For something that took less than 24 hours to write, it's actually not that bad...
Everything was cold, humid, and itchy. Yet there was nothing he could do to relieve himself from the discomfort.
Every time he tugged, the fabric only tugged back. As if taunting him with his own freedom. You asked for it, the jacket teases.
He should never have attempted that escape. He was just worried about who else was here with him! He had to check the other rooms for his brothers before he could leave.
The shock to find that he was the only one, came both as a relief and as dread. They reinforced his sense of captivity via stricter restraints; both as a punishment and as a precaution.
He curled in on himself in self pity within the corner of the room which he cannot see. Finally accepting that there was nothing left he could do except wait patiently for someone to come get him out.
Hopefully it will be Scott. The last thing he needs is Gordon’s teasing in the infirmary. With that said, he wouldn’t mind if it meant being free.
Wondering how to patiently kill time, he thought about how his space felt large. Perhaps pushing yourself into the far corner of a room while blindfolded just naturally did that to the subconsciousness?
The act had taken so much energy out of him. He had no real ability to move with his legs connected together, He could only measure the distance between how far he moved through the tactile sensation of each push against the solid floor. The first wall had just been a breath of relief before navigating his way to the second.
He hadn’t stopped to curiously consider questioning where the other end of the room was until now. Not that he could ever find out, because the loudest sound of the day suddenly startles him from his own mind.
It came as a bang. Then, miniature vibrations followed from the floor.
Not again. Virgil desperately pushes himself further into the corner in hopes of hiding. Of course, it doesn’t work.
He didn’t need to see or hear them to feel their presence. They knelt closely before him. What else were they planning to take from him!? If he whimpered, he was sure they couldn’t hear it.
A sudden hand grasped at his cheek, and he flinched back into the corner. He could try darting to a side, but what good would that do if he wasn’t aware of his surroundings? He couldn’t even run.
The hand returned, this time wrapped around his shoulders, forcing him to lean towards them. His breathing hitched as two more hands wrapped around the sides of his head. Then, something cold and metallic grazed at the back of his head for a split second: And suddenly, light.
Confused, he rapidly blinked his eyes at the two blurry figures. They sat him upright and softly spoke to him. He couldn’t register their words, nor their blurry faces; not that he needed to, their shapes were all too recognisable. He eased.
One figure branded a set of cold metal sheers, snipping away at the straps at Virgil’s sides before making for the seems, while the other attempted to play distraction using the sound of his voice as he reached closer to Virgil’s head.
Golden hands met his ears. Something, he didn’t know was in there, was taken out. He gasped as sound overwhelmed him instantly. He would have never noticed that there were an electric static in his ears until now.
“Can you hear us better Virgil?” Gordon asked gently with a small smile.
Overwhelmed. Virgil could do nothing but stare. It took him a few blinks before he processed the words. When he finally heard them right, he slowly returned one nod.
The sturdy fabric that had latched his arms to his body suddenly loosened without warning. Virgil watched tiredly as it fell apart with Scott’s forceful aid. “There you go, Virge.” He reassured after a few pulls at the white canvas. “Think you can stand?” He asks.
Gordon grabs at one of the recently freed arms and pulls up one of his brother’s soft, grey sleeves. Something new and cold attaches to the bare skin of his wrist. Looking down slowly, revealed a yellow wrist watch which lowly hummed as a holographic light emitted from it with a sort of loading screen.
Before he could react, Scott swiftly stood up, pulling Virgil along with him from under his biceps. It took Gordon’s strength to keep him upright before the sensation of the ground under his feet finally caught up to his brain.
There was a beeping at his wrist that prevented him from responding to them. Confused, he lifted his hand up to his brothers’ line of sight. They both looked at the watch’s holographic readings immediately.
“Dehydrated, malnourished. No injuries, though.”
Scott hummed. “Just disorientation and shock. Honestly should’ve expected this.”
“We can’t take him like this.” Gordon worries.
“Not unless we can get upstairs.” Argues Scott. He taps at his own wrist which reveals holographic blueprints in CAD form. “The roof is only one floor away, could perform an airlift from there.”
“That could work.” The younger en pleadingly turns back to Virgil. “Come on, Virge. Just give us something. It’d help if we had you responsive for this- OOMPH-.”
Gordon had no idea about just how much the fog in Virgil’s brain had cleared until he was attacked by the heavy impact of his big brother who hugged him tightly, albeit not as tightly as he was hoping.
From the sidelines, Scott had a massive grin plastered on his face. He waited patiently for the two to release each other before patting Virgil’s shoulders. “There you are!”
“I still can’t see properly.” Virgil hurriedly says with several eye blinks between words. The three choose to ignore his hoarse voice, only frowning at the side effects of the blindfold.
“No need. Just follow us and you should be fine.”
It was all a blur. Every moment. Every step. Every yelp. Even when Scott secured a harness on him and pulled him up into Thunderbird One, he was zoned out the entire time.
He tried his best to not show it, and considering how fast they had proceeded with the escape, he must’ve succeeded. It wasn’t until now; 2000 hours, evening time; while sitting on a cadmium yellow beanbag, that he realised all that had just happened.
Even the captivity itself felt like it never happened. The first escape attempt could’ve been merely a dream and he’d be content with it.
He stared blankly at the wall of portraits, fingers fidgeting with the lint pilling on his new pyrrole red blanket.
“Are you back with us now?” John’s voice from behind him broke his trance. Virgil spun his head around to find the space brother laying on the couch above him, a cadmium orange blanket keeping him warm.
“John?” He slowly tested the weight of his tongue. Wide brown eyes met concerned teal.
“You’ve been dissociating. I had to call everyone to go to bed just to give you space.” He explained.
“How long?” His breath dragged at the first word as his eyes crawled over to the far window, the sky was darkening.
“Long enough to scare everyone.” John’s voice wasn’t soft, but it didn’t hurt his ears either. “You looked overwhelmed… When we hugged you, you weren’t all there.”
“Oh.” His shoulders drooped. He didn’t remember any hugs. “Sorry…”
“Don’t be.” John dropped at his blanket, his eyes narrowed. “Do you need anything? Is your water empty?”
“Water?” Virgil shifted his hands about from under the blanket, and sure enough, there was a lidded cup now in his hands. He pulled it out from under, the cup felt mostly full, and it was orange, as expected. “A sip cup?”
“Why?” Despite asking, Virgil places the tip in his mouth, the water was refreshingly cold.
“Just in case you spilt it in your daydreams.” Answers John. “Seems like you’re feeling better now though, which is good.”
“What even… What even happened?”
John returned with a frown for a response. “We can talk about it tomorrow. Just get some sleep for now, Virge.”
Who was Virgil to not comply? He leaned back into the beanbag, pulled the red blanket over his head. Sleep then took over in merely minutes. He never felt more comfortable.
