by catt dahman
“The light will brighten slowly so you can see better, but we don’t want to harm your eyes. In time, you will both fear and crave the darkness. Trust me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nick demanded, “I am in law enforcement. I suggest you release all of us. I know who you are. We all do.”
Julia laughed at him.
Nick hadn’t expected any different, but he tried. Her laugh was one he knew. The woman was convinced of her omnipotence. Everyone was far beneath her, figuratively and literally.
“Why are we locked away? This isn’t what a professional does, Doctor Summers, is it?” Ruth asked.
“Ruth, hello, good to see you again. Your threats are irrelevant, and you will eventually call for me and beg my favors. You will worship me, love me, hate me, want me dead, and then want to have me in all ways. I’m sexy, yes? You’ll desire me. All of you will in some way. Call me Julia. But before you are…refined…you shall call me other names, I feel.”
“Bullshit,” Skot said. Nick suppressed a chuckle at that. For once Skot was on target with his insults.
“Where are we?” Ruth asked. She was trying to assess the situation.
Julia spoke very well and was obviously in control and was enjoying her spectacle. “You are in a basement of a particular building that no one comes near. The security here is beyond excellent, but again, there is no interest in this place. The security is all my doing and flawless. This place is a nowhere place, one of many that has been forgotten. You may scream all you wish…and you will…all of you, in time, but it will be useless. I don’t mind if you scream since it is very normal. I understand.”
She took a breath and said, “If you were not caged, you’d look around this basement. It’s old and has concrete floors. It’s built deep into the ground. There are no windows. The seclusion of this place and the size of this excellent basement were why I chose this place.”
“It ain’t your regular house, huh?” Terri asked.
All eyes were on her. She smiled. “No, anyway, the basement is sound proofed. That was costly but efficient and perfect for my purposes.”
“What purposes? What the hell is going on?” Jake yelled.
“Shhh, I’ll explain.”
“Let us out if you want to explain. Let me out.”
Julia let Jake finish his loud demands.
She went on as if telling a pleasant story; she was the center of attention, the one with power and whose every word was critical. “On a smaller level, you are in special iron cages with small doors and padlocks. They are, shall we say, like dog cages? I bet you figured that out. You’re in a circle, specially designed by me.”
“Let us out of here, you crazy bitch.”
“Oh, Skot, how interesting. I expected that from you, you bad, bad man. No, I can’t do that because I have too much invested and it would ruin everything. Please don’t demand that of me because you will only humiliate yourselves and piss me off,” her voice rose slightly.
“Why? May I ask why?” Mike asked. “What is this for? Why are we here?”
“My dear, Mike, you and I spoke of this, didn’t we? We spoke of people who are faced with the most horrible circumstances and about how some rally and fight, and some fall apart fast. We spoke of all kinds of reactions, and it was enlightening although my plans were already in place. You are here for a social-psychological experiment that is all my own. I wish to observe and see first-hand how a situation of my making affects each of you. Dear, you know why? You, above all, know exactly why. Because I wish to understand more. I am a curious person.”
“I don’t….”
“Yes, you do. We discussed this. We wondered if it were nature or nurture that makes a survivor. We wondered what qualities make some fight to the bitter end. We theorized.”
“Theory. Not real. We barely touched on this.”
“We may have, but I had already done a lot of thinking. Mike, as I said, it was already in place. I was just having fun with you and getting to know what kind of person you were. I am deeply curious, see?”
“What is the basis? What do you want to know? Come on, you can’t keep us here. People will come looking….”
“Ruth, we were tidy and clever. No one will find you. You are connected in some ways, and that’s how we made a list, seeing who was around to grab, how easy it was, and who was good for the experiment, but it isn’t personal. All of you are special choices, and while all of you are single, you are also very much typecasts. I wish to know what sort will rise to the top and survive this ordeal.”
“Survive?” Ruth asked.
“Typecasts,” Jake repeated.
“Did that not cross your minds? Some of you?”
“It did,” Ruth said.
“The elite, the trash, the dumb, the smart, the kind, and the mean. White, black, and Asian. Male and female. But you are very much the certain types I needed for this. I bet Mike, Nick, and Ruth will get that later. It’s my little bit of information for you three to chew on later.”
Julia spoke with a calm, soothing voice. She neither smiled nor frowned as she explained but remained neutral, as if watching something other than humans who were terrified. She didn’t have compassion. Ruth, Mike, and Nick mentally marked her as a sociopathic personality, one who had no empathy or conscience. That chilled the three of them.
“You’ve talked, and Mike, smart man that you are, you have figured out the configuration. The hands and feet are very random. Your positions are random except for being male, female, male, female, and so on. I believe in randomization.”
“Get me outta here. I’m gonna kill you,” Terri screamed.
“You will not be set free, so please don’t ask again.”
Owen beat his head on the bars, and Terri bellowed. Skot shouted obscenities, and Vinnie issued challenges. Mattie shrieked.
“Oh, my, not a very hopeful beginning for a few, right, Mike? Ruth? Are they acting stable? No? Nick, do you worry they are crazy?” Julia shrugged and said, “Carl, bring me the water.”
Julia, waiting until Carl handed her a thick hose with a large brass nozzle, had to get him to help her hold the apparatus, but when Julia said okay, he pulled the lever, and water shot out, hard, fast, and ice cold. She raked it across the southern line, hitting Terri, Owen, and Mattie the hardest, but Nick and Mike caught a lot of the icy spray. There was no way to avoid it. Terri, Owen, and Mattie fought, but it was an impossible battle since the water’s force bruised them, and the coldness made them blue and numb.
They all collapsed, unable to fight any more.
Skot held up his hands, but the hose raked across the western side, drenching everyone, but hitting Skot the hardest. Julia had great aim; she got his face. She gave the north section part a lighter spray. She leaned down and battered Vinnie until he was sobbing and pleading; the water was so cold that it hurt beyond description.
“Thank you, Carl. Now, are we ready to behave? I warned all of you not to ask to be released. Your demands bore me. Each time anyone does this, I will spray all of you until you are badly bruised and blue with cold. All of you will suffer if someone is foolish. You must learn the basic rules. Don’t beg to be released is the first rule.”
“I just….” Mattie whispered.
Mike slapped her arm hard and yelled, “Shut the hell up.”
“This is interesting. Let me explain. All of you were brought here after being disabled through a blow to the head, a drug slipped into a drink, or by a little pin prick hypodermic. While you were unconscious, you were laid on beds like hospital beds, all lined up in a room upstairs. You were not mistreated in any way because we wanted you healthy.”
Mike made a small sound.
Julia smiled and said, “You were knocked out for days, actually, and your waste was cleaned away. No, you were not molested. It was very clinical. No fears. You were in beds with pillows and blankets and kept in good shape, but you’ll notice that if you had a head wound, it wasn’t stitched or cleaned.
I mean we didn’t see a need. You were the ones who might die anyway. In fact, two did; that’s why two of you are here, as replacements.”
“They died?” Jake asked.
“Well, yes, they did. I think they were hit too hard, maybe, but let’s move on. We’ll not blame Carl for overzealous work. We’ll get to the dead ones soon enough. It was truly a nice addition to my plan to have them die. Accidents often bring the greatest results.”
“You’re crazy,” Skot yelled.
“Oh, no, not legally, I was tested,” Julia smiled.
Everyone was stunned.
“Let’s get to the details. You were kept asleep by IVs, and they have kept you partially hydrated, but I know you are thirsty. Randy is walking around your cages, see? And on the tops, he is hanging a big cup fastened with a zip tie. If you yank it down, you may not have it filled with water. You need water, and I shall provide for you. The cups are kind of bullet-shaped or are like torpedoes. You can tilt them, and the water will run into your mouths. That is important. Again, do not yank them down, or you will be without water. I don’t care as it is not about me, but I’d hate to see you die of thirst before everything gets really fun.”
They watched Randy attach the cups. It was tempting to grab for his feet, but he was too far away, and the water spray had frightened all of them. They were so cold.
They could see more. The light was brighter. Each inspected the contraptions that held their feet or arms. They also looked at another, needing to see other faces. Because everyone looked so afraid, Skot couldn’t blame and accuse anyone of being a part of this.
Julia went on. “Carl is dropping in packets. I love this part because it will show who is the smartest. Thee are things you need; you may get other treats if you behave, so use them wisely and be appreciative.”
Her voice was like insect droning, threatening, and puzzling.
“There is a large plastic container for your urine. He is handing those out as well. When it is full, place it out the back of your cages, not in the center. If you do this wrong, you won’t have it emptied. A plastic baggy is for your other waste, and there is toilet paper. It will also go outside the back of your cages. These will be picked up once a day, or twice a day, or not at all. We can’t allow you to tell time, or this won’t work as well, and you’ll get an empty pee cup, a baggy, and tissue again. If you behave.”
Ruth’s head spun. She felt she was in some weird contest she had not signed up for. Julia was so calm that it was frightening. How could she give these terrible directions so casually. Pee in a cup. Behave. It made no sense. Why?
“We pee in cups and crap in bags that are picked up? Okay,” Ruth said. “We get water. Okay.” She thought about this and didn’t like where these ideas were going. “What is the experiment? Why do we have body parts stretched into other cages and will we be fed?” Her stomach growled. She was so hungry. What she wouldn’t give for a burger and fries or a big steak. She wanted food and wanted to pee, but she also had a need to understand what this sick game was about.
Ruth was worried that for all Julia’s rules and directions and for all her barbs thrown at Mike, she had yet to explain what this was about. There had to be more information.
“You are hungry because you have not been fed for some time. A week. Over a week…two weeks…maybe a month…who knows? I won’t tell,” Julia winked and giggled. “You have been here a while. We took you off the sleepy drugs, slid you into your cages, and allowed you to awaken. I would think all of you are very hungry. In fact, the pangs are getting bad for a few. Mmmm. Aren’t you just craving a big bowl of steaming hot chili with little crackers, a side of creamy coleslaw, some crispy fried okra, and a tall glass of sweet tea with lemon? Ohhh, and some peach pie, yum. Oh, I’m sorry I was torturing you. I’m sorry. ” She wasn’t sorry. Her face showed she liked saying those things.
“What, do we get bread and water while you experiment?” Skot asked, “I know you ain’t giving us that peach pie.”
Julia almost smiled. He was slow thinking. All of them were, except for maybe the woman Ruth and Mike who both stared with suspicious, worried eyes. Nick was kind of catching on as well. Andre might be, but he refused eye contact.
“Let me tell you the good news first. Each of you is going to get a special gift from me. It will make things interesting. Jake, I know you are a smoker, and I bet you have a craving. You will get a pack of your brand and a lighter. A lighter can’t help you escape, so this doesn’t concern me, but I feel as if it will possibly have some other use in time. That is part of this experiment. Vinnie, you have a favorite knife that you can have. I assure you that try as you might, it can do nothing to save you, but you will be entertained as you test it and decide what to do with it. In time, we can only guess what you will find to do with it. Ruth, I have something that will make you think of your roses that you love so much. Each will get a little gift. Some of you might not want to share what you are getting, just to make things interesting, and some may want to compare.”
“Can we get the food and water soon? I’m starving here,” Skot complained.
“Your water bottles are being filled now; watch the hose; you don’t want to be wetter. As days pass, I will also give rewards, but you may never know what they are for. I have a quirky sense when it comes to a reward system. Here we are, and the experiment has begun.”
“Food?”
“Be quiet,” Jake snapped at Skot.
Julia shook her head and said, “I thought it was obvious. Did I not make it clear with my little instructions? Each of you has food if and when you wish to partake. You have an arm and hand or a foot in your cage. The other person can’t remove the limb until, well, it is removed. He simply can’t take the offering away. You have food right before you. While it may not be what you want….”
The screaming and cursing began afresh. The room echoed with wails and noise as some of the fourteen captives understood and reacted.
Julia didn’t punish them. She understood that they had a shock and needed to vent before they could begin to accept the inevitable. When it was quiet again and it was a while before it was, she went on, “ That was acceptable since it was a shock. Let’s be calm.”
“I’ll kill ya,” Terri promised.
“That will be difficult from where you are, but we shall see, right? Isn’t anything possible in an experiment? You have accepted you can’t get out of the cages, I think. You are already famished. Maybe you can hold out another few weeks or a few days and die of starvation, but I wish to see at what point all of you break and finally partake of human flesh. I know it will be more difficult because they aren’t dead and can beg, cry, and scream. I understand the shame and agony you will go through as you decide what to do and if you will save yourself. We’ll take baby steps, okay? Will that help, my pets?”
More screaming. Carl had to spray Mattie to calm her. This storm lasted a while because Mattie was panic stricken. The cold water made her more combative for a while.
“Shut up,” Mike hissed, “I get soaked every time you go crazy. Just shut the hell up, Mattie.” His calm demeanor had broken quickly after being soaked. The attack with cold water was enough to take away his logical order and composure. Distantly, he knew that his captors knew how to break people with ease.
“What happens afterwards?” Ruth asked. She wasn’t sure why she was calm, but she was. “After we give in and eat, then what? Do they bleed to death? Do we all? What do we eat after that?” Her voice was shrill.
“I hope you have the skills to prevent the person’s bleeding to death, but if he dies, then you can have as much to eat as you can reach, correct? It’s a moral dilemma. I feel some will survive. And all of you have three limbs we can test while keeping one hand for the work.”
“Three? You can’t. We won’t survive that,” Jake said, barely holding back a scream. “The trauma. Shock. It won’t work. We’ll all die. Infection….”
“Perhaps you will, but some will not. I don�
��t expect all of you to survive. It’s an experiment about who breaks first, how, and why. The rest is irrelevant,” Julia said as she waved her hands. Whoever survives will move to a smaller circle with a new arm or hand available. Or maybe the same one. We move after every four…well. When four lose the game, we adjust the cages. Fourteen. Ten. Six. Two.”
“Then we could each cut our own throats and be done, right?” Ruth asked. She was about to be the one screaming and having to be hosed down until she shut up.
“You could. If so, you will be dead. It is possible you could be with someone who will starve or kill himself before taking one of your limbs. Technically, you could make it to the end, eating others and not being eaten. It would depend on your ferocity, you stamina, and your ability to survive, no matter what. Can you come out of this sane? I don’t know.”
“I….” Ruth had no words.
“Is your life more valuable than someone’s arm?”
“That’s….”
“I know. It’s shocking, but it is very real, and you are here, so you might as well accept this quickly. You have to have only four die, and then you’re to the next round. It’s exciting, isn’t it? The experiment? I am serious. If you survive, in what state will your mind be? Will this change you? I know most of you or have met you, and I want to know if your core personalities change, or if they become more pronounced. Interesting, right?”
“No,” Ruth said softly.
“What if I am the last man standing?” Nick asked, “what then? Or do you go to the last two? What is the end game?”
“I think two might make it. It will be more real to have someone to share the experience memories with later…with one who was here, don’t you think? A bonding? I can’t guarantee your mental state because…well…the game will be extreme. Anyway, I will let you go free, to go with a life-altering experience behind you. You will rise to your real state of being. You will evolve.”