The Dream Shifter

Chapter 40

'…Yuki…'

Saki stepped forward towards the man showing that she was not afraid of him and willing to go with him unchallenged. She had questions of her own that she needed to discover and cooperating with him could get her closer.

'I have to get Hitomi out of this…'

When the cell door opened and the vines came to grab Saki she stepped forward letting them wrap around her arm and waist. She was not as covered in plants as Hitomi had been making her believe that there was a degree of respect that she was being given for her attitude. Saki walked out of the cell on her leash that she had been granted and stood next to him waiting for him to move.

The man closed the cell door and began walking down the aisle followed up by Saki a moment later.

All of the others trapped held back half trying to keep from sight and half puzzled by Saki's reactions.

'…I'll come back for you…'

The heavy steel door at the far end of the warehouse that had only been heard and barely seen stood before them ajar waiting. The man of vines pulled the door open giving Saki the lead for the moment. He followed behind her bringing the door to a tight close and placing the thick locking mechanism into place.

The room behind the door was bright from an exposed bulb hanging from the ceiling by only the electrical wiring. It was accompanied by several other bulbs attached at the walls of the room painting all of the surfaces in a bleached white. The amount of light made it difficult to see details or judge the scale of the room. At the center of the room, there were two chairs. One of the chairs had straps at the armrest and back of the chair as well as where the legs would lay. The other was a simple metal chair that was just out of the main pool of light from the ceiling.

Saki looked back towards the door out of the corner of her eye when the echoing noise of the door behind her pounded against the wall. She tried to look around the room in the short moments that she had, but it proved to be futile.

'It looks like an interrogation with all of the lights and the chair. It's making it so hot…'

The man passed by her, keeping the vines wrapped around her, going to the chair that would be meant for Saki. He arranged the straps attached to the chair getting it prepared for use. Once it was readied the vines pulled on Saki forcing her to walk towards the chair. The intention was made clear before by the appearance. Saki had cooperated so far that she was not going to start disobeying even though there was a heavy uncertainty weighing on her shoulders. 'What's he planning?' She sat down in the chair allowing him to tie her down, but she was curious to know the purpose if it was going to be an interrogation.

He released the vines from Saki when he was finished with her. Afterward, the man walked over to the second chair sitting down staring through the void of the black gaps in the vines at Saki. A minute in silence passed before a light shined between them turning into form. Out of the ground came a rectangular box that slowly morphed into a rounded smoothed surface that attached itself with a bolted leg to the cement ground. The still changing form soon became a monitor screen and panel with several holes along the back pointing towards Saki. There was a semi-organic appearance in the strange object that was made from plastic and metal.

The man leaned forward placing his hands on the panel that lit up upon his contact glowing from beneath. In front of him, a static-filled screen shined in his face awaiting an image. His fingers tapped across the panel making a series of low noises before a final louder beep could be heard that signaled an accepted task. Out of the holes came wires with a life of their own flying towards Saki setting her off guard. The wires expanded at the end into flat circles that attached themselves to Saki's forehead and face.

'What's going on? What's he going to do to me?'

Saki did not feel any pain from the wires, but the strange sense that something was about to happen that carried a black dread. She heard beeping sounds from out of the thick light that surrounded her preventing her from seeing. The uncertainty that she had grown to fill her entire body weighing her down and making her start to sweat.

'I can handle this…'

The static on the monitor warped for a moment and cycled starting to warm up in preparation. The final commands were input into the machine by the man. The screen sharply snapped to an image of Saki along with data and vitals running across the bottom. A jolt from the machine sparked through into Saki shaking her body and widening her eyes suddenly as she felt like a needle was being stabbed into her eye. The stabbing pain pierced through scrapping along her mind making her pull and turn in the straps trying to get through the pain.

'It feels…like…something is…invading me…I can't…stop it…'

The first wave of pain came to a stop giving Saki a moment to breathe. She leaned against her bindings panting heavily trying to recover herself knowing that it would not be the end.

'What was that? What is he doing to me?'

Saki could feel the sweat over her body soaking into her clothes. It had only been a few seconds, but it was the most excruciating pain she had ever felt before.

'I feel it returning…'

Saki grounded her teeth together making them whine under the pressure and drip blood. The next wave was like dozens of needles all stabbing into her from different sides probing deeper into her brain and twisting uncaring through each corner ripping up everything as it passed. She tried to hold back her voice, but the pain was overcoming her threshold to withstand.

On the monitor were displayed grainy images to the man that poorly lit his eyes that hid behind the vines. Each of the images did not last for long but showed a young Yuki playing as well as Saki's mother. There were pictures of a classroom filled with elementary students. An annoyed twist in the vines rolled across his face as he began to manipulate the panel. The images began to gray and blurred suddenly rapidly changing.

Striking pain racked through her head pushing deeper fighting against Saki's weakening resolve. The surge that struck her broke the last efforts she had to hold back in silence her suffering bringing tears and screams.

'I can't…take this…my head is…being pulled apart…'

Saki tried to pull at the chair to get free from the invasion, but it was too strong for her. It was too much for her to endure anymore. It had to stop or she would die.

The images on the screen slowed down once more becoming clearer showing an older Yuki and classroom from her high school. A pleased roll in the vines poured out as the monitor flipped through images into the depths of Saki's mind reaching closer to the present. It was becoming clear that the subject was weakening making it easier to scan, but not much time remained. The monitor went through pictures quickly. Then everything came to a stop suddenly sitting on an image that had Yuki and Ayumi walking in a school hall together.

All of the pain came to an abrupt end for Saki as she was able to drop back in the chair slumped over with the straps being the only thing keeping her from falling over.

'Is it over? I can't feel…anything…'

Saki tried to pull herself together, but nothing was moving for her. She could not even feel the sweat that was thinly coating her entire skin. Every nerve ending on her body was raw and ringing. It was as though static was flowing through her.

'I-I…Hitomi…'

The man stood up from his chair letting the monitor and everything with it retract and disappear into the ground. He stepped over to the chair that held Saki beginning to undo the straps on her. His vines were surrounding her waiting until she was free to be taken away. When the last strap on her Saki's leg was being loosened Saki's eyes came into focus and summoned her body back together. Her leg ripped through the strap, already nearly freed, striking the man in the chest knocking him back. Saki stood up on the chair using it for height, since it was an anchor to the ground by bolts, launching herself with her knee up connecting it with the man's chest up to his chin. He fell back over his chair to the ground with the vines laying still.

'He's still awake… got to hurry…'

Saki came to a landing on the floor rolling into the wall not having planned after throwing everything she had left into her leg. It had been enough to momentarily stun the man, but she knew from Yuki and his fight that the power remains until they are dead or unconscious.

'Anything? This light is too bright…'

Saki pulled herself up while she scanned the room trying to get a better view, but still only seeing the bleached walls. She ran her hands over the walls feeling out for anything that she could find until she discovered glass. Saki ran over picking up the metal chair that the man had been using and threw it at the glass shattering it.

The hole breathed fresh cool air into the humid room and gave her an exit. Saki climbed up without a second thought getting halfway through the window before her leg was grabbed by a vine from the man starting to act.

'No! I got to get out!'

Saki struggled against the plant that was tightly wrapped around her ankle pulling at her. Her waist that was on the window seal pressed against the broken glass tearing into her school uniform. Saki braced her arms against the outside wall putting all of her weight against the leg feeling it start to stretch slightly like it would pop out on her. She bit through the pain knowing it was paling in comparison to what she had already been through. The struggle gained Saki more ground getting her body almost out of the window. On the ground, out of the corner of her eye, a shard of glass that she broke was in reach of her.

She lowered her arm down fighting against the strain on her to reach the glass. Her fingers rolled over the edge bringing it a little closer to her grasp. A bit more stretching was all Saki needed as her fingers quickly picked up the shard. Saki bent up to the window getting the glass against the vine that was holding on to her and cut through it using it like a knife quickly dropping her to the grass.

Out of the window, countless vines suddenly appeared grasping out for her. Saki rolled across the grass getting up to her feet and running away from the warehouse as fast as her legs could take her.