The Boy from the Bunker - Season 8

Episode Two, Part 1:

Episode Two, Part 1:
Neptunum

A light flickered on in the hallway outside of the room, and Luca hurried to his feet, pressing himself as far in the corner as he could manage. He wasn't sure how long it had been since the guards dragged him away from the mess hall, but he had been trembling in that cold, damp cell ever since, knowing that the screams he could hear outside were Dante.

A guard opened the door - masked, like all of them had been - motioning as someone else appeared behind him who followed his instructions to grab hold of Luca. He tried to resist them - debating his chances of squeezing past them both and slipping out of the open door, but there was no place to hide and nowhere to run to.

"What are you gonna do to me?" He asked, desperate for an answer so he could force whatever hopeless attempt he could muster at trying to prepare himself for his fate.

"Oh, you'll find out," one of the guards replied, quietly laughing underneath his breath but the shake of his shoulders was enough for Luca to know that he was enjoying his misfortune.

The guards led him down the corridor and as Luca peered through the small windows on each door, he could see that he was surrounded by medicinal looking rooms - filled with operating beds, large machines, and trays of medicine... Were they going to experiment on him? Cut him open alive? Torture him?

"Why can't you just tell me?" Luca asked, suddenly brought to a stand-still, waiting outside one of the doors where he could see a bright set of lights shining from. "I-if you take me back to my cell, I promise I'll do what you say. I didn't even know I couldn't get up from the table; that wasn't my fault-"

Luca's rambling was cut short by the opening of the door, and as he was pulled out of the way, he saw two more guards depart from the room, wheeling and unconscious Dante past him - tied down to the bed.

"Dante? Dante!" Luca panicked, fighting the hands that were wrapped around him to get to his friend, but within seconds, the distance he had managed to cross was reset and as Dante was hurried further down the hall, Luca was shoved inside the room he had come out of.

"No!" He panicked. "Let me out! What did you do to him!?"

The guards ignored his yelling, continuing to move him over to the operating bed that stood in the middle of the room. They forced him down, fighting off his kicking legs so they could restrain him, and managed to wrap the metal braces around his wrists and ankles, keeping him tied down.

"We'll take it from here," one of the guards who had already been in the room, mentioned to them, glancing over his shoulder at where another guard was waiting.

"Ammon and I have everything set up, so we'll carry out the trials on this one."

The two guards look at each other before shrugging and leaving Dante under the control of the new guards, presumably relieved to not have to put up with his relentless yelling anymore.

"Please, just let me go. I didn't do anything wrong," Luca pleaded with them, squeezing his eyes shut as he focused on the restraints around his wrists, trying desperately to wriggle his hands free.

Ammon approached the bed, keeping hold of the syringes of medicine he had prepared. As Xander - the other guard - reached out for them, Ammon pulled them back.

"I'll do it," he said, unable to convince Xander that he had even a fraction of the confidence he was trying to make him believe he did.

"Ammon-"

"It's okay. I got this," he cut him off, nodding behind his shoulder so Xander would continue with the preparations he had previously been working on.

"Please let me go. Please let me go..." Luca was mumbling to himself, unable to stop the words from repeatedly escaping him in a hushed whimper.

"Hey," Ammon said to him softly, calling out for his attention and waiting for him to open his eyes.

Slowly, Luca glanced up, intimidated and shaking at the sight of the masked guard standing so close to him. He acknowledged that he had spoken, but waited silently, too afraid to speak himself.

"I know this is confusing and terrifying for you," Ammon began, "but you will survive what's about to happen. And before long, you'll be ready for it when the time comes again."

"What are you going to do to me?" Luca gulped, his voice low and breathy; tears rolling down the sides of his cheeks and hitting the cushioned head support underneath him.

"...Just a few tests," Ammon answered, seeming nervous himself. "I know you're worried about your friend; he'll be fine this time tomorrow. He just needs to recover. The same goes for you-"

"You're not answering my question," Luca told him, unable to explain where he found the courage to interrupt him; perhaps it was because Ammon seemed like the only guard to emphasise with his fear; the only person to recognise how he felt - to try and give him a moment to prepare himself for his fate...

"Endurance trials," Ammon explained. "Strength; pain tolerance; mental and physical boundaries... Those kind of things. But they're not designed to kill you, just to figure out your limits."

"I-I don't want to," Luca whimpered again, confiding in Ammon for reasons he couldn't comprehend. "Please, I-"

"I know," Ammon said apologetically. "I've been through it, too... But it has to be done. I'm sorry."

"No, please... Please!" Luca protested, praying that the fear in his voice would be enough to persuade the guard to change his mind, but it wasn't. Ammon moved forward, connecting the syringe of medicine he had in his hands into Luca's arm, injecting him with a dose that was quick to knock him out; within seconds, his miserable pleading had fizzled out and his eyes had rolled closed, not destined to open again until the unbearable pain of the trials forced his mind awake.

"Ammon..."

He flinched at the sudden contact on his shoulder, taking a few seconds to catch his breath.

"Sorry," Xander apologised. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ammon said. "Why?"

Xander let out a heavy sigh, glancing between Ammon and Luca. "You don't have to talk to the captive every time," he said. "It just makes it harder to have to put them through this, and I know how much you hate it. I can see it, even behind that mask of yours."

Ammon hummed out a soft smile, trying to keep up his act in front of his friend that everything was fine. "Just... A lot of pressure, I guess," he admitted. "With finding these people and making sure I got everyone on board. Trying to keep them safe and calm so that these trails run as smoothly as possible."

"I know it's not pretty," Xander said, patting him on the shoulder. "I don't like this part of the job, either, but like Athena always tells us: think about how many people this could help one day - if we actually get the combination."

"I know," Ammon nodded. "But, torturing people to save them... I wish there was another way, that's all. I wish these people didn't have to suffer first." 

Two // Part One
I've been through it, too.

Ooooh, what are the trials and why are Neptunum putting Basilisk through them? What's the combination? What are Ammon's intentions?

No gif up top, but it is the short Halloween film that I wrote and starred in and was released this day last year! It's only 10 minutes so please go check it out!

Also, what you think of Ammon so far? I'm so intrigued to know!

31/10/20.