Lucas woke up disoriented, finding himself immobilized in a chair in the middle of a dark room. His wrists and ankles were firmly tied with ropes that cut off his circulation. A dirty cloth filled his mouth, preventing him from speaking.
Desperate, he strained against the restraints to no avail. He had no way to get away or ask for help. The only thing he could do was try to calm down and observe his surroundings for clues.
The only point of light was a weak light bulb hanging from the ceiling above his head. The walls and floor were bare cement. There were no windows or furniture, just him in the middle of that empty room. Where was it? Who had brought him here?
Suddenly, a door opened in front of Lucas, letting in a blinding beam of light from the outside. A huge silhouette silhouetted against the light approached slowly. When he was a few meters away, the door slammed shut, plunging the room into darkness again.
As his eyes adjusted, Lucas could make out his captor's face. It was the same masked man who had questioned him in the alley about the creature. His heart raced in panic. What would you want from him now?
The man stood menacingly in front of Lucas and spoke to him in a guttural voice: "I see that you have woken up. I will remove your gag, but don't try to scream or I will make you regret it." He clenched his bone-grinding knuckles, emphasizing the warning.
Lucas rose quickly. The man yanked the rag from him, lacerating the corners of his parched lips. Lucas coughed and laboriously regained his speech. "What do you want from me? Why do you keep me here?"
The man removed his hood, revealing a stern countenance and inquisitive gaze. "Answer, what were you doing last night when we found you? We detected a massive release of quantum energy in that area. You should be dead from the creature's contamination. And yet, you are here. How?"
Lucas frowned in confusion. "I have no idea what quantum energy you are talking about. I only know that I was attacked by that horrendous creature, I should have died but somehow I am still alive."
The man approached intimidatingly. "Don't play dumb. You were right at the epicenter of the quantum explosion. What caused that phenomenon? Answer."
Luke shook his head. "I swear, I have no idea. I only remember using some kind of machine as a desperate weapon against that monster. But then everything gets confusing..."
The masked man seemed to consider his words and then pointed to Lucas's arm. "So how do you explain that? Something happened to you last night related to that creature. Your arm has mutated, how?"
Lucas looked at his arm strangely. Seeing him, he could not suppress a cry of horror. Its limb now seemed covered by an organic black armor that writhed slightly.
"No! What is this thing? Take it away from me!" Lucas struggled in vain against the restraints, panicking.
Faced with Lucas' display of panic, the masked man gave him a hard slap to calm him down. "Calm down! You don't gain anything by going into hysteria. Take a deep breath and control yourself."
Dazed, Lucas slowly composed himself, although inside his emotions threatened to overwhelm him.
The man nodded. "That's better. I'm sorry this happened to you, you've gotten yourself into something bigger than you imagined. Somehow that creature has...changed you." He placed a hand on Lucas's head and closed his eyes, concentrating.
After a few seconds of silence, the masked man opened his eyes. "My suspicions were true. You now have a connection with quantum energy. Your encounter with that being from another dimension altered you deeply."
Lucas looked at him bewildered. "Quantum energy? I don't understand what you're talking about, please explain to me what's happening to me."
The man shakes his head. "I'm afraid I'm not the right person to answer your questions. But I know someone who can. For now, you just have to come with me." With that, he cut Lucas's bonds and motioned for him to stand up.
When the masked man released him, Lucas rubbed his sore wrists. "I need to let someone know of my whereabouts...I have friends who may be worried about my absence."
The man shakes his head. "I'm afraid I can't allow you to contact anyone from your old life. You're involved in something more important now. I'm sorry, but it's for your own protection."
Lucas felt a pang of anguish. He had no family, but some of the few friends he had made on the streets might be disturbed by his disappearance. But he had no options at the moment, but to follow this stranger towards an unknown destination.
The man introduced himself as Frank and welcomed him "to the group," although Lucas had no idea what that meant. Together they passed through the door at the end of the hallway, emerging into the blinding light outside, the beginning of a new, uncertain chapter for Lucas.