His eyes had opened, but all about him was pitch-black and silent. He felt around his body and realized that he was on his back on some kind of thin bed. He let his left hand fall to the side of the bed, and it felt bare floor. His right hand touched cold wall. He coughed and tried to gauge the effect of the noise. It seemed to him that he was in a very small room. Or a cell.
Will Cochrane sat upright and immediately was hit by a wave of nausea, giddiness, and severe pain. He placed a hand on his stomach and then felt around his torso. Bandages. He breathed slowly to try to control the sickness and focus his mind. He shut and reopened his eyes but could still see nothing.
He rubbed fingers against his temples and decided he must stand. He counted to five and then swung his legs off the bed. The movement sent searing pain to his lower back and abdomen. He gasped for air and gripped the side of the bed to keep himself from falling. He flexed his bare toes and his calf muscles. His legs felt strong and uninjured. He counted again and pushed upward with his arms, but the action was too much, and as soon as he was standing, he fell forward. Something immediately broke his fall—another wall. Its proximity suggested that he was in an extremely confined place. He concentrated and slowly eased himself backward until he was standing again. He tried to clear his mind and concentrate on the act of remaining upright. After however much time passed, he decided that he would not fall again. He turned ninety degrees and took one pace forward, then another. Within two further paces, he felt what must have been a door, but he could feel no handles. He stepped back two paces and moved his hands over his body again. He was neither cold nor warm, and apart from the bandages around his stomach, he was naked.
Will cleared his throat several times and was surprised to realize that his mouth did not feel dry. Somebody must have been giving him water. He let his arms hang down by his sides and checked his balance again. He inhaled deeply, then spoke.
“I am awake.”
His voice sounded normal. He hoped that this indicated there was no damage to his brain. He breathed in through his nose and spoke again.
“I am awake.”
Will listened for any other noises. At first there were none, but then he thought he detected the very slightest of sounds, a noise that could have been the scuffing of shoes against floor. Then a more distinct sound could clearly be heard, an electronic humming. Just as it came to him what the noise could be—the humming sound that some lights made a second or two before illuminating—he screwed his eyes shut. From behind his eyelids, he could now see white. He placed a hand to his face to help shield his eyes and then carefully opened them. Even with the shield in place, the brightness was intense, and he had to close his lids and reopen them several times to adjust to the stark contrast. He lowered his hand and looked around him. The room was barely two meters wide and three meters long. The bed was the only item in the room. He turned back to face the door and waited.
Another scuffing noise sounded, this one louder. Then there was a clank of metal. The door opened. Will tensed his arm muscles, even though the action sent new shots of pain down his spine. He took one step forward.
A small, bespectacled man appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a white coat and looked like a doctor. He smiled at Will.
Will did not smile back. “Where am I, and who are you? Answer me in that order, please.”
The man looked up at Will’s naked body. “Remarkable. You shouldn’t be able to stand for at least another week.”
He sounded American.
“Do you think you can dress and walk?” The man retained his smile. Will was at least thirty centimeters taller and certainly twice as wide. But this differential did not seem to intimidate the small man.
“If I wish to.”
“Trust me, you wish to.” The man took a step back, out of the room, and reached for something in the hall. He produced a square, folded white parcel, which he tossed onto the bed beside Will. “Your clothes.”
Will looked at the parcel and leaned down to pick it up. He thought he was going to vomit when he made the movement but managed to hide any signs of the feeling. The parcel quickly unraveled in his hand, and he realized he was holding a disposable paper prison jumpsuit. Smiling a little, he climbed into the suit, then turned back toward the small man. “My questions?”
The man frowned. “You feel okay?”
“I feel in excellent health. My questions?”
The man raised his eyebrows. “Well, what do you think I look like?”
“A medical man. Of sorts.”
The man nodded once. “Of sorts, correct.” He regarded Will’s stomach. “Maybe a better medical man than I thought. As to your other question, would you believe my answer?”
“Probably not.”
The medical man smiled again. “So why bother asking? You know you must leave this room. And you know that a diminutive fellow like me wouldn’t be standing here without having other larger people within an arm’s length. So let’s take those first steps.”
Will ran a hand over his head. His hair felt clean and clearly had been washed. He stared at the man, feeling very calm. “All right. Let’s get this over with.”
Will stepped out of the room and into a corridor. Three other men, all of them big and carrying nightsticks, were standing there. They said nothing as the small man led Will thirty meters before stopping.
The man pointed at a door to the right of the corridor. “You need to go in there. My job is done.” He shook his head. “Three bullets,” he said quietly. “You should have stayed in bed.”
Will smiled and also spoke quietly. “I’m grateful for anything you’ve done to assist my recovery. If things go badly here for your people, I will remember that.”
The man frowned again. Will turned and opened the door.