My heart was beating fast in my chest and I tried to stand but my legs betrayed me. I crashed into the wall but caught myself on an old metal arm rail. The rusty piece creaked and I was surprised it didn’t break with my weight. I quickly grabbed the towel off the counter and wrapped it around myself. The bathroom was spinning and my head felt strange. I was afraid to leave the bathroom but I needed to do something. The pain was getting worse so I slid down into the floor hoping the pain would subside.

***

Where am I? I tried to open my eyes but they felt heavy. I could hear a muffled voice, “Jax, Jax, wake up?”. I felt a hand on my cheek.Tiny bits of light began to slip through the slits of my eyes and I could see movement in front of me. I finally forced my eyes the rest of the way open but my vision was blurry. I could see two green eyes staring back at me.

Bren!

I had so many questions. My heart felt like it might explode out of my chest and I felt like it was hard to breathe. I tried to say something but he leaned forward and took what little breath I had away. Our lips pressed tightly together. He grabbed me and stood me up against the wall and continued to kiss me. I felt like I was suffocating. I pushed him away and our lips parted and I gasped for air. “Bren…how?”

My words were cut short when he pushed me forcefully back up against the wall. I struggled to speak and understand what was going on. My vision was blurring again and I had a sharp pain in my head and squeezed my eyes shut. He laughed and said, “those pills really fuck with your head don’t they.”

In horror my eyes flew open. In front of me was Lance, not Bren. My entire body convulsed as it sunk in. I tried to pull away but he pressed his body up against me. I cried out. “No!” I twisted trying to get away and he grabbed the back of my head forcing another kiss on me.

Someone pushed the door open. My eyes met the shocked stare of one of the guards. He cleared his throat and said, “Creso needs to talk to you.” Lance gave me a death stare as he released me. He reached for the counter and then threw something at me.The guard spoke again, “Creso is not happy, he has tried to call you several times.” He looked back at me and snarled, “get dressed!” and then walked towards the guard muttering and left. The guard looked back at me and then shut the door behind him.

I turned around, grabbing the sink, disgusted and gagging. My stomach was empty from not eating and clear bile burned my throat as it escaped. Why did I let this happen? I should have known it couldn’t be him. I laid the clothing on the counter and washed my face off. I looked in the mirror and saw Lance behind me. I turned around quickly, but no one was there. I need to get control of myself but the Blue Cryo was making it impossible. I put the clothing on and readied myself the best I could, at least out there I wouldn’t be completely alone with Lance. I opened the door and looked around. The guard was inside the room and Lance was nowhere to be seen. I sat down on a chair and tried to think of something that I could do. If I could escape this room, where would I go? Without a plan or way of communicating with the others I was useless.

The guard seemed to pace nervously at the door while looking at his phone. The man looked like he was around my age. I wonder how he got involved with Creso. He pulled out what appeared to be a pack of crackers. As if to remind me I hadn’t eaten in a very long time my stomach growled, the sound was loud enough for the guard to hear. He looked across the room and then walked towards me. He held out his hand which held a pack of crackers and said, “I have noticed they don’t bring you food. You must be starving.”

I looked at him surprised but didn’t refuse his offer. I took one and said, “thanks”.

He sat the rest of the crackers on the bed beside me and said, “you can have the rest of them if you want.”

I managed a smile in between chewing. I hadn’t eaten much of anything since I had been here, and only then when Dr. Nemeroff snuck me in food. Although I was hungry, I didn't know how much my stomach could handle, so I ate slowly.

The guard returned to the door and continued his nervous pacing. I appreciated the kindness no matter how small it was.

There was nothing for me to do while I waited, so I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sleeping, but instead I was listening to every sound. Every conversation and every movement hoping that I might hear Bren and the others.

There was a commotion at the door as Lance and another man stepped in. Lance and the two other men were arguing about the instructions that had been given to them. The older guard that came with Lance said, “Creso wants to change our positions and Lance will be left in charge of the patient.

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The younger guard looked at me and then back at the older man and said, “I think it is a good idea to leave one of us watching the patient's room.”

The older guard said, “we are supposed to strictly follow his orders. Now let's go!”

The younger guard started to say something else and then looked my way again. The older guard said, “do you have something more you would like to say?”

The younger guard looked frustrated and said, “no, let's just go.”

Lance turned away from them and walked in my direction. The door shut loudly as the two guards left and I was left alone with him.

He looked at me with expectant eyes. I have known Lance for long enough to know exactly what he wanted. I looked up at the window above me, and noticed it was already dark. Lance walked towards the door and locked it as he said, “I should keep this locked just in case your friends come looking for you.” He then turned the main light off. The glow of the one light that remained gave the room an eerie glow.

My heart seemed to palpitate furiously as I thought about my friends and their safety. I needed to have faith in them, Fuchsia is smart and I am sure she has figured out what is happening.

I could feel Lance staring at me and it sent a shiver up my spine. I stood up and started to walk away but he grabbed my arm and said, ”where do you think you are going?”

His phone rang and he let go of me. He turned his back to me as he answered his phone. I could hear the conversation. The man on the other end said, “the boss wanted me to let you know that two people have just been spotted outside the building. Make sure that you keep a close eye on the patient.” Lance picked up one of his hands and ran it across the top of his head. It was just enough to raise his jacket so I could see he had his gun holstered at his lower back.

I turned around and headed quickly to the bathroom. I sat down on the floor in the bathroom. How can I get the gun away from him? I heard movement outside the bathroom and then everything was quiet. I sat in the room for at least 15 minutes. Had he left?

I opened the door to peek out and was instantly grabbed from behind by Lance. He had one arm around my waist and the other was placed diagonally across my chest. His voice was low and his face was too close as he said, “don’t you think we should finish off where we started earlier?”

“Like hell we are!” I tried to get away but he just squeezed harder.

He leaned closer and said, “do you really think that your friend is going to save you? What's his name Bren?”

I didn’t respond to him. He was squeezing me so hard I could barely breathe. My heart was beating so fast and I was starting to feel lightheaded.

He whispered in my ear, “I’m sure if he knew what you had done he wouldn’t want to be with you!”

His words echoed in my head. No, he’s wrong. What if Lance is right. What if he is disgusted by me. What if he just felt sorry for me. Lance pulled me across the room and sat me on the bed.

He ran his hand through my hair and said, “look at your hair…” He pushed my hair behind my ear and rubbed a finger over my scars roughly and said, “and you are covered in scars. You are a freak!”

What if he is right? My thoughts were racing as I sat on the edge of the bed silent.

I felt his hand on my chin as he pulled my head up to look at him. He leaned forward and kissed me. My lips were numb and I was in a daze. His other hand was on my shoulder and when he pulled back, I finally realized what was happening. He is trying to manipulate me, just like Creso.

I was filled with rage and said, “I told you no!” Stupid son of a bitch. My leg was positioned perfectly, I used all my strength and kneed him in the groin. He fell over into the floor cursing me. He was on his side writhing in pain and I could see his gun. I quickly jumped off the bed and grabbed the gun. He rolled to his back and grabbed my leg and slammed me to the ground. The back of my head hit the floor, I was fighting to keep conscious. He stood up quickly and yelled something at me. He raised his leg and tried to kick the gun away but I closed my eyes and fired it three times.

I heard a loud thud. I was afraid to open my eyes. Did I hit him? Was he dead?

I slowly dropped the gun to my side. My arms were outstretched. I could feel blood behind my head and it stung. What had I just done? Did I kill Lance? Where were the others? Too many questions eroded my mind and I was tired. I could close my eyes and just give up tonight.

I looked up at the window above me, but the stars sparkled and resonated with me and I knew I had to survive.