Chereads / Synthetic Heart / Chapter 10 - Chapter 10 : Hide & Seek

Chapter 10 - Chapter 10 : Hide & Seek

[Location: Xellene, Unit 3, Emergency Department]

His colleagues looked at him in concern as Blake passed through the brightly lit corridors of the emergency department on the third floor of Xellene. 'It seems that my suspicions have been wrong', he thought partially relieved for the fact that he wasn't right. 'Hopefully I can bring her back to normal within a few months', he thought as he continued on his way to his office. He had passed by the incredibly popular staff lounge but his passion was more powerful than his temptation. As much as his body was begging for him to rest, he knew that it was just not the right time for that at the moment.

As he was walking however, there was one thing that has been bothering him deeply and that was the brain scan that he conducted on Hel a few days ago. It has been in his mind ever since he received the results and it's been devouring him from within. The years of tests and training made her a force to be reckoned with but all of that hard work will only be worth it if she continued to be as obedient as she was now.

If we were to assume that she was cured of her insensitivity towards feelings, controlling her would be nearly impossible. Her illness was the only thing that was stopping her from destroying this very place, she just didn't felt like it was needed yet. The mere thought had sent a chill down Blake's spine, the problems that would've bloomed by her escape was horrifying to even imagine. Hel was one of the promising products of Xellene's current projects and so far, she had been doing wonderful in all of her testing until the recent ones.

She was specifically picked by the President himself to be a part of the military as a weapon of mass destruction. Hel was closed off from the world ever since she was born, with her parents dying before she could even meet them. She had already showed symptoms of being emotionally detached from reality at a young age but instead helping her get back to normal, they decided to use it to their advantage.

'She wasn't human to begin with, it was the only way. She wouldn't be able to live normally even if she tried', he concluded, although that didn't excuse his actions towards Hel. Her current state was worrying but fortunately it was still in the early stages but it still made Blake feel uneasy. The main reason to his trip to the emergency today was to check on her condition, panic attacks were the most common symptoms of overdevelopment.

Although he didn't expect Hel to wake up so quickly, he handled the situation smoothly, it was very likely that she didn't know what was wrong with her. 'I still don't know what triggered it yet', he thought frustrated as that was the most important factor for her to fully recover. 'I still have time', he reassured himself as he arrived at the doorstep of his office, disappearing into the dark and messy room.

[Location: Xellene, Unit 3, Corridors]

'That prick is seriously getting it from me today', I thought as I searched high and low for Liam and his imbecile of a friend. 'I don't have time for these games', I frowned in distaste as I checked the time on my phone. I saw a fellow colleague that worked closely with Max walk by, "Hey, Rem!", I called out as I ran towards her. "Hey Celia!", she replied smiling back revealing a set of heavy duty braces, "Need help with anything?".

"Um, I guess you could say that", I replied awkwardly, this was the first time I was having an actual conversation with her, "Have you seen Max? I have some business to settle with him". "Oh Max?", she said raising her bushy eyebrows, "Sorry hon, I haven't seen him this whole morning". 'Wonderful, just when I thought she would be useful for once', I was about to leave after thanking her but she continued talking, "But if it's really urgent, you could check out the side of the building that's getting renovated".

'And what the hell is he doing there?', I wanted to ask but I just to forced a smile and thanked her. Xellene was a gigantic building so it took a while for me to walk all the way over there and unfortunately, I had no other options to choose from. I had expected today to be somewhat difficult considering the amount of mistakes I've made but that idiot Max just had to interfere and make it worse.

'And like a ill fated relationship, he's always the one causing trouble that's mine to clean up', I thought frowning even more. Maxwell Hansen, he was the youngest child of the famous Hansen family, respected for being geniuses in their own respective fields. Surprisingly he was no different as he quickly turned into a popular role model to many of the juniors from his university after he graduated. If I remembered correctly, it was around three years ago when he first arrived here at Xellene.

Of course, Blake introduced him to me and that's how I found out that he was a junior of mine. 'Although he doesn't treat me like one', I thought realising once again why I didn't like him. He was already popular among the female scientists during his first week here and his personality was a definitely a bonus. 'Intelligent but too easily distracted', I thought shaking my head. Finally, I arrived at the reconstruction area but I didn't even know where to even start.

'I don't remember the place being this huge', I thought, surprised at the sight of the unfamiliar place. A particular room had caught my attention as I walked past the cubicles, making me stop in my tracks. Since the place was still new there weren't supposed to be any furniture laying around, but this room did. 'Is this even allowed?', I wondered as I walked inside. I took a qquick glance around and surely enough, the room was definitely decorated.

The first thing I noticed were the graffiti art pieces sprayed all over the walls and even the ceilings. Although everything was colourful each piece had its own charm and originality to it, I was almost distracted by the rather beautiful sight until I heard a cough behind me. Surprised, I quickly turned around to catch the duo fail in trying to sneak out. "You just had to cough didn't you?", Liam said as he glared at the much taller blonde male. "I've told you man", Max defended, "My lungs are messed up big time".

"Enough!", I said out loud, catching them by surprise, "You two are coming with me and don't even think of doing anything funny". I glared at both of them and quickly glanced at my watch once more, it was almost lunch time. 'I spent almost two hours searching for these pricks?!', I thought annoyed at how much time I've lost because of these shitheads. "Umm, so", Max spoke up, "Like, can we go? I'm kinda like super hungry".

'Is eating all this grown ass man thinks about?', I thought my anger rising, 'No, no. Calm down Celia, you're better than this'. "It was super boring waiting for you man", he continued blabbering, "I thought you would find us immediately but I guess you're not that good at seeking". He began laughing and that was the last straw. His laughing was stopped abruptly when I punched him square in the face which resulted in him falling and Liam's face turning as pale as a ghost.

"One more word, Maxwell", I seethed, "And the next target's gonna be way worse than your pretty little face". "At least I made you admit that I'm hot", Max replied giggling although it was barely audible. "Shut up Max", Liam intervened before I could do anything, "Unless you wish to meet your angels". "I've already met one", he said as he got up, "This one just hit me straight in the face for talking to damn much".

'The audacity he has to flirt with me after I had just punched him', I thought glaring at him but instead of getting intimidated he just smiled and said, "The face you're making is kinda cute Ma'am". "M-Ma'am?", I said after him, getting flustered. "What? You've always shared about how you hated how I was sooo disrespectful", he teased me, "So after that sick punch, I've got back to my senses and decided to be 'extra' respectful, MA'AM", he winked at me, smiling devilishly. 'He's still messing with me', I thought clenching my fists but I was too exhausted to get angry.

"Keep it up then", I said coldly, "We'll see how long you can last calling me that". "Is that a challenge, Ma'am?", he raised his eyebrows seductively, making me flustered once again. "We're going, NOW", I blurted out suddenly rushing out of the room and waiting for them outside. "Do I have to meet Dr. Blake?", Liam asked, obvious that he disliked the idea very much. "Yes, Mr. Wright", I replied coolly, "It's important so you must go whether you like it or not".

'Now, I just have to deal with that spoiled brat', I thought as I glanced at the ridiculously tall man. He seemed to notice me glaring at his as he turned and said, "Am I too handsome for you Ma'am?", he smiled at me, "Is it too much for you to handle?". 'The amount of self confidence is almost disgusting', I thought frowning. "You were just too damn ugly that I was wondering if something as ugly as you could be allowed to be alive", I said back, earning a laugh from Liam. "Thank you, I've been wanting to say that for the longest time".

"You guys are mean", Max sulked, "I didn't work this hard to be disrespected like this". "Oh please", I rolled my eyes, "The only thing I ever see you do at work is talking shit with the other ladies". "Ohh", he smirked, "So you've been checking me out haven't you?". I raised my fists quietly which made him go quiet but of course, his presence was enough to annoy me beyond words, 'Coffee, I need coffee'.