Chapter 12:

The man left, and Noah, who had just awoken from his self-created hallucination, was left puzzled. The dream he witnessed, his reunification with his mother, and what that man stated as ‘special treatment’.

But something overshadowed them all, something that for him weighed more in magnitude than the rest, it was the hallucination. It managed to burden, and bury itself deep within his mind, remaining forever. His never-ending regret and sadness for not being able to save his mother in real life, and even in dream.

Noah mused in thought – Why couldn’t… I… save her… from him…?

He recalled what Dorothy told him on the lake. The words, ‘I spent the last of my energy to transmit you my memories of those beasts.’ He came up with a conclusion that the dream he saw wasn’t one she transmitted, but one that he made.

How pathetic, even unconscious, in the hallucination that I made, I couldn’t even save her or at least lessen her pain… – he thought before clenching his teeth to restart his mentality. She was right, I found my purpose for living, so I can’t wallow and die just yet…

His eyes widened and bloodlust started to exude from him as he said, “I still need to kill that man… Herod… first…”

Afterward, his mental and physical exhaustion caught up with him and he soon dozed off.

In his dream, he was in a small white room with no other people in sight. When he opened his eyes, he had a new perspective on what was going on.  He understood – If I understood what she said back at the cave correctly, this is what mother went through as a child.

It was reaffirmed when, like previously, a man dressed entirely in white entered the room. “So, you’re the newly recruited subject who passed the practice stages, quite impressive,” he said before looking down at the wooden clipboard and asking, “Dorothy is your name, correct?”

In response, Noah's head began to nod up and down. While he was looking around, he noticed a rusty and beaten-up pail beneath his stretched-out left hand. A shackle was wrapped around his wrist, and the chain extending from the shackle was linked to a thin white pole beside him.

The nails that were previously removed and had tubes sewed to them now seemed undamaged and perfectly fine.

Setting the clipboard to the side, the man pulled out a giant red jaws-based nail plier from within his white coat.

Just now, Noah realized that this was the moment when Dorothy's nails would be pulled out.

With a wicked smile, the man said in a sadistic tone, “Please don’t scream too much like the other kids. And let’s try not to make this too messy, shall we?”

He started off with the pinky. Pinching the finger with his thumb and index finger, he used his opposite hand to hold the pliers. He inserted the jaw of the pliers between the fingernail and hyponychium before yanking the nail out.

An immense pain flowed through Noah as he internally screamed. At the same time, a tremendous scream of anguish could be heard, one that was presumably from Dorothy. Blood then dripped into the pail as the severed nail soared into the air.

Splatter!

Following that, the man squeezed the next finger after the pinky, the ring finger. Dorothy unleashed a powerful tugging effort, fearful of another one being ripped.

But, as expected, she was unable to overpower a full-grown man, and the jaw was able to squeeze the nail plate. He applied enough pressure so that the nail wall would rip and send another nail flying.

He repeated the process with all five fingers, and when he was through, the bucket had formed a tiny pool. After unlocking the shackle, he grabbed Dorothy's opposite hand and locked it in.

Dorothy had no more strength to resist, and Noah couldn’t handle the pain anymore.

He proceeded on to the second hand, and as each nail was removed, Noah and Dorothy both shouted at the top of their lungs.

When they were done with both hands, the man's gloves, coat, and mask were stained with a crimson liquid that contrasted with its white hue. The walls and chair were stained, and the bucket contained a bloody red liquid that was one-eighth of the way to the top.

The ground was littered with nails, and Noah's dream ended when the final nail was taken out. Noah screamed when he awoke from the pain of the removal of the fingernail. “Argh!”

To the left of Noah’s cell, a voice called out to him. It was a young man's voice, around Noah's age. “Shut up! Do you know what time it is!? There are still some people sleeping here!”

Intrigued filled Noah as he wondered what another man his age was doing in that place.

He went closer to the wall, and asked, “Hey, do you know where this place is?”

“Hm? Why are you asking me this so early in the morning?”

How does he know what time it is? Noah wondered. Wait… don’t tell me… He started to put his thoughts into words, asking, “How do you know the time?”

“How could you not? There’s a window just behind you, and I think anyone can tell it’s so early in the morning.”

It was approximately 5 a.m., and the sun had just risen. The sole distinction between Qin's and Noah's cells was a little window at the top of Qin's. Despite the fact that it had bars, light could still get through.

Noah's anger grew as he heard this, murmuring, "That man really wants me to go insane in this place…” He proceeded to ask, “How did you get here… um…?”

“Call me Qin, and…” He then added with anger and vengeful disdain, “…I got here like everyone else, I was brought here by my family.”

Noah was at a loss for words and stammered, "O-oh... I'm sorry for asking..."

“It’s fine, but anyway, you’re quite the funny guy, you know?”

“How so?”

“We’ve just met, so why do you care about my feelings?”

“…”

“I can’t tell if you’re a kind man or a clueless one.”

Noah came up with a clever retort and sarcastically said, “And I can’t tell if you’re a trustful man or a foolish one.”

A strange silence dominated the air for a moment before being shattered by Qin's laughter. “I really like you, let’s be friends.”

Noah didn’t deny his request since he thought that Qin was an interesting man. However, he still had to ask, “How are we going to be friends when we’re in this dreadful dump?”

“Don't be such a pessimist; after a while, you'll get used to it, and don’t you know the saying, ‘If there’s a will there’s a way.’ Anyway, how did you get here…? Were you also brought here by your family?”

Bang!

Without Noah's knowledge, a guard walked past his cell and into Qin's. That same guard kicked Qin's cell door and yelled, “Qin, you bastard, if it weren’t for you, I would’ve been out there partying with the other guards!”

However, when he entered and saw Qin lying on the wooden board of his cell, eyes closed, his inebriated visage became angrier as he yelled, "Don't pretend to be sleeping! ”