500 years later
I could hear the shuffling of feet that had awakened me from a forgotten nightmare, I could feel my sweat smear the foul bed below me, I could smell the leather straps that contained me. Little light reached my eyes, keeping the figure shrouded as his steps slowed, reaching their destination next to me.
“Hello, are you awake? I should’ve given you a higher dosage.” The heat from his musty breath caresses my cheek, his face hanged above me, his back sharply bent. The pain across the surface of my stomach only started introducing itself to me now, my cold blood congealing itself on the mark left by this man.
“Oh, don’t be concerned about that, I just needed your help with something. You’ll be as good as new soon, hopefully even better.” I could dimly see his lips contort into a wolfish grin, light reflecting from his fractured glasses.
“… Who are you?” the words felt harsh across my dry throat, asking the question felt worth the pain, I knew nothing. He didn’t respond immediately, instead turning to play with the planta bag tethered to my arm, his face again hidden from me. I knew what he did the moment my eyes felt heavy.
“Just think of me as your doctor.” His calm voice raged within my mind as the sedatives ruthlessly took me into custody.
--------------------------------------------------------------
What greeted me first when I awoke was stiff concrete, greedily siphoning the warmth from my back. My numb hands had difficulty trying to lift me, my stiff legs strained to bend, both unuse to movement after so long. The pain vehemently complained as my torso uselessly contorted, I should be panicking.
“Hey easy there bud, you ain’t helping yourself by doing all that. I might have something that could of help.” It was a few minutes after the rough voice died when help finally arrived, his rugged hands scraped along my lips as liquid dribbled into my mouth, it was water. He spent several repetitions hand scooping me water before stopping, now closely inspecting my appearance after collapsing beside me.
“I wonder where he snatched you up from, you don’t look like anybody from near here” I held his gaze, not bothering to waste my strength responding to a question I couldn’t answer.
“Silent type huh, I was hoping you wasn’t. I had nobody here to talk to besides myself and the doc, still don’t know which is crazier.” He turned his sight forward and slowly leaned against the apathetic wall, a heavy exhale escaping him.
“… Where is this?” The question that begged me to be answered finally left my throat, lingering in the air as the man shifts towards me again with a soft, sly smile.
“Well, this cage is your new home, and then there’s the room where doc tortures us, and that’s about all I know” His gaze held a humour that I couldn’t understand, it felt as if I was missing the punchline to a corny joke.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“….” After seemingly interpreting a question through my silence, he slowly turns away and picks at the dirt on the barren floor.
“After a few more visits with the doc, you’ll understand. It’s better to just stop caring in a place like this, hurts less that way…. Name’s Charlie by the way” The man sacrificed too much of himself to harbour hope, dry humour filling the hole.
“… I don’t know my name.” I knew things despite not knowing why. More concerningly I didn’t know things, despite knowing I should. My mind felt like a notebook that had the writing removed with a poor eraser, the words still there but faint and indecipherable.
“Well Mr Mystery, I know it’s the last thing you want, but the first thing you and me need is some more sleep.” His back slid down the wall, turning his back towards me while laying on the chilling floor, hugging himself to keep warm.
“And no, I don’t have a blanket” After a final sarcastic remark, silence had conquered the antiquated cell. I was late to answer the call of sleep, perhaps afraid of what I may awake to, probably just too cold.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Once again, I could hear the shuffling of feet, the footsteps that first introduced me here, but they weren’t alone. The two pairs that followed behind him were sluggish and disorganised, sometimes scraping, other times thumping, never following a rhythm. All I could do was tilt my head to face them, my body still limp. I could hear Charlie stir awake beside me from the disturbance.
“Ah, hello again. I can see that you are recovering splendidly, I might need to reschedule your appointment to an earlier time.” His expression is one of mirth, delight at this discovery, a wolfish grin adorning his face as he turned to face Charlie. Two abnormal figures swayed behind him motionlessly, as if the power had been disconnected. The shadows almost hid the stitching that traced along them. Stitches that made two skins into one, human and the other a silky off-white.
“High Charlie, its your turn now. I hope there won’t be a repeat of last time, do what is best for you and please don’t resist. I prefer it when my patient is energetic during the surgery.” Charlie didn’t respond immediately, he couldn’t make eye contact, his body shaking without consent. The doctor’s assistants now sightlessly stare, their body’s turned rigid, refusing to even blink at Charlie.
“I, I don’t want to become like them.” The whisper almost inaudible, tightly hugging himself in hopes of stilling the shake. It wasn’t a plea, it was a denial of his foreseeable future.
“Don’t worry Charlie, you have so much more potential than these failures. They aren’t like you, they haven’t drunken an elixir. You are destined for greatness.” With a hidden command the monstrosities lurched toward the gate, after a short-lived stall with the lock they manage to lunge at him. The doctor took his time reaching the pinned Charlie, a syringe held casually in preparation.
“No, NO, FUCK YOU” With a swing that seemed impossible from his abused body, the minion holding him had lost grip and soared across the cell, landing with a crack on the wall, now limp on the floor. The second didn’t fare better, Charlie savagely tore both arms from their sockets, using the limbs to bludgeon the owner, desperation infused in his every action.
“You shouldn’t have done that Charlie, you’ve just wasted my time.” The barbarism displayed wiped the grin from the doctor’s face, but no fear radiated from him, his appearance stoic. It quickly became obvious why, a stampede of steps charged in from the darkness, what were once children, adults and elderly now mindlessly charged. He resisted valiantly, but Charlie inevitably failed under the swarm. The doctor resumed his gait.
“Why do you refuse my gift? I’m only trying to help you, Charlie. Humans are weak, the Invaders proved that. We need to change, no matter the cost.” The only response Charlie could muster was a small whimper, filthy limbs ensnaring him in a cage of despair. There was no resistance left when the syringe reached its destination, injecting its fluids into a man broken once again.