Shift

Chapter 12

Corey and Raven

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TW: Some Torture, Blood

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I came to lying on my back with my head turned to the side coughing up water. My lungs burned and my throat felt raw. I blinked my eyes against the bright lights. My first realization was that I was still tied down; the second was that I wasn't alone. Leaning over a table across from me was Crazy Pants or William as my father had called him. No one else was in the room. Did they think that I would be more open to answering questions from him?

I continued lying still. I didn't have the strength to move. Crazy Pants didn't seem to notice that I was awake. My body ached and could barely keep my eyes open, fighting against the exhaustion. Sleep won and I started to drift off, only to be woken up by Crazy Pants.

His face hovered over mine and I nearly yelped. "Hello, my dear." He grinned. I forced myself to not wrinkle my nose at the smell of his breath. How anyone could handle the smell of stale coffee and eggs was beyond me. "I'm glad to see that you've recovered after Marshall's temper. He has such a short fuse."

He moved away from me, but his eyes stayed locked on mine. "Marshall is gone for a short time, so we don't have long. Why don't we talk? I have some information to share with you. I hope that you realize that I'm not your enemy here."

There was no way that I was going to believe that. I'd still play his game though. I nodded my head, and he flashed what I think was supposed to be a pleasant smile. It wasn't though. This man was a terrible actor.

"Erik and I have been friends since long before your conception. We had all sorts of theories that we wanted to test. Unfortunately, no one would give us the time of day. At least not until we were contacted by a group that was not only interested in what we did but wanted us to expand upon it." His eyes grew distant as he walked down memory lane. "We helped this group and when they came to trust us, they brought test subjects with them. I would love to say that you were our first experiment, but alas you were not. You were, however, supposed to be our greatest success."

His eyes flickered, that manic gleam was back. "Marshall thinks that you were a failure, but I wasn't so quick to believe that. We dedicated our lives to isolating genes, and you were the only one who came out whole and normal." He paused, trying to gauge my expression. "Sang, did you know that Marshall is not your father? And his wife is most certainly not your mother. He and I may be your creators, but we carry no biological relation to you. After he was sure of our failure, he whisked you away, hiding you from me. I had more tests that I wanted to run."

My body went stiff. "If they aren't my parents then who is?"

William seemed almost disappointed with my response. How did he expect me to react? I was an experiment, and the people who I thought were my parents aren't. All the abuse that I suffered from came from a woman who had no relation to me. I wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Ah, yes. I'm sure that comes as quite a shock to you." He turned away from me, staring down at the table. "Your parents were our lab rats, our test subjects. They were two powerful people, and your father was the last of his kind. Your mother was a lovely woman and Marshall thought himself in love with her. He reacted unfavorably when she turned him down and he ended her life. Thankfully, you had already been born."

My nose burned with tears that I would not shed. The man who I thought to be my father had killed my real mother because she turned down his advances? My gut churned. I didn't want to hear anymore. I didn't want to know if they killed my father as well.