Dead or Alive

01

Grey

Evil usually disguises in a form of kindness. Even Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. That what is Octagon to me. An evil pretending to be a Saviour. A predator acting like a good friend to a prey. It will lure you using you heart's deepest desires until there's no way out for you.

Heels clanking against the marble tiled floor brought me back to my horrendous reality. I just made it in. I passed all the screenings to get in.

Red looked sideways to check up on me as my eyes wandered around the Black facility. We've passed through several doors which are probably private rooms, a huge gym surrounded by glass walls from floor to ceiling and few more rooms I failed to identify. I tried to observe silently, imprinting everything in my mind. Too occupied with my own personal thoughts, I bumped Red's back not realizing she stopped walking.

She almost fall forward because of the bump, her heels made her feet shuffled, and my reflexes found my arms snaking around her waist to avoid her from falling. She flinched a bit when she felt my body behind her.

She let out a deep sigh with our sudden contact, and I didn't let go yet making sure she was steady enough to stand on her own. The mixture of her hair shampoo, her perfume and her natural female scent lingered on my senses just with a brief touch. I released her from my hold when she cleared her throat, her composure now back.

She turned around, and I could see a slight shade of red gushing over her cheeks, perfectly fitting her name Red.

"You looked distracted, you seemed to be half hearted coming here in Octagon." She said turning around again, and few more steps, she stopped in front of a door. She pushed it open, bringing me inside a mini clinic.

No way I am half hearted. No fucking way.

I answered her by asking a question. "We will do the tests here?"

She let out an enticing chuckle, showing her perfectly aligned teeth, giving out a charming smile as she opened a drawer. She wore a specs, fished out a seem to be doctor's bag, and asked me to sit on a small examination bed inside the room. She laid down the bag beside my thighs, and she was standing in front of me.

"Let's treat your hand first. I knew you beat Magenta, but look at your hands." Her pouting on my wounded knuckles. It still had blood over it.

She opened a bottle of cotton swabs, alcohol scent slowly filling my nostrils, and she picked up a surgical scissor, clipping the cotton in between them,and she held my hand, starting to clean my wounds. I flinched a bit when the alcohol swabs landed on my knuckles, making her laugh softly.

"Beating Magenta, but flinching over alcohol swabs, men are really unpredictable." She noted while smiling.

"Sometimes, those small things that we thought were insignificant were actually the ones who make us move." I answered, her slowly wrapping a bandage around my hand.

She smiled again. Her smiles are very endearing.

"Mind wearing your shirt back?" She asked again as she tucked the bandage beneath, making a perfect wrap.

"Sorry." I answered. "I did not mean to make you feel awkward."

"Grey, this is not my first time to see a half naked man. Working here inside Octagon meant I've seen a fair share of naked man like it's a common meal on the table. Literally from morning up until night, from freshly bathe naked one to the bloodiest."

I laughed together with her. She closed the medicine bag and held my hand again.

"Do you really know what you are up to Grey? Are you sure you really want to do this?"