Frantic

When Xavier came to, and found himself back in a box, his first reaction was curiosity. He remembered chasing after Emma and Delphine and then - nothing. His senses were dulled, his communication was absent and his head hurt. He couldn't move. By dint of flexing his muscles he found that his hands and feet were taped together. How had this happened? Why was everything so muffled? He shook his head but it didn't help. 

He tried everything his programming told him would connect with his usual resources, to no avail. It was dark inside the carton and silent. He could feel a slight sense of movement, a gentle rocking motion but without more parameters he could not identify what was happening.

After some time in this state, a different movement. The box was lifted, moved, set down somewhere cooler. A shaft of light dazzled him briefly and he opened his eyes, but as swiftly as it had been pierced, the stygian darkness returned. 

He was moved again. Now he could hear talking. A vaguely familiar voice said ‘Return to the complex’ and it triggered something. He didn't want to go back to the complex. A bad thing would happen to him there. What was it? If only he could remember. And then suddenly, he did. He was frantic. He had to find a way to get out of the box, and quickly.