Mayhem's Beginning (Everybody Changes)

Chapter 11: Injection

Black. Nothing was visible but black. I started to wonder if my eyelids were open as I attempted to lift my hands to my face. Stuck. My hands were stuck. Tied down with what felt like thick nylon straps. Moving the rest of my body was useless, for it didn't work.

The room felt extremely stale as not even the slightest hint of breeze was present. Silence filled the room, even a deaf man would have complained of everything being too quiet. The smells were equivalent to a locker-room full of clothes from a football team who had went a month with out washing their gear.

My grogginess faded away as I realized that my back was pressed up against a steel board. The board was leaning at an angle in where the blood from my head ran all the way to my toes. It was icy cold against my flesh, a temperature comparable to the antarctic. I wiggled my ankles but sadly they were knotted together with another strap. My limbs were tied in such a way where I was crucified on the steel, arms stretched at full length, legs pressed downwards, my torso completely unable to move.

“Ugh.” I groaned at a reasonable volume. I turned my neck side to side in attempt to find some light. There wasn't a beam from any source, not a single bleed from the crack of a door. My last memories then ran through my head: An old man with white hair, my face pressed up against a brick wall, the feeling of electricity running through my body. Where the hell was I? ”Get me out of here!” I began yelling. “Help! Somebody help me!”

Were Bradley and Adam out looking for me? Did they even know what was going on? What about Dahlia, or even Kate? I had no idea how long I had been missing. Maybe a couple of hours, perhaps a few days. Either way it is certain I had not been missing for ten minutes for my clothes felt dampened and my breath didn't feel all that fresh.

A bulb then flickered to life, a sun in the eternal darkness that blinded as it shined in my face. I squinted my eyes and tried turning my head away from the illumination. From a few feet away the sounds of metal clinging against each other could be heard. Soon the crack of a doorway was visible as light leaked in the room. For a few moments I saw the wear and tear of grime everywhere: The walls were covered with dirt, the floors bathed in filth, and miscellaneous items were scattered. Two shadowy figures appeared in the doorway, slamming the door closed as they entered.

“Rise and shine Mr. Mayhem.” The old man who had shoved a tazer in my back approached me. He was wearing a lab coat, and in the light I could see his face a whole of a lot better. Wrinkles were everywhere, and from my blurry eye sight I wasn't sure whether it was from stress or age. He was definitely oriental, a yellowish tint in his skin.

“W-who are you? Why am I here?” I had a thousand other questions but was cut off by the guy standing next to him

“Quiet. There isn't time to answer your questions.” He was taller than the old man, his voice deep. He was darker complected, probably in his thirties, and had rippling muscles that were visible even through his loose lab coat.

“Why am I here? What are you planning on doing?” I tried lifting my arms once again but the straps were tied too tight. “Help!” I yelled once again.

“The walls are five feet thick.” The old man's wispy voice said as he slipped a surgeon's mask over his mouth.

“No one will hear you. Now you can shut up...” the taller man was pulling his own mask on his face. “...or we can make you shut up.”

“You can't do this! This is against the law! I have rights!” I exhausted every pathetic line I could think of in attempt to get out of this prison. Suddenly an eerie thought crept up on me, a bitter reality that I did not want to face. They weren't going to let me out.

The old man held up a syringe full of a strange green liquid. “Are you sure this is going to work, doctor? I mean, shouldn't we run a few more tests? I don't think we have completely emulated the exact compounds--”

“Doctor, we have no time to run more tests.” Both of their voices were serious, stern, and surprisingly cautious. “It's now or never. If we wait any longer it will be too late.” Those last words lingered for a bit.

“Wait, what's going on!?” I demanded. The doctors looked over to me and then back at each other. They both sighed, approaching me then. The older doctor held the syringe above his head and slowly inched the end of the needle towards my medial antebrachial. My wrists were now shaking, tears ran down my face, and sweat poured from my pores. “Let me go!”

The syringe was then jabbed into my wrist. A quick look at the old man's face revealed that it seemed to pain him in what he was doing. He pressed down on the end of the plastic and instantaneously I felt the liquid fusing with my blood. It caused a great pressure building up in my vein as it fought against my internal current. “AHHHH!” I screamed. My energy had depleted in a matter of seconds for my eyelids felt as if anchors were hanging from them. “I'll... fuckin'...kill you.” Was the only threat I could slip off my tongue.

“Isn't that against the law, Mr. Mayhem?” The tall doctor said. They both laughed lightly at that, but soon went back to complete seriousness. He held up a second syringe, this one full of a semi-transparent black liquid. My energy levels were at an extreme low for I didn't have enough to support my own neck.

I felt rough hands against my cheek tilt my head towards the ceiling. “The fastest way into the brain is through the nose, doctor?” The ancient voice asked.

“That is correct.” The old man was hesitating as he started his wrist towards my nose. His breathing became heavy and from my sight I could see sweat beads on his forehead.

He put off the injection for so long it was strange. This man seemed to know who I was, know me personally. I didn't know him though, I've never seen this man in my life. Perhaps he just felt bad because he could potentially be putting someone's life to an end? Whatever it was, I didn't understand. If one could kidnap someone and tie them to a steel board why would they value the existence of the kidnapee?

“If this doesn't work...” The old man whispered. “...I'm sorry.” At that moment the second syringe was shoved up my nose. The squishy tissue inside my head was penetrated as liquid pressed my brain against the side of my skull. It was excruciating and my lips were unable to make a sound. Instead of screaming I began breathing heavily, the only gesture of discomfort I could perform. The hands holding my head let go and my neck snapped downwards towards the floor. The grimy cement was the last thing I saw before my eyes shut. “Get some rest Mayhem.” Words that faded away in the darkness.

Uncontrollable insensibility came.