Prolouge

"I won't be long."

Hhhhuuuwiiissshheeee?

"There is blood everywhere. I-I don't know what to do!"

"Stay calm, I need you to listen to me."

"I can't!"

"Hush, it will be okay. You need to get out of there now."

"How can you be so calm about this?!"

"Please just listen to me!"

"Oh God the door just opened."

aaaaaaallhhhfrrrrrrrrrrd.

"Let go!"

Ssshhhhh

"He's on a rampage, get the doctor in here!"

"There has to be another way! He's going to kill me!"

cccccmmmenwwww

"Hush now."

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know."

wake up

…

"I can't remember the last time a touch felt gentle."

Wake Up!

The prisoner awoke suddenly, but felt calm. He blinked multiple times in an attempt to clear the world around him.

The walls were painted a light blue? No it was water...A giant tank of water on every wall, covering them completely. Small finned creatures swam around behind the glass and plants decorated the bottom and around some of the edges. It made him feel calm, but he was also very confused.

He had no idea where he was, or how he came to be here.

"Goodtoseeyouamongtheliving." A voice said from next to him.

The Prisoner realized that turning his head was extremely difficult as he searched for the voice's owner. To him the words were simply slurs of sound, unable to register the meaning. When his eyes rested on the owner of the voice he attempted to speak. "Ahm-ma."

The man's green eyes narrowed and he scribbled something on a note pad he was holding. "Canyouunderstandme?"

The prisoner gulped thickly and gurgled something in response. At that moment an itch raged up the length of his arm and he tried to reach over and scratch it. His arm wouldn't move and it occurred to him that none of his muscles did anything useful.

The man next to him continued to speak calmly and The prisoner noticed him press some buttons on the machine next to the bed.

The prisoner followed the tubes coming from it with his eyes until he realized that most of them were attached to himself. What did that mean?

The man next to him continued to mumble things and his bed ridden patient tried to understand the sounds, and even began to imitate some of them. He wanted to ask why he was here, what this place was and...

Who the Hell was he anyway?

The realization that he had no clue who he even was made panic settle into his chest, first his heart, then his lungs. He began hyperventilating and oh God it hurt. His eyes brimmed with tears and he cried out to the man next to him in panic. An anguished sound released from him, but not even he knew what it meant.

The man's eyes softened and he remained calm. "Sssh." He reached up and carded his slim fingers through the prisoner's hair.

He instantly calmed down. Whoever he was, whatever was happening, at least he knew that the man next to him knew what was happening. And he suddenly felt very safe.

After two more days of panicking and trying to put things together, he gave up on worry and let things be. The people who came in and out of the room never hurt him, and a few times they had even worked together to lift his limp form and help him to a metal basin with a hole in the bottom they would cover up. They would fill it with water, scrub their captive with gentle sponges, and put him back to bed in fresh clothes. Those tended to be his favorite days.

It was two weeks before The prisoner was able to pick up the language. He first recognized patterns in sounds, then he was able to distinguish words. Once he did that, he was able to put meaning to the sounds fairly easily.

The man was at his bedside every day, tending to him in his motionless state. The sandy blond's constant voice was not only what kept the prisoner calm, but what helped him put the pieces of speech together.

"Your wounds are healing, soon you'll be able to move again." The man said one day.

The patient tilted his head in confusion and their eyes met. The green orbs widened excitedly.

"Can you understand me?"

The patient couldn't answer.

"If you can understand me, blink twice."

He blinked twice and the man's entire face lit up.

"Perfect! now I can begin teaching you how to speak again!"

Those words had been quick. The prisoner creased his brow in confusion.

The man cleared his throat. "Forgive me...Here, allow me to begin with the basics." He pointed to the prisoner. "You." He paused in waiting for confirmation of understanding. The patient blinked twice. "You are O-14."

"ohfteen."

"Oh."

"Oh"

"four."

"four"

"teen"

"teen."

"O-14"

"Oh fourteen."

"Now that's a start." The man grinned. "Can you tell me your name?"

"Oh fourteen."

The man nodded approvingly. "Good." He muttered.

Prisoner O-14 cocked his head to the side in question of the man.

"Me?" He replied enthusiastically.

O-14 blinked twice.

"My name is Doctor Kirkland."

"Doderkrkld."

"No, Doc-ter-Kirk-Land."

O-14 pressed his lips together worriedly.

The man sighed. "Never mind. Let's try something simpler for now. My name is Arthur. Ar-thur. Can you say it?"

"Ah-the."

He blinked a few times and then began to laugh. "Of course, you're imitating my accent...I hadn't thought of that. Let's try again. Arthur. Ar-th-er."

"Ar-th-er,"

"Arthur."

O-14 smiled slightly and confirmed his understanding by blinking twice. "Arthur."

This is an idea I have had for some time and I am excited to get it out! please review! For those of you who are following Where the Lines Overlap, don't worry, that will be my first priority. But having a side thing to work on when I have writers block will help me update faster I think.

I would love to hear your predictions! You guys are so smart! 3

For more frequent updates on my stories visit or follow my blog: amaryka. Tumblr. Com.