Chapter Eight
The voices of them continued to repeat inside my head. It was as if they were right here beside me just simply constantly yelling it at me. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down and think of a strategy that wasn't complex. But the pain, the pain drove me to near insanity.
Thomas, we will find you, and we'll bring you back.
We'll bring you back so that we can – TOM! I'm sorry. Tom, please, don't listen –
I creased my forehead, feeling the presence of the two of them change. Aris? Teresa? Someone, anyone?
Thomas! Swear to me, don't trust me now. Pro –
A knock thumped the door to the room quietly. I veered my head towards the door which had even opened. I didn't realise there was a person standing there watching me. It was a teenage boy, he looked almost my age, maybe even older. "So, this is the person Manson had saved, eh? I heard you name's Thomas, right mate?" He said, crossing his arms together. He was leaning against the door frame, his eyes watching every move I made. Quite the observer he is, I noted.
"Why exactly am I here?" I questioned, my voice not sounding quite exactly friendly.
"You're here because we had one of this corporation's top agent risk his own life to save yours." The guy said, quick on his tongue to reply so fast and eager. "Name's Isaac, mate. Now, let me ask you a question. What you doing a mate like you, in the hands of ole WICKED? Must hand it to you, if you've survived quite a long time in there at this age, then you must be one damn special little kid."
I clenched my jaw and gave a strong glare at Isaac. If I was going to get out of here, then I would need access to the main room, more information. I'm at a disadvantage right now, I don't need to act so rude. I need to make friends, I need to be friendly with them. "I've been a candidate of WICKED's for years. Only the smartest and strongest would make it out alive there." I said back.
"Seems like so. Say, WICKED holds plenty of teenagers there, how many do you think there is?"
I looked at Isaac, giving him a quick glance. He was just a little teenager like me, there was no difference. His limbs were skinny, a skinny torso, though it wasn't just skin and meat. His body looked as if it held quite a lot of muscle on it. If he didn't live in WICKED, then that meant he hardly had any food. "I don't know, I was never near others. I was the smartest out all of them, so I ne-"
"That's one hell of a lie Thomas," a familiar voice popped in. I watched as Isaac now stood straight, his arms at his side instead of crossed. A man in a uniform came and walked into the room looking directly into my eyes.
Major Charles Manson stood right before my eyes.
"Anything you tell them, I'm right at their side to confirm whether it's true or if you're simply lying. You have no options Thomas, not this time. I suggest you tell them the truth." Manson suggested. His face was battered, his right arm was in a shoulder cast. In his other arm, he was holding a crutch to hold up his right leg in which was covered in multiple layers of bandage.
"If you merely know everything about me, why don't you tell them everything you know yourself Major Manson?" I questioned, a gulp tightening in my throat.
"Rumours have spread around about you Thomas, a certain rumour about a certain candidate that WICKED holds, Nicholas Colbert." Manson countered, suddenly changing the subject. He didn't want me knowing their plans. I watched as Manson walked towards me, a crutch in front of his leg, and his leg in front of his crutch. He sat on a chair, throwing himself into the seat. His breath was low, he obviously was worn out. "Nicholas is still alive though barely. I beat him to his near death about, though he's still alive, fortunately. He altered WICKED's cameras and their microphones. His intelligence was something they had misjudged and clearly overestimated him."
"Rumours are a pain in the ass. A little spill of word comes out of a man's mouth and soon, it'll slowly spread to the mouths of others and spark into their brains. Gossip will soon turn loose, and it'll be chaotic." Isaac grunted, once again leaning back against the doorframe.
Manson looked over his should at Isaac and raised his eyebrows. "This is why I'm exactly asking this young man right here, because he's one actually the last person to have spoken to Nicholas. WICKED and I have no idea what Nicholas said to you, and that's something I want to know Thomas." Manson explained, veering his head over me.
I bit my lip. The memory of Nicholas snapped back into my thoughts. You have my brother's brain. It's not you that's going to save this world, it's going to be my brother. "Nicholas had given me some certain thoughts that I'm not quite sure about." I replied, my voice barely trembling. I looked at Manson who was still staring at me. He was slouched in the chair, but he was still by far quite dangerous. "Nicholas spoke to me about how he once had a brother. His brother died the year I had arrived to WICKED. He was the smartest candidate they had ever had, and Nicholas said that WICKED did not want to lose the intelligence of his brother, so they did something."
I heard a laugh come out from somewhere. Isaac was covering his mouth, his humour obviously was tickled. "You're telling me mate, that WICKED has put someone's brain inside you?"
Manson coughed, clearing his throat. Isaac looked over at him and clenched his jaw, knowing this wasn't a moment for him to speak. I watched as Manson opened his mouth to speak, but I wanted questions right now. I didn't have enough patience to wait for more time, I needed answers.
"Before I tell anything else, I want answers of my own Major Manson. Why the hell am I here? Why I was exactly kidnapped from WICKED? I must be quite important to you because you obviously dealt with plenty of years trying to get me out of there. What exactly do you guys plan on doing with me now that I'm not in the hands of WICKED?" I questioned, gathering up to my feet.
In the corner of my eye, I watched Isaac unfold his arms, and ready himself if I were ever to attack, which I wasn't actually. His stance wasn't ready for combat, I would beat him with three hits, though the result of it wouldn't matter. In the end, it would just make things completely worse, and I didn't need that. I needed to be allies with these people, to get beneath them and try to find my way out from the inside. Isaac looked over at Manson who was rubbing his eyes with his free hand.
"Throughout these years, we've been studying WICKED for quite some time. We've learned that they had started what had happened to this world, and they have thoughts of simply not keeping the world alive. Thomas, have you been outside? Have you seen the world that WICKED has kept from you? Because surely, if you've seen the world, you would understand that it needs to be saved. Though, who would do it? How would they do it?" Manson softly said, his voice sounding tired and worn.
"Candidates." I quietly murmured.
Manson grunted as he nodded. "WICKED took several children from homes and orphanages. In your file, your mum had given you up to WICKED. Teresa was found by WICKED and Aris was an orphanage. Children, Thomas, are much easier to change than adults and teenagers. They've kept you hidden from everything. Our goal was to capture the three of you because you're WICKED's weapon. You're a threat to WICKED."
"So, I'm just another weapon. I was captured to be another person's weapon because you didn't like how I was being used."
"Well, yes, though not exactly." Manson said, holding up a hand.
"No, don't try to say otherwise Manson. I completely get what you're saying. I get why I'm here. WICKED's said so much about people like this, people like themselves and you. I understand that WICKED has done terrible things, but they've done it only for a cause to keep people alive. What are you motives against WICKED? Why exactly do you want to do against WICKED?"
"Nicholas and Tom, are two particular people that WICKED made me against them. From being such a well-known agent in WICKED's organisation, I learned that WICKED enjoyed to experiment on teenagers. Tom was the first one when they had put him into a maze with certain things. That's when Tom had gotten injured and became mentally unstable. So, what do they plan to do? They find new candidates that can finish the job. Nicholas and Thomas were prized possessions."
"Why, why of all people would you be the one to care about them?" I carefully asked, my eyes narrowing at him.
"Nicholas and Thomas are my sons, Thomas. Though, when the flare had spread around the world, my wife had taken them. Though, when I found out my wife had died from the disease, they had gone into an orphanage. When WICKED took them into their organisation, I had no relation towards them. When I came into WICKED under the radar, they didn't even recognise me as their own father." Manson explained, letting out a heavy breath. I watched as he rubbed his eyes. "Let me tell you Thomas. You may not know this and not even remember this, but you've been brainwashed. Your memories has been wiped before. In situations that didn't go in the correct way WICKED had wanted, they wiped your memory. Tell me, has Teresa's and Aris' personality changed in your thoughts?"
Tom!
The thought of Teresa's voice came back into my head. I bit my lip, unsure on whether to even believe him. This, for all I know, could be a test by WICKED themselves. I can't trust him, he's not an ally of mine. I have to make a choice though, I have to.
"I'll let your thoughts sort themselves out for now Thomas. I'm going to go get some bed rest, take care." Manson said, slowly gathering up to his feet. Isaac immediately rushed to Manson's side as a grunt came out from the back of Manson's throat.
I watched as Manson gradually made his way out of the room, the door closing behind him. Isaac continued to stay with me, but only to observe me further. "Say mate, how does the telepathic thing work? You know, you and two other people can speak to each other?" Isaac questioned, his English accent beginning to annoy me.
"I don't know Isaac. WICKED has so much control, it's lethal if you do anything they don't like. They have guards that will attack you out of nowhere to see if you're able to react easily. They enjoy to see how your mind will comprehend situations. If we ask questions that they don't like, it's immediate punishment."
"So basically, what you're sayin', is that these candidates that WICKED, the all mighty and powerful idiots have you guys on leashes? Mate that must be a sick life." Isaac concluded as making a horrid face.
I leaned backwards against the wall and took thought in his words. I did have a sick life, though was it something to be proud of? To sacrifice your own life to not even save some? I'm simply an experiment, nothing more to them.
"Well, it looks as if your mind is drifting in its own little universe. I'll just go, it's getting a bit late. Might not want to stay up too late, you've got some things to do tomorrow mate." I nodded, closing my eyes as I heard the soft click of the door close.
I was finally alone.
Hearing the faint footsteps of Isaac fall down the corridor, I jumped off the bed and towards the door. Turning the knob, I realised it was locked. Though, it wouldn't have hurt just to make sure. Softly knocking on the door, I heard a faint echo bounce off it. It was a metal door, meaning it meant I was underground. Right beside the door, I softly knocked against the wall and heard a hollow echo. There was a number pad on the other side of the wall. There was a code to get into this room, but there's always a solution to getting out.
I released a low breath, putting my ear against the metal wall. Closing my eyes, I carefully listened to the distant noises. I heard faint laughter in the distance meaning there was a group of people near. That meant people were still awake.
A sigh came out of my mouth as I felt my rushing heart begin to calm down. I went over to my bed and laid down. I looked around the room, finding that there was no food tray opening. That meant guards would come in and give food to me directly. A guard meant they carried a weapon.
A weapon meant that I would be dangerous.
I closed my eyes and sank my thoughts to a rest. What would happen to me? What's happened to Teresa and Aris? I felt as my mind drifted away, falling asleep.
Teresa? Aris? Someone, anyone?
I'm so proud of you. I know you're going to help them. I know.
What name do we give him? How about Thomas?
Thomas, these are going to be your companions. To survive, you three are going to need to work together, no matter what.
My name is Teresa, hi.
My name is Ar-
Tom! I want you to stay here, okay? They are going to hurt you like they did to Aris. Please, Tom, don't go near them! Fight them, please Tom! Tom, don't forget this. Don't forget that they've wiped Aris' memories. Tom! Tom!
Why am I, why am I remembering all of this? How did I remember that? I don't ever recall having Teresa say that to me. What's happening?
Tom!
Thomas!
Your voices sound so close to me. Where are you?
WICKED is bad. Tom, please. Thomas, I want you to know that.
NO! That's not true! WICKED is good!
"He's not waking up!" A voice yelled.
"His heart rate is coming back to normal. Check his eyes!"
I fluttered my eyes and immediately closed them back when a bright light was shined in my eyes. "Whe-where am I?" I mumbled, feeling my body ache.
"Your body went rogue. WICKED controlled your body mate. They tried to kill Manson, and they did." Isaac's familiar voice quietly said.
