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Concentrate. You have to be smarter than you are to get through this. People are--

Doug was distracted by something interesting. He was being led to a lab again by men much larger than himself, but when he got there he saw that Ronove was occupied talking to someone familiar looking. It was Darius, and he had with him black-garbed Protectors holding rifles -- the first guns he had recalled seeing in this place.

"I am not interested in Amsod's conflicts with the others," Ronove said, seeming quite displeased while appearing emotionless as ever.

"Yet they are interested in what you are doing here, especially so for the cube." Darius motioned towards the thing which was in a glass container. "We are quite certain that Serpine has tasked Loch to attack us and get it."

"Do they have any idea what it is?" Doug asked.

Darius quietly approached Doug and looked him over. He then turned back to Ronove. "And what again is the purpose of this human?"

"If nothing else, he's an interesting test subject." Ronove went back to work at a computer. "Keep your forces here if you must, but be careful with those guns. Death will adversely affect my experiments. Being a unnatural reflection of a human, your presence alone is throwing off my instrumentation. And if Loch does come, let me try and deal with him before you do anything rash. Please go now."

Darius started to leave with his soldier, but Doug called out to him, "Do you know they're torturing innocent people here?"

Darius stopped to take one more glance at Doug before continuing on his way.

"So you don't care?" No one seemed to Doug to care around here. "Jerk."

"Strap him to the table," Ronove ordered, his attention still on his computer.

The two men escorting Doug took off his handcuffs and strapped him to an examination table.

"That is all," Ronove said, and the men left.

"So what now?" Doug asked. Some device popped up next to his head and began to make a humming noise. He didn't think he felt anything. "So, should my soul be dying now or what?"

Ronove walked behind the table, out of Doug's view. "You are all so impatient."

Doug could see the cube from his position and tried to reach out with his soul to do something... except once again he had no idea how to do that or what exactly he'd be doing. "I think you need to turn it up, because I don't feel anything this time."

Doug noticed a different sound. He first thought it was something Ronove was doing, but it was muffled as if from a different room. Slowly, Doug realized what the sound was: It was a woman weeping softly. "Who is that?"

"Who is what?"

The sobbing turned to a weak cry. "...please stop..."

"What are you doing to her?" Doug yelled as he tested his binds.

"Oh; that. I know you like to think you're special, but do I have other tests going on," Ronove said. "Just ignore it; it's no one you know."

"...please..." The voice became more urgent, and the crying louder.

"Whatever you're doing to her, stop it!" Doug screamed. The woman continued to cry, sounding not in pain but certainly in intense misery. Ronove gave no response.

"...just stop... please..." She sounded like she was barely hanging on but had no energy left for anything but sobbing.

"You said you want to destroy my soul, you coward!" Doug struggled to free himself, but he was strapped in so tight he could barely squirm. "Stop doing it to her and do it to me!"

Ronove remained silent.

"...please... I can't.... please..."

Doug had very little energy from his captivity, but he struggled with all the might he could muster. "I swear I'll... I'll..."

Ronove finally walked in front of Doug. "What could you possibly do to me?"

"I saw you!" Doug yelled. "You're nothing compared to me."

"...stop... please..."

"Is that so." Ronove hobbled over to a console and turned a dial.

The woman's sobbing became a cry. "PLEASE STOP IT!"

Doug just stared on in horror.

Ronove turned back to him. "If you're so powerful, then stop me."

Doug couldn't move. He couldn't do anything. There was only one thing left he knew of to try. "Please, God... Jesus -- if you exist -- please stop this!"

Ronove turned the knob again. The crying became even louder, and the pleas turned to hysterical gibberish. "I don't think that did the trick, Doug."

Doug could barely see through his tears. "I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS! I WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO HURT YOU!"

Ronove turned the knob back, and the woman's cry faded to its original light sobbing. "These physical ears can only take so much of that." Ronove limped over to Doug. "Would you like me to explain what I'm doing to her? I'm merely making her experience what it's like for the human soul and body to become disjoined. The misery you heard is exactly what all the billion of humans who died before you are experiencing as we speak... except no one hears their pleas."

"...please... enough..."

Doug was crying now too. "You made your point. I can't do anything. Now stop it... please."

"Fine." Ronove walked over and banged his fist against the wall. "That's enough, dear. You did a very good job."

"Thank you, sir," the woman answer, a slight laugh at the end of her answer.

Doug's mind almost shut down for a moment trying to comprehend.

"One of my employee's is aspiring to be an actress," Ronove said. "Do you think she has a future, Doug?"

The despair was once again replaced with rage.

"You tortured yourself in your inability to help her, and now I'm guessing your imagining the violence you could do to her. Am I right?"

He was, but Doug didn't answer. He was too defeated.

Ronove walked over to the cube. "You saw this for what it really is the other day, didn't you?" He now came near Doug. "When you talk to your religious friend again, you tell him of that infinite barrier... that void. You tell him of where everyone's pleas disappear into."

Doug couldn't even muster anger at Ronove anymore. "Why?"

"I won't claim to know the answer to that. What I do know for certain is that if you want any escape from this, I am your only hope. Perhaps you'll understand enough to give me your gratitude before the end." Ronove walked back to his computer and pushed a button. The device near Doug's head ceased its hum. "You were a control case, but I think I got some quite useful data." He looked to Doug, and the corners of his mouth slowly stretched out into an unworldly smile. "Now I know exactly how to proceed."

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Hellbender Take Two
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