AN: I lost my Grandfather and work and school has been a little overwhelming recently but I'll be updating as quickly as I possibly can. Sorry about the short chapter.
He was in the darkness. No noise except for his breathing. No feeling of bed or floor, hot or cold. There was nothingness. He thought he could feel the mask that gave him air but was not sure. Panic started to swell up within him, wrapping its icy tendrils around his heart. He was in the chamber. He messed up again and they were going to punish him after he served the required time in the isolation, no sight or sound for comfort. His punishment would be severely met out as it was usually dealt by the General's own hand. A personal hell in a place he was told was to be safe.
'What have I done to cause this punishment?!' He could feel the fear building. Any punishment was better than the chamber. He started to scream, knowing nobody would be able to help him.
A pair of arms wrapped around him and held him close. He stopped streaming as his eyes shot open, his chest heaving from the vivid flashback of a mild but mental punishment he had dealt with since he could remember. The arms continued to hold him, rubbing soothing circles in his back.
"Hey, kiddo, you with us yet? You're not there. You're at Project Freelancer, safe and sound in your bunk." A slightly Russian voice drifted to him above the softer whispers of the other Freelancers gathered in his room. He was scared of being alone and now the others knew. He didn't know why they weren't mocking him but maybe, just maybe, he could trust them not to leave him.