The Manipulation Room

Chapter 25 - Behind Bars

Manipulation Room victim no. 534123
Name: Evander Toulouse 
Age: 15 years old
Occupation: Student 
Family Member: 14-year-old girlfriend, Casady  
Description:  Drenched body in chemical, lye, which caused chemical burns, scarring and destruction of the living tissue upon immediate contact. 

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I glimpsed at Ezra, wanting nothing more than one of his lovely, reassuring smiles. Something...anything. Anything that could make this absolutely terrifying moment a little less terrifying. He flashed me an equally as petrified glance, though he was a lot better at appearing as calm. I could see beneath the cool exterior; I could see the pain and the fear beneath. Otherwise I'd be none the wiser.

Thanatos finally stopped clapping and pointed at Ezra. I flinched as he lifted a finger but Ezra remained cool. I didn't know it was possible to look at someone with so much anger and disgust. It almost scared me more. Ezra looked so bitter and enraged that I thought he'd pick up a knife from the ground and stab Thanatos with it. I would have done exactly that if I wasn't so scared.

"You. I know you." Thanatos said, blankly, waiting for a response. Ezra simply gave him a furious and resentful stare, choosing to ignore this remark. "The assembly...it was you that spoke, wasn't it?" Thanatos asked, staring curiously at him. Ezra folded his arms and averted his gaze to the ground, the same irked expression on his face. Thanatos laughed coldly before clearing his throat. And just like that, two soldiers appeared on either side of him, both with large shooter rifles in their arms and blank expressions.

"The weapons are fakes...stuck firmly onto the walls and grounds. I wouldn't bother." Thanatos cackled. I kicked a knife on the floor with my foot and surely enough it didn't move an inch. Of course, our previous statement had been right. We were right...The soldiers came forward, their guns pointing at Ezra. I bit my lip so hard it bled, my eyes glued on Ezra and my entire body shaking. "I'll repeat my question. It was you that spoke during the assembly, wasn't it?" Thanatos asked again. Ezra, keeping his gaze on the ground, and nodded, "Yeah."

"Not much of a talker...huh? We'll soon change that." Thanatos threatened, resulting in a chill that ran down my spine. I shuddered, wanting to cry and scream at the same time. My entire body was overtaken by fear. The guns pointing in Ezra's direction only made my fear amplify. I couldn't handle not having him with me. I couldn't handle having him...dead.

Thanatos whispered a command and before I could even anticipate it, the guns whipped in my direction. I shrieked, flinching as the guns pointed towards me. Ezra yelled, running in front of me with his hands stretched outwards, "Don't you dare!"
He gave me a sorry look, as if he blamed himself entirely and I smiled weakly. A sign to tell him that it was okay and it wasn't his fault. "Well now that we've got more than one word out of you, tell me. How did you find this place?" Thanatos queried. Ezra stared at him with serious disgust, arching his body so that he was entirely in front of me, a shield from the guns.

I smiled gratefully, but he was too busy death-staring Thanatos to see. "It's not rocket science. A few diagrams and notes...done." He mumbled. We both knew it was a lot more complicated than that, but neither of us were willing to admit that to him. Thanatos scoffed, "Stop being a smartass and answer my question."
"I just did."
The soldiers walked forward, their guns still facing in our direction. Ezra stepped backward so I did too.

"How did you get in?" Thanatos asked, rubbing his arm and narrowing his eyes on us. Ezra cleared his throat and shrugged, "I mean, you really need to get better security. It wasn't exactly hard."
Given different circumstances, I'd be laughing at Ezra's lack of care and witty sarcasm. However, I was so scared that I couldn't even acknowledge it. Thanatos drummed his fingers along his belt, pulling back his coat to reveal a gun. In one swift motion, he pulled out the gun and shot the soldier closest to him dead.