The Monster Within

I Hold My Breath

The room Hollis was occupying was cold—not frigid, but a sort of creeping cold that one thought they could keep at bay but would eventually succumb to. She wore a flimsy, papery gown that was so large it kept fluttering open in the front. She crossed her arms to keep it closed, to keep what little dignity she had left intact, and awaited the unknown on a silvery, chilled metal table.

Tears clawed at her. She wondered if this lab was similar to the one Oberon had awoken in, and she felt a semblance of what he had likely felt in that instance. She shivered, catching her own eyes across the bright space, a strange, long mirror dominating one wall. As she stared deep into her own eyes, she couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't alone.

Her mind jumped to Jez; the girls had been removed from their cell today, cleansed once more in a massive shower with ten other girls or so, then given these gowns and assigned to rooms. She knew Jez was two to her left, if that information was of any use to her at all. Her ankles remained shackled to a thick metal loop bolted to the floor beneath her table. There was nothing else in this room, save for her, where she sat, and that long, horizontal mirror.

Her heart thudded a steady rhythm, and she allowed her eyes to slip closed. They sprang back open quite quickly, a flash of searing pain jamming into her skull as those crimson eyes flamed to life behind her lids. She'd tried, hard as she could, to shove Tiberius and his offer away, but she felt her options had run rather thin; she needed a plan, needed help, and she needed it now.

She'd been resigned for some time, but now, as she awaited the horrors of the unknown, she knew she had no other choice. A tear slipped down her wan cheek as she closed her eyes once more. She prayed this mistake wouldn't be the end of her.

The metallic noise of jangling keys roused her from her deep concentration, her head snapping in the direction of the lone door on the pure white wall. A tall man entered, likely the same height as Oberon, and she recognized him immediately. He'd been the patrol guard of their cell block, he'd been the one to escort Jez and herself here to the labs. He'd been quiet, but he'd been patient with all the girls, gentle, and for that Hollis held hope in her heart that he wasn't as monstrous as the others.

His deep brown eyes found hers as he locked the door, the navy blue of his suit contrasting well with his dark hair. She appraised him, shrinking as he drew near, for he was undeniably handsome, the sharpness of his jaw and his long, straight nose exhibiting perfection. She found herself blushing, tearing her eyes from his to stare at her hands as she attempted to calm her erratic heart, lest her gown fall open again.

The scrape of the chair and the sight of his black, shiny boots had her peeking up from under the curtain of her damp hair to meet his eye again. Even seated in front of her, they were eye level, his broad shoulders so reminiscent of Oberon that her chest clenched in sorrow. She bit her lip, hugging herself tighter, wishing to disappear, to not be present for whatever he was about to do to her. She'd been told of the horrors by that talkative girl, and she prayed there was no truth to them.

He shifted a clipboard in his lap, pen poised over the paper.

"Name?" his gruff voice came, so deep that even hushed it boomed and echoed around the otherwise empty space. She jumped, muscles tensing. Their eyes caught again, and she swore within those dark depths there were flecks of honey and gold. Her mouth sagged open, her heart picking up its pace. He was somehow familiar, and not just because she'd seen him every day doing his rounds. He quirked his brow, fingers tightening on the pen that looked like a toothpick in his massive grasp.

"H-Hollis," she whispered, throat dry. She watched in awe as he jotted down letters—letters that didn't make up her name. Kayla.

Her brows furrowed as she stared at him, but he refused to meet her gaze again.