Just Your Spirit

Chapter One

Joseph wanted to see the outside. That's how it always was with him. The guards would take him every other day but that meant the days that he spent in his cell were full of waiting and longing. Even when he was outside it didn't mean he could see his family or friends. That would have to wait until more testing was done. Waiting, waiting, waiting. He was sick of it. He was sick of the cell. He was sick of not being able to leave.

One day, Joseph got to walk around the lab. He couldn't help but smile as the guards led him down the hall and to the control center. The word 'Home' bounced around in his head as he turned a corner and faced the control room door.

"Wait here." The guards said in unison. Joseph nodded and sat on one of the many black chairs that lined the wall to his right. He kicked his legs back and forth like an impatient child as the two men put in a code on a keypad and walked inside when the door hissed open. When they came out, the guards looked at him with their usual blank expressions and had him stand. Joseph called the one on the right Happy and the one on the left Joy. He found this comical and of course completely ironic but it helped to keep his spirits up. Plus, it was fun to see their faces change into light scowls when he didn't call them by their Lab names: H-1 and J-2. Both had black suits with a black shirt underneath and a little black box that had a thin black wire connecting to an earpiece.

"So what's goin' on Happy?" Joseph asked with a playful grin on his face. His grin didn't widen as he realized Happy didn't react to the nickname like he normally did. In fact, he seemed more hollow to Joseph. Less awake he decided.

"What's 'Goin on'," Happy said. "is you need to get in that room and plug yourself into the main computer."

"Ah, gotcha...Why?"

Joy grabbed Joseph by the shoulders and shoved him in the room before he could protest. The two guards shut the door with a button and locked it from the outside.

"Yeah, Ok!" Joseph called as he dusted himself off. "This is totally fine! I'm just, you know, gonna plug my stupid core into the big bad computer and- oh wow..."

The room was a lot smaller than he imagined it to be. There was A gigantic screen that took up most of the space on the wall before him and it the room with a soft yellow glow. Tubes and wires of all sizes were plugged into it and were spilling from its ports onto the ground.  The keyboard was nothing he had ever seen before and definitely did not have your standard laptop keys. Most were blank with labels that Joseph either couldn't read (due to the small font) or couldn't understand.

After a lot of looking around, Joseph finally found the right cord for his chest and plugged himself in like he was told.

"I did it!" He called to the guards that he hoped were still outside. "Do I need to press something or-?" He suddenly stopped and screamed. A Burning sensation flared in his head as he squeezed his eyes shut and fell to the floor.

"W-what." He wheezed. "What is...this?"

There was a small beep and a woman's voice that followed. "This is a test." She said. Her voice was soft and distorted. Joseph screamed again. "Can you hear me?"

"Hurts," Joseph whispered.

"Can you hear me?" The woman asked again.

"Yes...I can hear-argh!"

"Unplug. It will be less painful." Joseph reached for the cord with shaking hands and pulled it out. The burning subsided and left behind a dull ache in the back of his skull.

"Better?" There was a sharp pulse but nothing like the pain he felt before. Joseph sat up and looked around for the woman but found no one.

"Where are you?"

"Better?"

Joseph was getting a little annoyed." Uh yes, thank you. Where are you?"

"In your computer." Was the simple reply.

"Like, my brain?"

"Yes."

"W-why?"

"You ask that question a lot I see."

"Get out of my head." Joseph blurted.

"Am I scaring you?"

He took a breath in, held it, then released the air blinking fast. "Kinda."

"I'm sorry." She sounded sad.

"No, no! I-it's ok. I've just never had a person living in my brain before so..." He began to laugh, convinced that he was going insane.

" I would be concerned if you did. This is only temporary, I promise. But I do need your help."

"What are you going to run more tests? Is that it? A test? When will they stop- I..." He curled in on himself. "I want them to stop." He started sobbing and was pleasantly surprised when fresh tears spilled from his eyes. Although, they came in streams, not drops. Joseph decided it was better than not crying at all and the voice seemed to agree. She let him, not saying a word until he stopped.

"Better?" She asked.

A puddle of water had formed in front of Joseph and his shirt was soaking wet at the front. "Better..." He sniffed.

"Ok." A few seconds later the door lock clicked and the panel to the right of it gave off a green glow. "I have unlocked the door." The voice informed him. "I need you to go and find another person. A girl. She should be in a room a few doors down. I'll tell you where to go."

"Ok," Joseph said a little skeptical. "What do I do then?"

"I have taken control of all of the guards in the facility. This will last for six hours. I need you to take the girl and run."