The Scientist

She ran down the long hallway, hoping to God that there would be a room that she could squeeze into. Metal panel after metal panel passed by as she ran. She began to whimper as she heard his heavy footsteps behind her. Finally, she got to what looked like a simple screen door, with metal fencing covering it instead of screening. She flung the door open and ran inside, closing the door quietly.

The room was just that, a room. No other exits, no twists or turns in the walls that she could hide in. Just four square corners and a bare floor. She hid in one of the corners beside the door, hoping that he would just pass by, thinking that she kept running. She had no such luck today.

"I know you're in there. You may as well come out so we can talk face-to-face." He had a deep voice, but it was scratchy, like a pinecone on the skin. She debated on responding, but finally decided that he really did know she was here. "Why don't you come in here? Scared?"

He laughed; a deep belly laugh that didn't sit right with her. She didn't think it was that funny. "I may not be scared, but I'm not stupid either. Why would I come in there with you? As long as I'm blocking this door, I know that your only exit is covered. Besides, why should I come get you when you've put yourself in this pretty little cage yourself?" And before she could respond, she heard the tell-tale push of a button.

The wall behind her began to vibrate hard and painfully, she stepped away from it, only to be in line of sight of the door. She locked eyes with the man, and he smiled. It was a cold, cruel smile. She finally saw what the vibrating was. Two large metal bars on either side of the door were pushing across the surface of the wall, blocking her only exit.

"No!" she screamed and launched forward to stop the bar. As her hand landed on it a sharp electric current zapped its way up her arm. She screamed in pain as her arm dropped to her side, twitching rapidly. He watched her as the bars locked in place. He still saw glimpses of the hellion that plagued him when they first met. No matter, she'd give up soon.

When she saw him watching her intently, she spat at the door. A lazy but confident smile crept across his face. "I'll send some men by with food and bedding. If you could be a dear and not stab one of them this time, it would be greatly appreciated."

"Fuck you."

He admired her courage, but the intended intimidation was greatly diminished by the tears in her eyes. As he walked away, she huddled down on the floor, arm awash in pain. And she cried.

Later that evening, after what felt like hours had passed, she heard the bars on her door pulling back. She stood, ready to make a run for it as soon as she had a chance. When the bars finished, two large men came in the room as a woman in a lab coat stood on the other side of the door. She rushed them anyways. Before she could even make it to the door, the two men grabbed her by the arms and lifted her so that her feet couldn't touch the ground. They carried her to the back right corner, and when they were sure she was subdued, the signaled to the woman outside.

She nodded, then opened the door for a team of people. Their armor made it almost impossible to tell them apart, so she just focused on struggling out of the men's grip. The team brought in a bed frame, a mattress, and two small bowls full of food and water. When that was all set up, they saluted to the woman and left. The woman pulled a remote out of her pocket then pushed one of the buttons. The bars slid back into place. The man on her left let her go, and just as swiftly, the man on her right looped both of his arms under hers and held his hands together behind her head. Her feet were touching the ground now, although it didn't make her feel much better.

The woman walked over and crouched down in front of her. She kicked, aiming for the woman's face, but quicker than she thought possible, the woman dodged, and grabbed her leg. The girl screamed out in pain as waves of heat burnt her skin. "I would rather have not done that, but truly, what were you thinking? What would kicking me have accomplished?" She stared up the girl's face, calm and collected. They stared at each other, one calm, and the other furious. They stayed like that until the man who left came back and handed the woman a chain with a large manacle attached to it.

She showed it to the girl, who visibly cringed away. "This is made to put around your neck. I would rather not do that, but this is our only option right now. This part is very important. If you try to remove it, it will shock you. Imagine touching the bars, but that pain is on your neck. My name is Dr. Marie Levitt. I assume we'll be seeing a lot of each other, so I'd like to introduce myself now."

The girl spat again. "Why? Do you run the experiments here? That's why I'm here isn't it? For your bullshit 'testing'?"

"We don't experiment on children."

"I'm not a ch-" She screamed again as Marie once again put her hand on the girl's leg. She clamped the collar on her neck as she recovered from the pain. Marie gestured to the men as she opened the bars on the door. "You boys can leave us. Tell Wolfgang that she's set up in here." The man holding her in place dropped her roughly on the ground. They both smiled cruelly at the girl as they left. When the bars were in place and Marie was sure they were gone, she turned back to the girl.

"Listen to me. You're small, and since you're most likely an orphan, I can doctor your birth records, if you even have any, to say that you're younger then you are. Now, unless you're so willing to start the experimentation, I suggest that you shut up, and pretend to be a child for as long as you can."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Do you think I like experimenting on people this way? I became a doctor to heal, not to harm. And that's all these useless experiments are for. Harming the victims, and making everyone else fear our name. That isn't what I want."

"How many people are you doing this for?"

"As many as I can. I can get you switched over to a leg chain as long as you are good. Just act like you're defeated when people are around, and that should work."

"What is your end game here? Are you holding out hope that someone will rescue us?"

Marie sighed and thought for a moment. "I truly don't know. Part of me knows that this won't do anything unless someone acts, but I don't think anyone will."

"Why don't you?"

"What good will I be against someone like Wolfgang? One person against an entire country. That has good odds, I'm sure."

"But you can leave right? You could go out to a town nearby and see if you can't smuggle us out! No one has to know it's you! You could save us."

"No, I... I don't think I can."

"You're a coward. You're doing nothing but prolonging our deaths."

"Yes. You're probably right. I need your name so I can pretend this conversation had some benefit."

"My name is Reyna."

Marie nodded; her eyes distant. Ryner wasn't sure if she even heard. But that wasn't her problem.

Days passed and Reyna didn't see Marie again. There wasn't much for her to do, so mostly she slept. She asked for a book once, but the man patrolling her sector just laughed. She tried to take Marie's advice and act defeated, but it was so hard when all of the guards she met gave her a smug look, as if it were inevitable that she would break down. It pissed her off. But she waited, and while she waited, she planned.

The next time she saw Dr. Levitt, she brought with her a bag of books, and a smaller manacle. She handed Ryner the books and got working on the manacle. "Luckily for you, they've agreed to switch to the leg manacle. That ought to be more comfortable."

"It would be more comfortable to be out of here, but thank you."

"Don't thank me. You were right. I'm being a coward. I went into town for a couple of days. I told Wolfgang I needed supplies. I met a few people who are going to help me get at least some of you out. I can get you out tonight or tomorrow."

Reyna shook her head. "No. I know I can handle it here. Get everyone you can out first, and then I'll go." She cracked her neck after Marie removed the manacle, then stood still as Marie clasped the smaller one to her ankle. "Are those books for me?"

"Yes. I convinced Wolfgang that you'd be less likely to hurt someone, including yourself, if we worked with you a bit. He's not happy, but he sees where I'm coming from. Children as a whole are easier to work with if you're nice to them."

Reyna scowled down at the books, sickened by her nonchalant mention of 'working' with kids. "So... who is Wolfgang? Does he run this whole operation?"

Marie sat on the bed, leaning against the back wall. "Yes and no. He's the leader of this division, but he's not in charge. At least, he isn't outside of this building. I'm not sure who runs this whole thing, I just know that Wolfgang isn't them."

"What is the goal here? Is there one besides torturing us for no reason?"

"Why do you want to know? Isn't it enough to be able to escape?"

"Not for me. Why should I leave quietly and let them kill more people? Kidnap more children?"

Marie was silent. She watched Reynar begin to pace like a cornered animal as she ranted, impassioned by the injustice. She looked away, unable to handle knowing that she caused a lot of it. "I... I suppose I can tell you. But please, sit down."

Reyna sat on the floor across from Marie. "When this division started, we had a goal to 'fix' those with special abilities, like mine. I can raise the temperature of everything I touch, to a degree. But one day we received word from the higher ups. People with abilities were good hosts for something we call Abyss. Not a very scientific name, but we don't know what it is, just what it looks like. But there was a catch. It would only take hold of a host that had reached its tolerance for pain. So... we tortured them. We torture them until they pass out from the pain, and then we inject it into their bodies. If it doesn't work, we dispose of the body. If it does work, Wolfgang takes over and we never see them again. I can't tell you what it's supposed to do, but I can tell you what happens when it doesn't work. You can see their veins turn black, and once they do the body starts to steam. And then they scream. It doesn't matter if they're dead or not, they scream, and they don't stop until the body burns itself out. They're eyes turn black, and they scream. I hear it every night. In my dreams, when I wake, I can't escape it."

"Why didn't you leave? Why did you do this, even after you knew?"

"I guess part of me kept hoping it would change, or that I could help them somehow. Help perfect the process so that they would stop dying."

"But you just said that you didn't know what happened when it worked. How do you know that it's better?"

"I don't! Okay? I have no idea what helps and what doesn't, but if I don't do it then someone else will, and at least I can make sure that they don't experiment on children, and I can be sure that they're taken care of before it starts. And that has to be good enough."

"Why were you spared?"

"What do you mean?"

"You mentioned your ability. Clearly you aren't hiding it since you used it on me in front of your men. And since you wouldn't talk about your plan with them, I assume you don't trust them."

Marie smiled sadly. "It's because I'm good at my job. I have to go. If I stay any longer than it will be suspicious." Reyna nodded and stood as Marie left. "Good luck."

After that visit, Reyna began counting the days in one of her books, scratching the lines inside the front cover. She only knew the days turned when she was brought food. Twice everyday she assumed. A month passed before she saw anyone but her guards. The man who chased her into this room visited on Day 35. He smiled his cruel smile, and Reyna felt the old rage build up again. She was getting restless, and she was tired of being shackled, and now here this fucker came to laugh at her. "What the hell do you want?"

He laughed. "I see that switching you to the leg shackles and giving you books did nothing for your attitude. Maybe Marie was wrong about that. I just wanted to introduce myself before we got started. My name is Wolfgang. Maybe Dr. Levitt told you about me." As he talked, he pushed the button outside the door to release the bars. "I have a little surprise for you today." He moved out of the way as another anonymous team of people ran in and grabbed Reyna.

"Let go of me!" They were strong, but she was angry. When they unlatched her ankle, she lunged forward toward Wolfgang, arms outstretched to attack him. He stepped back, his smile slipping. One of the team grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. Another clamped another collar around her neck. Wolfgang frowned at them. "Next time do that first. I don't pay you to be amateurs." The one who switched her collars saluted him, then grabbed a hold of the chain at the end of her collar. Tugging her forward, he tried to lead her out of the room.

"I'm not going with you. I want nothing to do with whatever surprise you have." Without even looking at her, Wolfgang gestured to the one holding her leash, who tugged harder. When she still wouldn't go, they touched the chain with some sort of rod. The minute the rod touched the chain she collapsed in pain. All her nerves were on fire, the invisible flames crackled up and down her body. It hurt too much to even scream. "Too hard, Kellon. Now she can't walk."

Dimly, she felt two men pick her up. The pain wasn't as bad now, but she still felt it somewhat. She asked where they were going, but they either didn't hear her mumble, or they just didn't answer. Given Wolfgang's attitude, Reyna figured they didn't hear. They carried her for a long time, although it could only have been a few minutes. The pain finally began to ebb when they slowed down. They were stopped outside an unassuming door that was simply marked, 'SURGERY'.

They set her down, and when they realized she still refused to walk, they picked her back up and carried her inside. The room was small, with only two chairs and a small table facing a large window. The window showed another room, presumably for surgery. The other room had a bed with leather straps attached in the middle, with stands and shelves full of chemicals and needles.

They put her in the chair on the right, then began tying her to it. "What's going on? What am I doing here?" She struggled to get out of the chair, but the rope was too tight. Wolfgang sat down beside her and chuckled, taking her leash and sending the guards away. "So full of questions. Don't worry, here in a moment I will begin to answer them." He settled in his chair, sipping a cup of water.

"You see, I've been leading this division of the Abyss Project for three years now. Dr. Levitt and I have had our differences, but I could always trust her to get the job done. Without error, and without complaint. Until recently. To be more specific, since she was assigned to you. She began caring about the children. Not only that, but birth records began to go missing, along with some of the children she cared for. So, I began to have her followed. Only to find her smuggling out our patients. We couldn't have that of course. But I waited. I'm a very patient man. I had someone listen in to your conversation with her. I didn't know that you were to blame for her behavior, but I suspected. Especially with how docile you became after your first meeting with her. After I realized you two were consorting together about escaping, and not only that, but she was sharing company secrets, I knew I had to do something. But what? So, I waited even longer. The next time she tried to get someone out, I captured her and the boy. I decided that there really was no reason to wait to experiment on children, it isn't like we're an ethical group here, so I tied her to that very chair you're sitting in and made her watch as we tortured the boy and injected him with Abyss."

He smiled at her then, his eye's cold. "Even with making her watch him die, it still took a month of torture for her to give you up. I'm very impressed. Truly. But give you up she did, and not only that, but she also told us that she had you pretend to be a child to avoid experiencing Abyss. Very clever of her, I'll give her that much. And now my surprise to you is the exact thing I did to her. You get to watch her transform." His eyes lit up with ecstasy. Reyna realized then that this man was truly mad. "I hope it works. After a month of torture, you truly do get tired of the screams."

Reyna couldn't take it anymore. She launched forward, chair and all, and was stilled by Wolfgang kicking the chair down. He yanked her head forward with the leash until they were face-to-face, incredibly close. He grabbed he by the jaw, holding her in place so she couldn't look away. "I wouldn't forget who has the other end of your collar. You can fight all you want, but you can't get away. So, just remember that I can make this as painful as possible for you. But if you're a good dog, then maybe you'll get a treat."

Reyna growled; a truly in-human sound. Wolfgang smiled and shoved her back into her chair, a firm hand on her leash. They sat in silence as surgeons poured into the other room, getting everything ready to 'transform' Marie. When they brought Marie in, Reyna gasped. While her face was fine and intact, her body was covered in cuts and bruises. On her thigh was a brand in the shape of a wolf head. It looked very recent. Wolfgang leaned forward, admiring his handiwork. "Like the brand? It's my own personal touch with my prisoners. Whenever I get them to confess, I brand them. It marks them forever, and I find I like that fact immensely."

Reyna blinked away the tears forming in her eyes. "You're a bastard." Wolfgang smiled at her, that wild light back in his eyes. "Yes. It's truly horrific, isn't it? Although I supposed I've been called much worse. Oh well. I do what I do in the name of science. Now be quiet while the surgery takes place. Wouldn't want our lovely surgeons to mess up and risk the good doctor's life, now would we?"

Reyna quietly shook her head, and Wolfgang settled back in his chair, like he was at the theater. Marie locked eyes with Reyna and gave her a small smile as they latched her onto the bed. Then it started. The straps holding her down must be like my collar. Reyna thought, horrified. Marie screamed, and when she couldn't anymore, she cried and whimpered. After what felt like years, she finally passed out. One of the surgeons injected her with a large black vial, right in the chest. After a few moments, Marie's veins began to fill with the black ooze. It's not working. Oh my god, it's not working.

Marie's eyes popped open, even as she stopped breathing. Her eyes were completely black, just like she said. Her body steamed, and her corpse began to scream. Reyna watched silently, tears streaming down her face. Wolfgang had stopped watching Marie, and instead was watching Reyna, relishing in her horror. As the body screamed, the surgeons wheeled the bed away. Reyna could hear her screams down the hall, until they finally tapered away. "You're a monster."

"I really thought you'd have something better than that. Oh well, they can't all be clever."

Reyna waited until Wolfgang untied her to rake her fingernails across his face. He stumbled back, holding his face where it bled. "You fucker! This isn't a fucking game! These are real people that you're killing for your bullshit science!" Noticing that he was too stunned to mess with her collar, she launched herself at him again, knocking him down onto the floor and kicking away the leash from his grasp. With tears in her eyes, she punched him, again and again. She lost herself in that rhythm; and noticed too late when he grabbed her collar again.