Photophobia

waking up to a nightmare...

He was stunned - the stranger in front of him looked exactly like the girl he had been dreaming about, except that this lady was meaner looking and leaner and much taller and - okay, maybe not exactly but she was surely very familiar. She held a leather whip in her hand giving him a bony smile which made her jaw tighten and more pointed. She shouldn't be smiling, he reasoned, it didn't suit a person of her... appearance.

 

He sat up, his head was banging like someone was beating a war drum in there. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly to steady his visions which kept swimming round, his mind was unsettled. What the hell happened?

 

"Nice to see you awake, doctor Hunt." Her voice was sharp and defrauded of emotions. She held both hands behind her back and came closer to the bed where he sat. "Doctor Hunt? Are you okay now?"

 

Hunt. Yes, he remembered his name. Dexter Hunt, of the Hocus research foundation. The lady before him was Fox, head of security in charge of recovering run away subjects, so why was she attending to him.

 

"What happened?" He lifted his head to look at her.

 

"Ahh, you..." The door crept open, a short man stood at the entrance. He smiled at Dexter and nodded to Fox. She replied with a nod then faced the doctor. "You passed out during an experiment. Hocus hopes you'll be able to complete it." Pause, then with a stern look she added, "as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes." He replied and put his feet down, he was barefoot and the floor was clammy. It irked him. Then he noticed the chain that held his foot, connecting it to the bed. He looked at Fox. She smiled.

 

"You had a fit. We had to keep you...secured. Max here will unlock it so you can get back to work." She walked out, stopping by the door to talk to Max. She spoke in whispers, the only words Dexter could pick were '... you're supposed to be watching him...' She scolded Max who nodded at her words and entered the room to unlock the chain. They both left for the room where the experiment was being carried out.

 

The room was dim and in it was a large glass chamber in total darkness. Hocus was in the room. Fox, Max and other assistants were there. Dexter had worn a lab coat and shoes that covered his feet from the damp floors.

 

"Doctor Hunt!" It was Hocus, with that powerful french accent. The man carried a thick aura of mystery, he approached Dexter with a hug. Placing a firm hand on either of his shoulder, he shook him. "Glad to have you back. I'm very eager to complete this, as you can see..." He turned Dexter to face the glass chamber. With his eyes now adjusted to the darkness in the room, Dexter saw a ghost figure. No, it was a girl, cowered under the bed within the chamber. A girl not older than sixteen at most.

 

"As you can see," Hocus continued, "the experiment is a success, we have managed to infuse the phobia into her broken mind!" He was elated. "We just need to do a few more runs and ha! Do you know what this would mean doctor? Power!"

 

Dexter shook off the man's hands from his shoulder and walked to the center of the room, he was greeted by the assistants which he replied with a curt nod. "Let's begin. Turn the first lamp on."

 

A small lamp inside the chamber came on and the girl shifted further under the bed. It was high enough for her to be in a sitting position.

 

"hmm...the second." Dexter picked up a notepad and a pen. With each tiny light that came on, the girl sank further and further in, burying her head in-between her legs and rocking herself, speaking inaudibly.

 

"Doctor Hunt," Hocus came up to him, "we have passed these stages, turn on the main switch."

 

"These things have to be done steadily Mr. Hocus or we could risk damaging the test subject." Dexter still didn't understand why he had chosen to work for this impatient man.

 

"Oh come on doctor, the girl is already damaged."

 

"What do you...?"

 

"Switch on all the lights!" He ordered the assistants.

 

"No! Hold it!"

 

The lights in the chamber came on, illuminating the whole place. It was too bright. The girl went hysterical and began trashing everywhere.

 

"Shut it off now! She'll hurt herself! Off! Now!"

 

"Doctor Hunt, this is part of..." Dexter ran for the the door to the chamber.

 

"Stop him!" Hocus and Fox yelled at the same time. Dexter had reached the door.

 

He threw it open and ran to the girl to shield her. His hand grabbed hers and she spun her head to face him, he looked straight into diamond blue eyes and vision by vision, his mind began to flood. She was the girl he had been dreaming about but only now did he realize that it wasn't just a dream but memories. He remembered making breakfast for her, taking her shopping and to the beach. This wasn't just a test subject.

 

Wam! He felt something crash into the back of his head. He fell to the floor, still conscious but dazed from the blow. His vision was fading but he saw Fox and Hocus standing over him. Hocus knelt down beside his head and wiped his brows. Sighed.

 

"Give him triple the dosage this time, I don't want him remembering anymore and putting a pause to my work." He spoke to Fox who nodded a brought out a syringe filled with a strawberry colour liquid.

 

"And take his daughter back to confinement. We have one more test to run."