The silence was deafening.
Sitting in a 5-by-7 room with white walls on every side was Sice, wearing a plain black t-shirt and black sweatpants. His void gaze was focused on the white wall across from him. He was as far away from the door as he possibly could be, as usual. With his legs folded beneath him, he didn't move - he was as stationary as a statue. Yet, while his body was immobile, his mind was racing.
He had done it again; he had rebelled. Or rather, he didn't, but he was too nervous to do anything. It was a simple task - destroy the test dummy. But such a simple task could have dire consequences. What if he threw a fireball and the ensuing explosion caused everything to catch on fire? What if the entire Facility burnt down because of him? What if everyone died?
No, fireballs were too dangerous. What if he used his hands as flamethrowers? No, even worse.
There were too many variables - too many ways things could possibly go wrong. What if he lost control again and injured the scientists? Surely they'd think he was attempting to escape, right? And then they'd punish him. And that was never nice.
"Six!" The deep, booming voice cut through his thoughts and the paranoid teen looked up with his usually glassy expression in his eyes. It was clear to the Overseer of Group Heart that Sice, as usual, wasn't all there. At least not mentally. It was an unfortunate defect, but if they could do something about his inability to pay attention for extended periods of time, perhaps they'd be able to find use of him.
But they couldn't be sure of that - no one really knew how his mind worked, and it was best to be safe. They had considered drugs, but during the testing phase his powers became... Unstable, to say the least.
"Get up." The Overseer said, the man ordered. He was former military, born and raised for it. His form, so bulky and firm in comparison to Sice's more slim frame made that clear. He was, like all other Overseers, wearing some overpriced suit that he hated, yet he knew it was a requirement. The suit, in comparison to Sice's attire, established a subconscious hierarchy between the two.
Immediately complying with the man's order, the teen forced himself to stand, his hands instinctively going into his pockets while he seemed to slouch over slightly, his eyes going to the ground before focusing on the man's shoes. They were immaculate, as usual. Sice could only wonder how much time and effort was spent into keeping such simple footwear so clean and shiny.
"You were being rebellious, again?" The Overseer inquired while folding his arms and Sice flinched.
How was he supposed to answer? He wasn't being rebellious - he was being cautious. He had to weigh the options. What if things didn't go as planned down to the smallest detail? It'd be bad and he'd have to pay the price for it.
"Answer me, Six!" He yelled again.
"The observers were too close. I couldn't properly calculate the splash damage. I would have suffered no injuries naturally but there was a chance they would have and if they would have I would have been in trouble." The words poured from his mouth like a faucet that's knob had been turned all the way, to the point his lips were practically a blur.
"I see." The Overseer said, rubbing his chin. It would be pointless to punish the Subject for inaction - everyone knew he was a paranoid little runt, and further punishment would probably serve to only enhance that paranoia. "Very well, then. Return to your quarters and we'll sort this out at a later date." The man said before stepping aside, his gaze practically burning a hole through Sice's chest.
Sice, was confused though. And immediately suspicious. Why was he being let off the hook without punishment? Why wasn't he being torn into verbally? The Overseer should have been furious, shouldn't he? Sice had disobeyed a direct order from his betters, so naturally he should have received some type of punishment, yes? Why weren't they putting him in the Pool or the Freezer like usual? This was odd and unnatural. Something was right.
Had they finally decided his rebelliousness wasn't worth the trouble? Were they going to terminate him? Deuce had always teased Sice about his indecisiveness getting him terminated - was it finally going to happen?
"Six. Go to your quarters!" The Overseer shouted, snapping Sice out of his own paranoia and the Subject nodded, keeping his head low as he quickly exited Solitude. Walking down the white halls of the Facility, Sice retraced his steps from Solitude, across the yard, all the way back to the Dormitory. Pushing the door open slowly, Sice peeked inside, figuring everyone else would be in the cafeteria, recreation room or in testing.
Either that or they'd all been given orders to murder him from the Overseer and were lying in wait - just anxiously waiting for him to step through the door so they could assault him with the full force of their abilities and turn him into mulch.
With his hand on the doorknob, slightly turning it, Sice froze, unable to make a decision.
If he didn't go into the living quarters like he'd been ordered, he'd be rebellious and most assuredly put in the Freezer.
If he did, he'd probably die.
'What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?'
