Mac the task master has left me again. For a guy who claims to be so happy I’m here, he sure is eager to send me away. He has more to tell me that is for sure. Though to be fair all this would be kind of hard to believe if I didn’t experience it myself. Maybe he wants me to figure things out for myself. There could be other reasons. Regardless, it isn't like I have anything better to do right now.

Information overload is starting to hit me again. So much and so little is going on. No one seems willing to give up details about the situation. Are they all feeling the same thing I am? Is that why they all just sit around doing nothing? Feeling overwhelmed and unable to process what's going on.

Ok, so I have been standing there at the entrance for long enough to get stares. It could also be that I am one of the only people standing, yet again. Which is strange. Come to think of it, if they had abilities why aren't they playing with them? The current situation might suck, but we have super powers and stuff. Others demonstrated that their abilities still work even with the implants. To a lesser degree yes but they still work. At the very least I would be running all the time after I’ve been here a while.

Well, on this level, there appears to be somewhat of an explanation. Gazing about, I see rows and rows of beds. Along the floor, bunks in the walls, and even more on the pillars. It was easy to see why this place had been made into a medical floor. Like with many things, I must have been in too much of a daze to notice all this before. Well I didn’t care before. I just wanted to get away from people talking and the pain to end. I doubt I’ll get away from the talking anytime soon.

I search for the man who I am assuming is some sort of caretaker here. The guy I was taken to before. So far, all I have found are hurt people. Some of them seemed to be very sick. Others, strange physical deformities.

Body parts that were too big or too small. Skin that's peeling away. A few people even had underdeveloped extra limbs. The implants or whatever people call them, are near the deformed sections. Some of the more extreme physical developments look like they make moving about freely troublesome. Those who can get around, help take care of everyone else.

It is so engrossing that I barely notice that the guy I was looking for is following me. Possibly to trap and attack me. As if I don’t notice him, I explore. He keeps at a good distance. Stopping to check on people here and there. I do the same. Reaching out with my perception to examine their bodies. A few are hurt badly but are healing.

The game runs its course. He catches up to me. Before he can speak I turn to face him. A normal guy, all things considered. No implants were visible, though. I wave at him happily.

“Nice to see you again, Doc”. I say doc a with a somewhat inquisitive tone.

“Thank you for the compliment, but I am no doctor. I am sure there are plenty of doctors around, but few have come forward. Not that it matters much. We don't exactly have much of anything in medical supplies. The name's Chuck. It's nice to meet you.” He extends his hand to me, and I shake it. In various ways. Until he pulls his hand away.

“Dimitri, it's a pleasure. Even considering the last time I was here I broke someone's arm. Well, you are the second friendliest person I met. At least, you aren't like the least friendly person.” A tiny laugh escapes my lips as I remember killing that guy. Chuck laughs as well.

“Worse then you have graced this place. Like the man whose body you sent up here earlier”. An utter lack of emotion is in Chuck's voice. It was easy to assume that there has been a great deal of bad happening. It could explain why everyone was so docile. I feel as though this was something best left unsaid. These people already don't seem to like my more probing questions.

Questions need to be asked though. Slowly, I walk up to him making sure I do not show any sort of threatening gestures.

“What is going on with all the umm..” whispering into his ear. I have an idea of what is going on and was hoping Chuck would be willing to confirm it.

“No need for timidness on this subject with me,” he says as he walks away, gesturing me to follow.

“A number of us have changed physically. Our hosts have allowed some of them to change fully. Most have had their changes halted. In earnest, we have no idea how many people would change physically without the implants”. He sounds like a professor giving a lecture.

“The ones who change physically are not nearly as powerful as others. I think our hosts are not interested in them unless they can be as useful as possible. Someone with tentacles, wings, or whatever might be a cool thing from comics, but in reality it doesn’t give them much in the way of useful abilities. More often it makes their lives more difficult. Think of being part reptile. You would need the external temperature to be more constant than normal. The cold would force you to hibernate. Not exactly the best for space travel.”

Temptation to ask him what he did prior to the abduction, but quickly came to the conclusion that there is no way to know if what he would say is true. Regardless of where we came from, we are all stuck on the same boat here. The sense of unease is hitting me again and I have to stop for a moment. Covering my face with my hands, I hope to block out some sensory input. It was fruitless since this just brought more attention to my external perception.

Chuck places his hand on my shoulder and says, “You are looking a bit ill. I hope you aren't going to be hurting anyone else”

“No, no, it is all just a lot to take in, and it is making me feel a bit sick”. He looks at me warily, begins to say something but stops himself. For a moment he just stares at me, studying. Then eventually he just pushes me forward. As we walk through the level I feel better.

“So ummmm yaaaaa. I kind of left that guy's body laying there. You seem to be in a position of authority here, and...” Chuck cut me off.

“His body has already been brought up, waiting for disposal”

“That is an interesting choice of words. Who brought him up.”

“His friends brought him up. They were a bit shaken by their run in with you. Your method of dispatching Goliath was a bit showy. They took them to a door at the end of the room. We have been instructed to send bodies down. A handful of people have tried to find an escape through them, but what goes in is never seen again”.

“You did not deny the authority of my statement.”

That shut him up. I focus my perception on him to confirm a hunch. Ten fingers and toes, arms and legs, all the right facial pieces, and everything else one might expect.

“You don't have any implants,” I nearly shout, pointing at him accursedly.

Chuck stops dead in his tracks and turns to face me. Took a moment to consider his words. “I have passed the tests with a level of acceptance and our hosts have deemed me worthy of freedom from those devices.”

He keeps using the word hosts to describe our abductors. I expect that Chuck, the big oaf and all the others who are in leadership positions in this prison, are collaborators of some kind. Anger fills me, and I consider striking out.

“I am not interested in fighting you and it is most likely not in your best interest. Goliath was in charge of just another random level and there are those on that level that did much of the work for him. He was large and intimidating. With colleges that can also put fear into the hearts of people. On the other hand I keep some of the most dangerous around in line. Everyone that has been tested has come through here. Often in the attempts of vengeance. The only one to leave a fight here is me. By the way, his body is over there”. We were near the end of the level. Close to another wall with closed doorways. All but one of them. In front of it was the body of the man I killed. Still with his heart on top of his chest.

Why did Chuck bring me here? Was it just Chuck? Mac told me to explore this level. It could be possible that they were in league in some way.

“Your friend Mac is not one of us. He was deemed too stubborn and unwilling to accept servitude. As for you. Well, I sense you want to study the body a bit. Killing him tired you out. To the point you can't satisfy your curiosity”.

Ok, he’s reading my mind or something. “No, I am not reading your mind. It is just a sense similar to your perception. Before you ask, no, I cannot help with your memories”. This was irritating and fascinating. How well does it work? So many questions and tests run through my mind. This sort of scientific thought process helps me feel a bit better.

“No time for that at the moment. I have business to attend to. You are free to examine Goliath if you wish. Could you at least dispose of him?” Cold words from a cold man. Even though this was somewhat of an invasion of privacy. It was also comforting. Communication was never my strongest asset .

“Thank you and I wish you the best of luck,” Chuck says. I was about to respond when a thought came into my head. People talking to him might be problematic. Unless he is reading my mind. If he isn’t hmm. Possibly a slight clairvoyance? Oh, mind skimming. That would be just different enough from mind reading. Whatever ability that gives him the insight to know what he knows might be clouded by half-truths. By him or the person he is talking to. So instead I close my eyes and bow to him in respect. A smile creeps onto his face. He returns the bow with a curtsy.

No one is near the end just like on the bottom level. The fear must be constant all over this place. This sort of fear makes no sense to me. It's just a wall. Well on this level it made a little bit more sense. There is a giant bloody dead body lying near it.

Standing over the late annoying so called Goliath. I gingerly pick up his huge heart to examine. Though big, it was no different than I thought it should be. No extra arteries or ventricles. Huh, ventricles. I know that word. Oh, maybe I was a doctor? This thing is nearly as big as my head. I stare at it hoping that more medical knowledge would pop up. Nope, just that one word. Kind of bored with the heart, I toss it into the open door. Wet impact sounds ring out as it falls.

The big oaf was nearly naked now. I suspect that the extra fabric from his outfit is being repurposed. Like for a large tent. Crap, he was big. At that moment I remember thinking he was eight feet tall, but looking at him laying here. I would say closer to eleven feet. I’m kind of amazed I was able to take him down. I'm sure I wasn't the only person who thought that. I remember every second of that fight. How did I know how to hit him like that? Was it just because of what happened in the room?

A thought pops to mind about blood being difficult to wash off. I didn't wash off the blood. What was left on my body dried up and I just brushed it off. Something about this made me chuckle a bit. I shouldn't be laughing while standing over a man I killed. That is bad. Funny, but bad. Ok, more lame than funny.

I wonder how such a large creature could function. On earth, large land mammals were slow and unable to do things smaller creatures can do easily. An elephant can't jump. Could he jump? If he did, he would most likely hit his head on the ceiling. That is, if he wasn't dead.

The human body was also not meant to be this big. The oaf looks as though he was much taller and muscular then any of the big and tall people on earth. They all suffer from serious health issues. Maybe this guy just didn't have the opportunity to suffer like that, since I killed him.

There are holes on his neck and shoulder. What could they be? Would it be ok if I touch them? Even though I know a few people were watching me I shift my eyes back and forth as though I am about to do something sneaky. Kneeling down and stuck my finger in one of the holes.

It's slimy with some coarse hairs. Almost like a nostril. Hmm, if he was this big, he would require much more air then a standard human. Maybe that was how he was able to function while being so big. When I jammed my hand down his throat before, I had intended to strangle him. Fortunately for me I did not stop there. He most likely was able to breath during that act. It was just a matter of time. If i didn’t kill him then he would have gotten over his shock and that would have been the end of me.

Studying this body and working out this mystery of the giant human feels good. It was also dredging up more memories. Am I sure I wasn't a doctor of some kind? Oh, I could be a pathologist, mortician, or ummm…

A further wave of unease passes over me. Strongest one yet. It knocks me back. Maybe it was the reaction of examining the body. As I stumble away from the body I feel better. It might be best if I just got rid of it.

I hurry and push it through the doorway and it falls down to…somewhere. Even though I kind of want to look down into that hole my unease stops me. It would be best to head to Mac's and get some sleep. Away I go.

The unease intensifies. Almost bringing me to my knees. Feeling as though I was on the verge of vomiting at any second. I fall back a bit towards the wall. It alleviated the slightest amount. So I inch to the wall and it gets even better.

Without realizing, I approach one of the doorways. The sensation stops completely. An opening forms with bright lights shining through, blinding me. There is a tug on my body. Faster than I can mount a defense, it pulls me in.