The Disparate One

Chapter 1

The test subject woke up in a daze. He softly groaned.

His ears picked up beepings. Turning to his right, he found some medical machines standing next to him. One was a heart monitor, and the others were left unknown. Each had displays, showing numerous diagrams of what he guessed to be his body. On the other side of the bed was a small, circular, wooden table. Placed on it were folded white items of clothing. A white general hat rested atop. The gold symbol in the middle of its front glittered. Next to those was a pair of black shoes.

Am I in the hospital? he thought, squinting at the harsh light and finally sitting up, finding himself naked under a hospital gown with sensors attached to his skin.

Now in a different position, he discovered a white helium balloon tied to a wooden armchair between two doors. The one on the left was made out of brown wood, the other was grey metal. The wooden door was ajar. He could see a toilet and a shower curtain past the dark.

"Hmm," a sudden pain surged on his head. With the pain, he figured he had head surgery. The idea was strong until he found one more odd thing.

His instinct of placing his hand over it was prevented by handcuffs linking him to the side railings of the bed.

Staring at the glistening chains, he thought, This is not a hospital. Am I in an asylum?!

He remained calm despite seeing the red marks banding on his wrists where the cuffs made contact.

Shifting on the bed, he slid his legs towards him while trying to guess how he ended up here. He couldn't remember how. In fact, he couldn't remember anything! When he tried to, it only brought more pain. It felt like something was pinching his mind, boring itself deep into it, a parasite perhaps?

He shook the chains, clunking echoed in the empty room as if it was going to set him free by hoping it wasn't locked. But it was. And now that he was taking a closer look at it, the chain looked different. Instead of chains linked to one another, it was replaced by tiny, cylindrical magnets that were powerful enough to replicate the strength of chains.

This is not a hospital nor an asylum.

Letting go of the cuffs, he scanned every inch of the quarter and found something shiny in the distance. He was staring again at the folded clothes where he found a device that he assumed to be the key. It was sitting next to the hat.

He darted his eyes at his wrists then back to the key. He tilted his head and shot his brows up for a second.

Flattening himself across the bed, he reached for the key with his foot, but the cuffs pressing on his wrist were hurting his progress. His toe was just inches away from contact! He tried several times, grunting and squealing in pain until he heard someone speaking from one of the doors followed by footsteps.

His eyes widened when his ears directed him to the metal door. Instantly, he propped himself back on the bed like he just woke up.

His mouth was about to open when the knob turned and the door swung open, revealing a man wearing a black suit while holding a tablet. His hair was somewhat freshly combed to the right mixed with strands of brown and grey. He was slightly taller and his body had some heft to it. He looked like someone in their forties.

Though, for some reason, this stranger radiated some exquisite class.

He moved up to his brown eyes surrounded with white, softly wrinkled skin. The stranger looked at him as if he had been doing this for his entire life. He could see the amount of boredom weighing on him. He was calm, yet somehow sleepy.

"Huh... I didn't expect to walk in here with you already awake," said the man walking towards him, leaving the door wide open. He sat on the armchair, bumping the balloon with his head in the process. He firmly made himself comfortable, elbows resting on the armrests. He looked at the test subject with a question.