Chapter 18
BUBBLE BOY
BAZ
It was immediately obvious I was in a cell, not a bedroom.
Bedrooms don’t have a toilet attached to the wall out in the open.
Plus, it didn’t even have walls. Technically, they existed, but they were all glass.
I was waking up in a fishbowl, cameras blinking hello in every corner just in case the see-through room wasn’t sufficient enough.
The bed was comfortable at least. I lifted my hands and touched the bare skin.
I felt like myself. No burning, no weight of new power, no tail growing out of strange places.
My split tongue slid across my gums, feeling where the fangs hid.
Guess those were here to stay. I pulled the pillow from under my head and attempted to rip it to shreds.
Sadly, I was no stronger than before. I sighed as I dropped the pillow. It plopped on my face.
Everyone knows Wake Up at Verfallen Asylum.
Your first day there, you come into consciousness half-drugged and have no idea where you are.
A creepy doctor is standing in the room, and you haven’t a clue if he’s been in there for hours, locked inside with you, just waiting for this moment.
He welcomes you, stretching his face into what he thinks is a smile.
Being an Eldritch abomination who made himself a human suit, the expression is almost nauseating to look at.
Well, at least everyone else experienced that.
In the entire long history of Verfallen Asylum for the Criminally Insane, I was the one and only voluntary admission.
They simply sent a cab to pick me up, and I skipped through the front door, waving at gawking inmates.
Just a sweet little 10-year-old mass murderer.
That first day, I’d been sat down by the inmate turned head doctor. Who just happened to also be my new guardian. Doctor Stein was what we called him back then, but his name was really Zero.
He’d stared at me without blinking for a long while—enough that I’d started to squirm in my chair—and the first thing he asked me now made a lot of sense.
“You have a sister—”
“I don’t have any family,” I said quickly. The silence dragged on again until finally, he hummed in apathy.
“You will stay in the basement, away from the adult patients, until you’re older. They want you protected, even if that’s a ridiculous notion. Right, Basil?”
“Right,” I said blankly.
“Because you’re the most dangerous thing in here. For mortality, at least.” What’s worse than death, I wondered. “No one can touch you. But, I’ll do what they ask.”
“Who’s they?” I’d asked. I’d been under the impression that Zero was the one in charge. He’d opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He’d tried again to say something but failed. Finally, he had sighed, “The council.”
But now I knew he had a magical gag and that what he really meant to say was Damien D’Bolique.
Attached to my glass cage was an identical one, separated by a wall. From what I could tell, there was no way for me to get in there. Instead of an exposed toilet and makeshift bedroom, it was outfitted as a simple office. And in the other room was a man, standing there looking at me.
Fate was finally giving me the Verfallen hello I’d missed out on. Though this wasn’t Verfallen, and that wasn’t Zero.
“Hello,” he said, behind the thick glass wall. He had black hair that curled around his ears and warm hazel eyes. He had the faintest hint of an ancient French accent. He wore glasses, and his cheeks dimpled when he smiled at me.
My mask wasn’t in my pocket anymore. I scratched my neck and eyed the room, hoping it was somewhere around. But it was gone. Not even a mask to hide behind in my observation tank.
Around both rooms was a hallway encircling us. There was one way in and out of the hall—an elevator. No other doors.
“I’m Damien,” my observer said. “We talked on the phone.” I had assumed, but now I grimaced, trying to wrap my head around this. What do you say to the guy who locked you in a bubble? Hey, nice to finally meet. Or maybe a snappy what the fuck?
It wasn’t just the bubble, although that felt like the most important right now.
This man had been involved in my life since I was ten and went to Verfallen.
Damien was the name Zero couldn’t get out of his mouth.
How many times had Zero said the Council wanted something or other for me, and really, it had been this person standing in front of me right now.
The Council wants you protected.
The Council wants blood samples from you.
The Council wants you to be comfortable. Buy what you want. Uncover the window in your room. The Council wants to make sure you like it here, that you know you’re different.
But it wasn’t some team, was it? It was a single, suspicious man. One who I’d awkwardly read diary entries from—a series of gushing, sometimes sexual, love letters.
Damien bit back a small smile as my silence continued. Well, glad one of us found the meeting entertaining.
“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
“No, actually. This all seems really normal,” I said. He raised an eyebrow. If I had to guess, he looked thirty, but I knew that wasn’t true. But how? He clearly wasn’t as human as his journal had said.
“I didn’t know you were sarcastic. The reports never talked about those sorts of things,” Damien said. Lucky me. “Although there were a lot of incident reports. You aren’t very good at following the rules, are you?”
I rolled my eyes and climbed out of the bed. Other than the bed, there was a toilet, a small sink, a table, and a chair. I spun my finger around the room as I slowly walked closer. “I’m tempted to ask if this is all an elaborate sex thing.”
His eyes lit up. “Actually, it’s curious you bring that up.”
I stopped in my tracks. “I was joking.”
“Were you, though?” Damien asked. “Zero said you aren’t aware of it, but I believe you are, on a subconscious level.”
“Well, there’s a lot my subconscious is aware of that I’m not, but I’m pretty sure my subconscious and I agree that we aren’t interested.” I ground my teeth.
“Oh, don’t worry about me with that.” Damien flicked his hand in dismissal. “ I assure you, I’m not interested in you in that capacity. I’m only talking about your unnatural allure.”
“Right…” I said suspiciously. This conversation was climbing the charts of most awkward, positioning itself between Bree asking why my sister wanted to fuck me, and finding out I was Nemo’s mate after a decade of being an asshole to him.
“I want you to understand what’s going to happen here,” Damien started. “We’re going to be taking some samples from you every day, maybe multiple times a day.”
Next to me was the table. I settled my hand on the chair as I watched Damien talk. He was a little shorter than me. Behind him, in his attached room, was a large desk and a leather sofa. How much time did he plan to spend here?
“Someone will come into your room. They’ll be wearing protective gear.
However, other precautions are needed. Since your venom is airborne, you’re in an oxygen-controlled room.
Your oxygen level stays lower than the rest of the facility at all times.
It’s so the air goes into your room, instead of the other way around.
There’s also vents that will clear it all.
Considering your toxicity level now, we need to take every single precaution. ”
That caught me off guard. I took a deep breath.
“Not enough for you to notice right now,” he assured me. Damien was walking and talking now, going back and forth in front of the wall between us. “However, it will dip a little lower before we open the door for safety reasons. You might feel a little lightheaded by the shift.”
“You’re taking oxygen out of my room?”
Damien looked over at me. “Just enough to keep everyone safe and where they’re supposed to be. ” He walked to his desk and slid open a drawer. “You won’t suffocate, but I do suggest you lie down.”
“Why?”
“The lightheadiness from the rapid oxygen shift will be disorienting, and you could hurt yourself.” He pulled a modern phone from his desk and was clicking it with his thumb. “Lastly, if you behave, I can put more things in your room. Like a tv.”
“If I’m good when the samples are taken?”
“No, that won’t be an issue.” He smiled to himself.
“I meant if you're good in general. Like when talking to me.” Damien was right there, three feet from me. I picked up the chair and threw it at the wall between us. It bounced off. There wasn’t even a scratch.
It banged to the floor, and Damien blinked at it, seeming taken aback.
“Just checking,” I said. Still no super strength. He looked up at me, and our eyes met. At the airport, people couldn’t even look me in the eye without dying. Perhaps the barrier protected him, even if it was seethrough.
“I suggest you lie down now.”
“What samples are you taking?” I asked.
“I told you to lie down,” Damien sighed and then clicked something. High-powered fans hummed, growing louder and speeding up. Something blinked on the wall near my room door. There was a meter with decreasing numbers.
A wave of dizziness hit me suddenly.
“Fuck,” I hissed, stumbling. The room turned sideways—I didn’t realize I was falling at first. My head hit the side of the chair I’d thrown, and it all went black.