A dismal grey world emerged as dawn broke. Jax lay motionless on the bed, his eyes fixated on the rain as it fell on the window glass. The sound of the steady but somewhat muffled rain had a soporific effect on him. He had laid awake most of the night, tormented by his own thoughts and fears. His eyes were becoming heavy and his breathing had slowed as he slowly succumbed to sleep.

A loud guttural sound emanated from outside the building and startled him into an alerted state. He heard another loud noise followed by and exasperated, “dammit.” 

Jax looked up to see a disgruntled Dr. Nemeroff as he struggled comically to put his glasses on. He adjusted his messy brown hair and wrinkled clothing while looking at a stack of papers and books that lay on the floor. He sighed as he leaned over and collected the items, quickly standing back up and placing them on his desk. Another loud sound rumbled from outside, which Jax now recognized as thunder. Dr. Nemeroff, startled yet again by the loud noise, knocked a box of paperclips off his desk. The small metal pieces scattered noisily across the floor. Jax let out a small laugh at the doctor. Dr. Nemeroff pressed his glasses up on his nose and squinted irritatingly at Jax. Jax quickly looked away not wanting to draw anymore attention from the irritated doctor.

Dr. Nemeroff started to walk towards Jax but was stopped when one of the guards grabbed his arm. The man was tall, looked to be in his 20’s, and had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He stepped in front of the doctor. Jax could hear the conversation easily but continued to look in the opposite direction, giving little attention to the two. The man was apparently relaying a message, “Mr. Creso called. He said to make sure you have everything ready by 12 or else there will be repercussions.”

There was a silence before Dr. Nemeroff responded. He moved his hand through his messy hair, sighed, and then said, “I understand.” The guard nodded and walked away. 

***

Several hours had passed since Dr. Nemeroff had talked to the guard. It must have been getting close to 12. He wondered what kind of preparation he needed for the tests, with so little time being left. He was restless and needed to go to the restroom. How long did they plan on leaving him like this. He pulled himself up onto his elbows and called for the Doctor. Dr. Nemeroff looked over at Jax from his desk. Jax cleared his throat and said, “I know you are busy and all but I really need to go to the restroom.”  Dr. Nemoroff looked like he was a bit shocked. Jax wondered if they honestly just chose to forget about something like that.

After several apologies from Dr. Nemeroff, he called the guard over and asked if he would take Jax to the restroom. To Jax's surprise, the restraints detached from the bed and attached to each other. Dr. Nemeroff leaned over and quietly said, “please do not try anything. There are too many people in this building for you to get away.”  

After making sure the restraints were secure, the guard placed a hand around his arm and walked Jax towards the bathroom. It was a single room without windows.The guard pushed Jax into the bathroom and said, “the door stays open, do your business quickly.” Jax stepped into the cold room, it was barely light enough for him to see. He looked into the mirror, his pale face and dark eyes stared back at him and made him feel sick. He heard the guard knock on the wall, a reminder for him to hurry. He didn’t take long but by the time he got out of the restroom the guard was rushing him back in the direction of Dr. Nemeroff. 

Dr. Nemeroff was sitting on the edge of the bed and was holding a set of folded clothes. He said, “I need to get my patient ready, please remove the restraints and step outside the room.” 

I could tell the guard didn’t feel comfortable leaving Dr. Nemeroff was alone with me and he rubbed the back of his head and said, “I don’t think that is a good idea, sir.”

Dr. Nemeroff looked angry as he said, “I need to hurry, I don’t have time to argue with you.” 

The man looked at his watch and finally agreed. He removed the restraints and said, “yell if you need me.” and then he left.

Dr. Nemeroff, handed the stack of clothing to Jax and said, “I need you to change and I need to tell you what to expect with these tests.”

Jax took the clothing and said, “can I get some privacy?” 

The doctor said, “No. Now hurry up!”

Jax walked to the opposite side of the bed that was facing the wall and began changing.

Dr. Nemeroff crossed his legs and pulled a tablet off a nearby table. Without looking up he said, “Jax, I need to talk to you about what Mr. Creso has planned for you.” 

Jax sat down heavily on the bed and asked, “will it do me any good to know? Dr. Nemeroff stopped tapping on his tablet and turned around to face Jax. He flinched when he saw the numerous scars that laden the young man’s back. He felt sick just thinking about what Jax would have to soon endure. 

Jax noticed the doctor was staring at him, so he quickly pulled his shirt on. He stood up and faced the doctor and said, “I can’t do anything to stop it, so what good will it do for me to know?”

Dr. Nemeroff removed his glasses and wiped the sweat off his brow. How could he tell the young man to expect nothing short of Hell. He returned his glasses to his face, stood up placing a hand on Jax’s shoulder and said, “I suppose you are right. I am truly sorry!”

Jax pushed the doctor’s arm off his shoulder and turned away. Anger and fear were slowly swallowing Jax whole as time went on.