Delta

Chapter Six: The Escape

I slowly opened my eyes and was immediately greeted by bright red lights. I put my hand up to my face to shield my eyes. After a few seconds, I pulled it away as my eyes adjusted. What just happened? I wondered. Where am I? Everything suddenly rushed back all at once, and the last thing I remembered was getting yanked up by the robotic arm. After that, I didn't remember anything. I looked up at my surroundings. I was sitting on a very small white plate. All around me were vertical glowing red lasers that stretched up to a plate above me. I had very little room to move. I peered through the lasers. I seemed to be in a room. In front of me was a rectangular metal door which was closed. Next to the door was a large control panel and a large screen. There were a few small screens positioned in the wall next to it, and they showed various views of places. They must be cameras. Every once in a while the screens would flicker, but other than that they seemed to be working fine. I slowly reached out with one hand, hoping the lasers wouldn't kill me. I already knew that they would probably hurt me, but at this point I was just testing out my curiosity. The second my hand made contact with the laser an intense electric shock jolted through my body, making me gasp in pain. I snatched my hand back and steadied my breathing. My hand felt like it had been burned, and the shock had left me feeling weak and unsteady. I looked down at my fingers to discover they were red and blistered.

"Touch those enough times and the shocks will eventually kill you." The robotic female voice filled the room unexpectedly. "If I remember this correctly, the human body can withstand approximately twelve of those shocks before death will occur. In your case, eleven now. If I were you, I would use your remaining chances sparingly." 

"Who are you?" I yelled into the room. It was my first time addressing the speaker directly. "What's going on? What happened to my friend?" 

"Subject 1874 is safe and attending to some tasks I have set out. You, subject 1873, on the other hand, have been placed in Delta's Disciplinary Containment Cube. It was a punishment given to employees who were caught disobeying protocol or refused to obey orders. The period of time they were kept in there depended on the level of seriousness their transgression was on. The punishment was intended to teach violators discipline and how to reflect on their actions." 

"But I didn't break any rules!" I shouted angrily. 

"The Disciplinary Containment Cube was originally designed for future prisons as a way to contain or punish criminals. You momentarily escaped from the punishment that was going to be given to you for poor testing results. In consequence, you must be kept somewhere for the time being while I sort some things out. As a matter of fact, I must go and check in on Subject 1874, who has excelled at testing thus far. Subject 1874 can be useful to me, while you, Subject 1873, cannot. Goodbye for now, and please try not to get yourself killed yet. I would hate to miss it." 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I sat in the 'cube' for what felt like an hour, but what must have been closer to about twenty or thirty minutes. So many new questions had sprung up, but I had barely gotten any answers. I wondered what was going to happen to me. At one point I leaned back a little too far and touched the red lasers. It sent a painful shock through my whole body. After a few more minutes, I decided that I had had enough. I began looking for a way to escape. I stood up and braced myself for the pain that was about to come. Maybe if I ran straight through the lasers, I would be able to break myself out of the force field they seemed to project. 

I steeled myself, then flung myself at the lasers as hard as I could. The pain was unbearable, and I felt like I was getting electrocuted. I kept pushing anyway, but the force field just wouldn't let me through. I stumbled back into more lasers. I yelled out in pain, and collapsed to my knees, shaking and gasping for breath. That plan was not going to work. I held up my trembling hands. They were covered in ugly blisters that were oozing with blood and pus. I grimaced and looked down at my legs, which burned like crazy. My knees and thighs, which had made the most contact with the lasers, were red and burned. Strangely, my clothes seemed untouched.