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Three. That’s the number of attempts I have left before I can no longer handle the pain that’s been built up, before it all finally catches up to me. The problems are getting more and more complex to solve, causing me to repeat this mission several times.
My TK had been acting up from the stress, causing my control over it to go haywire. The aches from the cuts of the laser don’t exactly disappear even when my skin returns to its original condition, leading to my hand trembling as I held it out.
“Agent, are you there? You seem to be out of it.” My handler’s voice echoed in concern as I opened the secret compartment in the Zoraxis base.
“One more time.” I pleaded with him, trying to control my voice from revealing any hint of pain. “Just a few more moments. We’re almost done.”
“Agent, if you need to withdraw, I won’t fault you. You seemed stressed lately.” His voice was soothing, giving me something else to listen to other than the droning of my hands as the solutions I’d found felt more like autopilot as each iteration ends.
“Please… keep talking.” I urged him, whispering my plea as I cut another wire. “Your voice… please…” My voice was shaking, forcing me to clip my words just so no one would notice how much tears I’d been holding back. It stings.
"If my pain will stretch that far, I’d be grateful." I tried to control my breathing as I toggled the right dial, pointing the direction of the poison gas away from me, one thing that caused me eight retries as they’d hidden the location and controls well, preventing me from saving my life.
Despite that, my breathing was still unsteady, reminding me of the harsh coughs in several attempts, slowly adding a sense of drowsiness as my handler screamed at me to stay awake. I tried to fight my tears as the familiar feeling of death slowly crept up over me. But it wasn’t there.
“There. That’s the data… Agent? Are you there?”
“I’m here. I’m… here. Just that… the poison gas made me worry.” They tried to control their breathing. “Not really a big fan of poison.”
“I suppose that would make sense. You did get poisoned back at Roxana’s lab. Although you did find the antidote. Did you get that checked?”
“I did. Now, let’s leave before anyone notices.”
The rest of the journey back became a blur as I collapsed in the car seat, practically driving half-awake as the pain started stinging as the adrenaline wore off.
“Sir, can we please meet halfway? I… I don’t think I’d be able to hold on.” I tried to bite back the wheeze. “I don’t exactly feel too well.”
“Can you hold on for five more minutes? There is a safehouse you can go to.”
“I-I’ll try. But… please…”
I didn’t need him to confirm anything, besides speaking about a story from his field days. The details are hazy, never really entering my mind beside the fact it was there, accompanying me and distracting me from the sting of hyperventilating.
Just a few more stops. Don’t dwell on the details, just get there.
“There we go. Shhh… Agent, you did well. Take a few deep breaths.” Gentle hands carded my hair as I leaned into his voice. “There we go. Do you feel better?”
I weakly nodded as I tried to look at him, only to realize I was on a bed, not the driver’s seat of the car. “What…”
“Why didn’t you tell me you got nicked? Thank goodness you managed to notice something was wrong in the middle of the drive. You got poisoned. We’d already administered the antidote so don’t worry.” He let out a sigh. “Are the missions too much to handle at the moment?”
“In a way… Zoraxis is trying its best to best me and I feel like I’m struggling to catch up. Sorry.”
“I don’t see the need on why you should apologize, Agent.” He whispered to me, slowly feeling the way my hair untangles under his fingers. “It’s not your fault.”
I tried to nod but I’m so tired; I hadn’t even realized I was poisoned but I’ll take it. I’d been stuck in that time loop for who knows how long? Everything feels light and airy but I know I have a huge price to pay once the agency’s treatment wears off.