Trapped

Chapter 3

            “What do you mean you don’t know?” Trinity asked cautiously.

            “I woke up in an inmate cell like you.  I was trapped in there for a week until you let me out.  I don’t know where everybody went.  But I know where we can find out.  Will you come with me?” Gabe asked her.  She nodded and he motioned for her to follow.  Walking back down the hall they had come, she walked behind him keeping her arms crossed over her chest. As they walked through the halls, Trinity started to see ghostly figures walking next to them.  Some guards, some inmates.  One ghost grabbed her arm and she froze.  She stared at it.

            The ghost was that of an inmate.  His jumpsuit was rolled down around his waist, he was heavily built and covered in tattoos.    The tattoo on his wrist said T3181.  Trinity slowly reached out in an attempt to touch his face and Gabe looked back.

            “Trinity?” he asked.

            “Who is this guy?” Trinity asked running her fingers over his face.  She felt real skin underneath her finger tips.  She didn’t feel alone anymore.  She felt surrounded by friends.

            “What guy?  There’s nobody there.  The prison is empty, remember?” Gabe told her sternly.  She looked over at Gabe and the weight on her arm vanished.  She spun around in place but all the ghosts were gone.

            “Where’d they go?” she whimpered feeling alone again.

            “Where did who go?” Gabe asked grabbing her upper arms.

            “Don’t touch me,” she cried and pulled out of his grip.  Gabe held his hands up to show that he wouldn’t grab her again.

            “Get a grip, okay; this isn’t time to be screwing around.” Gabe snapped angrily at her.  He didn’t like being trapped in the jail anymore that she did, but at least he wasn’t playing with imaginary friends.

            “I’m not screwing around,” she sobbed. “There was really someone there.  I swear.”

            “Ah, Mr. Richards, Ms. Vega, you are awake and you have found each other, even better,” a man’s voice said from invisible speakers in the walls.  Trinity jumped at the voice. 

            “What the hell is going on?” Gabe shouted furious.

            “Welcome to the Testing Grounds my little lab rats.  You have a simple objective, get out alive.” the voice manically cackled. “You will have forty eight hours to accomplish this task.”

            “What?” Gabe asked, confusion filling his voice.  Trinity was whimpering in terror as she stood across from Gabe in the hall.

            “But, first how about we play a game,” the voice laughed. “I like to call it multiple personalities.”

            “What?” Gabe repeated while spinning in place looking for the source of the voice, “What the hell are you talking about!”

            He turned to look at Trinity who had fallen silent.  Her face was emotionless.  There was no tension in her face or body.  Nothing at all.  Gabe waved his hand in front of her face.  There was no response.

            “Trinity?  Can you hear me?” Gabe asked cautiously resting his hand on her shoulder.  Trinity grabbed his wrist, sank a punch under his ribs, kneed him in the stomach and spun him around.  Dropping him onto his stomach, Trinity knelt down and drove her knee into the base of his spine.  Crying out in pain as it shot up his back, Gabe felt cold steel to the nape of his neck.

            “You have ten seconds to give me a damn good reason not to pain the floor with your brain.” Trinity snarled with venom filling her voice.