The Project

Chapter Seven: Speak

"So, I heard you stole the doctors thought box?" Man, this guy wants to know everything doesn't he? "I'll take that as a yes." We're back in my familiar white room with my familiar white desk and chair. Along with that damned small bed. 

"You know, it's not good to steal from others." I just sit there, staring at the wall behind the man. He snaps his fingers in front of my face, trying to get a reaction out of me. "I suppose you're not happy being back here, are you?" He'll be gettin' no response outta me. 

"Sean."

My head snaps up and I start to stand. NO ONE calls me by that name. The man looks at me with a shocked expression as I lunge at him, hands aimed at his throat. 

"M-Marzia! C-Call the-" I start to strangle him before he has the chance to say anything else. I stare at the woman known as Marzia and she clams up, frozen in fear and shock once again. 

The man starts to lose focus and reaches out toward Marzia for help. Marzia fumbles for the door handle. She starts to hyperventilate as I choke the man. She finally manages to open the door and calls for help, seeing as the guards are posted outside this time.

The man who caught me in the hallway strolls in and gives me an amused smile. "Wait outside Marzia." She does as she's told and shuts the door frantically behind her and the man with brown eyes turns to me, squatting next to me as I choke the life out of the doctor. 

I keep releasing his throat so he can intake air and just as he gets enough, I start to choke him again. "You know, this isn't going to solve anything. All he did was call you S-"

 I shoot him a glare before he continues. "Ah. Touchy subject, I get it." He places his hand on my shoulder and I tense up. 

"Listen, Mcloughlin. I know you want to kill him. I would want to." He shrugs at the man and the doctor furrows his brow at the brown eyed man.

 "How about we start over. No one calls you by your first name, not even this prick." The brown eyed man gives me a smile and puts his hand up for me to shake. "Names Dan."

 I keep choking the man and Dan sighs. "I wish it wouldn't have to come to this." He pulls out a syringe and sticks it into my neck. I instantly start to feel drowsy and drop onto the doctors gasping form.

A day or so after the incident no one comes to check on me, for fear of being strangled or killed. A tray of food is slid under the door and I walk up to it, pushing it back under the door. I'm not eating that. 

Fuck those guys. The door swings open a few seconds later as I return to my lumpy, cold bed. "Mcloughlin, eat. You need to save your energy." 

The door slams shut one again and the tray is slid back under the door. I hop up from my bed and kick it back, it skids to the far wall and clangs against the stone. Spraying food everywhere, I presume.

The door bangs open almost immediately and the prick guard from before walks in, his stormy grey eyes swirling in anger as he takes me by the collar of the shirt and leads me outside, opening a door on the far side and taking me inside.

 He throws me onto the floor and starts to speak. "This asshole kicked the food tray and it sprayed across the floor." The woman with long brown hair nods, looking at me with absolute sympathy. 

"He probably wants company.." Noticing her voice, she's that Marzia girl from before.

"You can take him to the cafeteria with the other test subjects." Wait.. other test subjects? Were they seriously keeping me in confinement when I could have contained my sanity outside, talking with other people?! "But wouldn't that make Sig-"

 The woman cuts him off with a stern glare. "Signe, will be dealt with. She's my best friend, after all." The man with grey eyes nods hesitantly and picks me back up by my black, long sleeved shirt collar. 

"-And I don't want to see you handling him like that, he's precious to The Project." 

The man grumbles, but nods. The woman hands him a silver wristband and he snaps it onto my wrist, locking it in place. "This is only a precaution if you decide to run again." 

She gives me a smile while the man leads me back down the hall, shutting the door behind him and taking me by the collar once again. Fuckin' prick.

After about five minutes of walking down a series of hallways, we arrive at the cafeteria, where everyone is solemnly eating their mush together. Some are talking with their neighbors, or throwing glances around the room and analyzing everything.

 The whole room goes silent and the guard clicks the door closed and throws me into a lunch line, where only two people are getting food. I grab a plastic tray and start to go through the line. 

The lady plops a white substance onto my tray and a few pieces of dried-up looking meat. I grab a cold water bottle at the end and look around for a place to sit among the sea of whispering people. 

One welcoming face among the crowd beckons me toward their table, where around five or six people sit. 

I begrudgingly walk toward their table and sit beside the man who waved me over. Everyone goes back to their business while I sit with a deadpan stare.

 I immediately start to poke at my food as one of them speaks up in a cheery tone. 

"Hi! My name is Mark." The man who waved me over pokes the red haired man known as Mark in the ribs. "Woah. Slow down, the man looks like he's been through hell!" Oh if only they knew. "Hey, I'm sorry about him. He's a very naïve and cheery boy. I'm Felix, by the way." 

I look up at him and notice that he's smiling. I nod and go back to poking my oddly bouncy mush. "Not a talker, eh?" A man with brown hair pipes up. "Ethan, shush. Let the grown ups talk." Felix pokes him in the side as well and the man pouts. "Yo, what's that thing in your pocket?" One of them points out.

 My eyes widen and I take out the box in my pocket to look at it. It doesn't appear damaged at all! They all exchanged uneasy glances and Felix laughs nervously. "Y-You really don't l-like talking do you?" 

I shrug and put the rings on the sides of my head, turning down the volume so only they can hear. "Talking never has helped me in the past, why start now?" They all jump at the sudden monotone voice.