**
A light flickered. Hugo walked down the long, white hallway. The flickering lights cast deep shadows, their hum invading the deathly silence. A door opened at the end of the hallway and Hugo’s heart felt like it was going to burst, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. A dark shadow, with the curvy hips of a woman, started walking towards him. He stumbled backwards, intending to run, but she reached a hand towards him and his legs buckled. His head snapped against the ground, bring black bursts to his vision.
And then he was strapped down to a bed. A brunette in a nurse’s uniform with a red sweater, her mouth sewn shut, was holding a scalpel over his naked chest. It gleamed in the flickering light. And then she pressed the blade into his skin. At first he didn’t feel anything, but as blood started to well around the metal, the pain shot through him. He tried to scream it away, but no sound left his throat. He tried to thrash, but he remained still. And she just kept driving the pain into him.
This was a dream. It was all a dream. It had to be. He needed to wake up, had to wake up, but the pain wouldn’t stop, his body frozen and stiff.
And then suddenly he was moving and almost fell off his bed, the blankets tangled around his legs. Hugo gasped, shoving himself into a sitting position in the protection of his room, a sliver of moonlight slicing across the floor. He brought a hand to his sweaty forehead, taking several deep breaths. Eventually he rearranged the covers and slid back down beneath them. He closed his eyes, but then jerked awake again with the sensation of falling, his heart pounding.
Perhaps it would just be best to read. With the lights on. Coffee would be a good idea too.
The more coffee Hugo drank, the more excited he became at the prospect of telling Mr. Hansen about his brother. He headed to Mr. Hansen’s office as soon as he made it to work.
“You look cheerful, Hugo,” Nancy remarked, smiling.
Hugo smiled back, “I think I have some good news for Mr. Hansen actually.”
Nancy’s smile brightened further, “Excellent. Go on in.”
Hugo’s enthusiasm dropped significantly when he saw Mr. Hansen’s expression and realized how this conversation had to start out. Would he immediately get kicked out, or would Mr. Hansen at least let him finish speaking? Hugo drew in a deliberate breath and sat down in the chair across from the desk, “Hi, Mr. Hansen.”
“Hello Hugo,” the man said serenely, “Have you made any progress on the lists?”
Hugo wiped his hands on his pants, “I’m still gathering information, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Mr. Hansen leaned forward slightly, folding his hands on the desk, “Oh?”
“Yeah uh,” Hugo looked at the desk, “I had Maggie do something for me. I wanted her to check a… uh… theory I had, and she discovered something I thought you’d want to know.”
“Oh? Maggie’s helping you? She’s tried to avoid contact with the company since she left two years ago. I’m a little surprised.”
Hugo rubbed his palms over his jeans again, “Yeah, well, we have some…mutual interests.”
Mr. Hansen raised his eyebrows, “So, what did you find out?”
Hugo sucked in a deep breath and then let it escape, “Ok, look. You have to promise you’ll let me finish talking before you say anything.”
Mr. Hansen looked vaguely amused. He sat back in his chair, “Ok. I won’t say anything until you’re done.”
“Ok.” Hugo sucked in another breath and forced every muscle in his body to relax. “You know I’ve looked at all the reference files, and something started to bother me. All the test subjects knew they were part of the experiment, and all of them knew what had happened to Charon, since he was the first, right?” Mr. Hansen nodded. “Well-” arrg, just say it Hugo and get it over with, he’s not going to care how you came to the conclusion. “Ok. Uh…I figured out your brother was most likely alive and Maggie checked for me and he is. There.”
Mr. Hansen’s expression didn’t change. He didn’t move. There was just a long agonizing pause. Hugo waited, because there really was nothing else to say. “Hermes is dead.”
Hugo shifted in his seat. Maybe this was a bad idea. “I know you think you shot him, but he could make you use your abilities on yourself. You shot…someone else. Your brother’s alive.” Mr. Hansen continued to remain completely still, he didn’t even seem to be breathing. Hugo really wanted to know what the man was doing behind the illusion he saw. “Mr. Hansen?” Hugo ventured, quietly.
“Hermes is dead,” His voice was ominously flat.
“But he’s not. I saw him,” Hugo said nervously, “Maggie saw him. He was angry about that, but he’s alive.”
“No. He’s not.”
Ok, there was something wrong. Mr. Hansen was not this stubborn. He would be demanding proof instead of flat out denying it. Was it shock? Was it Hermes? The man could alter thoughts, had he made it impossible for Mr. Hansen to directly recognize that he was still alive? Hugo would have to take a different approach. Mr. Hansen responded to reason. He’d just have to reason it out for him, let him come to his own conclusions. “Ok. Forget that. Mr. Hansen, I’d like you to consider this…”
Three hours later of circling around the issue, the light of understanding finally dawned in Mr. Hansen’s eyes, “My brother is…alive?”
And then several things happened. There was a soft choking sound, the room brightened considerably and Mr. Hansen was sliding off of his chair, unconscious. As Hugo ran over to him, sweat was trickling down his forehead and his nose was bleeding.
Hugo panicked. “Mr. Hansen! Wake up! Please wake up! Oh shit!” He remained unresponsive, so Hugo ran for the door, flinging it open. Nancy stood up instantly, alarmed. “Call the doctor! Mr. Hansen collapsed!” Nancy had her hand on the desk phone before he’d finished the statement.