Chapter 12

John lay on the cot in his room, staring at the ceiling. He'd been tracking how long he'd been in isolation by counting the meals he'd been given, so far he'd had 27 of the meals that were designed to last him the day. John hoped someone would open the door soon, he felt like he'd been locked up forever.

Even though he knew Ultra was manipulating him, the isolation worked the trick as it usually did. It started after a day or two with him just feeling low, he tried to keep busy to put off the inevitable. But the inevitable happened, after a week and a half, he broke. Shouting and banging his fists against the door, he started to trash his room, kicking at the wardrobe trying to dent it, to cause as much damage as possible. After his half hour of panic was over, he sunk down, sitting with his back against the wall, knees pulled loosely to his chest, breathing heavily. He pulled his hands through his hair, trying to focus, trying to get control.

After that day, his energy levels depleted dramatically. He spent most of the time, lying on his bed staring blankly at the ceiling. He'd barely ate anymore, he struggled to find the motivation to do it. In the past two days, it had gotten worse, he couldn't bring himself to eat and he couldn't bring himself to care. He stared straight ahead at the ceiling, oblivious the outside world.

So when Jedikiah walked in that afternoon, John didn't notice. His eyes remained focus on the same spot on the ceiling, never straying, never blinking.

"Good afternoon, John." He said as he entered, grimacing as he smelt the room. "Leave the door open, we need some air in here." He spoke back to the guard. John was still oblivious to Jedikiah's presence.

He tapped John on the shoulder and started to move the boy into sitting position before John finally noticed him, recognition flashing in his eyes.

"Jed, what are you doing here?" His voice coarse and filled with uncertainty.

"Hey, kiddo. You're 4 weeks are up." He said with a tight smile.

"Oh" John replied, confusion evident in his voice, it was clear to Jedikiah that John wasn't with it. He had shut himself off from the world and was temporarily struggling to get to grips with reality, which he supposed was to be expected considering Johns current situation.

"Why don't you eat something? And I'll fill you in on what's been happening in the real world, while you've been in here." Jedikiah kept the subject matter light, only talking about sports and newly released movies that he thought John might like. John listened along contentedly, not quite grasping what Jedikiah was talking about, but enjoying the sound of hearing someone else's voice. After about an hour of conversation, Jedikiah stood up, turning to leave. It was about time he got back to work.

"Wait, where are you going?" This was the most John had said since Jedikiah had entered the room.

"I'm just going back to work, John." He smiled, the neediness in John's voice reminded Jedikiah of when he was a kid, when John would have done anything to make him proud. Jedikiah really missed the kid sometimes.

"But, will you come back?"

"Yes, John, I'll be back tomorrow. But do me a favour, and clean yourself up before I come back. You smell disgusting." He gave John one last smile, before exiting the room and reporting to the founder.

TTP

Cara leaned back against the wall of her cell, her knees pulled tight to her chest, her mind reeling. She had to find a way to tell John, he had to know who his father was and what he had done to him. The more she thought this, the more impossible it seemed to find a way to tell him.

She had been locked up here for nearly a month and had been looking for chances to escape since she arrived. She still hadn't found one, security was very tight here and she didn't know her way around. It would be impossible to find a way to tell John, without the founder or Jedikiah being present.

The more Cara thought about telling John in front of the founder, the more it seemed like a good idea, she had seen the power he had access to when he was angry. It might even help them escape if he used it on the founder.

TTP

"The punishment's working. John was very withdrawn toady. He seems to be in an agentic state, we could tell him anything at the moment and he would blindly accept it." Jedikiah stood opposite the founder's desk, his hands casually placed behind his back.

"Do you think he'll join Ultra?" The founder asked impatiently, he didn't look at Jedikiah as he addressed him, in fact he'd barely looked up from his computer since the man entered the room.

"It's hard to say, as long as I'm his only contact for the next week or so, I'd say he'd definitely feel more connected to me. I'd have more influence over him, more control." The founder smiled, he was pleased with this response.

"I've reviewed the footage from you in his cell, he really didn't want you to leave." He grinned. "Do you think he could be developing symptoms of Stockholm Syndrome?"

Jedikiah paused, for a moment. "It's quite possible, however we should take into account that John has been in isolation for weeks, it is equally possible that just didn't want to be left on his own."

"Ok, pay him a visit every day for the next week. Spend an hour with him at first, then increase the time. Make sure you are his only contact during that time. I don't want to risk him forming a good rapport with anyone else. You'll be his sole contact, that way he will be more accepting of you."

Thank you for reading, I will try and update more regularly but you'll have to wait a week or two as I have loads of deadlines in the next few weeks. Please review, I love to hear feedback, both positive and negative, and reviews really motivate me to write.