When Jonathan opened his eyes, he was sitting in a completely empty room. The only thing he could see was a blinding white light and a large mirror on the wall. He could also feel himself bound to yet another chair, which was, once again, bolted to the floor.
He couldn't remember much of what had happened after they'd left Nancy and Mike. The Russian guard had brought them around a few more twists and staircases. Then she'd handed El off to another person, much to the chagrin of the kids.
And then...what? He'd been taken into a room, laid out on a table and poked and prodded by scientists in white health masks. But after that, nothing.
The door behind him creaked open. He twisted his head desperately, hoping to see El or even the kinder guard that had taken Mike and Nancy. Instead, it was his two least favorite people: General Aleksandr Finklestein and the crazy guard Nataliya.
"Hello, there, Jonathan," the General said, coming to stand in front of him. Nataliya stood right behind him to the left, waggling her fingers at him.
He frowned. "Where's my sister?" he demanded. "And where's Nancy and Mike?"
"That will come in time," Aleksandr said with a laugh. "For now, we're going to talk all about you. Well, you and your family. How are they? How's little Will adjusting to the new town? What's it called again?"
Jonathan sent him a dry glare. "Nice try," he spat.
"It was worth a shot," Aleksandr said with a shrug. He began to pace back and forth around the room.
Nataliya stepped forward. "Look," she said, "we have your sister. We have your girlfriend. We have your girlfriend's little brother. I don't know if you care about him at all. But we have him. If you don't comply, there's a good chance that something...not so great happens to them."
"But if I tell you where my Mom and brother are, you'll still have El, Nance, and Mike," Jonathan reasoned, scowling at her.
She turned to Aleksandr. "He's smart," she said with mock praise in her voice.
"Smart never did anything against us," the General said with a dramatic hand gesture. "Brain power can't resist a good old fashioned interrogation." He crouched down in front of Jonathan.
"You have two options," he said. "Either you answer our questions and your girlfriend and her brother go free. Or...you don't answer our questions and you get to watch them die."
Jonathan's eyes widened. "Where is she?" he hissed. "Where is she?"
Aleksandr and Nataliya exchanged a knowing glance. "That's not what we're focusing on here, sweetheart," Nataliya said, her voice sickly sweet. "The question is, are you willing to sacrifice her to save your mother and brother?"
A tear formed in his eye, and Jonathan tilted his face to the ceiling in despair.
Nataliya lifted up a communication device that had been strapped to her shirt. "He's not talking. Start the procedure. Careful, though. We don't want them all the way dead."
"Wait," Jonathan called desperately, hanging his head. "Stop."
Aleksandr and Nataliya looked at him expectantly.
"Don't touch her," Jonathan pleaded. His red, weary eyes gazed up at them with such intensity, they hesitated for a moment. "Please. Please just...don't hurt her."
"We're listening."
0
0
0
It was the same. Everywhere she looked. Same, same, same. Like the vinyl she was listening to was scratched and kept repeating the last phrase over and over again. Like she was frozen in time, staring at nothing.
Each wall had the same height and width as the others. The same color. Even the ceiling and floor were the same. Like a box. The plainest, dullest, most terrible box she'd ever seen.
El didn't pace. She sat, stonily silent, her back to one of the walls. How long had she been there? She didn't know. All she knew were the plain white walls and the pain still residing in her chest.
"Mike," she mumbled. It wasn't a call for help or a wistful cry. It was simply a fact.
As she thought about him, about the time they'd spent together, she felt her heart begin to pound. Strange. It only did that when they kissed. Not when she was only thinking about him.
Nevertheless, the pounding grew stronger, faster. No other sounds penetrated the walls of the box. The beating in her own chest was the only thing to attach to. The only thing to occupy the dead space in her ears.
She closed her eyes, seeing nothing but black. Nothing but the cold emptiness where her powers used to be. All she could think was, 'Wrong. This is wrong.'
0
0
0
Honestly, these two are some of my favorites in the whole series. Trying to figure out their dynamic has been super fun and enlightening. They make a super cute Big Brother/Little Sister duo. Hopefully there will be more of them in Season Four!