14. CHAPTER 14
Kira
Ciondo
Dr. Cooper walked with Kira through the halls of his clinic, speaking with her casually about her childhood and work at the market. There may not be electrodes glued to her head today, but this was the same interrogation as the night before.
Being here without Zayne left her even more vulnerable to the questioning. He helped her once already. What if she needed him again?
Her mind spun through all the perplexities of that confusing man.
Over and over, she saw the look on his face when he turned to see her in the kitchen. For that split second when she caught him off guard, she truly saw him.
Kira shouldn't mistake the twinge of pity at seeing his scars for compassion. Zayne's sad stories didn't make him any less dangerous. And yet, knowing this, she struggled to hold him in the mold she needed to fit him in.
Now, she knew how he looked as he struggled to hold his mask in place, and she wanted to peel it away all the more. That glimpse last night revealed enough before he realized Dr. Cooper hadn't locked her in her room, and he locked himself away once more.
It'd been jarring for them both. She suspected it had permanently changed things for them both as well.
The dim of night had softened his perpetually tightened brow.
He looked young like that, with his expression unguarded and mired with pain seeping out from his scars.
Too young for the responsibility pushing down upon him.
His tank top revealed all his marks as a soldier—his band, the double seal, the snakes, far more scars than expected.
Somehow, that stripped him of the uniform entirely, so she saw not a soldier of the Phaedra, but a man standing before her.
A man with a story and a heart. A man serving the Phaedra by day and his own nightmares by night.
A man who happened to look nice, sleeveless and draped in shadows.
How could Kira save herself from seeing this man when he entered her cell, hidden by a uniform?
That confusion fluttered dangerously in her stomach.
Kira could not unsee Zayne. Had that been the real reason for her visit to Dr. Cooper?
If he once defied orders to save an innocent person, then he'd had a soul at some point. Still might. Whether Zayne secretly cared for innocent lives or whether Dr. Cooper brainwashed the compassion out of him, he wasn't the person she first believed him to be.
“I watched your conversation last night,” Dr. Cooper said. “Zayne caught your interest. You're curious.”
Kira figured Dr. Cooper studied her so much during the interrogation that he could read her lies without the machines. “I can't figure him out.”
“Mystery. A certain brooding charm.” Dr. Cooper smiled coyly. “A state of undress. And the final touch, feeling just out of reach.”
She stopped walking, a sick feeling churning in her stomach. Heat flushed her cheeks. “I was not—”
“You were.” He began to walk again. “Cameras don't lie. You're a lovely woman. He's a good-looking man. You're both of similar age. Surely you understand this entered into the calculation of choosing him.”
Maybe this wasn't the worst thing Dr. Cooper could do to her, but she resented him so much in that moment. “My emotions are not a toy, and I won't be seduced, especially not by a heartless jerk.”
“Zayne may be a jerk, but he is not remotely heartless.”
Imagine if Zayne heard any of this. Kira may know little about him, but she was certain he'd want to punch Dr. Cooper's teeth in for these comments. “You're lucky he isn't here listening to this.”
Kira should have hidden her ire better, but she wasn't good at muting her feelings. They walked quietly for a while, Dr. Cooper no doubt reveling in his success.
“You know, I find myself in a precarious position,” Dr. Cooper said. “I want us to accomplish our objectives in the most peaceful way possible. Your testing worries me, however. You're very steady in your morals, and you don't support the Phaedra. That's enough to execute a person.”
The pivot in conversation reignited her dormant fear. It waited beneath the surface, always ready to rear its head.
“I'll help you while you're here.” He opened a door and welcomed her into a room covered with screens. An oval-shaped tank sat in the middle of the room.
Kira froze in the doorway, but Dr. Cooper placed a forceful hand on her back and encouraged her forward.
“Do you know why Zayne shoved me against the wall?” He asked it while leading Kira deeper into the room.
“No.” The word got stuck in her throat.
“I secretly drugged him last night and taped images of everyone he lost in Bluehaven to the wall. And I orchestrated a run-in with you while he was reeling.” Dr. Cooper eyed her.
“I let you see all the scars he likes to keep hidden. That might sound excessive, but it takes that much to break his guard.”
His nonchalance about tormenting Zayne after the loss of his squad destroyed the polite veneer masking the cruelty of this clinic. This doctor. She knew something was wrong with last night.
“He should have done more than shove you,” Kira said, battered by fury she didn't know how to expel.
He smirked. “I've been helping Zayne for a long time. I know what he needs.” The hand on her back locked on her shoulder. “And that's you.”
Her eyes shot to Dr. Cooper.
“You'll be the final treatment to purge any weakness from his heart.” The doctor laughed as if this were hilarious.
Fear prickled her skin. “What are you going to make him do to me?”
“That part depends on you, my dear. Show him some mercy and be good so he doesn't have to hurt you.”
Her breath quickened into shallow spurts. Why was this happening?
“I'm doing this out of love to save you from your rebellion.” Without looking away, he pointed at the tank. “Now lie down in there.”
Horror squeezed her lungs at the locks on the outside of the metal frame. She ripped free of him, but he caught both her wrists.
“I prefer to do this without your security team intervening. They're not as gentle.” He wrestled her closer to the tank and pressed a button that opened the lid. “Let's get this over with so you can enjoy your night.”
Kira wanted to save her dignity by fighting and refusing to give in, but there was no escaping this.
She should save her strength for whatever horror Dr. Cooper had in store.
Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at the hard metal interior and climbed inside, accepting her fate without trembling.
Until the metal lid closed over her, reality settled in, and she beat the glass window above her.
What was this thing? Kira couldn't do this. She made a mistake. She needed out of here.
Dr. Cooper pointed to the screen overhead, hanging from the ceiling. “I brought home movies. You can get to know Zayne better and understand what a gift he gave you, opening up about his reprogramming.”
She saw his familiar eyes first, wide and belonging to a boy. In the video, a strobe light flashed while images played on the dome surrounding him. Blood stained his white shirt over his shoulder and chest. A voice played on repeat.
Kira covered her mouth with her hand.
“We thank the grace of the Old Ones for the gifts they left our world. We thank all the Phaedras for serving as the guardians of those gifts.” Zayne's lips twitched silently with the words. “We thank…”
“He was very brave,” Dr. Cooper said. “Always has been.”
“How could you do that to a child?” She slammed her fist against the window. The video switched to this tank, and she thought she looked into a mirror, until she saw the young form shaking inside. Water lapped against the window, drowning him.
A freezing stream gushed against her ankles, and she screamed. Kira kicked at the coldness, crying out from the stabbing pain.
“Stay calm,” Dr. Cooper cautioned. “You'll run out of oxygen if you panic.”
Water continued to flood the small tank. She couldn't see it, but she felt it rushing around her, surging higher and higher. Her body trembled from the frigid cold as the water enveloped her chest and lapped at her chin. Like a mirror above her, Zayne struggled in the same way.
“Wait,” she cried, smashing her face into the glass to breathe. Even straining like that, the water climbed up to her chin.
Finally, it stopped. The cold drilled pain into every pore, cutting through her to the marrow of her bones. She shivered so violently her body knocked against the glass.
“You said you'd rather die, and you meant it when you said it,” Dr. Cooper said. “I'd like to run an experiment.”
Pain ripped her lungs to shreds. She fought for each breath, writhing from the shock of the cold. What if she used up the oxygen? He'd open the tank, right?
“I wonder if your biosignature will be the same after a near-death experience.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Kira screamed against the window.
“It's important that I deliver an accurate report to the Phaedra. He needs to know exactly how much you mean those words.” The peaceful cadence of his voice added to the chills raking across her flesh. “The problem is that near-death experiences are not exact. You may actually die in the process.”
A cry echoed off the metal tank. She glimpsed the young Zayne's fingers digging into the glass. He'd been all alone, just like she was now.
“If at any point you're no longer willing to die to save the Followers, please let me know. We'll stop the test at once.”
“Y-you… c-can't k-kill…. me…”
“Is it me killing you when you have the choice to escape?”
“Zayne—”
“Zayne isn't here. He's meeting with the Phaedra three hours away.” That awful chuckle lingered in the air. “Do you not understand how expendable you are? If you'll die rather than comply, it's best to find that out before we waste more resources on you.”
Her muscles tore from how violently she shivered and how much she fought to keep her mouth in that bubble of air. Her teeth chattered so badly she hardly understood herself. “What if I… give in… but get brave… a-and ch-change my mind.”