Chapter Six – Confronting Fears Forcefully
A week passed and they were both being fed rather fine; the food wasn't half bad and they weren't being punished for anything at all; Goku's hand was slowly healing and fairly well from the medications he was being treated with. The only unusual thing was that Vegeta was beginning to throw up from the food he was eating but Goku wasn't. Goku was beginning to think that the scientists might be poisoning his food with something. After two days of being sick, he said he was starting to feel better and that cheered Goku up a little bit, until their conversation was interrupted by Annabelle walking into Goku's cell.
"Goku… come with me, please…"
They both stared at one another and then at her in complete shock. They hadn't left their cell's since they had arrived almost six weeks ago, so why now, and what for?
"Why…?"
Goku asked rather harshly, not meaning to sound harsh. She still smiled pleasantly, yet chillingly and spoke calmly,
"Just come… I have something I want to show you and you alone…"
Goku swallowed nervously, knowing he could defend himself if he wanted to. Vegeta shook his head slightly, trying to tell Goku not to go, legitimately afraid that if he spoke, he'd get in severe trouble. Annabelle simply chuckled and turned her attention back at Goku, who slowly and shakily stood to his feet. He took a step forward and she smiled and turned, exiting. Goku glanced once more at Vegeta, who sat in the farthest corner of his cell, almost terrified of the fact that Goku was leaving.
"Kakarot…!"
Goku glanced back quickly before rounding the corner.
"Yeah, Vegeta…?"
He sighed before boldly speaking,
"Whatever they say, don't believe a word of it… Do you hear me?!"
He nodded.
"Yes, Vegeta… Trust me, I won't…"
Vegeta nodded slightly and then looked down as Goku left, following Annabelle down the dark, narrow hallway, into unfamiliar, mysterious territory of the building.
They walked side by side for walk felt like an eternity until they stepped into the main experimenting room on the other end of the facility from where his and Vegeta's cells were, and everything was set up differently this time. He remembered when he was first brought here; the lab was full of bright lights and tables of tools and operating equipment. It was all gone now, and everything looked completely different. There was a huge metal box in the middle and stairs that leads to platforms above and beside the top of it; kind of like a diving board at a swimming pool or something. Goku looked confused at it until he felt Annabelle's small hand wrap around his right hand. He glanced down at it and then to her. She smiled and said,
"Come along, Goku… There's something I want to show you… Up there…"
She pointed up and then began to slowly pull him towards the stairs. They slowly walked up them, step by step. When they got to the top, there the other scientist; the male one, was already there. Goku glanced hesitantly down at the box below, but it was closed.
"Why did you bring me here…?"
Goku kept his voice quiet. She grinned and looked him straight in the eyes, answering,
"You want your friend to live, don't you, Goku?"
Goku's eyes widened worrisomely.
"What…? Y-Yes, of course… Why are you asking that?"
She giggled a little before snapping her fingers and the male scientist pulled out a gun, aiming it at Goku's head. Goku flinched back slightly, aware that he was only inches from the edge of the platform.
"…because, Goku… He's sick… He's sick, and the only way to cure him is down there, inside of that box…"
She turned to a panel on the wall next to her and pressed a button. The top of the box began to open and Goku hesitantly glanced back around and down, wondering what the hell was going on.
When it opened and the bright lights of the room shined down inside, Goku's eyes widened even more, horrified at what he saw.
Needles; nothing, but needles; he wobbled slightly at the slight backing backwards towards the scientists and away from the edge. Annabelle grabbed him and held him upright. He shivered in fear, worried it was all real, wondering if it was just a nightmare.
"Easy, Goku… It's okay… All you need to do is decide. What will it be…?"
She slowly eased him forward again, towards the edge. His eyes traveled down again to see the terrifying bin of thousands and thousands of needles. He shook as she slowly let go, backing back again from him.
"Wh-What a-are m-my ch-choices…?"
She smiled at his weak-looking figure, struggling not to fall forwards and backwards.
"Your choices are either jump in and get what you need to save your friend… or… you die."
At that moment, Goku heard the sound of the gun click as the man holding it kept it held aimed at the back of his head, taking a step towards him; safety off and ready to shoot.
This is a cruel joke… Vegeta's not sick… She's lying to me…He was, but he's better now… He doesn't need anything… He's fine, damn it!
"…a-and if I ch-choose n-neither…"
She sighed and stepped forward again, placing a hand on his shoulder gently.
"Then, we'll just run more experiments on you and your friend in the laboratory… You wouldn't want that now would you? Having to feel needles every minute of every day for say… a week… two weeks maybe… instead of only a few seconds now?"
Goku swallowed hard, trying to focus his mind, but he felt, like Vegeta tells him all of the time, stupid. He couldn't decide what to do. He feared needles more than death. He feared needles worse than anything else in the whole universe!
What do I do?
"Come on, Goku… What will you choose?"
Tears were swelling behind Goku's eyes as he struggled to think. He sniffled slightly, holding back the urge to cry; his breathing becoming raged and faster.
"You're… You're lying to me…!"
She chuckled slightly and gripped her fingers harder on his shoulder.
"Now, do you really want to be saying things like that when you're literally the pull of a trigger away from death…?"
The man holding the gun stepped forward and tapped the end of the barrel against the back of his head. Goku flinched slightly and shook his head 'no'. She grinned and loosened her grip on his shoulder slightly.
Come on, Goku… It's for Vegeta… It's either this, dying… or being tortured for two weeks with Vegeta as well…! He'll pay for your stupidity; just do it, damn it!
He closed his eyes tight and slowly slid his toes over the edge of the ledge. Vegeta didn't deserve to be punished for his wrong doings. He knew whether Vegeta was still sick or not, he had to do it. There was no other choice. If he choice death, than he'd not only be leaving his friend behind, but his family, and the hopes of seeing them again someday. He knew what he had to do.
The scientists all grinned slightly, knowing what he was choosing. Annabelle looked over at the male scientist and waved her hand slightly; he slowly lowered the gun. Goku was weak now; he had no energy left in him. He was no stronger than the average mortal man in today's society. He couldn't sense or build ki anymore; he had no choice, but to do as he was told. The strongest being in the world was now at the mercy of these evil human beings that will do nothing more than torture him and break him, until there's nothing left.
Goku clenched his teeth and held his breath. His foot lifted and he stepped off, falling down.
When Goku landed, the sound of shattering glass and plastic echoed throughout the room just seconds before the blood-curdling scream coming from Goku's throat. His body shook in pain and fear as he stayed still for a long moment, feeling the sting of piercing shards of glass and needle pins jamming into every inch of his body. He could feel the needles in his arms, hands, neck, legs, torso; they were everywhere. Annabelle watched down from the edge and saw Goku struggling to even move an inch. The male scientist stepped down the stairs to the platform right above the tank and stayed there, waiting for Goku to find what he needed.
"Come on, Goku; you're doing great. Just find the box and you can get out…"
Her voice was calm and pleasant, but Goku knew just how heartless she was. He cried and screamed as he began to thrash through the needles, praying to find what he needed to help Vegeta.
About a foot deep, and after about a solid minute and a half of screaming and digging around, he felt the top of the box and immediately grabbed it, and with all of his strength, pulled it up and through it up to the male scientist. He sat it down and reached a hand down in to help Goku out. Blood smeared all over his body as he weakly reached up to grab his hand. The scientist pulled him up like he was paper and Goku fell flat to the platform, crying and whimpering from the pain and trauma of the experience.
Why…? Why me…? Chi-Chi… I want to come home…