A Flaw in the Pattern AU - Room 101

Instructions

/Can one escape their own mind?/ /Tony… Get out of here…/ The voice spoke, but Tony couldn’t do anything about it. He was stuck, trapped, and hopeless. They’d never let him out of the Miniluv. /Get out… Stop the aliens…/ He wanted to listen, wanted to follow the voice wherever it would lead him. But he couldn’t. All he could do was wait, with no one but the voice to keep him company. He was grateful that the voice was there for him, trying to help. It was a friend, a companion, and that was all he needed. The door to his cell opened. A few guards stood outside, all looking menacing. “Room 101,” one said. Tony backed away from the guards. He’d heard the phrase one too many times to know that the room contain something horrific. A guard entered the cell and grabbed him, dragging him to Room 101. /Come on, get away! Escape!/ The voice practically screamed, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t very long before he was brought to the room, sat down in a chair, and restrained. He tried to get out, but of course, it didn’t work. It never worked before. “W-What is this? What are you going to do?” “This is Room 101,” Jennifer replied, standing across from him. “What’s in here? Why is everyone so afraid of it?” “You know what’s in this room. The worst thing in the world. It’s different for everyone. For most, it’s some form of d34th. For others, it’s something painful. But for you… It’s a lot more unique.” She smiled cruelly. /Run, Tony! Get out!/ The voice shouted, and he desperately tried to break the restraints. “Please, no-“ he begged, terrified. But it didn’t matter. Jennifer attached something to his head, then sat down on the other side of the room. “Let’s begin,” she said. The voice started to shout once again, screaming at him to run. Slowly, it sounded louder, echoing through his head. It started to sound like there were two voices, then three, four, five, all yelling at him. /Get out!/ /Run!/ /Tony!/ Soon, their words grew more menacing. /Get out, you idiot!/ /You’ve already lost!/ /You’re a failure, Tony!/ They spoke horrible things, over and over, deafeningly loud. With the voices came an awful feeling, like a miserable form of energy. At first it was barely noticeable, but quickly it got worse. He felt like he wanted to claw his way out of his own skin, like he wanted to get out of his own head. “Make it stop, make it stop!” He screamed to Jennifer, but she didn’t do anything. She simply watched him suffer, watched him scream for help, watched as he had to endure the voices and the agonizing feeling. Finally, he started to see things around him. He thought he saw something in the corner of the room, watching him. More things appeared, all looking like horrible monsters. Tony wanted to run from them, he wanted to hide somewhere they could never find him. But he couldn’t run, he couldn’t escape, not with the restraints holding him down, keeping him stuck in that chair. The figures approached him, with more and more forming around him. The voices continued to shout, to yell, to scream awful words at him. The energy got worse and worse, making him feel like his own body wasn’t enough to contain it. “Please, please! Make it go away! Make them all go away! Get rid of the monsters! Get rid of the voice!” He pleaded. And then… It all started to fade away. The monsters slowly disappeared, and the energy dimmed down to nothing. The voices all left, except for one of them, the voice which had always been with him. The restraints holding him back finally were released, but he didn’t stand up yet. He was shaking, horrified by what had just happened. A guard helped him up and started leading him back to his cell. Everything was a blur from there. One moment, he was walking down the hall, the next, he was sitting in his cell, trying to calm down. His heart still pounded, and his breathing was still fast. While he sat, he realized that even though he’d left Room 101, it still felt like he was there, being t0rtvr3d. That awful energetic feeling of wanting to crawl out of his skin had never left. There were still moments he thought he’d seen something in the corner of the room. The voice still spoke to him, never once stopping. /Tony, get out!/ /Escape!/ /Tony!/ “Shut up!” He yelled to it. It still was just as menacing as it was earlier… Or had it always been like that? He realized that, this whole time, he’d been just as miserable outside if Room 101 than he was in it. The worst thing on the world had always been there for him, just maybe not as intense. It was still there, too, still whispering to him, still bothering him. It was the voice. It was his own mind.