“roll call!” he could hear it coming from down the hall, their boots squeaking up against an overly polished floor. The question on his mind was whether it was day time or night it’s been so long since he even seen the sun let alone felt the night breeze or chilling grip of the winter air, “Chow time!” another voice calls this one closer to his door than the other. He scuffs “Chow time” he whispers to himself; chow time was just code for how less than human you were to them; they had every right to be afraid but this was radical. He loses focus as the clinging of keys taps against the door knob. The door creeks open slowly, whining as it’s jarred open. “Alright, 245” on your feet “the light burst into the room blinding him temporarily,” On your feet, I said!” the impatience was quick like a fire cracker not surprising, he was use to this. The over bearing superiority complex that drenched off the guards was not the bug in this place but a feature, 245 stands to his feet and almost immediately feels the cold metal shackles pinch his wrist. The tug of the guard pulling his arm, the faces were never familiar always different every few months, but expression was the same like I was the one who destroyed their world. The tug of the man pulling his arm up till he was out in the hallway, the bright lights hurting his eyes too much; he puts his arm up to cover his eyes accidently sending a shockwave knocking out majority of the lights in hall. Shattered glass, the bursting of glass and popping of electricity the event so unforeseen that all the guards hunch over in a protective fashion, “You…” a quick thrust of a AR to the gut instantly had brought 245 to his knees “Do that crap again and I will put a hole in your skull” 245 still clutching his stomach doesn’t register that the guard was yelling at him with all the cheering and screaming coming from the other isolation cells, the guards hit the doors with the end of their weapons on the doors getting them to quiet down but they persist.
He feels a tug at his arm dragging him, he slides at first resisting before the yelling becomes clear “I…said…. move!” the barrel pressing cold metal to his head. He climbs to his feet moving forward but not without the continuous pain in his stomach as the make their way down a hall. They both approach a door after a few turns, it was one of those solid metal doors you’d see in those detective shows; lightly wooded around the large glass window through it. The guard swings open the door and forces 245 inside, making him sit in the single chair that sat across from the table with two empty chairs. His hands chained to the table, limiting further movement with the padlock he placed through the chains “You stay put, you so much as breathe wrong and I’ll put…”, “yeah yeah put a bullet in me blah blah blah” 245’s sarcastic tone visibly getting under the guards skin, he goes to raise the bud of the gun as he brings it to eye level when the sudden tensing of every muscle shocks him.
“I need you to learn your place, filth” 245 not able to turn his body around he just keeps his head looking forward at the table and the wall “see, you believe I need my hands” the guard now levitating him into the air, his hands clawing at his throat as he gasp for air. “All that brute strength and still you’re nothing” the sound of numerous footsteps approaching “What in the hell happened in block H?” A familiar stern voice, 245 thought to himself. He drops the guard back to the ground, with him taking a knee trying to catch his breath hunched over, grasping for air when the footstep stops at the door entrance “what do you think you’re doing?” the short muscular man says. He picks up the younger and towering guard up and throws him against the wall, this was strength amongst men.
Coward! 245 shouts in his own mind How did we get here the question lingered in his mind from the last moments he saw his father. Even then the private conversation in his mind couldn’t even be given the time. “245!” the name doesn’t register more specifically a command to him, this come with instant consequences; six lashes to the back with a three braided bamboo stick. He goes to scream but he couldn’t manage maybe his throat was dry from constantly being dehydrated, those isolation cells were hell in a confined space. The short man didn’t stay long “Don’t worry 245, the lieutenant will be with you shortly, be on your best behavior as I will be right outside” he said with a look that reminded 245 of his grandfather’s whenever someone was in trouble. Not too long after a shadow moved outside, it was actually four shadows moving through the hallway, he could see them through the glass but it was one of those blurry mirrors so you couldn’t see in or out only a blob. He watched as the looming figures approached his back was to the door, they were strategic like that you never knew who was coming in until they walked around you…that’s if they walked around at all. The door behind him opens and closes 245 tries looking to even catch a glimpse of which lieutenant it was “Nice to see your powers have fully recovered after our last venture”, “I didn’t realize torture was a venture” the lieutenant paused before placing the files under his arm onto the table “Alright, let’s get to the point here” he spreads out the papers showing three dead people all with a thick heavy bold red letters deceased.
“what did you do!” 245 says this voice growing for the subtle growl to an explosive rage “Hey!” the guard behind him hiding in the shadows catching 245 off topic makes him curb his knee jerk reaction. A he calmed his emotions the guard disappeared back into a shadow, they were referred to as the Arachne, they wore all black, with their helmets giving them the appearance of spiders, known for their hatred and overwhelming brutality towards the gifted. That wasn’t what he was afraid of, it was the EEG (electroencephalogram); reading the lieutenant’s mind would’ve been the easiest move but the mind was like a labyrinth depending on the target. In other words, the mind of Steven Hawking’s would make the common mind look like a playground, the only draw back to mind reading is the inevitable intense migraines that would follow suite. Turns out forcing your way into the real place of privacy for people causes them to have schizophrenic like side effects while visible my eyes would turn electric-blue and here that is an instant sign to be killed on sight by any Arachne within the area.
“watch your tone quisling, I’d hate to see our best asset marked as ineffective” 245 says nothing only his eyes begin to glow blue the guard behind him raises his weapon with no hesitation. 245 could hear it the clicking of metal “Normal eyes….now!” the Arachne demands his aggressive stance only to be tamed by the Lieutenant waving his hand in such a notion asking them to leave. The Arachne drops his weapons and nods “We will be right outside, sir” he says as he leaves with a surprising second Arachne who also was in the shadows making sure to make his presence known as he walks directly int 245, purposefully hitting him in the nose with the bud of the gun. The lieutenant clears his throat “Please, excuse his ….”, “Screw your diplomacy” 245 response with a thin line of blood running down from his nose. The lieutenant stands up and straightens his suit before sitting back down again this time on the table “look, I’ve read through your file. The destruction of several Arachne nest buildings, that’s hundreds soldiers men and women, children in training all dead by your hand but…you know something just don’t believe you were in on this alone like the file claims” 245 cracks a smile before scuffing “yeah, just like the hundreds of us gifted killed by your tyrannical hands there is no blood on my hands, only the blood ponds you tyrants made” the lieutenant stares at him before tilting his head “oh….tsk tsk, you got this all wrong. I’m not criticizing you; you seem to believe I’m demonizing you no, I’m in need for a monster.” He then reaches into his tailor suit pocket pulling out a phone, “what you ordering out now?” the comment doesn’t linger long before the phone slams on the table as 245 looks at the photo it’s of a young girl no more than then, the smirk on his face turns to fury “where is she?” the subtle growl under his question, the lieutenant slides a paper out from underneath the deceased papers it was a map. “this is the gate we need you to go into to kill whatever opened it”, “tough shit, where is she?” His voice raises, leaving the lieutenant to rub his chin. “Ummm, appears you’re not following” swiping to the left on his phone to another picture “what are you insane do you know what….”, “what a submersion tank does to a teleporter; oh we know all too well 245”, “where is she?” he ask again “Don’t worry about 739 she is safe as long as we can count on you” they lock eyes uncomfortably.
The room grows awkward and dull “Sam!”, “Excuse me?”, “You’re not excused, her name is not 739 it’s Sam”. The Lieutenant shakes his head as he drops his head and begins to reorganize his things into a neat pile “guards!” he shouts “where is she? You bastard” 245 becomes restless with his shouts only getting ignored, “Hey…. Hey, don’t you walk away from me. Where is she?” as 245 tries to stand the guards rush into the room one of the guards immediately placing a EEG on his head but he struggles before getting hit with the bud of the gun again this time on the side of his face “no…no, where…is….she?” his struggle becomes weak and means nothing, the guards hit him in the stomach for a extra measure, then grips his shoulder “now now, nothing too rough fellows” the lieutenant stops in his tracks right beside 245 pulling a photo out of his pants pocket “we’ll give you sometime to think about it” he says as he places the photo on the table. 245 could hear the mockingness in his voice but kept his head down, his forehead barely touching the table. “lunch anyone? I could use a good sandwich” the lieutenant says stepping out into the hallway with only 245 hearing the door close. Finally, alone, he picks his head up see a photo of Sam creating that fury all over again that rage that’s been pint up for so long in the isolation cell his eyes turn electric-blue from his normal brown “I promise Sam, they took dad from us… I won’t let them take me from you either” the few drops of tears hitting the photo as his anger further builds washing over him. The EEG strapped to his head begins to spark with a few of the wires slowly falling out. 245 smiles as the wind picks up around him and the mental around his wrist make a pop sound cracking in half.
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