Nilo sat back on his bed, still chasing the phantoms of his nightmare away. He wasnt sure how long had passed, but when one of the other, older scientists opened the door, he guessed a few hours had passed. The scientist that entered looked like exactly what he was: a grumpy old man. He had balding white hair, and hard brown eyes. He'd been there nearly as long as Nilo had, and the two of them had never gotten along.
The old man tapped impatiently. "C'mon, get up," he grumbled.
Nilo stood up and walked over to him. As he approached, he noticed that he didnt have the cuffs, or a needle. The drug from earlier was still in effect, but it wasnt nearly as strong as it had been. It was beginning to wear off. A dark grin appeared on Nilo's face. "Y'know, you really should retire. I'm surprised you're still on your feet." He furrowed his brow as he stopped in front of him. "Dont people your age usually keel over by now?"
Anger rose on the scientist's face. "How dare you, you little brat! You-"
Nilo didnt bother letting him finish his rant. He smacked him upside the head hard enough to knock him out, but not too hard to cause any damage, and lowered him to the floor. "Annoying old git," Nilo mumbled, frisking him of his keys. Nilo poked his head out the still-open door and looked both ways for incoming tranquilizers. So far, nothing. He smiled, pocketed the keys and took off in the direction he knew a door to the outside was. They raised the alarm only minutes later. Nilo put all his exercising to the test and ran for the door as fast as he could. If he could just get out of there, he might be lucky enough to get away.
He rounded a corner and spotted the door at the end of the hallway, only a minute away. Jubulation began to fill him. He was almost there. Only a few feet left. Thats when he felt the pin prick in his side. His legs stumbled underneath him, no longer listening to his commands. He fell hard onto the floor and lay there dazed for a moment. He tried to push himself to his feet, but his whole body felt heavy and sluggish. He looked down at his side and found a tranquilizer dart poking out, still quivering, as if laughing at him. The world blurred around him, and his head fell to the floor. He vaugly registered feet around him, and his body being moved, but beyond that the world was nothing but spinning colors.
A few hours later, Nilo's might righted itself. He looked around. He was in a dark, stone room, chained to the wall. The whole room was damp and smelled of mold. He shivered, and looked down at himself. He had been stripped of his shirt and his pants. The only thing that remained were his boxers. Panic rose in him. He knew this room. It was the sub basement of the building, and was absolutely sound proof and light proof. No matter how loud things may get down here, the people up in the lab will never have any idea. He knew this smell. He yanked at his chains, and he even tried to get free using his ability, but it didnt work. It never worked.
He froze as the door opened and a middle aged man walked in, pulling a cart full of knives and other such items. He closed the door, parked the cart close to where Nilo was chained, and grinned wickedly up at him. "Welcome back, boy. I've been waiting. Boss has given me two days with you." He leaned in close to his ear, his slithering voice whispering, "gotta learn, boy, you'll never be free."
Cold dread kept Nilo frozen in place, his wide eyes following the punisher's hand down to pick up a knife.
[SPOILI]The punisher started out with small cuts here and there, all ove Nilo's body until the little spots of blood made him look like a pale leopard. The tiny cuts stung, but werent terribly painful. He kept his mouth clamped firmly shut, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of his pain or discomfort.
He started in on the bigger knives after that, playing connect the dots with some of the little cuts on Nilo's body. Nilo tried not to show how much the knives were hurting, but he couldnt stop himself from squirming, trying to escape the blade. This only egged the punisher on more, his wicked grin turning practically maniacle. By the end of the day, small rivulets of blood streamed down Nilo's body. Th punisher moved his tray to one side of the room and stepped out of the room. He closed the door firmly, and pressed a button beside the door. Two spray nozzles in the ceiling, designed to clean the room, opened up and sprayed the whole room with salt water. The spray got into Nilo's wounds, setting them on fire. Nilo screamed. He couldnt help it.Unbelieveable pain coursed through his irritated wounds, throwing him into unconciousness.
The next two days progressed much the same way. By the time the second day was ending, Nilo had stopped bothering to move. He just sagged in his chains, blood pouring from hundreds of cuts of varying sizes. His voice had gone hoarse from yelling long before that, and the pain had become one giant ache all over his body. He'd lost track of how long had passed, or which way was up. The only thing that mattered was the pain, and the urge to stop the pain.[/SPOILI]
