Tom sat in silence.

Angry, festering silence.

He glanced at the small camera in the corner of the room.

Still there. Still on. Still watching him.

A quiet beep knocked him out his state of quiet hatred, turning his attention to the door.

Dr.L enters the room, holding some sort of box beneath one arm, and a tape recorder in the other. He walks quietly to the metal table and pulls out the chair, the one closer to the door. When he places the box on the table, Tom realizes it's chess.

"Hell yeah," he whispered under his breath, sitting up straight.

"What was that, 5043?" Dr.L asked in a formal tone.

"Nothing," Tom grumbled.

"If you say so." Dr.L replied, fiddling with the tape recorder.

When he finally fixed the recorder, Dr.L set it down on the table and pressed the record button. "They really need to get some new recorders.." he mumbled as he started to set up the chess. Tom watched in silence as Dr.L picked out the white plastic pieces and placed them towards himself, leaving Tom the black pieces.

He didn't like that.

Tom set up his pieces in the correct order, waiting for Dr.L to do the same. Dr.L took the first move, moving his pawn forward two paces. Tom took his turn, moving a pawn one pace forward.

"So, you really cannot control the monster?" Dr.L asked, moving the same pawn again.

"Nope, not at all." Tom lied, moving a different pawn forwards.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep. 100% sure I cannot control the monster in any way, shape or form. The thing really is a horrible creature. " Tom answered almost ecstatically, with a small nervous laugh at the end.

Dr.L stayed silent for a moment while he moved his rook forwards. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone. Tom observed as he typed in a password, the screen lighting up as he finished. Tom used this time to quickly move his bishop and take out one of Dr.L's pawns.

"If you are so sure that you're not in control why don't we watch this. Here, I have a video of the monster from three months ago." Dr.L stated calmly, turning the screen so it faced Tom. The screen showed a surveillance video of a hallway with a few doctors crowded around a water cooler. The camera suddenly began shaking, and the giant beast streaked through, attacking the doctors, blood spraying the camera. The beast finished its meal, and moved on down the hallway. The video cut out, and Dr.L turned the screen back to him. "Now here's a video of the monster from two days ago."

He turned the screen back to Tom, showing him a dark room. The camera loaded for a second, and fixed to night vision, which showed a very green monster sitting atop a very green 682. Tom's heart sank down into his feet when he heard the audio play Dr.L's voice, saying something about control and a battlefield. The screen glitched a bit as the monster's ears perked up, its broad head turning towards the sound, a growl erupting from deep in its throat. The monster kept its eyes trained upon the glass, getting up off of 682, and backing into the corner. The monster ran and leapt up as high as its legs would carry it, slamming head first into the glass, the sound of cracking glass filling the room. The beast slid down the wall and backed up to ram into the glass again. Before it could get far, a hissing sound rang in the speakers, and the monster stumbled forwards and tumbled to the ground, unmoving.

"Do you see any differences?" Dr.L asked, retracting the phone and turning it off.

Tom sat in shocked silence.

They were smart.

"I do. See how in the first video, the monster is brutal and ruthless, violent and murderous? Killing without thought, not even seeming to register the sounds of people screaming for help?" Dr.L said, moving his knight so it took out the bishop. "And how, in the second video, the monster seems more cognitive, seeming to actually understand what I- the man was saying? Seeming to get angry over his words?"

"Y-yeah. It did s-seem more um..smart. Yeah." Tom all but whispered, not really paying attention to the chess, moving one of his pawns mindlessly.

"Tom."

The other man saying his real name caught Tom off guard, his hand jerking slightly, knocking over a few pieces.

"You're scared," Dr.L said, making eye contact with Tom, "I understand. This place is terrifying, it's real bad sometimes. I know, I work here. I know you're starting to figure out how to control the monster. You don't need to worry, though. If you can control it, you can help in tremendous ways. I can't make promises to let you go, it's just too big of a risk. However, if you decide to work for us, you could get major upgrades in living situations. Access to internet, TV, your friends, whenever you want. In fact, I think it's time you should get some kind of bed, instead of sleeping on the floor. I'll do that after our game."

Dr.L moved his pawn forwards, making it one space closer to the other side of the board.

Tom's side.

"Uh-um, yeah. That would sound good." Tom said with a small smile.

Tom won the game.

hahahah i exist

this is probably one of my favorite chapters by far, with all the little subtle details

see ya!

-Trashbag