The orphanage had barely noticed he was gone, or maybe they did and just didn't think it was worth their energy. Either way he had come back without any fuss, which was good, no problems is always good.
He tucked in for the night, his eyes shut tight wishing deeply for nothing to happen, he wasn't sure if he was ready for the experience of waking up on a torture chair would feel like, nor the feeling of being strapped to a surgical table.
Lost in his own thoughts he quickly fell asleep, welcoming the new day.
'I need to calm down', he said to himself before he rose to his feet and took a bath. He thought about yesterday. It certainly wasn't a very good plan, if any sane person would consider it a plan at all, but who would blame him? It's not like he could review it with anyone else.
Could he? It would have certainly been the logical approach, but who's to say he wasn't revealing his plans to a sleeper agent meant to watch him 'speaking of sleeper agents, I wonder what's up with V'
Lucan had just put on his clothes for the day when he heard a knock on the door. In front of him was the former insomniac V, 'Ah yes, the devil' she had returned to her cheery disposition standing there with a grin that spread from ear to ear.
The shock from Bradley's death should have been great enough to break her loose from whatever brainwashing she was under, but maybe he had been too optimistic, seeing as how she looked no different from how they had left her "Hello Lucan".
Her tone was light, but somewhat flat, like her words were being held together by duck tape, and some rope , to put it simply? It sounded weird.
Lucan crossed his arms, eyeing her cautiously trying his best to glance behind her to make sure she didn't bring anyone else, before she was just creepy, but knowing what he did now, he was more afraid of her than he would like to be, and there was nothing he could do about that.
" There's going to be a general check-up today, well maybe not so general". She smiled tilting her head to the side, drawing out her words.
Lucan felt a shiver go through his body, 'Maybe the shivering stuttering version of her isn't so bad after all'. He thought. Forcing out a friendly smile he Looked at V and replied "Oh really? I hope nobody is sick, it's so cold these days"
V stared at him in silence for a few seconds before she giggled "I was just asked to inform everyone, I hope everyone is well too". He had a curious but concerned look on his face while she flashed him a reassuring smile, placed her hands behind her back and started to walk away.
She went to the next door and started to knock, he exhaled slowly, it seemed like she had started her announcement from his room and was working her way outwards, 'I guess I'm the actual recipient?'
He couldn't help but imagine if he were still to be under the hypnosis, it's not likely that he would think there was anything wrong he covered his face with his palms 'Well if I was under hypnosis to begin with I wouldn't be here'
***
Everyone had gathered in the main hall of the second floor leading to the medical wing, the nurses standing to the side with dark circles under their eyes and blank smiles, they looked like mannequins , they exchanged barely audible whispers all while nodding to each other,
From the long hall leading upstairs a doctor in his labcoat had walked out from within the medical wing with dark circles under his eyes and clapped his gloved hands. His movements seemed a bit slow, like his hands were heavy with his body hunched over slightly.
"Alright everyone, today you're all getting a general checkup but do you see this lady over here?" He pointed at a nurse beside him with a clipboard "She is going to be calling out some special people to go with me so make sure to listen properly okay?"
He raised his index finger, trying to speak in a cheerful tone but his expression remained unhinged and his tone fell flat somewhere in the middle, bringing the same amount of disappointment as a deflated beach ball.
Lucan, who was standing at the back of the crowd could feel goosebumps on his skin, 'These people don't look right' he thought, looking at the people around him: He felt his hair nearly stand on end, the children from the medical ward and even some of the other kids had the same dead fish like eyes as they stood in the line.
The check-up began and the first name was called, a child that had a bald head, paler than a plain piece of paper and pupils as wide as golf balls, followed the doctor into the medical ward, for some reason, Lucan could only feel his heart beating faster against his chest.
"Your readings are a bit high, is there anything bothering you lately". The nurse taking his readings asked and he just quietly shook his head.
'You! You guys are my fucking problem!' he screamed in his heart but only blinked his eyes innocently as the nurse furrowed her brows.
The nurse tapped her finger on her thigh "How did you sleep?".
'Horribly' Lucan thought for a moment but then answered a bit shyly fiddling with his fingers "well…I've kinda been having these weird dreams". The nurse raised an eyebrow as she looked at him.
"Can you describe them?". Lucan acted like he was thinking for a moment before reply shaking his head.
"Nothing"
"I see" she said slowly and wrote something down before walking over to the lady with the clipboard and saying something to her as she passed the note along and Lucan couldn't help but gulp, feeling like he had made some sort of mistake. Because if by some accident he hadn't been on the list before, he was certainly on it now.
'Ah man just my luck, can this possibly get any worse?' No sooner than he had spoken, one of the doctors had just come back from the medical wing as the lady with a clipboard handed him something small, he read it carefully and frowned.
She called the next name, and then another. A lot of time had passed, with the day growing darker and none of the previous children having come back from the corridor, the number of children present grew smaller until it felt like they were at the level of just before the medical kids were added.
The doctor soon returned, with the nurse calling out his name and gesturing for him to step forward. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath 'What am I supposed to do now?'. Exhaling, he stepped forward to be escorted.
The day had gotten dark, so the hall's lights had to be turned on, but with the way the building had been maintained the hall's lights had become dull, flickering as the sound of the electricity buzzed in his ear.
One flash, two flashes, three flashes, four.
His vision was gradually growing distorted and his body began to feel tired, the hall seemed to wave from size to side and he felt sick 'what is happening? Why do I suddenly feel like I'll faint?' He staggered.
Five flashes, six flashes, seven flashes, eight flashes more.
His vision darkened and blurred and for no more than a moment he lost track of his surroundings, his body feeling weaker 'I'm so…tired'.
He got up with a start, gasping for air and looking around frantically, sweat dripping from his forehead as he tried to steady his breath.
The room was bland, it wasn't the dreary colorlessness he had seen with Polly but it was its own kind of empty, the door had a small plate that could be slid shut, he couldn't see or hear anything outside the door, no foot steps, no voices, not even the sound of a clock just the subtle sound of his own breathing.
'Shit'
***
He had been trapped in this place, wherever "this place" was supposed to be, that is. The door was sealed shut, with no handles on the inside and there was just barely any light for him to see, at first he was calm, it was better than being tortured after all.
Lucan was starting to feel claustrophobic.
The room was small, only the single bed in the corner and the wordless delivery of his food by someone he could not see and never spoke to. He would often sit on the floor staring at the wall from hours on end with nothing else but his own thoughts.
'I want out, I want out' he had lost track of time.
Lying on the bed he bit down on his fingernails he was starting to feel anxious, he had no idea what time of day it was, the dim lighting of the room almost never changed so he could only stay awake until he felt tired and then fell asleep.
'I'm Thirsty'. The water he was brought was just barely enough to wet his throat, he had run out of fingernails to bite, he had also developed a random itch on his left hand that never seemed to go away.
Lucan's eyes had grown red, he dragged his finger against the rough walls of his room, like he was trying to scrape away the concrete, his fingers blistered, but the expression on his face barely changed as he just continued to scratch.
The room was plain, even his bed was nothing but a pure white mattress on the floor. His right hand had developed an itch too now.
The sound of his own thoughts had started to annoy him, he had started talking aloud to no one in particular, just so he could hear the sound of his own voice. He had torn a hole in the mattress and now poked holes in the foam with his fingers.
His face was starting to itch too, no one had delivered food to him recently and he was finding it difficult to sleep now, no, he wasn't sure if he was even sleeping sometimes, the line had become rather blurry "What, Why am I even here? I want to go out…outside"
Lucan sat on the floor spaced out, running his index finger along the side of his face rubbing and pressing the digit into his face. "Should I just… what was that ?" He heard a low rumble, feeling the room vibrate slightly.
He felt another vibration, a stronger one. He pressed his hear against the floor and tried to listen carefully. It was like the whole building was shaking, the sudden silence and lack of activity had caused his heart to sink, but then a light flashed and his room grew brighter.
Blinded by the light, the room shook once more, and then collapsed.
***
Lucan's body hurt, his head spun and he felt nauseous.
He had survived the fall, if barely, falling directly into the hall that led to the cafeteria or maybe it was reception, it really depended on where you are going.
He shook his head, his own thoughts where distracting him, Lucan looked at the walls that had been cracked and collapsed in some areas. "Jesus, how long was I in there ?"
With a limp he dragged himself through the hall burned and crushed debris lay on the floor in abundance, water from the burst pipes that was so cold it stung graved his skin.
"I'm alive, I'm still here" he muttered.
He had gotten to the common room which was just below the staff quarters and it was surprisingly intact, that was until something had crashed through the ceiling.
Dust, debris and splinters flew everywhere as whatever it landed, then there was silence, soon whatever had fallen slowly rose, a long black cloak that resembled wings, a large build and pointed ears on his head "Batman?"
The moment the realization dawned on him he was already being tackled, swept up in his arms and covered by his cape as a massive beam of light poured through the hole in the ceiling gradually expanding as the hole widened burying the entire area in terrifying radiance.
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support.