*Luna*

It was late afternoon, the next day, and Amir and I hadn't gotten any further of our plans to escape. He had a plan from the beginning, but now it seemed like that wouldn't work. And I wanted to be mad at him for coming here without thinking logically, but I couldn't, because he had flown across the world for me. He was here to rescue me.

After a small lunch was brought in, Decker entered my room to escort me down to a medical lab on the second floor. I hoped I would see Amir at some point today, but I guess they have him doing other things at the moment. I hated not knowing what he was doing and not laying my eyes on him. 

"So, why are we in here?" I asked Sergeant Decker as I sat on the bed. No one else was in the room. 

"We are waiting on Dr. Kim. His instructions."

I snorted. "Figures." I glanced at him and sucked in a deep breath. "You don't have to stay in here, you know?" 

He folded his arms and straightened his back. "You do remember who I'm working for, right?" 

"Sure. Dr. Kim. Nothing new." I chuckled. "I guess I thought that you would feel better if you were doing something else with your time. That's all." 

"Monitoring you is my job," he replied. "I was instructed to monitor you." 

He seemed completely different since the first day I met him. I was wanting him to step out of the room so I could connect to Amir, but now I have my sitter in here with me. Can't do anything fun. 

"Well, you don't have to. I can sit in here and not do anything stupid." 

"I'm sorry, but Dr. Kim doesn't want any chances."

"What does he think I'll do? There isn't anything in here. No needles. No pills. No medical equipment. Nothing I can do to harm myself. I wouldn't do that. I have my daughter." And I have a life with Amir to begin. 

"Well, I can't risk loosing my job over a hope. I think I should stay in here, ma'am." He tilted his beret my way.

I hated his bland tone, as if he was high and mighty and was trying to clarify that he cared about his job. No. I get it. Chase. It was Chase's money. "I understand that, but how would you feel if you never had privacy? Wouldn't you feel... exposed?"

"I would. But there's nothing I could do about it, Ms. Carlyle." 

I pulled my legs up and sat cross-legged on the bed. "Stepping outside the room would get you fired?" 

"Probably. But I can't take the risk. They told me to stay in eyesight with you at all times." 

"You can't walk outside the room for a moment?" 

"If I do that and I am seen, then I put myself in jeopardy." He paused for a moment. "Why are you insisting on me leaving you alone?" 

Crap, busted. 

"Just because." I laid my chin down on my knee. "I just feel better when I'm alone. I'm used to it."

His jaw squared, and then he gazed down, chuckling. 

"You are different than the other ones, you know." 

"How? By requesting you to leave me alone for a measly two minutes?" 

He opened his mouth but closed it quickly, not answering my reply. 

"I am different. And I shouldn't be in here." I couldn't see his expression under his beret, but I could sense he had a little empathy for me. "But you know that, right? And that my being in here, plus Chase's son, and my best friend, Camille Taylor, are all fine, mentally?" 

"I'm not a doctor, so I can't deem you three as sane or not," he responded drily. "I've worked very hard where I am." 

"Well, congrats. You've gotten high up on the totem pole there, buddy." 

His mouth twitched. "I don't have to listen to your sarcasm." 

"What? You mean to tell me that instead of standing outside in the hall, that you relish in my sarcasm?" I shot off sarcastic remarks left and right, knowing I was making him uncomfortable. I understood one thing about the staff here: family chatter makes them vulnerable and soft. I know how to use that information. "I'm sure you have a family who would love to be with you. Friends. A girlfriend. Boyfriend. Mistress or Mister. You could call it a day and leave work early. Oh, but wait, you want to stay here and keep an eye on me." 

"I'm assuming you have a point to all your remarks?" I nodded and smiled, glancing down. He took a step closer to me and suddenly he was in my face, leaning down so low that I could only see the top of his beret. It shocked me as it slightly touched my head. It also shocked me because I hadn't seen the man move an inch since waltzing in here. A tiny grin appeared on his big lips. "I'm also assuming you were hoping for answers to those remarks. That maybe you feel empowered to belittle me as much as you can. Maybe... try to make me weak and bring my walls down. And you probably hate that I'm not answering any ridiculous crap from your mouth. Am I close?" 

I gulped, unable to look away from him. "Maybe." 

"You don't have to say anything as we wait for Dr. Kim and Mr. Khan to come in," he said, and then stood back up, straightening himself. Just mentioning my lover caused all kind of emotions to flow through me. Amir will come in, and Moon can't wait. 

I gasped as he stood next to the door again. His stance was formal and back to G.I. Joe mode. The door opened shortly afterward, allowing me to drop our conversation immediately from my thoughts. I wasn't getting anywhere with him. 

Dr. Kim came in, followed by Sergeant Trent, Nurse Smith, and a young man who looked to be a young housekeeper. But no Amir. Seeing Dr. Kim and the people he brought didn't bring good tidings either. 

Kim went straight to his medical tray and began sorting through different instruments. Then he arranged a halo-shape device. Ice ran down my back as I glanced at that thing. It looked like inferred light shined out of it; sort of like a tanning bed, but in the shape of a helmet. Where was Amir? "What's happening?" 

Trent stood next to Decker along the wall, and the nurse moved to the other side of the bed, a tablet in her hands. "We decided to try something new on you today instead of waiting for Monday," Dr. Kim remarked, preparing his device. 

Remembering the last time I was shocked, I paled. "Like what?" 

"Since you have proven to us that you have control over your delusions, Luna, we can now focus on the delusions themselves," the nurse explained as Dr. Kim was busy at his station. I wasn't really watching her. My eyes stayed on him. "Camille has proven to have remarkable control over hers. She has also spoken about the ones that she has in her head." 

My stomach dropped, and my hands shook as I clenched in my seat. "What do you mean?" Did she expose herself? Or us? 

Amir? Come to me, baby. 

"She told us about her dreams of being on a beach. About her illusion of swimming with a newfound friend from another country. Since she is proven to be a successful guinea pig, as you call it, now we would like to try it on you." 

No. No. No. 

"But it may not work on me," I blurted out, shrinking back as Dr. Kim came standing in front of me. "What makes you think I'll be able to tell you something different?" 

"Sometimes, certain methods work, and sometimes they don't. We have to try everything, Luna." 

I am about to vomit. I couldn't wait to fuck Chase up. 

I dragged in air, and my heart was beating rapidly in my chest. This psych hospital had extracted some information from patients, especially Cami, and what they didn't know was that we see other humans in different parts of the world. We weren't at all delusional. There were many of us in this place, too, all crammed inside like experimental guinea pigs. That part I figured out. But do they truly know about Tethered Souls? I couldn't fathom it. 

He would be on the news by now, earning a Nobel Peace Prize for discovering a new species. Something didn't feel right.

I almost sat here and told them about my ability and prove it to save my own skin, but then I realized it didn't matter. Chase was the leader here. Not Dr. Kim or anyone else. He funded the facility by his trust fund his family set for him. He had plenty of money to splash around. He could get anything his heart desired, but me. He realized that I meant what I said when I spoke to him in the courtyard. This was a punishment for me. I was on the verge of tears.

"We've learned from your last session that our method wasn't intense enough. So now we will turn this machine up a notch to see what happens next. The device will feel warm around your scalp and then you'll feel a little twig, and then your mind will soar in a virtual reality of sorts. The machine will tell us everything we need to know about what goes on inside your mind." Dr. Kim placed the halo behind my head and continued, "Now, lie on your back, Ms. Carlyle. Let's begin."

A little relief flooded through me as I realized a few instruments were too far from me to cut myself with, probably across my throat. Maybe then they wouldn't proceed with this treatment. "What if I say nothing at all? The machine could fluke." 

"Then we will come up with a different treatment plan," Dr. Kim said from behind me. "But I think you and I both know what your mind is capable of. We just need... a glance into your psyche." 

"A glance into my mind? Why do you want to do it this way?" A part of me really hoped that I was hallucinating again, like the last time. But another part of me felt relieved to know that I wasn't given any medication, so nothing was flowing in my system. 

It wasn't just the pain I know will be evident, but Amir and how it will affect him. He was somewhere around here, and I had to block him out. This time, I had no choice. I didn't want him to collapse somewhere inside the building and have them bring him in here to make him go through this. The staff may suspect something.

Dr. Kim gave me a sympathetic look in his eyes as he looked impatient when I didn't lie down as instructed. "This has to be done, Luna. I would sedate you, but that wouldn't give us the answers we need." 

My eyes swung to the nurse, but she was busy typing stuff on her tablet. No sympathy from her. There was no sympathy from anyone in the room. This was going to happen, and this would be more painful than the other times I'd endured. If only I could hop off this bed and make a run for it. But that was impossible. Guards were lined up in front of it.

"Lie down on your back, Luna. The quicker you get this done, the quicker you can leave and lay back on your bed." One guard darted forward and placed his hands on the edge of the bed. "Or we will put you on your back. Either way works fine for me." Dr. Kim will soon feel the wrath of the device he holds delicately in his hands. 
 
I glanced behind me and shook my head, adjusting my shoulders. Did he really think I would make this easy for him, and I was a willing patient? He didn't know me well at all. 

"Then put me on my back," I said, glaring at Trent in his eyes. 

He pulled me back rather quickly, making me let out a light fart. Dr. Kim's eyes rolled, and Sergeant Trent's nose twitched. The nurse gave me a disgusted look, and Decker giggled a little over there. It was rather embarrassing for them to lay me down like a pancake, and for them to take action to hold my ankles as I wiggled all over the place. I was flopping around like a fish that was fresh out of the water until I realized it wouldn't do any good to resist. There was no way out of this.

They all had me pinned down, and I couldn't hardly lift my neck. I glared heavily into Dr. Kim's eyes, an intense and deadly gaze coming from me. "I can't wait until you die and get thrown into the fiery pits of Hell. I never believed in Hell, but I do now, because there is a special place for people like you in it. You are disgusting." 

No one responded—until I heard a familiar sound next to me. 

Faisal. 

Faisal's voice fills my head. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. I'm sorry I can't help you. And Amir can't reach you. But Ahmed is with us. He can take your pain away.

I was too panicked to pay attention to what he was relaying to me. And I kept hoping that my pain won't affect my beloved. I caught one thing Faisal said: Ahmed is nearby? He can take away my pain? Huh?

I gasped and took a deep breath. The halo was placed around my forehead, and it was cold, like it had been in an ice cooler. It sent a wave of goosebumps through my veins. 

Oh Lord. No. No. No. He was firing up the device and about to begin. Faisal was still here, holding my hand. I could feel my brain wanting to shut down. 

Luna. Breathe. 

The first pinch of the laser heated my forehead, causing me to cry out. It hit Amir. I felt his chest pump. Where are you?

Luna, take a deep breath! That was Ahmed, appearing at my side and holding my other hand. 

My eyes blurred. 

How is he here? 

Another flare hit my temples, an intense, deep, burning pain that caused my whole head to feel like hot coils were placed on my skin. This pain was unbearable. 

I couldn't hold my breath anymore. I opened my mouth and screamed. 

I screamed bloody murder.

***

*Amir*

As I sat in the bathroom, I didn't feel so spiffy anymore.

About two minutes ago, my heart was pounding out of control. I felt sick and nauseated that I could barely concentrate on standing up. I couldn't put one foot in front of the other.

The feeling was all too familiar since Luna was placed in here. So was the shortness of breath. I experienced the same hell she felt before when she went through this the last time, but this time was completely different. Luckily, I could get in touch with Faisal and Ahmed to go see her when I couldn't. I was instructed to stay on the fifth floor and help out with different patients, and my plan to see her failed. I knew what Dr. Kim had planned for her today. I checked the computer log and saw that he scheduled a new therapy treatment under the request of Mr. Marquette.

I so wanted to kill that man.

I pulled myself together and concentrated on where Luna was. But that didn't take. Her mind blocked me out so I couldn't feel anything after the first round. This was bad. This place was going down come Hell or high water.

"Amir?" came a deep masculine voice. I had my eyes closed for a moment, praying that she was okay.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Faisal. "Assalamualikum," I mumbled, tears streaming down my face. "What happened to her?"

"It was bad. Amir, it was worst than anything she had ever felt. But Ahmed is there now. He is holding her hand."

"Did she feel anything?"

He gazed down and frowned. "A little. But Ahmed was able to pull as much pain from her and absorbed it into his own body. He is barely hanging on."

"Oh, wow. It affected him. God..." I slammed my fist on the wall. That hurt. "I need to see her. Now."

"Okay. Okay. Just follow me, and I will take you to her."

"I'm glad no one can see you." He nodded as we stepped out into the hallway.

A cold tingle exploded down my spine as I followed my cousin to her location. We took an elevator to her floor, and then I sensed her nearby. Good.

But the sick and draining feeling that I couldn't seem to shake only amplified the moment we turned a corner and stood near her door.

This didn't feel good. Not a good feeling at all.

I stumbled, almost tripping as I was losing my balance. And that brought an even bigger dose of what-the-hell-did-you-animals-do-to-Luna! I wasn't the type to ever lose my rhythm while walking. I had good poise, poster, and balance. But these animals had my body feel weak. They weakened her body, and that fired me up.

The Terminator part in me wanted to shoot the place down, looking for any person or persons to kill who did any harm to her, but that part stayed hidden, stuck into the back of the closet, waiting for the moment to get her out. I was just glad I didn't see anyone in the hallway.

When I stood near the small window of the door to peer inside of her room, air punched inside my lungs the second I got an eyeful of the activity in the room. My worst nightmare had come true, hitting my chest like someone shot me.

Only Ahmed was sitting beside her and holding her hand as it looked like he was in a deep prayer, and Dr. Kim stood behind her body removing the silver device from her head. I almost puked right here. All I saw was Luna. She was lying flat on her back, wearing a white gown, with an ungodly pale expression plastered over her face. Her eyes were staring up at the ceiling, looking absent, not moving at all. A sliver of sweat poured down her forehead and around her neck.

My eyes widen when I got a better look at her.

Dear Allah, there was so much sweat seeping off her skin, it almost looked like a puddle under the gurney she was lying on. It was even dripping into the pans they placed underneath it. 

They treated her like an animal.

Her forehead... it was so fried, like someone placed two hot iron's against her skin, and I could see her veins so vividly. It looked as if he lasered the hell out of her body and didn't even care for the pain she was in.

How can he live with himself?

And I didn't have access to everything about this place. Why were they doing this to people? Kim just let me come on in, a new volunteer from another country who wanted to learn about this hospital, and he hasn't let everything slip. We'll find out, one way or another.

"Fuck," I whispered. "Luna... oh God, baby..." I fumbled as I held myself up on the wall. "I'm so sorry."

"Ahmed is trying to extract as much pain as he can," Faisal mentioned. "He is absorbing all her pain into him. Even his body is shaking."

Ahmed was sweating profusely. I saw the white energy he was extracting from her body, like a bright headlight shining on you from the front. He was doing his best to pull that pain from her sore limbs.

Luna's lashes stayed still, frozen. Her eyes don't even blink. Nothing. A strand of hair clung to her wet, soft cheek. They obviously did a number on her.

I couldn't control my erratic heart beat to slow down, but I could feel her heart beating, struggling to keep going, faltering here and there. I didn't know what they did to her, but whatever they did made her heart beat slowly. She was in pure shock.

"I'll get you out of this, Moon," I whispered, knowing she couldn't hear me. Faisal still stood at my side, eyes watering. "I will make these fuckers pay."

The doctor just stood there, working on his wires and wrapping up his trusty little machine, not doing a damn thing to help her. At least the nurse could do something, but she continued to sit there and type away, like Luna didn't need to be cleaned.

My gaze goes back to Dr. Kim. "You fucking asshole!" I wished that I could tell him that, but I couldn't. Not yet.

"Come on," Faisal murmured, ushering me away from the door. "They have planned to clean her up and later bring her back to her room. You should check on her then. No one needs to see you outside the door."

He had a point. And I didn't need to continue standing here, feeling helpless because I could not hold her. I know I should move, but my legs didn't seem to work. I was so ready to strangle Dr. Kim with my bare hands right now.

Rage surged through me, fueling inside my body. I almost lost it. I almost busted inside the room to punch Dr. Kim's face in, but I didn't. That's not my mission. My mission was to save Luna Carlyle. Her fate relied on me.

"We need to go now, Amir!" Faisal said, walking towards an exit door.

I placed my hands along the door and whispered once again, knowing she couldn't hear me. "Moon, I'm here. I am here, baby. I will make this right. We will escape. I promise."

I stepped backward and walked with Faisal as we crossed into an empty employee's lounge.

Vaguely I heard Faisal murmur, "We need to figure out how to get the girls out. Cami is scheduled for the same treatment next week. A friendly nurse informed her."

"I know. And my original plan could still fail."

"Well, Cami said she is close to one nurse who tends to her. She said the nurse wants to help with an escape plan."

I shot my eyes back to him. "Who?"

"Cami wouldn't tell me who, but I think I may know who. Nurse Smith."

"You mean Julia Smith? No. She wouldn't help a fly. That nurse doesn't have a soft bone in her body. I see her every day and she gossips about all the patients here. She's even spoken about Luna in a tone I will not repeat."

Faisal threw his hands up. "Okay. Well, Cami has someone looking out for her. We're going to do something."

"We sure will, because Faisal..." I walked away to make sure no one was listening in on my conversation with him. Then I peered back to him. "I am getting them out. Tonight. The time is now."