The Frequency

I slowly opened my eyes to a white room. Everything was white. I sat up and realized the blood that was on my hands was washed off. My right leg was bandaged.

'Who did this?'

It was a relatively big room but with only a bed in it. The door was big as well, a double door.

I realized a collar on my neck as well. I tried so hard to get it off but to no avail.

I heard muffled voices coming from the door. They got louder and louder until the door opened. It was Tom and a couple of men.

"This one here." Tom said.

"We don't have any Intel about him unfortunately. He must be new around." Said one of the men.

"Well collect some now." Shouted Tom. "You better get something to show the boss."

Then another man walked into the room. He looked familiar but I couldn't make out who it was.

"Thomas, I presume you have....." He stopped as he turned to look at me. "Why can't you just die Daniel?" He said.

Then it struck me who it was from his voice.

"What do you mean officer?" I asked.

"I tried so hard to kill you but you just can't die now can you?" Officer Henderson said.

"Why would you want me dead?" I asked.

"Officer, I want to have a word with this man right here. And give me the sound and video system's controller. I want this to be private." Said a man who came in.

This man had strange written all over him. He was short and lean. He was wearing a complete head gear with a mask. Only his eyes were visible.

"But doctor ...." Officer Henderson started.

"Out now." The doctor interrupted him.

Tom, Henderson and the other two men left silently after Henderson gave a remote controller to the doctor.

'Who could this man be?'

"Hello Daniel Hughes." The doctor started.

"Hello Doctor...?" I asked.

"My name is of no value to you. However yours is of value to us." He said. "Daniel I want you out of this facility by midnight. Oh yes and get the collar off." He continued.

"And how exactly do you suggest I do that?" I asked.

"Simple. Everything is arranged for you. Hunter will escort you away from here and towards The Capital. You are going to use the frequency of this radio to detach the collar." He said as he gave me a radio. "Set it to 24000 and one of two things will happen. Either your head will come off your shoulders or the collar will detach and explode within five seconds. So it's fifty fifty." He continued. "And I will make sure you get out through the sewers. It's disgusting I know but it's the only way." He finished.

"Sure... But why help me?" I asked.

"You hold answers to question that haven't been asked. And questions to things that haven't been answered." He said as he turned to the door and left.

'What the hell is going on here?'

I saw a clock on the back of the radio. Fifteen minutes remained until midnight.

'Easy wait.' I thought.

I laid down on the bed for ten minutes or so before the wall in front of me cracked open. I guessed this was the time to leave. I got up and with the radio in hand started going through the tunnel that was behind the cracked wall.

"I'm with you through the speakers. Go left." It was the doctor's voice.

I went left to see a door and next to it was a duffel bag and some ammunition boxes.

"Grab what is needed and be quick." The doctor said.

I opened the duffel bag to see some canned food and water. I saw the bag wasn't fully filled so I just stuffed the boxes in the bag too. I wrapped the bag around my shoulder and I went through the door.

"Continue forward and climb the ladder. Hunter will intercept you."

I went to the large ladder. It was at least thirty meters.

'I hate heights.' I said to myself before I got a good grip on the ladder.

The smell of the tunnel was that of sulfur. I hated that too.

I slowly climbed up. Took me ten minutes roughly because I was taking rests every now and then.

Before I reached the top the doctor said one final thing.

"My name is Doctor Kross. So you don't keep thinking about this."

I smiled at that. I was wondering what his name was.

When I finally reached the top someone got the bag off of me. It was Hunter.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm good thanks. Let's get away." I said.

"Take this. You might need it. But don't aim it at me this time." Hunter said as he gave me the same revolver.

"I will try not to." I said with a smirk.

"I couldn't get a vehicle so we need to walk." He said.

"I'm fine with walking but first I need to see if I'm going to live through this." I said as I showed him the radio.

"Oh. I think he said it was 24000 or something." Hunter said.

"True. But he said it was fifty fifty between my head blowing up and the collar detaching then exploding." I explained.

"Then I'm going to slowly back off. Oh yes I remembered, he also said it will take a full minute for the collar to either detach or explode once you set the frequency." Hunter said as he took a couple of steps back.

"Well here goes everything." I said as I tuned the radio to 24000.

The collar started beeping slowly. My heart started beating and I was shaking a bit.

I remembered a lot of stuff from my past. My father, Susan, My friends and the vault.

'The vault.' I thought to myself.

I remembered the location but not the codes. It started flowing back into my memory vividly.

"It is locked away at a vault under the company Daniel. Find it and fix everything." I heard my father's voice tell me.

The collar started beeping quickly and I closed my eyes.

I started trembling from the fear. Not fear of death, but the fear of not doing what my father told me to do. I might let him down.

The collar stopped beeping and I could feel the air flow into my lungs very swiftly.

I opened my eyes and saw the collar on the ground. I took a sigh of relief.

"Finally." Hunter said.

Then the collar started beeping quickly and I kicked it away out of reaction but it only produced a very small explosion. One that wouldn't harm a child.

I started laughing out of joy. Hunter too.

"Well, let's go to The Capital now, shall we?" I said.