A knife. I should have expected that.
I thought to myself, as I coughed up some more blood. I could hear Alissa's faint screams in the distance, but my mind had started to lose touch with reality. I could feel my body becoming numb as I could barely stand up anymore. My legs finally gave up as I fell to the floor onto my knees, the knife still lodged into my stomach. Looking down, I could see the blood oozing out of my body very slowly, yet the pain was immense. Looming over me, he stared down with a maniacal grin as he laughed out loud, his eyes simmering with insanity.
As I stared into his spiral eyes, I felt myself begin to lose touch with reality as my mind succumbed to a strange optical illusion. Everything went fuzzy, and the room started to shape and morph into bizarre structures. I could still hear the faint cries of Alissa, but her voice only grew quiet and quieter until I could not hear anything at all. The world stood still. It was as if time had stopped as I was left in the middle of it with my thoughts and a bloody knife in my stomach.
All of a sudden, he sent a kick straight into my face, sending me flying towards one of the capsules. The knife pushed deeper into my stomach, causing much more pain, making me let out a muffled groan. My body had started to shut down as I struggled to even move my arms. He then shifted his attention to Alissa, who had frozen in her place with tears strolling down her cheek.
Ominously, he walked up to her, a huge grin on his face. Standing in front of her, he stared down at the vulnerable child in front of him, fear flowing in her eyes. Slowly, he placed his hand in his right pocket and pulled out a much smaller knife before placing it to his mouth and licking the pointed metal. Bloodlust spilt out of his body as the air felt suffocating. Alissa fell to her knees from the sheer amount of pressure that radiated from his body. Sweat poured down her face as she struggled to breathe. And he stood there, basking in the fear that filled the room, an expression of immense pleasure painted over his face.
He lifted his hand, clutching onto the knife tightly for a few seconds as if he wanted her to feel more fear for her life. All Harold could do was watch from the distance screaming out, begging him not to do it. But even Harold knew that it was futile. He could sense the excitement brewing up inside of that maniac, as he lingered and delayed the attack for so long that it became hard to breathe as he anticipated when the strike would fall. Alissa covered herself and closed her eyes, praying that she would be saved somehow. Harold waited and waited and waited. But nothing happened. He didn't attack. All he did was stand and stare before dropping his arm down to his side and staring straight at Alissa. He squinted his eyes as he stared at her. It was as if he was analysing everything about her. Realising that she hadn't been attacked, she slowly removed her hands from her head and stared up directly at him for a moment, all they did was stare at each other as if they were communicating telepathically.
He squinted his eyes, his once maniacal expression shifting into a more serious one as all he did was just stare. It felt like a few hours had passed. Suddenly, he started to laugh crazily. I stared on confused as I tried to find any part of this scenario that was amusing. But he laughed his heart out before placing the knife back in his pocket.
"What an amusing thing to do!" He chuckled. "That man truly is the devil!"
And then he walked up to Alissa and knocked her out clean. He then shifted his attention to me and made his way over. Crouching over my injured body, he stared deep into my eyes for a second.
"I wish I could see your reaction when you find out." He said sadly before raising his hand and knocking me out clean.
Slowly opening my eyes, I felt a slight pain in my stomach. Carefully lifting myself up, I saw that someone had taken my shirt off and covered my stomach in bandages. Looking around the room, it seemed that I had been taken into a completely different area. A hospital ward. To my left was a sign saying my name and to right a table with some strange pills that were crushed. Wincing in pain, I picked myself off the bed and looked around to see if anyone was nearby. As the sight was clear, I made my way down the seemingly endless hall, walking past hundreds of beds along the way.
Carlos Fletcher.
Maria Garnell.
Alice Jones.
I continued to search through each name until I found Alissa's. The hallway never seemed to end as I continued to walk past hundreds of beds. I kept walking and walking and walking. Until I found her.
Alissa Bane.
Opening the curtains, I saw her laying there unconscious yet at peace. Sitting beside her bed, I watched as she seemed so calm. My mind flashed back to the encounter with that man as I clenched my teeth.
I was so weak that I couldn't even defeat him. Even when my daughter's life was in danger. Dammit. That scientist was probably laughing whilst he watched me get my ass handed to me. Dammit. I won't allow it again. I need to be stronger. I will be stronger. And next time I meet him, I'll kill him. For what he did to me. To my...
And then I remembered the weird interaction between the two of them. Staring at Alissa, I remembered how unusual it seemed. He wasn't the type of guy to spare a child unless there was something else. I watched Alissa as my gut told me something was off. But I didn't know what. Keeping that thought in the back of my mind, I focused on Alissa. Placing my hand on her cheek, I let out a small smile.
"You've walked a long way with that injury." A female voice said behind me.
Jolting up, I grabbed a pen that was lying on the table beside me and pointed it at her, signalling her to back away. The quick movement cause pain in my stomach as I let out a groan but remained steady.
"Calm down, I won't hurt you." She spoke.
Her voice was soft and tender. She had pink hair, and her eyes were an emerald green. She let out an innocent smile as pure as an angel that reminded me of whenever my wife smiled. She had a great body, her physique was well built, slim yet large in areas that mattered. She walked with a certain flirtatious tone as her hips swayed from side to side. It was captivating but not something that enticed me.
"Who are you?" I asked cautiously.
"My name is Sophia. I'm the head nurse in this place." She replied calmly.
"I'm still in his building, aren't I?" I asked, to which she nodded.
"I won't hurt you. You're my patient. Plus, he would kill me for harming his one of his prized possessions." She added.
"Prized possession?" I scoffed as I sat back down on the chair. With a groan.
"You moved too much." She said as she crouched beside me, examining my wound. "Don't move." She grabbed some bandages and cleaned up the blood that had flowed out. Afterwards, she wrapped more bandages around my stomach to stop the blood from flowing out.
"Thanks." I said, still cautious.
"Like I said, you're my patient. I must say, you do have an amazing body." She said playfully.
"Thanks." I replied coldly.
"You're no fun. So, who stabbed you?" She asked as she stood up.
"Some guy." I said, looking away from her.
"Well, there are loads of guys here. Which one of them did?" She chuckled.
"I don't know his name, but he has red eyes and white hair. I found him when I stumbled upon a room with capsules of humans in them."
As I said that, she froze in place. Her once happy expression had changed into a horrific one. I could feel the atmosphere tense up as I thought I had said something I wasn't meant to.
"You met him? And survived?" She asked, surprised.
"Seems like he is a big shot." I retorted.
"This is serious. No one survives him. One time, a hundred people escaped, and they stumbled into his area. Boss didn't do anything about it and told us to watch what was going to happen. Then he walked in, and I could tell that he was dangerous. It was something about his way of walking and his attitude. Like the devil had stepped foot on Earth. Everyone charged at him. Imagine that a hundred people running straight at you. And yet he was completely unfazed." She elaborated.
"Then what happened." I asked.
"A hundred people walked in. Only one walked out." She said plainly.
I listened as I knew that he was someone insanely strong. For a moment, I felt as if I had no chance of defeating such a monster. I couldn't alone, so I knew that I had no chance in a group.
"What's his name?" I asked.
"Only boss knows." She replied.
"So, I have another question." I said, standing up and walking towards her. Grabbing her, I pinned her against the wall and leaned in, my eyes filled with rage. "How many people have you been experimenting on before us?"
She smiled at me. "Getting a bit close, aren't you? I don't mind this." She said, pressing her body against mine.
"You think I'm in the mood to play?" I asked coldly.
"Maybe." She replied with a sly smile. "Over a thousand." She then finally said.
I let go and stepped back in shock.
Over a thousand people? How long has this bastard been doing his experiments for? Why have we never heard of this before? Surely, there would be talks about missing people.
"You seem surprised. So..." She said, leaning down a bit. "Will Mr Hero try and save them?" She asked whilst smirking.
"Bastard. Just wait. I'll burn this whole place down along with all of you in it." I replied furious.
"Oh! How scary! I'm so scared. Don't hurt me, Mr Hero." She said sarcastically.
"I guess everyone here is not right in the head." I said unamused.
"Bullseye." She said as she pointed her finger to the side of her head, her emerald eyes shimmering in the light. "We're all crazy."
"I'm taking my daughter. Move." I said to which she obliged. Picking her up, I began to walk off.
"Mr Hero. If you ever meet him again, you should run. It isn't likely he would spare someone twice." She spoke.
Ignoring her, I walked off and made my way to the exit. As I approached it, two guards stopped me.
"Name," They asked.
"Harold Bane." I replied.
Then, one of the guards told me to follow them. As we walked down in the dark, I had the thought of attacking the guard from behind and disappearing. But I knew that I had no chance. He was much taller and stronger than me. I also knew that this place was massive and that I would have no way of finding my way out. So, I accompanied him as he took me presumably back to my cell. We walked for a while in the silence. I watched him like a hawk, making sure that he did not pull out any surprises. He wore a black suit and a metallic mask to cover his mouth. His arms were twice as big as mine.
Monsters.
I thought to myself. After a while, we finally made it to a door, which he signalled for me to enter. Walking in, I realised that it was different from the one I was held captive in. The room was much nicer. Furniture laid out symmetrically as well as a small kitchen in the corner. I knew instantly what I was looking at. It was a replica of my own house. However, I wasn't surprised that he knew about this after everything. It was eerily similar. Walking in, the guard closed the door behind me, leaving me in this new environment.
Placing Alissa in the bed, I sat on the sofa recollecting my thoughts.
So, there are more people that have been experimented on that aren't us three. But the question is, how long? And how was he capable of such an act. I know he is wealthy and famous, but surely even the elites have things they can not touch. But then again, people are not one of them. So, we have people in here. If we can free enough people, we can somehow find a way to rebel. But the problem is that monster. Just thinking of him makes me so furious. What kind of strength was that? Somehow of that stature, shouldn't be capable of such a thing. And now we have this new room. If he knows so much about us, surely, we would have encountered him at some point in our lives. There are millions of people in this country, yet somehow, we three are his prized possessions. What is there that is so amazing about us? He truly is a mystery.
"You seem lost in your thoughts, Harold? Do you like your new home?" He said, finally speaking.
"It's comfy, I guess." I replied calmly.
"Seems like you got some injury. You stumbled upon the wrong room." He stated.
"Gee, I didn't know that. Who even is he?" I asked him.
"That isn't something I can say." He replied in his mysterious tone.
"Of course you can't. Well, how were you able to kidnap so many people without being noticed." I implored.
"I have...connections. Thanks to my mother's fame and wealth, everything is easy. Because, at the end of the day, the person with the money makes the final call." He explained.
"Money this. Money that. Everyone has become so focused on money that they would throw away their humanity to seize it." I spoke.
"The most addictive drug. That is what I call money. But it has its purpose. Its purpose is to turn people into animals. A very effective object indeed. Even the most powerful man is nothing but an insect to the power that money holds. As long as you have it, no one can touch you. Well, no one with less money than you have, of course." He added.
"So, why are you here anyways. Surely it isn't to educate me on money." I said plainly.
"You catch on well, Harold. Time for another dream." He said, his voice slowly distorting.
Before I could react, I was knocked out instantly. I jolted up off the sofa as I darted my head around the room. Instantly, I knew where I was. Home. Standing up, I walked around the empty house that used to be filled with sounds of laughter and happiness. Now, it was nothing but a desolate structure. Leaving the house, I made my way down the street. Everything was so eerily quiet that I felt my body shake slowly. There was no noise at all. Silence everywhere. I continued to walk for miles on end until I reached the town square. Even there, no one was in sight. So, I continued to walk. Nonstop. I walked all over the city, wondering if there was anything, any sign of life. But there wasn't. No humans and no animals. Just me in this dead world.
Blink.
Opening my eyes, the world in front of me had changed into ruins. Cars toppled over, building collapsed to the floor, streets cracked into half. Everything was dead. Rushing back to my house, I prayed that it was left unscathed. As I reached my house, I saw that it had been left unharmed. Everything around it was left to ruin, but my house stood firm in the midst of the chaos. I let out a relieved sigh as I made my way towards the door. Suddenly, the ground beneath me started to crack. Every step I took, a part of the floor cracked surrounding me.
Alright. Let's see who wins. Three, two one. Go.
Instantly, I began to sprint in all directions towards my house, dodging all the cracks that aimed to engulf me into the ground. As I inched closer to my door, the ground in front disappeared in an instant, but I did not stop my momentum. Using the speed, I leapt over the wide crack and pushed open the door, landing at the entrance. Standing up, I brushed small pieces of debris of my body and walked inside. As I approached the door, I heard faint humming inside and the tap running freely. Opening the door, it was my wife in the kitchen cleaning the dishes. Walking up to her, my mind forgot the fact that I was in a dream and that the world around me was in ruins. I could feel my body shake as tears slowly flowed down my face. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I clutched onto her body tightly, deciding never to let go again.
"Did you miss me that much, darling?" She asked her voice as soft as snow.
"Mhm." I mumbled as the tears muffled my words.
"How is Alissa?" She asked.
"She is good. Amazing. It was so much stronger than I ever was." I sobbed.
"It's because you were so strong that she could be stronger. Don't forget that, my love." She spoke.
"But I couldn't protect her. She could have died. And it would have been my fault." I said quickly.
"There, there. We all have mishaps. But that is life. We make mistakes, fall, and get back up. And as long as we keep picking ourselves up, we can do anything. You just have to have the courage to do so. And I know you could. Because...I fell in love with you." She said calmly.
"I don't know if I can pick myself up this time." I whispered.
"We all think that. We all think that we aren't capable. But it is fear that holds us back. Fear of falling again. But, when we were born and started to walk, the only way we learnt to walk was by falling on our faces thousands of times. Before we learnt to ride a bicycle, we had to fall and hurt our bodies hundreds of times. You can't accomplish anything without stumbling. Because you haven't achieved it then, it was handed to you." She explained.
"I just miss you all so much. You and Alice."
"We are both doing fine. I'm just waiting for my amazing husband to come back home with our daughter." She said, turning her head to me and smiling.
Her maple brown eyes staring directly into my soul brought me to ease. Her calmness, softness, tenderness, caring behaviour, and everything about her brought me at peace. She was truly an angel. A majestic creature carved by God's loving hands, who became his favourite creation and bestowed onto me with the intent of keeping me moving. That was one thing I would always thank God for. For bringing such a being into my small and tiny life. As she turned around, we embraced in a long, tight hug. Her scent was captivating. A sweet lavender smell that would entrance anyone who walked by. For a brief moment, all that I thought of was me and my wife, nothing else mattered, not my situation, not my daughters, not my friends, no one. It was just us two in this sole and barren world.
We then sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace as we talked for the rest of the time. She filled me in with how they were both doing, and they talked to her about my current situation. I spoke about when I first came here, and then about the initial dream, my talks with The Scientist, when Alissa came and the fight with the man that I lost to.
"Well, you do have it worse than me." She chuckled.
"I guess I do." I chuckled back.
"But I'm so proud of you. You endured so much, went through so much pain and suffering, and still came out on top. Nothing less from what I expected of you." She spoke.
"I won't be so lucky next time, though, my love." I replied.
She leaned on my shoulder and held my hand tightly, interlocking our fingers. She let out a small sigh before staring directly into my eyes. Our faces were only inches apart as I could feel her warm breath on my face. It was intoxicating. My body fell into a trance as I could see my mind let loose. For a brief second, we just stared at each other. Our eyes never breaking contact. And I slowly leaned in, my lips meeting hers. Her soft, tender lips captivated mine into a slow, passionate kiss that continued forever. I shifted my body to face her as I held onto her waist, grabbed her and pushed her onto me. Both her hands fell into mine perfectly as our fingers interlocked, her weight resting on me as we continued our intimacy. After a while, we broke free of our intimacy and let out a deep gasp of air, our cheeks flushed with a paint of bright red. Her eyes smiled at me, but it was much more than a smile. It was calling me for me. Before long, our lips met again, and we continued our love. And then we broke it. And then continued and then broke.
She rested her head on my chest, burying her arms into me as I held her tight. We lay on the sofa in silence as we took in the heart warming moment that had occurred seconds prior. She let out a small sigh of satisfaction as she lifted her head up to look at me. A smile plastered across her face. I smiled back instinctively as she sat up. Sitting beside her, we sat in silence for a brief moment.
"I missed that." She spoke.
"Me too." I replied.
"But you need to focus now. You can not lose. Never. You understand me?" She said sternly.
"Of course." I smiled.
"Come back to me." She said tears forming in her eyes. "Bring our little girl back. Let's go back to how it used to be."
I held her close to me, calming her down, comforting and reassuring her. And then he appeared from the darkness. His usual mocking demeanour. A sly smile on his face as he walked with such authority that even I could not say much in front of him. His black hair faded into the darkness as his red eyes gleamed like the devil. He stood in front of us, smiling happily, as he watched. Turning my attention to him, I knew it was time for me to wake up from this dream.
"I thought he would be more menacing." She said plainly, to which he replied with a chuckle.
"Well, most people usually run, and some just fall in love." He replied slyly.
"Enough flirting, just wake me up." I said, not amused one bit.
"Sure thing, my dear Harold. Do not fret, Mrs Bane. I shall not steal him from you nor cause him harm that will take his life. You have my word." He said whilst bowing.
"Thank you so much. Just know he will whoop your ass." She retorted with a simile to which I nodded proudful whilst crossing my arms.
"I shall wait for our future match up, my dear Harold." He replied.
I stood up and took his hand, taking one last glance at my wife and giving her a smile. And then we disappeared. But I didn't wake up. He had taken me into a dark abyss. I stood on nothing. Looking around, there was nothing. Just me and him alone in this space like structure.
"Where are we now?" I asked.
"Nowhere." He replied.
"I have no time for your plays. Where are we?" I said, walking up to him and grabbing him by the shoulder.
He turned around to me and smiled intensely. It was such a smile that it sent shivers through my body. His eyes gleamed in the dark as his face had become much paler like a ghost. He turned back to stare into the darkness for a while as if he were waiting for something. After a while, he raised his hand, and the space around us began to distort and morph. And then we were standing on a planet. But it wasn't Earth. It was much different. Rocks everywhere. Not even a hint of greenery, and the sky felt suffocating. It smelt like sulphur. I struggled to breathe, falling to my knees as I gasped for air, but every time I inhaled all the entered was the sulphur lingering in the air.
The ground beneath me then started to crack as it ate me whole. I continued to fall for ages as I hit rocks left and right. Multiple scratches covered my body as blood escaped continuously. I tried to grab on to any nearby rocks, but my momentum was too fast that every time I held onto something, the rock would break apart instantly. And then I hit the floor with a loud thud, my head covered in blood as I couldn't move anymore.
I stared up into the sky above me that had changed from a light blue to a dark red. From the skies, he slowly hovered down, mimicking the image of an angel, but as he dawned closer, his paler expression had turned ghost like. It was a horrific sight. Such horror was something I had never seen in a movie before, and the blood that filled my eyes helped to make the image much creepier than it normally would have been.
"You seem in a bad spot." He said, his voice distorted.
"W...Well n...no sh...shit." I stuttered; my mouth filled with blood.
"Well, I brought you here because this is where you shall stay for a while." He replied. "Initially, I wasn't planning on making you suffer mentally like the other two, but after your interaction with your wife, I thought it would be interesting to see how you would cope in such inhabitable surroundings. So, this is a challenge mentally and physically. Good luck, Harold. Don't let your wife's words die in vain."
And then he disappeared, leaving me alone in a bloody pool struggling to breathe. I tried moving my arms, but the rubble had trapped it. I couldn't move at all. My body had started to go cold as my mind started to shut down. Past memories flashed my mind from my daughters and my wife. Annabeth and Jolynn. My friends and family. Relatives. Co-workers. People I had met. All those memories started to zoom past as I watched my life on repeat. Tears of blood flowed down my face as I remembered all the beautiful moments in my life. I could hear the faint cracking of the rock above me, and I knew that it would soon break and crush me to my death. I wasn't afraid, but the suspense was killing me. I waited so agonizingly wrong for it to fall and put me out of my misery.
Drop. Drop. Drop. Come on! Break. Kill me.
I thought. I watched and waited, and then I saw the final crack fall, and a small smile creeped on my face. The rock aimed straight for my head as I closed my eyes. And then it crushed my skull in, my lifeless body covered by rocks. I let out one last breath as I lost consciousness. I knew it wasn't over and that I would be back, so I prepared myself for the next chance. But for now.
I was dead.