When the metal door opened seven days later, the three teens turned, expecting to see another drop off. Which was why they were surprised when the room was flooded with at least twenty HAZMAT dudes rushing over towards them and pushing Friend and Light to the floor, holding them down as the rest dragged a fighting Sparky from the room. The HAZMAT dudes holding down Friend and Light jumped up and ran from the room, slamming it shut behind them, and the two teens sat up and looked at each other.
"What was that!?" Light demanded, looking white.
Friend could only shrug. "I... That's never happened before, man," He exclaimed.
"I wonder what changed," Light said shakily, standing and walking over to the door, where he examined it thoroughly. "What do you think they're gonna do to him?"
Friend ran his hand over his mouth. "I'm trying not to," he said.
Light glanced at him and nodded. "I wish I could do that," he said. "The probability statistics are already piling in. They could be doing anything."
"Shut up, Light," Friend said. "Not helping."
"Sorry," Light said, walking over to his bed. Laying down, he closed his eyes and frowned.
Friend tried to ignore him, knowing by now what that meant. Light was reviewing the data.
Turning away, Friend went and sat on the edge of his own bed, trying to keep calm and not worry. But worry was taking over anyway. Even without Light's "data," his own imagination supplied him with ideas, ideas mainly consisting of being trapped in a small box, pumped with drugs and blood...
He shook his head. He had to stop. He couldn't keep thinking like this. He would just have to wait, and try to keep his cool until Sparky was brought back.
When Sparky still hadn't been returned after dinner that evening, Friend was forced to accept that he would have to go a night without knowing what had happened. The day had passed quietly, Light spending most of the time in silence, which seemed, in hindsight, rather incredible, as Light had spent much of his week here talking.
Now, as Light sat on the floor and leaned against the wall under his box, he frowned. "I think I've hacked it," he said.
"Hacked what?" Friend asked absently.
"The passcode," Light said. "I've been running algorithms all day. I think I've figured out how to get in now. At least, I can access the lowest clearance level."
Friend was now successfully interested. "Where are we?" He asked. "How do we get out? Who's holding us?"
"Hold your horses, I just got in," Light said. "Besides, I was looking for security footage, first. I'm trying to find Sparky."
Friend nodded. "Good idea," he said.
Light bit his lip, eyes still closed, brow still furrowed. After about ten minutes, he let out a breath of relief. "Found him," he said. "He's alive."
"What are they doing?" Friend asked.
Light shrugged. "Right now?" he asked. "The HAZMAT dudes are staring at him and taking notes. He's unconscious, but he doesn't seem to be injured. Man, this is trippy. It's like I'm seeing the room through the camera. It's like I AM the camera."
"Focus," Friend said. "What kind of notes are they taking?"
"I can't see that far, I don't have zoom," Light said. "They're on computer pads, but I can't access the information. Firewalls."
"Okay," Friend said. "Are there any other security cameras around that you can access? We need to get a general idea of where we are."
"Hold on, let me check," Light said. "Um... I seem to be on a research floor... The camera me, not, you know, us... Okay, there's another camera here... hallways... hallways... Oh..."
"What?" Friend asked.
"Laboratory," Light said. "They're testing some kinda weapon. I wanna see how it plays out..."
Friend sighed.
"...Haha." Light laughed at whatever outcome had occurred. "Okay, moving on. More hallways... More labs... Oh, boy, spitfire."
"What?" Friend asked in confusion.
"They're testing something," Light said. "Whatever it is, it's on fire, and boy is it mad... Just snapped the neck of the guard... Tried for the door just to be pushed back, there's more guards. They've brought a fire extinguisher... Holy!"
"What? What is it?" Friend asked.
"It's... it's a girl!" Light said. "She's... she's a girl! She was on fire, and she's still going! She totally killed that guard! Oh, man... They just took her out... tranq gun, looks like."
Light opened his eyes, looking a little foggy, his eyes a bit duller. "Whoa..." he said. "What a head rush... I feel kinda... depleted."
"You okay?" Friend asked.
"Yeah, I should be fine," Light said. "I just need to rest, probably. Maybe my battery's dead." He quirked his mouth as if it had been a joke. His eyes got bright again. "Hey!" he said, sitting up. "Maybe that's what that light is, in my chest! Maybe it's a battery."
"To power the computer in your head," Friend finished. "Dude, I don't know what they did to you, but that's pretty freaky."
"Yeah, whatever, shark-eyes," Light said, but with a small smile showing he wasn't offended. "I'm gonna grab a nap before bed. Don't sit up all night worrying about Sparky. It looked to me more like observation than any more experimentation or testing. He should be fine."
Friend was still worried, but he nodded his thanks as Light stood up and walked over to his bed. Friend went back to his own bed and stared up at the imperceptible and yet, perceptible shapes in the ceiling. He felt an anger in him that he didn't quite understand, and not just at Sparky's removal. He felt... he felt constricted somehow, and he knew that whatever had done this, to him, to Sparky, to Light, even to the girl Light had seen earlier. Whatever was being done to them was wrong, somehow, and Friend felt hopeless to help himself and his two new friends. All he could do was wait. What he was waiting for, he didn't know.
The nightmares were especially bad that night. Friend dreamed that he was back in the box, waking up as all the tubes and wires were being pulled out, leaving him crying out in pain that didn't last long, but hurt when it lasted. The lid of the box was opened and he desperately tried to climb his way out. He was surrounded by HAZMAT people, who grabbed him and dragged him to another room, a white room, throwing him inside and locking the door. He beat the door, desperately trying to get out, while the room got whiter and whiter and he got hotter and hotter. He was burning, he was dying, his blood was on fire. Through the thick glass in the door he saw the faceless mask of a HAZMAT dude, watching impassively as he burned.
Friend sat up with a yell, seeing Light standing next to him. "Hey," Light said. "It's alright. You're back."
Friend gasped and panted. "That was a bad one," he rasped.
Light nodded. "I could tell," he said. "You were screaming."
"Sorry," Friend mumbled. "I didn't mean to wake you."
"Hey, no problem," Light said. "I wanted to wake up anyway. You pulled me outta one of my own, so thanks."
Friend looked at him. "Sparky back yet?" He asked.
"Nope," Light said. "But I just checked up on him like, an hour ago. He's fine."
Friend nodded. "Thanks," he said.
"No prob. Hey, I saw a few other interesting things while I was snooping around. Wanna hear some?"
"Sure," Friend said. Anything to distract him from his nightmare.
"Well, I still couldn't find a location," Light said. "But I ran into a word over and over again, it seems to be the name of the organization doing this to us."
"Lay it on me," Friend said.
"Hydra," Light stated. "I still don't know who they are, what they're about, or why on earth they're experimenting on us, but hey, at least we know what name to curse now."
"Hydra," Friend repeated. "Got it. Learn anything else?"
"Nope," Light said. "Pretty slow going, trying to hack these files. I gotta be careful, if I get caught, who knows what'll happen."
"Ooh, yeah," Friend agreed. "Don't get caught."
"So yeah, I'm trying to work slowly, I'm not taking any shortcuts," Light said. "What was your dream about?"
"Uh," Friend said. "...I was out of the box, this time."
"Good, we're making progress then," Light said.
"Bad progress," Friend "They locked me in a white room and everything got too bright, and I felt like I was burning."
Light froze. "Huh..." He said.
Friend stared. "You've had that dream too?" He demanded.
"Yeah," Light said simply. "White room, bright light, fire. Got the basics of a bad time right there. I'm surprised not all nightmares are constructed like that one. We should go into business. Nightmares Incorporated. Although, on second thought, selling bad dreams isn't exactly in high demand. I don't know, I suppose there are those freaks out there who would buy them. The kinds of people who read books about pain and that kinda thing. We'd have to be careful, though, that kinda business would definitely attract the psychos."
"You're really derailing," Friend told him.
"Sorry," Light said. "I guess I get that way when I'm like, stressed."
"Yeah..." Friend nodded. "Well, we should probably go back to bed. Don't want to miss breakfast."
"True dat," Light said, turning and walking back over to his bed. Turning over, Friend thought over his dream, and the fact that Light had had the same dream. Did this mean they both had gone through the white room?
Maybe they'd lost their memories there.
Friend frowned, he wasn't sure where that thought had come from. But it made sense. Like, perfectly. They must've had their memories wiped. In fact, it was the only thing about their life that made any sense. They were prisoners, they were experiments, and they'd had their memories wiped.
Sparky was returned to them the next day, a few hours after lunch. The door had creaked open, and Friend and Light had both stood, raising their hands when weapons were pointed at them, neither of them making a move.
Two HAZMAT dudes came in, dragging Sparky in and dropping him on the floor, and then, two more HAZMAT dudes came in, dragging another unconscious teenager in and dropping him on the floor next to Sparky.
As soon as the door shut, Friend and Light rushed over. "I'll check Sparky," Friend said. "You get the new guy to one of the free beds."
Light nodded and moved toward the new guy, who was around the same size as Light, maybe a little smaller. His black hair went down to his shoulders, and he also was wearing gray clothes.
"Ooh," Light hissed as he picked the kid up. "This dude is freezing!"
Friend looked up from where he had managed to turn Sparky over so he was at least lying on his back. "He's cold?" He asked. "That can't be good."
"Dude, he's super thin, too," Light noted. "How long before dinner?"
"Three hours, twenty-three minutes," Friend supplied.
Sparky stirred then, at the same time the new kid moaned.
"They're waking up," Light noted needlessly.
Sparky, much like he had that first day, sat up and grabbed at Friend's wrist, while from behind him, Friend heard Light let out a strangled yell. "Where am I?" The new kid's voice rasped out, in the same accent as Sparky's. "Why have you taken me here?"
"It's me," Friend told Sparky quietly, holding his wrist very still and looking Sparky in the eye.
Sparky gasped and immediately released Friend, who turned around to see what was up with Light and the new kid.
"I'm on your side," Light was saying chokingly. And he was choking because the new guy, as small as he was, seemed to be exceptionally strong, and was holding Light by the throat, in the air.
He looked confused at Light's words, but didn't let up.
Friend stood quickly and went to stand behind Light. "It's true," he said. "We all were left here like you, we have a common enemy."
Sparky also stood. "Please," he said. "Release our comrade."
The new guy seemed to weigh his options, and then, dropped Light and turned away, facing the wall.
Light coughed hoarsely. "Thanks," he said.
"You don't have to thank us," Sparky said. "We are comrades!"
"I wasn't thanking you," Light noted. "I was thanking the new guy for chilling out. I mean, like, how was he supposed to know who we are? But it's great to have you back anyway, Sparky."
"...Yeah," Friend noted, turning to Sparky. "What happened? Do you remember?"
Sparky frowned, trying to remember. "After they took me from the room," he said. "They brought me to a different room and gave me something, knocking me out. I then awoke here."
Friend sighed. "Well, at least you're alive," he said.
"Excuse me," The new guy said, staring at them all as if they were talking nonsense. "What is going on!?"
"Oh," Friend said. "Well, you want the short version or the long version?"
The new guy sat back down on the edge of his bed and waved his hand in indication for Friend to get started.
"Well," Friend said. "We all, apparently, have been imprisoned by an organization known as Hydra, and they've been experimenting on us, resulting in us all getting some... pretty unusual abilities, and then, they wipe our memories and dump us here. You're the fourth prisoner here. I was the first, and for clarity, I've been assigned the name Friend."
"Friend?" The newcomer asked, raising his eyebrows. "And I'm expected to call you that?"
"That's what I said," Light spoke up. "But I got used to it. I'm Light, by the way. I was the third."
"And I'm Sparky!" Sparky exclaimed.
The newcomer looked at Sparky with an amused half-smile before turning to Light. "I assume you were named after your eyes?" He asked.
"Yeah, pretty much," Light said. "And I know they're weird. Wait till you hear the rest of it, though. We're all pretty much a freak show."
The newcomer nodded before turning to Sparky. "And what of you?" He asked. "Why were you named Sparky?"
"Because when he's excited, he sparks," Friend said. "He was charged with some really weird lightning sometime during his experimentation, and now he gathers electrical charges."
"I see," said the newcomer, turning to Friend. "And what of you? Why was your name chosen?"
"Because Sparky doesn't know how to pick a good name," Light spoke up. "And they chose Friend's before I got here."
"Oh, so it was your choice," The newcomer said, again turning an amused half-smile to Sparky. "You do seem to be the type."
"The type of what?" Sparky asked.
"The type to be silly and sentimental," the newcomer clarified.
"Yeah, okay, so, some ground rules," Light started. "One: Your bed is your stuff, and my bed is my stuff. No touching my stuff."
The newcomer looked around the room. "Possessions are still held in value in this place?" He asked.
"Hey, man, stuff is stuff," Light said. "The less you have, the more you care for it. My blanket, my pillow, my food bowl. I don't want your germs."
"On that note," Friend said. "See those boxes on the wall over there?"
"Yes," the newcomer said, in a tone that meant 'obviously.'
"Well, those boxes open three times a day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner," Friend continued. "They stay open for half an hour, and it's a big mess if you forget to put your bowl back. That's the second ground rule, put your bowl back. And, um... well, really that's it as far as rules go. There's not much here, so-"
Light suddenly jumped up. "Dude," he said, eyes wide. "You're turning blue!"
Everyone turned to the newcomer, who was indeed beginning to turn blue. "Am I?" He asked in surprise.
"Yeah, you are," Light said. "And, whoa. Your eyes just turned orange. How are you doing that?"
"I don't know," the newcomer said. "I don't feel any different... Although, it does feel colder in here..."
Reaching out, Friend touched his hand, now blue. HIssing, he pulled it back. "Your hand is like ice!" He exclaimed, examining his finger. It had been so cold it burned him.
"Man, talk about chilling out," Light said. "Are you like, dying or something? Is the circulation cut off somehow? Can you breathe? Are you going numb?"
"Light, calm down," Friend said.
"I'm not numb," the newcomer said. "And I can breathe just fine. I don't feel like I'm dying..." They could see the breath as he talked, like when a person talks during the winter time.
"Must be part of whatever they did to you," Friend decided. "Kinda like my sight, Sparky's sparks, and Light's computer."
"Computer?" The newcomer asked.
"Yeah, I got one in my head," Light said. "I think it runs on my battery."
The newcomer looked confused, but shook his head slightly, looking down at his blue hands. "So," he said. "What do you plan on calling me?"
Friend, Light and Sparky looked at each other.
"I hadn't thought about it," Friend said. "What would you like to be called?"
The newcomer shrugged. "It matters little," he said. "As long as it is not sentimental or likened to that of a canine."
Light laughed. "Alright, you're cool," he said.
"In more ways than one," Friend noted. "Well, Light and Sparky both relate to their abilities somehow. Maybe we could do something about the cold?"
"What, you mean like Jack Frost?" Light said. "No way. That's stupid."
"I agree," Sparky said. "How about... Frost Giant?"
Friend and Light looked at him. "Sparky, stop suggesting things," Light said. "That doesn't even make any sense, he's not a giant. Seriously."
"How about we just call him Frost?" Friend suggested.
Everyone thought on this.
"It's not bad," Light finally said. "But I don't know, it doesn't feel right."
"Well," the newcomer said. "How about Chill?"
"Perfect!" Light said, smiling at the newcomer. "How'd you think that up?"
"It was simple," the newcomer said. "Earlier, you mentioned my "chilling out" twice, and you called me cool. It follows that I would be called Chill, and it does send a tingle down your spine, does it not?"
"Yeah, dude, you're so Chill," Light said. "It fits you. You seem the mysterious, dark icy type. Like you Shoot to Chill."
"I think Frost would have suited better," Sparky said. "But, if Chill is more to your tastes, that is up to you." He smiled. "After all, you're the one who has to live with it. It should be something you prefer."
"Thank you," Chill said, a slight sarcastic tone to his voice. "You're too kind."
Sparky smiled wider while Friend and Light bit back their laughs. Chill had somehow fit right in, despite the general air he gave off of being edgy and unapproachable. It was like he fit together with them. Like a team.
