Lewis opened his eyes, staring up at the person who was ... poking... him awake. Doctor Eisen. He stood outside Lewis' cage, poking him with the end of a cane with a wicked grin playing across his lips.

"Wake up, kid! I have new studies to do on the condition you're in!" Doctor Eisen exclaimed excitedly, it was sick. Lewis rubbed his head, waiting for the doctor to unlock his cage.

After a moment of examining him he finally unlocked the cage and led him out. Lewis's arms were chained while a 'leash' was connected to the collar around his neck. Doctor Eisen was an older man, hunched over with a thick, white beard that was no longer than a pinky finger. He dressed in full white with sterile, latex gloves.

They walked down the corridor towards the testing lab, Lewis was tugged along, passing room after room of test subjects. Children ranging from ten to nineteen years old in rooms with large glassed windows; big enough for you to see the cages where they slept.

Lewis even had to pass the room where large plastic tubes, no bigger than an adult body, were built in. Those held babies, babies that had their umbilical chord still attached as they floated around in the water.

Each room was marked 'E1', 'E2', and so on. Each were numbered for the testing that were being done to the patients within the room and the number stood for which order they were in; Number one were fresh new little ones that were yet to be studied on. The last three numbers, ten to twelve, were the last amount of good test subjects that were alive and the tests were still working.

Thirteen and fourteen were the rooms that Doctor Eisen tried to avoid; they held the subjects that had died from the new antidotes that were given.

Lewis stared at the different looking kids who rested in their individual cages, some were raging inside and causing problems in which the doctor noted on a pad when testing behaviors to new antidotes that he created.

Finally, Lewis was led into a room, the walls were a sky blue while the floor was tiled; cold beneath his bare feet. The chains were taken off before he climbed up onto the table that sat in the middle of the room.

Behind the table, mounted on the walls, were large television screens that were connected to the computers; showing x-rays and other diagnostics that were changing or staying the same in the patient. To the right of the table sat a counter with a sink. In the cabinets both above and below the counter were needles, knives of many sizes, instruments for surgery, and other things he may need.

On the far left of the room were the machines, holding the antidotes, medicines, and 'poisons' he had. Poisons were only brought out if he had screwed up royaly on a patient and had to take away their suffering.

Lewis was strapped down to the table, first his arms then his legs. Doctor Eisen replaced his gloves with new ones as he grabbed a needle from the top cabinet, placing it on the counter. He grabbed the iodine bottle and placed it next to the needle.

Grabbing gauze pads, he walked over to Lewis and tore his shirt open. He fished through his coat pocket and pulled out his small marker; making an X on the place he wished to draw blood from. It was just above his heart.

"This won't hurt too much" Doctor Eisen stated, he put Iodine down over the X then grabbed the needle. Without a second thought he slid the needle into the X and drew blood. Lewis flinched slightly.

"Today we do surgery" Doctor Eisen said, smiling. He was ever the only one to smile but of course, he did love his surgeries.

Lewis got nervous, he had to keep himself calm or he'd enrage the doctor.

Doctor Eisen pulled out the necessary tools to perform his task, laying them out on a small table along side him to make it easier.

After putting in the Anesthetic, he started to cut open Lewis' head. The Anesthetic hadn't kicked in. Lewis wanted to scream at the immense pain he was in.

How do you describe such pain? Something along the lines of having a truck parked onto your genitals of a male? Having each of your teeth pulled out slowly while a porcupine hits your bum repeatedly; Over, and over, and over?

Lewis

I cried, tears streamed down my face, I didn't know what to do, what could I do? Scream at him? Call him names that I heard other kills call him? I knew what happened to them after they screamed such words. Horrible things.

I bit my lip, tasting the metallic flavor upon my tongue. I didn't care. It was the least amount of pain I was in. After some minutes the pain finally went away.

I wasn't entirely sure it was from the medicine he had given me, what was the name again? Anestesia? Anesthetic? Ahh yes, that's it. I heard him humming once with it in there. Don't ask me why.

Anyways, I didn't know whether it was because I was finally saved from that or because so much blood loss. All I knew, was I was being saved by something that wasn't the doctor.

I started seeing stars, feeling pressure in places I shouldn't but how was I to know? Looking back, I think I couldn't have told anyone what it was like. To this day, I really can't tell anyone what it was like to experience such things.

I try, sometimes, to people who desperately want to know. The ones who, beg. You know, plead basically on their knees with their little pouted lips.

I laid on the table, staring up, bright spots started to appear in random places but I just stared straight up. Thankful that there was no light there so I didn't have to look anywhere else. I didn't bother to try and strain to look up nor did I ever dare to move my head. Who knows what the insane man was up to.

I later found out he was trying to take the 'evil' out of my brain. I was born with a few problems, none that I was aware of. When I was two years old I faintly remember the doctors whisper to my mother, a word that seemed to contain complete sorrow.

I hadn't ever seen my mother cry, I hadn't ever seen her the slightest bit upset but that night... she cried for hours, curled up in her bed. I played the word out... cencer.

I was sick, I knew I was but there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I was little and didn't understand. My mother saw me and she just smiled, hiding the tears, planting a kiss upon my cheek.

I asked her what was wrong, in my little child voice but she just told me "It's all okay sweetheart, it's all okay" I contemplate it now, wondering if my mother was upset she had a sick child. I also have Schizophrenia, much like this doctor.

I didn't know what it meant for a long time but sometimes, the doctor comes to our cages and smiles. He won't speak to us nor to himself, he'll talk to... someone else but nobody will be there. He'll speak of what's wrong with us or why he has to do what he does.

Nobody asks, nobody questions. Some spit at him, bite him, fight, some will even sing sometimes. He acts normal and calm but after he 'operates'... we don't ever see the kid again.

He blames himself when they die.. who else can he blame? He's the demented figure that causes us these problems. No, he didn't make us be born this way but he did steal us away from our families, our parents, our mothers.

The ones who brought us into this world. I joined this place when I turned three, I was now seventeen years old. The night I was taken was the night after my third birthday. My mother tucked me into bed, gave me a soft smile, and kissed my forehead. She'd sing me a lullaby before leaving, she'd keep the door open a crack after she was gone so that I wouldn't be frightened.

Ironic, isn't it? That night, the man came from no where. You know them stories of the 'boogey-man', the 'monster in your closet' or 'Freddy Kruger'? I think I'd have rather come in contact with any, if not all, of them rather than this man.

He had a funny smell to him, one the sanitizers couldn't mask and I crinkled my nose when he passed my cage at any given time.

I haven't seen my mother since I was three, at many times I wondered if she ever thought of me. I couldn't remember her songs, her voice, the smell of her hair when she'd give me giant hugs, the way she'd smile when I'd fall and start to sniffle up; saying 'Aw honey, let momma kiss it better' And she'd do just that.

I was grateful for my mum but I was terrified I'd forget her completely. This was the only life I knew of. For all I know now, my mother is dead. The doctor loved to get that through to us that something happened to our parents, our families and friends, and he was the only one we had left. So we wouldn't try and run from him.

He'd 'take care of us' sick, no? I had fallen for it but in the back of my head, I still held some faith but every day I got operated on and my head was cut open or some other part of my body, so he could take a 'test sample'. The faith would crumple to dust.

I couldn't be blamed, I found that out quickly. Nobody blamed me nor would ever blame me.

I was content with that but as I laid on the table, breathing slowly, I blamed myself for being born this way.

The doctor talked again, he spoke not to me nor himself like normal, but to someone else in the room. It was just him and myself.

He saw people, heard voices, and spoke to them. Sometimes told stories, laughed, and talked like him and the voices were old friends. Knowing him, they were since childhood. I didn't know now what they were called but I would later find out that he was mentally insane; much like us. I didn't care, all I knew was at this time, with the pain finally out of my body, I wanted him dead.

I didn't know where it was coming from, these thoughts, and sometimes I believed that the doctor was doing so many tests on us that he could eventually read our minds. It scared me in the past but as I started to get logical thinking, I realized that wasn't the case. In my head, I have swore him out, told him to go kill himself, and now, I was thinking that I wanted to be the cause of his death.

He had killed so many of the fellow test subjects, it killed me when I saw the blood or their lifeless bodies laying around. Even more so, it killed me when I had seen them aching; curled up in a ball in the corner of their cages from tests gone wrong. I felt smaller pity for the ones that died; only because they were now free from the pain that we constantly had to endure.

I closed my eyes and let my body relax, there was no reason being so tense as he worked, the more tense we were the more risk that he could mess up on us. I hated this man. Why did he do this? Did he think he could be the one to save us? Where did he get this 'medical training'? Did he go for a year, they kick him out, and now he thinks he can get revenge for trying to find a cure?

How did he get away with kidnapping kids over these years? So many of us... twins, single kids, siblings, little ones, older ones, middle aged. All at least eighteen years or younger. I knew I was doomed but I didn't care after the time I was here. As I said, I was taken when I was just a child.

Now I lay here, seventeen years old, at least that's what the doctor liked to say as he talked to himself. I had survived, how? I couldn't tell you... hell, I wouldn't even know where to start. All I did know, was that I had done it and that was all there was to it. He didn't want to kill us... that wasn't the object of his tests. Honestly, I don't quite understand the point of them all, but what I do know... is that he wanted us to survive and was pissed when we did die.

He blamed us, tried to at least, because we couldn't retort and put the blame on him.

After what seemed like forever on that cold table, he finally announced that he was done. I was scared of what he always done to me but there wasn't anything I could do, now was there? Not yet, I would need a plan. A clever plan. I would need to speak with another few of the kids around and formulate a plan... with some of the normal kids, not the ones who were deranged in the head; even from birth.

I cleared my throat as I sat up slowly, I learned the hard way of what happened when I sat up way to fast. It didn't tickle, that's for sure. He led me back to my cage and as we walked, I seemed to notice more things. Some kids were sitting in their cages, staring out at me. With wordless begging, they silently screamed out to me. If not me, it would've been another hopeless person who couldn't help them either.

My heart sank in my chest as I passed Kara's cage, tears were streaking down her face. Words were written on a white piece of strip that was attached to her cage. I could just about read it, make out that the letters spelled 'DNT' those letters left her to be able to relax. They stood for 'Do Not Test'.

I listened to the 'doctor' as he spoke, when he did things. Such when he put the tape on her cage when she had been above me. He kept saying 'Put tape on her cage, write the letters, yes, you can do it. Just like that, now write 'Do Not Test'. Yes, she's hopeless' I listen carefully, learn a thing or two. 'Cause I knew he wouldn't teach us anything, nothing at all.

He opened the cage door and motioned me inside, I glanced up at him and for the first time, really took his face in. He looked like his face was bashed in with a shovel and afterwords thousands of porcupines just used him as a back scratcher. After a moment, I ducked into the cage and laid down. He locked it before leaving our room, not taking another kid with him this time.

After each test, he liked to take another one to try and see if he can continue his work but other times, he liked to just sit and 'think' or talk to himself, doing what I assumed was his version of paper work and writing down his findings.

Kids screamed from the farthest point of the room, behind me, the 'doctor' didn't care that they did. They could make all the sound in the world, as he had once said to us. 'Go ahead, little ones, scream until you have no voice left to scream. Nobody will hear you, you see... we are underground' He had to say these stories to the ones he hurt, to the ones he dragged in here at teenage years. The ones who knew a thing or two.

Me, I knew more than they did for I was his first victim. Not the very first but one of the first five. I guess I would get something like that as a mark on me, if I survive. 'First Five Survived' I wish I could say that... the first two he dragged in here with me were laying in their cages. Barely hanging on.

One girl and us four guys, the girl was on the brink of death, I knew she wouldn't hang in there. She had no reason to do so and I wouldn't have hung in this far if I were her. She had one of them tape words on her cage too but hers did not say the same thing as Kara's did. Hers was worse, much worse. Whenever I read the words my heart would jump.

Any day he could come in and take her but every time he came through and poked at her, she wouldn't stir. She didn't have the energy nor will to move. I glanced at her as I sat in my cage, he kept us first five in a circular type figure. The corners of our cages touching.

We could reach out and hold each others hands if we really wanted to. He had us thrown all over the room like that. A path so he could get in to us but other than that, all the corners of the cages were touching. If someone had let gas go, the ones in the middle were the ones to yell the most. They hated when someone did that but honestly, you couldn't blame them.

I watched Jules, she laid curled up on her cot, her arm hanging over the side of it, her eyes half opened as she stared at her wrist. She had marks up and down her arms from needle injections. Some were simple water for her to stay alive but others were 'pain medicine' and the rest from the operations done on her. She simply just felt ugly.

I guess we all were ugly, from our scars to our needle holes. As I sat there staring at her, I heard the shuffling of feet, the grunting of Eisen carrying something, I glanced up at the rooms entrance, watching for him to come on. No less than two minutes passed and in he walked, carrying a middle aged boy. He looked around my age with short black hair, his eyes were closed. Eisen laid him into a cage just to my left, having walked over my cage I grumbled slightly.

The boy was laid on his cot, the door shut and locked, and tape was placed on the top of his cage. His name written on it just like the rest of us. He didn't awaken until long after Eisen left, I watched him as he groaned and rolled onto his chest, rubbing his head.

He glanced about the cage, looking up at me with widened eyes.

"The hell?" He asked, I tilted my head, looking up at the tape on his cage.

"You're screwed... John" I said slowly, I was sitting Indian style on my cot, watching him, glancing back at Jules every few moments. He didn't seem to understand and threw a few curse words around, not at me... just in general.

"Where are we?" John asked, I cleared my throat and shifted.

"I don't know... I couldn't tell you even if I tried. I've been here since I was three. The only thing I do know is that we are underground so screaming is useless. Please, don't do it" I exclaimed, there was no harm from him screaming, there just finally was silence in the room. Everyone too tired to make noise.

"Does he whip you or something if you scream?" John asked, I shook my head, no.

"He doesn't do anything, he actually enjoys hearing us try and call out for someone, hopelessly. He's a sick person but you can scream all you want to, until you lose your voice, as he says. It will get you no where, I just like the silence. In the day time, if they're not all too sick, they start crying and screaming. Shaking their cages trying to get free. No, I don't blame them... how could I? They've spent almost as much time as I have in these blasted things... it's just hopeless to make noise" I explained, he stared at me.

"This is just sick... why was I brought here!?" John said, attempting to shake the cage.

"You must have been born with some defect, he tries to 'cure' us" I said, emphasizing the 'cure'... there was no way he could ever, everyone knew that. He seemed to let the words sink in.

"But I have no defects... I was born a perfectly healthy baby" John stated, I watched him curiously.

"Well he must have gotten you by accident though. I must warn you that the tests do hurt" I leaned back, there was nothing I could do to help him, he was now one of us. Even if he didn't have a single thing wrong with even his skin.

Eisen walked in, something seeming to have alert him, he walked straight up to John's cage.

"Nothing... you say?" He said this slowly, John looked at him as he knelt down in front of the cage, John nodded.

"I have not a thing wrong with me, not even bipolar. Nothing, honest" John said in an attempt to save himself, I watched them carefully, unsure of what Eisen would do. Eisen nodded at his words then stood up, kicking the cage and swearing.

"How did I mistake that? How did I do wrong?" Eisen stroked his chin, there was no hair there to stroke so he just did it in a thinking manner.

"I must have meant to snag your brother" Eisen glanced down at him from the corner of his eye.

"My brother is Autistic, you bastard!" John screamed at him, Eisen smiled.

"Ahh, yes, then I definitely had snagged the wrong sibling" Eisen gave a sickening grin, John basically snarled before leaning back, as long as his brother was safe.

"Good luck getting to him, they'd rather have you dead then let you harm him" John stated, Eisen knelt down.

"Is that so?" He asked, he liked I challenge I guess, I stayed silent.

"Well yeah, stupid" John glared, Eisen stroked his chin again.

"Then I shall return" Eisen swiftly got up and left, after straining to hear his shuffling across the shining floors, the slamming of the door just down the hall, I stared at John. Unsure of what just happened.

"Why'd you say that?" I asked, John sighed silently.

"They'll catch him if he even goes anywhere near my brother, he has his own guard dog because he's so badly Autistic" John explained, trying to shake the bars again, I watched him.

"We have to get out of these cages, he keeps a separate key hanging in his room for all the cages in case he loses the one in his pocket. We have to get the hell out and save everyone" I stated, John nodded.

"How do you suppose we even get out of our own?" John asked, I thought about it for a moment before a deep voice suddenly interjected.

"Could always try sneaking it from him?" Kevin laid in a cage across from mine. The third of the first five.

"How? He always has it in his coat pocket" I explained, Kevin shifted.

"When he goes to operate on someone, they spill something so bad he has to leave the room, get up and snatch the extra key and hide it. Lay back down like nothing happened and when he returns, finishes up, returns you to your cage, we'll be good from there to plan out more" Kevin described, I thought it through before nodded.

"He goes every other day to get a kid" I spoke to John this time, John nodded.

As if on cue, Eisen came shuffling in, pacing.

"He was a tricky one" Eisen stated, in a cage that was placed by the door laid his little brother, not the Autistic one.

"You prick!" John screamed, Eisen smiled.

"He's not Autistic! You grabbed the wrong one again!" Venom dripped off of every word he growled out, Eisen's face dropped as he grumbled.

He unlocked a cage and yanked out Tim from the far left, dragging him towards the operating room. I leaned back, unsure of the plans we had just made but unsure of a lot of other things too. How was he getting away with kidnapping kids so easily? Were there no rules up on land? I was scared.

John jumped noticeably as a crashing sound could be heard from the room, I glanced up and in walked Tim angrily, getting into his cage and slamming the door shut.

"Lock it!" Tim yelled out, Eisen locked the cage and tried kicking it but only hurt himself.

"All of you! Ungrateful! Now you're punished" Eisen stated as he walked out hurriedly, I blinked a few times dumbfounded. I heard a small commotion from Tim's cage as whispering went from one cage to the next. In a minute, a small silver metal caught the light as he was slipped into my cage; dropping to the floor. I eyed it for a moment before I recognized it clearly.

The master key.

I picked it up and looked at it carefully, making sure it was the right one.

"Kevin" I whispered, he opened his eyes and turned his head towards me.

"Yeah?" He asked, I held the key up and him and John's eyes opened noticeably. I slid it into my pants, just on my hip where it would be hidden but held into place. I laid back, relaxing for the first time in a while. We would have big plans ahead of us and if I released the right kids, we would be able to get out of here alive. All of us. I had to do it fast, all the kids in Kara's and Jules' state wouldn't have long left and I was determined to get us all out of here.

In the morning, Eisen was staring at me before I even opened my eyes. I raised my eyebrow once I looked at him, curling up more on my cot. It was warm in the room.

That's when a foul smell entered into my cage, I hid my nose and squeezed my eyes shut, it smelled horrible. What was it? Eisen seemed to notice and patted the cage.

"It's just breakfast" He said with a smug smile, I raised my head and went closer to the door once he left, I glanced around. Things seemed quiet, too quiet. I looked across to Kevin, he was holding his head to his knees.

"He's gone too far this time, Lewis! Too far! Don't eat the food, no matter what you do, don't even put it to your lips!" Kevin warned, he lifted his head and tears streamed down. I tried to understand as a bowl was placed into my cage, I glanced down at it. It was the nastiest looking concoction I had ever seen being here, a bowl was given to everyone but just like I did, they looked at it funny. It didn't smell good in the least bit, nor did it look good. Nobody had any reason to eat it.

The liquid in it was a dark red, small solid objections were floating around, it looked ground down like it was put threw a blender. Once Kevin was given a bowl, he basically threw it towards the the cage, the contents splashing all over the floor.

"You sick, bastard!" Kevin drew closer to the back of his cage, that's when it clicked. John's cage was empty. I glanced at the bowl and instantly threw up all over it. I whimpered and drew back towards my cot, hiding my face, others seemed to wonder what was going on. Asking me what happened.

"He murdered John, he's trying to feed him to us" I whispered to the person that was in the cage next to me, he wanted to throw up too and in five seconds, each bowls contents were threw across the floor. It looked like a murders' version of a slip-and-slide.

I was shaking on my cot, scared, angry, hurt, horrified, hungry, disgusted, sick, all in one. I didn't know what to do but seeing that, I was even the more determined to kill this sick, twisted, human being. Could he even be classified as a human? I wasn't sure.

I soon passed out, ignoring the crying going on around me, hardly noticing the shriek from Eisen. The next morning was hazy, I rubbed my face and glanced down, the floor, the bars, the bowls had all been cleaned up. I glanced at John's cage, wishing it was all a nightmare but in the cage was only an empty cot. I cried silently for the poor boy.

The shuffling from two days previous returned and an almost lifeless body was throw into the cage, I nearly jumped towards the bars, clinging to them as I stared at the body that now lay in John's cage. The boy wasn't John.

I lost some hope as I drew back, this boy was a dark skinned one, half white and half darker. I took a deep breath and watched as Eisen left, I lost my chance but didn't lose hope as his shuffling across the shiny floors led to a slam of an old steel door.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 08.06.2011

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Pity and respect to those who were actually ever scientific or any type of test victim.