Death in a Laboratory

You wake. It’s dark and your head hurts. You try to sit up but the space is too small. There is a clank. You become aware of the pain searing through your eyes. You slowly realize the source of the blinding light invading from the outside. You hear men shouting but it is muffled. Your eyes have adjusted and look around. Your legs are bound by course rope and you have been stuffed into the back of a car. There is a man standing outside with his back to you. The shock of the light has worn off and you can now understand what he is saying. 1

“Do I put her with the others or not?! Just give me a straight answer!”2

Others? The man turns around and sees that you are awake.3

“Oi Mark! She’s awake!”4

You hear a distant voice shout back.5

“Take care of it!”6

He swings around and everything goes black.7

You wake to the sound of screeching tires. Again you struggle to see while your eyes adjust. You hear a scream, then another but it stops abruptly. Everything is silent. You look around. The room looks kind of like a laboratory. As you scan the room, you now understand what he meant by others. Women are chained put around the room. You count them, 13. Some are awake and crying. Others hang limply from the walls. You look to your right. There is a women there, no older than 25, she is holding a cross. She looks up at you, then back at the cross. A woman across from you, covered in bruises and scrapes, yells out.8

“You’re new, good luck.”9

With that, 3 men enter dragging a large black bag; one has blood on his shirt. The man that was at the car holds up the bag.10

“She tried to run.”11

That was all he said. The men turned and left, dropping the bag in the middle of the room. You notice that a woman to your left, hanging by her arms from an eerily white wall. She’s crying. The woman to your left leans over.12

“The contents of that bag are her sister.”13

Contents? That used to be a human being and she refers to it as contents?14

You wake to the sound of crashing glass. You think to yourself,15

“How did I ever manage to fall asleep in this place?”16

You remember the glass and look around to find the source of the noise. There is a young girl, no more than 19, lying on the floor surrounded by sharp shards of glass. The window is also broken.17

“Did someone throw her through?”18

“Is she ok?”19

Thoughts came rushing through your mind. But there is one thing you must find out. Where are you?20

Three men come rushing through the door.21

“There! That’s her.”22

One of the men points at you and the others run over. They roughly unchain you from the wall and shove you outside. The air is cool and crisp. There is still dew on the grass. The men cover your head with a coarse, hessian bag and push you to the left. They took your shoes when you arrived, and being pushed around blindfolded is hurting your feet. You trip on a rock and fall to the ground.23

“Oi! What the hell! Get up!”24

You are reefed to your feet and shoved forward. You feel the terrain change from dewy grass to rocky dirt. You hear a door unlocking then opening. The bag is pulled off and you are shoved through the doorway. You look around. It appears to be a small cottage. A sofa, small TV, fridge, sink, bathroom and a bed. Suddenly a man appears from the bathroom. 25

“Welcome!” He says with a sly grin, “Glad you could join me.”26

He walks into the kitchen and reached for one of the cupboards. As he pulls his hand down I catch a glimpse of a gleaming blade. He turns and examines the blade as though he idolizes it.27

“Now,” he says. “You will do EXACTLY what I tell you, yes?”28

You nod every so slightly. Fear has filled your body and your breathing is heavy.29

“Don’t worry, I’ll only need it if you don’t co-operate…”30

He didn’t sound convincing…31

“Please, take a seat.”32

He gestures to the sofa. You sit. He walks over, still holding the blade, and runs it seductively over your neck.33

“Ready for some fun?”34

No. You’re not.35

Your eyes creep open. Once again you are chained to the wall in the laboratory. The glass and the woman have been removed. Everything is just the way it was. Except you. 36

You sit there, chained to the cold, hard floor. Your naked body shivers as the morning chills set in. Your thoughts travel back over the past few days. The torture. The pain. Everything you felt suddenly fills every inch of your body. You can feel tears forming in your tired eyes. Suddenly, the door flies open. It’s him, he’s back. He is holding something, a shotgun. There is a loud sound; you can hear your heart beating, and then nothing…