The experiment | ✔️

The exchange

Blake yelps again and falls onto the ground as one woman hits her on the head causing Blake to become unconscious.

Ethan wants to go to Blake but before he knows it, he becomes dizzy after feeling a sharp pain in his neck and looses his balance. He feels himself falling on the cold hard ground before everything goes black.

He groans and blinks, there is no light, the air is tight and he feels a cold steel pipe against his back with his arms around it. Ethan opens his eyes and looks around. Blake is whimering next to him. "Blake?"

She sniffs and moves a bit, probably trying to look at him, "E-Ethan?" She stutters.

"Yeah it's me, what's going on? Why are you crying?"

"I'm scared."

Ethan moves his hands, the ropes are burning his wrist because of the vervain on them. He feels her hands and takes them gently. "Hey it's ok, we'll get out of here."

She sniffs again, "p-promise?"

"I promise. I'll do anything to get us out, don't worry."

She doesn't awnser but even though he can't see it, she smiles a bit, happy that someone cares, or at least seems to care for her.

Suddenly a bright light appears, making the form of a doorway and a black figure appears. Ethan looks away, the light overwhelming him.

"Ah, so you two are finally awake? Took you long enough."

Blake grips Ethan's hands tighter and Ethan caresses one of her thumbs with his. He slowly turns his head towards the figure, clearly being the man from before because his voice sounds familiar. "What do you want? How long have we been here? Why are you keeping us here?"

"Shut up boy."

"Or what?"

"Or," the man pulls on something, causing the ropes around Ethan's and Blake's wrists to go tighter. Blake yelps in pain, Ethan squeezes his eyes and bites his bottom lip out of pain, "that. Now, why you are here? Well, your facility has something of mine and I want it back. Besides, you two are very interesting. I once worked at A.A. until they took my son away from me. Now? He doesn't remember me, my sweet boy... They made him a killer. There is nothing left of the old him. Once I get him back, I will try and get him back."

"Then what do you need us for? And... That's not what Mary told us, she said you're a terrorist."

The man laughs darkly, truly sounding horrific. "Yes that's what they like to tell their soldiers. They make it worse. They'll make you believe what they want you to believe. Tell me boy, what is it that your remember?"

Ethan thinks. This is what Blake said, in a way. She said they change your mind. Does he know more? "Well..."

"That was a rhetorical question. You remember being born, raised and trained there. Don't you?"

Ethan nods.

"Exactly. Standard procedure. I once was one of those who did that. Nasty business, really. As for how long you are here, it has been a day and a few hours."

Blake by now is completely silent. Ethan tries to struggle and tries to get free but without luck.

The man snickers and turns on a light. The room is empty, exept for a few chairs, a table and the pipe Ethan and Blake are tied to. There is a lever connected with ropes leading to the ropes around their wrists.

Ethan looks over his shoulder, trying to look at Blake. She is biting her bottom lip softly with a scared look at her face. Only now Ethan realizes that her hair is messy and her clothes partly ripped. "Blake what happened?"