Heat.
His body sweated madly as he tossed from one side to another. The wounds from his pervious mission threatened to open, adding to the discomfort.
Memories swarmed the logical brain cells almost forcing them to except that that was the reality of the situation. That he was not asleep in his bed.
He jerked as he tied to dodge the knife, which was held by a disembodied hand, plunged towards his chest. He almost let out a groan as it connected. A laugh echoed wildly from all sides. A woman's laugh. "Serves you right," the woman snickered. Slowly an arm appeared, computerized, like it was programmed, attaching to the hand. A shoulder followed. Then a torso. An neck. Legs. The other shoulder. The other arm. The other hand. Then the head.
A chill shot through Alex. It had no face. The head was there, but the face, the nose, the mouth, the eyes, was no where to be found.
Alex shot up. His heart hammered in his chest. Sweat made his t-shirt stick to his back. Breathing deeply, Alex threw back the covers. His legs felt as through they would not be able to support his weight.
The sky was pitch black and Alex's eyes still felt heavy.
He glanced at the clock. 4:27. It was early. And there was no way he was going back to asleep.
A few moments later Alex was out on the campus sidewalk, his shoes pounding on the cement. He had managed to put on some sweat pants and a cotton jacket, no shirt. Running always was his stress reliever. He felt his powerful muscles stretch as he took one step after another.
Soon the campus was left far behind. His mind reeled with the new situation and problems. Death. Torture. Hatred. Physiological mind games. Physical pressure. Stress beyond imagination. These were the situation he was used to. Not, teaching. Not being a figure head.
His feet began to hurt as the cement gripped his skin, causing it to sting as he ripped it away.
What was he going to do? Already he felt the need to get out of this constricting prison. Alex slowed down into a jog as something caught his eye. A pipe. Looking around, Alex his way down towards the pipe. It had been exposed from years of erosion. The wheels in his started to turn. The pipe was fairly large. It was large enough for him to crawl through. But it was extensively covered with rust and there where many repair jobs. This pipe had been here long before the school.
Alex stretched out his hand and touched the pipe. The pipe was older make. At least 50 years, maybe more. He knocked on the pipe. Sound reverberated through out the pipe. It wasn't completely hollow. It was still in use.
Alex followed the pipe until it hit the wall. The wall surrounded the campus, keeping the students in and outsiders out. The wall was smooth and too tall to even risk climbing. There weren't even any trees near the wall to help climb over. The place was a proficient jail.
"Hey, you know that area is off limits!"
Alex turned around to see four students running down the slope. Two boy and two girls.
"Dude, come on. Are you stupid? Let's get out of here," one of the boys's said.
All four students stopped.
"Oh," one of the girl huffed, completely out of breath. "Mr. Coltin."
Alex nodded at the girl, then turned back around to observe the wall.
"AH…Mr. Colton. What are you doing," the other girl asked.
"Solving a puzzle."
Silence.
"A puzzle," the girl inquired again.
"Yes."
The girl looked at the wall and back at Alex. "You're trying to get out. You really don't want to be here, do you?"
"Not in the slightest," Alex replied frankly.
"Many have tried. Everyone of them has failed," one of the boy's said briskly.
A sinking feeling ruptured in his stomach.
"Including you," Alex concluded, an ominous feeling spread through out his body. "And if kids have tried to escape then wouldn't that you are forced here against your will."
"I guess. Kind of." The girl said. "We're all orphans. We've never been outside these walls since they've brought us. Most of us don't remember the outside. Once in a while an older kid is brought in and they tell us what it is like."
Alex turned to look at her. His face void of any emotion. MI6 had brought him here to teach kids who've never even been in the real world.
What were they thinking? Did they want these kids dead?
No. No. MI6 would not do that. There has to be some other reason.
Where they trying to teach him a lesson? No. No. this is too drastic. They wouldn't go this far.
Or, maybe… no. the only explanation is the one that was so plainly laid out before him. These kids were doomed to be MI6 spies or die.
"Orphaned, huh? How long ago did this start."
"Nineteen years ago," the quieter of the boys spoke.
"Hmmmm." Alex trail back over to the pipe and tapped it. He listened to the ringing echo as it reverberated in the cylinder. "Well, that's that."
Alex turned sharply and began to walk back to the sidewalk, the three kids trailing after him.
