Mental (Slow updates)

Chapter 10

The door swung open and Ash was pushed through. Inside, 21 pairs of eyes stared at him. The room was silent and still. He dipped his head, in what he hoped looked like a sign of respect to the two masters, whereas in reality it was to hide his reddening cheeks. Although Ash was the 'leader' of the teenagers, he really hated the attention and the way they looked up to him. He glanced up through his hair, to see all 21 heads bowed. He cringed. They had followed his example. He snuck a glance at Master Malicious Smile. The Master was smirking, obviously enjoying the scene. Clearing his throat, Master Malicious Smile spoke, "I'm touched by your show of respect for my companion and I. It really is completely unnecessary as we are just returning Zero to where he belongs." Ash flinched at his final words. He tensed as he heard the Master walk over to him. Master Lap Dog grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked it, forcing Ash to look up at Master Malicious Smile. The Master leaned in and threateningly whispered in Ash's ear, "It's nice to know that they're smart enough to follow their leader without question. Let's hope for their sake and yours, that you get that new girl just as obedient, Zero." He nodded to Master Lap Dog and the hands holding him let go. Ash tried to rub feeling back into his numb arm as the two masters left the room.

Once the doors had swung shut, the silence in the room shattered as everyone turned back to their own conversations. Out the corner of his eye, Ash saw someone rushing over to him. He turned to see who it was, only to be bombarded by a bone-crushing hug. "Ash, thank god. They said you were still alive but I didn't believe them. What the hell happened? Are you alright?" Mitch frantically rambled.
"I was alright until you started to crush me," Ash choked out. Mitch immediately released his grip on him, smiling sheepishly. Although Mitch would never admit it, Ash could see tears of relief in his eyes. "Are you okay, Ash. Seriously?" Mitch asked, his voice laced with concern. Ash looked at his friend. He began to nod, before deciding not to lie and shook his head. Mitch glanced around the room, then wrapped an arm around his friend and ushered him to a secluded couch as far away from the others as possible.

The two boys sat down in silence. Ash kept quiet and stared at the wall, unable to meet Mitch's interrogative look. After a few moments, Mitch sighed."Ash, talk to me. What did they do to you? I'm your best friend, just talk to me, please," he begged. Ash stayed quiet, silently berating himself for telling Mitch he was not alright. Mitch put his hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash whipped his head round and glared at Mitch. Mitch just raised an unamused eyebrow. "The look might work on the others, but it doesn't work on me," he reprimanded, before changing to a gentler tone saying, "Ash, you said yourself you're not okay. Tell me what happened, I want to know. Stop trying to shelter me. I worry more when you don't talk to me. If you really can't talk about it just tell me and I'll stop."
Ash was tempted to tell Mitch he could not talk about it, but the idea of lying to Mitch made him hesitate. Mitch was right, he was trying to shelter him and not burden him with his problems. The selfish part of him wanted to tell Mitch everything, so he had someone to talk to. Ash looked away, his internal conflict written clearly on his face. Mitch removed his hand and sat back, waiting for him to speak. Ash looked back at his friend, before looking down. Quietly he mumbled, "he... He tortured me and... And they stopped my heart, on accident." He heard Mitch take in a sharp breath.
"What? You can't be serious." Ash looked up at Mitch sadly. "Oh my god, Ash. How could they do that? Please tell me everything," Mitch asked sympathetically.

Ash nodded and took a deep breath and spoke, "I passed out after you got me to the Masters. Thank you by the way, it turns out you saved my life. If you hadn't taken me to them, I would of bled out." He looked at Mitch sheepishly. Mitch shot him a look that said 'I told you so.' "Anyway," Ash continued, the sheepish look falling from his face, "they started to patch me up, except I apparently woke up and they gave me an anaesthetic." Mitch's eyes widened, knowing Ash had not been anaesthetised in years. "While I was under, they also installed a device that monitors my vitals, so I can't almost die again," Ash said as he pulled down his shirt collar so Mitch could see the bandage covering where they had installed the monitor. "Scarily enough, for once I actually agree with the Masters," Mitch said, suppressing a shudder at the thought, "you seem to think your bulletproof, and don't tell anyone when you're actually injured." He sent a pointed look at Ash. Ash rolled his eyes. "You and the masters are so dramatic. It was only one instance," Ash groaned. Mitch sent him a look that implying there had been more than just this one instance. Ash purposely ignored the look and continued with his story, "so I woke up yesterday morning with no idea where I was and no memory at all. Master Malicious Smile was there, enjoying the affects the anaesthetic had on me." Ash's hands curled into fists. "Turns out anaesthetic makes me bold and emotional, and I said some things I definitely regret." Mitch knew there was more to the story, but did not want to push Ash, so he stayed quiet. "The Master planned on using the wound on my side to discipline me after I disobeyed him. Don't say it, I know I should've done as he commanded." Mitch shut his mouth, but sent Ash another, 'I told you so' look. Ash rolled his eyes, and continued, "as you know my little run in with the new girl opened up that wound anyway and the Master said that would've been punishment enough, except I defied him in front of the others, talked back to him, and almost got myself killed, because apparently that was totally my own fault." Anger burned in Ash. Mitch put a hand on Ash's shoulder and said his friend's name softly. Ash took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He stayed silent for a few minutes before he continued, "The Master thought I was becoming rebellious, so he saw it as his duty to squash the rebelliousness in me. He told me there was an experiment he wanted to do, but he had held off doing it. He saw the experiment as a way to get results and discipline me at the same time." Ash shivered at the memory. He looked down as his cheeks went red, and mumbled, "I was so scared. I tried to run, but they restrained me before I even had the chance to get off the bed. The Master gave me a paralysis drug and they carried me away like some newbie."
"Ash don't be embarrassed about that. Anyone in your situation would've run. I know I would've, in fact I probably would have fainted from fear. The experiments are horrible on their own, but using one as a punishment, that's a whole new level," Mitch consoled, shuddering at the thought of an experiment being used as punishment. "I can stop if you don't want to hear the rest," Ash said, looking up at his friend. Mitch shook his head. "No keep going. I can handle it," he said, as his face twisted into a determined expression. Ash hesitated, not sure if he believed him. Deciding to continue, he said, "okay, but please stop me if you can't handle it." Mitch nodded. Taking a deep breath, Ash continued, "they took me to one of the test rooms, strapped me to a table and gave me an anti-paralysis drug. Then they began the experiment." Ash's eyes glazed over as his mind trapped him in his memories. Unknowingly, he began to shake as his mind replayed the experiment. "There was pain, so much pain," he subconsciously murmured. Mitch shook him, breaking his stupor. Blinking, Ash returned to the present. He looked at Mitch and was met with worried eyes. "Sorry, I got lost in the memories," Ash apologised, as he shivered.
"Ash you never told me what the experiment was. You do know what it was don't you?" Mitch cautiously asked. Ash nodded his head. "Yes, the Master told me just before they started," he said quietly. He glanced at Mitch. Mitch made a gesture for him to continue. Once again Ash hesitated, he did not want to burden his friend with the knowledge of the experiment, in fact he had hoped to skim over the experiment and not have to explain what it was. He also knew how stubborn Mitch was, so he would never let the matter lie until he knew and would possibly be angry with Ash for keeping it from him. Reluctantly Ash told him, "they wanted to know how long they could keep the transmitters activated before causing harm to us. The Master believed I would last two minutes." Ash looked at his friend, expecting to see a look of fear or concern, instead Mitch's face was bright red. Mitch's eye twitched dangerously. "What the actual hell. What kind of sick twisted creatures would do that? They've never left a transmitter on for over five seconds, and that is agony enough, let alone two minutes," Mitch fumed, his voice rising in volume. Ash's eyes flickered around the room to check if anyone had heard them. Seeing no one had heard them, yet, Ash hissed at Mitch to be quiet and threatened to not tell him the rest if he did not calm down. Begrudgingly Mitch calmed down, although Ash could still feel rage radiating of him. Calmly, Ash spoke, "yes, it was agony. I had never felt such pain in my life. Believe me, after that I never want to get zapped again. It was pure torture. Besides, the Master's calculations were wrong, apparently I only lasted a minute thirty."
"What do you mean by 'only lasted a minute thirty'? What happened after that?" Mitch angrily asked. Ash hesitated, knowing that Mitch had become a powder keg and what Ash said next could be the spark. Cautiously Ash tried to explain, "after what felt like eternity, but was apparently only a minute and a half, the pain became too much, I screamed and everything went black. Turns out after a minute thirty... My heart unexpectedly gave out." Ash watched his friend as if he was a ticking bomb. "What do you mean 'gave out'? Do you mean they stopped your heart?" Mitch growled. Ash nodded slowly. Mitch stood up growling, "those bastards. How could they do that. I'll go teach them a lesson."
"Mitch don't do anything you'll regret. It's okay, I'm fine," Ash said wearily.
"Like hell. They killed you, they physically stopped your heart. That's not okay," Mitch bit back. Ash frantically grabbed Mitch's hand, hissing as he stretched his side. "Mitch they will kill you. Please just leave it. I... I can't survive here without my best friend, please," Ash begged, fear coursing through him. Mitch looked dumbstruck as if he had just awoken and shook his head. "Woah. I'm sorry Ash. I don't know what came over me. I just get scared sometimes that someday they'll kill you permanently and I'd be left alone. I shouldn't have reacted that way, I wasn't thinking. Please continue your story," apologised Mitch. Ash breathed in relief, glad his friend was back to his normal passive self.