Here's the third part, once again rated R for some disturbing scenes.
Zito is getting closer!
Dark Visions Part Three
Rated: R
More terrifying images haunted MacGyver. This time, he was restrained, cloths stuffed in his mouth and in his nostrils, slowly suffocating him. Heavy amounts of water poured onto him, drowning him. Pete stood over him with the buckets of water, laughing as his body jolted and struggled for oxygen. The images suddenly shifted, and Pete now stood over him with a small, axe-like instrument, preparing to strike him in the head with it. He then held a syringe and grinned maniacally as he injected MacGyver with something, piercing his skin. The images shifted again to reveal someone dying in front of him, collapsing to the floor, his neck cut open. All MacGyver could do was watch helplessly in horror as Pete slaughtered this unknown person. He was completely shackled to a wall. Even his neck was chained. He released a scream and looked around frantically, the gruesome images fading and returning to the neutral setting of the hospital.
“MacGyver, it’s all right now,” Dr. Beatty said. “You’re safe. You’re in the hospital. Can you hear me? Do you understand?”
MacGyver huddled in a corner of the room, drawing his knees up to his chest and hugging them tightly. He rocked back and forth, staring, remembering the horror and brutality of what he saw and experienced. He released a few small grunts, but he wouldn’t speak.
“MacGyver, look at me,” Dr. Beatty said. “You have to listen to me. You have to tell me more about what happened. It’s going to be all right.”
MacGyver continued to rock and stare vacantly.
Dr. Beatty reached out and gently touched him, trying to get him to notice her. “I can’t help you unless you cooperate with me,” she said.
He grunted again and rocked even more furiously, his body trembling. He looked up and saw Pete standing outside the room, looking in on him through the small, barred window that was standard for the psychiatric observation wing of the hospital for security reasons. The door looked too much like the door in MacGyver’s memory, the door that locked him inside a world of ceaseless, inescapable torment. Seeing Pete’s face through that door only made the memories stronger and the situation worse. Even though the expression on Pete’s face was one of concern, MacGyver couldn’t read it that way. To him, there was a constant, sinister expression on the face of the man who had pretended to be his friend only to betray him and harm him. He coiled up tighter into a ball and turned to the corner of the room, burying his face in it in terror, clawing at the wall with his hands, desperate to flee.
“Come on, MacGyver, settle down,” Dr. Beatty said, holding his wrists, trying to get him to stop his frantic motions. MacGyver looked back up and saw Pete again, and wild terror filled his eyes. He whimpered and sobbed and buried his face back into the corner again. “What is it, MacGyver? What do you see out there?” Dr. Beatty asked. She turned to look and saw Pete standing outside the room. She shook her head at him as if quietly scolding him for appearing before MacGyver and scaring him. As if he understood, Pete nodded and moved away from the door, his expression filled with despair. Dr. Beatty turned back to MacGyver, who was still turned away from her. “It’s okay now,” she said, soothing him with her calm voice. “He’s gone.”
***
“How is he today?” Nikki asked, looking in the room where MacGyver was kept.
Pete looked sadly at her and shook his head. “It’s almost like he’s gotten worse,” he said. “Dr. Beatty told me that he doesn’t talk at all anymore, and that she can barely get through to him. He’s still afraid of me, too. I was just standing there, looking in on him. When he saw me, he tried to retreat into the wall almost. Nikki, it was the most devastating thing I’ve ever seen.”
Nikki watched as MacGyver rocked back and forth, staring, cowering in the corner of the room like a frightened child. Dr. Beatty sat on the floor with him, gently stroking his arm and talking to him. She wondered what she was saying. Not much seemed to be helping MacGyver break through his trance. She sighed, turning away from the window, not wanting to see the pitiful sight any more.
“Pete,” she said, “I know this is hard, but I think we should go take a look at that old asylum now and see what we can find.” She glanced back at the room where MacGyver was being kept for observation and then returned to him. “We’re not helping MacGyver much by staying here,” she said. “There’s nothing we can do for him here. The clues are all out there.”
Pete nodded. “You’re right, Nikki,” he said, sighing. “As much as I hate to leave Mac right now, we have to do this to help him, or I’m afraid he’ll never recover, not even with Dr. Beatty’s help. Let’s go.”
***
The abandoned asylum brought back a few frightening memories for Pete as well. The building had an eerie, ominous feeling to it, almost as if it was a malevolent, living entity that thrived off the past suffering and sorrow of its long vanished inmates. The inside was dark and cold, even though the weather outside was pleasant and warm. It was almost like a world of its own, isolated from reality, a hell constructed of brick and steel. The walls were dank and everything had a musty, antiquated smell, almost like the putrid odor of rotting flesh. The place was a tomb, a stark, barren memorial of barbaric old practices meant to subdue those considered insane. Nikki felt a chill as they walked through the narrow, dark corridors, and she pulled her jacket tighter around her body.
“This place is certainly creepy,” she said, shivering, her voice echoing through the forlorn building.
“Yeah,” Pete said. “I really don’t remember much about its appearance because Zito had me blindfolded most of the time I was here, but I sure got a feel for it all right. It’s like one big nightmare.”
Nikki looked around. “I can’t imagine what it must have been like for MacGyver to be imprisoned here that long,” she said. “No wonder he’s in the state he’s in right now.” She stopped and looked inside one of the rooms. It was empty. She continued and looked around the other rooms, still finding nothing. “Well, I don’t see anything so far,” she said. “That doesn’t make it any less creepy, though.”
Pete turned on his flashlight to get a better look at the numerous rooms. He didn’t see anything, either. “This place is completely empty from the looks of it,” he said. “When I was here, there were chains on the wall that held me. MacGyver told me during his last confrontation with Zito here that there were other old items used to restrain patients. Zito’s own psychiatrist almost became a victim of his own version of electroshock therapy. Now, all that stuff appears to be missing.”
“Well, that makes sense,” Nikki said. “This Zito guy was probably very thorough at cleaning this place out once he got rid of MacGyver, once he was done with using him for his own sick purposes.”
Pete noticed the anger in her voice and looked at her, nodding in understanding. He then returned to his flashlight and carefully examined the rooms along with her, looking for any evidence that might remain to explain what exactly happened to MacGyver in the miserable place. He still found nothing.
“I’m still not seeing anything,” he said, turning to Nikki. “Are you?”
“No,” she said. “Are you sure this is where Zito would have held MacGyver?”
“Well, you told me that Mac mentioned the word asylum during his hypnosis, and it’s not as if there are a lot of abandoned asylums in the area,” Pete said. “This place serves Zito’s purposes well. It’s secluded and doesn’t house patients anymore. It’s the perfect place for him to carry out…” he sighed and thought about MacGyver being tortured and brainwashed. He almost thought he could hear his howls echoing through the dour walls, blending with the others who were no longer there, only their loneliness and torment remaining to haunt the place.
“It’s all right, Pete,” Nikki said, gently touching his shoulder.
Tears moistened Pete’s eyes as he turned to look at her. “I just keep thinking about how he was before, and now what he’s been reduced to…all because of that vile man and this place…”
“Hey Pete, we’re going to find him,” Nikki said. “MacGyver will heal. Everything’s going to be fine. It’s just going to take some time. You heard what Dr. Beatty said. This isn’t an overnight cure. It’s going to take awhile to undo months of torture and mind control that has made MacGyver like this. You just have to trust and have confidence that we’ll figure this out.”
Pete remembered why he hired Nikki. Although she had endured many tragedies of her own, she remained strong and encouraging. “I know, Nikki,” he said. “Thanks. It’s just so hard right now, so painful to see Mac like that.”
“I know, Pete,” Nikki said. She looked around again. “I don’t think there’s anything here that will help us,” she said. “Maybe we should get back to the Foundation and see what kind of files we have on this Zito. Maybe there’s some other connection that we’re just not seeing yet.”
“That’s a good idea,” Pete said, looking around the building that was as menacing and cold as Zito himself. A wave of nausea hit him as the musty odor combined with thoughts about what MacGyver had endured in the place. “I don’t think I could stand being in here much longer.”
***
Files on Zito spilled open all over Pete’s desk as he and Nikki read through them.
“Let’s see, Dr. Zito—responsible for several brutal murders, committed to a high security mental facility where he escaped…twice now,” Nikki said. “All the while, he maintained a calm, intelligent demeanor…”
“The mask of sanity,” Pete said in disgust.
“What?” Nikki asked.
“That’s his specialty,” Pete said. “Zito appears sane, but he still has the cunning and the capacity to kill. He’s the perfect psychopath—no emotion or conscience at all. Some say he manipulated his way out of death row by feigning madness, but after what I’ve seen him do, I’m pretty sure his madness is real enough.”
Nikki scanned more of the files. “What about this Lieutenant Murphy?” She asked. “Didn’t you and MacGyver work with her on several occasions on the Zito case? Maybe she can help us.”
Pete shook his head. “I highly doubt that she’d be willing to,” he said. “She’s in some kind of protection program, terrified for her life because of what Zito has done to her in the past and the possibility that he might go after her now that he’s out again. She’s a pretty strong woman, but Zito managed to break her will. She was given a new identity. I don’t even know where she lives now, but she’s definitely retired from the police force.”
“What about his psychiatrist?”
Pete shook his head. “Pretty much the same story, from what I understand,” he said. “She was disappointed with herself that she couldn’t help Zito, but you can’t help someone like that. She’s under protection now, too. Once she heard of his latest escape, she was terrified of what his possible revenge against her might be, as well. Last time, he tried to kill her using his own method of electroshock therapy, as I mentioned back at the asylum. You see, once someone has wronged Zito or hurt his ego or intellect in any way, he goes after them.”
“That would explain why he captured and tortured MacGyver,” Nikki said.
“I’m afraid so,” Pete said. “Mac thwarted Zito’s plans twice, and he wasn’t about to stand for a third time.”
Nikki tossed a file on Zito aside. “So, it looks like we’ll just have to rely on each other to figure this thing out,” she said.
Pete looked up at the small television he had in his office. It was on mute, but it was showing the news again and the picture of Zito appeared on the screen. He turned up the volume.
“Another gruesome murder was discovered today,” the reporter said, “making this the sixth victim in two weeks. The police are still claiming that there is no direct connection between this victim and the others, but others are claiming this to be the work of escaped criminal and patient at the high security mental facility, Dr. Zito. Staff at the maximum security facility insist that he is a violent and dangerous man and ask that if anyone has any information as to his whereabouts, they call the facility at the number shown at the bottom of the screen.”
“My God,” Pete said. “He’s struck again.” The phone rang, and he answered it. “Thornton, here,” he said.
A menacing laugh was on the other end. “Well, well Peter,” the voice said. “Are you enjoying my little game so far?”
Pete held his hand over the receiver and looked at Nikki. “It’s Zito,” he said.
“Zito? On the phone?” Nikki asked.
“Get the call traced, and hurry!”
Nikki nodded and ran out of the office to get the equipment and the staff set up to perform the trace. When they were ready, she returned to Pete’s office.
“They’re on it,” she said.
Pete nodded. He put the phone on speaker so that she could hear him as well.
“You’ll never find me, Peter,” Zito said, his chilly voice echoing in the office. “I’ll keep killing. You can’t find me without MacGyver, and I have succeeded in crumbling his sanity into ruins. It was not an easy task, I assure you. MacGyver has...or should I say had…an incredible mind. Did you know I almost performed a lobotomy on him? Somehow, he managed to escape from me before I could do it, but the damage is already done. MacGyver’s mind is destroyed. He’s as loopy as a loon, locked away, and locked away with him are my secrets. Give up, Thornton. You’ll never find me.” He giggled gleefully, and then hung up the phone.
The dial tone hung in the air until Pete released the speaker button and hung up on his end. Angrily, trying to control his emotions after hearing Zito’s sick, demented rant, he turned to Nikki.
“Go see if they have a trace! Now!” He shouted.
Nikki left the office and checked. Pete turned to look out the window, his rage at Zito still seething. If MacGyver never recovered from whatever methods Zito had used to torture and control his mind, then Pete swore he would never stop hunting Zito until he had his throat clenched tightly between his bare hands. Nikki returned moments later.
“No trace,” she said.
To be continued…
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
--Henry David Thoreau
brains+brawn+beauty+personality=MacGyver
This story rocks! 
Meep!
