In Between the Beyond (#1 in the Rotten Water Series)

Chapter Twenty-Four: Mind Games

Bunker A - May 9, 2017 - 10:33 a.m.

Martin Riley

Martin reached his broom around the hall's corner, compiling all the trash and broken glass into the dustpan. He then walked it down to the trash and dumped it in, catching Audrey as she came down a set of steps, buttoning her pants, holding a look of misery.

"Audrey?" Martin began. She looked his way, seeming to have not noticed him before. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, sniffing, "just finished my daily business with Ronald. You should probably move down the hall, he came out just behind me." She gave a small gesture, then quickly walked away. Martin did the same the moment he heard footsteps, holding the dustpan in between his arm and waist.

The last month had been torture, mentally and physically. Renzy continued to push him and Spencer to their breaking points, Zodiac had misspoke during a beating ceremony and met a force nearly as bad as Tense's the day he got put down as an example, and Samantha had been confirmed pregnant, though too scared to tell anyone but her friends, in fear of what could happen to her baby. Trent had isolated himself even more, talking to no one except for Zodiac when she needed it and Renzy when he forced it. Spencer had a hard time keeping up with both Malik and Andre, given the fact that he was in a separate cell and barely got to see either of them during his days on work duty. Collin had been quite vocal about the grief over his dead wife, same as Samantha had been over Travis. Sawyer and Nessa had basically become a part of their crew, but it'd be hard not to when there's nothing at night except people and cell bars. Audrey continued her work with Ronald, keeping Hanna alive, and Kate getting into fights with the guards, barely escaping with her life each time.

As for Martin, he'd been secluded to his own inner demons, yet still managing to keep his sanity through his own memories while he was awake. Spencer had become the person Martin turned to when desperate for help, though he couldn't quite reach Martin the same way that Tense could, no one could. Tense was irreplaceable.

As he rounded another corner, Renzy came shuffling down the hall, dragging Spencer along with him, holding two large circular devices in his hands. "409, come with us to the testing room."

"But today is our off day," Martin claimed, clenching the broom handle tightly.

"I don't care," Renzy put simply. "I've crafted something new, and you will do as I say, or I will drive my car over your sister's head, you babbling hickey." Martin sighed, sitting the broom to the side.

When they entered the white room, they noticed a table with a tablet on top of it, sitting right in front of their chairs. They sat, allowing Renzy to strap them in, then prepared themselves for the worst. Renzy gently sat the circular devices on top of it while he fidgeted with the tablet screen. "You're in for a real treat today," Renzy chuckled. "Me and my technician, Savvy, have been working on something great." He pointed to the devices on the table. "They're built-in lie detectors that can be detected based upon your brain usage and your impulses. If you lie, it cuts, if you're truthful, it doesn't. As long as you are honest with me, today will be torture-free, got it?"

He stood up, attaching the device's chords to the tablet. "What kind of questions do you plan on asking us?" Spencer questioned, as Renzy adjusted the device around his head.

"Hm, you'll see," Renzy answered, fitting the second device onto Martin's head. "These questions will help me not only test the equipment, but to see whether or not you've made any progression, as well as spark a little joy within me. Let's begin, shall we? Once I ask a question, 409 will answer first, then 410, you will do the same."

Martin took a deep breath, feeling his hands shake from beneath the restraints. Renzy clicked the tablet once, then looked toward Martin, smiling, "if you had to choose one of your friends to die right now, who would it be? Answer truthfully, or you'll both be punished."