CHAPTER TWO
The first thing he noticed was that his mouth felt like it had been stuffed with an old gym sock for three hours. The second thing was that he wasn't wearing boots. He slowly opened his eyes and his stomach gave a lurch at the change of brightness. When they were fully open he saw a small window in the wall adjacent to him spilling light in from what seemed to be an early morning sun. The bed he was laying on was stained gray with age and had several unknown stains that made the queasiness in his stomach worse.
What happened? Where am I? Oh man, I feel sick and cold. And if its morning that means Batman hasn't seen me all night. Or has it been more than one day? I wish I could think. Everything feels fuzzy.
He felt his mask was still one though. So he gave a sigh of relief at that small blessing. Whoever kidnapped him must not want him for his secret identity.
He shivered and tried to sit up but he was stopped by a set of handcuffs that chained his wrist above his head to the bed frame. Struggling to look at his prison the noise of a door opening caught his attention. It slammed against the wall, the person entering obviously not caring about the noise it caused.
"Hey, the bird brats up," yelled a short man with yellowing teeth. He reminded Robin of a henchman in the Saturday morning cartoons he watched. The one's with the over the top burglar trying to run away from the cops in some silly chase.
"SHUT UP Johnny, do you want the whole neighborhood to hear you?" The second man to enter was the round man Robin remembered from before. The thought made his stomach lurch and his breath hitch.
"So you are finally awake. I must have sprayed to much primal gas at one so light," the reedy voice wheezed. The man came closer and Robin saw he was sweating as if having run several miles, which was obviously not the case. The object in the man's hand caught Robin's eye and he turned his eyes toward the strange but frightening canister. He felt his pulse quicken and he started baring his teeth as if he was a feral dog.
The round man seeing Robins discomfort with the object chuckled deviously and raised the canister up to the light for a better look. "Bet your wondering why you fear such a simple object," the man coughed. "Let's just say scarecrow has been getting some outside help on his experiments and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Your papa ruined my life, I'm just returning the favor. Well not exactly, but your close enough to him for it to count. One more spray this morning and tonight and I'll set you free," the man chuckled again. He started to come close to Robin, shaking the canister at the same time, the little ball inside making a clanging noise.
"Where are my shoes!" Robin barked out suddenly. He was scared and it was the only thought he could blurt out in time, in a desperate attempted to stop the round man from getting closer. The oddness of the question actually did make the man stop and stare at him with a look that was both amused and puzzled. Giving his head a shake he replied "I took them. Makes it harder to run away. Trick I learned back in the old country."
The question answered the man shook his head and continued on his task. Within two step the man was close to Robin, looked at him, held up the can and in one fluid motion depressed the trigger and sprayed the boy in the face full blast. Robin held his breath and struggle to get away. His body arched and he kicked out his legs. His wrist strained to free themselves of the handcuffs but only accomplished getting bruised. After a while he felt his legs burn for air. He had to a breath and when he couldn't hold it any longer he gasped and tasted that horrible strawberry flavor again. Still trying to struggle he felt his arms, followed by his legs, go limp. Getting one last look before he passed out he saw the door open and the man disappear, motioning Johnny to follow. The last thought before darkness closed in was nothing but a feeling of hatred at the round man and the metal canister that he carried.
Robin woke with the same nasty sock taste in his mouth as he had that morning earlier. This time when he opened his eyes it was dark. His head was pounding right behind his temple and he was thirsty. He licked his lips trying to get moisture into them, but his dry tongue did no good.
I want to go home. I would kill for a drink of water. And something to help take the fuzziness away. I'm scared. And tired. I feel like someone should be looking for me but I can't remember. I can't remember much. Just that I need to find water soon.
The thoughts that ran through Robins were of the same repetitive nature. Escape, find water, escape, find water. For several hours he lay there, alternating between staring at the ceiling and trying to break loose. When he was in the resting part of his cycle the door creaked. Robin turned his head. The door was open and the light casting through hid the person standing there in a dark shadow, letting Robin only see the outline them.
"So by now I'm guessing you can't remember much," the voice person belonging to the round man said. "I knew this stuff was good, but man, I could make a fortune on the black market."
The man walked into the room, dragging a wooden chair behind him. He set it near the bed where Robin lay and sat down heavily. Giving a grunt as his body fell a little too hard in the chair.
"Water," Robin croaked. "Water, please, water."
"You can have water when I set you free. Listen up brat, I'm gonna tell you this only once. Supposedly the last time I spray you, most of your cognitive memory will be made dormant and instinctual memory will be made dominant. So I need to influence that instinctual as much as I can now, helping set that into your memory for this last dose of Primal that I'm gonna give you. Then I'll set you free like the animal you pretend to be and the man who ruined my life can have his painfully turned upside down."
"What is going on, where am I?" Robin cried out. He was cold and hungry and tired. And very very scared.
"Shut up," the round man yelled at the same time hitting Robin across the face. "Every time you answer a question wrong, you get smacked. Every time you whine or ask for something you get hit, understand?"
Robin was confused and his head was still ringing from the blow, so he nodded in compliance, just wanting to appease the round man that he feared.
"Okay then, every time I ask you a question I want you to answer honestly, got it?"
Robin nodded again, still confused but his head finally stopping the annoying ringing.
"Right, question one, what do you do when you finally find water?"
Robin thought and through his fuzziness in his mind he realized he was still very thirsty. "I would go and drink it." The reply was well thought out, as if Robin ran it through his mind several times before finally answering.
"Good, and what if someone else has that water?"
"I would look at it, maybe ask?"
The blow came out of nowhere, and Robin felt a pain in his thigh where the man slapped him hard with his open palm.
"WRONG, you take it. You take it and drink it and guard it. GOT IT," he yelled loudly.
Robin cringed and nodded, his eyes watered with pain and confusion.
"Now again, what do you do if someone else has the water?"
Robin deadpanned the answer. "I would take it."
"Correct. Next question. You see food. What do you do when you see food sitting on the counter?" the man spoke in a deceptively smooth voice.
"Eat it," Robin said tiredly.
"And if someone else has the food? Or it's not yours and you want it?" the upward inflection showing a hint of warning.
Before Robin could think he responded automatically with "Ask…"
WHACK, Robin felt his shoulder wrench painfully. The round man sat back down and cracking his knuckles asked again.
This time Robin answered in the same dead pan voice, "Take it and guard it."
This went on for hours. Each question pertaining to everything from food and necessities, to everyday interactions. By the end Robin wasn't sure of anything but that his body ached from all the hits he received and that he wanted to just curl up and die so the pain in his body and head would stop.
The man, standing up and yawning said, "Okay, I think we are good. You seem to learn quickly when pain is involved. It only took up three hours to make you understand how to survive in the world. I heard that it normally takes five."
With that he crossed over to Robin and pulled out the canister he had hidden in his pocket. Robin looked at it but was too tired and scared to move. He closed his eyes as the spray hit him one last time. The taste of strawberries lingering on his tongue as he mercifully fell into darkness.