Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
I sat on the exam table, hands clasped so tight my nails dug into my skin. The room was cold, even more so now that I wore nothing but a medical gown.
I fought them at first but not for long, not when one of them threatened to sedate me like I feared.
“It’s just for our safety, Eve, please try to cooperate,” one nurse said.
I wanted to answer “fuck you” but I forced my mouth shut. Jackie had gone away to check on the room, leaving me with two nurses, a man and a woman. The woman had set down the gown for me and asked me to dress so they could do the exam properly. If I didn’t change, they would have to take other measures to make sure I did.
I eyed the straps on the table. I didn’t want to be tied down either. I had to remain calm, had to bide my time. They said they’d take me to Leo after and I felt that might be an opportunity to escape, assuming they didn’t tie me to a chair and sedate me after. They’d need me coherent so I’d be able to talk. I trusted I’d be safe as long as I complied. Play nice long enough and I’ll find a way to run.
So, I took off my clothes and put on the gown. I let one nurse take my blood pressure and temperature.
I could see my phantom stirring in the corner, no more than a shadow, refusing to speak. I wasn’t just afraid of being caged in. I knew Emery would come. And I was terrified he would do anything to get to me, but he might end up in the crossfire too. I had to get out before that happened. And the clock was ticking. Any time Cassidy could make her move.
I stared at the nurse, then let my eyes drift over to a set of surgical tools left on a table only a few feet away. Before I could even move, unfortunately, the nurse turned around with a needle in hand.
She took my blood, and I forced myself not to stir as she did. When she was finished, turning around again to take care of the sample, I moved as silently as I could and grabbed one of the small surgical knives. I put it under me as I sat down, just as the male nurse returned, rolling in some kind of machine. It looked more futuristic than modern with little lights and a screen. Attached on its side was a thick cord which was then attached to some kind of metal rod.
I kept my hand near my thigh next to where the knife was under me. “What is that?” I asked.
“Please lie down and spread your legs,” said the woman nurse as she put on gloves.
“I asked you, what is that?”
Before she could answer, the door opened and Jackie entered, a water bottle in one hand and a small paper cup in the other. “Don’t worry about that now,” she said, gesturing with her pinky to the machine. She whispered something in the male nurse’s ear before stepping over to me. “Your room is ready, Eve. I’ll have a late dinner sent up. For now, here you are.”
She gave me the water bottle and the small cup. I peered down at the cup and saw a small pink pill.
I gaped at the Lulladex in stunned silence, realizing Jackie was speaking.
“It’s best we get you back on your regular schedule right away,” she said matter-of-factly. “It will help you to get readjusted as we—”
I threw the cup and water bottle in her shitty face.
Jackie gasped, her eyes widening. The male nurse moved around to restrain me but I moved faster. I took hold of the knife under my thigh and swiped, cutting his forearm open. Jackie screamed as I leaped from the table and grabbed her, putting the knife to her throat.
I heard Emery’s low laughter in my head. That’s right, Evee, baby. Make her pay.
I hesitated before bringing the knife back. No. No, I just wanted out. I needed out.
I shoved Jackie away, toward the others. Still gripping the tiny blade, I turned for the door and burst out into the hall. I raced toward the double doors at the end, afraid if I looked back, I’d see someone chasing and feared what I would do if they caught me.
I made it to the doors and practically slammed into them as I pushed them out of my way. As I shot back into the main entrance hall I staggered to a halt, my mouth dropping open.
Lez was there now, wearing his clown mask. He was kneeling over a guard, pulling a knife from their chest. He tilted his head up and looked over at me just as Cassidy appeared from the security office, wearing a mask in the shape of a white rabbit. She, too, had a blade in her hand, dripping dark blood onto the shiny wood floor.
She noticed me and stilled.
We stared at each other. Until I heard yelling behind me and the sounds of footsteps.
I bolted, steering for the elevator. Just as I came to it, the door slid open and I nearly ran into a small nurse with a tray. She gasped as I shot inside.
“Miss, what are you doing?”
I pressed on a random floor but nothing worked. I turned to her, and she jumped, seeing the knife. “Hurry, go up!” I snapped, waiting for someone to grab me.
She fumbled with her keycard, then pressed on the top floor.
Just before the door closed, I saw Jackie with a couple of ward staff and security guards break into the main foyer. I didn’t get a chance to see their reaction to Cassidy and Lez. The elevator made its slow ascent, the tiny nurse backing herself into a corner away from me, using the tray as a shield.
“Please don’t hurt me,” she whispered.
I ignored her. My mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out where to go. There had to be a stairway and from there an emergency exit.
The elevator came to a standstill and the door opened into a short, dimly lit hall with a few doors. One was opened a crack, revealing only darkness.
It was quiet, much more quiet than anywhere else in the building. I stepped into the center of the hall, trying to consider where to go.
The elevator door moved again and I looked back to watch it close. Turning to the doors, I moved toward one on the right first. Inside was only a closet. I gazed over to the door that was open slightly on the left and moved carefully toward it.
The door creaked as I opened it. I stood at the entrance, poking my head inside. From the soft light coming from a row of large windows, I could see it was a fairly large room. All the way down one side a fire burned to nothing but embers inside a large fireplace.
It took me a moment to realize someone was sitting next to the fire. I could hear the sound of air pulsing, like a slow heartbeat, and the dull whirring of a motor.
I should be looking for the stairwell. Instead, my curiosity got the better of me. I remembered back to all those theories Rebecca had cooked up about the lone person on the top floor. Why were they alone? All alone in the dark.
I stepped closer, trying to see their face, the knife I still had was gripped tightly at my side.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
I froze, a chill going up my spine. The voice was deep and yet soft, almost grating.
The silhouette of a man turned to face me. Even in the dark I saw the smallest glint of light from his dark eyes.
“I suppose that’s for me?” the man said, his long bony finger gesturing to my tiny knife. “I probably shouldn’t be surprised. A lot of people had to suffer for my cause in hopes of helping many more. Too bad it’s been much of the former. But Tyler…Ah, Tyler. He really proved me wrong of late and finally things can change.” The man shifted in his seat. “You look familiar though. Were you one of our special kids?”
Special…kids.
I almost asked who he was. But from his words, I already knew. Micheal had little information on him and my father had left behind nothing but his name.
“Mr. Mercury,” I whispered.
He tilted his head. “Ah, I haven't used that title in some time. Not since I was brought here.”
“You knew my father, Roman Martel,” I said in a shaky voice.
“Oh, Roman!” he gasped. “Yes. Amazing doctor. So sad to hear what happened, awful, truly awful.” He leaned forward in his seat, his movements were erratic and I could see his hands shaking. The way he was bent forward made him look wrong, twisted somehow. “I miss him, you know. He was so dedicated. One of my best.”
I tensed, gripping the knife so tight, my hand trembled. “You funded the testing on those kids. You…led it.”
“The project was started by me, yes,” he said, his voice calm and deliberate. He didn’t move for a long moment, his stare heavy and unyielding. Then, with a swift motion, he waved his hand—so sudden it made me flinch.
“Then my son, Tyler, had to carry on with the mothers. I wanted to help, but… idiot me got carried away.” His lips twisted into something resembling a grimace. “In the beginning, when I couldn’t get adult subjects, I started taking the drugs myself. Addictive, of course, before we fixed the chemical compounds. Crazy thing is, I saw results. Even now, I can see you clear as day. Smell you. Hear the mice scratching in the walls.
"I may look frail, sick even, but I could outrun you, you know. Take that little blade of yours and poke out your eyes, pop them like grapes.” He smirked, almost amused by the thought, but it quickly faded. “But alas, I have to contend with the side effects. Migraines, memory loss, loss of motor functions. Two heart surgeries, and I still need this machine to keep me alive. And my mind…” He paused, his gaze turning distant. “Hallucinations. Night terrors. Full-blown psychosis at times. The damage was done.”
He coughed, turning back to the embers glowing faintly in the fire. “But young, developing minds—they handled it better. Or so I thought. Until they didn’t. I should have known. We needed to start at the earliest stage of development…” His voice trailed off, thick with regret.
“Why?”
He looked at me. “So they would already develop the effects we wanted in the womb, of course.”
A part of me knew but I wanted to hear him say it. “All for what?” I whispered. “Kids suffering and dying, for what?”
“I don’t think you need me to tell you,” he said calmly. “Human advancement has always been our next stage.” Then I saw him smile, his mouth too wide for his gaunt face. “First it’s soldiers, then one day it’s gods.”
There was a bright white light that flashed through the windows from outside. At first, I thought it was lightning, until I heard the dull blast from below that shook the windows and the walls, bringing down a small layer of dust from the ceiling. The outside slowly turned to a brilliant orange.
That’s when I got a full look at his face. A hairless man with a long face and a wide mouth. His eyes were bloodshot, his pupils a dull yellow, with one eye looking the wrong way. His skin was leathery, his body so thin he was nothing but bones, a skeleton.
I opened my mouth in a silent scream, stumbling back.
“You know I remember seeing you downstairs now.” His mouth moved, albeit looking unreal. “I saw you walking the halls at night. I liked doing that too.” He laughed.
As I turned to run, he shot his chair back and lunged for me, ripping the tube from the machine from his nose. Out of some desperate instinct, I swung with the knife, swiping across the robe he wore, thinking to hit his throat but missing.
In response, he swung out his arm, striking me across my ribs, knocking me back several feet. Sharp pain exploded inside me, taking the breath from my lungs.
My back hit the floor with a thud, followed by the side of my head. I went sprawling, gasping for air then curling into myself as the pain took over, hugging myself as tears drenched my face.
“Shit, I shouldn’t have done that,” he said over me. “I forget my own strength much of the time. Like that nurse once. I don’t like when they run. Tyler had a tough time covering that one up. Well, I’ll call someone to get you, you shouldn’t have come up here.” He leaned down and his rough hand pressed against my shoulder. “I feel bad seeing as you’re Martel’s girl. Where’s that damn phone?” he murmured.
There was a loud popping sound from downstairs and the orange light from outside was growing brighter. Shouts rang out somewhere beyond the windows.
As he moved away to look for the phone, I uncurled my body despite the pain, pushing myself with my arms, trying to slide for the door. But the pain was almost blinding, and each breath was like a knife to the heart. I moaned, taking short little breaths then stopping short of the door.
Emery. Where was Emery?
In the dark, I heard Mr. Mercury shuffling around, heard him curse as objects were knocked to the ground.
I’m right here.
I looked into the shadows and saw Emery crouching down only a few feet away. My phantom watched me with his head tilted to one side. At his feet I saw a glint of silver.
The blade. It had slipped from my hand when I was knocked back and had slid across the floor.
There was a low grunt some ways behind me. “No one is picking up. What the fuck are they doing down there?” I heard the phone clatter against the ground. “Screw it, I’ll do it myself. Come here, girl, and I’ll fix you.”
Swing high, Evee.
I pushed myself forward and grabbed the knife. His footsteps thudded behind me. As he pulled on my gown, bringing my body up off the floor, I twisted around, and swung.
The blade swiped across his face, cutting across his cheek and through his eye, splitting it open.
Mr. Mercury dropped me as blood splattered across the ground. I felt drops fall on my back, soaking my gown. He barked out in pain, covering his face.
“You bitch! You little bitch!”
I crawled away, heaving. Adrenaline took over, and I managed to get up on my feet and stumble toward the door. I fumbled into the hall as I felt a wave of dizziness from the pain. Pushing my legs, I rushed for the elevator. I heard his yells and his curses, heard him throw things against the wall and objects shatter.
“Where are you?” he screamed.
I whimpered as I slapped my palm again and again on the elevator button. Please .
His heavy footsteps moved inside the room toward me.
The elevator door slid open, and I rushed inside, immediately hitting all the buttons and then the one to close the door.
Come on. Come on!
He burst out of the room still holding onto his face, blood turning his blue robe red. Then he turned and saw me as the elevator door began to close. With long strides, he came for me and I hit my back against the corner of the elevator, bracing myself to kick and fight.
The door closed before he could get to it. A loud bang rang against the metal door, shaking it. His voice was now muffled on the other side as the elevator slowly started to descend.
“Bitch, I’ll get you!”
I gripped the rail while wrapping an arm across me. As the banging of his fist and his voice faded, I started to notice shouts and screams coming from below.