Nuclear // Number Five

0.11 × Was and Was Not

It comes in waves, I close my eyes. Hold my breath and let it bury me. Who will fix me now? Dive in when I'm down?

When the trio reappeared, Libby wasn't sure quite where they were. There was a strange white metal building behind them, but the cars in front of them looked very old. The Handler was talking with Five, but Libby was too preoccupied by the lush green grass and the ornate stone building to their left. 

Libby followed at a short distance, winding up a staircase inside the building and walking through several rooms that made her cringe. She eyed the briefcase room as they passed it, and assumed that that was what Five was after. What she couldn't figure out is why he was going on with all this pageantry. 

She watched on uncomfortably at the way the Handler touched Five, the way her tone came across. Libby thought she sounded condescending, a little bit, and it made her skin crawl. She could hardly believe Five had worked for this vile woman for so long. Within a few moments, the Handler had Five sit at a desk and gave him a sort of test assignment. She turned to Libby, mischief lighting up her eyes. 

"Now, to free you of any distractions, I'll just be taking Libby here into my care for a while," She said smugly, grabbing Libby by the shoulders and pulling her out of the room. Libby looked over her shoulder at Five, panicked. His face was calm, but the worry in his eyes showed. 

The Handler led Libby down a few hallways until they came to an ornate office. The room was large, with several trophies scattered about the room. Libby recognized a few of the historical artifacts from the reading she had done in the cell in her father's basement. What scared Libby the most about this room, though, was the pill sitting on the desk next to a glass of water. 

"I have heard, Libby, that you have a habit of radiating people alive," The Handler explained, stepping toward the desk. Libby stood still as a stone in front of the woman. The Handler reached out with the pill in her palm. "While you're here, I insist you take this. Just a little something to take the edge off, of course."

Libby stared the woman down. "And if I don't take it?" She asked, eyeing the pill suspiciously. She had been wary of the woman since she had first appeared, and this was starting to push her limits. 

"You remain here as my little pet until we ensure the apocalypse continues as scheduled. Your precious little Five dies, and you will be left alone," She explained simply, pushing the pill closer to Libby. 

"What is it going to do to me?" Libby asked, taking the small capsule between her fingers. It was light orange and looked to be chalky. It didn't look like any medication she had ever seen before.

"Just a small dose of lead," The Handler smiled, "Can't risk you melting our facility to the ground, now can we?" 

Libby slid the pill under her tongue and dry swallowed it. "If I die, I'm sure Five will get back to you," Libby smiled, hoping that wouldn't be the case. The Handler just smiled back.

"Speaking of, I guess I should check on his progress," She thought out loud, starting to move toward the door. 

When Libby tried to will herself to move, it felt like her legs had turned to iron, and she started to feel light headed. She reached out to try and grab onto something, but her vision blurred and she hit the floor, unconscious. 

~Five's time to shine~

Five returned to the tube room only to notice the Handler, but no Libby. He shook his head, handing his work to her. "Where is she?" He asked, threateningly. 

"Ah, all in due time, my dear Five," She cracked open the capsule and read the memo. "Oh, very good, I'm impressed. You really are management material."