Breaking Point

Chapter 2

Heat Stroke

The torture I despised the most of all was the series of tests for temperature toleration. I was restored to near full health after I had endured starvation. The government paid much for my creation and design, and it wanted results. I was not to escape yet; Grandpa was not finished programming the colony for what he called Armageddon. I had to endure more barbarous treatment of my captors. I could not attack my captors then, for if I rebelled it could expose Gerald's plans...

I was trapped in my cave again. I was left there in the gloom for several days, buy I could afford to wait. I had developed a copious amount of patience after enduring so many traumas. Out of nowhere, five scientists came for me. The opened door in the gloom was surprising, for I was in darkness for days on end. The scientists walked up to me warily as I stared at them with my carmine orbs. I did not speak; I simply let them lead me where they wished. I followed a team of men in lab coats out of my pit. The halls were no more encouraging than my empty room. I was welcomed by dim hallways of concrete floors and walls of stone, numerous doors of reinforced metal, and the occasional weak yellowed flickering of a light bulb.

The doors concealed nothing more than other empty rooms, the rooms often had prisoners that either were starved to death or long gone. One open door had a dried, crusted body with fat flies hovering over its dry and stale flesh. Occasionally, I could hear a scream of a fellow prisoner or the demented laughter of a person that lost all rational sanity. The scientists always were quick to get away from the deploring asylum. I hated the place far more than they could ever dream! I was lead to a door that had a stairwell, and they lead only one way; up. We climbed equally bleak stairs and ascended fifteen more floors, nearing the surface that I believed I would never see again.

Above the fifteen floors of prison, the stairwell became different. Instead of flickering dim lights, there were many bright white lights. The floor of damp concrete was replaced with floors of beige tile, and the walls of cinder blocks were replaced with blank white surfaces of drywall. The change in atmosphere did not lift my heavy heart. Nothing could. After crawling up twenty more flights of stairs, we wandered down numerous hallways and nearby rooms to a place I could not recall as familiar. I was released in an open room with harsh sunlight. My eyes screamed, burned from the sun's glare. The room was surrounded by a short stone wall and rested against a cliff of rock that was sanded smooth. I was high above a steamy and hot jungle. Although I could escape the room, I could not escape the island. The island was one of many that had many plants, trees, shrubs and beaches, and vast, endless sea.

I could have ended my life, flung myself over the edge and plummeted to my death, but I had a promise to fulfill. I hated the promise. I wanted to die! I was locked out at the room, and I sat there to wait. It was only the morning, judging by the height of the sun, but I was to be baked alive. My black fur quickly became warm from the sun, and my breath became slow as I felt weight of heat settle on my chest. I curled up in a corner and lost myself in the heat. I was to be there all day. I sighed and waited. The sun sat motionless, frozen in place. I waited. Far below, a flock of birds flew out of the thick carpet of green and flew into the sky. I hated the birds. The damn birds could fly, and I was trapped in a sunroom! No matter, I still had a promise to keep.

The sun got a bit higher in the sky, and it also grew hotter. The hottest part of the day was still to come. I am designed for heat endurance, and also for water conservation. That means that I sweat very little. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. I cursed the birds that I once loved years before. Wait. Wait. Wait. My mind was burning. My body was already numb from sitting still for so long. This will be a long day. I rubbed my eyebrows. My breathing was harder to do by the minute as my chest stiffened under the heat. I could hear, but barely, the crashing of waves against the shore. The waves were soothing, but their murmur was not enough to stop the heat...

Breathing was heavy and required effort. My lungs toiled to keep me alive. I took deep breaths of hot air and tried to calm myself. Calm down. I am calming down, and I will be fine. I am fine. My pelt was no longer warm, it was hot. Hot. I tried to think about more pleasant things, like eating ice cream and splashing ice over my face. My skin still was dry. I am a water conservationist by trade. I still have hours to go... I have been out in the heat for five hours, judging by the sun. My black fur is unbearable. I was finally sweating as my heart felt burdened by the intense heat. I opened my mouth, letting my tongue hang out in a vain effort to cool down. Too hot... My face was flushed and red as my mind started to ache. It's too hot! Too hot! I struggled to stand and, leaning against the building for support, emptied myself over the short stone wall. I plopped back down and waited.

The distant ocean and jungle were shimmering in the heat. My fur was dripping wet. I was struggling to breathe. IT'S HOT. My breathing was rasping and my mouth was dry. My tongue felt like sandpaper. My saliva was evaporating faster than it was being produced! My body felt very heavy under the heat and sticky weather. I moaned in turmoil and I could barely move. The heat was suffocating me. My heart was racing to keep pace with my efforts. I can't breathe. The hottest part of the day was here, but my patience and strength was being whittled away as I continued to sweat. My breathing was shaky and unsteady. My muscles twitched as I was losing control of my body. My mind was at the edge of delirium as I coughed. TOO HOT!! I could not stand it any longer and passed out...