[Location : Xellene, Unit 4 Cell Room Of T.S No. 0604]
I couldn't fall asleep despite being extremely tired. My whole body was freshly marked with bruises and scars from the physical trauma caused by the tests. It felt incredibly uncomfortable so I got out of bed and sat down on the floor, at least that felt better. Usually the injuries would've healed immediately but that was slowed down after the sedation so I had no choice but to endure the occasional stabs of pain.
The room was pitch black as always, but it wasn't comforting anymore. I felt like the darkness was slowly consuming my sanity but I couldn't stop it. This was the only space I could call mine ever since they moved me here, but I knew deep inside I hated this place. I wanted to escape but that was never going to come true, it was just too much to ask for a creep like me. Today's interaction at the laboratory proved that point even further.
'How about you try asking me?', his voice resonated again in my head for the fifth time. 'Was there anything else I could've asked him?', I thought, leaning against the concrete wall. 'Maybe the question was too serious, we barely even know each other', thoughts began to conquer my mind as I realised something didn't feel right, 'Not now, please'. It was my panic attacks coming to haunt me again, "T-the pills", I muttered.
I started to feel nauseous and my mind was flooded with negative thoughts. 'I have to call for help', I thought crawling my way to where the intercom was placed, "B-Blake", I called out but there was no response. I looked closer and noticed that it was turned off, no one was here to help me. "No, p-please anyone", I begged, clutching my head.
My hands were shaking uncontrollably, sweat dripping down my forehead despite the freezing temperature. Breathing got harder the more I tried, it felt like the air got thinner the more I tried to breathe it in. The thought of dread and doom swept through me like a thunderstorm and I couldn't stop it, I was going to die.
'A distraction', I tried to get my senses back together, 'I-I need a distraction'. I looked around the room but there was nothing useful that I could use. 'Imagine something', a little voice inside me suggested, 'Maybe a person?'. 'A person?', I thought, thinking of anyone that came to my mind, 'Liam?'. 'Good', it praised me, 'Now, how does he look like?', I could feel myself slowly calming down.
"H-he had black hair that was slightly longer than others but i-it was neat and well-groomed", I said out loud, trying to draw an image of his face in my head. "H-he had glasses on but h-his eyes were sharp a-and it was the color h-hazel", I closed my eyes. "He had a well proportioned body that was well built, he was quite tall too", I felt a sudden warmness in my heart.
"He seemed kind and caring", that warm feeling grew bigger. The only thing I felt now was that heat coming from inside me but I didn't dislike it, that was the only thing alive in this lifeless body of mine. The little voice from before was gone but I was too tired to care. His face was all I thought about that night as I fell asleep, it would've been better if he was here with me.
[Location: The Millennial, Liam's Apartment Complex]
'Liam, please! Save me!', her voice called for him. 'You can't leave me like this!', it was filled with so much hate and anger. Liam jolted awake with his clothes and sheets covered in sweat. It took him a second to recognize where he was. "Relax Liam", he rustled his messy morning hair, "I'm at home". He tried shaking away the nightmare but it was hard, 'She's gone', I reminded myself. 'She's not here anymore'.
He got out the bed sluggishly and splashed his face with some cold water to wake myself up. Then he changed the sweaty sheets with new ones and changed out of his nightwear for a quick walk. The city was still asleep as the streets were empty and quiet unlike the busy and lively usual setting he was used to seeing everyday after work. It was a breezy morning with grey skies hanging over my head but the surrounding ambience was quite comforting.
These nightmares started right after the accident happened and it was always the same. He tried seeking help from countless medications but it was all useless and now, he was just trying it to get used to it. Every morning at the crack of dawn, he'd use the few extra hours to exercise or get his work done. His mind slowly drifted to yesterday's events as he continued to walk on the paved lane that he used every day.
He disliked where his head was going but that didn't mean he could stop it. It was only a day that so many events had occurred and yet, he could only think of one particular individual. He was taken aback by the unexpected beauty of Hel but of course he wouldn't admit it, not even to his closest friend Max. When they first met, Liam could only see her eyes and they were as alluring as her voice.
He didn't know how to describe her except that she was a mysterious and gentle soul. At first Liam was scared because of the rumours he had heard from others but as time passed he recognised Hel to be rather fascinating. He couldn't help but feel guilty about yesterday when Hel asked him a question that hit too close to home.
Her gentle and soothing voice suddenly felt like thorns when he heard it, 'Are you afraid of me'. He was momentarily taken back to the scene where all his fears came true. The flashbacks were too much for Liam that he had no choice but to get out of the current situation. He didn't even noticed that he had answered her question in the most rudest way possible.
He suddenly stopped walking as he realised that he had walked further than he anticipated and turned to head back home. He hoped that today was going to be a good day as he was scheduled to meet with Mr. Mason to finalise which department he had belonged to. Inside his heart, Liam had secretly hoped he was going to be with his mentor like how Max predicted but still, he couldn't be so sure of that.
[Location: Xellene, Blake Wilson's Office]
Blake was feeling quite certain that his day was going to run smoothly as he got out of his futuristic looking car that costs as much as an apartment. Earlier that morning, he wanted to get some coffee as he still felt drowsy after his daily ritual which was swimming sixty laps back and forth inside his gigantic pool.
He had doubts that his favourite coffee shop would be open at seven in the morning but miraculously it was, and he couldn't be more happier. He strode up to the entrance of the gigantic institute and begun his twenty minutes daily routine of body scans as Xellene was known for it's secrecy and security. For the final step, Blake had his ID scanned before the machine chimed and beeped, unlocking the door.
Blake was surprisingly the only member here that was in his fifties while the others ranged from the youngest being early twenties to the eldest being mid thirties. There were times he felt left out but many of the members here considered Blake as a role model. Multiple junior colleagues greet him as he strolled through the corridors of the first floor and into his office on the right.
The first thing that he noticed when he turned on the lights was a big envelope placed on his table but this time, he was expecting it. As expected of his experienced apprentice, Celia had gotten the job done on time. Despite being 'only' an assistant, Celia was one of the few rookie scientists that made it into Blake's team. Blake set down his cup of coffee on his table and picked the envelope up before he sat down.
The contents inside were definitely from the brain tests of Hel but something seemed quite off. Hel always had problems with developing or expressing feelings. For years, her tests came out the same but this time it was different and, very worrying. There was a slight but definite increase in activity in the parts of her brain that was supposed to be 'dead'.
At first he had suspected a mix up but her name and identification number were clearly written on top of the front page. Blake didn't know how to feel about this but he knew one thing for sure and that was that his boss was not going to be happy about it hearing this.