TAKEN
Author's Note: This post contains parts 2 & 3 of the story.
All the warnings / caveats / etc from the first post still apply.
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Part 2: The Paramedics
... I am suddenly able to breathe.
"Are you ok, sir?" Says a man standing over me.
Where did he come from? He is wearing a black button-up shirt and black pants. The shirt has a name tag and some kind of badge. A paramedic.
I look around. Oranges. Apples. Carrots. Rows full of fruits and vegetables. I'm back in the grocery store? What the hell is going on?
I am surrounded by a small crowd. Some look concerned, some amused, a few have phones out. Snapping pictures of me on the ground. My face turns red.
"All right folks, give him some air." Someone is telling the crowd.
"Good morning, I'm Victor..." The paramedic says. He gives me a quick smile, meant to be comforting I guess, as he takes my pulse. He has a faint accent - Eastern European I think - but speaks English very well. He is probably in his mid to late 20's. It's his build that really stands out, though. The dude obviously works out, clearly some kind of bodybuilder. His black short sleeved uniform is stretched around his chest and his arms. He is intimidating despite his darkish blond hair and cool blue eyes. "... and this is Duke."
I look up and see a second paramedic. He is a black man and his body is even bigger than Victor. Broad chest and shoulders. He towers over the crowd that surrounds me - I'm guessing he is about 6'8" or 6'9" - and, from what I can see, is solid muscle. His hair is very short, a buzz cut, which only serves to emphasise how massive he is. If Victor intimidates me, this guy makes me feel like a 98 pound weakling. I mean... I work out a lot but I am not even in the same class as these two.
But wait... The weird cavern and everyone in it? Where did they go?
I can smell some kind of smoke nearby, maybe cigarette smoke? Whatever it is, it is really annoying and makes my eyes and throat scratchy.
"What happened? How did I get here?"
"Well, you collapsed and the store called emergency services." Victor replies. "You were unconscious for about 15 minutes."
I try to stand. His strong arm holds me down almost effortlessly.
"Now, now. Just relax. Let's just make sure you are ok, all right?"
I nod and lean against one of the produce counters. He's right, of course. Better safe than sorry. I feel a bit lightheaded anyway. Groggy. Once the crowd has moved back, Duke moves next to Victor.
They poke and prod. Shine a light in my eyes. Ask me all sorts of stupid questions. What's your name? What year is it? Who's the Prime Minister. You know the rubbish they always ask on the hospital dramas on the telly.
"Well... " Duke says behind me as Victor takes the blood pressure cuff off. "You seem OK but I think we should go to the emergency room to have you checked out."
I turn around to look at him... and catch him sneering at me. The look disappears almost immediately, replaced with a friendly smile.
Something is wrong here. Something is very wrong with these two. I know it and I suddenly want to just get away from them. "I don't think that's necessary. I don't want to be any trouble."
"It's no trouble, sir. Let us get the stretcher for you." Victor says. Is there is a hint of a threat in his voice?
"No, it's ok." I scramble to my feet. Trying to hide my unsteadiness. "I'm fine."
"That's against policy, sir. We really need to put you on the stretcher."
He is being so adamant. Why is he pushing this? Or is something actually wrong with me? Am I imagining things?
The two paramedics stand. At 6'1" I'm not short, but Victor is several inches taller and Duke towers above me. I work out six days a week but they are both heavily muscled in a way that makes me feel puny. There is no way I can fight either of them... let alone both. They loom near me. As if waiting for something.
And so I run.
People in the store turn and stare at this latest disturbance. They are going to have stories later, but I don't have time to worry about that now.
I can hear the paramedics behind me. Pushing people out of the way. Pursuing.
I'm almost to the door. If I get outside, I can get somewhere and hide. Almost there. Almost...
I am knocked off my feet as Victor tackles me.
"Get off me... you can't do this." What kind of fucking paramedic tackles someone they've been called to help?
"Just be calm, sir. It's ok." Duke says, moving close to where his partner has me pinned. He has something in his hand. I feel the needle pierce my arm. I feel a cool liquid, whatever was in the syringe, enter my arm. I stare at the needle as he pulls it from my arm.
"Please, just relax. Stay calm. It's ok. This is for your own safety."
It only takes a minute or two. My struggles fade. My body relaxes. Victor gets off my back. I want to get up. Run again. But my body feels so heavy. They pull my shirt off and attach some sort of monitor to my chest. One of them brings the stretcher. They lift me into it. Secure me.
A crowd watches as my stretcher is wheeled out of the store. The paramedics push the stretcher into the ambulance and slam the doors shut.
I am surprised how dark the enclosure is. The lights are dimmed and cast only a pale blue light. There are windows on either side of me, keeping total darkness at bay, but the light seems wrong. It flickers. Casts strange shadows. Like a burning fire...
Part 3: The Knife and the Flame
... I am no longer laying down. I am kneeling. On a floor of polished black stone. My arms are not bound but my shirt is gone. Standing before me is a black shrouded figure and on either side of me stands a man in a grey robe.
I am back in the cavern. But that's not real. It can't be. It was just a hallucination.
The fires on either side of me are still burning but the one on the right seems to have grown.
"The first two qualities of a Man are courage and stoicism." It is that strange, frightening, raspy voice. The voice of the Tribunal.
"A Man will be brave in the face of threat or pain, even when the odds are against him he will stand his ground. He may feel fear but he will control it. The meek, on the other hand, will cower or flee. They are victims of fear, not it's master."
Images flow through my mind. I see the Market. I am kneeling with the paramedics hovering above me. My eyes wide with fear and confusion. I feel again the intimidation as they hovered over me.
There are not just memories though. They are, somehow, projections. Pulled from my mind and on display for everyone in the cavern to see. But that's impossible... am I having some kind of mental breakdown?
`This creature was confused and allowed that confusion to become fear. When placed in an uncertain situation, I sensed no courage." The shrouded figure pauses for a moment before handing something to the Grey. A knife.
"Clothes are for Men, not for those who lack courage. Remove the rest of it's clothing so it can be naked as it should be."
Hands. Grabbing me. The two men in grey robes rip my shirt off me. My shoes and socks violently pulled off as well. The metal knife flashes in the firelight as it flicks quickly around me. They cut away my jeans, my underwear. All removed. The knife never once touches my skin, not even a nick.
As I watch, stunned, they hurl the scraps of my clothing into the bonfire. I watch as the flames engulf and then consume them, leaving me kneeling naked on the cold stone floor.
"A Man is master of his emotions and his stoicism goes hand in hand with his courage." The Tribunal says and I instinctively turn back to him. "He may feel fear, or love, or uncertainty. But these things do not control him. If a creature cannot control it's emotions, however, it is a slave to them."
The projections surround me again. I panic and run from Victor and Duke.
"When faced with a threat, this one ran." The shrouded figure continues. "Not a retreat but a desperate attempt to escape. This is not the action of a Man. Hair is a sign of stoicism, of manliness, and of maturity. A creature that lacks these qualities should be smooth skinned to set it apart from Men."
The Grey take a step back. They are expecting something...
The bonfire to my right crackles suddenly. I turn instinctively and a shower of sparks erupts in the air. But there is something strange about them. Something not like any fire, any sparks, that I have even seen. Thousands of sparks like gnats swarming as the sun sets. And then they become brighter. Hotter. Not sparks but embers. Then flames. Flames which cascade down around me. Scalding my naked skin. They cascade down my body like flaming tears. I cry out in pain. Hot. Unbearably hot. Burning. Searing.
I scream at the pain.
The Grey are holding buckets over me. Cold water, ice cold, pours over my head. I gasp for air in the sudden shock. A moment of relief from the burning. But then something else takes its place. An itch...everywhere... like my skin has been infested by a million tiny insects. My hands spring to my arms, my chest, trying to be everywhere at once.
Something lands at my feet. I stare at it for a moment before I realise what it is: hair. A tuft of hair fallen from my head. Another clump of hair joins it. Then another. I grasp my scalp as if I can stop it, hold my hair in place. But I can feel the growing bald patches spreading even under my fingers. And it is not just my head: Hair falls from my chest, my arms, my legs, even my crotch. I can feel the same is happening on my back, my ass. The terrible itching is everywhere. It covers every inch of my body. My hair cascades off and piles at my feet.
Finally the itching stops. I run my hands over my head, my face, my body. I am completely smooth. I don't have a hair left anywhere on my body. Not even my eyebrows. There is no sign of the fire on my skin though. So this is definitely some kind of hallucination... this can't be happening.
The room seems to lurch and I loose my balance. I fall on my side and hit the floor. The stone feels strange. Soft and almost warm. What was that? Some kind of earthquake?
I roll over onto my back and try to grip my shoulder, throbbing with pain.
But my arms won't move. They are pinned to my sides...