Outside the Box - Chapter 10

10 

My eyes flutter open and I groan as my head throbs. The previous events rush back to me and I immediately regret letting myself wake up in the first place. 

My first thought is that I’m back into the Box. If I got captured again it would make sense for them to wipe my mind and put me back in, but  I can tell I’m not in the Box - Aspen, Miguel, and Ezra are right beside me. 

“Oh, gosh, he’s awake,” I hear Aspen say. She runs towards me, but runs into something solid. The air beside me ripples and suddenly I understand. 

We’re in a cell, one meant for prisoners. There are four little cells in the large one - each separated by force fields. Aspen is on one side, Miguel on the other. Ezra is across from me. I can’t see any doors, I can barely see anything in the dim lighting. 

“I’m fine,” I mumble, rubbing my head. “Is everyone else okay?” 

“Physically, yes,” Aspen sighs, falling back against the walls of her section of cell. The little cubicles are tiny, maybe four feet by four feet. “Mentally…” 

Her voice trails off and I realize why. Gretchen isn’t here.

“Is Gretchen…” I begin, voice failing. 

“We don’t know,” Miguel growls. His legs are tucked to his chest, and he’s curled up in the corner. “She wasn’t here when we woke up. It’s possible they killed her, since she escaped before. Or she could’ve escaped. No one has been in here yet.” 

“Oh,” is the only response I can muster. Ezra remains quiet, Aspen is sobbing silently in her portion of the cell. As for me… 

I new that someday I would have to go back to the Box - whether to help my family and friends escape or to simply tear apart the actual building. But I never expected that I would be here as a prisoner again. 

It’s been a while since I last was here. In that time, I’ve discovered so much about myself - so much about everything - that I never thought that one day I would be sent back here. And I have no idea what the Box wants with me. I escaped, and if they did truly kill Gretchen then why didn’t they kill me too? 

The Box could want to send me back into the city. But if they wanted to, they already would have. So that option is out. 

The Box could want to train me as a soldier - after all, I have all that genetic special stuff. 

It’s hard to know what your enemies want when you know nothing about them. Names, faces - I have nothing on them besides their weapons. 

All of the sudden, the room goes dark. I hear movement and the zap of something electrical turning on and off. Someone grabs my arms and pins them behind my back, forcing me to my feet. I try to shake them off, but something is pressed against the back of my head. I have a feeling it’s a gun. 

The lights flicker back to life, illuminating the cell much better than before. 

“Don’t try anything,” a feminine voice orders. 

In the center of our cell where the corners of the force field originally met there is now a cylinder. Inside is a woman with graying hair and a white labcoat. 

Aspen, Miguel, and Ezra are all in the same position as me - standing with our arms pins and guns pointed at our heads. They don’t look like the special kind of weapon that shoots bolts of light or electricity. They look like normal, fatal guns. 

The woman surveys each of us, her eyes moving over our faces, searching for something. She stops when she gets to Aspen. 

“You must be Aspen Foster,” the woman smiles gleefully as Aspen pales and wriggles against her captor. “From what I’ve heard, you’re quite the hacker, aren’t you? Very gifted in intelligence and logic. There might be a place for you in the Box facility, if you were to want one, of course.” 

“Never,” Aspen spits. 

The woman laughs. “You’re a very spirited young lady too, quite like I was back in the day. But you’re refusal makes no difference to me - I already have something special planned for you.” 

The woman turns so she’s facing Ezra. “And you must be Aspen’s brother, Ezra. I’ve heard many tales about you too. A cook, a nurse - talented for a boy your age.” 

Ezra remains silent, blinking back tears. 

“Don’t cry, my child,” the woman soothes him, her voice brimming with false sincerity. “I won’t harm you if I am not given reason to. I’m not a monster, after all.” 

Ezra still doesn’t speak or move, besides the trembling of his limbs. 

The woman spins to Miguel next. “And you must be Miguel Santiago. I’ve heard the most about you - you’re a leader. I once had the privilege of meeting your father in person, and I must say, you take after him.” 

“My father was twice the person you’ll ever be,” Miguel snarls. 

“I wouldn’t be so quick to judge. The world is all about perspective; everyone is a hero in their own story,” the woman sighs.

Finally, she turns to me. My muscles tense in her cruel gaze as the Ninja grips me tighter to prevent me from running. It doesn’t matter anyways - her stare as turned my legs to limp noodles. My heart wants to escape my chest - it’s pounding so hard I think it might. 

“And at last, my old friend, Jake,” she smiles sweetly, opening her arms like she wants a hug. If the force field wasn’t stopping me I think I would have killed her my now. “It’s good to see you again, my boy. Of course, I can’t say that I like your choice of friends here - but I won’t hold that against you. I realize now that your Date was unfair, but we can change that.” 

My eyes narrow as the woman continues talking. “I could send you back into the city, I could change your Date. I could make it so you never jumped, I could reset time. But I am a scientist - my job is to shake things up. You lived in the city your whole life. You know what people expect. So if you were to work with me, we could shake things up. Make life a little more exciting so less people take the path you take. What do you say?” 

I glance at Miguel and Aspen. Miguel is staring at me just as intensely as the woman, though I can’t read what he’s trying to tell me. But Aspen is like an open book. Her eyes are pleading with me to say no, to attack my Ninja and escape. 

It reminds me of a movie my father and I watched once - before movies became illegal. The main character was being held hostage and was given the chance to join the enemies. But he didn’t - and it seemed like there wasn’t much of a choice in the first place. But it’s different here. 

The woman’s offer is tempting. I could live a life full of leisure and food - away from the constant worry of attack. I could work with her to make the city a better place, I could ensure that less people take the route I did. 

But as I meet my gray eyes with Aspen’s sapphire ones again. And I make my choice. 

“I say no, and I also say that it smells in here and I’m hungry.” 

The woman sighs, disappointment painting an expression I saw so many times on Miguel’s face before. “You were always a jokester, Jake. Every time I watched you, there was sarcasm or jokes.” 

“You...watched me?” I ask, shaken. 

The woman nods slowly. “Of course I did. You were one of our more recent and special additions to the city. We had to watch you - it was our job.” 

I don’t say anything, I just avert my gaze. It’s creepy enough to have a woman watching my every move. I’m just afraid she’ll start spouting embarrassing childhood stories about me. Or that she’ll order one of the guards to shoot one of us because I declined her offer. 

“I am very … disappointed,” she continues, “in your choices, Jake. You could have everything you ever wanted.” 

“I want my friends and my freedom,” I respond shakily. 

“That is something you aren’t able to have.” 

“I could kill this man behind me, then you’d have to let us go.” 

“You are in no position to make bargains, Jake,” the woman reprimands, her voice firm. “I could have you killed right here, and right now. But I won’t - not because I need you. Because I have a sliver of human decency and a job that none of my employees will be able to handle.” 

“So we’re pawns,” Miguel says. 

The woman shrugs. “More or less, but not you, Mr. Santiago. Just Ms. Foster and Mr. Tristan. You and Mr. Foster are nothing but leverage and motivation.” 

Miguel becomes pale and Ezra begins to cry. Aspen sends a worried look my way. They are worried - worried for all of us. I’m worried too - but not in the same way. The woman has an air of familiarity around her. 

“Please remain calm, we are escorting you to a … better negotiation place,” the woman says. Remain calm? Who is she kidding? I begin to struggle, and the Ninja holding me drops one of his hands, although the other his still holding my arms tightly. With his free hand, he fastens a pair of glasses onto my head, the lens held in front of my eyes by elastic bands stretched around my head. 

In the lens, swirling patterns form. I begin to feel calm, and my heart rate slows to a steady beat. My limbs fall limp and although I can still hear and feel, I can’t move at all. 

“The glasses are my design,” the woman says. “Do you like them?” 

She knows we can’t answer. A blast of air hits me in the face, and I can feel myself being moved on a cart of sorts. The spiral patterns are still spinning in the glasses, making my head fuzzy and my thoughts incomprehensible. 

The cart moves down what sounds like a metal hallway. I can hear the wheels screeching. 

I lay limp on the cart as it rolls down the hallway, turning occasionally. I’m beginning to fall asleep, but I force myself to stay awake. My stomach is churning. 

When the glasses are finally removed they still have an effect on me. I’m still in the relaxed state, and I can see Miguel, Aspen, and Ezra are the same. We’re seated in chairs, held down with cuffs of cold metal. Ahead of us is a window - one that seems too thick to break. 

On the other side of the window is the woman, flanked by several Ninjas. 

“Let’s get straight down to business,” she smiles, folding her hands across her lap and crossing her legs. “My name is Doctor Samantha Barron - or Dr. Barron to you. You see, we need your help.” She pauses, waiting for a response. 

“Our help?” Miguel scoffs. “The big, bad Box can’t solve their own problems?” 

The woman turns her head to the side. “I can see that you have a sense of humor as well, Mr. Santiago. I would hate for the humor to end with a bullet to your head.” 

Miguel falls quiet, staring at the floor. The woman continues. 

“As I was saying, we are in desperate need of your help - specifically skills from Ms. Foster and Mr. Tristan. The Box was not meant to last much longer, and I fear that what we hoped would happen elsewhere has yet to occur. It is still too hot to live out near the dam and despite our best attempts, all food and water sources are becoming limited. 

“I’m sure you noticed, Mr. Tristan, that resources in the city itself were becoming limited.” I think back to my time in the city and realize she’s correct. We were running out of food, Andrew’s Processor broke. Everything was falling into chaos. 

“The city has a source of power, a certain spherical object that contains all of the information for the program and the code to keep it running,” Dr. Barron explains. “Unfortunately, the Sphere of Power (as we call it) has been compromised. I believe Ms. Foster knows something about it, but that’s not the point. 

“The Sphere of Power is failing and we need to fix it. The world is not ready for us yet outside the Box. The people in the city are our only hope, and they are in grave danger. If the Sphere of Power breaks entirely, everyone in the city - and outside it too - will be lost or dead. 

“Due to the nature of the Sphere, we figured people would attempt to hijack it. The Sphere was supposed to be impossible to hijack remotely, which is evidently not the case because Ms. Foster broke into it a few weeks ago. The Sphere has been placed in a maze in a different program, a much more dangerous one. But we need the Sphere fixed.” Dr. Barron looks at us expectantly, and my state of relaxation breaks. 

“No!” I shout at her, struggling to break free. “You can’t!” 

“What is it, Jake?” Aspen asks nervously. “What’s going on?” 

“I need to send you into the maze to fix the Sphere,” Dr. Barron announces. “Ms. Foster and Mr. Tristan, we have already prepared the stations for the two of you. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll send you into the maze.” 

“What?” Miguel blurts. “Why? I don’t understand.” 

“Ms. Foster is the only one who possesses the technical knowledge and expendability needed to break into the maze and fix the Sphere. Jake will protect her from the dangers that await them - it is imperative Ms. Foster survives,” Dr. Barron delivers. 

Miguel is sputtering with anger now. “Why Jake? I’m a way better fighter and…” 

“I understand your confusion and anger, Mr. Santiago,” Dr. Barron says calmly. “But Mr. Tristan possesses multiple advantages you lack. For one, he has been under these programs before and will react better with the sedatives and chemicals required. Also, with his genetic modifications, he could pose a better guardian.” 

“You said ‘could’,” I point out. 

“You’re right, Mr. Tristan,” Dr. Barron smiles. “I said it and I meant it. There is a possibility your genetic modifications - or superpowers, for lack of a better word - will not be represented in the program. It would leave you at the level of a normal human - something us scientists have yet to investigate. But there’s no way of knowing until you’re inside. 

“Besides, you and Ms. Foster will be guided by myself. I have special technology we will be injecting into your bloodstream for trackers. And you’ll be provided headsets for guidance and weapons for protection. In fact, I think Mr. Foster and Mr. Santiago are in more danger.” 

“What do you mean?” Aspen asks. 

Dr. Barron shrugs. “As I said earlier, the two of them are here for the sole purposes of leverage and motivation. Fail to complete the task you’ve been given, and the people in the city, the people in the Clans, and your two friends here will die. Mostly, if you do anything that leads us to believe you are betraying us we will kill them. Makes sense?” 

“What about Gretchen?” Miguel asks. 

“What about her?” Dr. Barron smiles sweetly and Miguel roars in anger. Dr. Barron turns back to face Aspen and I. “What do you say? Are you ready for the maze?” She sends a pointed look at Ezra and Miguel, and I know she won’t hesitate to kill them. 

Aspen and I share a look, her eyes brimming with tears. “I guess we’re ready,” I sigh.

Dr. Barron smiles again. “Good choice, you won’t regret it. Now let’s get you situated.” 

Apparently, “situated” means a complete change of outfit and a meal. 

Dr. Barron gives all of us - including Ezra and Miguel - some food before we change. It’s tasteless, but the food fills my stomach enough that it stops growling. 

Then, Aspen and I are given piles of identical black fabric. It’s thin and stretchy, and after we change in our private quarters Dr. Barron explains that the fabric makes it easier for the program to connect with us. 

Dr. Barron trusts us enough to order her guards to let us go, but she still has one constantly shifting a gun between Ezra and Miguel. 

“Are you two ready?” Dr. Barron asks us, a hint of concern in her voice. 

We nod and Dr. Barron hands us a tiny metallic band. “It goes above your ear, so we’ll be able to contact you once you’re in the maze. Everything else will appear when you’re in the program.” 

Aspen and I nod; she looks much less scared than I feel. Her hair is pulled up in a loose braid - I suppose so it doesn’t get in her face. 

“Any last words,” the guard laughs from his position, and Dr. Barron glares at him. 

“It’s perfectly safe - kind of,” she sighs. “This wouldn’t pose as big of a threat if the maze was working.” 

“What do you mean?” I ask, panic rising in my chest. 

Dr. Barron looks straight at me, her expression grim. “The maze programming is broken, right? Well somehow, it got modified in the sense of survival. If you die in the city, you wake up here. But if you die in the maze, your body dies. So if you die while you’re there…” 

She doesn’t have to finish. 

Our mission has just become ten times harder. I nod anyways, my palms becoming sweaty. I meet eyes with Aspen, who smiles nervously at me. “I’m ready.”

“I’m ready too,” I smile back at her. Miguel rolls his eyes in the corner. 

“Don’t die, amigos,” Miguel waves at us, and I know his comment is genuine. Ezra doesn’t say anything, but he runs to Aspen and wraps her in a hug, sniffling in her side. 

“It’s okay, Ezra,” Aspen wipes his tears away. “Jake can protect me. You trust him, right?” 

“Of course,” Ezra sniffs, before running back to Miguel’s side. 

“Mr. Santiago and Mr. Foster, if you will follow my guard here to your own quarters. I wish to have a word with Mr. Tristan and Ms. Foster.” Miguel and Ezra nod, leaving with the guard as Dr. Barron turns to face Aspen and I. She smiles sadly. “Good luck. The whole world is relying on you.” 

“No pressure,” I mumble. 

“Still with the humor, Mr. Tristan?” 

“Of course. It’s the only likeable thing about me - although I wouldn’t know, I don’t have many friends to begin with.”

“I’m your friend,” Aspen protests quietly. 

Dr. Barron laughs this time. “See, Mr. Tristan, but know this: you have many people in the Box who care about you too. It would pain us to see your death. So please be careful.” 

“Careful is my middle name,” I wink at Aspen, who giggles. 

“C’mon, you two,” Dr. Barron rolls her eyes. “We have a mission.” 

She leads us to the rooms where we changed. “Doctors will assist you in finding your way to the maze.” We nod and head into our rooms. There’s a glowing table in the center of mine, and a man in a labcoat in the corner. 

“Lay down,” he orders, and I do. The table is cold, very cold. He holds up a needle filled with clear liquid. “This is just a sedative,” he tells me when he sees me looking. “It’ll help you get into the maze. But I’m afraid there’s little we can do from there…” 

His voice trails off as he plunges the needle into my neck. 

Almost immediately, the room begins to spin. I force myself to keep still as little wires begin to descend from the ceiling and poke into my skin. I must live. Darkness falls upon me.