Calypso Baros screamed, the sound muffled through the padded white walls of her cell. This was the way it had been for the last six days. Nobody talked to her, nobody acknowledged her. She knew she couldn't hold out much longer. Dr. Royce was going to break her soon. She just couldn't let them know that. She forced the tears to stop, but a few wayward drops rolled down her face. She breathed in shaky intervals. Inhale, exhale, inhale again.
Stay sane she commanded herself. Those two words became something like a mantra to her that month.
She thought of everyone who mattered to her. Her friends, Danni, Ivy, Alyssa, and Meri. Images of the four of them laughing together flashed through her mind. Her twin siblings, Helen and Hector, only freshmen in high school. She thought about Cerberus, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel too cute and innocent to live up to his namesake, the cruel, three-headed dog from the underworld. She thought of Jason.
Her lips curved into a small smile, a rare blessing this month. She thought back to that day two months ago, the day of Jason's sister, Calliope’s, wedding. Of course the entire Baros family came, them being friends with their family since Calypso could remember. After the ceremony, Jason took her hand and led her into a corner of the Greek Orthodox Church. She had always liked him. Back when they were little, Calypso always wanted to play with Jason instead of prissy Calliope. She was always the only girl at his birthday parties. He took her to a dance in eighth grade, but they stood there, awkwardly. To nervous to even talk. The wedding was the first time he kissed her, and probably the last. She remembered the feel of the kiss as his lips brushed softly against hers. His breath tasted cool and fresh, like mint. With pleasure, Calypso allowed herself to be lost in the magical moment. But it was cut short by Calliope and her new husband wanting to take a picture with the wedding party. She pulled back, embarrassed to have been caught. Roses of embarrassment blossomed in her cheeks. She looked at Jason, hoping he would save her from further humiliation, but seeing him grinning stupidly at her only made the flush spread. The memory made her lips stretch into a smile. But a clang from outside pulled out of her daydream and back into reality. Her smile faded, replaced by the thick layer of fear, despair, and sorrow. She missed his calls. How was he doing? Did he miss her? Did he think of her as much as she thought of him?
Involuntarily, she thought of her mother. She worried about her, how well could she take the loss of her oldest daughter, and so soon after losing her husband. She wondered how she was holding up? She imagined her mother, laying in bed, sobbing and helpless, her face twisted in anguish, just like when her father died. Only the pain reflected in her eyes was ten times worse. Tears rolled down Calypso’s cheeks.
She almost didn't notice when the padded, one-way door opened. Awkwardly, she laid her head on her lap, trying to wipe the tears away, since she couldn’t use her hands. Her black hair fell over her face like a curtain. When her tears stopped falling, she lifted her head. She expected the person to be one of the guards, but when she saw the man, her blood froze to ice in her veins, and a whimper rose in her throat. He started to laugh, as if her fear entertained him. The sinister sound of his hysterical laugh echoed in the room. The sound itself almost drove her insane. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying for it to stop. A moment later, the sound ended. Calypso exhaled in relief, but when she opened her eyes and saw him still standing there, her fear returned.
"Ah, beautiful Calypso. Your stronger then I thought. Our boy is halfway to insanity now."
"Well, Dr. Royce, I guess your experiment is over." Calypso hoped she sounded braver than she felt, but she doubted that he missed the quiver in her voice.
He touched her shoulder, and she winced. He was the cruelest man she had ever seen. He was a tall man with piercing blue eyes and shaggy brown hair. He could be considered handsome, but his eyes were as cold and unfeeling as ice. Just staring into them long enough sent frigid chills down Calypso’s spine. He always regarded her as if she was nothing but an interesting specimen, ready for dissections. He circled around the block she was sitting on.
"What do you want, Royce? This is the first time you've have been the one to carry out your own orders."
As if on cue, two of the stronger workers walked in, and Royce undid her straitjacket. The three left hurriedly, and Royce's voice boomed over a speaker.
“You won't need that were you're going."
Calypso lifted up her hands, staring at them. For the first time since she was taken here, she completely let herself go. She had cried, sobbed even, but this was different. Sobs racked her body painfully, but she didn't even care. Tears rolled down her face in streams, but this time, she could wipe them away.
She remembered the day they brought her here. It was a warm day, with some clouds here and there. She was wandering around Kendall art college, still a new student, fresh out of high school. She wore paint splattered jeans and a red MOMA t-shirt. Her long, straitened black hair was clipped up, and she wasn't wearing any make-up. She was breathing in the fresh air and holding her books against her chest. A white van pulled up, but Calypso didn't think much of it until three men came out and seemed to be studying her. They made her uncomfortable, so she walked a little faster. They seemed to disappear for a while, until Calypso found herself on an isolated part of campus, seemingly the only one there. Then two of the men came grabbed her and before she knew what was happening, another was injecting a sedative into her arm. When she woke up, she was sitting in a chair, confined by a strait jacket, her hair chopped at her chin. Royce came in and told her she was going to be used for an experiment. He said that she and a boy the same age were going to be driven insane, to see what gender lost sanity first. She yelled that he had no right to do this. When she said that, his face clouded over, and he replied that he had every right to. He quickly snapped out of it and his eyes returned to their cold, empty state. When she yelled that no one would ever do that to her, he waved his hand and left her alone. Then next month was hell. Each week brought a new horror. The first week was music torture.
Loud heavy metal music pounding through her head every minute, making her feel like it would explode. The next week was Chinese water torture, and Calypso was not sure how she made it. Drops of ice-cold water dripped on her forehead, that she couldn’t wipe away. Just when she thought she’d crack, it stopped. Then hot water began hitting her forehead. At first the warm water felt pleasant against her frozen brow, but started to burn like acid. Yet, it seemed like some other force was keeping her sane. Which helped with the next one, poison. The workers forced a clear, slippery liquid down her throat. The burning liquid made her sick. So when she wasn't leaning over a small garbage can throwing up, she was laying on the floor in a fever, hallucinating. This past week they had ignored her, not one word had been spoken to her before Royce had come in earlier. They looked right through her as if she wasn't even there, and they completely ignore every word she said. Once again, the mysterious force saved her sanity, and Royce wasn't happy about that. Calypso knew that he was getting impatient, and that this next test would break for her sure. She spent the rest of the day in fear, terrified of Royce. Several hours later, Royce's voice came over the speaker again.
"Time for your next test, Calypso, and you won't win this one.” His voice contained an extra note of smugness that unnerved her. “We’re sending you to a small island in the Aegean Sea. You will keep a journal to let us know the outcome. You’re departing tomorrow.”
