Experiment 232

Chapter 3

I give up on calling for help. I realise, after a while, that no matter how much I shout, no one can hear me. No one will come. The van speeds onwards, down very bumpy roads, it seems, throwing me about. It is even worse when the van makes a very sharp turn and I am sent skidding across the floor. Every now and then, when this happens, I end up crashing into what feels like a leg, but I am not too sure. The owner of the leg makes no sound of pain or even surprise when this happens, and doesn’t even bother to move it.

We travel for hours. It feels far too long, but that may be helped by the fact that I’m not exactly in the most comfortable position, nor am I able to see anything thanks to the blindfold. My head aches from being whacked into surfaces and from the noise of the engine. I have no idea what is going on and this makes it all so much scarier. Anything could happen.

After a few hours pass, the road slowly grows less bumpy. I’m not being thrown about as harshly, and the engine’s noise is lower. When it becomes completely smooth it feels like bliss. However, it isn’t long before I feel myself sliding across the floor once more, towards the cab. We’re on a slope. We’re heading downwards.

I start to drift off, not quite into a state of sleep, but definitely close. Only when I hear the slamming of doors and loud voices do I realise that we have stopped. After all the time spent travelling, it felt too still. I hear the van’s back doors opening and everything is louder.

“Two-three-two,” says a male voice, probably an official.

I hear footsteps pass me and walk away, out of the van to join the voice. The leg’s owner, I presume.

A second set of footsteps then enter the van and come up to me. I feel a hand grip my arm tightly and I am yanked to my feet. I stumble and trip as I am half-led, half-dragged out of the van and onto solid ground, and further. I still cannot see a thing, the blindfold still tight around my eyes.

“What’s going on? Sir?” I say, shifting my hands in their restraints. Then I remember. “Where’s Mel? The girl, Where is she?”

I try to twist out of the hand’s grasp but the owner keeps a firm hold, and says nothing as they lead me away. Pointless trying to talk. I won’t get a response.

Soon I am released, and I stumble away from my captor. However, I still can’t see and my hands are still bound, so I am helpless. I am slammed against a wall, smoother than the one in the village. I wince in pain, but then gasp in relief when my blindfold falls away and the restraints on my hands are removed. When I’m released, I step away from the wall and look around to take in my surroundings. The room I’m in is grey and dull. It contains no furniture except for a metal chair against one wall.

The official who led me here coughs to get my attention. I turn to look at him. He is tall and stocky, square jaw clenched as if the very sight of me makes him uncomfortable. The he speaks.

“Stay here,” he says with a somewhat blank look on his face. “You will be called for soon.”

He walks out of the room.

“Where’s Mel? What’s going on?” I yell in vain as he closes the door. I hear a soft click which tells me that I am now locked in.

Brilliant.

I scan the room once more. The door that the official had just left through was the only one. There were no windows. No skylights, nothing. I am trapped. I hear a strange sound coming from the corner of the ceiling, almost like a mechanical twitching. In the corner I see a small, black, round object. Inside it, there is a small red light. I’ve never seen anything like this before. I remember the chair, and pull it up to the corner. Placing my feet firmly on the seat, I use the chair as a stool to get a better look at the mysterious object. Up close, I discover that it is made of black-coloured glass. And there’s something inside. I can just about make out a small box-like object, with something on one end, pointing right at me.