Beyond the Horizon: New Dawn

4) "Seventy-Six"

"Wakey, wakey," a man said softly as he slapped Seventy-Six's face twice.

Seventy-Six's eyes slowly opened. Warden Anders stood above him with a smile on his face. Seventy-Six attempted to leap out and strangle him but his restraints kept him down. He was no longer in a chair, but was in a bed instead. Warden Anders asked how Seventy-Six as he stroked his hair. There was nothing Seventy-Six could say in response. His mouth had been taped shut, otherwise he would have unleashed a slew of venomous words on him.

Warden Anders gave Seventy-Six a puzzled look. "You got something you want to say?" he asked. "Please, allow me to get that for you." He put his hand at the end of the large clear piece of tape that covered Seventy-Six's mouth and ripped it off.

Seventy-Six grunted as the tape pulled off some of his facial hair and skin. "You motherfu-"

Warden Anders quickly put a gun into Seventy-Six's mouth. The nozzle felt warm on Seventy-Six's tongue. That warmth only grew hotter as Warden Anders turned on the power of the laser pistol in his hand. He shook his head and brought his index finger to his lips. Two guards then came into the room and began to place electrodes on Seventy-Six's chest.

"Hey Jonathan," Warden Anders called.

Seventy-Six turned to look at him as the guards left the room.

Warden Anders shook his head in disappointment. "Tsk tsk tsk. That ain't your name son. Your name is Seventy-Six. Let's start over."

Seventy-Six's eyes widened as Warden Anders pulled the trigger. It felt like a portion of the sun had shot into his mouth and out the back of his head. He lay on the bed completely motionless, but still felt his skin sizzle from the laser bullet. Warden Anders said that they would have to try it again and everything went dark.

Warden Anders brought his fingers to his lips as two guards entered the room. They attached electrodes to Seventy-Six's chess underneath his hospital gown. He got a sudden feeling of déjà vu as the guards exited the room.

"Seventy-Six," Warden Anders called.

Seventy-Six turned to him in frustration.

Warden Anders smiled at Seventy-Six. "Hmph. Progress." He removed the weapon from his mouth and exited the room.

Seventy-Six attempted to worm himself free of the straps that tied him to the hospital bed. He could hear the beeping of an EKG machine nearby. A masked individual with medical gloves pushed his head against the bed. The person then put a strap over his forehead locking his head in place. "Your name is Jonathon Taylor correct?" the person asked in a soft feminine voice. Seventy-Six thought about the question for a moment. He believed it was a test to see if he would still answer to that name. After going through what he did the first day of torture, he did not want to endure another round of extensive electrocutions again. A slow burn started to pick up in his mouth. It spread to the back of his head where it felt as though there was a whole in it. He did not recall anything being done to him, but the pain was akin to a gunshot wound.

"N-No," he stammered out. "It's Seventy-Six." The pain vanished after his answer. He heard a metal tray being placed behind him and the woman fingering through the objects on it. "Good," she began. "We don't have to get off to a bad start now." She came back into Seventy-Six's view with a scalpel in her hand. "We'll start off small."

"What do you mean?" Seventy-Six asked worriedly.

"Shh," the woman said as she placed the scalpel against her mouth. She then moved the scalpel to the top of Seventy-Six's hospital gown and slowly began to cut down the middle. Seventy-Six shut his eyes to avoid thinking of the scalpel that was slowly moving its way down his body. With one final tear, he felt the gown get torn from him. He laid naked on the bed with a slight shiver as a cool breeze circulated around the darkened room.