Period number: 88
Place: Unknown
Eighty-eight periods, including those with Sophia, were gone. Oliver was still in need of information. They were still being brought to five laboratories and Oliver knew the way to them very well. He also knew the time it took to get to those laboratories. He also knew the time between waking up, food and going to the them. But he still needed more information. He couldn’t find out anything more. He didn’t know how far other prisoners were or how he could get rid of the device in his arm, that controlled him. In fact, even if he could get rid of it, he wouldn’t make it by himself. He alone against the Greys wouldn’t last a minute. Oliver needed to know, where the others were and whether he had a chance to free any of them. He couldn’t ask them too much or ask them to count the steps to laboratories because the Greys would find out, what Oliver wants to do.
By this time, he knew that the Greys’ glove had ten buttons. None of them were marked, but Oliver found out they weren’t pushing any buttons when they wanted the door to open. He also found out which button is used to get out the metal wire, that was connected to his collar. If his theory was right, the glasses the Greys wore, showed them signs on the rooms around. How else could they be able to go through those very same hallways without hesitation?
Now, Oliver was sitting by the wall and drawing. He couldn’t help himself, it calmed him down, even though it meant biting his own hand and drawing with his own blood. He didn’t care about it at all because when he woke up, his hand was always healed. And he got used to the pain, too. What first was a simple drawing later changed into a carefully worked-out drawing of a knight. Oliver didn’t study art and had only an average talent, but after eighty-nine periods his drawing was looking very good. Considering the fact, that he was drawing with his blood.
When the food came, he sat down and ate. He was playing with the glass in his hand and was still thinking about his escape. He drank his water and sat to his drawing again. When the Grey came for him, he automatically started to count their steps. He didn’t want to miss a single information. Although he never knew, which laboratory they were going to, at least he had a clue who he was going to meet. Normally, they didn’t change the order of persons, but it happened several times. Oliver should meet with Darius again during this period.
Once again, he entered the laboratory (lab #4 it was), took off his clothes and went to the bed. But something was different. Till now during eighty-eight periods he had never come to the lab as first. He got bound to the bed and waited. It was a bigger change for him, than he thought, so Oliver started to count. Darius came about five minutes later, which was the same time it took Oliver to come here. “Hi, Darius,” he said when they cuffed him. “Hey, Oli,” said Darius. Darius was lying next to Oliver’s left hand and was staring at it. His voice sounded different. “You know, Oli, as I was walking through the hallway I saw blood drops on the floor leading almost from my cell to this lab. You’re hurt, it can be yours. Wouldn’t it be funny, if our cells were next to one another?” He laughed, but in his eyes Oliver saw something more.
“Really, it would…” “Ha-ha-ha…How far from your cell were they?” Oliver knew this question is risky, but he had to ask. “You know, when our Grey friend drags me out of my room, we turn right and he always hurries, so it’s really hard to say, how far it is. But I would say about seven steps.” Darius and Oliver started to laugh. At the same time, they both fainted.
When Oliver woke up, he was so happy. It was a strange feeling he didn’t feel in a long time. According to this, their cells were close, very close. This meant Oliver had a real ally. He was thinking whether he should wait or fulfill his plan. He took the risk of being caught because he knew he had less time as the next two periods would be shortened. Oliver decided to take that risk and waited till periods with Sophia were over.
When he woke up, his heart was skipping a beat. While waiting for food, he was going through his whole plan. He grabbed his blanket, which was more a bed sheet than something useful and started to tear it into long stripes.
The door opened and food came in. Quickly he took the food and gulped it. Oliver realized he didn’t have blood in his food, what didn’t happen for very long time. What scarred him was the fact, that the slimy mass without his blood was really disgusting. But he ate it all and flushed it with a glass of water.
Then came the most difficult part of his plan. Oliver took the glass, broke it, took a sliver of glass and took his shirt off. He knew his only chance to escape was to cut out the device by himself. He was scared. He put a piece of blanket into his mouth because he didn’t want to bite off his tongue. Oliver took a deep breath and cut with his right hand into the place, where the bump was. He almost puked himself from pain. Biting in his hand was nothing compared to this, but he had to do it. He felt every small millimeter of the glass going through his skin. He felt every little sharp that stayed in his wound. His head was spinning, he wanted to puke and scream from pain in the same time. But he didn’t stop.
After several killing minutes was his wound big enough. He pressed on it and felt something heavy fell on the ground. Oliver looked down at the puddle of blood below him and saw a small bloody device in it. He grabbed the bandage he had made out of his blanket and bound his arm.
Oliver tightened it as he could, but his head was still spinning from pain. He lost track of time, but he didn’t care. He went to the door and waited. He was staring at the small bloody device on the ground. He could hardly breath. His left arm was just swinging beside his body, he could move it, but every single move was a suffering for him.
After several minutes of waiting he saw the device moving. A small injection came out of it and a green liquid was spilled on the floor. He held his breath and got ready.
The Grey came in as usual. The moment he took a step inside the room, the door closed. He thought Oliver would be lying on the ground as many times before, so he didn’t take a note of the fresh blood below him. Oliver colored most of his white cell in red so maybe that puddle of blood wasn’t strange at that moment.
The Grey looked at the device on the floor. He didn’t realize what it meant and Oliver, full of adrenaline and ignoring the pain in his arm, knocked him down. He pushed the Grey down to the ground with his left hand, grabbed his thin neck and started to choke him. Oliver was beating him with his right hand. At first, the Grey tried to defense himself with his glove, but Oliver was beating him and beating. The Grey wasn’t moving, but he was still beating him. There was Grey’s purple blood all over his right hand. His dead face didn’t look like the one that he came in with. No one could identify him now, but Oliver didn’t stop beating him. He needed to let go all his fury, pain and angst.
After some minutes, when he calmed down, he looked what he had done. He didn’t feel sorry for it. He was looking for the Grey’s glasses he lost, when Oliver attacked him. He found them and put them on. He didn’t see anything unusual. He looked at the door behind him and saw a rectangle, where the Greys put their gloves on. There were several signs on the door he didn’t understand.
He bent down and wanted to take off the Grey’s glove. He couldn’t make it. Oliver didn’t think of anything better so he dragged the Grey’s body to the door. He wasn’t heavy at all. He put the glove to the rectangle and it worked. The door opened.
Oliver looked through the hallway, if he could see anyone. But, as he assumed, there was nobody. He had never seen anyone else, a person or a Grey, when they were walking along the hallway. He thought it was a psychological trick how to make them feel depressed.
He looked to the left and saw two other doors. He subtracted seven steps, which brought him to the nearer door. Oliver put the glove on the door and they opened. He entered the room with the Grey’s body.
Darius was standing toward him in puzzlement. “How?”
“When you last told me how far was your cell, I knew I found an ally I’ve been waiting for. With sharps from the glass I’ve cut the device, that’s paralyzing us, out of my arm and killed this Grey one.”
Darius couldn’t believe his eyes. He was staring at Oliver, thinking if he got mad. “Man, you’re a total psychopath,” he said doubtfully and instantly added, “Can you get us out of here?” Oliver kicked into the glass and broke it. “It’s gonna hurt but we need to cut it out of you. But first you have to fasten my bandage because it’s hard to do it by myself.” As before, Oliver tore Darius’ blanket into long pieces and made bandages. Then Darius took his shirt of and Oliver cut his shoulder. Oliver was surprised Darius didn’t even lift his eyebrow. When it was over, Darius took the bandages and fastened them by himself. “Didn’t it hurt you?” “Are you insane? It hurt like hell, but it wasn’t the first time somebody operated me with anything that was near. This place is even cleaner than some of I’ve been in. Pain is something you get used to, when you live a life like I am.”
Oliver didn’t ask more questions. He was leading them along the hallway because Darius didn’t have glasses. A few seconds later they heard steps behind them. Oliver quickly showed Darius to go to the next room and enter it. Oliver went with him and the door closed.
They waited by the door restlessly, but nobody took a notice of them. They looked around and realized they were in some kind of terrarium. There were lots of glass aquaria with animals inside them. Oliver had never seen animals like these. Spiders big like a human head (Oliver hated spiders), insects he had never seen, lizards with two heads. In one of those aquaria there was some black substance at the bottom and he was wondering what kind of animal could had done that. “We should find something we can use as a weapon,” Darius suggested.
They searched the room but if they wanted to find something useful, they had to set free some of the animals. Suddenly Oliver heard the door opening. He turned around and three Greys were standing at the door. Oliver didn’t see any emotions in their face, if they were actually able to have any. But when they saw them, they froze for a moment.
Darius reacted as the first one. He went for them but he didn’t manage to get to them. One of the Greys’ aimed his glove at him and fired a white bowl of light. Darius was hit right in his chest. He flew several meters through the room and fell on the floor in unconsciousness.
Oliver wanted to react, too, but when he did, he ended up like Darius. He flew a few meters through the terrarium and fell on one of those aquaria. It broke. He fell a pain in his left arm and fainted. He was falling down in the darkness, but it wasn’t the same feeling as the one when he got paralyzed by the Greys’.