Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Automatic Protection Devices

Thomas struggled desperately, trying to control his muscles, but something strange had taken over his body. "Thomas, they're manipulating you!" Brenda yelled. "Stay strong!" He watched helplessly as his hands pushed her face away as she staggered to the floor. Jorge moved to protect her, but Thomas reached out and punched him on the jaw.Jorge's head swung back, spattering out a mouthful of blood. The words came out of Thomas' mouth again: "I won't...let you...do this!" He screamed, his throat hurting.It was as if his brain had been programmed to say that and nothing else.

Brenda had already stood up, and Min Ho was stunned, standing blankly.Jorge wiped the blood off his chin, eyes burning with anger. Then a memory popped up in Thomas' mind, and he had a sort of fail-safe program installed in his brain that prevented the implanted brain card from being removed.He wanted to yell at his friends to get him sedated, but he just couldn't.He staggered and started to move towards the door, pushing Minho away.He staggered along, and when he reached the kitchen counter, he reached out and grabbed a knife by the sink.He grabbed the handle of the knife, and the more he tried to let go, the tighter he held onto it.

"Thomas!" Minho yelled, finally coming out of his stupor, "Hang on, buddy! Get those bastards out of your head!" Thomas turned to face him, holding the knife high.He hated himself for being so weak, for not being able to control his body.He tried to speak again, but nothing came out.Now, what his body will do is: take all measures to prevent the brain card from being removed. "Are you trying to kill me, idiot?" Minho asked, "Throw that knife over like Gary killed Chuck, right? Well, come on, throw it over." At that moment, Thomas knew that he was really going to do this, and he was terrified, but when he did it, his body turned away, facing the opposite direction.Hans came out of the door, his eyes wide open.Thomas guessed that Hans was his main target—that the auto-protection device would attack anyone who tried to remove his brain card.

"What the hell is this?" asked Hans. "I wouldn't...let you...do that," Thomas answered him. "That's all I'm worried about," Hans murmured.He turned around and said to the others, "Come here and help!" Thomas imagined the inner workings of the brain as tiny parts operated by tiny spiders.He gritted his teeth and fought against them.But his arms began to rise, gripping the knife tightly in his hand. "I don't..." Before he finished speaking, someone pushed him down from behind and knocked the knife out of his hand.He fell to the floor and turned to see Minho.

"I won't let you kill anyone," said his friend. "Let me go!" Thomas yelled, not sure if it was his own words or WICKED's. But Minho grabbed Thomas' arm and pushed him to the floor.Minho pressed him, and said out of breath, "They won't let your brain go, I won't get up." Thomas wanted to laugh, but his face couldn't accept any simple command, and he felt every muscle in his body tense. "It won't stop until Hans fixes it," Brenda said. "Where's Hans?" The old man knelt down beside Thomas and Minho. "I can't believe I've served those people, and you." He almost uttered the last word, staring straight at Thomas.

Thomas watched helplessly, how he wanted to relax and help Hans do what he had to do.However, his body seemed to be ignited by something, and his abdomen and back were arched.He bent over, struggling to break free.Minho pushed him down, put his legs in place, and sat on Thomas' back.But something seemed to control Thomas, releasing the adrenaline in his body, and finally his strength overwhelmed Minho, causing him to fall. Thomas stood up quickly, picked up the knife from the floor, and rushed straight at Hans, brandishing the knife.Hans tried to deflect his knife with his forearm, but it drew blood.While colliding with each other, the two rolled all over the ground and fought.Thomas tried desperately to stop, but the more Hans dodged, the harder the knife struck.

"Get him!" Brenda yelled from somewhere nearby. Thomas saw hands reach out and felt them grab his arms.Someone grabbed him by the hair and pulled him back. Thomas screamed in pain, then slashed wildly with the knife.He was relieved - Jorge and Minho had him under control, pulling him off Hans.Thomas fell on his back and the knife fell.He heard it clatter across the floor, as if someone had kicked it into the corner of the kitchen. "I won't...let you...do this!" Thomas yelled.Although he knew he was out of control, he still hated himself. "Shut up!" Minho yelled into his face, while trying with Jorge to keep him from breaking free, "You're crazy, fool! They're driving you crazy."

Thomas wanted so badly to tell Minho that he was right - and Thomas didn't believe what he said either. Minho turned around and shouted at Hans, "Let's get that thing out of his head!" "No!" Thomas yelled, "No!" He twisted and threw his arms up, resisting them ferociously, but the four of them were strong enough.In the end, the four of them grabbed his limbs tightly.They carried him out of the kitchen and down a short hallway where he kicked and twisted, knocking down several picture frames, with the sound of glass shattering along the way. Thomas screamed over and over again, he had no strength left to resist the inner strength - his body against Minho and the others, he said what WICKED wanted him to say, he gave in.

"Come in here!" cried Hans on his end. They entered a small, cramped laboratory with two desks filled with tools and a bed.There was a mask hanging over the empty bed, the same one that WICKED had seen, only a little rougher. "Put him on the bed!" Hans yelled, and they threw Hans onto his back, but he was still struggling. "Hold me on this leg, I have to anesthetize him." Minho was pulling the other leg, but now he grabbed both legs and pressed him with his own body.Thomas suddenly remembered that when Alby woke up from the pain in the big house in the glade, he and Newt pressed Alby hard to keep him from moving.

Hans was looking around in the drawer, clanging and clanging now and then, and then he came back. "Squeeze him as hard as you can!" Thomas made one last attempt to break free, screaming hysterically.An arm pulled out of Brenda's grip and punched Jorge in the face with a fist. "Stop!" Brenda called, reaching for him. Thomas arched again. "I won't... let you do this!" He had never been so depressed. "Hold him, don't let him move, damn it!" Hans shouted. Brenda finally caught his arm and pressed her upper body against it. Thomas felt a poke in his thigh, and he found it odd that he was violently fighting against something while fully expecting it to happen.

He finally regained control when the darkness began to overtake him and his body stiffened."I hate those bastards," he said at the last moment, before passing out.