Touched - Order of Odium: Book One

Daniel - 6

Daniel appeared in a vast room identical to the room he had just been in except for its massive size and the object in the middle of the room. In this room stood a pair of massive pyramids that were oddly colored and made him feel a slight sense of nausea and disorientation when looking at them; as if he had been spun in circles and his mind was attempting to reattain equilibrium but failing. He fell to his knees just as he heard shouting coming from behind him.

"Stop right there! Put your hands in the air and do not move unless you are told to!"

A woman's voice, with a man's voice in the background, Daniel thought but was too disoriented to be certain.

"You have two guns pointed at you right now ready to blow your fucking head off unless you tell us who you are and what you are doing here. Now!"

The woman again.

Still disoriented and confused Daniel attempted to make sense of his situation while complying with the woman's orders. He raised his hands in what felt like slow motion and yelled loudly, his brain unable to modulate the volume of his voice just yet.

"My name is Daniel Baker! I'm working with the Order and was just helping with an experiment! I touched something and then I was here all of the sudden. I don't know what's going on right now!" His voice echoed across the immense room.

"Slowly place your hands behind your head and lay face down on the ground! Do not move your hands from behind your head or you will be shot! Do you understand?!" A man's voice this time.

"I understand! I'm going to move my hands now, okay!" Daniel slowly laced his hands behind his head. "I'm going to lay down on the ground now." Despite his disorientation, Daniel managed to lay on the floor without falling on his face.

The woman said "Khaleel, I'm going to go check him. Stay here and watch my back. How much longer until the station guards are here?"

"Station guards should be here any second. Maybe you should wait until they arrive before checking him?" Khaleel replied.

"What if more people appear before they get here? At least if more come and are armed we can use this guy to buy us some time." The woman walked slowly towards Daniel, her rifle continuing to aim his prone form.

"C Station. This is Ashley from 116. Do you copy?"

"Roger, 116. Assistance should be at your door any second." A voice replied over the mic.

Daniel could hear and feel his pulse roaring in his ears, the thudding of his heartbeat a staccato rhythm in his chest. He could hear the woman, Ashley, making her way towards him, slow and deliberate.

A voice over Ashley's mic said "116, we are at your door and about to enter. 116 we are at your door and about to enter. Copy?"

"Roger that," Ashley said, stopping where she was to wait for backup.

Daniel didn't hear the door open, but he did hear the rush of footsteps heading in his direction.

"Is the situation still the same? No one else has appeared?" A man from the group of backup guards asked.

"No, sir. As far as we know he is the only one."

Daniel felt his hands pulled away from his head and put behind his back roughly. They wrenched one of his shoulders too far out of place and Daniel had to stop himself from cursing out loud. He didn't want to piss anyone off and give them a reason to hurt him. He knew these guys wouldn't mess around.

Some type of handcuffs were put around his hands and a gruff voice from beside him said: "Stand up." He was helped up by a pair of hands on both sides and turned around to face the group of guards, all armed with rifles that looked like they were big enough to blow a hole the size of a fist in whatever unfortunate object was on the other end of the barrel when the trigger was pulled.

Daniel stayed silent and motionless throughout, correctly assuming that it was the best way to not get shot in the face.

"Okay, Echo team, get him to a cell. I'm going to stay and get some info."

Daniel was half walked, half dragged out of the room. A feeling of relief mixed with anxiety washed over him as he was outside of the room. He was glad to be out of that room and not have a half-dozen or more guns pointed at him but was not sure he wanted to see what kind of interrogation techniques these guys used. All Daniel could do was hope that Aleksander would be quick telling these people that he wasn't lying about helping the Order with an experiment.

~ ~ ~

If you've enjoyed this, please consider following, commenting, and voting! Thanks for reading!