Author's note: I lost an amazing friend to cancer yesterday, because of this, I will be taking a break from this story. I am having difficultly concentrating on the dark nature of it. I'll be back, just give me a week or so. Thank you for understanding.
Lucas lazily tossed the baseball in the air as he laid on the bunk. Yawning, he flicked it across the room into a trash can. "Two points!" His own loud voice startled him, and he realized he hadn't heard it above a mutter in a few days.
"Well... That seems like it should be more depressing." He grumbled, pulling himself upright into a seated position. For what was probably the hundredth time, Lucas looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was. And for the equal number of times, he shrugged the thought away.
He was reasonably sure he wasn't dead, and this didn't seem like any kind of afterlife he had ever heard of. Lucas didn't fully believe in heaven or hell anyhow. Oddly enough, seeing the evil people did, made him believe humans did bad things on their own rather than a pantheon of deities or spirits causing them.
At any rate, he didn't think he had done anything bad enough to end up in hell, and he saw no angels or harps here. Instead, he had a computer, a few years old to be sure, but a system none the less. The refrigerator that seemed to refill itself as he slept gave him pause, as did the very comfortable and soft featherbed that covered his bunk. But, a space heater and heavy locked metal door didn't coincide with anyone's vision of the area beyond pearly gates. Neither did the small security camera that followed him around the room constantly.
The simple fact that he was sleeping eight to nine hours a night just confused him. Other than a few times he had been ill, Lucas couldn't remember the last time he did that. He supposed it must have been when he was a young child, but it very well may have never happened. Since he arrived here, he was not only sleeping the night through, but sleeping deeply as well.
The thing that bothered him the most, was the strange lack of socks and shoes. He searched the entire room, but found nothing. He wasn't planning to run on any rocks or snow, but the cement floor was cold on his feet when he was farther away from the space heater.
He sighed and wondered if he should take a shower. It wasn't like he had done anything to work up a sweat anyhow. Deciding to play on the computer, he stood and stretched. Humming happily to himself, he perched in front of it. He hugged his knees to keep his bare feet warm, he waited for it to come to life. Lucas had reprogrammed one if the old games on it the day before and he had yet to beat it. The collection on the old machine was odd to him, but he didn't bother worrying too much about it. He didn't seem to worry about much the last few days.
He remembered little of how he came to be there. He was in his father's new vacation house waiting on the pizza he ordered and his father to come back from running errands. The doorbell rang, and then he was in the bunk bolted to the wall. There was nothing at all between the two events. At first he was frightened, but the feeling quickly left. Judging by the clock on the computer, he had been there for six and a half days. He spent his waking hours playing games and eating, not a wholly bad way to spend the day.
The mouse hovered over the different games for a moment before Lucas clicked one he had fixed. Originally, he beat the strategy game in about an hour. Annoyed at how the actions of the NPC's behaved, he reworked them twice. Now they were more what he thought people would act like in the dire situation, and he basically had two extra games. One showed the results of compassionate aid workers trying to save victims of a terrible infection, while the other was the more realistic version of closing boarders out of fear.
Foreboding music started to play, and the screen filled with a question placed over a map of the world. "How would you like to start the annihilation of the human race?"
Kristin steeled herself, and turned fully away from the tank. "I'd like to speak to Nathan alone. Could you take him out, please?"
Zellar only smiled at her request, and pulled a small radio from his pocket. "The mask has that capability. There is no need to remove him."
With a shaking hand, Kristin reached for the device. "That will do, may we have some privacy please?"
"Of course my dear, but don't take long, there is much work to be done." Zellar walked to the door, motioning Wendell as he left.
After assuring they were gone, Kristin took a deep breath and faced the tank. She turned on the radio, and laid a hand on the thick plastic. Nathan mirrored the action, and for a moment, they were connected. He looked at their hands, then brought his eyes up to her's while shaking his head.
"I know," she said quietly, "I can't let him do this. I'll try to buy us some time, to figure something out, but in the end..."
"I'm not afraid to die," Nathan's voice echoed in the mask. "I'm not looking forward to it, but I can't demand my life, not at this price." He glanced down, unable to meet her tear filled eyes. His hand drifted to end of its chain, floating helplessly.
Kristin nodded, "Nathan, you should know if I can't talk to you again, he killed Lucas."
His response was what she expected, he jerked his head up with an audible gasp. "Of course, he knew I would want to leave the UEO if something happened to him. I told Bill as much."
"So they won't be looking for us." Kristin said mostly to herself.
"No, I'm sorry. It's all part of his damn game."
She tightened her grip on the radio, pretending to be defeated by Zellar wouldn't be a difficult task, but it would be a dangerous one. "I'll see what kind of hell I can raise before he stops me." Kristin growled, her eyes blazing with sudden defiance and anger. "We won't go down without a fight."
"That's my girl." Nathan whispered in reply, smiling for the first time since he received the horrible call that started the mess.
Kristin looked at him one last time and brought the radio to her mouth. "I love you Nathan Bridger."
He couldn't reply, but he didn't have to. She could read it in his expression and the tears that streamed down his face and fogging his mask. Laying the radio on the floor, leaning against the tank, she walked back to the door and knocked on it.
It opened quickly and Kristin found herself looking deep into Zellar's eyes. "I'm ready, take me to your lab." She nearly laughed at the ridiculous sounding line, but stopped when she saw his cold smile.
"I knew you would see it my way. You have another injection to receive, then I have a reward for you."
Kristin obediently offered her arm. Now that she knew about the medication, she didn't fear it. She was able to distinguish between the false feeling of security and peace, and what was actually occurring inside of her. "A reward?" She asked stiffly, "I'd just like to get to work if it's all the same to you, Zellar."
"Please, dear, call me Rubin." He carefully administered the shot, and patted the area to signify the completion. "And you can start tomorrow, I believe you need some rest. You really deserve this, trust me. It ought to help with your work."
Kristin's skin crawled at the touch, but she forced herself to nod, and follow him down the hall. He stopped in front of the door that had been loudly playing music before. Now she heard only muted sounds. "Could you remind me, what happens to a person who has been heavily medicated for depression and anxiety, is suddenly taken off of them?"
"Well," she wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "It depends on how long they've been on them and which ones. But the worst case scenario would be severe panic attacks, night terrors, aggression, and depression until things even themselves out. I've read they can be almost incapacitating. And that it can even take weeks for some people."
Zellar nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, quite right, Doctor. And the psychical effects?"
"Distorted vision and hallucinations are common. As is dizziness, sweating, and body aches, somewhat like the flu. And a painful sensation of feeling electric shocks going through the patient's skull. It can last longer than the other symptoms and can make life very difficult for a long while." Kristin eyed him critically. "Why does it matter? I've agreed to help you, if you dosed Nathan too, there is no reason to force him through that."
"No, no, I haven't given him anything. I just want you to remember how rough it can be to stop taking something like that cold turkey." He flashed another smile and unlocked to door in front of them. "Please, why don't you come in?"
Kristin, still baffled by the questions and strange warning, entered the room. When she saw the blonde person facing away and curled up in a chair in front of a computer, she did a double take. "Who is that?"
At the sound of her voice, Lucas leapt up from his seat and grinned wildly. "Doc! It's great to see you, thanks for visiting. I've been lonely all by myself."
Even in her shocked state, Kristin could easily recognize the signs of someone who was on a controlled substance. "Withdrawal is such a difficult and painful thing for a young person to deal with, don't you think?" Zellar murmured before exiting and closing the door behind him.