A couple of weeks pass for the both of them, the usual experiments, pain, and suffering has lessened. By the end of a month, both of them are healed fully, but it will not last long.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:39, Mon 22 Oct 2012.

   Susan sat in her room, strapped to a chair as usual. After she had attempted to pick the lock with a broken fork, and then stab the orderly that came to stop her, she had been confined to the chair. She sat in patience for days now, with a curled lip set in a scowl. She kept thinking about the boy she had met, and found that her worst fear, would be to end up like him. No hope, no purpose.

   After the yellow gas punishment, it had taken a week for her to breath normaly, and another week passed before she could move her arm without pain. She still had healing stitches, and the scar wouldn't be too noticable, but it was itching like crazy. The welts had gone down and faded, but she was always thirsty. She shuddered as she remembered the terror of the gas closing in around her, and prayed that chemical weapons wouldn't be used on her again.

   Susan fought against the fear that was steadily growing inside her, knowing that she couldn't let it take hold. If she was afraid of them, they would own her, and she would not let that happen. She set her jaw and glared up at the camera in hatred, taking a silent oath to fight until the end.

   She bowed her head, and began to try and wiggle her hands free again. Her wrists were rubbed raw. She heard the key twist the knob, and she raised her head to watch the door open. An orderly and three brutes entered. The pale woman smiled, "Time to go.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:29, Mon 22 Oct 2012.

William stared at the stained, black and white speckled ceiling. Even here, there were old blood-spatters that had gone un-cleaned up there. His dark eyes drifted lazily from one spot to the other as he lay perfectly still and relaxed, even though he was strapped to the gurny.
He idly chewed on the plastic gag they had forced between his teeth and felt it scrape up and down under his ears. He wondered what they had in store for him today. Injections? Electrodes?

His thoughts were cut short by the door opening with a rattle. Another patient, a man with dead eyes like his, was wheeled into place next to him. Another one, a woman this time, was placed by that guy. And then they rolled that girl into place on his other side, and suddenly he wasn't relaxed anymore.

This wasn't that odd. They often had two or four subjects taking the same test. But why her? Why put them together? Maybe their stats were the same... if she had broken already. Looking over at her, he could definatley tell she wasn't.

A female orderly walked in carrying a shiny silver tray with four tall, thin plastic blue cups on it. She smiled and set on a table by the wall. "Today the subjects will be testing a formula created to make salt water drinkable. If you don't drink it you will be punished." Her smile never wavered. She was kinda pretty, and she had very nicely styled auburn hair. William called her Val in his mind, short for Valerie. He didn't know why. She just seemed like a Val.

The people who had rolled them in started hooking them up to monitors and pressing sensor pads onto their skin. They hooked them all up to catheters, which to William was the sign that they would likely be in this room for awhile. He turned his head to look at that girl again, definate anger and dislike in his eyes. She was gagged like him.

Down the line, the bouncers lifted the other woman's gurny so that she was in a sitting position. They removed her gag and held a cup to her lips. She drank without a struggle, and coughed slightly when it was all gone. As a reward, they didn't put the gag back on her.

   Susan kept her eyes on the boy, wide and intese. Her hands were clenched into tight fists, and she was breathing rapidly. She took her eyes off of him for a moment, to watch the other man drink the liquid without the bat of an eyelid. They kept his gag off.

   She debated as the tray was brought over to them. She wanted to talk to the boy, but she didn't want to drink. Their conversation would be recorded, she was sure. Did he want to talk to her? She turned to the look of anger he was giving her, and had mixed feelings. Would it be bad? Probably. But, it was better than nothing.

   Her gag was removed, and instantly she said veheminately, "Drop dead!"
   The orderly smiled, "Put this in your mouth." she brought the cup to her lips. Susan leaned back in her chair, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Reluctantly, she opens her lips and the cup is tilted to pour the liquid into her mouth. Susan gags reflexively, and doesn't swallow. "Swallow." the woman orders, the slightest note of annoyance in her voice. She pinches Susan's nose, and forces her to swallow.

   Coughing, Susan glares at the orderly and looks to the boy, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

William said nothing, and drank the extremely salty water without struggling at all. He had been forced to drink much worse. The orderly tipped the empty cups into the trash, and turned back to smile with sickly sweetness. "If you get thirsty, ask and we'll give you more."
Then they all filed out, closing and locking the door behind them. William fumed silently, refusing to turn his head and look at the girl. The muscles in his jaw leapt as he clenched his teeth, staring vehemently at the opposite wall. He waited for her to say something first. It was her fault that it was harder for him to die now, and although he had a few choice things to say, he stayed quiet.

   Susan kept her eyes on him as she glared. After a few tense and silent minutes, she asked abruptly, "Changed you mind?" She raised an eyebrow, and cocked her head to one side, to watch his reaction. A small part of her enjoyed watching him squirm under his own emotions, and she only needed to wait for them to blow out.

William closed his eyes briefly, but when he opened them again he was still determindly staring at the wall. "No." he answered in a quiet voice that nevertheless sounded hard. What did she expect? That her one visit would undo five years of pain and suffering? That a kiss would make it all better? He couldn't believe her audacity.

   Susan scoffed, "So, you'll just stay here until you die? Alone. And in pain? Figures I would bump into the guy who'd given up." she sighed explosively and tugged at the bonds out of habit, grumbling under her breath.

William leaned his head back against the upright gurny, listening to the aged cushion crackle under his weight and movement. A hopeless smile barely brushed the corners of his mouth. "I've not quite given up. There really is no escape from this place. So I decided to escape the one way I can." At that, he turned to look at her, traces of anger still lingering in his expression, but mostly it was calm, fatalistic determination. And she saw that he was ready to die. Right then, at that moment. She saw that he wanted it, more than anything.

   Susan couldn't help it as her mouth went slack in surprise at his expression. How someone could be so low was astonishing to her. She shook her head, leaning toward him as far as the chair would allow, "I will get out of here." she spat, her voice a furious whisper, "I will live, and I will get the man who put me in here. I am going to live." she said, almost furiously, her eyes alive with an insane fire.

   She sat back, taking a deep breath to calm herself. It was another minute before she was able to look at him again, "I forgot to ask. What's your name?"

William had sedately looked away when she started hissing and spitting, trying to keep his heart rate down. He didn't understand why he reacted to her like this, and it irritated him. His face, however, trained by years of lying through his teeth even when he was in pain, remained passive, though he became faintly pink high in his cheeks.
When she asked his name, he turned to look at her again now that she seemed to have slightly calmed down.
"William."

   "I'm Susan." she said, her voice dry. She shook her head again, working her right wrist to try and get it out of the tight, thick velcro bonds. "I've been here for maybe, three months. How long have you been here?"

William took a slow breath before answering. "Five years, last month."

   Susan leaned forward again, "Oh my.. How've you lasted so long?" she asked softly, her eyebrows coming together with what could be concern.

William looked at her with something akin to annoyance. "Not by trying at all. They won't let me die." He no longer cared about what he said in front of cameras. Clearly they knew what he was up to, and intended to foil him at every turn. He had no more hope; he would die when he was old and gray.

   Susan gave him an irritated look, her mouth quirked to the side, "Did you ever think that, by trying, it could get you killed?" she asked abruptly, her eyebrows raised expectantly.

William gave her a quirky half smile, sarcastic and snarky, but still having a surprisingly pleasing affect on his face. That area of the room seemed to light up temporarily. "I tried that for the first few years. Never seemed to do the trick."

   Susan smiled back slightly, but she twitched, and shook the expression off her face. Her wrist would start bleeding soon, if she didn't stop, but she felt like she could move her hand a bit further, "There are people out there, who need me to help them. They don't know what I know." she looked at him, "Don't you have something out there? Or someone?"

William's face immediately went into lockdown. Eyes dead, no expression. He turned away from her and wrestled with his inner feelings, determining not to say anything about his parents. Thinking of them was much too painful.

   Susan nodded, "So you do! her wrist was killing her, but she kept twisting it, "Don't you want to see that person again? We can help each other." she pressed, not even sparing a glance at the two, glassy eyed participants.

William didn't answer. He didn't bat an eyelid as the other woman asked for water. An orderly instantly entered with a blue cup of sea water, and let her drink it.

   Susan waited until the orderly had left, and locked the door behind her. She rested her arm, it was beginning to cramp, and looked away from William to the wall. She was silent for a while, only occasionally flinching from pain as her wrist began to bleed, but her hand was almost half way free.

William dozed for awhile, and when he woke up asked for more water. He knew sea water was bad for you, so intended to drink as much as possible. He asked for more every few minutes, his throat getting sore and his tongue swollen. The other two patients asked as well, until it became too much for them and they stopped and fell asleep.

   Susan didn't ask for anymore water, even though her throat was itching and her mouth was dry. Everytime William asked for more, she glared at him in disgust. After a while, her hand finally jerked free of the bond, and she reached across to quickly rip the velcro away from her other hand.

William turned and watched with interest, trying to swallow. He made no move other than to watch, a spark of derision in his eyes.

   Susan freed her hands, and got her feet out of the chair. Standing, she looked toward the door, but no one had come in to stop her. A moments surprise later, she leaned down over William, "Want to come?"

William sighed. "No point. They'll catch you." He rotated his wrists in the velcro bonds, and imagined what it would feel like to have them off. It just made him more irratated.

   Susan glanced toward the door, no one had come in. She narrowed her eyes and straightened up, glancing to the camera in the corner. She new the door was locked, but the fact that she wasn't in the chair anymore was, good. She reached over and ruffled William's hair for fun, "How long has it been since you've had a good run?" she asked, moving over to study the other two, as if they would have something on them to pick the lock. Fat chance.

   Checking the woman's hair, Susan found nothing. No hair pins. She sighed and walked behind William as she pondered, constantly asking why no one had come in to stop her.

"A few weeks ago," William answered gruffly, also acutely aware of the strange absence of orderlies with huge shots of anesthesia. Unconsciously he began tugging harder at his bonds. He began to doubt. What if they really had a chance?

   Susan glanced down at him from behind, to watch him. After a moment, she leaned down over his shoulder and ripped the velcro bonds open, "Too long. Time for fresh air." she took a step back and looked up at the camera again, her gaze harsh.

William froze when his hands were freed. He didn't even breathe. He turned his head to look at Susan's face, and she could see the terror in his expression. Terror borne of years of captivity. Now, in the face of potential escape, he found he was afraid. Of trying, of being caught, of actually getting out... of surviving the experience.

   Raising an eyebrow at him, Susan nodded encouragingly, "Get up." she said, trying not to sound like it was an order. She was a bit shaken by his expression. He kept doing that to her! Setting her off balance by his state of mind, his comments, and his looks. She folded her arms, glancing down at her wrist, it had stopped bleeding, and was quite a mess. She looked back to William, waiting to see what he would do.

William swallowed hard, the soreness of his throat and tongue making the process painful, but it didn't show on his uncertain face. He took a shaky breath through the nose, and sat up. He swung his legs over the side of the gurny, visibly trembling. But there was that set to his jaw; a hard line of stubborness that tempered his fear. He lightly pressed his toes against the cold linoleum, but didn't move his weight fully off of the gurny and onto the ground. "What now?"

   She watched him with her arms folded and her weight on one leg, until a sigh of impatience blew past her lips, "You know what." she walked around to stand infront of him, "Stand on your own two feet." she said firmly, looking down at him with a dare in her eyes.

Anger immediately flooded his eyes, and he pushed off of the gurny so hard that it scuttled backward and crashed into her empty gurny. He stood tall and uncomfortably close, glaring down at her like she had just been doing to him.

   Susan smiled slowly, looking up at him with satisfaction. She nodded her head once, "I like you."

The anger was instantly washed away by confusion. The strong, broad-shouldered stance of challenge melted into outright surprise, his shoulders dropping and head jerking back. Ruddy color rushed to his cheeks and he stuttered. "What?"
How was it possible for one person to be so utterly charming? She yanked his emotions around like she held a chain attached to them.

   Susan laughed, for the first time in months, shaking her head, "Well, I mean that its good to know that you're still alive in there." she looked toward the camera again, and then to the door. She is silent for a few moments, in thought. She looks back to William and sets her hands on her hips, "There has to be a way out of here." her eyes roamed up to the ceiling.

Clearing his throat and turning away from her, he tried to recover. "Ah... frankly I'm surprised that we're not unconscious right now. When I used to try to escape, I found that all the windows in this place are made of bullet-proof glass, with wires running through it that carry an electric currant. You try to break through, you get blown back twenty feet." While thinking about this, he started to get that hollow, hopeless look back in his dark eyes. "Every door to the outside is hooked up to a klaxson, and if you try to force them open, they jam. You can only get out if you have a pass, an eye-scan, and a fingerprint on file that match up. And they can tell if the person staring into the scanner is unconscious, and the alarm will go off. Most of the facility is underground, anyway. Who knows how deep we are right now? We don't have a chance," he finished heavily, shoulders bowed.

   Susan glared at him and cranked back her fist to slug his shoulder, "Would you get a grip!" she sighed explosively and pointed a finger at him, "I refuse to believe that. I will not, I can't, let myself fall into that hole." she shook her head, "I swore I would get out of here. And I'm going to die trying if it comes to that."

William gave her a small, sad smile. "They never let you die trying." He shook his head and looked away, running his eyes over the door, and the other two people in the room. "Whatever you're going to do, do it."

   Susan rolled the gury over to him, "Keep this steady." she climbed up onto the gury and hit the ceiling panel. It came loose, and she pulled it down, tossing it over to the door. Reaching up, she tested the integrity of the panels boarder, "I'll bet this could get us to an outside vent."

"Ladies first." All emotion seemed to have deserted William. He was just going through the motions, refusing to believe that they would get out.

   Susan pushed off of the gurny, and pulled herself up into the pipe infested and dusty ceiling space. Wiggling around, she poked her head back down, "Coming up?" she asked, just as the sound of heavy footfalls echoed from down the hallway outside.

William looked at the door, shrugged, and wobbled up onto the gurny. He reached up and pulled himself through the dark square with powerful arms. He weighed more than Susan, and the ceiling panels cracked ominously, but didn't break. He drew his legs up and pushed them forward, flowing into the narrow space in an astounding display of acrobatic grace.

   Susan army crawled ahead of him, scraping her elbows and knees along the way. The sound of the door bursting open behind them reaching their ears. Trying not to cough, she follows the ceiling panels along what she believes to be the hallway.

William followed, trying to be quiet but still producing alarming creaks and cracks wherever he rested his weight.

   Susan stopped, bending to look back at him. She pointed to a panel that she was laying beside, and carefully raised the corner to peek down below. After a moment, she set it back down and looked at him to whisper, "Its a hallway. I didn't see anyone."

William lowers his head to try and see but can't get a good angle. "So, get out here, or go on?" he asked, refusing to contribute anything to this escape.

   "Go on." she continues on, the panels creaking beneath her. She comes to a stop a couple minutes later, freezing as the sound of thunderous footsteps tromped below them.

William freezes along with her, awkwardly resting his weight on his left elbow and knee. The ceiling crakes and gives slightly under his knee, but the resigned expression on his face doesn't change.

   Susan turned to look at him when the panel creaked. Her expression turned to one of horror as teh sharp end of a pole burst up through a panel beside him. Numerous other poles shot up to destory the panels. In a shower of thick dust, panel peices and rubble, both of them crashed to the hallway floor below, filthy.

William landed badly and reflexivly jerked around before realizing the hopelessness of the whole situation, and relaxing. No point in fighting anymore.

   Lurching to her bare feet, Susan bolted to try and slip between two Bouncers, only to get a pole slammed into her stomach. Weazing in pain, she dropped to one knee with a hand on the ground and the other on her belly. A Bouncer grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her up. Face scrunching in pain, she reached up to grab his hand, and kicked out with her legs, yelling curses.

William considered fighting, on the grounds that the Bouncers might accidentally kill him, but it had never happened before, so he just sighed and stayed floppy as they the tossed him around and manacled his hands behind his back.

   Susan fought hard, but came to the same end as William. Hands bound behind her back. But unlike William her ankles were connected with a chain a few inches long, allowing for her to walk. They were escorted down the winding hallways, where they were seperated. Two bouncers led William into one room, and then Susan into the one next door.

   She was sat down in a chair, secured to it, and then hooked up to electrodes. The room was well lit, and had nothing in it but her chair, and the machine beside her. Confused, Susan looked ahead and saw another one way mirror. To the room that William had gone into, but all she could see was her reflection.




   Taking William into the room, lights dim, they sat him before a desk after re-tying his hands infront of him. The desk faced the mirror, and he could see Susan in her own chair, alone. Two Bouncers stood in the back of the dark room, arms folded across their broad chests. A minute or so passed, before William's door opened, and Dr. Horrible came into the room, smling happily.

William exercised every iota of self-control he possessed, and kept his heart rate down and his face straight. They were going to hurt her, and he would have to watch. He would not show them anything. If he did they would only hurt her more. He didn't care, he told himself over and over. He didn't care.

   "Afternoon, W. Blake." Dr. Horrible said in greeting, clasping his abnomrally spindly fingers behind his back, "Having a good day?" he asked, moving on without waiting for the answer he knew wouldn't come, "Today we witnessed this subject, S. Black, as she manipulated you into joining her on her foolish excape attempt. I will be asking you a series of questions, and you must answer truthfully." he looked down at William, his eyes nearly wild with anticipation.

William stared straight ahead, face blank. He kept his eyes unfocused and concentrated on his breathing.

   "When the subject first made it possible for you to stand up, would you have if she had not told you to?" Dr. Horrible asks, pulling a remote with a dial out of his pocket.

"Yes," William answered dully, automatically reverting to his strategy of always answering yes to every question they asked him.

   Dr. Horrible smiled to himself, fully aware of W. Blake's patterns. He brushed his thumb over the dial, "To what end?"

William wasn't really listening anymore. He wouldn't give them any excuse to force him out of the mental fortress he had built against them. He had made it so they had stopped doing this sort of thing to him. He knew now that it was all just one of their tricks. Probably even as far back as the girl busting into his room. Susan, even if she didn't know it, was working for them. He didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore, except dying as soon as possible. Eyes fixed on the wall just below the mirror, he answered, "Yes."

   Dr. Horrible turned the switch to the lowest setting.


   Susan's face suddenly blanched with pain. Her hands gripped the arms of the chairs with white knuckles, and her whole body stiffened. She didn't scream, but pressed her lips together to hold her breath. Her hair rose slightly as the electicity pulsed through her body. After a few seconds, she exhaled and slumped in the chair, panting.


   Dr. Horrible had been watching William, his smile gone.

William didn't even blink. He just sat and stared dully, woodenly waiting for the next question.

   "Do you feel anything when you see S. black in pain?" Dr. Horrible says, keeping his voice level and slow.

Blinking slowly, William thought about his answer even while his lips said, "Yes."
Did he? He was trying very hard not to feel anything right now, and thinking about it was cracking his wall. He stopped thinking about it.

   "Try to put that feeling into words as you watch her now." he droned, twisting the dial.

   Susan stiffened, her back arching as a painfilled scream pierced the air. She screamed until she ran out of air, to gasp in short bursts and bend over to hide her tortured expression. Twisted moans and gasps were heard, until Dr. Horrible turned the dial again. Susan gasped again, this time in relief as the pain stopped. She dropped her forehead onto her knee, moaning.

Even as Susan was screaming, William repeated, "Yes." He felt a hard lump in his throat. He tried to make it go away, telling himself that if he showed them anything, they would only hurt her worse. He had to stay broken. If he showed any sign of life, they would hurt him too. He knew they already would; he had gotten angry at Susan in the other lab. Perhaps he was paying for that now.
His expression stayed hollow, eyes empty, breathing tightly controlled. He had to be strong.

   Dr. Horrible watched William until the dial was turned off. He opened his mouth to ask another question, when Susan suddenly lifted her head to shout, "What is going on?!" she jerked in her chair, moving only an inch to the side.
   The Dr. slipped the remote back into his pocket to suddenly slam his hands down on William's desk, saying to him in a seething whisper, "But you know what is going on here? Don't you?"
   Through the mirror, Susan was trying to bend far enough over to rip the electrodes from her skin.

William's eyes remained focused on a point beyond Dr. Horrible. They wouldn't get him. He was dug in deep now. Opening his mouth, he repeated in the same tone he had previously, "Yes."

   Dr. Horrible straightened up, murmering, "Fine." he pulled the dial from his pocket and set it on the desk infront of William. He turned it onto the highest setting.

   Susan snapped her head back to scream, the sound a wreched and tortured echo off the walls. She began to convulse, and her eyes rolled. Her chair almost fell over during her shaking, and she continued to wail.

   The Dr. kept his eyes on William, though he stood back from where the dial sat on the table top. He knew he would be able to watch the video of S. Black's pain, even though the thrill of the moment wouldn't be there as he watched the recording. It was a sacrafice he was willing to make.

William didn't move for several moments. Inside, he was laughing. He knew no human could survive for very long with that much electricity running through their heart and organs. If they left it on for very much longer, then she would die from complications. William was jealous. Here he was, giving her what she had refused to give him; an escape.

He knew she would be mad, especially if she survived. These people had ways of bringing you back. But it was the only escape William knew and the only kindness he had come to hope for.

Her screams were terrible. After what William decided was an appropriate amount of time, he lifted his cuffed hands to the dial in front of him and picked it up, holding it very tightly in one hand. He slowly raised his eyes to Dr. Horrible's face, and saw the arrogant exultation there. William made eye contact, lifted the corners of his mouth in a small smile, and twisted the dial with all the force he could muster with bound hands, trying to break it. He twisted and squeezed the little box, watching the Doctor's smug expression shift into shock and outrage. All the while he smiled his calm, dead smile, and hoped that if she died from this, they would kill him too.

   "Cut the line!" Dr. Horrible screeched, lunging forward to punch William across the face.

William's chair fell over backwards, the dial snapping off the remote box as one of the Bouncers in Susan's room leapt for the cord leading to the wall and yanked it from it's power source.

   Susan's screams died, and as the world around her began to darken, she moaned and twitched. With a final moan, she lost consciousness.

   The Bouncer moved over to Susan and raised her head with one hand, his other checking for a pulse. After a few moments, he looked toward the mirror and nodded, indicating that she was still alive.

William stayed where he had fallen, feeling the sting in his jaw subside as the Doctor looked through the mirror, nursing his bony hand. He turned back with cold fury radiating from him. William had reverted again to his blank face, and didn't react.
"She's alive. Lucky for you, she's alive," Dr. Horrible said angrily, still rubbing his hand. It would probably bruise more than William's face would.
William couldn't stop his eyes from closing as he felt a surge of failure. He opened them again, managing to make it a slow blink.

   From where he was on the floor, William could see as the Bouncer unhooked Susan from the electrodes. He lifted her out of the chair, and quickly carried her limp body out of the room. Then the light went out.

William could see that Dr. Horrible was itching to say something, but the gaunt doctor merely sniffed and stalked past, snapping a curt order to the Bouncers at the door. They picked up William, who remained limp, and dragged him down the hallway, his bare heels bouncing on the uneven linoleum.
They dumped him on the floor of his cell, not bothering to remove his restraints or put him on the bed. The door closed and locked, and William waited til the echoes of their heavy footsteps had faded before sighing and closing his eyes.
He didn't care anymore. He really didn't. He was going to stop eating again, nevermind what they could do to keep him alive. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to move unless they moved him. If this was what they were going to start doing to him, then he was going to fight back until he won. Until the day he died.

   As Susan slowly opened her eyes, they felt sandy. She was wearing a mask, and it was helping her breathe. She was hooked up to needles and monitors, and was completely exhausted. Twitching her fingers and toes was about all she could do without pain. She half closed her eyes, and a shadow fell over her. Still groggy, it took her a moment to recognize the glint off of Dr. Horrible's glasses.

   "That was close. Wasn't it, S. Black?" he smirked. She glared at him weakly, and at this he smiled, "I believe that I should tell you, that subject W. Blake had control over the dial that distributed the pain that you felt. He almost killed you, but we saved you." and then he was gone.

   Susan lay on the bed, stunned. Could she believe him? What if it was true? Her anger rose as similar thoughts bounced through her mind for the next couple hours.

Later that day, a pair of orderlies wheeled a small television into her room and set it up at the foot of her bed. When they switched it on it was just static, but then it gradually cleared to reveal a grainy picture that was mostly white. It took her a moment to see that it was a feed to William's room. She could see him, lying on the floor.
Hours passed and nothing changed. If it weren't for the ticking time clock in the bottom right corner, she would have thought it was just a picture.
Then something happened. A tray of food was pushed through the slot, but still William didn't move. A few minutes later an orderly came to her with a meal.

   Susan glanced from her tray of food, which the orderly was preparing, to the television screen. William made no move to touch the food. As the dark skinned woman held up a spoonful of green soup, she kept her lips together in refusal. She wasn't sure why he wasn't eating, but felt that possibly, it was because of her. The orderly prompted the spoon toward her mouth and Susan rasped, "I'm not hungry."

   With a disaproving look, the orderly set the spoon down, and left the room. Susan turned her attention back to the t.v. with a worried expression.

About a half an hour passed with absolutely no movement from William before the door in his room opened again, and two Bouncers entered. They picked up the prone man and roughly stuffed him into the chair, untying his hands. They stayed limp in his lap and his head hung down. Then Dr. Horrible entered, rubbing his hands together as he looked down at the untouched tray of food.
"Lost your appetite, W. Blake?" his voice came through tinny and crackly.

   Susan watched William intently, for any sign of life. Her food was cold, and an orderly came in, picked up the tray, and left again, locking the door behind her. Paying her no mind, Susan watched, chewing on her bottom lip.

William didn't move or respond to the doctor as he chuckled and walked in a circle around the chair. "W. Blake, we have a few more questions for you. When you had control of S. Black's pain, did you glean any enjoyment from the process?"
William didn't answer and Dr. Horrible looked sharply at him. "W. Blake, answer the question." But still, William didn't respond.

   Leaning forward slightly, Susan stared at the screen intently. She couldn't see William's face, but she could see the fuzzy image of Dr. Horrible's. He didn't look happy. Susan leaned back as she waited for William to do something. She chewed on her bottom lip as her stomach rumbled. Had William been broken beyond the point of repair? She began to feel worry. What if he had?

Dr. Horrible gestured to a Bouncer, who reached forward and lightly rapped William's shoulder with a thin, telescopic rod that could hardly be seen on the screen. She heard William gasp as it shocked him, and he looked up and around, as if only just becoming aware of his surroundings. His head quickly fell again.
"W. Blake, did you recieve any enjoyment from subject S. Black's pain?" Dr. Horrible repeated.
"Yes." William's raspy whisper was hardly audible. Dr. Horrible sneered in triumph, glancing up at the camera in the corner.
"Was it your intention to eventually terminate S. Black?"
"Yes." William coughed after answering this question, the sound rough and raw. His head raised a little and his hands moved in his lap.
Dr. Horrible wasn't paying attention.
"So you're telling me you were going to make S. Black suffer as much as you could before you killed her?"
William didn't answer. He appeared to be slightly squirming in his chair. Dr. Horrible looked at him, then motioned again to the Bouncer, who shocked the boy with his rod. Crying out, William slithered out of his chair to convulse on the floor.
Dr. Horrible watched for a moment, before squatting slowly at putting a hand on William's arm. "Interesting. He appears to be experiencing muscle cramps. Orderly! Fetch a relaxant."
The gaunt doctor stayed squatted and simply watched William suffer. At one point he reached out and took the boy's pulse. "Elevated heart rate." he murmured. He gestured to a Bouncer to kneel on William's other side. "Get his mouth open." The Bouncer took a big handful of William's thick hair, and the other gripped his jaw, forcing it open. William groaned piteously, his spasming hands clawing ineffectually at the Bouncer's arms. Dr. Horrible stuck his long fingers inside William's mouth, prodding around as the boy gagged. "Dry mouth." The doctor continued to poke and pinch around William's face, checking for sweat and skin elasticity.
"This subject is severly dehydrated," the doctor snapped at the male orderly who came in with the relaxant. "I haven't recieved a report that he was starving himself again. What experiments have been performed on him lately?"
The orderly stepped out and came back with a clipboard that had been hanging on the outside of his door.
"He was part of the control group in the drinkability of salt water tests yesterday, but attempted escape before completion." The orderly read off without emotion.
"You fools!" Dr. Horrible exploded, jumping to his feet. "You forgot to administer the freshwater injections to counteract the salt water! Didn't even pump his stomach. W. Blake is dying."
The orderly left again and a slight buzzing sound was heard over the televisions crackly speakers. He was calling for aid.
Dr. Horrible snatched up the slightly soggy paper cup on the tray of food and leaned over William, pressing it to his mouth. The boy coughed and gagged, seeming to be brought around by the liquid.
"No!" he shouted, pushing it away. "No! I hate you! Get away from me, monsters! No!" he screamed. Or tried to scream; he didn't acheive much volume and his voice sounded as thin and crackly as the sound from the speakers.
"He's delirious," Dr. Horrible said matter-of-factly, wiping water from the front of his white coat.
A moment later a response team streamed into the small cell and whisked William away. They seemed to have totally forgotten about Susan and the fact that she was watching all of this unfold. Another doctor stayed behind to chat with Dr. Horrible in the doorway of William's room.
"Do you think he'll live?" he asked.
"It's hard to say at this point," Dr. Horrible answered. "We'll have to act fast if we're to restore proper blood pressure before he goes into a coma and dies from organ failure."
The other doctor nodded sagely. "I'll review the tapes and see when symptoms started to manifest. That'll give us an idea of how long he has."
"Yes, the... the tapes! Quickly, someone get to S. Black's room..." his voice faded as they ran down the hall.

   Susan had watched, her mouth agape. She snapped back to herself when the video showed an empty room, and jerked her head toward the door. Already she could hear the approaching footsteps. She began to untangle herself from the wires and i.v.'s, knowing that if she just sat there, she would go crazy. She had to get to William! He was all she had, the only person she new. He was NOT going to get away from her so easily! She was standing up when an orderly and a bouncer came into the room.

   "Let me see William!" she shouted, standing on her feet shakily. The orderly went straight to the television and began to roll it out of the room. The bouncer walked over to her, arm extended to push her back onto the bed. Susan lashed out, twisting his wrist and breaking it. She had done it many times, especially when the victims of her cons tried to catch her

   The bouncer didn't make a sound, but his eyes did flare. Susan treid to use his broken wrist to force him down to his knees, but her hopes were short lived. His other hand reached out and grasped her around the knee as he went down. He tightened his grip, causing Susan to collapse, "Let me see William!" she shouted after the orderly, who didn't look back as she wheeled the t.v. from the room.

"Did it work?"
"She's frantic. Demanding to see the boy."
"Fantastic!"
"When the boys condition stabalizes we'll move him into her room. Space constraints. She'll understand."
"They'll be suspicious..."
"But won't be able to resist each other. Especially the girl."
"She is really something."
"Can't wait to section her brain."
"Yeah."

   A shot of strong relaxant and a bruised jaw later, Susan was strapped back to her bed. Staring at the ceiling, she fumed silently, her face a relaxed mask of peace, thanks to the shot. She couldn't move at all. This was the shot she hated the most.

   William couldn't die. If he left her here alone, she would kill him. She laid there for what felt like hours, struggling to move her fingers and toes. But, this gave her a lot of time to think, to formulate another plan of escape. But William... Agh! She hated him so much. He was always in her way, but was the only way. She wished she could at least scowl. Just sitting without an expression of anger on her face didn't feel right.

While she was still paralyzed by the drug, they wheeled another bed into her room. Orderlies with beeping machines and IV drips trailed behind and set everything up with efficent speed.
"Can't believe we're having to pair up patients," One with a deep voice muttered as he pushed at buttons.
"Ya know. There's not enough room. Wonder if they're going to add that new wing soon. New toys would be nice."
The other orderlies made noises of agreement as they filed out. She couldn't turn her head to see who was in the bed beside her, but it wasn't hard to guess.

   Susan stayed silent, not sure what would happen if she tried to talk with a numb tongue. After what could've been a half an hour, she tried, "Tey ah liahrs." she twitched her fingers.

"You think I don't know that?" came the whispered reply. It was so soft she could hardly hear him.

   Susan wished that she could roll her eyes, "Yoh triedh to kiwl me." she did her best to keep anger in her voice, but she felt exhausted, and really was.

"Yes."

   "I tol yoh. I wil live." she said, moving her eyes to look his way.

William's eyes were closed, and looked sunken in his drawn face. His skin was wrinkled and dry. "There's no difference between life and death in this place." he answered. "Why can't you see that?"

   Susan was finding it easier to talk now, and could wiggle her fingers and toes, "I'm no' a qhuiter."

"Me neither. I'm trying my hardest to get out of this place. The only way possible." He was rapidly tiring. It was taking to much energy to talk to her; he just wanted to sleep. Forever, really.

   Susan sighed, "I'm goin' to sleep."

William sighed, raising one arm to rest over his stomach. The knuckles in his hand stood out sharply. "Me too." He also wanted to tell her that he wasn't going to go with her the next time she tried to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Perhaps because he wasn't sure. She was just so... persuasive.

   Closing her eyes, Susan found herself listening to his harsh breathing. With the relaxant still keeping her under, she quickly fell asleep, despite the worries, plans and confusion that buzzed through her brain.

William slipped into a doze. His throat was so sore and he was so thirsty he couldn't fully sleep. But after awhile he did drift off and lose awareness. He had been listening to her breathing too. It was calming.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:23, Sat 17 Nov 2012.

   When Susan woke up, a few of the machines that she was hooked up to were gone. She raised a hand to rub her eyes, and turned her head to look to William's bed.

He was there, strapped down as she was. The machines were still hooked up to him and he appeared to be asleep. He looked a little healthier than he had when they had fallen asleep. He looked fuller, less deflated and empty. Some of the sags in the skin on his bare arms were gone.
It was really amazing what the science this facility had developed could do. Now only if they would use it for good.

   Susan watched him sleep, knowing that she had... almost all the time in the world from a certain point of view. She drummed her fingers against the bed, growing impatient. After a couple hours, she spoke up, "Hey."

He didn't open his eyes, but his eyebrows twitched. "Leave me alone," he croaked at her.

   Susan huffed and stared at the ceiling, "But I'm bored."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:24, Mon 19 Nov 2012.

"Get used to it," came the even answer. His fingers tapped a few times on his bedspread, but his face remained calm. Neutral. If he could resist the maniacs, he could resist her. Right?

   Susan tried. She really did, but it did not last long. She turned to look at him again, "How've you tried to get out of here?"

William pursed his lips together. "I've tried to die," he answered in as even a tone as he had used before. "Any way I could."

William pursed his lips together. "I've tried to die," he answered in as even a tone as he had used before. "Any way I could."

   Susan rolled her eyes, "Anything else?"

William now wished he hadn't spoken, because now he had to keep going. Sighing, he dredged his memory for those years when he had tried to get away.
"Well. I ran for it whenever I could. I killed orderlies. I crawled in air ducts until I got too big and stuck. I nearly died trying to break through a window with electrified wires running through it. All the windows in this place have that mesh. Bullet proof, and escape proof. All doors to the outside require a keyed in passcode, an ID swipe, and a handprint. Once I knocked out some guard after he had typed in his code, swiped his card, and pressed his hand against the pad. I thought I was going to make it, but the alarm went off and the door didn't open. The sensor can tell if the person touching it is unconscious. And I had no way of making anyone do it under duress. It was pure luck that I got that far once anyway. Never got that far again. Never will."
After he was done speaking, William closed his eyes and sighed slowly through his nose. He wondered if he would ever get out of this horrible place.

   Susan felt a wave of disappointment wash over her, and moaned softly. She closed her eyes, and shook her head. For once, she didn't have anything to say. She was silent, as she searched for a thought that would somehow get them past those obsticles. She couldn't think of anything.

William turned his head to look at her, dark eyes lifeless. "I told you. The only escape is death."

   Susan scowled at him, her eyes lighting up, "I've defied the odds twice now. Eventually, I will find a way out." she looked back up to the ceiling, muttering, "They can't stop me from trying."

William shook his head and closed his eyes, looking away from her again. "That won't stop them from trying to stop you, either. They'll just keep hurting you and hurting you until you'd do anything to stop the pain, permanently." He turned his head to look at her again. "That's the only thing that's kept me sane, girl. The knowledge that they can't keep me here forever, that eventually I'd die and it would be over. I don't understand how you can't see."
He really couldn't. Her fire for life awakened long-suppressed, confusing feelings in him that he couldn't describe, but it also genuinely puzzled him.

   Susan clenched her hands into fists, "I don't understand your submission. And I don't understand this place." she turned to stare at the camera in the corner, and glare with an unblinking gaze, "I've had a dream for years. They can't crush my dreams. I'll run until I get there." she muttered through clenched teeth, her eyes still locked on the camera.

The camera's black eye stared impassively back, and William sighed, turning his head away. He didn't want to talk to her anymore. It hurt. He wished they would take her away, and that he would never see her again. But, to his surprise, the thought of never seeing her again caused pain as well. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tightly shut. What was happening? He felt so... broken. He had thought that he had only fooled them into thinking he was broken. He had been a cold, steel-hard thing inside, so that the monstrous things done to him in this place hurt less.
But she was breaking him. It really, really hurt, but it wasn't the same kind of pain given by the doctors and orderlies in this awful place. He couldn't name it, couldn't place it. But just because it was different didn't mean it hurt any less.