Fragment: Book Two

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It had all been a ruse.

Ezic didn't have the nerve to come and see me, not that I wanted him to anyway. I had been subjected to testing for days on end. I fought like hell whenever they came for me to conduct a procedure. I had managed to kill some and injure others.

"You are quite the beastie, aren't you," Mezzell muttered. I didn't look up from my seated position on the floor of my cell. I pretended to ignore him most of the time, but he seemed content enough to converse with himself, much to my growing annoyance. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from screaming at him.

I wasn't going to allow him the satisfaction of my attention.

"You would suffer far less if you just cooperate with me. There is no need to have you caged like an animal." Mezzell stated in exasperation. I refused to engage in conversation, eat, drink, or even sleep. I refused to submit to him.

"Ezic worries for you." Mezzell whispered and knelt down to my level. Hearing Ezic's name caused something in me to snap. I jerked forward, far too fast for Mezzell to react, and snatched him by his arm. I pulled it through the cell bars and used my other hand to grip his throat. I rammed him viciously against the cell.

"I recommend you choose your next actions very carefully!" Mezzell gasped, and I pulled his arm harder until I heard a pop. He released a strained cry.

"Why is that?" I asked, leaning forward until we were face to face, noses inches apart.

"If you kill me, my men have been ordered to kill Ezic." I froze. I searched Mezzell's face for any trace that he was lying. He didn't fight against me like I thought he would. Instead, he was calm. It was unnerving.

"Why do you think I would care about Ezic after what he has subjected me to?" I whispered and tightened my grip around his throat.

"You would have already killed me." Mezzell's answer caused me to pause. He was right. I might never forgive Ezic for his actions, but I still cared for him.

"What is in it for me?" I asked, and Mezzell released a stained chuckle.

"If saving your life isn't enough, I will replace what has been taken from you." Mezzell motioned to my missing eye.

"I don't trust you." I scoffed.

"I will uphold my end of the deal if you uphold yours." He said, and I narrowed my eyes.

"I don't want to be restrained or sedated." Mezzell studied me quietly for a moment, contemplating.

"Deal."

I immediately released Mezzell, and he sauntered backward, clutching his shoulder. We remained quiet and watched each other silently. I stood slowly. I walked to the cell door and waited.

"Well? Are you going to let me out?"

"Are you going to cooperate?" He asked. I shrugged.

Maybe

"We made a deal, didn't we?" I smirked, and Mezzell reluctantly scanned his hand against the cell's lock, and it popped open. It wasn't until I stepped out of the cell that I realized how tall I was compared to Mezzell. He was tall for a human, but I easily towered over him.

"Come, I will get you situated," Mezzell mumbled, and I offered him a toothy grin. His eyes widened. He whipped around and began to walk. I followed him closely, studying every hall we walked down, memorizing. But I knew that it would be futile. The Zorr had a thing for intricate halls.

"It's hard to believe you were once human," Mezzell stated. He glanced back at me, but I didn't respond. I didn't know how to react to his statement.

"It's been a while." I finally said.

"I've studied the data on the drive. I have had a breakthrough, I think." Mezzell said.

"Breakthrough?" I asked, urging Mezzell to explain further.

"What can be done, can be undone." He said and stopped suddenly. I nearly ran into him.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked in confusion.

"Don't you want to be human again?" Mezzell asked. His question gave me chills.

"No." I said instantly.

"What if I told you that it was the only way to save your life?" I was quiet. I wasn't interested in digging up the past. Even if it was true, and I could return to being human, I'm not sure I wanted to.

"I've grown fond of this form," I muttered. Mezzell looked at me weirdly.

"You would remain practically the same, only absent of your healing abilities." I thought hard about his words.

"What will it take?" I asked.

"It's more of a treatment than anything else." Mezzell said before he turned back around and started to walk again. "Unfortunately, it is not foolproof. You would need to do the treatment quite frequently."

"What does the treatment entail?" I asked. He didn't answer. We turned down one last hall and soon came upon a mechanical door. Mezzell raised his good arm and pressed his hand against the scanner, and it shifted open, allowing us entry.

"I have been planning for this for a long time. Luckily, we share the same blood type, sorta."

"What do you mean?" I asked and watched as the door closed behind me.

"It's simple really. There is a chance that your body might reject it. However, I'm hoping that since you were human once, your body will recognize it–" I studied the room, too distracted to comprehend Mezzell's words. The room was large and circular and had a dome roof. At the center of the room was a single medical bed. To the left of the bed was medical equipment, and off to the farthest right side of the room was a ragtag couch facing a large window overlooking the city. The room was cast in a soft blue hew. The room was barren of anything else and smelled odd. It smelled sterile, but there was something else.

I strolled to the end of the bed at the center of the room. The equipment that stood next to it was a machine filled with tubes, and inside them was a dark red liquid. The machine ran quietly, filling the silence with a mechanical hum.

Then I caught the scent of it. Blood. the realization dawned on me, and I turned to Mezzell. He watched me quietly. He must have noticed the look on my face and hesitantly walked over to the machine.

"Blood transfusions are the only way that has been found that could reverse your condition." Mezzell said.

"Human blood?" I asked, and Mezzell nodded. I felt a knot form in my throat. "What happens if it doesn't work?"

"You die." He responded bluntly.

"If it works, what then?" I asked.

"You also die, but very slowly." I groaned at the irony, and Mezzell chuckled. I turned back to look at the bed. It didn't look very comfortable, but it would have to do.