While the girls were busy cleaning each other, Logan enjoyed the sauna's steam bath. The place was too comfortable and almost made him forget he was a prisoner, not a tourist. However, reality came crashing when an announcement was made.
"117, 007, step away from the prisoner."
Logan's eyes shot open when he heard the electronic voice. The girls quickly got up and stood on the side. They didn't even bother to uncuff him, just stood there waiting for something to happen. A moment later, several armored guards entered the sauna, their guns pointing at Logan.
"What is going on?" Logan mumbled, trying to get up.
However, the moment he did that, a guard shot him. Logan looked down and saw a small green dart embedded in the middle of his chest. The next moment his vision turned dark, and he collapsed, unable to move or see, but aware of everything happening around him.
"Prisoner 208 secured. Heading back to the lab according to zeta protocol for the enhancement procedure."
That electronic voice was the last bit Logan heard before falling asleep.
***
Logan drifted in and out of consciousness, but he was unconscious for the most time. It felt like he was stuck in an endless void, but then he saw a flashing light. A moment later, he began hearing the voices of those around him, but his mind was too hazy to make sense of anything.
Strange shapes and shadows suddenly appeared before him. They were blurry and he couldn't make sense of them, either. But they were there.
He tried to move, to lift his head, but his body felt too heavy to do anything. It was like his limbs weren't under his control anymore. The sleepy fog around his mind got denser every moment, making it impossible to stay awake. Yet Logan tried his best to stay awake.
As Logan fought to stay awake, he realized he was lying on his back and someone had strapped him to something hard and mobile. A stretcher, maybe? The noise of turning wheels confirmed it. He was being taken somewhere, but where and why?
As his eyelids grew heavier, the last thing Logan heard was the humming of countless machines echoing in his head before the darkness claimed him again.
***
Logan woke up again... barely aware of his surroundings as usual. But there was something different now. He could hear the voices. They still echoed in his head, but he could make sense of it, unlike before.
"...never seen someone accomplish this much in the tutorial. This guy is special." Someone said before stopping for a moment.
"I can see why Ms. Hyeon went against orders to save him. Someone like him will raise the standard of the death game."
Then there was the sound of someone being pushed before someone else spoke up. This time, the guy's voice felt familiar. Logan had heard it before, but his foggy brain couldn't remember where.
"Shut up, doc! Don't you dare praise that backstabbing bitch, Hyeon! The higher-ups love her because she's their lapdog," the voice said.
As Logan heard more, he was sure the voices were talking about him. But who was this Ms. Hyeon, and why did she save him? Unfortunately, he didn't get an answer.
"Why are you getting mad at me?"
"Shut up, or I'll put a bullet in your head! Just do your fucking job and get this bastard prepped for the prison."
With rushed footsteps, someone walked out of the room, leaving everything in silence.
Logan tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids didn't budge. It felt as if someone had glued his eyelids shut. Unfortunately, Logan would soon realize his mind being awake wasn't a blessing, but a curse.
Suddenly, a sharp, searing pain shot through his body. It felt like he was being torn apart from the inside out. His eyes shot open, only to be blasted by a blinding light.
Logan quickly tried closing his eyes, but couldn't because his eyelids were forced open, held in place by something he couldn't see. Panicked, he tried moving his head or turning his eyes away from the light... but he couldn't do anything.
A moment later, someone clad in a lab coat appeared before him. Their face was hidden behind a mask and their hands were covered with blood... his blood.
The person was using some kind of device. Logan couldn't see what it was at first, but then realized it was a laser. A moment later, the beam of light began tracing patterns on his face.
It burned. The pain was unbearable, but Logan couldn't scream. His mouth wouldn't move, his throat wouldn't make a sound. He was stuck there, having to suffer in silence.
The person in the lab coat seemed clueless about his suffering, or maybe they just didn't care. From everything Logan had seen so far, the latter would be the obvious case. The doctor continued their work, playing around his face with the laser.
Then it stopped. Logan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the whirling of a drill. The madman had pulled a drill out of his fourth-dimensional pocket and was testing it.
"This should work," the doc said before bringing the drill closer to Logan's eye.
Dread set in as Logan realized what was about to happen next. He wanted to thrash around, yell, and do anything to stop the maniac. But he couldn't.
Strapped to the operating table, Logan was helpless as he waited for the inevitable. The doctor slowly lowered the drill. Then, just as the drill made contact, Logan's world went black... probably for the last time.