Running from Fate

Chapter 22 - Everything is dark

Daemon POV

I remember some of what happened. I know I heard the loud noises from outside the bunker, the shouts, and then the thuds, I remember holding a scared Jamie as the door rattled and shook, and the room went quiet before it finally opened. Then after a few seconds, eyes locked with mine, and Jamie was thrown to the side by rough hands. That same pair of rough hands grabbed me, a needle stabbed in my neck before I even had the opportunity to try and fight back, a bag thrown over my head, and I was dragged away, my body slowly shutting down as everything went numb. The only thing I could still hear fresh in my mind, was Jamie's cries before I passed out and forgot everything that came after.

Now all I had was the soothing blackness of my own mind, thoughts evading me as I floated. I couldn't even tell if I was alive, to be honest. Whatever that had been put in me was obviously working, because I didn't know if I was still being moved somewhere else, if I had been stored somewhere, or if I was out dying somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Maybe I was already dead.

I think I would know if I was dead, right? Isn't there some light at the end of a tunnel or something? Wouldn't I have talked to the Moon Goddess, or God, or Satan, or whoever the hell is out there that is actually real? Or maybe this is death, the black cloud that I seem to be floating on, completely looped out of my mind. I don't think I'm dead.

I figured out pretty quickly, in the dark state of mine, that I couldn't hear my wolf either. He was completely silent, not even lingering in the back of my head. I also remembered him screaming and crying to be let free, to try and fight back when the men burst into the room and took me, but I couldn't let him free. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have been able to shift in time, and as previously figured out, I don't have much fighting experience. So I had to let myself be taken instead of causing a scene and possibly endangering others in the room. Maybe it was just part of this weird floaty state that I had no connection with my wolf. It felt weird, not going to lie. I'm not saying I miss him, but he is technically a part of me and even if he causes me trouble sometimes, or pushes me to do things that I secretly want to do but aren't going to, I still need him.

So I floated around in my dark headspace, not even aware of what I was doing. I wouldn't say I was conscious, but I knew that I wasn't awake and that something was terribly wrong. After what felt like an eternity though, I finally heard something. Footsteps. And then I heard whispered voices, and then all of a sudden I was in searing pain.

I was burning, I don't even know if burning was the right way to describe what was happening. It felt like all my organs had been lit of fire, then doused with hot water, the doused again with gasoline, then lit on fire again as needles pricked every square inch of my body. I felt my mouth open, but I couldn't tell if anything was actually coming out of it. I could hear curses and shouting voices, I could finally feel the cold ground, doing absolutely nothing to stop the burning, beneath my arched back, my fingernails trying to dig into the cement ground, chipping and breaking in the process.

And then the fire stopped, my back fell back against the ground, and I lay there just trying to breathe like a normal person as if I hadn't just experienced whatever the fuck that was. It didn't go away right away though, I still felt fuzzy and I was still hot, but it wasn't nearly as bad. So I lay there, half in reality and half not, trying to listen to the voices buzzing around me.

"...get him out,"

"...bad response,"

"...try again later,"

That was all I got before my mind couldn't take anymore, and with a barely audible groan, I fell back into my headspace.

...

I think I woke up again, I don't know when though because the passage of time was totally lost to me. I had barely opened my eyes before I tried to squeeze them shut, blinding lights not being kind to my dry and irritated eyes. Everything was stiff, I couldn't move my body, and my throat was drier than an actual desert. I could still see the burning light behind my closed eyes, and after what had to have been a good half an hour, I finally managed to pry them open. I immediately turned my head to the side though, as to not stare up at the lights. That, in turn, caused a sharp pain to travel right down my neck and back, a sharp gasp forcing its way out of my mouth. I vowed then to not move my head again.

So in my stuck position with my head sideways, I took to note a few of the things that sat on this side of the bed I was lying on, that I also figured out I was strapped to. A heart monitor sat on this side, along with some other weird machines that I didn't know the names of, nor did I really care. One of them held a bag that had a tube that ran down to my arm, and IV I finally took notice too. I might not have been concerned if the liquid running down that tube into my body was clear, but it just so happened to be a dark brown color. That was definitely not good...

After watching liquid for a second, I turned my attention to the window that sat behind all the equipment that was probably doing more harm than good. The blinds were closed, but I could just barely see the natural light trying to force its way in. So it must still be sometime during the light hours, though on which day was beyond me. Besides that window, there was nothing else on this side of the room. No chairs, tables, flowerpots, anything you would typically find in a hospital room. Not that I was in a normal hospital room, to begin with. I was half tempted to try and turn my head again to see the other side of the room, but just the thought of making that head movement sent a phantom pain down my neck. So I guess I wouldn't be doing that.

After a few minutes of staring at the window shades, trying to find out if I could move them with my mind, I heard footsteps approaching. And I heard them right before the door to my room opened, not down the hallway or across the building or anything. I couldn't smell who had entered the room either, and with the fear of the pain that would come with moving my head, I didn't do that either. The footsteps got closer and closer until they stopped, and I could feel eyes burning into the back of my head.

"Can you turn back this way?" A smooth, male voice asked. I stiffened unintentionally, only given more proof that I was awake and functional. I heard the voice chuckle a bit before I felt a hand on the side of my neck. My breathing picked up a bit, fear starting to finally root itself in my body. The hand went away after a few seconds though, and I calmed down only slightly. I heard something being moved, then the sound of him writing something down. Licking my lips, I attempted to speak,

"W-here..." Was all I could get out without feeling like my throat was being torn apart. I tried not to cough after that simple word because that would have only hurt more. The man hummed again before I heard him walking, and then all of a sudden he stood in front of me.

Honestly, he looked like the typical doctor you would in drama TV shows. Tall, fair skin but not too pale, blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and a very sculpted face. No joke, right out of a TV show. He crouched down to my level, cocking an eyebrow as his started to come up in the direction of my face. I flinched back slightly, then immediately regretted it as a hiss escaped past my lips from the pain that shot down my back again. I let out a shaky breath as I looked at the man, only to see him with an evil smirk on his lips.

"That's interesting." He smiled, his hand shooting out to grab my jaw before I had the opportunity to try and move away again. But once again, moving was only going to cause more pain.

The man held my jaw tight in his hands, before jerking my head to the side abruptly, and I almost screamed. My head, now throbbing in pain, was now sitting back in its original position, straight up as I stared at the lights. I panted as my body grew hot, the men walking back around the room to the other side next to whatever machines were over there. He touched a few things before I heard a click and a whirring noise. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another bad of a purplish liquid start to flow down a tube, right into my arm. The man watched the liquid until it started pumping into my skin, then looked back at me. We met eyes and he smiled.

"I enjoy having a new test subject. Too bad for you mate, though." He laughed, before turning on his heel and walking out of the room. I tried to follow him with my eyes, but before he could even reach the door my brain started to shut down, my eyes unwillingly falling closed. Then once again, I slipped back into that peaceful headspace, where I couldn't feel the pain and everything was finally calm again.