Chapter 8
"Wake up you stupid girl! It's time for another session."
"Huh?" was my intelligent reply. I slowly opened my eyes, blinking rapidly trying to get them to adjust to the bright lights that were currently blinding me. The last thing I remembered before blacking out was that I had a strong sense of uneasiness coursing through me. As I looked up from my position on the floor, I saw the blurred outline of two huge men standing in front of me. I blinked a couple of times again. As soon as my vision finally cleared and I got a look at the men who rudely woke me up, I started to tremble in horror. No! This can't be happening! I couldn't be back here! This was the one place that I hoped I would never have to revisit again: the HYDRA base in Sokovia.
Both men grabbed hold of one of my arms each and pulled me to my feet roughly. I started to violently struggle against their vice-like grip on my upper arms just like the various times I have before during my captivity. As expected, my struggles yielded no positive results yet again. It was kind of like a mouse trying to push two elephants. It was pathetic. But in true Adrianna fashion, I continued thrashing around and screaming bloody murder. I could tell I was starting to piss off one of the guards by the annoyed expression he wore on his face. The other man's face gave away no emotion. His irritation just gave me a reason to continue yelling my ass off. I know I'm just digging my own grave but it gave me a weird sense of satisfaction knowing that I'm having an adverse effect on his mood. I refuse to be the only one with a strong distaste for this arrangement.
I think I finally pushed it too far by trying to bite their hands because the next thing I know, I feel a sharp pain at the back of my head. "You annoying little pest." were the last words I heard before I once again fell unconscious.
The next time I woke up, I found myself lying on top of a cold metal table. I recognized the room immediately. I started violently thrashing around. I pulled and tugged at the straps that were my holding my hands down while my eyes pricked with tears. This was the room where the worst of the experimentation occurred. I used to dread the days I had to come here. Click! My head snapped in the direction that the sound came from. Dr. Henderson. I was enveloped by an overwhelming sense of fear. All thoughts of escape vanished when I saw this cruel man's face. He was my tormentor. He was in charge of all the inhuman experiments I was put through. He is the reason I have nightmares.
Dr. Henderson is a tall, dark-skinned man with a receding hairline. He has thin lips that are almost always curved into a disturbing smirk. His eyes are hidden behind a pair of glasses and he has no facial hair at all. I haven't seen him in any other clothes apart from a pristine white lab coat that never seems to have a single stain on it. He is well-built and extremely intimidating. He knows exactly where to push so he can get a reaction out of you and he is certainly very intelligent. In all my years that I had spent as a HYDRA lab rat, I never got a single piece of information from him that was even remotely useful. I eventually gave up.
"Ah Adrianna. We meet again. How have you been?" Dr. Henderson asked with a sinister smile on his face. As much as I want to say that I spit in his face or that I made a witty remark or that I had some other courageous response, I can't. That would be a lie. Instead, I lay there paralyzed in fear unable to form a coherent sentence in my head. This just made Dr. Henderson grin. "I have something special planned for you today. It involves testing your tolerance. I want to explore the full extent of your abilities." he announced with a sadistic expression on his face. He picked up a syringe filled with a clear substance that was on the table next to my head. "What is that? What are you going to do?" I asked in a shaky voice.
"You're about to find out."
As soon as he injected the serum into my body, I was overcome by an excruciating pain. It felt like a thousand needles under your skin piercing deeper every time you make the slightest movement. It felt like my organs were being incinerated by a raging inferno inside of my body. It felt like someone decided to break every single bone in my body one-by-one. It was the single most unbearable pain I've ever experienced. I was writhing in pure agony with my back arched against the cold, unforgiving table and lips parted in a silent scream. That's when I heard the voice.
"You deserve this."
For a second I couldn't feel any of the pain from before. I was too focused on the owner of that voice to feel the now dull throb. "Mom?" I croaked out in a raspy voice. "It's your fault. It's your fault I'm dead. You deserve this." she stated in a monotone voice. My world came to a stop as I heard those words. I was hit by an all new kind of agony. This was worse. I've been blaming myself for my family's death for years but those words coming from my mother just made it real. I killed my family. I am the reason they are dead. And boy did it hurt. Fresh tears slid down my face along the tracks that were already present.
"No, please. I'm sorry!" I whispered.
"You killed us." This time my father's and younger brother's voice joined in. "You killed us." They started chanting over and over.
"You killed us."
"You killed us."
"Please, stop!" I pleaded as the physical pain from before came back along with the emotional pain. "Please!" I begged repeatedly.
"Please!"
And finally, my vision went dark for the third time. But this time it was welcome and I gladly succumbed to the darkness.
