7

He was running. To where, he wasn't sure. But his vision was clouded and blurry, as if his eyes were filled with tears. From his ankle came a terrible pain. He would have been slower if not for the sense of urgency that filled his veins.

When he felt that all was clear around him, he stopped to assess the condition of his right ankle. He leaned over gingerly to see that something had been blown into it and the wound was overflowing with blood. The bullet had done more damage than it was worth. It had been shot straight down to the bone, and it tore through much of the ligaments that connected his tissue. It was surprising he could even walk on it at all.

Losing no time, he limped around the white and gray halls, randomly sticking medium sized contraptions on the walls. He stuck a few on the doors of some of the rooms, and headed for the elevator after doing so. Luckily, it was not out of commission yet, despite his sudden intrusion into the facility. He hastily pushed the button for floor 15, and sat on the cold floor, squatting in the corner. He took off the bag that was on his back, and opened it, taking out a remote control he made from scrap metal. The clear button on it was flickering a green light, letting him know that each contraption he put up was ready for the charge.

Once the elevator reached floor 13, he pushed the button with great force. He put down the remote and wrapped his arms around his knees. He closed his eyes, and waited.

After a few seconds of dead silence, a humongous boom came from the right. He clamped his eyes shut even tighter as the noise shook the elevator. The lights above him sputtered and blew out, leaving him in the dark. The movement stopped and all the electricity was gone from where he was.

If he was guessing correctly, he was halfway between floor 14 and 15. He'd have to use the escape door at the top of the the elevator to climb to the next floor.

But as of right now, he wasn't going anywhere with this ankle of his. He was just going to have to sit it out during the night and wait for the pain to subside. All he could do now was wrap it in some left over cloth from his pack and try to stop the bleeding. He only hoped that the trail of blood he left before was gone, now that he had blown up the floor to smithereens . . .

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Will slowly regained consciousness and opened his eyes. He was laying on a metal table, like the one in which they experimented on the nerves controlling his eyes. But he was not in the same place. He was in a separate room; one that looked like those trauma rooms that occupy major hospitals. All these wires were hooked up to his chest and his head, and the machine next to him beeped simultaneously with the beat of his heart.

There was a doctor next to him, adjusting the buttons and knobs of another strange machine that was hooked up to him. He looked over at Will and smiled.

"You're back," he said, with a slight tone of relief. The doctor put his foot on a pad down on the floor, which made his bed move to a more comfortable position, allowing him to sit up.

William put his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes. He felt quite disorientated and the room around him seemed to move.

"Are you dizzy?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah . . ." Will answered, keeping his eyes closed to avoid seeing things slosh around again.

"It might be that way for a little while. You're suffering through quite a concussion. We're just going to keep an eye on you to make sure it doesn't get worse."

Will grunted with understanding, and took the ice pack the doctor handed to him. He placed it on his head, and shivered from the sudden chill of the frozen water.

"Just sit back and relax," the doctor said before leaving. "You won't need to get up for while."

"Wait . . . where's Dr. Henderson?" Will asked before he could head out.

"He's taking care of some business right now. But don't worry, he's made sure to keep you in the best care."

The doctor smiled and gave a quick nod before closing the door behind him, leaving William alone.

Thoughts ran through his busy head as he looked up at the bland ceiling above him. He couldn't stop thinking about the long dream he had while he was still unconscious. Everything that was going on was clear to him, but as to who he was being portrayed as, he didn't know. The person he was in this dream was very frantic and determined. In fact, Will readily knew right from the start that the person had a strong desire to obliterate something.

Well, that was obvious from the bombs he was planting on the walls.

That hall that the mysterious person was running around looked vaguely familiar. Like he had recently seen it before. But no matter how he tried, he just couldn't bring himself to remember what hall it was.

"I better stop trying so hard to remember," he thought to himself. "I'll end up getting a headache like last time . . ."

It was wise to take Darrel's advice. If he tried too hard to remember something, he'd pay for it later with severe migraines.

The door was opening again. Will looked to his side to see who was coming, but with some difficulty since his dizziness hadn't subsided yet.

"Gently now," commanded a voice. Will heard the sound of a large cart being rolled in. It was like any machine he had ever seen, with a moveable neck with a large contraption at the end. It looked like a giant camera with heavy looking blankets hanging off the side of it.

One nurse moved the neck of the machine so that large camera head was right above his chest. The other doctors cleared out of the room, while one stayed behind to put the heavy blankets over both of them.

"I'm going to take an x-ray. Hold still please and hold your breath for a moment."

William did as he was told, and held his breath. The sound of the camera clicked and all was done in a split second. The doctors came back in to remove the machine and the heavy blankets, and then left once again. He could here murmuring from behind his door. Apparently, the docs were discussing the severity of his injury.

Seconds later, the door swung open. Dr. Henderson entered and smiled at him.

"You seem to be doing well," he said, taking a seat. "You were in a pretty bad condition earlier."

"... Am I going to be alright?" Will asked hesitantly.

"Yes, you will be just fine. But I must inquire... Will, what were you doing on floor 11?"

William knew very well that he was running away from the possibility of being caught. It wasn't a certain thing that he was in trouble, but his instincts told him to flee. And when he randomly chose a button in the elevator, it lead him to floor 11.

"I got lost," he lied. "I was trying to find my way to the cafeteria when I picked the wrong button. I walked in to see what was going on, but I didn't realize how dangerous it was in there."

"But surely you saw the note next to the floor 11 button? It said that the floor was off limits..."

With discretion, Will tried to remember if he saw such a thing. To his surprise, he could remember seeing a paper, but he was in such a hurry that he didn't stop to read it.

"I must have not read it," Will said. "I saw a paper, but I didn't think much about it."

"I see..." Dr. Henderson replied. He stayed silent for a moment and then gave Will a knowing look. "You need to be more careful, Will. We can not afford to lose you. You nearly stopped the memory erasing process that we worked so hard to put into you. Who knows what could have happened if those memories were to arise..."

"... You said I was in a fire. And that my parents passed away... is there anything more you can tell me? I feel as if something is missing..."

"Will... if I could tell you I would... But things like that should not be brought up."

"But what if I start to remember things again? When I was asleep, I had this dream. And it-"

Dr. Henderson looked at him with wide eyes and came closer to him, placing his hands on his shoulders.

"You dreamed?" he interrupted suddenly, looking worried. "Did you remember something?"

Will went silent, afraid to say anything.

"What was it you had a dream about? Tell me Will!"

"Nothing! Nothing... it was just a dream about... about a field or something."

"... A field..."

"... I was running... running around in a field... A-And I was chasing a dog. He ran away from me."

Darrel seemed to be searching through him, to see if he were telling the truth. Will tried to look as calm as possible, so that the truth wouldn't seep out. Never before had he felt the need to be so secretive. The instinct was becoming stronger each day.

The doctor backed away slowly and got up.

"Very well..." he concluded. "If you have anymore dreams or reoccurring memories, let someone know immediately. I can not express how important this is."

Before Darrel could leave, Will got his attention again.

"But Dr. Henderson," he called, "why are my suppressed memories so dangerous to me? Why are you trying to keep them down?"

"Because William," Darrel said, turning around. "There are memories that can kill..."

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

A few hours later, Will was allowed to leave the emergency room with a bandage on his head. He had been returned to his room for the night. Dr. Henderson left to work on another patient, and Dr. Grace was away for the night.

He desperately missed her. There were so many questions he wanted to ask her, seeing as she was the only one he truly trusted in the whole facility. What had happened on level 11? What was that dream he had about? And what was he going to do about Christopher?

William gasped.

"I forgot about Chris!" he thought. "He must be wondering where I am..."

Immediately beginning to worry, he grabbed his flashlight, his contraption, and the key and paper that Gracie had given him. It was only 11 at night, but most of the hall was clear by now. If the lights were down, that usually indicated that it was time for employees to get some shut eye. But it wasn't uncommon for some to stay awake for a little while longer to finish some last minute work.

After opening his door, he popped his head out to check for anybody who may have stuck around. When he couldn't see anyone, he closed his door and locked it. Quietly, he made his way around to the round-a-bout. Beyond there was a slightly ajar door. The light inside the room was on and people were putting papers on large, loud machines. Out of the machines came even more papers, identical to the first.

How was he going to get by? The only way to get to Chris's room was to pass by...

Will stood there, wondering what to do next. He wasn't expecting an obstacle.

"I'll wait for an opening and run through," he contemplated. "Then I'll pass by as quietly as possible when no one is looking."

When no one seemed to be nearby the door, Will slowly crept by. Suddenly, someone came to the door and began to open it, saying goodbye to the others inside the room. Not knowing what to do, William froze on the spot.

"Sam, wait," said someone from inside. "Do you think you can spare one more minute? I need a copy of that paper..."

The person at the door stayed silent for a moment and then replied.

"Sure, here's the copy," she said, closing the door. Taking the opportunity, Will tip toed by and ran for cover before Sam could come back out. He hid behind a nearby file cabinet and waited for her to pass by. Silently, Will prayed that she'd go the opposite way.

But surely, as he feared, she began to head his way. He'd have to think quickly to avoid getting detected. She was going to pass by the cabinet and once she was beyond it, she'd see him for sure. By then, he would have had to rush to the opposite side of the cabinet. It was a long shot but what other choice did he have?

Sam seemed quite tired as she slouched by. She could barely hold onto her copied papers. She looked on straight ahead, not noticing Will crouching in the corner. When she got far enough, he scrambled by to reach the other side of the cabinet. In the process, he accidentally brushed by her flowing lab coat. Before she could turn around, he scooted to the corner of the cabinet and covered his mouth to buffer his heavy breathing. Sam's footsteps stopped as she searched around her.

She came closer to the cabinet, making Will's heart stop. A moment went by, and he wondered whether or not he had been found. A shuffling noise came from her coat as she seemed to pull something out. After a while she spoke.

"Darrel?" she asked. "It's me, Sam."

Will closed his eyes shut and swore. It was over...

"I'm fine," she continued. "I'm calling because I think we have another rat problem. I just felt one run past my leg. A big one too... No, I didn't see it. The lights are too dim for me to see it. I'm walking back to my room now... Mmhm... Mmhm... Yeah, yeah okay. I'll call them tomorrow morning then."

Sam put her phone back into her pocket and sighed. Her footsteps started up again and got quieter within a few seconds. When it was safe, William expelled a breath of relief and slowly got up. Quickly, he went up to Chris's door, unlocked it, and allowed himself inside. After closing the door, he locked it again.

"Who's there?!" said a familiar and rather frightened voice.

"It's okay, it's just me," William said. "It's Will."

Chris let out a long breath.

"Fuck, don't scare me like that..."

"Sorry..."

"Where've you been? I thought you got caught or something..."

"A lot has happened in my absence. I'm sorry I couldn't see you sooner."

"S'okay... nothing ever happens over here. Speaking of... what's with that bandage?"

Will touched the bandage that covered a portion of his cranium. To his luck, it wasn't really hurting anymore.

"I'll tell you in a bit. First, I want you to see this."

Will took the key and paper out of his pocket, handing both items to Chris. He opened up the paper and read it.

"Did you write this?" he asked.

"No," Will, said, coming to his side to look at it as well. "Dr. Grace came in my room and left it there. I think she's trying to tell me something."

"You sure she didn't leave there by accident?"

"I'm pretty sure. She intentionally dropped it, but tried to play it off. She's trying to get me to see something... It might be something about my past."

Chris looked at him skeptically.

"How long have you known this... Gracie?"

"Since I came out of the Vessel. Which was... oh gosh, I don't even remember when. I haven't been keeping track of time."

"I stopped counting the days a long time ago..." Chris sighed. "It doesn't do anything for me anymore. But from the sound of it, you haven't known her long. How do you know you can trust her?"

"I don't know... I just do. She... she makes me feel safe."

"... Do you trust that other doctor? You know, the one who told you I don't exist?"

"I-I... try to..."

"That's not my question."

Will stayed silent to think about what answer to give. No one was around, so he figured he could be honest with his friend.

"... No, I don't trust him. Not anymore."

"Now, if Gracie works for this guy, how can you trust her?"

"She's different from everyone else. She doesn't treat me like an experiment."

"And maybe she's doing that so that you can fall for whatever she does..."

"That's not true... She's not like that..."

"If you say so..."

Feeling angry, Will wanted to lash out at Chris for not believing him. But with much difficulty, he held back.

"Can I finish my story?" Will asked, his voice irritated. Chris put up his hands in defeat, no longer encouraging his anger.

"Anyway," he continued, "I lay low for a couple days after the Security Bot incident. I didn't want to look... look... what's that word again?"

"Suspicious?" Chris substituted.

"Yeah, suspicious. And then Dr. Henderson tells me that he's going to try a brain laser on me during the evening. But during the day, I decided to take a look at what Gracie wrote. I went into that room and explored a bit, but I there were too many people around. And the cabinets were off limits. I ran away because I felt that I was going to get caught and went to level 11. The place looked like it had hit by explosions, and construction workers were working in there. For some reason, the lights that were sputtering over my head were making me dizzy. I turned around to go back to the elevator, but I got hit on the head by a loose ceiling lamp. Later today, I woke up in another room."

"Huh... wow," Chris said. "How long were you out for?"

"I don't know..."

"Is your head going to be alright? I mean, what with all the memory alterations and stuff..."

"I think I'm going to be fine... Dr. Henderson didn't seem too worried about that. They took x-rays and everything. But he did get frightened over one thing..."

"What?"

"I told him I had a dream when I was knocked out. It was like a memory... Like I was really there."

"What was the dream?"

"It was kind of scary... I was in this long hallway, like the ones in this building... and I had a bullet in my ankle. I think someone shot me. And I was putting things on the wall while I was trying to reach the elevator. Once I was in there, I went between two floors and pushed a button on this thing I had made. Afterward, there was a huge boom from the side, and the electricity went out. I wanted to climb out to reach another floor, but my ankle was way past repair. So I stayed there, waiting for the power to come back on. And then I woke up."

"What floor were you on? Do you remember?"

Will shook his head.

"... I didn't see. I was too focused on pushing that button."

Christopher remained quiet, thinking about the dream.

"You don't think it could have been level 11, do you?" Will inquired.

"Who knows," Chris answered with a shrug. "Dreams can mean anything. Most of them aren't really relevant. But it is pretty rare for someone to remember a whole dream after waking up naturally. That, I know."

"What if it was a memory? You know, one of the memories that Dr. Henderson is trying to keep down... Maybe they're coming back. But I wonder why..."

"... I betcha it was because you got hit in the head. That might have triggered something. Whatever they did to your brain in that Vessel might have gotten messed up or something."

The idea frightened William. Darrel's saying about "memories that could kill" rang in his ears.

"This isn't good," he said, pacing back and forth. "Henderson says that if some of my memories come back, I could get seriously hurt. Or killed even."

"Are your memories that bad?"

"I guess so... Something terrible must have happened that he doesn't want me to know about."

"And how does this tie into Gracie giving you that key and paper?"

"Maybe there's something she knows that Darrel doesn't..."

"Like what?"

"I have no clue..."

Will looked at the key in his hand, and clenched it in a fist.

"But we're going to find out."

"Wait, we?" Chris asked, incredulously. "I'm going too?"

"Of course," Will said, looking at him as if it were common knowledge. "I can't go by myself. I was hoping you could come with me."

"I don't know, Will. Remember what happened with the Security Bots? I don't want that to happen again. Next time we might not be so lucky. Who's to say they don't have guns on them that can shoot us down?"

"... What's a gun?"

Chris looked at him in disbelief.

"You don't remember what a gun is?"

Will shook his head.

"It a sort of... pointy object with a hole that makes a loud noise and shoots something at you," Chris explained. "You said you knew what a bullet was right?"
"Yeah."

"Well, that's were the bullets come from."

Will put the two together and began to understand. He then remembered the incident in which he first snuck out of his room and encountered that frightened doctor. He had a gun in his hand too. But he didn't shoot.

"I... I remember now... For some reason I couldn't, but now I do. Guns kill people, don't they?"

"Yeah, why?"

"In my dream, the bullet hadn't killed me."

"Well, if it was in your ankle, then it probably didn't kill you because that part of your body isn't vital. Anyone can live without an ankle."

Will looked at his own ankle, feeling the urge to search for a scar.

"So, how are we going to avoid the Security Bots?" Chris asked. "And what if there are doctors and scientists waiting for us at that file cabinet?"

"There won't be," Will answered.

"Why?"

"Because it's 12:30. On that paper, it indicates that the coast is clear at this time."

"For how long though?"

"I'm assuming until morning..."

Chris paced around, with one hand on his face.

"And why should I go? What's in it for me if I should get in trouble?"

"There might be something there for you too. What kind of stuff is stored in a file cabinet?"

"I don't know, uh.... Confidential information?"

"Exactly."


Ooooooo, cliff hanger. :3