The smell in the morning was actually worse than it was the day before, mustiness of the water, death and more vomit it was like a dumpster after the rain. The group awoke after a day of exhaustion they couldn’t help but fall asleep after the water had drained. They didn’t know how many hours they had actually been out, but however long it was, it wasn’t enough. Some had difficulty standing as their bodies were cramped to the point of extreme twisting, it felt as though their calve muscle had wrapped completely around their leg and their arms were made of Jello.
The monitor came on, the P90s entered the room and without being told members of the survivors assembled in the middle of the room and got their key tags out. Cipher came on the screen and he spoke as he always did, unemotional and uncaring of the events that had just taken place as if each day for him was just another day. “Good morning all welcome to day 5, get your tags out. Where is Susan, Susan Weat? She was registered as number 4 is she still with us.” He pauses and waits for a response.
Liz steps forward and looks around the room, the huddle behind her opens up and Susan Weat steps forward out of the group, shaking cold and wet. She chokes back her tears and gets out the words. “I’m here, I’m still here.” She moves up and holds her tag with number 4 in the air.
“Susan do you see the light on the wall at the far end of the room? Go there, and you will move to another room, from there you will be taken and then released.” This was the most information Cipher had given about the process since all of this had started, why today was he breaking his regime in how he played his own game. Was he doing it for the cameras? Was it yet another mind game? Most likely, the group at this point was doing exactly as he wanted, they feared him. Susan walked to the far end of the room, the group watched as she leaned against the wall, entered into the light, and was gone, how fitting. “Now that, that’s taken care of we need to deal with a problem we have here. Clearly the water didn’t wash away all of the filth in this room on top of that all of you are soaking wet, this will not do, we need to clean all of you and clean the room. Everyone remove their clothes and pile them in one area.”
“Are you serious?!” A man shouts from somewhere in the room and suddenly the rest of the room is followed by the chatter of everyone questioning if this is legitimate. Everyone was just so totally spent from the day before that they couldn’t imagine this was being asked of them. The physical torture of yesterday wreaked havoc on their bodies but the mental torture and stress was just as bad. To follow up a day like that with a request like this was too much for them to bare.
"If you think this is for some perverse enjoyment of my own your wrong! Your clothes are wet and filthy and need to be disposed of; I will be providing you all with fresh clothes. I want you to survive this expedition but if catch the flu or get sick it ruins the plans and course we are taking. Remove your clothes now or the P90s will open fire."
"I don't think they will." Scott the tall corrections officer who was secretly plotting an escape plan stepped up and shouted at the screen. "You don't want us to catch a cold but you'll shoot us? I don't buy that sh...” A shot is fired and Scott drops to the floor screaming in pain. But there's no blood to be found as several of Scott's friends step up and search for the entry wound.
"Rubber bullets Scott. You’re familiar with them in your line of work correct? I believe your status was - Got to take a shot at a noob today, rubber bullet dropped him like fat guy drops sweat. Or something like that, I understand getting shot once is terrible." another shot is fired and strikes Scott through his group, and he howls in pain. “But two shots is excruciating. Now disrobe, all of you!"
Everyone begins to peel off the wet clothes some pausing at their undergarments others dropping it all and quickly placing hands on themselves to hold on to a little dignity. Several members strip down to the birthday suits and stand naked in defiance. The P90s take aim at those in their underpants; some of them older members of the group are just so terrified and tried to hide in the crowd.
"After you all have completely disrobed you will see 4 lights on the walls. These spots have been used over the last several days as a foyer to freedom for those of our group who survived their days. You will all enter the rooms once you’re in the door will close behind you. The room you’re in now will be fully cleaned after we are done you will be let back into the main room where clothes will be waiting for you and we will be able to start the next day. I’m losing my patience and have no problem having a room of you with rubber bullet wounds. I don’t care which room you go in or who you go with, just go, now.”
Everyone removes all of their clothes, standing naked and embarrassed they see the lights come on and shine up against the walls. The woman’s group quickly runs to one area squeezing as many of them in there as they can and trying to stop anyone else from joining them. The other three rooms are quickly filled. Two of them packed to the walls but the third ended up sparsely filled unbeknownst to the other two rooms. Small lights at the top of the room illuminated them slightly but just barely, the doors close and they hear the room seal.
Daniel stood in one of the packed rooms, Dalton and Ross along with him as the trio stand there pressed up against all of the others no one making a sound, until Ross breaks the silence. “It can’t take them long to clean the room right? I mean he said once they’re done we can begin the next day.”
“Holy crap!” Daniel shouts, “I totally didn’t pick up on that. Damn it!” He squirms trying not to brush against anyone.
“What?! What’s the problem?” Dalton looks to him, but again trying not to move too much as the people around them are getting upset with all the movement.
“Begin the NEXT DAY. This, this being trapped in here, packed in, naked on top of one another, Jesus! This is Day 5! We're in here like this until we begin THE NEXT DAY!”
No comments:
Post a Comment