[IC] Elysium

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya woke up and groaned softly. She felt like she had a pounding headache.and she missed the feeling of her husband's arms around her, giving away that they were no longer in the same embrace they had fallen asleep in last night. Upon opening her eyes, she quickly learned that her soulmate wasn't lying next to her at all, nor was he anywhere to be seen, unlike last night when she had fallen asleep. She was in a vast white room with two beds: the one she was lying in, and one in which someone else was in, though the person seemed nothing more than a stranger to her. There was a window, but the blinds were shut, there was a door, a mirror and a camera.

Walking over to the mirror, Freya gave herself a brief moment to examine herself, making sure nothing had changed. She was still wearing the same clothes as the day before, having been too tired yesterday, and falling asleep without bothering to change her clothes for a pajama, just like her husband. Her hair was a little messed up and uncombed from all the turning during her sleep and as usual, she wasn't wearing any make up. The last thing she noticed, was an off, black marking in her neck.

Frowning, Freya tried to find out what it was, thinking. She had no tattoos at all, and neither did she ever drink alcohol, let alone getting drunk and getting a tattoo. But if it was no tattoo, than what was it? It was strange, that much was for certain.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt winced. The side of his head was pounding. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself staring at a white ceiling. He blinked slowly, waiting for his room to come into focus. It didn't. He turned his head to check the alarm clock on his nightstand and noticed that both were missing, as well as the carpet and floor. He blinked again, squinting against light that seemed to be coming from everywhere. It was like someone had run an eraser over his entire room. White walls, white ceiling, white floor, white camera.

Camera?

Matt forced himself into a sitting position and shook his head, trying to remember what had happened last. Late night of studying for exams. An energy drink. A short walk to get his blood flowing. He scowled. What had happened after the walk? And why did his head hurt?

"Man, what was in that energy drink?" he mumbled, twisting to the side and leaning over his bed. He looked up again to see if there really was a camera and noticed a woman. He jumped up in shock, immediately regretting it and grabbing his head. "Rgh...wha...who are you?" he grunted, leaning back against the nearest wall and rubbing his head carefully.

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya turned around to look at the person that spoke. It was a man, seemingly her age. "I could ask you the same. If you should worry about me being a threat depends on your answer, I suppose." She asked, appearing rather calm, despite the situation they were in. Of course she was confused by all of this, but panicking was no use. She slowly slid a hand over her belt, soon coming to the realisation that something was missing. Her daggers. They were gone. Somebody must've taken them while she was asleep or unconscious, or whatever it had been.

She quietly thought of what had happened last day. She had assisted her husband with a job he had to take care of and everything went without too much trouble. At least no more trouble than usual, or so her husband had claimed. And she had no reason to doubt him. After all he was a mercenary, he knew more of the things he usually did than she did. Nothing strange could've happened during that job, except for maybe that needle somebody had clumsily stuck into her arm by accident a moment before they left the place again. Back then it had seemed like nothing special, but maybe there had been something strange in that needle.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt stood up straight and took a few deep breaths. He was still wearing a light blue muscle shirt under his zip-up hoodie, and he was still in his rough jeans and sneakers from last night's walk. He put a hand to his chest and felt the dog tag. His necklace was still there.

Matt made his way over to the mirror and examined himself, leaning heavily against the wall. Someone had definitely hit him in the head. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was ruffled and he felt exhausted. The rest of him looked well, though. He breathed a sigh of relief to see the dog tag still in place. He blinked. There was a black mark or patch on his neck, just above the shoulder. He ran a hand over it. It was definitely below his skin. He took another deep breath, trying to avoid letting panic set in. It might make him pass out.

He turned his head slightly to examine the woman. Tall, thin, black...hair...He blinked a few more times, trying to clear his vision and mind. There was a woman here, wherever "here" is. He suddenly realized that she had spoken. The words had gone completely over his head.

"What did you say?" Matt asked in a heavy voice. The more exhausted he was, the deeper his voice became.

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya sighed, looking at the man again. "You asked me who I am. In response I told you that depending on who you are, I may or may not be a threat." She said, walking over to the bed she had woken up in and sitting down on its edge quietly. Only then she noticed the black mark on the man's neck, which seemed to be a perfectly identical version of the mark she had.

"Do you by any chance still remember how you got that mark in your neck?" She asked him. She hardly knew him, not did she trust him, but that didn't seem to be important at the moment. They had the same mark, and if he knew at least something about it, than that could turn out to be very useful, and she wasn't going to let any chance on information simply pass by because of her usual distrust.

This whole happening, it was all so... Strange, to put it lightly. Just a few hours ago she had been at home with her husband, and now she was in this room, wherever it may be, with a complete stranger as her only company. It was strange and she didn't like it all. She wanted to know what was going on, preferably as soon as possible.

[MatthiasAngel]

"Okay..." Matt replied slowly. He had been hoping for a name of some kind. All he knew now was that she might be a threat depending on who he was. Lovely.

"I...uh..." he attempted to speak, still trying to stay focused on reality. The room, the mark, the woman, the injury...it was all too much for him to process. He decided to slow down and focus on one thing at a time, and, since she had mentioned the mark, he turned to examine it in the mirror again. There was nothing remarkable about it at all. It was just a black shape. No numbers or codes or anything. It wasn't an injury, though, and it was definitely new. It must have happened while he was unconscious.

"I don't, no. I've never seen it before. What is it?" he asked is a flat voice. He hadn't really considered what the woman's part in this was, but something made him suspicious. She was far too calm to be new to this place. It didn't set well with him.

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya was trying her very best to suppress and hide what she was feeling. It was what she always did, except when she was at home. She was a rogue, she couldn't afford emotions to get in the way of a job. Getting scared when things were becoming more dangerous or when she was being chased, guilt appearing when she betrayed someone, such things were unwanted. No, those weren't good things for her to show up during a job, and being so used to doing it everywhere but at home, she did so automatically this time.

"I do not know, but I have the same mark in my neck as well, which why it concerns me." Freya answered, enabling the man to see the mark on her neck for a moment, before hiding it again. It was too bad he didn't know anything about the mark, but supposed that she may as well go on in that case. Maybe she could find information somewhere else.

"well anyway, I am not just going to sit and wait here. I am going to find out what the hell is going on." She said as she got up, walked to the door and put her hand on the knob, only to find out it wasn't opening. She let out a sigh and let go of the knob again. "Someone locked the door."

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt looked up at the camera. It wasn't moving, but it was definitely recording. The words "testing facility" came to mind, but he shook it off. Nothing good ever came from a testing facility, and he wasn't about to become a "subject."

He stepped up to the door and examined it. Completely blank with a single knob. He put his ear up to it and tapped on it. The door was wooden, but it was thick and durable. He jabbed the door with an elbow. Nothing. He looked along the side of the door opposite the knob for some trace of hinges on the other side, but it was sealed. The door was a perfect fit for the frame. Matt stopped, then, out of curiosity, knocked sharply on the door.

[FaithfulMuse]

Not even three seconds after Matt had knocked on it, the door swung open and a woman stepped into the room. She,was tall and thin, with brown her tied up in a bun and a cold glare in her icy blue eyes. Her clothing was nothing special, except for the lab coat she was wearing. "You're awake, good." Her voice sounded, harsh and without even the slightest hint of any emotion. She looked at Matt and Freya, and for a brief moment, her lips curled into a smile. The marks were there and the subjects awake. Everything was starting well.

"Now, I suppose you two have many questions, don't you? Where am I, how did get here, what am I doing here, who's that other person, what is that thing in my neck, who's that woman in-" the woman was rudely interrupted by one of the subjects, the female one. "Just tell me what the hell is going already, or else.." The female threatened.

"Or else what, Freya? You're going to slit my throat with one of those pretty little daggers of yours? Oh yeah that's right, those are gone, we took them." The woman answered, silencing the rogue. "Either way, what's going on here, you ask? Something beautiful is going on here. Something great, wonderful, one of science's newest breakthroughs on the matter of sicknesses. We made something great, and you two were chosen to test it! You are going to help us develop this creation further, see what we need to do before it's perfect. You're going to do a valuable thing for science! Isn't that wonderful?" The woman chuckled softly after she had stopped talking.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt stared awkwardly at the woman. She was almost robotic, from the unblinking eyes to the posture to the flawless white lab coat. He was still forcing himself to stay focused on reality. Half of the dialogue went completely over his head, but from what he could make out, he was in fact some kind of test subject and the other woman's name was Freya, who killed people. Neither of these facts were encouraging.

"So..." Matt began asking, pausing to avoid asking a dozen questions all at once. Slow down. Focus. What's the biggest question you have? He stood up straight and touched his head, sending another sharp pain through his skull. As a result, he ended up asking one of the more irrelevant questions possible:

"Why'd you hit me in the head?"

[FaithfulMuse]

The woman looked at the male test subject. "Why, to get you unconscious, of course! You really need to ask? You would put up a too big fight if you had been conscious after all, you silly! You though Freya, you were much easier, we could just take you away in your sleep. Quite a deep sleeper, aren't you?" The woman explained, before chuckling.

"Either way, that's of no importance. Such small details... Now, let me tell you what exactly is going on. As I said before, we created something great, something wonderful. What we made is a virus, one that progressively shuts down each and every single part of the human body, leading to death after exactly fourteen days. It's not contagious, but infection is easily recognised by the mark in one's neck." As she went on with her explanation, the woman's smile grew wider and there was excitement audible in her voice. "But of course like all great inventions, this virus needs to be tested. Now, I suppose you already know who got the honour to be our test subjects, don't you?" The woman chuckled softly again.

"Now, are there any other questions? If not I will just leave the two of you here to enjoy your last days of being alive." The woman asked, before she was slammed against the nearest wall by the female subject, who glared fiercely at her, anger and hate clearly visible in her eyes. "You know, I may not have my daggers, but that does not mean I can not beat the hell out of you. Now tell me where the goddamn medicine is and how I can get out of this place." The subject threatened, but the woman didn't answer. All she did was smiling at the subject in silence.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt took a step back. This had escalated far too quickly for him. The horror of the virus combined with the ruthless violence of Freya and the eerie woman were too many emotions to process at once. He took advantage of the current lack of emotion to take action. He passed by the women and closed the door, leaning against it to keep it closed. The female scientist didn't seem the least bit concerned. Was she trying to be brave while being afraid of them, or did she know something that he didn't?

Well, technically, she knew a whole lot of things he didn't. Matt decided to pick a topic and start from there.

"A virus. You're going to kill us. With a virus. So you want us to stay here for fourteen days until we die? I..." He scowled. The numbness had worn off and was being rapidly replaced with anger. "I don't know what this is about, or why you think it's so funny, but I'm not about to just sit and die. As long as you're here, you might as well answer some questions. Specifically, the ones she-" Matt pointed at Freya "-just asked you. A lethal virus? Is this some kind of prank?"

[FaithfulMuse]

The woman looked at Matt, still smiling. "A prank? Oh no, science is a very serious matter." She answered. For a moment she was quiet again, until she was hit hard and painfully in the stomach by what felt like a knee. "Were you not taught that it is rude to not answer questions?" Freya's voice sounded, causing the woman to look at her again. "Oh yeah that's right, the medicine.... It's not here." Her answer was, before she chuckled again.

"Well than, that gives a new question. Where is the medicine, if not here? And do not forget my other question: how do we get out of here?" Freya asked, glaring at the woman. "And trust me, I do not find it a problem if I have to beat the answers out of you." She threatened. Now, she wouldn't kill the woman. Not only would that be quite useless, but Freya was also not fond of killing people. She sometimes had done so, but only if she had no other choice.

The woman chuckled softly again, looking at the two subjects. "Do you truly think that all of this anything more than a waste of precious time?" She asked, not answering the questions that were asked to her.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt was having a difficult time understanding this woman. She was far too excited about two strangers dying. He was certain Freya was a stranger and had no connection to him, though, because they probably wanted two completely different people to test...whatever they were testing. Plus, he had never seen her in his life. He almost smirked. Considering her personality, that was probably a good thing. And the science woman had mentioned daggers.

He wasn't sure what to do next, though. Freya was bent on getting answers and the science woman was bent on keeping them to herself. He decided against getting between the two of them. He was aware that they were wasting time, but without some information they would have nowhere to go or look. He took a step back and decided to give Freya a chance. The science woman hadn't answered the first few questions yet, so asking new ones would be pointless.

[FaithfulMuse]

"Letting you go and just sit here until my time runs out would be a bigger waste of my time than this. Now answer my questions, and answer them honestly." Freya said, before punching the woman in the face, breaking her nose. Still the woman chuckled again, as if it hadn't hurt at all. "The location of the medicine? That's a secret." The woman answered with a smile. "Is it a secret you know of?" Freya asked.

"Maybe it is, maybe it's not. Who knows?" The woman received another punch in the face, causing her to get a split lip. "Give me an useful answer." Freya said, causing the woman to chuckle again. "Don't you have anything better than just punches?"

At that, Freya moved one of her hands to the Woman's throat, squeezing it lightly. "Let me know when you are willing to cooperate." She said, squeezing the woman's neck a bit tighter. She wouldn't really kill the woman, but as long as she was unaware of that, it didn't matter. She would eventually break. The woman remained silent for a while, but soon the smile on her face faded and it got harder to breath for her.

[MatthiasAngel]

Freya was officially out of control. The scientist was clearly not about to comply, and it looked as though Freya was not about to give her a third chance. Matt knew if he didn't do something, their only chance of answers was going to disappear.

He jumped forward, attempting to push Freya and the other woman apart. "Okay, stop! Just...stop for a minute, okay?" I looked up at the camera, still silently recording them. Something was wrong. If someone was watching them, why hadn't they interfered yet? It was unlikely that the woman was expendable or that whoever behind this was willing to let them kill someone and escape.

"Look. If you kill her, we're never going to get answers. Stop and think. They're watching us, right? So why haven't someone tried to stop you from attacking her? And," he said to the woman "what do you have to lose by telling us answers? It's clear that we can't get out of this, so you might as well tell us what's going on."

Matt took a breath, waiting to see if either of them would comply.

[FaithfulMuse]

When the woman seemed just about to be willing to speak up, Freya was pushed away from her by Matt. What did the idiot think he was doing, interfering like that? If he had just let her do her thing she would've gotten the answers out of that woman for sure. "I was not going to kill her, just push her until she would break. Everyone has a breaking point, you know. The moment when they cannot take it anymore and just give in. Getting her to that point was all I was doing." Freya spoke, obviously annoyed the man hadn't thought of that before. Certainly he was no rogue or mercenary of any kind, otherwise he could've known.

The woman gasped, filling up her lungs with air again, taking a moment before she turned her attention back to the subjects. After not too long, a small smile formed around her lips, although this one was different, as it didn't quite reach her eyes. "What I have to lose? That's more than you think." Was all she said to the male subject. She wouldn't just lose her job. No, she wouldn't want to lose her job, but other from that, sharing any kind of information with anyone not allowed to was a risky thing. Everyone working at the project knew. They all remembered the day when that one man found he'd had enough, and wanted to spread the word, share his informatiin with the media... He was shot down and locked away. After a few hours, they heard horrible screams from the room he was in, and that was all. Nobody had ever heard or seen him after that.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt winced in his mind. He was hoping that saving the woman would have been a good bluff, maybe to gain some information out of appreciation. Apparently the scientist was far more resilient. So brute force wasn't going to work, and neither was pity. He ran through his options as quickly as possible, well aware that the window of opportunity for being intimidating was closing rapidly. What I have to lose? That's more than you think. What did that mean? Her job? No, more than that. Something worth dying for. Was she being forced to work against her will? No, the excitement on her face was genuine...then it clicked. The camera. She was the one being watched, not him. Matt changed strategies.

"I have a better idea," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's choke her until she talks. Then we knock her out, take everything in her pockets and tie her to a bed. I'm sure she has something valuable. Maybe an ID badge or a keycard?" He smirked as the woman's eyes dilated. "Now you're afraid, aren't you? Maybe you even has a flash drive. Who knows what kind of information we might dig up on that?"

Matt jerked the scientist to her knees and stared directly into her eyes. "It's the camera, isn't it? Interesting that whoever is watching hasn't bothered to stop Freya from beating you. You know why? Because you're expendable. Just a number. That's why you won't talk. If Freya doesn't kill you, your employers will."

Matt turned to look at Freya. "What do you think? Should we give it a try? She left the door open for us and everything."

[FaithfulMuse]

The woman listened to the subject, knowing he was right. She was nothing but a number, replaced in the blink of an eye and nobody would care enough to find out what happened to her. This job was everything she had always dreamed of, but also left her with hardly any time to be with friends, or family and everyone had soon forgotten about her. Even her husband had proven himself to be not so loving and loyal to her as he pretended to be. Whatever they would do would go unnoticed without a doubt.

"No, wait! I'll talk." The woman interrupted them, getting back up on her feet again. Maybe if she could prevent them from getting a hard drive, her pass or just anything, than maybe it wouldn't be considered as bad. She sighed, looking at the two subjects. "I don't know where the medicine is, it's location is a secret only the highest scientists in rank know of. As for how to get out... This building has three floors. If you get to the lowest floor and walk down the hall without taking any turns, you should be walking straight to the exit." She told, knowing this would get her in trouble.

The smile had faded from her face several moments ago, this time not coming back on her face. Instead she had a look of panick, fear and concern as she wrapped her arms around her stomach in a protective way. Her employers did know about her situation, and she could only hope they'd take easy on her, or at least let her live. She had little hope for it, and wondered how long it would take before someone would come to take her away and for her to find out if they indeed would take her pregnancy in consideration, and be easier on her because of it.

[MatthiasAngel]

Matt quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Finally something to work with. He watched the woman, now showing signs of legitimate fear. He almost pitied her. He also realized that his next decision was crucial.

He had three legitimate options. Option one p: He could let Freya knock the woman out, then search her body and take everything useful. Pro: They could find a keycard, ID, anything. They also knew where to go, but with access they could check other rooms on the way. Con: The woman would die and they might not be able to use any of the things she had. The facility might have keypads, biometric scanners or fingerprint readers for all he knew. Plus, as of now, she was more on his side that her employers, and one ally was better than none.

Option two: leave now with Freya and head for the exit. Pro: The woman would live and they wouldn't be interrupted (hopefully) for having important items. Con: They would have nowhere to go and no idea where to look, and the scientist might die anyway and be replaced.

The third option was to leave and take the woman with them. Pro: she could gain access through more complicated security measures. She would also know where cameras and guards might be. Con: her employers might have her shot and killed as soon as possible. It was unlikely that something on this scale wasn't equipped for this kind of situation, and if she died, they would die too.

Then again, they were already going to die. Option three was the best. But first he was going to give her a little help.

"That's it? I could have figured that out on my own. Thanks for nothing," he snarled. If he could convince whoever was watching that her assistance was worthless, they might spare her. He grabbed the scientist and jerked her towards the door. "We're leaving, and you're coming with us. Show me where the exit is. If you put up a fight, I won't be responsible for Freya's actions." He turned to Freya and nodded towards the door, mouthing the words 'trust me' to her away from the camera.