Phoenix Feathers, Part II

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Joss is Boss, and…and…and all these ideas floating around in my head are mostly his doing. So it’s really just a lesser version of something that he could do much better. And I personally wouldn’t have any complaints if he did…

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The Warden woke up on the cold floor of an unfamiliar room. He did not remember how he got there, but the splitting pain inside his head kept him from focusing too closely on such trivial details. He pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, and noticed that his head wasn’t the only part of him that ached. He felt a wave of nausea at his sudden movement and retched.

Looking around, he saw the Other lying a short distance away. His partner was unconscious, but did not appear to have sustained any serious injuries. The walls of the room were lined with computer readouts as well as numerous cabinets that housed rows upon rows of what looked to be prescription drugs and chemicals. One of these cabinets was damaged. The floor depressed slightly in the center of the room, where an operating chair was housed. A small cart stood nearby, loaded down with metallic-looking tools of a type unfamiliar to the Warden. He could smell a powerful odor coming from somewhere that made his head throb again. The Warden stood up to examine the room further, taking care not to upset his stomach again.

He turned sharply at the sound of someone rapping at the door to the lab. He saw a middle-aged man in a white lab coat clutching an air filter to his mouth. The man was gesticulating furiously at him, motioning for him to open the door. The Warden warily moved to comply.

“Wait, wait!” the man shouted through the glass panel of the door. He pointed to the Other, who was still crumpled on the ground. “Get him out, too. Quickly!”

The Warden stepped over to the Other and dragged him towards the door. The man punched a combination into the room’s exterior access panel and it opened with a hiss. As soon as the Warde