Fear Experiment #2:

Simone’s Notes:

The noun fear stems from the Middle English feer, fere, fer, the Old English faer for 'calamity, danger' and its verb faeran 'frighten', but also 'revere' is related to the Proto-Germanic fera 'danger', the Proto-Indo-European *per- 'to attempt, try, research, risk'. Fear is translated into German with Gefahr, into Dutch with gevaar, into Swedish with fara, into Albanian with frike, and into Latin with periculum, which is the root for the term in the Romanic languages. The noun fear can be used in three ways with different meanings: In the uncountable form fear is a strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger, e.g. 'He was struck by fear on seeing the snake'. In the countable form, and when used with the indefinite article "a fear" means a phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone, e.g. 'Not everybody has the same fears; I have a fear of ants.' In an uncountable form it can also mean extreme veneration or awe, as toward a supreme being or deity.

Dr. Pierce began his second experiment in his project. He hit record on the machine.

Subject: Elizabeth

Day One:

Elizabeth awoke to the darkness around her. Already, she didn’t like the set up of this. What is this? She tried to move her right arm upwards, but stopped short when she hit a solid wall. “What the…?!” she asked. Elizabeth tried to move her left arm, but that hit another wall too. When she tried to move her legs, the fear of what was possibly going on began to sink in.

Don’t tell me…

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Dr. Pierce’s voice filled the air. Elizabeth jerked her head upwards.

“You bastard!” she screamed. “Where the hell am I?!”

“Welcome to my box,” he greeted. “You’re claustrophobe, aren’t you?”

“Who told you that?!” she shouted.

“I can hear you panicking in your tone,” the Good Doctor said. “Plus, I read your mind.”

“Why did you put me down here?!” she shouted.

“I just want to see something,” he answered. Elizabeth looked really confused.

“What do you mean by that?!” she cried. The Good Doctor already hung up from his end of the line. Elizabeth shivered at what this was. She heard what happened to Mickey. Elizabeth shook her head to herself.

No! No! No!

Day Two:

The walls felt like they looked like they wanted to consume her. Is this what Mickey had to endure? Her being naked didn’t help the situation either. Elizabeth only had about eleven to twelve inches to move around. She could only sit, stand, and move around for a little bit. The pet tried to distract herself from her little box.

I will not let him break me so easily. I have to keep myself together. I will not end up like Mickey!

Day Eight:

“How are you doing in there?” Dr. Pierce asked over his microphone.

“Shut up!” Elizabeth shouted in her box, sweating and panting.

“Aw, that’s not very nice,” he said with a pout in his lab as he watched her on the monitor. The pet gritted her teeth.

“You will not break me!” she snapped. The Good Doctor smirked as he sat back in his leather chair at his desk.

We’ll see about that, he thought. He shut off his microphone.

Day Twelve:

Elizabeth shut her eyes and began singing to herself. Her mind went back to a time when she was five years old at her grandmother’s house. She was playing hide-and-seek with her two older brothers. Elizabeth went around the house and held down in the cellar. She didn’t plan to pull the door closed as she slipped down into the hole in the ground. The pet couldn’t explain what happened; the wind must have blown the doors shut, locking her inside. She didn’t notice until she heard the doors slamming closed. Frantically, Elizabeth ran back to entrance and tried to push it open.

“Come on, please open!” she begged. When it wouldn’t open, Elizabeth pounded on the thick doors as hard as she could.

“Nana!” she screamed. “Help me! I’m stuck!” Her family couldn’t hear her over the thickness of the doors. Elizabeth ended up pounding on the doors until her hands became sore. In the end, she sat down, thinking that she would be trapped down in the cellar forever. It took several hours for her brother and father to find her again.

In present day, Elizabeth shook her head. I can’t think about that. I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m not a little kid anymore. I’m not…

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Day 20:

Elizabeth sank down to her knees, crying again. I’m so cold. Why won’t he come and get me? Did he forget about me down here? I want to go home. Please let me out. What did I do to be stuffed in this box like this? I promise I’ll be good. Just let me out. I didn’t do anything bad. I’m a good girl! I’m a good girl! Please let me go home!

She closed her eyes and began to wish that she was somewhere else.

Final Day:

Dr. Pierce walked down to the pit to see a trembling and pale Elizabeth. He smirked at his work on this experiment.

“I wouldn’t break you, huh?” he asked. “Yes, that’s what they all say.” The Good Doctor took hold of her hand and pulled the pet out of her hole.

Experiment #2: Success!