Vane reached for the power button of his webcam, but pulled his hand back, checking if his long hair was in order in the desktop mirror. He sighed, fixing it to be more presentable and less messy.
A medical mask concealed lower half of his pale face, which was only illuminated by the few LED strips surrounding his deskspace. Vane never liked strong lights and even though he knew that sunlight was most definitely a positive influence, he barely had any in his room, even going so far as to buy blackout drapes.
Vane exhaled, finding courage, and turned on the webcam, sitting back. He waved into it, a smile appearing on his face, as he saw his friends type, greeting him and complimenting him. He didn't think much about the latter, figuring they were just polite and trying to cheer him up.
And for the first time he greeted them back in his own voice, not through text. Vane liked his friends, enjoyed gaming and chatting with them, even if their discussions sometimes veered in strange directions... It still was better than anything he had in real life.
Vane lived with his stepfather, his mother going missing almost five years prior. His school life wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but it was easier to say he was simply going there, ignored by most of the classmates and even some teachers, being an absolutely normal skinny white kid, of an average height and no outstanding features. He wasn't bullied either, though, so to some it would have been a plus - which was Vane's way of consoling himself on his lack of real life interactions.
Luckily, he still had friends online, and he could finally talk to them, something they asked him to do since he turned on the webcam for the first time. He was shy, but he didn't really mind-
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Vane whipped his head around as he heard his door clack and open, two men in suits opening the door and practically flowing inside, before Vane could even do anything. He managed to hastily stand up, but words were stuck in his throat, as his confused brain tried to find sense in the current situation, before he was seized and restrained. With his hands and head secured, he felt a prick at the base of his neck and the world slowly but surely dimmed.
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A sensation... across his body. On the back of his neck. Vane was... floating, yet his eyes really didn't want to open. He was hearing something, muffled, and his panic grew, agitating him and striking him with adrenaline.
He opened his eyes, to see everything in green tint. First, he saw he was in an adult sized tube, which stood in a some kind of laboratory, at least Vane decided it was one, from all of the consoles and monitors around, flickering with lights.
Vane realised he was also naked, but his body didn't obey him, his thoughts reaching his body after seconds since he wanted to move, yet they lazily waded through the... gel, would be the correct word, oh so slowly moving through the green, his hands tapping on the glass.
He felt tired, but it did accomplish something, as the people in front of the tube, which he now realised were there, turned their attention to him. One, a smaller, rounder man, approached the tube and Vane.
"Ah, Subject V. Good to see you are finally coming back to us. Not for long, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that no one will be searching for you. Your stepfather sold you off to us to settle some of his debts, so you have nothing to worry about, as we will be taking good care of you." He turned to one of his assistants, who went to man a console, striking sequences on the keyboard.
"You see, we are experimenting on something new here. A proper new world, free of consequences. For those who can afford it, of course. But it must be tested first. This is where you and the likes of you come in. You will not be looked for, and you won't be leaving this here facility. Good luck in being a test subject... And maybe a toy for our customers in future. Have a great time."
And Vane's world turned black.