The Triangle (Episode 1: Origins)

Chapter 3

The pain was the first sensation. I squeezed my eyes tighter in response before I opened them. The fluorescent lighting made my head throb even more. The whole room seemed to waver before it fell into focus. I was in some sort of cell. There weren't bars, but was a thick glass or plastic between me and the room beyond.

Two guards stood on the other side: one male and one female. They held rather large guns that looked like they could take down waves of men. I'd seen that kind of gun somewhere... Call of Duty, maybe?

Pinned to the far wall was a map of Massachusetts with red lines connecting three towns, making a triangle. I squinted to make out the image, but my eyes wouldn't focus. Then the pain of the headache doubled down.

"Cassie?" My voice felt weak and the call was barely audible.

Then I remembered what happened. She'd gotten into the school safely with Jesse. They had a chance. The odds of those men knowing the school as well as they did was slim. They were probably safe. I lifted my head from the cold floor.

"Isaac?"

I turned to Cassie's voice before I silently cursed fortune.

She scooted from the rear wall towards me. "Isaac, are you okay?"

"Yeah... just a bit of a headache." This was a pretty dumb time to be going for the cool I'm–pretty–much–invincible attitude when it was pretty obvious I was in pain. "Okay, maybe a bit more than a headache."

Cassie placed an arm around my shoulders and hugged me close before placing a tin cup in my hand. "Here, drink this."

"What is it?"

"Water, Nerdicus."

And of course: Jesse. I turned to see him leaning against the wall and looking up at the light that flickered just above him. He had a black eye and a bleeding lip. He'd fought back.

I redirected my attention to the small cup in my hand. I was desperately thirsty, but there wasn't much water. I didn't want to take it from either of them. I looked into Cassie's eyes. "Did you –"

"We both had water," Jesse interrupted. "Just drink."

I tipped the cup back and finished the stale, metallic tasting water in a few gulps. I almost gagged at the aftertaste. It was no Aquafina. Gotta love that Boston tap water.

Jesse smirked as if enjoying my dislike. Cassie slid back with me until we were both leaning against the same far wall as Jesse. I rested my head against it, finding myself looking at the same blinking light.

"What happened?" I asked.

"They chased and caught us." Cassie said. "I mean, to be simple about it."

"I thought you guys would have been safe." I said.

"It may have worked if they didn't catch us climbing in the vent." Cassie pulled her knees in close. "Once they knew where we were, it was too late. They went in after us. It was a small confining space, and they had guns. When they got us outside, Jesse put up a struggle, but there were too many of them. They kinda beat on Jesse pretty bad."

"Alright," Jesse cut in. "He sees my face. No need to rehash my glory moment. I'd prefer not to relive it."

There was a brief pause before Cassie spoke again. "So, yeah. They brought us here."

"They didn't say why?"

"We asked them a lot of questions, but they never answered. Once we were in the back of their SUV... Maybe it was sound proofed, but they pretended not to hear us."