The Serum [Paused]

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

***Jack's View***

Humiliating, absolutely humiliating. I did not anticipate my target's ability to teleport. He was defenseless, and he was able to tie me to a chair. To add insult to the injury, he called a chubby male Outsider to drag me to another Outsider's house, rather than bringing me here himself. It was like I was not even worth the effort!

Now, I was stuck in the basement of a female outsider named Siren (the very name wreathes with evil). Even worse: she seemed to feel sorry for me!

“What is your name?” She asked me. I refused to answer. She sighed. “To be truthful, I already know your name Jack: you killed one of my friends.” She waited for an emotional response from me. All she got was a blank look that said “So what?” She sighed once more. “Why are you trying to kill us? What horrible event made you believe that HMF should be exterminated?” She stared at me, as if her gaze could pierce into my soul.

It probably could, I reminded myself, or at least my mind. She sighed again, and left.

My chance had finally come. The ropes binding me were simple to remove, and the door was even easier to open. I sneaked up the stairs, and entered the ground floor. The house was nice, containing masses of expensive looking furniture. The curtains were a beautiful blend of white and black, and the living room itself made use of this same theme. However, the room did not have an artificial feel, but one of… uncertainty. Outside, emerald green plants stretched as far as can be seen through the windows.

A board creaked close by. I ducked into the nearest room, and was assaulted by the color red. In stark contrast with the living room, everything was different shades of red, interspaced with some yellow and orange, almost like blood. Or fire.

It appears that Siren is not as kind and gentle as she would like people to believe, I thought. Along one of the walls stood a variety of swords, daggers, and other bladed weapons. I wonder what she uses those weapons for. Certainly not for anything pleasant. I picked up one of the knifes, testing its balance. Promising. Now I had a weapon.

I walked out of the room slowly, and heard the backdoor close. She went outside, so I fallowed. She walked down a curious garden path, her black dress trailing behind her, and knelt in the grassy center of a stone ring. What is she…?

A soft voice issued forth from her throat, growing louder. The wordless hymn enticed my spirit, drawing feelings of remorse to the surface. Maybe they all aren’t all bad, I began thinking, How can anything evil have a voice so beautiful, so pure… She began to sing, and my mind was embraced by the enchanting tune. I felt my awareness of reality waver.

Memories floated gently to the surface. I saw my parents, standing in front of our home, alive and well. The sun shone in the sky, casting a surreal glow on everything, almost like a dream…

“How was school honey?” my mother asked kindly.

“Amazing!” I replied happily, unsurprised by the change in my voice: I was now my ten year old self.

“Is that so son? Come, tell us about it!” said my father. The vision jumped forward in time, and the three of us were at the dining room table.

“…and then, Jeremy told me about the new game system his parents bought, and guess what, he invited me to play it! And, and, and...” I was saying excitedly.

“Well sweaty, you defiantly had an exciting day!” My mother said happily. She turned to my father. “Our experiment seems to be working!” Reality flickered, and everything briefly turned a sickly yellow.