I groaned as I tried to force my eyes open. Everything was painful and my head was throbbing.
I snapped awake with a start when I realised that I was lying down in a strange place covered in bandages and medical dressing in several areas.
A gauze covered a large part of my forehead and was wrapped around my head. I found my right leg covered in stitches.
I blinked slowly as I tried desperately to figure out where I was.
"Where am I?" I frowned thoughtfully struggling to get up and remember what happened as I looked around the room that was strangely spiffy yet discomforting being mostly metal.
I felt claustrophobic as I realized I was trapped in a strange metal room and gasped for air struggling to breathe.
I realized that I was starting to hyperventilate and showed signs of having a panic attack so I tried to control my breathing and shut my eyes tightly.
"0, 1, 1, 2,...3, 5, 8,.... 13, 21" I began.
I always found the Fibonacci sequence the best way to calm down.
I heard muffled voices coming from outside and the sound of door clicking but I paid it no mind as I focused solely on my numbers.
I always found numbers comforting. While most people would normally count down numbers normally like 1,2,3,4....while trying to calm down for me it had to be Fibonacci sequence or something that would actually make me focus on something else.
"... 34, 55, 89, 144..." I continued as I took slow steadying breaths.
I heard the sound of the footsteps pause.
"233, 377, 610, 987..." The voice said.
"1597, 2584, 4181, 6765...." I continued as I couldn't help but smile.
I recognised that voice.
I would recognise it even when I was half asleep or in the middle of trying to calm down from a panic attack.
"10946, 17711, 28657, 46368..." Ernie continued in a calm soothing voice.
"75025, 121393...." I opened my eyes and smiled as I saw his worried expression .
"Thank you Ernie. I have calmed down now." I said trying to get up from the bed.
"Another panic attack?" he frowned as he stopped me from getting up.
"Lie down for a while. Don't push yourself to get up suddenly like that..." he looked anxiously at me.
Suddenly the door clicked open and a tall man with broad shoulders, jet black hair and striking green eyes with a name tag that read 'Doctor Grover (prison doctor) 'entered the room.
"What the hell happened? How did he just collapse like that?" Ernie gritted his teeth and glared at the doctor.
Doctor Grover sighed.
"He appears to have hit his head on the tub and slipped on the floor leading to blood loss and minor concussion then had a panic attack and broke the glass....ending up collapsing on top of the broken glass shards due to exhaustion."
I flushed feeling quite embarrassed.
I really overreacted back then....
Why did I even break the glass?
Now I feel rather silly....
"Sorry... I.." I began trying to apologise for the broken glass.
"Don't be. Not your fault." Ernie said simply.
"What do you mean by exhaustion Doctor?" he asked.
"Well....It was mostly a combination of exhaustion, stress, the injury on his head and all the blood loss that caused him to collapse. He even climbed all the way in the snowy mountains in that kind of weather so he was more tired than he realized. He shows some symptoms of mild hypothermia and fatigue." Doctor Grover said as he glanced at his notepad furrowing his eyebrows in concern.
"Being arrested like that was shocking and caused quite a lot of stress and mental anguish so it was mostly adrenaline that kept him going till then." He said looking pointedly at Ernie and shaking his head in disapproval.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ernie said seriously as he sat down beside me looking at me in anguish.
I blinked in confusion.
"Tell you what?" I asked curiously.
"What the doctor said....you were stressed, tired, cold and afraid...you wouldn't have collapsed if you told me...if I knew that...then I could have...."Ernie began quite distressed.
I couldn't tell him that I broke the glass in a desperate attempt to be heard over his voice.
I smiled weakly.
"I felt trapped. You know how I detest closed spaces....like the panic attack I was having now...had one back then too and....overreacted."
"A panic attack?... Hm... It seems you are claustrophobic. Phobias are generally due to a traumatic experience in the past..." Doctor Grover began in a casual tone.
No.
No. No. No. No. No.
I don't want to remember.
I don't want to remember that time.
I wanted to forget.
Please don't ask.
I don't want to talk about it.
I clenched my fist and tried to fight back the wave of nausea that threatened to overcome me.
"Oh you look quite pale? Are you alright? Could it be...you had faced a traumatic experience in the past regarding closed space that led you to develop such a phobia?" Doctor Grover asked the dreaded question.
Both me and Ernie froze.
"Doctor Grover. Kindly refrain from asking unnecessary questions and just focus on doing your job. It is quite unbecoming of a doctor as highly regarded as yourself to probe into a patient's personal life. Do I make myself clear?" Ernie stood up uncomfortably close to the doctor and said in an eerily calm voice.
"Crystal." Grover gulped looking away nervously.
"It's ok. I...dont mind talking about...it." I said hesitantly.
"Kay...are you...sure?" Ernie backed off from the doctor and sat next to me again looking concerned.
I closed my eyes and nodded.
"It was a long time ago when I was still a student...it was on the day I last saw Ernestein. It was our graduation day... I was very excited to finally graduate with Ernie who was like a brother to me." I smiled at that.
I opened my eyes and looked at Ernie who looked at me sadly knowing what was coming next.
"I waited a long time for Ernie...but he never came. He never missed a single day...other than his graduation. I felt something was wrong. I knew something was definitely wrong.
So I went to look for him...thought he was sick....or hurt."
The doctor looked curious but didn't comment.
"I saw a huge fire. His house was burning. Huge...fiery hot flames burned everywhere...it kept on growing larger and larger...I heard screams and crying... So much crying and screaming." I shuddered and felt tears fall from my eyes.
Ernie held my hands and looked away sorrowfully.
"It was horrifying...but I didn't even call for help. I didn't scream. I didn't do anything.... I just stood there looking at the fire...my voice wouldn't come out. I couldn't speak. I couldn't even move. Then I heard Ernie's parents yell his name. So I ran into the burning building."
I noticed Ernie flinch at the mention of his parents.
"It was really hot and painful and I couldn't breathe because of all that smoke but I ran....and ran....and kept on running looking everywhere for him."
"Did you find him?" The doctor interrupted looking intrigued and fearful.
"No. I felt someone grab me from behind and a cloth was pressed on my face that smelled sickeningly sweet."
"Chloroform" The doctor muttered knowingly.
"I struggled but I felt too weak and then it all went black...when I woke up...I found myself locked up in a dark storage....that was an old wooden shed near Ernie's house...but I could still hear the screams....so it mustn't have been long."
The doctor looked horrified and Ernie had a blank expression on his face that I couldn't decipher.
"I was scared. The screams were unearthly. It was Ernie's parents...they were burning alive. I still can't forget those screams. They kept on yelling Ernie's name. I couldn't hear Ernie. Thought he was hurt...or dead. Then it was....quiet and they stopped screaming...it was silent and I could only hear the crackling spluttering sound of fire burning everything and wood splintering..... Thats when I knew it was silent because they couldn't scream any more. It was quiet because....they were dead."
Ernie looked at me appaled.
"I did everything to get away...I yelled and pounded on the door with my fist but no one heard me... I tried to claw my way out using my nails and dig the soil and make a way to escape till my hands bled but I couldn't get away....I couldn't get out no matter what I tried."
Ernie and the doctor looked at me horrified and the doctor was crying.
"I couldn't breathe... Couldn't think... I didn't even know what I was yelling....I kept on yelling till my voice was hoarse and my throat was sore....I screamed till my voice wouldn't come out anymore...."
"I am sorry. I am sorry. Please you don't need to continue. I am sorry I asked. It must have been a nightmare. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It must be terrifying to remember." The doctor held my hands and pleaded with a sorrowful expression.
I shook my head and continued
"I just wanted to protect Ernie. He was like my brother. I hated myself for a long time when I realised I couldn't do anything to save him or his parents. I really....thought he was dead...and I wouldn't see my precious brother again." My voice hitched as I couldn't stop crying.
"They found me hours later. The firefighters but it was too late. The bodies were unidentifiable. They were all dead and I was just tired....very tired...of everything."
"Thank you for telling your story. It was very brave of you." The doctor said compassionately gently squeezing my hands before letting go.
His eyes suddenly turned wide with fear as he turned to me.
"Wait! That person who locked you up....could he be the arsonist...and m...murderer?"
I nodded not having the energy to say anymore.
"Was he ever caught?" he asked cautiously.
I shook my head furiously despite the intense headache.
"I don't know. I am sorry...I didn't see his face. He wasn't caught...It's all my fault....I am sorry I didn't see his face." I gave the same reply that I gave to the police back then.
"Stop it! Don't stress him out doctor!"
Ernie gave me a glass of water trying to calm me down.
"What about you? How did you get away when the house was on fire?" The doctor asked Ernie curiously.
Ernie froze.
"I went to get...some groceries. They were dead by the time I got back." he said with a blank expression that I couldn't read.
"But...that doesn't make sense...why would they yell your name then?" The doctor inquired shaking his head.
Ernie frowned.
"They told me to get groceries. Maybe they knew it would happen so they tried to protect me."
I nodded.
That made sense.
"No. No. That can't be right. Kaysar here says they kept on yelling your name till the end....why would they do that then?" The doctor looked suspiciously at Ernie.
Oh...
He had a...point.
But...no way...
Ernie wouldn't have....
No way....
"They must have been warning me to stay away and not come near as it was dangerous." Ernie said gritting his teeth looking annoyed at the doctor's persistent questioning.
Oh.
That's why....
"But..."
"Doctor Grover. You ask way too many unnecessary questions. Why don't you just focus on your job? Hm?" Ernie said with a smile that didn't look freindly.
"U...understood." Doctor Grover gulped as he prescribed me some medicines, warm food, lots of water and rest and prohibited any strenuous activities for a while.
"I wanted to look around a bit and learn of my work." I sighed despondently.
"As long as its not strenuous...its fine. Just don't overdo it." The doctor conceded after a while.
I gave him a grateful smile as he left.
Ernie was strangely silent for some time.
"Ernie? Could you show me around the facility?" I asked him as he seemed to be lost in deep thought.
"Sure! We have the latest technological advancements and the most advanced equipments for our underground laboratories. You will definitely love it!" He beamed proudly.
"Lead the way!" I grinned with barely contained excitement.
"Gladly!" Ernie laughed as he walked beside me through the long passageway that seemed endless.
At the far end of the passageway there was a beautiful blue gate that led to the most mesmerizing and enchanting laboratory.
There seemed to be a blue theme as the lights filled the lab in a soft blue light that was easy on the eyes.
It was huge and all sorts of specialized equipments and latest technologies were placed properly.
"Wow! It's...absolutely breathtaking..." was all I could comment as I gasped in astonished.
"Quite amazing isn't it?" Ernie chuckled as he excitedly dragged me from one end to another explaining the usage of several strange and unusual devices.
"And that's the latest modified version of APC253 electron microscope with an even more powerful image resolution sensors and hyper magnification using sofisticated light focusing processors that can even capture and process...." Ernie explained in a fast paced voice that rose in volume indicating his excitement and intrest.
"Hold on! What's that over there?" I asked interrupting him as I pointed to a strange semi oval human sized container cells with wires and light nodes and grips capable of holding down and restraining a person inside it while a tough glass cover held it firmly.
Ernie paused and looked at it thoughtfully.
He suddenly broke into a huge grin and his eyes gleamed in morbid fascination.
"Its our special experiment." He said as he looked at me up and down.
"Special experiment?" I asked nervously.
"Yes. And I think you will do really well for our next experiment." he said slowly as he observed me coldly.
"Wh...at.... you want to experiment on me next?!" I asked horrified.
"Don't be daft! I meant as a helper! You will help us with the next experiment..." Ernie snorted trying to hold back his laughter as he looked at my horrified expression.
I had a really bad feeling about this for some reason and my gut told me to run away immediately and never look back.
I should have listened to my gut back then.
But all I said back then was.....
"Sure! Sounds like a swell plan!"
"Yes...you will learn more once you actually do it....much more." He said with a blank expression as he glanced at the strange human sized containers.