The doctor didn't answer. Instead, he turned to a nearby monitor, where lines of data scrolled across the screen.
Zayn started breathing faster, his chest rising and falling with panic.
His eyes darted around the room, searching for anything he could use to escape.
But there was nothing—just strange, scary-looking equipment and the calm, cold way the people in lab coats moved as if they had done this a hundred times before.
Still, Zayn refused to break. Not after everything they had done to him.
He fought against his restraints, his body jerking as he shouted, his voice full of rage. "Let me go! Let me go!"
No one even acknowledged him.
One of the lab-coated figures stepped forward and pressed a button on the table.
A faint shock pulsed through Zayn's body, not enough to kill, but enough to paralyze his muscles for a moment.
"Be still," the tall doctor ordered. "Or you'll make this worse than it needs to be."
Zayn glared at him. "What's worse than this?" he spat, his voice hoarse.
They ignored his outburst, continuing their task.
One of them began measuring a strange, glowing liquid from a vial into a syringe. The liquid shimmered faintly under the harsh fluorescent lights.
Another man adjusted a dial on a machine, and the faint hum it produced filled the air.
His heart pounded harder. "What are you doing?! Stop!"
The tall doctor approached with the syringe in hand.
"No! Get away from me!" he screamed, struggling against the straps, but they were too tight to break free.
The needle pierced his skin, and pain shot through his arm like fire.
'Damn it!' he cursed.
There was no way they had injected him with something harmless.
At first, there was only pain—a hot, stinging sensation that spread quickly through his arm and chest.
Then the world started to tilt. His vision blurred and twisted, the edges of the room warping like ripples in water.
"What... what's happening to me?" he muttered, his words slurring.
The faces of the people around him began to morph, melting and reforming into grotesque, nightmarish heads.
Their eyes glowed red, and their mouths stretched wide into cruel, twisted smiles.
Next, the walls of the room peeled away, revealing a decaying, crumbling version of the lab.
Rust dripped like blood from the machines, and the floor beneath him was covered in cracks that oozed black, tar-like liquid.
"No... no, this isn't real!" he screamed, his voice breaking into sobs.
He thrashed violently, his body jerking against the restraints as the faces leaned closer to him, their monstrous smile grinning at his torment.
"Get me out of here! I beg you!" Zayn cried, tears streaming down his face.
His mind felt like it was splitting apart, reality and nightmare blending together.
One of the monsters leaned close to him, its glowing eyes locking onto his.
"There's no escape," it hissed, its voice low and echoing like a thousand whispers.
"NO!" Zayn shouted, twisting and pulling with all his strength.
The restraints dug into his skin, but he didn't care. He had to get out. He had to escape this hell.
Then, just as quickly as it started, it stopped.
The scary scene dissolved like smoke, and the room snapped back to normal.
Zayn lay panting, his chest heaving as sweat poured down his face.
"What... what did you do to me?" he forced out, his voice trembling.
No one answered.
Instead, they prepared a new syringe, this one filled with a swirling, iridescent liquid that shimmered like oil on water.
Without mercy, they plunged it into his arm.
His body tensed, bracing himself for another wave of horrors.
But this time, it was different.
A chuckle escaped his lips. At first, it was small, like the nervous sound of someone on the edge of hysteria.
Then, without warning, he started laughing like a madman.
"Stop! Please, stop!" he gasped between fits of laughter, but his pleas were swallowed by the sound of his own voice.
"My stomach hurts! I can't do it anymore!" he cried out between bursts of laughter.
The pain in his abdomen was overwhelming, each wave worse than the last.
Tears and snot streaked down his face as he shook uncontrollably, his body wracked with emotions he couldn't explain.
He just wanted it to end. The thought of dying seemed less painful than enduring this feeling.