The Icebox - 16. Listening or Running

The Interviewer

 

As soon as I press the button on the recorder, I start with the first question.

 

“What made you come back?” I ask.

 

Like the others, Zafiro called to begin the session again.

 

I’m a bit surprised it only took four days.

 

Usually it takes a few weeks before the others had shown up again.

 

“I saw something during the mission,” He says while staring at the ceiling. “It was…amazing. Beautiful! Like nothing I have ever seen before!”

 

A bit confused, I wait for him to explain.

 

His eyes sparkle when he smiles as if he is seeing it again.

 

“What did you see,” I add after a moment of silence. “It must have been interesting if it made you call on me.”

 

He blinks as if forgetting I was here.

 

“I don’t know,” He sighs wistfully. “All I know is that I want to see it again.”

 

“Curious,” I look through the files of that mission. “I don’t see anything worth noting that describes something worth this response.”

 

Zafiro bites his lip and looks away from me.

 

“Only I could see it,” He says. “All everyone saw was a regular explosion.”

 

Narrowing my eyes, I do see that there was indeed an explosion in one factory.

 

It was caused by a squad accidentally igniting a room full of combustible rocks.

 

“I saw a lightshow! It was like the sky decided to create a painting. It was a rather abstract painting for sure, but still it was beautiful to see.”

 

This is rather concerning.

 

“Do you see stuff like this often,” I ask. “Is it common to see things nobody else can?”

 

He shrugs. “I guess? I mean I thought I just arrived here a few weeks ago. I think it’s clear I’m seeing things.”

 

Frowning, I hesitate with my next question because I fear I already know the answer.

 

“How do you feel about seeing these things now?”

 

He shrugs again, though he seems to not quite look at me. His voices must have his attention.

 

“They’re alright,” He says. “I’m getting used to it. Usually they look really pretty now. Still scary at times of course!”

 

I write that down. “What images do you usually see?”

 

He purses his lip as he thinks it over. “I don’t know. Everything? It’s like some kind of artist has decided to paint over everything in front of me. They are invisible but I see their brushstrokes perfectly fine. Other times, it’s like a lazer light show creating images on the walls.”

 

Interesting. I believe I have heard of a few cases where they were imagining images appearing on walls and such.

 

Perhaps we may find a cure sooner rather than later!

 

“This information has provided an opportunity to attempt a cure,” I tell him. “Now I don’t want you to think this is it. This may not be the answer but simply a push towards the proper doctor. With the many types of medicine in this galaxy, have faith that one will help you soon.”

 

It is a surprise to see not a single ray of hope on his face.

 

He doesn’t look as if he cares.

 

“Yeah that’s good to hear,” He says with a smile.

 

Tabbing my pen on my pad, I clear my throat.

 

“You do not sound pleased.”

 

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

 

Well this isn’t good!

 

“Zafiro,” I sigh and try to rub my temples but my mask prevents it. “Surely you must realize the severity of your problems?”

 

“They don’t like being called problems,” He glares.

 

“Right,” I nod. “Yet, you must know that these are causing more harm to you than good. You will lose more and more of yourself. Why else would you come to me with this information? I wouldn’t think it is to praise these scenarios.”

 

He looks away. “Maybe they are good. Maybe they are shaping me into someone who is better! I was not a good person down there.”

 

A slight pause from him before he softly adds, “am not.”

 

Reaching over, I rest my hand over the brace on his hands. “I don’t want you to think I know anything about you, yet I must say that from what I do know, that does not matter. Nobody is all good or bad. All that matters is that you are you.”

 

He doesn’t look at me still but he does pull his hands away.

 

“I used to hate when anyone touched me,” He says softly. “I’d always push them away if they tried. Now I don’t care as much. I don’t even remember why that changed. I don’t know if that happened in those years I don’t remember or if it is because of stuff happening now.”

 

He pauses and shakes his head. “The voices say I stopped because I’m looking for comfort in small things here. That doesn’t sound like me. I didn’t care for that shit before.”

 

“As I said,” I say after he finishes. “You will be losing yourself until you don’t even recognize what was once there.”

 

He glares at the table. “I find myself looking for things I never cared for before! I never cared for sex or anything like it. The most I’d do is flirt with a few people but nothing more. Suddenly I have to fuck around to ground my thoughts about a guy I only met for barely over a week? What kind of weird bullshit is this?”

 

Well…I did not expect this type of information this morning.

 

“Suddenly I can barely push myself to joke around with anyone! I just roll with whatever comes my way like some car on autopilot.”

 

That makes me curious to how he acted when he first arrived.

 

“I can’t even push myself to think of escaping this place. I don’t even want to go back down to earth! I just want to…not do anything.”

 

I frown hearing that. “What do you mean by that?”

 

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

 

That’s rather concerning.

 

I am about to question him about it but then he interrupts me.

 

“I should probably get going,” Zafiro says. “I have to meet with Henson.”

 

A bit disappointed at him running away again, I end the recording and let him leave.

 

Well there is one species whose doctor may provide positive results. That is the good news.

 

Unfortunately, learning that Zafiro is beginning to give into these changes in his mind is possibly the worst thing to come out of this.

 

If he truly wants things to stay the course, then no treatment will ever succeed.

 

His comment about not wanting to do anything raises a lot of red flags.

 

I will have to speak to Henson about Zafiro possibly leading into suicidal thoughts.

 

It may not lead to that of course, however I do not want these thoughts to fester and grow.

 

~~~

 

Zafiro

 

Well that was a weird moment of opening up.

 

Won’t be happening again!

 

Humming to myself, I drift and dance my way through the halls.

 

It’s quiet this morning.

 

Most are in the cafeteria probably.

 

I suppose I should go eat too but…I feel a bit different.

 

I can’t explain it but I feel a bit like I’m floating!

 

Not literally of course, but I feel light on my feet and the winds are drifting me along. There aren’t any winds in this place though.

 

It isn’t exactly a great feeling.

 

Since I never know what’s going on, I just roll with it. Might as well!

 

Music starts to play.

 

Piano keys softly echo in the distance. They echo around me in a melody that builds up into something almost joyful.

 

More stringed instruments join in. They create a song I’ve never heard before.

 

Voices whisper beneath it all, like a crowd waiting for the show to begin!

 

Closing my eyes, I hold my arms above my head, twirling around with moves I vaguely remember from dance classes many years ago.

 

My mind conjures up a stage. The prison hallway disappears and I stand over a crowd who cheers at my performance!

 

Smiling to myself, I stand on the tips of my toes.

 

As I do so, images tear over the audience.

 

It’s like I’m back in the dance school.

 

A sort of haunted version.

 

That scary dark red vision is there again. It casts a shadow making the memories even more shitty.

 

The sound of children laughing echoes in the distance. It grows louder and louder, drowning out the audience.

 

I stop moving and find myself frozen as I see a chair fall over on its side in the middle of the dance floor.

 

Lightning strikes and rain pours against the windows.

 

It looks like blood dripping on the glass.

 

Another chair falls against a wall.

 

I jump as thunder booms, flashing the image in white. Right after the flash of light, the chairs are replaced with Piggy and Vero’s bodies.

 

Suddenly the image disappears and I find the shapeshifter in front of me.

 

His hand is gently shaking my shoulder and he has a concerned look on his face.

 

“You alright,” He asks. “Do you need to go to medical?”

 

I blink and shake my head. “N-No. I’m fine. Just…lost in thought.”

 

He frowns and stares at me for a moment.

 

“If you say so,” He mumbles before moving on. “Be careful. You don’t want them thinking you’re a lost cause. We’ll lose you to the mental facilities.”

 

I narrow my eyes at him. “That’s a thing here?”

 

He nods. “Lots of people go a little nuts in isolation up here. It became a necessity.”

 

Shaking my head, I back away.

 

“I’m not crazy,” I glare. “I wish everyone would stop fucking treating me like I am.”

 

He shrugs. “I don’t think you are. People find me creepy because of my abilities. I see nothing wrong with you. Just be careful with these others. They might be waiting to jump on the chance to get rid of you. You did take out one of their own after all.”

 

At that, he walks off.

 

What does he mean by that?

 

Is he hinting at the other officers wanting to take me out?

 

I stare at his back as he walks down the hallway.

 

This place is a real shithole.

 

Not sure what to do.

 

I walk through the halls, trying to distract myself but no matter what I do, I can only think about what these officers are planning.

 

Do they really want to fuck with me even more than they have already?

 

It wasn’t even my fault! Henson is the one who sent that asshole packing!

 

Biting my lip, I decide to stop by said person.

 

I ask Henson if someone is available to train with. I need to maybe punch these thoughts out.

 

The only reason I’m fine with training with these specific officers is because they are Henson’s men.

 

He seems like a sorta good guy. I mean he’s using us but he seems to care in some way?

 

Either way, I wouldn’t mind learning how to defend myself more.

 

These officers won’t be taking me on without a fight.

 

Who knows what’s gonna happen?

 

Probably that therapist.

 

They sure act like they know everything. It’s annoying how he seems to make it easy to just spill all my secrets to him.

 

I don’t even like thinking about them. Why is it so easy to reveal them to this rando I’ve never met before?

 

Shaking my head, I walk into the gym and meet up with my trainer.

 

~~~

 

Zee

 

“Is that all,” I ask Wade.

 

He shrugs. “As far as I know.”

 

Frowning at him, I pace back and forth in my cell.

 

“Why did you tell me this?”

 

He motions to me. “Aren’t you his friend? I figured you and yours would want to know what I saw.”

 

I nod. “Well thank you. It means a lot to us. If you see anything getting worse, please let us know.”

 

He gets up and leaves.

 

I know things weren’t going great with Zafiro’s head but things seem to be getting more and more concerning.

 

This seems like a small thing compared to other stuff before, but it’s becoming very concerning how often he is seeing things that aren’t there.

 

Anjak told Maksim about how Zafiro saw something in our mission.

 

We’re all getting worried.

 

In the years before, he would rarely see things that weren’t there. Sure he would forget about a whole year’s worth of experience, but seeing things?

 

I have no idea how things are getting worse!

 

That chip was taken out forever ago now. What the hell is going on?

 

Is it this place? Is it us? Those officers?

 

I want to say maybe it was that? The slap of reality hiding underneath his mind’s fantasies must’ve been crazy!

 

I should go check on him.

 

Standing around feeling bad isn’t going to do anything.

 

I check everywhere I know he hangs out.

 

He wasn’t in his cell which I should’ve known before walking down the long hallway. His music wasn’t playing.

 

He wasn’t in the pool, nor was he in Maksim’s cell.

 

Not the cafeteria and he wasn’t in the showers.

 

No idea where he is.

 

Since I don’t trust these regular officers, I look for Henson.

 

Unfortunately he wasn’t in his office.

 

That creepy person in a hazmat suit was in there though. They were scanning paper pages.

 

“Uh,” I clear my throat. “Where’s Officer Henson?”

 

They turn their head to me slowly.

 

I can’t see their eyes but their stares makes me very uncomfortable.

 

No wonder Zaf never wants to go to those sessions.

 

There is a harsh piercing sound before a robotic voice comes through.

 

“Apologies,” They say. “My voice box was turned off. I believe Henson is training dear Zafiro in the gymnasium.”

 

“Thanks,” I nod to them and move to go after them.

 

They stop me however.

 

“Wait,” They call. “I must ask if Zafiro has experienced any thoughts of depression. I believe he is showing signs of it but he does not like revealing this information to me. It is important to know for whatever research may prove useful.”

 

I am a bit stunned they keep wanting to talk to me so I’m a bit of a mess trying to think of anything out of the ordinary. For some reason I feel I need to do something with my hands.

 

Unfortunately everything feels out of the ordinary with Zaf.

 

“I’m not sure,” I shrug. “Everyday feels like something new honestly.”

 

Another small stare before they nod. “Very well. Thank you.”

 

They turn back to their work and so I leave.

 

So the gym is my destination.

 

Maybe Henson wanted to keep him occupied.

 

As soon as I walk in, I am immediately in for a surprise.

 

The floor has been raised into high walls with stairs leading up for you to peek over.

 

Henson and an officer stand at one of these stairwells and watch whatever is going on behind these walls.

 

“Try again,” Henson shouts.

 

I hear a groan from Zaf somewhere.

 

Walking up next to Henson, he looks me over before turning his eyes back to the middle of the gym.

 

Looks like I’m allowed here.

 

The floors have been lifted up to create walls that line the entire edge of the gym. Underneath where these floors once were is a full arena lined with a few thick pillars, walls built for cover, nets to climb over, and railings in the ceiling.

 

I see one officer slowly crawling over the railings. They are being as quiet as they can be while watching Zafiro.

 

A few officers are down there. They peek at Zafiro and glance up at us; or more specifically, Henson.

 

A few holograms are also in there based on a few bodies laying down who flicker from time to time.

 

Zaf stands in the middle of the little arena.

 

He’s in that sexy, skin tight suit again.

 

Seeing it brings back some dirty thoughts of him wearing that while he’s alone with me.

 

A shame that won’t ever happen.

 

They made us take off our squad uniforms as soon as we landed back on the moon.

 

He’s got two pistols in his hands. They look a little different than the usual ones. These are clear and you can see the wiring inside of them.

 

Fancy practice stun guns.

 

On his hip is his weird baton staff thing.

 

Henson clears his throat. “This time I want you to try not to get hit even once. You did great last time until the end. Try your best to be aware of your surroundings.”

 

Zaf nods to himself.

 

I frown when I notice a shimmering effect over the top of the arena. It’s barely under the railings above.

 

“He can’t see above the pillars,” Henson says without looking at me.

 

I hum in response.

 

That doesn’t seem fair if this other officer is planning to attack.

 

“Begin,” Henson shouts.

 

A soft glow appears on Zaf’s guns and he readies himself.

 

Footsteps echo in the arena as an officer sprints for him.

 

They swing a baton charged with electricity.

 

I forget how to breath as I watch Zafiro dodge it just in time.

 

He leaps and cartwheels away with a small laugh.

 

In the middle of his cartwheel, he uses one gun to shoot at the attacker. They get hit and fall to the ground with a groan.

 

Henson sighs. “I told you to stop trying to show off. Getting cocky like that is only going to get yourself killed!”

 

Zafiro either doesn’t hear him or ignores him.

 

He simply spins around as if he is dancing in a field of flowers.

 

Two officers round a corner and fire their weapons.

 

Zafiro practically flips in the air, dodging the green bullets somehow before he lands on one foot.

 

His other foot pushes himself off a wall, launching himself closer to the two officers.

 

He spins in the air and fires at them, taking them out.

 

I must admit, his accuracy is a bit scary.

 

Let’s just say that I wouldn’t ever volunteer in a standoff with him.

 

He’d be impossible to hit anyways from what it looks like.

 

Henson is right about Zaf needing to quit with the flips and playing around. Sure it’s working and somehow making him dodge well, but it could lead to more mistakes in the future.

 

Still…he is dodging bullets while doing it so I guess more power to him.

 

Zaf runs for where two paths meet.

 

A small group of officers shout to try and prepare for him coming for them.

 

He vaults over a half wall and with the momentum of his sprinting, he slides on one knee and spins on the floor with his arms out.

 

As he slides where the hallways meet, he opens fire.

 

The officers shout in surprise before both groups on either side meet a shower of green bullets.

 

A few manage to fire back but they miss.

 

Henson sighs next to me.

 

When I look over, I see a slight smile on the corner of his mouth.

 

“You like seeing your officers get styled on,” I ask.

 

He looks at me, that smirk still there. “Just like to see I was right to put my faith in you all.”

 

I raise an eyebrow at him before turning back to Zafiro.

 

He has pulled out his baton.

 

Three officers surround him with their electric batons.

 

Zafiro kicks out at an officer’s foot, making them fall on their face.

 

Zaf rolls backwards and then pushes up with his hands to launch himself into another, his feet hit the officer square in the chest.

 

The third swings for Zaf’s side but he blocks it by making his baton extend.

 

He hits the baton away with his pole and makes a kick for the officer’s face.

 

The officer blocks it but the force of Zaf’s strength makes him fall onto his side.

 

The officer who fell on his face is up and makes a grab for Zafiro.

 

Zaf dances around him with a smile before he swings his pole into the back of their legs, knocking them onto their back.

 

Zafiro steps back before he stares ahead at a wall.

 

I frown at that.

 

His eyes have that look when he’s hearing something nobody else can.

 

The officer above finally makes their attack.

 

They drop down and swing their stun baton for him.

 

At the last second, Zafiro dodges without looking. He leans to the side enough to dodge before swinging his pole in a wide arc.

 

A loud crack echos as the pole makes contact with the officer’s helmet.

 

There is a shout as they get knocked over.

 

Pieces of the helmet fly off and they clutch at where the helmet broke.

 

“Fuck!” A woman’s voice shouts.

 

Holy shit!

 

How did he do that? He had absolutely no way of knowing she was there!

 

The officer rips the broken helmet off and a woman with blonde hair glares up at Zafiro with blood spilling down her cheek.

 

Zafiro looks away from her and up towards Henson.

 

That shimmer has disappeared.

 

He smiles wide and gives a double thumbs up at me.

 

Now he looks really cute there but with everything that just happened…I’m too shocked to even respond.

 

Henson curses next to me. “She’s gonna kill me.”

 

Based on that lady’s cold stare in our direction, I believe him.