vital you don't forget."

"why is he monitoring my brain? this makes no sense, i don't understand," i began to ramble, not knowing how to handle myself.

"listen, daniel's been working on this for years, getting so into it that he created technology to be able to see everything one produces within their brain - even visuals. he believes lucid dreamers have an ability to access the afterlife when they dream, and that accessibility is stronger when they've actually died. he's planned to use them to reach a loved one he lost some time ago, but he hadn't found someone strong enough to get him a good connection - until now. you're his gateway, alison, and you're not safe."

i somehow felt my heart drop to my stomach.

you're his gateway, alison. you're his gateway, alison. you're his gateway, alison. you're his gateway, alison. you're his gateway, alison. you're his gateway, alison.you're his gateway, alison. you're his gateway, alison.you're his gateway, alison. you're his gateway, alison.

her words screamed in my head repetitively.

"alison... alison! listen, he's about to bring you back. please, please don't forget this. i'm begging you. you've got to save yourself. and do me a favor, check on zach for me. he's going through it more than you can imagine," her head lowered. "oh, and one last thing, don't forget b-"

i awoke, soaking wet, already risen from the tank with my heart beating at a hundred miles a minute. i'm set back in the wheelchair and pushed once again to the chambers. all i felt was exhaustion, and when i made it back to my cage, i fell asleep on the floor, grateful to get a break.

when i rose from my needed slumber, it was another day for everyone else. jack tossed a small pebble that flowed in through the stream in the air and caught it over and over again. coll sat braiding her hair, humming a tune to herself while katrina told her a story from before daniel. zach hadn't moved from where i saw him last. his arms coiled around his knees in the corner of his room, his head resting atop them. i watched his chest rise and fall, listened to him stifle sobs, and wished i could hold him and tell him everything would be okay. i whispered his name, but he didn't raise his head. he held his breath because he knew i knew he was crying. "it's okay, zach," it sounded more like a plea to feel that way myself than an attempt to convince him of it, "it's all going to be okay."

i stand up, calling everyone's names to get their attention. they all look at me - besides zach, who doesn't move. i begin to tell them about the vision i had, and how it felt more like a memory than a vision. i left out the experimentation, not wanting them to freak out about what daniel had been doing. it's hard enough not to go insane in here, let alone not going insane when you know you're being murdered repeatedly. they had their doubts, thinking i was crazy, until jack spoke up.

"i believe you," the room shifted it's attention to him as he continued, explaining himself. "listen, her last vision told her who bexley was. there's no possible explanation for that, as she'd have no way of knowing who she was before that. those visions have to mean something. so whether the weird alien thing was legitimate, her visions are important. i'd trust then before anything else, even if she is insane."

"how considerate of you, jack." i said sarcastically in response to the 'insane' comment.

"i tried real hard to be nice, babe."

"wait..." katrina started as her eyes, glazed over and fearful, met mine, "if you relived all that, doesn't that mean you know about the experiments?"

i winced. of course, the question i so dearly dreaded was brought up. i didn't answer for a few seconds, but i knew that if i didn't come clean about knowing now, it would come up later on, and the trust i'd built between these four people would be torn down completely. so i was honest. i told them exactly what he did, in detail. i described the feeling of my lungs expanding, unimaginable pressure building up in my chest, feeling my heart slow down as it failed to pump before i went unconscious. they asked if it hurt or if it was just pressure, and before i got to answer zach's voice rose above the rest.

"stop," he said. "just stop."

"zach, please, we just want to know what happens to-"

"i fucking said stop!" he yells, finally lifting his head from his knees, revealing fresh trails of tears cascading down his cheeks.

confused, we sat, staring at the boy. all light had evaporated from his demeanor. he had become a shell of the joyful person we had known at the beginning of this hell of a journey. we didn't know what to do or say, so for a good thirty seconds, pitiful staring was all we did, and zach made it clear he hated it with his own coldly returned stares.

"we just wanted to know wh-"

"some of us already know. some of us don't need a damn reminder." he knew we didn't understand. he knew we'd inquire further. so he continued, despite being visibly uncomfortable.

"the smoke," he says, "o-or the gas, whichever one is supposed to make you forget it all? it's never worked for me. not... not once." coll looked at me, her eyes welling up with tears. "i'm... immune, i guess? i-i don't know, it just doesn't work out. i've lived through all of it. every experiment. it's torn me apart. i've been shredded to nothing, my mind-it feels like putty. do you know how many times he's killed me? just me alone? 57. he's killed me 57 times. and i've felt every bit of it. over and over again, and let it be known my hell is on earth. all i want is for the 58th try to be the one where i don't come back. all i want is to be out of this. if that means dying, so be it. i hope i do."

"why didn't you tell us?" katrina asked gently, apologetically.

"i had hoped if i didn't talk about it, it wouldn't be real, it would all disappear one day," he let a few tears slip down his maroon cheeks, "but alison described it, every last second of it, and now i know."

the rest of us had joined him in crying, coll more than anyone.

"zach?" i spoke, making sure he was looking at me. i walked to the glass that separated him and i and placed my hand on it. he put his hand in the same spot on his side of the glass.

"i promise you, i'm going to get you - all of you - out of here if it's the last thing i do."