Noel's breath hitched as he felt the restraints tighten around his wrists, the cold metal biting into his skin, leaving red welts in its wake.
The dimly lit room seemed to close in on him, its oppressive walls amplifying the claustrophobic tension that hung in the air.
He glanced around, taking in the sparse, sterile environment.
The heavy silence was almost tangible, broken only by the distant hum of fluorescent lights.
Anticipation and curiosity warred within him as he braced himself for yet another grueling round of interrogation.
"Here we are again," Noel said, his voice a strained attempt at levity that betrayed the gravity of his situation.
He met Dustin's eyes, the man seated across from him exuding an aura of relentless determination that was impossible to ignore.
Dustin's piercing gaze bore into him, a silent testament to the sharp intellect lurking beneath his calm facade.
Noel couldn't help but offer a tight, mirthless grin, aware that Dustin was searching for any sign of weakness to exploit.
"So, Mr. Dustin, what do you want to ask today?" Noel inquired, trying to muster a semblance of composure as he awaited the inevitable onslaught of questions.
But then Dustin's tone shifted, a hint of seriousness creeping into his voice.
Noel's heart skipped a beat as he braced himself for what was to come.
"Before we begin, may I inquire about the scar you revealed during our last meeting?" Dustin's words hung heavy in the air, each syllable laden with unspoken implications.
The question seemed to linger, pressing on Noel's already frayed nerves.
"Oh, that," Noel replied, his tone deceptively casual, though his heart pounded in his chest.
"I got it when I was a child." The simplicity of his words masked the turmoil brewing within him, memories of a painful past clawing their way to the surface.
Dustin's brow furrowed in confusion. His voice, tinged with curiosity and a touch of concern, probed deeper.
"But why didn't it show up usually then?"
Noel's gaze flickered, his eyes betraying a flicker of bitterness beneath his facade of indifference.
"Those scientists," he spat the word with venom,
"they didn't like my scarred face. So, they covered it up with some sort of modified plastic."
His voice trembled slightly, the weight of years spent hiding behind a mask evident in every syllable.
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The room seemed to grow colder as Noel recounted the cruelty inflicted upon him.
His words echoed off the sterile walls, a haunting melody of past suffering.
He felt the intensity of Dustin's gaze, a relentless pressure probing for cracks in his armor.
"But due to extreme heat, sudden release, or excessive use of power," Noel continued, his voice hollow and distant,
"the scar comes back. It's like a cruel reminder of everything they've done to me."
He shrugged, a futile attempt to appear unaffected, but the tremor in his hands betrayed the facade of indifference.
Dustin's surprise was palpable.
He observed Noel's detached demeanor, a stark contrast to the anguish roiling beneath the surface.
Noel seemed numb to the horrors inflicted upon him, his spirit battered but his resolve unyielding.
For Dustin, it was a chilling reminder of the depths of indifference the man in front of him possessed towards pain and life.
Noel's voice wavered, a flicker of vulnerability slipping through his carefully crafted facade as he faced Dustin's probing gaze once more.
"Any other questions?" he asked, his tone tinged with a hint of apprehension, the tension in his voice almost palpable.
Dustin hesitated for a moment, his gaze never leaving Noel's face.
"Can you tell me a little more about how you got this scar?" he inquired, his voice steady despite the weight of the question.
Noel's demeanor shifted, a shadow crossing his features as he contemplated Arther's request.
Memories clawed at the edges of his mind, threatening to overwhelm him with their intensity.
He swallowed hard, steeling himself against the tide of emotions threatening to engulf him.
"Why do you want to know about that?" Noel's voice trembled, the vulnerability in his tone belying the stoic mask he wore.
His eyes bore into Dustin's, silently pleading for understanding, for some form of reprieve.
Dustin remained silent, his expression unreadable as he attempted to decipher the complexity of Noel's emotions, the battle raging behind his eyes.
"Are you sure you want to hear my story?" Noel's voice cracked as he changed his question, the weight of years of pain and suffering bearing down on him like a suffocating blanket.
His eyes glistened with the beginnings of unshed tears, the emotional toll of reliving his past evident in his trembling frame.
"Yes," Dustin replied softly, his voice barely above a whisper, the single word carrying a profound weight of compassion and determination.
Silence enveloped the room like a heavy fog, thick and suffocating.
Dustin shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the tension in the air almost tangible as he waited for Noel to speak.
His own emotions were a turbulent mix of anticipation and empathy, feeling the gravity of the moment pressing down on them both.
Noel's gaze turned distant, his mind wrestling with the demons of his past.
The silence stretched on, the seconds feeling like hours.
Just as Dustin was about to open his mouth to speak, to answer Noel's first question, Noel's voice shattered the oppressive quiet.
Noel's voice trembled with a mixture of bitterness and sorrow as he began his tale, the words tumbling from his lips like shards of shattered glass.
"Once, there was a family of three," he started, his voice hollow and distant.
"A little boy, his father, and his mother. They were a loving and happy family."
Dustin watched in silence as Noel's normally impassive demeanor crumbled before his eyes, replaced by a haunting emptiness that sent shivers down his spine.
The room seemed to grow darker, the air heavier with the weight of Noel's anguish.
"The mother," Noel continued, his voice devoid of its usual warmth, "was not highly educated, but she possessed a heart of gold. She was a loving mother and a supportive wife, always there to care for her son and stand by her husband's side."
His eyes glazed over as he spoke, as if he were looking back through time, seeing her kind smile and feeling the warmth of her embrace.
Dustin couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for the family torn apart by forces beyond their control.
He sensed the depth of Noel's pain, the weight of his words heavy with unspoken grief, and it stirred a deep empathy within him.
"The father," Noel's voice quivered with emotion, "was an honest and simple man. He was a great father and a caring husband, the pillar of the household upon which his family relied."
Noel's gaze dropped to his bound wrists, the metal cuffs biting into his skin, grounding him in the present as he recalled the strength and integrity of his father.
Dustin saw the anguish etched into Noel's features, the pain of loss and betrayal haunting his every word.
It was as if he was reliving the agony of his past with each passing moment, the memories cutting into him like knives.
"And the son," Noel's voice cracked with emotion, "was proud of his family. To him, they were everything—his happiness, his world."
His voice broke, tears welling up in his eyes as he remembered the innocence and joy of his childhood, a stark contrast to the bleak reality he now faced.
Dustin's heart ached as he listened to Noel's tale unfold, each word carrying the weight of a lifetime of shattered dreams and broken promises.
He could feel the sorrow that radiated from Noel, a palpable force that seemed to fill the room.
"But you know what, Mr. Dustin," Noel's voice seethed with barely contained rage, "maybe this world didn't like his happiness. So, they destroyed his world."
His eyes burned with a fierce intensity, the fury and pain of a lifetime of suffering pouring out of him.
In that moment, Dustin felt a chill run down his spine, the raw intensity of Noel's emotions enveloping him like a suffocating fog.
It was a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the cruelty of fate, leaving him reeling in its wake.
The story of a boy who once had everything, and then lost it all, resonated deeply within him, a haunting echo of the harsh realities that lay hidden beneath the surface of their world.