Beyond the Walls

Chapter 23

"Sneya feared the idea of being immune," I say, crossing my arms. "It seems ironic that he could be the very thing he feared."

"Indeed," Hatchman nods.

"Although I suppose that was why it was his deepest secret. The Floodgates would have retaliated if they knew, he would have lost his power."

"Absolutely. It still baffles me that my father was immune and myself or my brother are not." Edward muses, clasping his hands behind his back.

"We may never know the true reason for all of these questions," Hatchman says, rotating the arrow before handing it to me. I'm so lost in my thoughts that I absentmindedly take it from his grasp. "His reasons were buried with him."

"Anyway," Edward says, clapping his hands together so suddenly that I flinch. "Let's get to work. We have to commence Experiment Two with you, Elizabeth."

Pressing my lips together, I nod compliantly and pass the arrow back to Hatchman. "What's that?"

Edward grins and my stomach twists. "Follow me."

He leads me out of the holding room and down a hallway, pulling up outside a door. The label on the door reads 'Experiment Two.' He slips out a plastic card clasped to a lanyard from around his neck and swipes it down the panel by the door. A sharp hiss emanates from the mechanical door as it slides to the left. Edward crosses the threshold and I fall behind him. In the centre of the large, round room is a body length chair with metal restraints. To the left, there's a large bench with an array of equipment and the wall is lined with built-in shelves displaying bottles and bottles of variously coloured liquid.

"Elizabeth, please take a seat." He gestures to the chair in the centre.

Every fibre of my soul screams in protest, but my legs ignore them. I know that I must grant Edward this one experiment. I must do this so that my friends can reach the Floodgates. As I lower my back into the chair, the restraints automatically drop across my body, locking me in place. A bubble of panic rises in my throat, but I swallow, forcing it back down.

Clangs of glass come from the bench where Edward stands. There is a silent respite before he strides back to my side, the echo of his boots bouncing through my ears drums. He reaches his fingers towards my face and I flinch away. He retracts back, too.

"Sorry," he mutters, then clears his throat. "Can I please move your hair to your other shoulder?"

I nod, letting him grab my hair and move the locks to my right shoulder.

Edward pulls the cap off the syringe and brings it up to my skin. "You'll feel a pinch." I just hope that he can't hear my erratic heartbeat with his ears so close. The needle slides into my neck. He slowly presses down on the plunger, pushing the serum into my bloodstream.

Edward withdraws the syringe and presses a cotton ball to the spot. "It may take a few moments for the serum to kick in." He tosses the syringe into a biohazard bin and then sticks a circular white patch connected to wires to each of my temples.

"What is supposed to happen?" I ask, feeling the cool metal beneath my fingers as I curl them around the armrests.

"Anything from hallucinations to seizures, to death," Edward says casually, peeling his gloves off and picking up a clipboard. "We will observe."

"What? Have people died from this serum?" I can already feel my voice fading along with my mind.

"Yes," he says. "But fear not, Elizabeth. You are far too important to die just yet."

---

One. A pair of yellowed eyes press against the window of the carriage and swell with madness. The slit across his cheek oozes blood as he opens his mouth and gurgles.