chapter 4

Todd stepped into the room, followed by Pete, who was larger and shorter with grey hair on his sides. He was about ten years older than Todd but looked ten years younger.

  ‘When’s she going to wake up?’ Todd asked frustrated.

Darcy kept her eyes closed, making sure her head was slumped, pretending to be unconscious but breathing.

Todd was losing his patience; the fire was rising. They had lost valuable time and needed Darcy on that train, to plant the explosive and change the future.

  ‘Wake her up, now!’ he commanded.

Pete walked over to Darcy and stood next to her. He had a terrible habit of clicking his fingers and slid his large hands together and pulled them back. ‘Click.’ ‘Crack.’ It was a horrible sound and Todd hated it. Pete now pulled Darcy’s

head back and watched her calmly breathing.

  ‘She’s alive,’ Pete said as he let go of her head which slumped back down.

He knelt down to get a closer look and placed his hands on the back her neck to feel the implant. It was hot.

  ‘The implant is hot. Dunno if it’s going work,’ he said while blowing on his fingers.

  ‘Make it work, Control wants results and I promised to give them results.’

  ‘Why can’t we get a new implant.’

The fire was getting stronger. Todd tried to breathe, trying not to lose his cool.

  ‘Because. Because. Just fix it, will ya.’ He was breathing, calm and steady. ‘We have to get her on the train and plant the bomb. Control wants the Senator dead and Darcy is the one to do it.’

Pete held up his hands as a gesture that he would stop asking dumb questions and get on and ‘fix her.’

He went to stand up and as he was about to lift his heavy frame, Darcy opened her eyes. She stared directly into Pete’s eyes, cold and with determination.

  He started to open his mouth, maybe to scream with shock or warn Todd, but before the words came out, Darcy raised her legs and connected with his groin. It was a satisfying strike. He winched and doubled over toward her and so in one quick move, she head-butted him, hard on the bridge of his nose. He moaned louder and fell backwards, complaining and rolling around from the pain.

In an instant, Todd leapt toward Darcy but she was ready and hurled herself at him. Using her feet to spring forward, she lifted off the ground and while still strapped to the chair, plowed into Todd. He stumbled backwards and Darcy hit the floor face down. Todd anticipated her move, so raising his leg, he tried to strike her, but she rolled onto her side before his foot made impact.

The chair was digging into her, the armrests pressing hard and she quickly rolled away on to her back. Pete was still groaning, holding his nose, and mumbling something unintelligible. Darcy then used her feet to spin round, just as Todd grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her across the concrete floor. Still strapped to the chair, she lifted her head to avoid her scalp scraping along the ground, leaving a trail of wood splinters behind her. With limited mobility, it was difficult to break his grip. Yet, Darcy continued to struggle, tug and turned her feet so he would release her.        

  The fire had taken over; Todd was no longer in control and he allowed it to burn through him. He did not care. With all his strength, he slid Darcy hard into the wall, smiling over his success, and one of the armrests snapped away from the frame of the chair. Still holding her feet, Todd then slid her in the other direction, forgetting that Pete was still complaining on the ground. The chair, still attached to Darcy, hit Pete and struck him in his ribs, probably breaking a few, adding to his pain. He screamed and Todd stopped. When he finally relaxed his grip from Darcy ankles that was enough for her to kick forward. Todd fell over when her feet hit his shins and he stumbled on to the floor.

The chair was now broken, one arm was hanging from Darcy’s wrist and the back had cracked in two. Todd was disorientated for a moment, enough time for her to lash out with her free arm and pound his leg with the splintered armrest, swinging the wood back and forth like a deranged monkey. Todd looked up with pure anger the moment he felt the pain run up his leg. He gave a small yelp and kicked out into the air, missing Darcy by inches. She continued to slam the armrest on to his leg, but by the third strike he moved out of her way.

  It was then that Darcy realized she had a problem. Laying on her back, in a seated position, her feet bound and one wrist still secured to the chair, she could not get up. There was not enough leverage to upend the chair. All she could do was lay still and wait for the inevitable.

Pete had stopped moaning, with one hand covering his nose and the other holding his side, and a little dried blood between his fingers. He was now on his feet, bloodied and miserable. Todd looked a bit ruffled and was also standing up. They both looked at Darcy who appeared different. Her expression had changed and her eyes darted around the room, scanning, absorbing, and plotting.

  During the year that Todd and Pete had spent molding Darcy, they had developed a soft side toward her, making Darcy into the calm, ditsy, gentle girl. Nobody would suspect a lovely girl like that, to blow up trains or steal world secrets. But now, strapped to the chair was someone they did not recognize, a Darcy who was angry, calculating, and dangerous. The two men often joked that they had to inject her with calmness, otherwise she might become a different person.

Carrying out her work, Darcy had always been calm. She thought it was a job she had loved. Never once did she get angry, even when the coffee machine refused to work. Now, she knew it was all a lie. Yet, the feelings she had were real. The belief that she sat at a computer were real. All she could understand, was that Darcy Freeman felt different.

However, things were becoming clearer. The reality was Darcy’s mind was filling in the gaps. One image that came to mind, was back to a moment when Todd had her strapped to a chair like this. Darcy could not understand why he would do that?

The room she pictured had been brighter and there were wires attached to her, but she now felt the same way as she did the first time Todd started his experiments on her. Darcy had forgotten those feelings, of being angry and wanting answers. She was no longer the Darcy she thought she was. Anger, rage, and doubt now filled her mind, changing her.

Caterpillars transform from being dull creatures into magnificent butterflies. The process of Metamorphosis allows for an abrupt change in the animal's body structure, completely altering its appearance. Insects literally feel different and look different. That is how Darcy now felt. She had transformed, having gone through a change, and come out a completely different person from the one she knew.

  ‘What have you done to me?’ screamed Darcy. Neither man answered her, they just looked angry, with a bitter expression.

  ‘Tell me, what have you done?’ Her face was red as she screamed, but still nothing.

It was no use. The two men just ignored her, oblivious to her screams for answers. They looked battered and bruised, a few drops of blood covered Todd’s face and a lot covered Pete’s. Even though Todd was fueled by fire, he managed to control himself from beating Darcy to death. Thankfully, he remembered again to breathe calmly and focus on the mission. She was more useful alive.

  ‘What have you...’ Darcy stopped. There was no point. Best to save her energy to plan an escape. It would be difficult, but not impossible if she thought hard about it, and was clever.

It was Todd who eventually spoke, limping over to her, but avoiding getting too close, fearing she would lash out again. She was still on the floor, sitting or lying on a half-broken chair, one arm strapped and the other free from the chair but still attached to a loose armrest.

  ‘You’re going to forget everything and do exactly what we tell you to do.’ Each syllable was spoken slowly and accurately. Do exactly what we tell you to do. Darcy hated him more. No one told her what to do or controlled her, she was a free agent. He carried on speaking in a deliberate tone, his angry voice.

  ‘What do you remember, Darcy?’ Todd did not allow her to answer and quickly continued. ‘Do you remember the pain? Do you remember asking me to stop? Do you remember Alice?’

Darcy did not remember the pain, but by the sadistic way he spoke, she could tell he was looking forward to inflicting more pain. Advise to reset subject. What exactly did a reset involve, she wondered? Whatever would happen next, it did not sound pleasant and she would probably forget. But Alice. She did remember Alice. Her fond memories, her mother reading this book to her, the sound of giggling and laughing at the nonsense.

  ‘Alice?’ she questioned.

  ‘Yes. Alice in Wonderland. Did you think mummy dearest used to read it before bedtime? Oh dear.’ He laughed out loud at the thought, and then carried on. ‘She didn’t. It was us. It’s a memory control, allows us to subconsciously manipulate your mind during a reset. All you remember after is a beloved bedtime memory. Touching, isn’t it?’ He laughed again. Pete interrupted wanting to join in on the fun.

  ‘And it’s going to happen again.’ He laughed too, but it was not quite like Todd’s. He sounded stupid and Todd looked at him.

  ‘What?’ grunted Darcy. ‘It’s not real?’

  ‘Sad. It’s so sad.’ Todd laughed louder this time, filling the room with his deep throaty roar. Looking up at the ceiling, Darcy closed her eyes in sadness. Her fond memories. You remind me of Alice. Sometimes I think this book is about you. That was the only good memory she had.

They lifted her up off the floor, careful to avoid a strike or a kick and pushed the chair next to a machine in the corner of the room. Red and white wires hung out the side of the large unit. It was about the height of a small child, metallic in appearance, with a small display that flashed strange symbols and small knobs sitting neatly in a row under the screen. Pete turned a few of the dials. Darcy watched as he expertly adjusted them, his chubby fingers moving some of the dials slightly and others he turned all the way round. The machine quietly hummed and the screen flickered, it was indeed a strange contraption. Advise to reset subject.

  Todd then carefully placed the red wire on the back of her neck and the white on the side of her forehead. Darcy started to shake her head violently to resist and waved her free arm in the air hoping to strike a blow, but the armrest slashed aimlessly. Todd avoided Darcy’s attack and pushed hard, sticking the wire securely. He grabbed her free arm and slammed it down and even though Darcy tried hard to resist, Todd was strong and ready for her this time, and he secured her arm back to the chair.

  The machine began to beep and the screen responded displaying messages Darcy had never seen. Todd held up a large set of headphones, padded and soft, designed to block out any surrounding noise. He looked at her and smiled, the kind of smile you would expect from someone who took pleasure in hitting dogs or laughing when others were hurt. Darcy recoiled in disgust. She hated him, really hated him.

  ‘Enjoy the story Darcy. It leaves a lovely memory.’ Still smiling, Todd laughed again, relishing every moment. Darcy focused her mind, trying hard to recall what was going on around her, thinking about Todd, the machine, this room. She guessed the reset involved some sort of memory wipe, a clean slate. If that was going to happen, she had to remember. Do not forget she told herself, don’t forget. Todd was still talking, grinning like a lunatic, explaining to Darcy what she would do for them. He seemed proud.

  ‘You’re going to get on that train and then plant the bomb. You won’t even realize what you are doing, thinking you are saving the world or something.’ He paused and then laughed like a rabid dog. Darcy shook her head. No. No. No, she thought. I will not kill all those people. For all her faults, she refused to kill anyone to get what she wanted and more importantly she would not kill for anyone else.

  ‘The Senator will be killed on the train forcing Regan to pull out from becoming the next President.’

Todd finished, letting his words sink in as he studied Darcy’s expression. She had a shocked look on her face, hardly believing Todd’s words. Shaking her head violently, kicking her legs as far as they would go, Darcy refused to let this happen.

  ‘I’m not blowing any train or killing anyone. I won’t do...’

Todd stopped her before she could finish. ‘No point fighting Darcy. You’re mine and you do what I say. Do you think you came here on your own, stealing the Time Clock? Ha.’ He continued. ‘That’s what we wanted you to think. Lowly analyst, punching data all day, fed up with the way things are done, it was all us. You’re nothing, you remember?’

  She remembered. No happy family life or sitting on her mum’s lap or scraping her knee or her father hugging her. Everything about her life was a blank.

  ‘Anyway,’ carried on Todd. ‘You won’t remember this. Just back to thinking you’re a lowly analyst, who found her way to 1980, trying to change the past.’ He turned to Pete, ‘Push it.’

Pete looked at her and nodded. His smile was not sinister or creepy like Todd’s but it was a smile to say, you ready? Then he winked at her as the headphones were place over her ears.

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?'