VULNERABLE MIND
Disclaimers apply
CHAPTER THREE: ‘Dependency'
Lucas awoke in terrible pain. The painkillers had begun wearing off a few hours earlier. In his state of sleep, Lucas couldn’t register what it was that was waking him up, and tried to ignore it. But as the pain got too severe, it broke into his consciousness and he realised what it was that was annoying him.
He lay on his stomach with his right cheek pressed against the pillow and groaned in frustration and torment.
“Shhh, just relax, you’re alright.”
Lucas physically jumped as much as weakened body would allow as he heard the soothing words and felt a warm hand touch his head. He opened his eyes to see Peter kneeling next to the bed. He relaxed as he realised that he must have been too out of it to hear the door open.
“Hey, hey,” Peter soothed, “You’re okay. We’re going to give you something more for the pain so you can sleep for a bit longer.”
Lucas watched Alec walk around from his blind spot to the front of the bed. They must have both come in together a short while ago.
“I’m sorry, kid,” Alec told him, genuinely regretfully, “I think I went a bit far.”
“Pe-,” Lucas began before he realised his throat was clogged up. He cleared it and tried again, “Peter, I can’t sit up today…”
Peter ran a hand across Lucas’ brow, whispering comfortingly, “It’s alright. No lessons today. You just relax okay?”
Lucas felt incredible relief at what Peter had told him. The pain in his body was making him feel very sorry for himself. With this combined with Peter’s soothing, Lucas was starting to feel that he could trust the man.
“Peter,” he sobbed, his voice breaking audibly, “When are you going to let me go home?”
“As soon as you’re ready, you can go when you like,” Peter told him.
Lucas didn’t believe this, but he was too vulnerable to risk the comforting presence by saying this blatantly and jeopardising Peter’s mood, “Do you promise?” he asked.
“But son,” Alec said, Lucas had forgotten he was there, “When you’re ready, you may not want to.”
Before Lucas could process the words, he felt a sharp prick in his neck. He soon relaxed as he felt the drug taking the pain from him, rather than taking him from the pain.
The reprieve was incredible, and he groaned in relief before he felt himself drift off into a warm, restful sleep.
***
Tim made his way into the moon pool with the bucket of fish. He was surprised to find Darwin there waiting for him.
“Hey, Darwin,” he greeted, not bothering to hide the sombreness in his voice. He sensed that Darwin knew anyway. He could probably sense it throughout the entire boat.
Tim padded up towards the waiting dolphin, “Lucas gone?” Darwin asked.
Tim nodded his head, “Yeah, Darwin. Lucas is missing.”
Tim took out one of the fish and held it up for Darwin to take. But the dolphin didn’t seem interested.
“Darwin help find Lucas,” the mammal squealed.
Tim sighed at put the fish back in the bucket so he could stroke Darwin’s melon, “I wish you could, Darwin but we don’t even know if he’s near the water.”
“Tim is sad?” Darwin asked.
Tim sighed and leaned up against the moon pool, “I’m very worried,” he admitted, “But I mean, there has to be a reason why he was taken. We just need to find out what that is.”
“Lucas was taken because he was sad,” Darwin told him.
Tim furrowed his eyebrows, “Mmmm, no Darwin. People don’t get taken away because they are sad.”
Darwin puffed out water from his blowhole, “Yes,” the speakers translated stubbornly, “Lucas sad on SeaQuest.”
“Well, I know he was going through a difficult time, but that’s not why he was taken,” Tim reassured him.
But Darwin persisted, “Lucas weak. Open to danger.”
Tim sat down on the deck, frowning and trying to make sense of Darwin’s words. Darwin had a pretty good sixth sense, especially when it came to Lucas, but what could it mean? Had Lucas been involved in something? He decided the Captain wouldn’t appreciate Darwin’s insight, so, realising Darwin wasn’t hungry, he left the fish where they were and went off to seek out Commander Ford.
***
Lucas groaned in self-pity as he slowly rolled over onto his back. He felt his muscles creak as he moved into a position he hadn’t been in for a while. It had been a few days since he had needed a heavy dose of painkillers and lying in his back was now not only possible, but also relatively comfortable.
It was mostly Stephen who had been nursing him, but Peter had often come in to feed him or help him relieve himself.
Yesterday, Peter had arrived with a pile of books and paper work and dumped them across from his bed. He had told Lucas that the usual routine would continue the next day.
That meant today. Lucas had been lying here waiting for them since he had woken up, which was at least a couple of hours ago. Lucas looked up at the roof, feeling butterflies rush through his stomach. Where were they?
He was certain that Peter and Alec should have arrived a long time ago, even though he had absolutely no idea what time it was. He looked over at the TV sitting on in the corner. It was running what Lucas had decided was a brainwashing programme. He was getting so bored he was actually starting to listen to it.
The tape stopped and the screen went blank. Lucas sat up to look at the blue screen of the TV. He heard a quiet buzzing sound as the disc wound back. Then the programme started again.
“Humans by nature act rationally in self-preservation,” the woman’s voice began.
Lucas groaned and tossed an arm over his eyes. He wished the woman had a more monotone voice so he could ignore it. He got up carefully, wincing slightly at the ache in his back.
Lucas couldn’t block out the woman’s voice in his ears, “This is why power corrupts, and those who wield it have no way of being controlled.”
Walking carefully towards the screen he looked at the cord that connected it to the wall. He knew that there must be a way to switch to TV off. He knelt down and tried to pull it out of the wall, being careful not to electrocute himself. He yanked it once, but it wouldn’t budge. Alec must have secured it into the wall.
“There are other ways to gain power apart from physical coercion. However, strength has proven to be the most effective means of solving conflict.”
Lucas rolled his eyes, “And continuing it,” he added.
Lucas positioned himself so that his feet were up against the wall, giving him more leverage to pull the cord out. He bent his legs and gave it a good pull once more, using his complete body weight and incredible irritation to try to pull it out. But it wouldn’t move.
Frustrated, he sat back down and peered at the plug. It looked like it was being held in there by the flow of electricity running through it, Lucas realised.
The voice continued, “I will now give you a scenario which a typical Section Seven agent my face on any given day. I will then explain how he must respond. Try to see if you can provide an alternative response. A response which you would feel is more ‘just’.”
Lucas sighed and got up to look at the back of the TV. He sat down again quickly as he felt his vision swim over and his head go dizzy. He held his stomach as it growled. The one meal a day of nothing was starting to take its toll. Lucas ignored his biting hunger and got up again.
“You will find that due to the hard morality in the situation. There is no such thing as a ‘just’ response,” Lucas grumbled at her words, refusing to try to search his young, inexperienced mind for a strong point to debate hers.
He grabbed a hold of the back of the set and tried to wrench it open. He felt a small surge of relief as he saw it come apart, and smiled wickedly at the familiar pattern of wiring inside.
The young computer whiz furrowed his eyebrows as he got to work, twisting and pulling the wiring. His blue eyes looked up excitedly as the TV screen fuzzed slightly and the words on the screen started to come through with more difficulty. He set back to work, trying to get it to stay that way.
“Part Two: Justice and Morality…” the sound fizzed out and stopped.
Lucas walked around to the front of the TV and pulled his lips into a half smile as he saw the blank screen.
“Plato never interested me anyway,” Lucas told the TV cockily. The content young man went back to lie on his bed, sighing happily.
Lucas’ happiness didn’t last. It wasn’t very long before he found himself nearly crazy with boredom. He desperately needed something to keep his mind of his hunger, loneliness and boredom, especially his hunger. At first he started counting the paces from the door to the wall, and then from wall to wall. He found that it was about four and half paces long and about three paces wide.
Before he had counted the thousandth brick on the walls he had already given up on counting. He felt an intense sadness well up inside him. He immediately shoved it back down, not interested in its source.
Lucas was beginning to realise that he looked forward to the company of the men who came in to speak to him. Without their contact he became very lonely and sad.
Sighing angrily he looked around his cell. He wasn’t sleepy and there was nothing else to do. He looked warily at the pile of papers sitting on the ground unread.
Lucas began to get curious about what they might say. He pulled his gaze away and focused back on the wall in front of him.
‘What harm could it do?’ he asked himself. It wasn’t like he had to agree with what he read. He walked over and carefully sorted through the paper work, looking for something interesting.
Eventually he settled back to read a report of a recent infiltration mission into Macronesia. The report was written like a story, and Lucas was surprised to find it incredibly interesting.
In the next several hours, Lucas got through a large wad of the reading material. He had several kinks in his joints and he had changed position several times.
***
Lucas felt a mixture of intense relief, excitement and fear as he heard the door opening. He put down the report carefully and watched as Peter and Alec walked in.
The first thing that Lucas noticed was the wonderful smell of spaghetti and cheesy bolognaise as it wafted through the cell. He closed his mouth tightly to stop his nostrils from flaring too obviously. He felt his stomach growl painfully and put his hand over it to cover the noise, hoping that neither of them had heard it. But one look at Alec showed that it had.
Lucas couldn’t decipher whether it was a look of sympathy or sternness, but he chose to ignore it and focused his attention on Peter who was the one holding the tray. Lucas shifted forwards on his bed eagerly.
Alec set down a large box on the floor and pushed it over to the wall.
“Good afternoon, Lucas,” Peter greeted, smiling gently at him.
‘I thought it was late,’ Lucas thought to himself. Lucas looked at the food longingly, remembering how Peter liked him to greet him, “Good morning, Peter,” Lucas responded in an almost friendly tone.
Alec smiled at him, and Lucas felt a surge of pleasure at the fact.
“Are you hungry, Lucas?”
Lucas nodded, trying not to look too eager, “Yes, sir,” he said. Right now satisfying his hunger was so much more important than putting up a fight.
“Well,” Peter looked pleased, “It’s nice to see a more pleasant young man other than the attitude we’ve had to put up with.”
Lucas didn’t react. He was too focused on the delicious looking meal Peter had for him. Peter walked over to Lucas, still holding the tray, but not showing any sign of giving it to him, “We have another lesson today. We would like not to have to use any disciplinary measures.”
Lucas nodded, trying to pull his gaze off the tray. He would like that too. But currently, his mind was on a more pressing issue. Where they going to let him eat? He began to worry.
“You can eat in a moment, Lucas,” Alec told him fairly sternly.
Lucas nodded again, swallowing the lump of fear in his throat. He couldn’t remember wanting a meal so desperately. He began wringing his hands on his shirt.
Peter continued, “We’re considering serving you a hot meal every day,” he surveyed the young man’s reaction, “Possibly two if you can suppress your attitude.”
Lucas nodded. He could do that. All he had to do was to act the way they wanted. After all, he still wasn’t giving them anything. It seemed like a fair trade.
Lucas swallowed in anticipation as he watched Peter hand him the tray with the large bowl of food on it. The teenager hesitated for a second, not wanting to look too eager, before he slowly reached up to take the tray. As he took a hold of it, he looked at the seriousness on Peter’s face. The man wanted something.
“Thankyou, Peter,” Lucas said.
Peter smiled, “You’re welcome, Lucas.”
Lucas took the tray and set it on the bed, stealing a glance at Peter and Alec before he picked up his knife and fork. They nodded approvingly.
“Don’t eat it too fast,” Alec told him, “You don’t want to get sick.”
Lucas nodded in compliance, “Okay,” he said. He lifted a shaky forkful of food up to his mouth. The feeling of solid, delicious food made his entire mouth dance with joy. The feeling was incredible. He closed his eyes in bliss, focusing his entire mind on the food.
Peter and Alec watched him for a few moments before Peter turned around to Alec, signalling for them to give the boy some privacy. Alec went about opening the box whilst Peter looked through the paper work to see what Lucas had read.
Despite trying to eat as slowly as possible, Lucas finished the meal quite quickly. He picked up the glass of water and used it to wash the meal down. He tried very hard not to smile with contentment as he placed his fork down.
“Thankyou,” he said submissively, a trace of stubbornness still in his voice.
“Did you enjoy that?” Peter asked as he took the tray from him.
Lucas nodded, “Yeah.”
Peter smiled, “It’s great to see you happy. I’d love to feed you another nice meal tomorrow night, but that’s up to you.”
Lucas realised how similar Peter’s tone was to that of Hudson. He responded similarly and straightened his back and made no comment, trying to preserve his dignity.
Lucas looked over at Alec, “What’s in the box?”
Peter followed Lucas’ gaze and watched Alec as he slowly stood up from the box.
“Lets hope you don’t have to find that out,” Peter told him.
Lucas looked at him.
Peter’s mood brightened quickly, “I see you’ve been reading. Good boy.”
Lucas felt very patronised, but he didn’t respond at all.
“How about we start going through what you’ve read, and see where we’re up too?” Peter asked him rhetorically, sitting down on Lucas’ bed.
Lucas rubbed his hand across his mouth as Peter sat down, impressed with himself at how well he suppressed his anger at being treated like a small child.
As the session rolled on, they gradually conversed with him as though he were one of their peers although, it wasn’t what Lucas would call proper conversation. It was almost entirely one ended and when Lucas did speak, he had to be careful to make sure it was what they wanted him to say. If it wasn’t, he received a smart slap or backhand across the face from Peter or Alec, varying in severity.
He did comply more easily for fear of having food not given to him or taken away. This manipulation would continue for the rest of his stay.
The session was nearing an end when Alec discovered what had been done to the back of the TV. Lucas was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at a procedure article. Peter had told him that if he could memorise it, it would guarantee him a hot meal the next day. Lucas couldn’t see any harm in doing it, as it was just procedural guidelines, and had so far quite successfully understood and memorised the main points.
“Lucas,” Alec demanded. Lucas looked up quickly. Alec was standing behind the TV looking at the mangled wiring. He swallowed convulsively. He had forgotten about that.
“Is there any reason you decided to destroy Section Seven property?”
Peter closed his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh.
Lucas began to feel his anger and frustration coming back. This was partially because he knew he was going to be punished, and partially because he feared loss of his privileges.
He gave a few moments consideration to his response before making a decision, “I couldn’t turn it off,” Lucas told him simply and boldly, having lost all submission from his behaviour a few moments before.
“Did you ever consider, that maybe it was left on for a reason?” Alec demanded.
Lucas thought for a logical reason. When he couldn’t find one he answered sarcastically, “To brainwash me?”
Peter sighed loudly, “You know, I was considering, you’ve done so well today I didn’t want to withdraw your meal privileges from for this incident,” he paused, “And I didn’t want to use more serious disciplinary measures on you either,” Peter pointed to the box.
“Unfortunately, we can’t satisfy both. But I am going to let you chose.”
Lucas looked at him furiously, fire in his eyes. He had already made his fatal decision when he answered Alec, and there was no going back. He slammed to article down on the bed and stood up.
“You know I’m sick of your crap!” he screamed, “Stop treating me like a child! Stop doing this…!”
Lucas was cut of as Peter backhanded him hard across the cheek. Lucas was knocked back onto his bed and then slipped off onto the floor.
This only succeeded in riling up the teenager even more. Lucas stood up and faced Peter again. Before Peter could raise his hand to him, Lucas pulled his arm back and punched Peter back, surprising the older man.
Alec rushed over the restrain Lucas, grabbing his arms and holding them to his sides. Lucas thrashed around furiously. But the slender nineteen-year-old was no match for two well-built grown men.
They quickly got Lucas lying on the bed and Alec held him down whilst Peter went to the box to fetch some rope.
“Let me go!” Lucas screamed at the top of his lungs, “God damn you! Let me go!”
Both men had to work hard to tie Lucas to the bed rungs as he kicked and thrashed around. Even after he was strongly secured, Lucas was angry enough and frightened enough to keep struggling.
Alec took out what looked like a small black vacuum cleaner. The front of it was long and cylindric whilst the body was almost square. He connected it up and took it over to where Lucas was lying on the bed.
Peter lifted up Lucas shirt and Alec applied the high voltage tazor. Lucas screamed relentlessly. Alec continued to shock Lucas again and again for about three seconds each, ignoring the youth’s pleas for reprieve.
“Aaarggh!” Lucas cried, “I’m sorry, Alec!” he called. Alec shocked him again.
Eventually Alec stop the period electrical shocks and turned the tazor down a few volts.
Lucas watched them both in fear, breathing heavily and painfully. He watched as Alec twisted the dial downward. Peter held out a bite for Lucas to take between his teeth.
“No, please,” Lucas begged, “I’ve learned my lesson, please.”
"Ah! Damn you!" Lucas cried as Peter grabbed his mouth and forced the wood between his teeth. Alec almost immediately started shocking Lucas again. The shocks were less violent and didn’t seem to extend as far through Lucas’ body, but they were by no means less painful.
Lucas was still conscious by the time the torture had stopped. Peter and Alec left the cell, leaving Lucas tied to the bed. Lucas lay shivering and groaning in pain, fearfully wondering if they were going to come back.
After a considerable length of time, about an hour, Peter came back into the cell. He carried with him a bucket of ice water. Lucas stiffened as he approached him. Peter still looked angry. A small red mark was beginning to form on his cheekbone where Lucas had hit him.
He roughly untied Lucas and dragged him over to face the wall. Lucas was extremely weak from the torture and cried out in pain as Peter handled him roughly. Lucas collapsed onto the floor when Peter dropped him.
“Sit up,” Peter ordered irritably as he pulled the teenager up into kneeling position. He sat Lucas up so that he was propped up against the brick wall. He tied Lucas’ hands together and shoved them into the bucket of ice.
“Ah!” Lucas cried out in shock. He gritted his teeth. The water was *freezing*.
Peter placed a steel lid over the bucket to keep Lucas’ hands in place and fastened them to the sides of the bucket. Lucas realised that Peter intended to keep Lucas’ hands submerged in the ice water for a long time.
The ice suddenly bit at his aching hands more painfully, and he felt saltwater well up in his eyes but closed them quickly and tightened his mouth sternly.
Peter grabbed the suffering teenager by the hair and forced him to look at him, “Look at me,” he said, teeth gritted, “This is for what you did to our TV. You won’t be receiving any food tomorrow or the next day,” he pulled Lucas’ hair to emphasis the point, “I mean *no* food!”
Peter let go of his hair and walked out of the cell, leaving Lucas in agony with his hands in the bucket of ice.
Why did he have to get so mad? He knew they would hurt him. He knew he couldn’t escape it. What did he get so angry about anyway? Lucas couldn’t remember.
***
Stephen opened the cell door a few hours later. He found Lucas writhing on the ground of the cell, moaning in incredible pain. Stephen walked up to him quickly. Lucas’ face was deathly pale.
“Stephen!” Lucas rasped out, “Stephen please.”
Stephen knelt down quickly pulling Lucas’ body closer to his own. The teenager shook in agony.
“It’s alright, I’m taking them out now. Shhh,” he soothed the youngster as he careful undid the lid of the container and pulled Lucas hands from the water.
They were a pale blue right up to the fingernails. Stephen realised his entire body must be aching. The agent quickly shook out a towel and wrapped up Lucas’ hands.
The teenager still shook violently.
“That was a very serious offence,” Stephen told him.
“I know I’m sorry,” Lucas managed.
Stephen shook his head, “I think you’ve been punished enough. You’ll get your meals tomorrow. We decided to relent, okay?”
He pulled Lucas toward him and held him for a while as he tried to rub his hands slightly.
“Can you stand?” Stephen asked him.
“Uh… um.. I can try,” Lucas mumbled.
Cuwely shifted Lucas in his arms and helped him over to the bed.
He placed him down on the blankets gently and brushed aside his hair, “I’m just getting you some more blankets.”
Lucas nodded as he left and then rolled over and curled himself up into a ball.
Stephen returned a short time later with some blankets and a glass of water. He tucked Lucas in and gave him another two tablets.
“Are Peter and Alec still mad?” Lucas asked him weakly but fearfully.
“Well, yeah,” Stephen told him truthfully, “But they’ll be okay. Peter is coming in to talk to you later.”
Lucas looked quite frightened. Last time he had seen Peter he had been furious enough to torture him. Stephen had never actually hurt Lucas at all. Even though the good cop, bad cop routine was very obvious, Lucas had been through too much to notice.
“Will you come in with him?” Lucas asked.
Stephen smiled, “If you’d like.”
Lucas nodded, “Yes please,” he slurred.
“Will.. will they still come to see me?” Lucas was getting weaker quickly as he was released from pain. Cuwley smiled to himself as he realised that the isolation was working the way it was meant to.
Stephen rubbed his back, “You get some sleep kiddo. I’m just going to give you a needle for the pain.”
“Wasn’t that what the tablets were for?” Lucas asked him.
“Yeah, but this is stronger,” Stephen told him as he carefully checked the content of the needle for no bubbles and injected it into Lucas’ neck.
“Okay,” Lucas murmured, drifting into unconsciousness almost immediately.
Stephen got up and switched on a sound card on his way out. A woman began to speak through an audio left near Lucas’ bed.
Stephen slowly shut the door to Lucas’ cell.
“He trusts you now,” a voice said. Cuwley turned to face Peter who was standing outside the cell, waiting for him. It is the first time we’ve seen outside the cell and we notice the outside of the door is orange and it’s placed in the centre of a long hallway.
“When do you think the drugs will start working?” Peter asked him. His demeanour was a lot calmer than it was before.
“Oh, I think you’ll find changes in his behaviour once he recovers,” Cuwley told him, “Make sure you reward him for it.”
***
Stephen, Peter and Alec sat in a nicely furnished office, dressed in white dress shirts and black suits. Across from them sat a Senior Section Seven agent at a large pale wooden desk. The older man was still quite handsome, despite his greying hairs and long lost youth.
“I would just like a quick update on our young recruit,” he addressed them all with his head down looking at some papers.
“Well, he’s definitely reading and listening,” Peter began.
“We have been able to suppress some of his typical behaviour but I think he has a few more uncomfortable sessions awaiting him,” Alec cut in.
The senior agent nodded, “That’s fine. Just so long as it’s effective.”
“Oh it’s effective,” Alec assured him, “Believe me that electrical appliance stings. He won’t want to push it too much more after that last session.”
The agent looked at him sombrely, “Well he still pushed it after those canings. I believe you guys had to back off before you were ready?”
“There are *many* means we can use to discipline him, sir,” Peter told him, “And that tazor has him wishing for the cane, you better believe it.”
The agent sighed in almost disgust, “I’m glad you’re enjoying this boy’s suffering, agents. But do you think it is taking him where we want to take him?”
Cuwley spoke up, “The discipline, the drugs, the dependency will persuade him to think like us. He’s entirely dependent on us now - physically and emotionally.”
Cuwley smiled, “And now not just for his food, health and comfort but his entertainment, love and acceptance.”
The Senior Agent looked at the three men sitting in front of him.
“Soon,” Cuwley told him, “This boy will be convinced that his place is here, striving for a better world, and doing what we tell him. The SeaQuest will simply be remembered as a place that could have been home but never was.”
The Senior Agent smiled, “Excellent,” he said, “How long?”
“Can you be more specific, sir?” Cuwley asked him, leaning forward. Cuwely was clearly less intimidated by this man than Peter or Alec seemed to be.
The senior agent looked up, mildly surprised by the question, “Well, yes. We’ve lost another agent in Macronesia. We could really use Wolenczak.”
“He won’t be ready for at least a fortnight,” Cuwley told him.
“I am aware your estimates are very generous Agent Cuwley,” the older man told him, “How about a week?”
“A week would be pushing it, sir,” Peter cut in nervously.
The older man looked at him and then back at Stephen, “Cuwley?” he asked, “If we debrief Wolenczak about the details in a week?”
Cuwley pursed his lips. He grew quite an attachment to recruits whom he had to brainwash and he knew that once Lucas made the decision on his own to join Section Seven he no longer had control over what happened to the boy.
“He would be ready for a debriefing in a week, yes,” Cuwley told him, “But I can’t guarantee that he would have signed up by then.”
The older man nodded, “Very well. But if he has signed up by then, let me know.”