I raised an eyebrow at the scientist's request. "Blood test?" The scientist nodded happily. "Yes. We'll just give you a quick prick to the arm and extract a couple of vials of blood from you, and then you'll be free to go." Suddenly, my anxiety skyrocketed and everyone in my head started screaming. 'Prick?! They mean needles!!! Needles!!! They are going to torture us again!!!' John yelled. 'Anything but fucking needles!!!' Erin exclaimed even louder. 'Not again! No needles! Please god no more needles!!!' Mary cried. Even Penelope came out of her hiding hole to say something. 'I can't take another needle! Please don't let them torture us again! Please!'
I started breathing heavily and my hallucinations intensified. My surroundings became blurry at the edges, and darkness started to creep in with the sounds of agony. "Needles?" The scientist's expression became worried as they saw the intense fear on my face and the sudden rapidity of my breath. "Don't worry, it will be over in just a few minutes. I can show you some breathing techniques if you would like." John then started screaming ten times louder than before and at a much lower octave at which he normally speaks. 'NO!!! NO NEEDLES!!! DON'T LET THEM TORTURE US!!! I WON'T LET THEM!!!' I then grabbed my head from the sheer volume of everyone screaming at once and out of my own fear as well. "NO!!! NO NEEDLES!!! PLEASE GOD NO!!! DON'T MAKE ME!!!"
My back hit the wall behind me as I stumbled away, and I continued to grip my head hard as I fell to the ground, screaming. Everyone standing around me stiffened and looked at me as if they had no idea what was happening or what to do. I couldn't pay attention to them through the hallucinations of shadow creatures with blood-red eyes covering my vision. The sound in my head was too intense to bear that I flailed violently as I sat up against the wall and screamed. I couldn't focus on anything but my fear until I felt a small hand on my arm. The hand instantly made me calm down, and the hallucinations went away.
I stopped screaming as well as the voices, and I looked up to see Molly with a terrified expression on her face. "Kane! What's wrong?!" I left my hands on my head as tears filled my eyes and started to flood down my face. "Don't let them torture me again. Please. I can't take it again..." Molly's fear faded and she looked up at Hank. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hank nodded and turned to me. "Kane. Were you in prison when the apocalypse started?" I lowered my head and my hair fell over my face as I nodded slowly. Hank's tone was serious as he spoke down to me. "I inform you that our settlement is in no way affiliated with project X, and human torture is not how we find the answers to urgent problems. Our scientists take care of their patients."
James was confused by everything that was happening. "So Kane was one of Xirnatech's lab rats? I thought they all died." Molly grabbed my hands which made instant butterflies in my stomach and she started rolling up the sleeves of my jacket. "Only one way to find out." She then held my wrists to show everyone the large amount of scar tissue on my hands and in the crooks of my elbows. Everyone gawked at how many scars there were from all the needles that were forced into me. I didn't care that I was being displayed and only focused on Molly's hands on mine. I wondered how she calmed me down so quickly and why she made me feel the way she did. I hadn't ever felt this way about anyone else in my life.
I thought that it was because she was the first woman that I had the chance to be attracted to in years, but I had seen a lot of other women when entering the settlement and I didn't give any of them a second glance. I intended to find out why I felt like she was the other half of my soul, and I would stop at nothing until she was mine. James noticed the look of longing that I gave her and he moved to pull Molly back to her feet and away from me. "Okay, so he's traumatized. That doesn't change that he's a damn psychopath. Keep your distance, who knows why he was in prison in the first place."
Molly pulled out of his arm to stand on her own and Hank sighed as he shook his head. "Never mind that. Let's focus on the subject at hand. This is going to take some work if we're going to get him to comfortably take the blood test. He seemed to calm down quite a bit after Molly touched him." James gasped. "You're not suggesting-?!" Hank nodded. "I'm assigning you, Molly, to act as Kane's life support for the day. Be empathetic with him. Help him through it. But don't leave him alone until he has taken that test."
Molly nodded like a good soldier. "I will do what I can." Hank smiled and turned to James. "You come back with me. I believe you have projects to work on." James was utterly baffled. "Hank, you can't be serious. You just assigned my girlfriend to babysit a psycho who has a major crush on her. I can't just leave them alone!" Hank still held up his cigar as he continued the conversation bitterly. "You will call me Sir. And yes, I am assigning Molly to coddle a frightened young man while under the supervision of all of the scientists in the lab. You may not be here because I've noticed that you agitate Kane, therefore would not be good to have in the room while he tries to calm down."
James gestured to me as he argued. "He's agitated by me because I'm Molly's boyfriend!" Hank's eyebrow flicked with unamusement. "You've stated the obvious. Now, are you going to trust that your girlfriend will complete her task with professionalism, or are we going to have to call a couples counselor? I believe it was you who said, 'Acting out from jealousy never helped anybody'." James looked at Molly who was only slightly confused and he scoffed as he left the room. Hank then followed after him as well as the rest of the army men so it was just me, Molly, and the scientists left in the lab.
Molly then held her hand out to me and I took it as soon as I could. I stood up and realized that I was a little dizzy from everything that happened. I most likely banged my head against the wall while I was flailing, and I wiped the rest of my tears away. 'Look what we've done to Kane. I know it's going to be difficult, but we need to focus on the fact that they aren't going to torture us.' Mary said calmly. Even Erin seemed stressed as he spoke. 'Right. We all kind of freaked out. But not as much as John. Holy fuck John.' John spoke as if he had just gotten over a migraine. 'I'm sorry. I do not know what happened to me. I just snapped.'