CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Drifting back out of my daydream, the tears were running towards the back of my head as I lay there on the cold hard surface. The makeshift chandelier hanging from the ceiling took no interest in my wakening, so I tried to get myself into a sitting position. I let out a groan as my body refused to move from the neck down. My encounter with the Jackhammer may have been pretty severe, and depending on my fall I may have incurred spinal injuries, which would explain my paralysis. Taking a deep breath and mustering all the strength that I could, I lifted my head to see the what I could of the rest of my body, it soon became apparent as to why I couldn’t sit up.
I was tied down.
“Shit.” I said quietly, wondering where the hell I was and finally making use of my fingers, but the hands were securely tied, perhaps even handcuffed to the table.
At least I thought it was a table, the cool metallic surface seemed to me as if it were raised off the ground. I wasn’t exactly sure as to what happened after the Jackhammer struck its blow, but Sapph…
Sapphire!
I remembered the faint images and sounds before I passed out, her screaming warnings to me, moving towards me and then everything went dark. I hoped that she was able to flee the robot before it had a chance to strike again.
“Sapphire…” I groaned, not expecting a reply, and wasn’t surprised when none came.
There was a mechanical noise somewhere near my right hand, and the sound of something being pressurised with gas.
“Ah!” there was a jolting pain in my right arm near the elbow, something jabbed into me, was it an injection of some kind? I didn’t have long to think about it before the world around me grew foggy again, a warm relaxing feeling swept over me like a warm tide, then I was asleep again.
When I awoke the room around me had taken on a different perspective, instead of facing the ceiling I was now stood against one of the walls covered in news papers. Still fastened tightly to the table, the tracks on the floor below told me that it was mechanically operated to move that way.
Purpose built torture table, nice.
There were two other tables similar to mine, empty and both lowered to their floor positions to my left and right. The room also had two doors, one on the left wall and the other was a double, directly opposite where I was. With the glare of the candlelight’s hanging from the ceiling, I couldn’t make out if there was light coming from the door on the opposite side of the room.
I decided to try and escape, at first I thought I was in some sort of friendly medical bay, but the fact that I was now practically standing, my opinions of optimism were beginning to dwindle.
Looking down at my feet, I saw that the contraption that had injected me was still attached to my arm, a small oily digital timer indicated one minute and forty seconds. It was probably timed to give me another shot of the sleep inducing drug. The feeling of alarm was beginning to give me a new lease of life, and I tried to pull my left hand free, thankfully it gave a little, but it had only succeeded in bending my wrist to an awkward and painful right angle in the restraints. After five more attempts, I had an arm loose, the digital time read one minute.
There were two reasons behind my needing to move quickly.
One of them being that when the needle gave out its dose, whoever it was that put me here would return to finish what they had started. That troubled me, because I was oblivious to what was happening around me still. I still couldn’t understand where I was or what I was brought here, it was insane, one minute I’m on the road to my folks house in Teulon, the next, I’m lying down here in the darkness, killing people for survival, fighting with metallic monsters and shooting alligators while falling into pools of blood. All in a days work!
The second reason that I was becoming more and more agitated with my predicament…
I could hear voices.
I looked down at the injection mechanism and the way that it was puncturing my skin, if I were to pull the needle out fully, blood would more than likely begin to pour down my arm without lasting pressure. I didn’t know how much time I had, but I needed to think of something.
Perhaps if I could get free of the restraints…
I tested the belt buckle that had my upper torso secured firmly to the table, I was just able to get my fingers to pull the belt through, after pulling it tighter to get some leeway on the buckle while breathing in. It dropped to the floor in a thunderous clatter, if someone really where closing in, they must have heard that! I had to move quickly, just as the machine beeped its injection signal, I noticed I still hadn’t removed the needle from my arm. Without ceremony I ripped it from my arm, almost choking on my vomit as the sensation ripped through my senses. The needle must have been three inches long at least, blood was indeed dripping from my arm, but not too freely. I tried keeping pressure on it while I managed to get the right hand free.
Moments later, I was completely free from the restraints!
Seconds later, I was on the floor in a heap…
All the strength was gone from my limbs as I flopped to the floor like a rag doll, I felt as if I had no muscle sinew at all, my foot slid forward onto the stone floor and skidded away from me, I hit my head off of one of the metal tracks the bed was attached to. Luckily for me there was no real damage, that I could tell just now at least and soon the strength filtered back into my body. I couldn’t find anything useful and I was dressed in a new t-shirt, with the same filthy combat trousers on. I could tell instantly that my socks had been changed, my feet had a new lease of life!
The voices that were approaching, did just that, from behind the double door now opposite me, I had no other route of escape save for the other door to my left, if that was unlocked of course.
I made for it, staggering along in some weird dance as my limbs slowly got over their atrophy. My right hand clasped the door handle firmly and turned it, it seemed well oiled.
The door was open.
Almost simultaneously, the noise of a key being used on the double door echoed in the distance. I gently closed the door, deciding not to leave it ajar, despite the people knowing that would be my only avenue of escape. It was right then that I was faced with the problem, with my eyes accustomed to the light in the operating/torture room, the light in here was non existent.
Pitch black.
I heard two voices on the other side of the door.
“What do you think about it?” the voice sounded female, I couldn’t quite make out the origin.
“I don’t think down here, we just-“ The male voice was cut short, obviously realising that I was no longer tied down. A few moments silence passed before I felt something brush my arm, stupidly looking in the direction of the sensation, the strong hand clamped over my mouth and pulled me back.
“Don’t say a fucking word, or I’ll break your neck!” The voice sounded serious, so I let my body go limp. I heard the voices continue in the other room, growing louder and more panicked.
“How the fuck could this happen??!? Bennedict is going to kill us!!!” the female voice screeched, sounded British.
“Sound the alarm, I’ll inform Bennedict that the three of them have escaped…”
Three of them?!
