After some time, Chase climbed onto the cot. The lights didn't bother him now that he was both mentally and physically exhausted. Pressing his back firmly to the cold wall, he drifted off. The trembling of his body faded as he calmed down, falling into a dreamless slumber. It was unclear how long he'd been asleep when the sudden sound of a breathy whisper made his eyes open. Fear gripped him as he sat up, mumbling 'Oh no. No, no, no. Not this again." Dropping his face into one of his hands to rub his temple, he tried to push the voice from his mind. Yet, unlike the other voice that usually forced its way into his mind and spoke in a distorted and sinister tone... this one didn't. Perking his head up, he listened more closely as the soft whisper called his name and asked if he could hear him. Easing up to his feet, he shuddered out in slight relief. "Wait. No, this is different. Hello?" The breathy voice crackled as warbled like an old radio as the voice tried to tune in, while asking over and over. "Chase? Chase? Can you hear me?"

Leaning on the metal table, Chase nodded and stated aloud eagerly. "Yeah. Yeah, I can hear you. Who are you?" The voice tuned back trying to find the sweet spot as it asked a bit jumbled. "Thank you. Who am I speaking to?" Touching his chest, Chase stammered out anxiously. "I'm Chase. Wait. Where are you? How can I hear you?" Chase moved closer to the tripod camera where the whisper seemed stronger, listening intently to what sounded like his own voice rushing out. "No time. I need your help." Adrenaline filled Chase when he retorted bluntly. "Help how? Can you get me out of here?" The echo's voice was strained and saddened now when it crackled out. "No. I can't reach you from here." Tossing his hands up in disappointment, Chase grumbled back. "Then why are you talking to me?" Only to blurt out in realization shortly after. "Are you trapped here too?" The echoing voice became more disheartened now as it replied. "You could say that. We're all trapped. Maybe I'm already too late to save us..."

Shaking his head, Chase rushed to the far side of the table where the sound seemed to be drifting, in order to rush out hopefully. "No, no, no! Don't say that! No. If both of us work together. We can get out of here." The echoing voice let out a brief sigh, before telling him quickly. "Look, I don't have a lot of time. You can't trust I.R.I.S.. They aren't trying to help you. You and your brother are in danger." Straightening up nervously, Chase asked uneasily. "What... what do you mean? How... how do you know that?" The echoing voice tried to slow down enough to answer clearly. "I just do. Look, the man that haunts you and your brother. He's coming for you." Leaning back on the table, Chase asked in slight relief. "You've seen him too? What does he want?" The echoing voice let out another sigh, before rushing out again. "Listen. You're special, Chase. He needs you. You are the most like him. He's connected to you through your connection with your brother. He's using time to get the outcome that he wants, but Henrik keeps screwing up his plans by bringing Jack back!"

Raising an eyebrow, Chase retorted a little confused. "I don't understand. What do you mean; I'm special?" The echoing voice struggled to stay tuned in now as it told him seriously. "I can't hold the connection anymore. Find Henrik! Keep Jack alive!" Rushing around the table to try and find the signal again, Chase called out desperately. "No, no, no, no, no! Please don't go! No, please. I need to know!" He waited a moment, but the room was only filled with silence now. Turning around to look about the room, he called out longingly. "Echo? Are you there?" Again silence. Exhaling with defeat, Chase dropped into the chair and put his face into his hands as he mumbled out grimly. "Oh, come on. Please don't leave me alone here." The weight of being alone with his thoughts was just too much. Had he heard a voice? Or was he just hallucinating now? It was so hard to keep track of anymore.

Back across the compound in the cell block, Dr. Alexander started into a two-way mirror. Watching a therapist chat calmly with subject 4-1-18-11. The man sat very still in his chair, while the therapist asked him curiously from a list of questions that he'd given her. "Who are you?" The doctor watched closely as the man leaned forward to rest his arms on the metal table, answering coolly. "You know who I am. I'm Mark." The woman scribbled something, then asked softly. "Do you really believe the stories about... the beast?" Mark huffed, telling her dryly. "The Dark Mark. Darkiplier is an entirely different person from me. And he's the fucking worst..." The therapist cracked a tiny smile, before calmly stating in a demeaning light tone. "I understand why you think that. But... have you ever met him?" Mark's hands slammed against the table, causing her to jump as he snapped out angrily. "No, you don't understand! He takes over and bad things happen. Just you sitting here isn't safe! Do you understand that?"

The therapist scribbled something down, while casually informing him. "I've been talking to you for months and have not seen him. Did you ever consider the possibility that-?" Slumping back in his seat, Mark cut her off to snap out irritably. "I don't know why he hasn't! I know you think I'm crazy, but he's here... He's inside me! And I guarantee that he's studying you as much as you are studying me." The therapist glanced at the large mirror, then scribbled something down. Mark followed her eyes to the mirror, then jerked up to his feet to yell at the mirror. "Ya, I know you're watching me like some kind of fucking zoo animal! You have no idea what you're messing with! And by the time you know, it will be too late!" Slamming his hands on the glass, Mark screamed out. "KILL ME! KILL ME BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!" Dr. Alexander calmly pressed a button on his table, causing the door to buzz as orderlies rushed into the room. The therapist quickly slipped out as the orderlies closed in on Mark like he was a wild animal. Shaking his head, Mark yelled out desperately. "No! No! Please don't sedate me! You don't know how angry that will make him!"

Watching the orderlies yank Mark down to the floor, they injected him with the sedative. Then Dr. Alexander pressed the comm button and informed them. "Thank you, gentlemen. Please transport him to the sleep observation room." Removing his finger off the button, Dr. Alexander sighed out to himself. "How stubborn you are, Darkiplier. I know you're in there and I will bring you out. I've got all the time in the world." Straightening up, he flinched as a woman rushed into his room. Holding out her iPad, she panted out. "Doctor. He's made contact." Snatching the iPad, he rewound the video and watched Chase chat with an unknown entity. This thing he called 'Echo' had no voice. It was mostly weird sounds. Narrowing his eyes, he mumbled out. "Electrical interference? How is that possible? Check the I.R.I.S. system." The woman nodded, then took her iPad back. Walking around her, he eagerly informed her. "Time for another chat with Chase. Seems he knows more about our asset than he is letting on."

Back in Chase's cell, Chase watched the orderlies retrieve his lunch tray before the doctor stepped in and calmly took a seat across from him. The second the door closed; the doctor asked him with a smile. "Hello Chase. How are you doing today?" Blankly staring him down, Chase answered darkly. "Just peachy." He was sure that he was starting to smell, and his clothes were dirty, but he blamed them for their treatment of him. The doctor casually shifted in his seat, ignoring Chase's tone to reply. "And we know you've been through a lot recently. We just want to help. Please allow us to lighten the mood at little?" Chase stilled as the comm crackled and began playing light upbeat elevator music with hints of morning bird chirps. It did nothing to lighten Chase's mood, but he stared back at the doctor as he continued openly. "We're not a bad company, Chase. We know you think we're evil and want to cause you harm, but that couldn't be further from the truth. We want to stop the bad things from happening."

Breaking eye contact to pick at his fingers, Chase numbly and defensively grumbled out. "Yeah. You sure have a funny way of showing it." The doctor kept his voice upbeat when he informed him nicely. "We would like to share some information with you about our company and why you are here. If you would allow us?" The prospect of getting some answers intrigued Chase. Sitting upright, he shrugged and said with meek interest. "Okay." The doctor smiled briefly, then began in a cheerful voice. "A few years back there was an incident in a small town in the north of England. An item was discovered that had a considerable influence over the people that lived there." Perplexed, Chase shook his head and shrugged out curiously. "An item? What kind of item?" Without hesitation, the doctor answered promptly. "A small stone slab. Seemed harmless from the outside but this item was affecting the lives of everyone in this town. They had no idea, of course. But many of the residents there had talked about getting severe headaches that wouldn't go away. Getting nosebleeds much more frequently than normal. And some... even started hearing voices."

There was a short pause as the doctor let that sink in for Chase. Chase's eyes widened in slight surprise at that, asking swiftly with more interest. "Voices?" The doctor kept a calm demeanor when he said softly. "We're not entirely sure what these voices were saying but they evidently had an impact on the people who experienced them. Many lost their minds and were completely unresponsive. While others sadly... turned a darker path." Every muscle in Chase's body tensed up, locking eyes with the doc at that last bit. Keeping his emotions reigned back a bit, he asked the doctor curtly. "Why are you telling me this?" Falling back into his story, the doctor coolly explained. "When I.R.I.S. found out what was happening in this village, we sent out a team to negate the problem. The CNC identified the item and took it back here for containment." Chase furrowed his brows when the doctor stopped talking and shrugged out confused. "So?" The Doctor quickly cut in to say happily. "So, you see, Chase. I.R.I.S. helped those people in that village. We saved them. We find items like those, and we protect people from them. We are not here to harm you. We just want to help."

Letting his words sink in, Chase's breathing turned slow as he exhaled out nervously. "So... What... Are you telling me that I'm being affected by one of these items?" Chase tried to think of anything he'd come in contact with but there were so many things he interacted with daily for his channel. The doctor interrupted his thoughts though to say cautiously. "Unfortunately, we believe there is something far more... sinister interfering with your life." Swallowing, Chase asked with a worried expression. "Well... how much more sinister can this get?" The doctor took a deep breath, leaning back in his chair, before answering casually. "What is affecting you is orders of magnitude more powerful than any of these items." Shaking his head, Chase tried to understand and piece this together as he stammered out with growing anger. "So... What? You guys knew that this was happening... and you just sat there and did NOTHING." Waving a nonchalant hand, the doctor still calmly stated in a clear tone. "We're just trying to get to the bottom of this, Chase. We know what you've been through."

Tensing up more with anger, Chase pointed a firm finger onto the table, snapping back. "No, you have no idea what I've been through!" At his outburst, the doctor jerked forward and snapped back in return. "You've been seeing things, correct? Hearing voices in your head? Have you seen a man alongside these visions?" Chase's voice lowered into a meek timid tone when he mumbled out. "How did you know that?" Pointing at him now, the doctor stated firmly. "THAT, Chase, is Alter 1-14-20-09. We've been tracking him for quite some time." Sniffling, Chase lowered his eyes to the table. He could still hear the figures laughter in his head, when his voice trembled out. "He won't leave me alone. He shows me such... awful things. What I did..." The doctor's voice dropped into a sympathetic tone of voice when he said a bit flatly. "We know what was taken from you, Chase. That you used to be a husband... A father." Chase tried to keep a stony expression. He didn't want to think about it, but he couldn't stop himself.

A single tear ran down his cheek as the memories flooded back. Beautiful memories mixed with their screams. Pressing his forehead against his trembling hands, he choked out so quietly. "I didn't kill them." The doctor's voice swiftly asked with a slight hint of prodding. "I'm sorry?" Intertwining his fingers tightly, he tried to hide his face behind his hands as he began to cry. His voice chocked with emotion as he forced himself to say louder. "I didn't kill them." Pressing his thumbs into the corners of his eyes, he tried to force himself to stop crying, but it was too late. Without another word, the doctor slowly rose from his seat. His hand touched Chase's shoulder before leaving him. Once outside the room, he told his assistant excitedly. "Fascinating. He's a lot like his twin in many ways. Yet, Chase's emotional damage might be what is attracting subject 1-14-20-09 to him. I want to push harder into his emotions. Get me his file. Pictures of his family."

The assistant nodded, jotting down notes on her tablet. While walking down the hallway, the doctor excitedly asked. "Speaking of his brother. How is he doing?" The assistant paused in her writing to quickly answer. "Steady. He's heavily sedated in his room. Leaving subject 1-14-20-09 fully conscious and ready for the next test." The doctor clapped his hands together, telling the assistant eagerly. "Excellent! Let's move our subject into the ward. I want to monitor him in the room before we introduce Chase Brody into his cell. That should excite the board to see their little battery active and ready for contact." Gesturing for them to go on ahead, the doctor moved down another hallway to slip into the sleep observation lab. Nearly getting tackled by a young lab assistant as she rushed out. "Sir! Oh, we're so glad you are here! Look! He's here! He's-" She turned, gesturing to the hospital bed that was beyond the thick glass. Mark was hooked up to every wire and strapped down tightly to the bed. Yet, his eyes were wide open to reveal they were solid black.

Moving up to the glass, DoctorAlexander pressed the comm button and announced into the room with a forcedcalmness to his tone. "Darkiplier? Orshould I call you... Dark-matter? It's been a while. We were getting worriedabout you." Mark's skin turned grey, andhis wrists twisted in the restraints as he growled back in a deep voice. "How touching. Seems like you weren't theonly one." Dark glanced up at the camerain the corner of the room. The camerazoomed in on him, before flashing its lights. Darkiplier grinned, then cracked his neck before chuckling out to thedoctor. "Tell me... Anti's new place... Didthe board ever call you to confirm the design?" The doctor's face paled, before he turned around and yelled out to his assistants. "Cancel Anti's transfer! NOW!" Before anyone could do as directed, anexplosion rocked his side of the compound and the cameras in the corners ofevery room began to ripple with green static. Staggering up to his feet, he yelled out. "Orderlies with me! We need to move Chasenow!" Behind them, Dark laughedmenacingly. To Be Continued...