The Game Ch. 04

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Daniel begins to dream. Who the hell is Adam?
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Part 4 of the 4 part series

Updated 10/22/2022
Created 07/05/2013
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Nephylim
Nephylim
432 Followers

Simon was getting impatient. It was ridiculous how easily the other side was taking out members of his team. There were now seven in all. Of course Adam was the most significant but the others were all key players. He was beginning to see a pattern in the abductions and it bothered him a lot. They were taking out all the psi's, everyone who could pick up clues and communicate with each other and..... and Adam. Even though he was shut down and had been since he was taken there was always a chance he would find a way to communicate at some point before the end. But not if there was no one to communicate with.

He was growing concerned for Annie. She was bound to be on the list. She was the most powerful psi they had. And she was keeping constantly open. One of the reasons they had lost so many people was because they had to concentrate most of their protection on her. She said that it was because the clues were coming thick and fast, from every direction, but everyone knew that it was because she was hoping that a call would come from Adam and she did not want to have even the slightest chance of missing it.

Not for the first time he wondered what there was between Annie and Adam. They were more than friends, that much was obvious, but how much more? A relationship between them would only complicate matters, although it was just remotely possible that it would complicate them more for the other team. He sighed, a long drawn out hiss and raised his hand to knock the door.

Annie looked drained. Keeping open, no matter how well supported and protected is a dangerous task for any psi and eventually drains them. It had been two weeks since Adam disappeared and generally three was the outside limit for anyone, no matter how strong, no matter how experienced and Annie was neither.

"You look tired. Why don't you take a beak? Just one night? Get some proper sleep."

"No, that's okay. It's a busy time right now."

"Are you sure? You are not the only one who can pick up you know."

"I know but...."

"You are not even the only one who can pick up from Adam."

"You still don't understand do you? You only care about the game, winning at all costs. You don't care about us, any of us, only in so far as we can help you win. In particular you don't care about Adam. You care about the fact that he is the end player and you can't win without him, you care about the fact that you need him, you care about the fact that you need for the other team not to have him... but you don't care about him.

"You don't care that three weeks ago he was standing on the brink of an amazing career, an amazing life, that he was an amazing person with no idea what was around the corner, no idea that the game even existed. You don't care that he got dragged into the game without looking for it or wanting it. You don't care that he is the single gentlest soul I have ever met. You don't care that he is so beautiful on the inside that just looking into his eyes makes you want to cry. You don't care that for over a week he has been closed down and that he would never, ever do that willingly. You don't care that the only way to forcibly shut down a psi for this long is to break down their mind or body.

"You just don't care Simon."

"You're wrong. I do care. But I can't let that get in the way of playing the game to its fullest extent. Because whatever is happening to Adam, and to the others, if we let the fact they have been taken turn us off our game then the other team will already have won and it will all have been in vain.

"It is my responsibility to lead this team to a win. You have no idea how much is at stake, how much has been invested by whom and for how long. This is more than just a game, much, much more. One way or another Adam is going to have a huge part to play, whether he wants it or not, whether he is up to it or not. He is the end player and he is the only one who can end the game, who can open the gate and release the power for one team or the other.

"Neither team can win without him and we therefore have to assume that the other side will not harm him."

"You have said yourself that all that is needed is for him to be able to physically act. There is nothing stopping them destroying his mind."

"No, there isn't, except for one thing.... they may very well need it. No one knows that what Adam has to do is necessarily physical. Oh, we know that he needs to be physically strong enough but not that it is a physical thing. Sometimes it has been, sometimes not, sometimes it has been a psi thing, and there is no way of knowing until we get to the end."

"Oh. I didn't know."

"Well now you do. Does it make you feel any better?"

"No, not really."

"Then keep searching, just don't wear yourself out too much to be able to pick up the clues. You have to know that the best way you can help him is by helping us win the game."

"Do I?"

"Yes Annie, you do and our psi receivers are being shut down at an alarming rate. It might all depend on you. You are our best receiver, you pick up clues that no one else does. We need you and with the end game racing towards us at any minute we need you in top form. I want you to stop receiving for a while."

"No."

"Annie, you will burn out."

"No, I won't. And there is no point trying to persuade me because you can't."

"If I could force you to I would."

"I know, but you can't."

"No, I can't." He sighed. "What the hell is it about this guy that makes people so crazy?"

"Adam? Who else...?"

"Everybody else. He was not exactly low profile so it was practically impossible to conceal his disappearance. Thankfully that was down to the other team, but there were so many people involved they left a trail.

"Can you imagine how much work was involved in not only covering his disappearance but persuading so many people to forget he ever existed? Actually it was impossible. I thought that it would make it easier to follow their tracks but, quite the opposite it has just concealed them under a huge backlash that has rebounded on us. People just won't let him go."

"I am not surprised about that. People know him. Everyone he touches knows how sweet he is, they know that he wouldn't do anything so far out of character as let people down, walk away from his friends, disappear voluntarily. So of course they are going to be difficult to convince, and of course they are going to be asking questions of anyone they think may have answers. It is a shame, because if it was all focussed on the other team I think they would find that they have bitten off more than they can chew. In taking Adam away from the people who love him they have made an awful lot of enemies and if he can break away from them before the end they will realise what a mistake that was."

"If.... If he can break away then we are secure. But if he can't then he is obliged to open the gate for whichever team presents him to it."

"Adam won't help the other team win."

"He won't have a choice. No one can go against the rules of the game. Let' face it there are not too many."

"Then it is all the more important that we find him and get him back."

"Indeed."

I am glad that Lily is here this afternoon. I think I might have killed Ben if it had been Alex. I mean, Alex is alright but he is..... patronising. Not aggressive like Ben who treats me like a constant annoyance, but sickly sweet and cloying. Lily soothes me.

The professor has had to postpone and he is not coming until this afternoon and so I am making the most of the sunshine, sitting outside in the garden. It is a very nice garden. There are long lawns bordered by lavender bushes and the scent drugs my senses more than the chemicals in my blood.

I am aware of someone moving around, vaguely hear the sound of a chair being scraped across the grass and someone else sitting down. I hear them sigh with pleasure. Lily.

Drifting on the verge of sleep, drowsed and relaxed by the scent of the sweet herbs I feel my mind spin free and I am falling. "Hey you.... superstar....over here." The voice comes from the past, deep in the past. I struggle to surface, to wake but the voice bubbles on, cheerful, familiar, drawing me deeper. "I thought you were getting too important to speak to the likes of me. Fame gone to your head yet?" It makes me feel warm, the gentle mocking, so unlike the usual fawning. "Get your cute ass out the door I have a fast car idling and a beer chilling in back. You should be aware that I fully intend to kidnap you so you had better come quietly."

The sun was warm then too. It was the same summer as the picnic by the river but this time we drove up into the mountains. There is no one around. No one to demand, to expect, to control. Annie never demands anything of me, nothing at all, not even friendship, although that is one thing I have no problem in freely giving to her.

Annie is my best friend in the whole wide world. I trust her with my life, with my soul. She is beautiful and funny and smart and irreverent... sometimes I think that she doesn't care about anything... no, that's not true... I know she cares about me. The thought makes me smile. Annie... beautiful, wonderful, special Annie..... How was I supposed to know that being her friend was going to wind up being so dangerous for me? Dangerous? Why dangerous?

I am beginning to surface. The pleasant flow of memory has become a string of questions that I am struggling to answer and as I struggle the pain begins and becomes more intense by the minute.

"Annie... Annie.... why?"

"Annie? Who's Annie, Daniel?"

"Annie." I am only half awake but I open my eyes and see a face, blonde hair framing delicate porcelain doll features. "Annie?"

"Who is Annie, Daniel? Can you remember? Can you remember Annie?"

"Yes. Annie is.... Annie is... my friend. She is not in the industry... she saves me.... all the time, saves me. She is.... she is.... searching... she is.... Adam. Adam...."

"Who is Adam? Is he another friend? Do you remember him? Do you remember Adam?"

"I.... no I.... I.... We went.... we went to the mountains... Annie drove us. There was cold beer and we sang all the way."

"Do you like to sing?"

I can't help but laugh at that and it suddenly occurs to me that maybe I should stop speaking now. The pain is like a metal band tightening around my temples and I am feeling nauseous and shaky. I am struggling to get away from the memories now. I don't want to remember, not here, not like this... not when I have no control over speaking of them.

I blink my eyes and the face comes into sharper focus. Lily doesn't look like Annie at all. The thought is the last straw. Pain lances through my head and I can't stop the sickness sweeping over me. I try to get up, I don't know where I am thinking to go, there was never any question of me making it as far as the bathroom, but I can't stand and I fall forwards onto my hands and knees and vomit violently into the grass.

"I.... I'm sorry.... so sorry."

"Daniel, don't worry about it. It's fine. Just relax, you'll be alright. Breathe deeply. That's it." Her arm is around my shoulders and it feels good, which is more than I can say for my stomach which heaves again. I kneel in the grass retching, over and over, long after there is nothing left in my stomach to come up. My head is killing me and I just want to lie down and curl up in a ball but the arm around my shoulders is steady, the voice in my ear quiet and soothing and gradually everything settles down.

Finally I sit back on my heels and slide sideways. Lily catches me and I rest my head against her shoulder while my breathing slows and my head stops pounding. Eventually I feel almost normal again....almost. It is as if Lily is reading my mind because she puts her cool hand on my forehead and speaks softly in her gentle voice.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"I think so."

"Do you think you can get up and sit in the chair?" With her help I can... just, although I am shaking badly. "Rest there for a minute. I'll get you some cold lemonade."

I am tired now, incredibly tired. Why does it do this to me when I remember? Surely this isn't right. I am still shivering when Lily comes back with the lemonade and my hand shakes as I take it.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I was.... I was dozing... it felt good... warm and comfortable and I.... I .... started to remember, just a trip.... a drive to the mountains but it made me smile and then... and then it started to hurt."

"You've said before that it hurts when you remember. Were you trying to force it?"

"No, I was half asleep. It was just happening... just ... it was nice... until... until..."

"Does it hurt now?"

"No... once I remember something it doesn't hurt to remember it again."

"Good. The professor will be here soon. Do you want to stay here or would you rather go and lie down inside?"

"The sun is making my head ache."

"Then let's get you inside. Are you more steady on your feet now?"

"I think so."

"Come on then. I'll help you."

I don't really need her help. It was only a bit of puking at the end of the day, but it is nice to have her support, to have someone to lean on. It is nicer still to lie down on my bed, with the curtains closed, in cool dimness and close my eyes. It doesn't take long to begin to drift.

By the time the professor arrives I am fast asleep and he has to wake me. I am still really groggy and I am finding it hard to concentrate on what he is saying. I try to sit up but he presses me back, gently but firmly.

"It's alright Daniel. Don't worry about getting up. I hear you've had a difficult time today."

"Yes. Difficult."

"What happened?"

I try to explain but the words fade from my mind even as I open my mouth to speak. My head is aching again and I am so tired.

"I was remembering... and it hurt." It was sooo inadequate to describe what I experienced but it was the best I could do.

"What did you remember?"

"Not much... just a trip up into the mountains with friends."

"What friends?"

Now there's a question. "I only have a clear memory of one... Annie... she was... is called Annie. But there is someone else.... I don't remember so clearly but... but there is someone called Adam." I gasp. At the mention of his name pain slices through my head and if I had not already lost the contents of my stomach many times over I would have flung it at him then and there.

"I see. Is this what happened to you then when you remembered? This pain?"

"Yes."

I lie perfectly still as he examines me. His fingers are cool as he strokes my temple, bury themselves in my hair and probe the back of my neck. Wherever he touches he awakes pain and I wince

"Can you think of them now for me Daniel? Think of something that sparks the pain so that I can see where it comes from."

"I can try." And I do. I think of the car outside the side door, the engine running, the sense of freedom. I think of the laughing face, the flying yellow hair, the smell of the mountains on the wind, the taste of cheap beer and the joy of friendship. None of it hurts. And then I wonder. I remember Annie's face clearly now. I remember the sound of her voice, the tinkle of her laugh, the way her hair blows in the wind but.... but I don't remember Adam. I remember that he is there... I remember Annie calling his name, laughing at him, teasing him.... I remember .... I remember.

"Daniel.... Daniel, are you alright?" I open my eyes and try to focus them on his face.

"I..."

"It's alright Daniel. Don't try to speak. Just relax."

I feel..... strange. What happened? Did I pass out?

"What happened?"

"It's alright. Don't worry about it. It's alright."

"Why is this happening? Why does it hurt to remember? It shouldn't hurt to remember. What... what's happened to me?"

"Daniel.... do you trust me?"

My mind is screaming 'No' but I can't say that... there is no way I can say that. What I want to say is 'What have you done to me you bastard?' but that is not going to help my situation at all. And so I nod my head, too tired, too confused to speak.

"Then let me worry about the why." I try to sit up but he presses me back again, more firmly this time and there is a moment of panic.

"I.... I'm afraid."

"Afraid? Why are you afraid Daniel?"

"Something is happening to me and I don't know what it is. I feel out of control."

"I know. And at the moment you are. But I am going to help you. You are going to have to trust me Daniel. I know that I said I was going to decrease your medication but I am going to have increase it for a while until we can figure out what's going on in your head."

"No... no I...."

"Daniel.... it won't be for long, only until I am sure you're stable. The alternative is to come back to the hospital so I can monitor you more closely."

"No... I... don't want to do that."

"Then let me give you the medication... just for a few days until things have settled down. Then you can come in to the hospital for a day and I'll run some tests and find out what's going on. Then we can start reducing it again."

I don't want to be drugged any more. I know it is a bad idea, but I also know full well that it is going to happen anyway.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? I can manage. I can handle the pain."

"It's not as simple as that any more Daniel."

"What... what do you mean?"

"When ... I asked you to remember... it wasn't just pain you experienced. You had a seizure, major convulsions. It hasn't done you any harm, but if it happens every time you try to remember something, every time you fall asleep and spontaneous memories come to you... then it is going to do you harm."

"Fuck." Well... it explains why I feel so weak and confused and generally shitty. "Alright. Whatever you think."

I know I'm giving in too easily. I know I should fight harder, I should run screaming for the hills but I am just too bloody tired.

The professor nods. He looks serious but I can see that he is delighted. Why? Why does he want to keep me drugged senseless? So I can't remember, of course. Why does he not want me to remember? WHAT does he not want me to remember? Adam? Although I try very hard to stop myself, I groan aloud.

"Daniel, stop struggling now. Stop trying to remember until we know why it is affecting you like this."

"Why would I....?"

"Maybe because something happened to you that was so traumatic... so bad that your mind is trying to protect you from it by blocking out the memory. That is not uncommon. If we can find out what the key is, the event that you are trying to block out, and then take you through it in a controlled way, once you've remembered that event safely the rest should follow."

A traumatic event? Yeah.... a white room, three faces, pain. That was trauma enough. It is on the tip of my tongue to say so but I hold it. I think it would be a really bad idea to let him know I remember that.

My mind is in turmoil and I close my eyes trying to control my breathing as Shaun taught me, trying to relax.

"Very good Daniel, I see you have been practicing Shaun's techniques. Keep going. Breathe deeply now. Relax."

I feel something settle over me and I open my eyes, or at least try to, they feel like the lids are glued shut and when I do prise then open it is only to find that I can't focus them, can't blink away the mist that obscures my vision. The professor is tucking a blanket around me.

I feel myself slipping and, for a moment, I am afraid. I struggle, trying to rise, trying to open my eyes and focus on what is happening around me.

"Daniel, it's alright, calm down. Calm down now, just relax. Lie back. Relax. Keep doing your breathing exercises, it will make it easier."

Make what easier? Then I realise that it must be the drug. I didn't even feel him give it to me. Knowing makes it easier. I know there is no point fighting it so I let myself relax and feel my mind sinking. I can feel him touching my arm and speaking to me but it is faint and far away. I have no control over my body. I have no control over my mind. I don't care.

Nephylim
Nephylim
432 Followers
12