They were finally going to kill him. He should have known it would happen soon. You could only push a mad scientist patience. And Alex had tested that patience to its end. He was going to die.
Alex felt disappointment, the feeling weighed heavy on him.
He didn't want to die so young. There were things he had not done yet. No immediate longings came to mind, but he was sure that he could find some quickly if they would only let him live. He wanted to see Jack again. There, he had already came up with one--but it still remained the same.
Living wasn't an option.
Everyone was dying. He had to stick to the un-proclaimed rules and die as well. Or be killed. Dying sounded natural, but he was going to be killed, murdered.
The air reeked with the smell of death and innocent blood. Alex didn't know how they were going to do it, or how long they would draw it out. However, he knew that today he was going to die.
Alex awoke with a gasp.
He was shivering. Taking a deep, calming breath, he tried to stop the shaking. He was still lying in that uncomfortable bed and the lights outside the cell were on, but inside the cell, it was mostly dark.
He sat up slowly. The bed creaked loudly, and Alex hoped he hadn't woken anybody up with the noise from the bed, or the sounds of him gasping from the nightmare.
Wolf was still asleep, leaning against the wall in the same place Alex had seen him last. Fox was asleep as well, lying on the floor with one arm cradling his head.
Eagle and Snake were still awake and glancing at him while talking in low voices. Alex was glad they did not talk to him. They sat on each side of a bowl of water and a pitcher. There was a bloodied washcloth sitting not so far away. Noticing that, Alex immediately looked for Yassen.
The man had said he was going to clean his wounds before sleeping. Alex saw the man, then, he was propped up by the end of the bed, his chin touching his chest and taking slow, even breaths.
Not wanting to wake Yassen up, or anyone else for that matter, Alex lay back down. He had already decided that it was useless to try and go back to sleep. It was likely that he would have another nightmare.
This place inspired nightmares.
Although this nightmare had been the first one Alex had had while here, he was sure that there was more to come. How could there not be? Daily torture, people lying dead in the corridor….Alex shivered at the memory and goose bumps rose on his skin.
He rolled over to his side wrapping his arms around himself. How much longer can this go on? Surely, it had to stop soon? All he wanted was to go back home. I won't even complain about being forced to spy, Alex thought. Well--not much, he couldn't help adding.
Wolf was muttering in his sleep. Alex turned his head to see. Eagle snickered and said something to Snake. Snake shook his head but he was smiling. Alex hoped that Eagle didn't try anything on Wolf while the man was asleep.
He might try to beat Eagle to death with a chicken bone, Alex thought as he glimpsed one lying near the water container.
Now that he thought about it, there was trash piling up here and there. Apple cores, bones, and citrus peeling lay around everywhere. The teen hoped the cell did not become infested with rodents or bugs. Just another highlight to their luxurious stay, here.
Then, the cell door opened. At the grating sound, Wolf jumped and awoke. Trey came in. Alex wondered if it was just his imagination or if the man seemed to look immediately at him. "Time for some fun, Rider," Trey said. Apparently, it wasn't his imagination.
Alex closed his eyes. He had not heard Yassen move or make any noise. It was the man's silence that told him he was awake.
Michael's voice told him to come near the cell door or they were going to have to come in after him. Alex didn't move. They could come and get him; no way was he going to go to the people torturing him.
Trey sighed falsely. "Fine, Rider. Just know that your making it worse for yourself. We give behavior reports to the higher ups. I'm afraid this attitude isn't what they'll want to hear."
They opened the door. Michael brought out a simple shotgun and another man coming in behind him. This man had a weird-looking weapon. Alex sat up, then stood. He wondered if they would try to threaten him to get him out. It didn't seem likely; they would probably just throw him over there shoulder if he tried to stay.
The unnamed guard aimed his gun at Eagle and fired. Surprise made Alex gasp; no blood appeared in Eagle's arm, though. The man yelled in alarm and was now staring in horror at the small dart in his skin.
Trey and Michael grabbed Alex and bullied him out the door before the others had stopped looking at Eagle.
"What did you do to him?" Alex asked as he was led down the hall. His hands were tied behind his back and already starting to hurt.
"It's a dose of what Lenor gave you," Michael said. His answer surprised Alex; he had not expected an answer.
"So--is he still testing--that shit he gave me?" Alex asked. He couldn't help but stumble over his words.
Michael shook his head. "After testing it on you and seeing the results, he's decided it can be used as a real weapon now. Renders the victim extremely sick with a short time. We used it on your friend just a few minutes ago," he said.
Alex clenched his jaw and tried not to think about what Eagle would be going through soon.
They were walking down a lighted corridor. "Where are we--" Alex started to ask, then he spotted a mark on the wall near him. It was a blotched, round shape, and brown like dried blood.
Trey glanced at him in suspicion for cutting off the question and then saw what he was watching. "Oh, that," he chuckled.
Alex asked a question with his eyes. "Sawyer got a little carried away, didn't he, Trey?" Michael said.
Trey nodded. "Got a temper, that one, and since there are no cleaners….It can serve as a reminded not to test the authority around here," he said with a grin that barely showed his teeth.
Alex looked away. He was disgusted with them. How could anyone be that way? What had happened to these people to make them this way? He felt like spitting to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth that came with just being around them.
If Alex was right, they were leading him somewhere he had never been. They had not covered his eyes; he took in as much as the area as he could and mapped it in his mind. It could be extremely useful later.
The stonework seemed old; all of it looked the same. No marks of remodeling as far as he saw, Alex wondered how much longer it would last before collapsing.
They led him away from the main hall to one so small they had to walk single-file. It got darker. The light provided by grimy lamps were behind them.
Michael led Alex. Trey was behind him. The man could have led him into a wall and he would not have known it until it was too late.
Squinting, Alex saw some light in the distance. He was more than a little relieved; being is the darkness with two crazy murderers was not something he ever wanted to do again.
Alex was turning a corner--or he thought that was where they wanted him to go. He was proved wrong when they jerked him back and towards a nearly invisible door. The wood looked old and battered, and more gray than brown. Michael kicked the door opened; Alex looked past him and was startled at what he saw.
There were stairs; they descended down into the darkness with only a few lights nailed to the side. These lights looked newer, Alex wondered if maybe the scientists and others had only just started wandering to other parts of the building.
He had glimpsed two passages in his walk that looked more abandoned than the rest. Spider webs hung from corners, the layers of dirt were noticeable by the unaided eye .
"If you trip and die we aren't burying you," Trey muttered and nudged Alex forward. With that comforting statement, Alex started descending.
The staircase wasn't as long as it looked at first. Maybe it was the surprise of seeing it, or the anxiousness Alex felt for whatever waited for him, but he could hear his heart pounding in his ears and was feeling rather claustrophobic.
He expected either Trey or Michael to snap at him any minute for having such a loud heart. They never spoke on the way down.
Alex had not realized he had stopped breathing as they reached the last stair. But as he cleared the stairs and got his first view of the room, his breath came whooshing out--and then back in.
He ended up choking on air and Trey had to slap his on the back, harder than was necessary, if you asked Alex.
Regaining his breath, Alex stepped away from the two men feeling a twinge of pain in his back as he did. There was definitely going to be a bruise there soon.
The room was wide, incredibly so. Alex thought it might have been a bit bigger than the tennis court at his school.
However, the most amazing thing about the room was the giant pool of water taking up most of the room.
There was just enough room around the pool to walk. The water was not a pretty sight. In fact, Alex had thought of a pool of ink when he first saw it.
The water was black. It smelled nasty, as well. Like grease or something stuffy and thick, Alex thought looking at the pool with disgust.
"Well," Alex said after a moment. Trey and Michael were watching him. "Your mud pool is real impressive and all, but is there some reason you brought me here?" he asked.
Trey grinned manically. The air was colder down here. I wonder how far underground we are, Alex thought.
Michael and Trey had still not answered his question. Is some weird form of the silent treatment? Alex wondered, feeling exasperated.
A rippling sound made him turn, horror and thoughts of water creatures flashed through his mind. Then, strong arms wrapped around his waist. Alex got a glimpse of dark hair and a cruel-looking face, and then he was under water.
Fortunately, reflexes had made Alex take a deep breath as he fell back into the inky blackness.
Right under the surface, Alex struggled, panicking. This had been planned. He now knew what Michael and Trey had been waiting on. The bastards, Alex thought while kicking violently.
He could already feel his oxygen leaving him. The fighting didn't help, but the man was not letting go, he'd drown them both!
The color of the water did not help at all. Alex could not see anything.
Desperation from the lack of air made Alex act more wild and uncontrollable then he probably would have. He jerked, kicked, punched, wiggled, and dug his fingers into the skin of his attacker.
As he found his attacker's face, he felt something inhuman near the mouth. It felt hard against his fingers, like plastic. Alex knocked it out. The man pulling him lower and lower, jerked in alarm.
Alex was ready to cry and beg--he had to have air. His lungs were burning with need, and his mind was feeling panic-stricken and hazy.
His captor let go and Alex felt him brush pass him roughly and swim away.
Which way was up?! Alex tried to remember which way the man had swam, following after him, he waited to see the surface.
For what seemed like hours he swam, his legs and arms were heavy. He felt like they were dragging him down instead of helping him to the surface.
It never came. With the feeling of utter defeat, Alex let the blackness engulf him.
A/N: Sorry again guys, something held me back from updating on Wednesday. Thanks for the feedback, and I'm sorry about the cliff hanger…okay, I'm not really, lol. But, I'll try my darnest to get you a fairly quick update!
Sheluby94dreamer, Whatever95, AnGeL oF mAdNeSs, Jusmine, I actually don't know where that is quoted from, what would make me feel really stupid is if I said it before in a story, lol. I'm glad you enjoyed my bursts of humor, lol. Rasgara, MoonDrake, Gasp! You wouldn't! (From the distance she hears it, a bad rendition of a Judy Garland song. "No, no, not that!") Okay, I give up here is your update--just stop the singing! Keatlin, Lol, I'll eat the skin but only if it's fried chicken, I actually put that in for my mum, lol. She hates the skin. Drayconette, I loved your last review. It just sounded funny as I read it, 'kinda gory', rofl. I still can't believe people are reading this story in the first place, hehe. PleiadesWolfe, Because they don't have a reason to kill them yet. What the shot contained isn't important to the story line, it's not likely it will play a part in it. alex-rider-girl, BrazeRancor, vampassassin, Clemence, I'm glad you like Sawyer considering he's my original character, thank you. Yes, you will see him in the next chapter. Gold is power, Buchworm13,
OddlySane, Okay, I'll probably leave them as they are then, thank you. Blue Rider, It's funny until you yourself bit into an apple just to find a surprise, lol. Za Webmaster Authoress, Lol, you're welcome. There are plenty of great AR fics out there to keep you company. I'll try to quicken the updates. UrbanWulfeh, alexriderfreak, madmedjenna, hylian-dragoness, Taylor5795, Silvertrumpet26, Revenge? Sweet little me? Not I, it's my other half that tortures your dear Yassen, the one that likes Sweeney Todd! shadow Cullen, MarauderetteLily, Probably school, and then there are the ones with jobs. I'm sure you will get a rush of updates during a vacation time. pony girl-loves-McQueen, SheWeapon1, BellaBooTwilight, Lol, you go girl. I can only do one or the other, I have to set aside days to write and days to do other stuff. Static-Lightening, freakily obsessed Yassen fan, darkxangelx-xo, xxPrincessxBeckyxx, Thank you! XsuicideXkittyX, highonDr.Pepper, Oirishgoddess, Thank you for the feedback!
XxXmaximuM-RideRXxX, Did I really? I'm sorry, don't know how I overlooked you. Thank you for the feedback. JaBoyYa, My first death threat, I'm flattered! Bradhadair fire starter, Thanks, I've decided to leave things as they are for now. Spicycute199, Thank you. dark-angel-7174, -Ace- Nothing wrong with that, thanks for the summary suggestion! Crystal Roads, Thank you, hope your comp gets fixed real soon! Fan O' Fanfic, AngelOfPastPresentAndFuture, Thanks, lol. I get what you're saying, and it is slightly weird that people would stick around to read material where I think up ways to hurt AR characters--but I guess it is different.