Chapter 12: A Time for Choosing

The shrill wail of the alarm roused Jack McCoy from his slumber, stabbing through the silence of his small room. He laid there for several minutes before sitting up on his bed, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. The sound of shuffling feet and raspy coughs drifted from beyond his door, evidence of fellow Subjects roused from sleep.

"Everyone to the main room, now!" Dr. Water's authoritative voice cut through the fog of morning confusion.

Jack yawned and slipped into a fresh pair of scrubs, realizing there’d be no time for him to shower since he’d lingered too long in his bed this morning. Toothbrush in hand, he emerged into the hallway, where he encountered Randy, who gave him a hearty slap on the rear and said, "Mornin' Sunshine."

"You're back, you crazy bastard?" Jack retorted with a grin.

"Damn straight, buddy, and without the headache! They gave me the good pills last night" Randy said with a smile Jack hadn’t seen in days.

“That’s fucking awesome, man!” Jack replied.

“Oh and hey, Chuck and Chester are out! You just got your money back, Jack!” Randy shouted from a distance before entering the common room. Jack responded with a thumbs up and headed to the bathroom.

In the dimly lit bathroom, steam poured from the shower, filling the space with a hazy aura. Jack placed his toothbrush and toothpaste on the sink, then briefly stepped into the nearest stall. The shower's vigorous flow resembled a wet chimney, with mist ascending towards the ceiling.

"Are you trying to turn your skin into soup? Or just embrace the full-on sauna experience?" Jack joked above the torrent of water.

No response.

After flushing and washing his hands, Jack tiptoed toward the still-closed shower curtain, his gut churning with nervousness. He stared at the fabric, his ear straining for any sound beyond the water's rush. When silence greeted him, he took a deep breath, gripped the curtain, and yanked it open.

What he saw sent a shockwave through his body. Frank was curled into a fetal position on the shower floor.

"What the hell!" Jack yelled at him. "Frank, are you okay?"

Frank remained motionless, his eyes staring blankly into the void, his face a mask of sheer terror. Jack reached down to touch his arm, and in that instant, a blinding flash of light engulfed them both.

The light seemed to snap Frank out of his stupor. Jack's shock mirrored his own.

"Frank, what are you doing?" Jack's voice trembled.

Frank stood, hastily covering himself, his expression one of bewilderment.

"What the hell just happened? Was that light real, or am I strapped into that chair right now getting my daily dose already?" Jack wondered aloud, just as the shower's five-minute timer clicked off, cutting the water's cascade.

Frank stared at Jack, his eyes focused but his expression confused. "Drug... open... eyes," he whispered in a thick Japanese accent before abruptly fleeing the bathroom.

Jack stood there, his mind a maelstrom of confusion. He moved to the mirror, squeezing toothpaste onto his brush, and scrubbed at his teeth. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, each one crazier than the last. He rinsed his face with cold water, trying to shake the feeling, but it persisted.

Exiting the bathroom, he entered the common room, where doctors and fellow Subjects congregated in the center. Jack felt a fleeting sense of relief, knowing he wasn't alone, but the nagging questions remained. Dr. Nelson approached him.

"Finally, young man. We've been waiting. Time to begin."

Jack's eyebrows shot up in surprise. His gaze swept the room, landing on Frank huddled in a corner, lost in thought. When Dr. Nelson locked eyes with him, something seemed off—an unnatural twitch in the doctor's eye.

"What aren't you telling us about this drug?" Jack questioned, suspicion rising.

Dr. Nelson blinked, his eye twitching. "Why do you say that?"

"Forget it, for now," Jack dismissed, the hair on the back of his neck prickling. "I'll just write about it later in my journal."

As Jack joined the group, he found Randy. But something lingered in the air—an unease, a sense that something out of the ordinary was happening to all of them. Dr. Nelson's gaze remained fixed on Jack, like a riddle waiting to be unraveled.

“Everyone pay attention right now!” Dr. Waters shouted.

Jack exchanged a concerned look with Randy before joining the huddle of Subjects. The room seemed charged with an undercurrent of tension, a palpable sense that something was out of sorts. Frank's distant stare and Dr. Roberts sudden hostile command didn’t sit well.

Dr. Nelson stepped forward, his demeanor grave. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to embark on a crucial phase of the trial. As you know, the drug's effects are intensifying, leading to unforeseen consequences."

Murmurs of concern rippled through the group. Jack's mind raced, the memory of Frank's strange episode in the shower replaying like a broken record.

"We have entered uncharted territory," Dr. Nelson continued, his tone heavy with gravity. "We need your cooperation and feedback now more than ever. Document everything, no matter how trivial it may seem. We need to understand the full spectrum of effects, both physical and psychological."

Jack exchanged glances with Randy again, a silent swapping of shared apprehension. Both of them with conjured thoughts of Chuck and Chester. This whole experiment was taking a turn down a dark and unsettling path.

"You may experience hallucinations, vivid dreams, or even psychological time distortions," Dr. Nelson warned, his gaze sweeping over the assembled group. "We're committed to understanding the varied effects of this drug, but we need your unwavering commitment too."

Jack realized then that Chuck and Chester truly were gone. He didn’t dare ask about them in front of the group, but the idea of less people in the experiment sent a bolt of panic down his spine.

Dr. Roberts entered with the cart of protein shakes, water and vitamins in tow.

“Now everyone please take your morning sustenance then proceed to the testing room." Dr. Nelson ordered and left the room.

As the briefing concluded, Jack found himself drawn to Frank, who once again sat alone in a corner, staring blankly into space. He approached cautiously, his concern growing. "Frank, are you okay?"

Frank turned to Jack, his eyes still carrying a glint of that earlier terror. "Mind... show... truth."

Jack frowned, puzzled by Frank's strange words. "What do you mean, Frank?"

But before he could get an answer, Dr. Roberts clapped his hands, demanding everyone's attention. "Subjects, please head to the testing room. The next session is about to begin."

Minutes later everyone was in the “white room.” Jack settled into his chair and was quickly given his pill by the ever-irritable Dr. Rogaine. He laid there deep in thought staring at the ceiling. The bright cold lights seemed to dance before his eyes and before long he was seeing random imagery. The images that played were a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, and patterns, accompanied by a hypnotic hum that seemed to burrow into his brain.

Jack felt a growing unease, as if the images were trying to pry into his thoughts, unravel his psyche. He stole a glance at Randy, who seemed to be wrestling in his sleep. Within minutes, the room's walls slowly closed in on him, his heart pounding in his chest.

Just as the images took a particularly chaotic turn, a flash of light exploded in the center of the room. Jack's vision blurred, his mind a whirlwind of colors and sensations. He felt his body swaying, disconnected from reality, caught in a hurricane of distorted perceptions.

When the chaos finally subsided, Jack found himself standing in the center of a room, surrounded by a group of shadowy figures. His heart raced as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. Were these people real, or were they mere figments of his imagination?

"Welcome, Jack," a voice echoed through the chamber.

Jack turned, his eyes widening in shock. Before him stood Dr. Nelson, his eye twitching in an unsettling rhythm. But there was something different about him, something strange and alien, as if it were only the illusion of Dr. Nelson.

"What is this? Where am I?" Jack's voice trembled.

"You've entered a realm where the boundaries of reality and imagination merge," Dr. Nelson's voice seemed to come from all directions. "We are the architects of this game, the weavers of the real, and of dreams and nightmares."

Jack's mind raced as he tried to process the surreal encounter. This couldn't be real, it had to be a hallucination brought on by the drug. Yet, the sensation of the cold floor beneath his feet, the distant hum that reverberated through the air—all felt too vivid to be a dream.

"We are here to unravel the truth of the human mind and soul, to unlock the hidden chambers of the past, present and future," Dr. Nelson's words were both hypnotic and menacing.

"Why? What's the purpose of all this?" Jack's voice quivered.

"Knowledge, Jack. Power. The ability to shape reality itself," Dr. Nelson's eye twitched, casting an eerie glow across his face. "But to proceed, you must make a choice."

Jack's heart pounded as he stared at the Dr. Nelson imposter before him. A choice? What was he talking about? Fear mingled with curiosity, pulling him in conflicting directions.

"The drug you've ingested has opened a gateway in your mind, Jack," Dr. Nelson's voice grew more insistent. "You can either walk through it, become a master of your own reality, or you can return to the restrictions of your former existence, none the wiser."

A choice that held the promise of power and knowledge, yet shrouded in uncertainty. Jack's mind raced as he grappled with the decision that loomed before him. The shadows danced around him, their whispers echoing in the chamber, urging him to choose.

And as he stood on the precipice of this surreal juncture, the world around him shimmered, reality and illusion intertwining in a dizzying storm. Jack's breath caught in his throat, his pulse racing, and he uttered two simple words:

​"All-In."

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