"Why the hell is she just standing there?" Ben's voice echoed loudly in the control room.
Ethan glanced at the screen. Shirley was a small and slender shadow surrounded by the dusky shades of the testing room. Her breathing was rapid, a fact confirmed by not only the fast rise and fall of her chest, but by the beeping of the monitors on the main panel.
"She's afraid." And he could feel it.
He didn't know what she feared. She knew nearly everyone in the room with her, knew no one would hurt her. Yet her fear crawled inside his mind and begged him to take action.
She'd kill him if he did.
He flexed his fingers and resumed his pacing. While he knew this test was necessary, he didn't like watching. It was hard to stand back and let someone hit her, even if he knew they weren't about to hurt her. He should have stayed away, as he'd said he would.
