Ok, the second part from my captivity series. Hope you enjoy! Please review.
Disclaimer: None of these characters on Lost belong to me-I am just borrowing them. Ok, on with the show!
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Captivity Chapter 2
by Patrick Null
Day 10
The pen trembles as I write this. No, not a pen, but a quill, which is amusing in its own right. Amid all this high tech medical equipment and fingerprint locked diaries, they have replaced the most basic instrument of human life with something that is pre-historic in its simplicity. I want to ask why, for I have always been inquisitive, but the anger that blackens my soul is squashing any curiosity. Why am I angry? I'm tired of being a prisoner.
I have been lax in keeping up with my journal. Busy, I suppose. Which is why I'm writing now for I wish to record the events that has happened over the last couple of days. I suppose I should start at the beginning, when Casir showed me what they were protecting. When I first stepped out of the elevator, I thought I was looking into a giant fish tank...
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...or so it seemed to Claire. But first she noticed the walls, rough and uneven, moldy and slimy, like the inside of a cave. She felt one of the sides, and her fingers came away wet. Claire thought it was odd that they hadn't built steel walls and tiled floors like they had up above. She shrugged. Maybe they wanted to preserve a bit of history.
She noticed the doors next, one on the east wall, one on the west. The doors were steel, completely contradicting the natural terrain of this room, and if that wasn't bad enough, each door was guarded by a numerical keypad and a guard. There were desks, booths, and circular tables scattered throughout the room with flashing equipment, but they were now vacant. Claire had no doubt that at certain times of the day, every seat was filled.
The last thing she saw made her suck in a breath. She was looking out into the ocean. It was crystal blue and schools of fish lazily swam by and the result was a kaleidoscope of colors that was beautiful. She had never seen anything so amazing, not in her home in Australia, not anywhere. She saw seaweed, eels, crabs, and even a couple of sharks gliding through the water, but they were a ways off yet. Her next thought was one of alarm. Wouldn't the ocean's pressure crack the glass and flood the room? After all, it seemed like they had rode the elevator an awfully long way down. She looked closer. No, it wasn't window glass, but a huge view screen extending the entire length of the room, from top to bottom.
But it was what was on the view screen that made her pause. It was gigantic and sat lopsided on the rocky bottom, like a forgotten piece of mythology, viewed by silent guardians.
She could barely speak. "It's...it's..."
"...extraordinary, isn't it?" He was too close to her, and his breath made her shiver involuntarily, even though she was sweating from the heat. Heat rises, so shouldn't she be freezing? No, it was exactly the opposite. This room was heated by an unseen power source that she couldn't pinpoint.
Her legs felt like jello and she almost fell, except for Casir, who seemed to sense her disorientation, and stopped her descent at the last minute. His touch was repulsive, and she moved away to lean against a railing instead.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Why, Mother, you know what it is."
"How did it get there?"
"It sunk."
For the first time since entering this chamber, she looked at Casir. "Sunk?"
"Surely, you have heard the stories."
"Yes, b-but they're-"
"Myths? I can assure you it is not a myth. You can see the evidence in front of your eyes."
She was already shaking her head, and she faced front again. "No! It's a trick!"
His tone was condescending. "And why would we go to all this trouble, Mother?"
"To confuse me, to disorient me, to...to..." She had no more words left to say because, in her heart, she knew it was no trick.
He walked away, hands clasped behind his back. "Ah, I think you are beginning to realize I am telling the truth. Whatever you may think of us, we do not lie."
She laughed. "That's a lie in itself."
"What do you mean?"
"Ethan. He was never a part of our group, but he pretended he was."
"Ah. Yes, sorry about that. That was a calculated and much needed lie to infiltrate your group."
"Whatever gets you through the night."
He narrowed his eyes, clenched his jaw, and then, suddenly, his features softened, and he was grinning. "Why, Mother, you have a lot of spark in you which I had never noticed before on my many countless observations of your interactions with your friends. Why, I would even say that you have more spark than Kate."
She didn't respond, and he faced the view screen. "It's amazing, isn't it, Mother? We have been excavating it for years, and we have recovered many artifacts. The claw weapons we wear at our sides came from there. Its very presence infects this island with an energy that is sometimes magical and most times, prevents anyone from being found."
She sucked in a breath.
"That is how it protects itself, you see, from ever being discovered."
"I...I don't understand any of this."
"I know you don't, Mother, but you will. In time. You have the rest of your life to figure it out."
"I want to go back."
He turned to her. "So soon?"
"Yes. I've seen enough."
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Day 10
I had heard stories about it. Who hadn't?
I thought it was a myth. Who didn't?
Atlantis. Why, even the name conjures up fragmented images of a technological civilization that sank into the ocean. Casir is right. If the United States, or any country for that matter, ever discovered the mythical city, that country could become the reigning powerhouse on Earth. With America's top scientists, they could mine Atlantis for all that it was worth. Who knows what discoveries lie inside. The cure to cancer? Aids? Eternal youth? Time travel? The possibilities are endless, and I can't believe I was within a couple hundred miles of it.
It's too bad that no one will ever be able to hear the news.
Oops, the light above my door is blinking. That means it's time to eat. I'll be back shortly.
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Day 10
Ok, I'm back sooner than I thought. I just figured that I might as well bring my journal with me. Why not? No one talks to me. Indeed, we eat in a huge cafeteria, but I am the only one at my table every day. The others sit at nearby tables, heads bowed, whispering. It's like...they're afraid of me. The fried boar sits in front of me, untouched, for I am overcome by emotion.
I miss my friends. I miss conversations. I miss companionship. I miss Jack. I miss Kate. I miss Locke. I miss Michael, Hurley, and Walt. And yes, I even miss Sawyer. But most of all, I miss Charley. He was cute, in a goofy kind of way, and he was the only one who befriended me when others wouldn't.
Tears are falling to the page right now. My hand is trembling to where I can barely write these words. I am regretful and angry, and I just want to die. Ha! Wouldn't that put a kink in their plans? Oh, God, Charley. I miss Charley! I miss Charley! I miss Charley! I just want to...
(the rest is unreadable)
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Day 10
Ok, back in my room. If anyone reads this after I am gone, then I am truly sorry about my outburst. You have no idea what it's like down here, all alone, not knowing what's going to happen to me, what's going to happen to my ba-"
Day 10
My head is spinning, but I'm much more happier. The nurses injected something into my arm, to make me feel better, they said. They came into my room, and interrupted my last journal entry (sorry about that). They said I was getting overexcited. They're probably right. After all, they know best.
Casir knows best.
I like Casir.
I like the food.
I like it down here.
I like the lights. The lights run against the wall to lead me to the cafeteria so I don't get lost. Wow, their own automated direction system. That's cool.
Of course, there are no lights when I go on my walks. And yesterday, I found a zoo.
Or so I thought.
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Cages. Lots of cages, most of them filled. Claire saw tigers snarling out at her from behind iron bars, bears lumbering back and forth, birds chittering, monkeys chattering, snakes hissing, their forked tongues darting in and out. It was a huge room, and it was noisy. It was also guarded, but the guards let Claire in without any trouble. They probably figured she couldn't do much harm in this "zoo", if that's what it was. She saw two cages were empty, the doors hanging lopsided on hinges.
"Do you like our animals?" a voice said behind her.
She jumped and whirled around, only to see Casir. "You scared me."
"My apologies, Mother."
"Are you following me?"
"I was notified you had entered the room where we keep the animals, and I thought you might like some company."
"You thought wrong." She turned her back on him.
He didn't respond, but he didn't leave, either.
"Why do you talk to me?" Claire asked.
"What do you mean?"
"No one else does."
He moved up beside her, uncomfortably close. "They are afraid of you."
"What!"
"They are afraid of what you represent: life. Their existence is decided by fate, whereas your fate is not chained down by pre-destination, and that fact, well, that is what scares them and makes them loathe you at the same time."
"I don't understand, but that's all right. There's not a lot I understand. What is this place?"
"It is where we experiment on animals to gain knowledge."
She nodded. "I noticed that two cages are empty."
"Yes." His voice was grim. "It was an unfortunate occurrence. We had two polar bears at one point. They escaped."
"What?"
He turned on his heel and left her. "I prefer not to discuss it, Mother. Shall we go?"
After giving one last look at the experiment room, she followed. She didn't think she had a choice anyways.
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Day 10
I wonder what else I can find. So far, I have seen Atlantis, a cafeteria, a zoo, and I hear there's a library here somewhere, though no one will tell me where it is. Maybe I will ask Casir next time I see him. Right now, I'm tired. I'm lying down. Goodnight, little journal.
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Day 11
I like this place. I like this place. I like this place I like this place I like this place I like this place...
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Day 11
My apologies for the above. Why can't I just say I'm sorry? My apologies: God, now I'm starting to sound like them. The nurses woke me up first thing in the morning, examined my baby, deemed me fine, and then injected me with what I like to call their "feel good" medicine. When the effects wear off, I can say things like this: I hate this place. I hate this place. I hate this place I hate this place hate hate HATE!
I'm going for a walk.
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Claire left her journal on the bed, unopened, and walked out into the hall. She turned right, and when she reached the end, turned left, and that's when he appeared in front of her. "Hello, Mother."
It was him, the man who had kidnapped them, the man who had a hand in hanging Charley. Ethan.
"You!" Claire screamed as she flung herself at Ethan, but he was quick and strong, and soon had her pressed up against the wall.
"Don't over-excite yourself, Mother. It's bad for the baby."
"Get...get away from me."
"And this is the gratitude I get."
"Gratitude?"
"I had a run in with Jack as well. I could have killed him, but I was merciful."
"And you expect me to be grateful for that?"
"Yes!" His lips pressed against hers, and she squirmed and tried to back away, but there was nowhere to go. He tasted like rotting fish. He finally released and smiled. "Oh, I'm going to have so much fun fathering my child."
She would have screamed, but the scream stuck in her throat.
"Let her go, Ethan," Casir said.
"Of course." Ethan stepped away, but his eyes never left Claire.
"You know the rules," Casir said. "There is a waiting list. We drew numbers, remember?"
"Yes, but I am at the bottom of the list!"
"Rules are rules, Ethan." Casir stepped forward, his tone dangerously soft. "Do I need to remind you of the rules?"
For the first time, Ethan looked scared. He gulped. "I...I meant no disrespect, sir."
"Leave us."
"Yes, sir." Ethan walked away, but not before sparing Claire one last glance. The look told Claire that he would have his moment, and there would be nothing she could do about it. She shivered, wrapped her arms around herself.
"I am truly sorry, Moth-"
Claire ran, away from Casir, down the hall, and into her room where safety awaited. She immediately reached for her journal-it was the only solace she had left-and began to write:
Day 11
I had a run in with Casir just now. I can still smell him, taste him, feel his body pressed up against mine. I want to throw up. I want to scrub every inch of his scent from my body, but I fear it won't do any good. I'm going to sleep. Maybe I can forget, but it's doubtful.
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Claire closed her diary and locked it. She stood, stretched, and that's when she felt it-water trickling down her legs. It took her a few moments to realize what was happening.
"My…water…just broke," she said numbly.
Immediately, alarms started to sound, her room flashed red, the color of blood. It disoriented her. Confused, she turned around, not knowing which way was up, which way was down, and couldn't find her door, until nurses and doctors ran into her room, carrying a gurney.
"Wh...what's going on?"
No one spoke. She was picked up, and placed on the gurney with practiced efficiency, and then she was wheeled out of the room. The halls whisked past her and all she saw were faceless strangers looking down at her coldly, without emotion. She was finally wheeled into a room and lifted onto a bed.
Her legs were spread, her pants and panties cut off. People surrounded her, attaching IV's to her, and injecting chemicals into her.
"She's already dilated at 10 centimeters!" someone cried.
"What?" Claire said. "How can that be?"
"It's the island, Mother," Casir said as he stepped into her line of sight. "It does things, wonderful, wonderful things. Even I don't know how it all works, but what I need for you to do now, Claire, is push."
And she did.
God help her, she pushed.