Mason's Transformations - Chapter 3

Mason's Transformations
Dreaming of the White Room



Mason began to stir in his sleep that night. His dreams were haunting him and unfamiliar people and places flickered through his mind. But before he could reach out and grasp them, they had dissipated, leaving only the slightest hint they had ever existed. Mason felt a little depressed, he knew his mind already had all its answers, but couldn't access them. They had been locked away by something or someone. Still alone in his dream, Mason peered around the darkness and saw that one memory was gleaming dimly and hadn't faded away. As he approached it, it seemed to glow more powerfully. Now, Mason was close enough, where he could see it very clearly. It looked just like crystal, but unrefined. Like it had just been ripped from the Earth, unconventionally. The edges of the memory were a little cracked and it seemed worn, but nonetheless, it was still eagerly floating in front of him. On the surface of the crystal, the faintest of moving pictures was seen, and depicted the shadowy forms moving inside what looked like locked cages. Mason knew this place, it was where his first life ended and his new life began. The crystal flickered again, and without a second's thought, Mason touched the glassy surface.



Instantly, Mason saw the darkness around him warping. The pitch black surroundings had become the walls of a lamp lit room, and Mason was now viewing the scene through the slender bars of a cage. He was no longer wearing any of the restrictive gear that had been placed on him, but still felt restrained at the size of his cage. The cage was so small, that it could hardly contain the body of one shoved inside. With great discomfort, he tried to move around the cage, but found it impossible. So, there he lay, naked and cold, and gazing at the other figures to his left and right. Again, he heard the cage next to him, and Mason peered left into it. There he met the frightened gaze of a young boy, maybe in his early twenties. The boy had blond hair and boyishly cute facial features. The only distinguishing mark on his face was a scar above his left eye. And even though he had now seen the boy clearly, he still remained very mysterious. The boy had been crying a lot, and his teary eyes had met Mason's. Mason could do little to comfort him, but the boy seemed to be eased by the fact that there was another person connecting with him and his situation. Somehow he knew, they were all just like him. Scared and anxious of what lied beyond...

"Click..." The soft sound echoed through Mason's head. "That familiar sound again..." Mason thought.

"I want this one prepped for conditioning in fifteen minutes!" Shot a hallowed voice. Mason could feel his body being pulled out of the cage. He was being ripped from his cage like un-ripe fruit and waiting to be devoured by what lay beyond. It was both liberating and terrifying. He quickly glanced left, but the boy in the cage had disappeared and a new occupant had filled its quarters. Mason began to struggle, but quickly felt a slight tingle in his left thigh, and became passive again. Everything quickly became a blur. He watched as he passed door after door, and for a moment, it seemed like an endless loop. But, when the gurney he had been placed upon stopped, Mason found himself in a very whitewashed room. The room itself was very circular, the walls all met at the top of the ceiling, and in the center, a metal chair awaited. Mason struggled to run, break away from his captors and run as fast as he could to reach safety, but he couldn't move. The sedative they had given him was already taking effect and before he knew it, he had been seated in the cold metal chair. They strapped him tightly across the stomach, next the arms and legs, and finally across the forehead. Mason was powerless. He only moaned and groaned in protest.



And then, there was absolute silence. Both of the men that had strapped him to the chair had exited the room, and Mason was all alone, yet again. He waited, for what seemed like hours, for anything to happen. And soon afterwards, a man in a white lab coat entered the room. Mason tried to make out his facial features, but the sedative had blurred his eyesight. The only feature that Mason could distinguish was a pair of thin rimmed glasses, resting on the man's nose. The man spoke, "Mason my boy, you have entered the very threshold of science! In a few short moments, your identity will be wiped away and you will begin anew! Is it not so exciting? And as my very brightest student...I mean...most promising research subject, you will make a fine addition to project Anubis! So perk up my boy, you will have a lot to learn soon! So very much to learn..." And on that note, the man placed a pair of electronic earphones and shades on Mason's head. "Begin the countdown!" he bellowed, and began to exit the room.


"Ten..."
"No..." Mason thought
"Nine...eight..." chimed a voice
"Please let me out!"
"Seven...six..."
Mason began to struggle, "No, please stop!"
"Five..."
And then he stopped dead...Mason knew this was it; there was no escaping his fate.
"Four...Three..."
Mason breathed deeply.
"Two...One..."
And braced himself for the impact...