Unmasking the Nightmare

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Blind Leading the Blind

Eclipse's POV

Rows of clear plastic tubes lined the dingy laboratory, each tube linked to the forearm of every sedated individual. The room stank of harsh chemicals that burned my nostrils and slithered through my closed eyelids to scorch my eyeballs. The unforgiving florescent light bulbs that danced over every individual didn't help my eyes either, the glaring lighting making them burn.

I resisted the urge to rub my eyes to relieve the irritation, knowing it wasn't worth it to open them or make any movement since I didn't want to reveal that I was awake. I wasn't looking forward to being injected with a new wave of the painful sedative. The last time I had been awake long enough to remember anything, I was spoon-fed a disgusting gritty paste that tasted like sawdust and contained just enough water mixed in to keep me alive. That was the only source of nutrients and protein we were served. And as soon as bathroom break and feeding time were over—feeding time consisting of four spoonfuls of that gross glob—the needle would sink into my neck and I would be back in blissful unconsciousness where I spent ninety-nine percent of my life.

How long would I rot away in this room while the outside world continued in its pursuit of fleeting pleasures? Didn't they know that beneath their feet laid a legion of children who were told that they were a danger to society and the only way to be a help to society was to surrender their bodies for experimentation?

As far as I'm aware, none of us had come willingly. No family would deliberately hand their child over, even if we did possess some supernatural powers. We had been hunted, kidnapped, drugged, and dragged to this underground prison. They had stolen our freedom, our innocence...our lives. And for what purpose?

"I know you're awake." A voice wafted from my left, and before I could stop myself, my eyelids had sprang open. Let them come and inject us with that agonizing sedative. Let them pry our mouths open and shove down that paste that made my stomach roil with nausea. Let them feed us drugs that made us forget ourselves. Nothing could stop me from sharing a few precious moments with someone who made this somehow bearable.

Sparkling emerald green irises clashed against my honey-amber eyes, and I felt myself falling farther and farther into his bright, captivating gaze. His dark hair had been tussled and shimmered from the grease that glazed his locks, testifying to the fact that our captors didn't care about proper hygiene. His muddy brown jumpsuit was shredded and flakes of crimson crusted it, where mine was almost spotless.

"You look terrible." He forced a grin, and I cringed at the amount of blood that stained his pearly-white teeth. Whenever the both of us were awake at the same time, that would be the first thing he would say to me. It was like some tease of his, although I couldn't understand what he found humorous about our situation.

Normally, I would take the opportunity to reply with my famous line, "You look worse," but the carmine that speckled his jumpsuit and mouth only made my chest tighten with worry. No matter how many times I warned him, he was always too stubborn to listen.

"You got into another fight, didn't you?" I whispered, the corners of my lips drawing down into a quivering frown. "Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Huh, guess I must not look that bad since you didn't say your famous retort." He cocked his head, taking note of my grim expression. "I know a frown isn't exactly foreign to your face, but is something wrong?"

He really didn't understand it. He treated this like it was some sort of sick joke, some nightmare that we would just wake up from, undamaged and safe. Maybe it was his powers that blinded him. Maybe he lived with the mindset that this wasn't actually reality and reality was the place you could craft and escape to in your mind.