《Anamnesis (Book 2)》


 Chapter 1: Deterioration

    I am unsure how long it has been since I passed out after the trade. The first time I woke up it was because my hair was tickling my face. I tried to reach for it and made the startling realization of my circumstance. My hands were still bound behind me and I was laying on my stomach. An unpleasant amount of drool had accumulated against my cheek and my hair was matted to my face. I was somewhat thankful no one else was present to see my sorry state. It was a struggle to get myself into a sitting position, but when I finally did I pushed myself against a nearby wall. The room was small and a little light filtered through a series of clerestory windows, but no other light source was present. It was cold and unpleasantly silent. My throat was dry and the dripping water in what I assume was a nearby sink was torturous. The smell of old blood was nauseating, but I could tell my wounds had healed. My arms were sore from the restraints and my head felt strange. I wonder how long they are going to keep me like this.


    My mind keeps replaying the final moments before I passed out; gunfire, smoke, and squealing tires haunt me. I need to know if Bren and the others are safe. Slamming my head against the wall I cried out, ¡°shit! I don¡¯t want to die here.¡±


    A rattle behind me caught my attention and I heard footsteps. Before I could turn around I felt someone yank me to my feet. Lance chuckled, pulled me closer and said, ¡°don¡¯t be like that! I know you missed me.¡± The proximity of his hot breath and voice made me want to vomit as I tried to pull away. I pulled desperately at my restraints trying to break free from his grasp.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± Lance said loudly as he slammed me face first against the wall. My lip busted open and the taste of blood filled my mouth. I thrashed angrily against the wall as he yelled, ¡°stop.¡± I continued despite his request until he yelled, ¡°stop it! You are bleeding everywhere.¡±


    I felt something wet running down my hands and a slight stinging on my wrist and finally realized why he was yelling at me. He pulled me roughly to what appeared to be a bathroom, I could hear the sound of water dripping louder and my throat ached from an unbearable thirst.


    I heard something metallic click behind me and it caused me to jump. Lance squeezed my arm and said, ¡°stay still unless you want my knife in you.¡± Only a few moments passed and a bloody, plastic zip tie hit the floor.


    My arms fell free but I let out a grimace of pain as the stiffness in my shoulders and upper arms became evident. Lance didn¡¯t give me much time to adjust before he grabbed me and pushed me into a standing shower. The cold water was overwhelming and my wrists stung. The shocking sensation sent my body into a series of tremors and I felt dangerously close to losing consciousness.


    ¡°Good God, what are you?¡± Lance¡¯s words danced across my diminishing state of consciousness, pulling me back to reality like an ammonia inhalant. I looked up at Lance, his eyes were huge, a hand covering his mouth. I looked down to where he was staring. A river of bright blood was running down the drain and I followed the trail up to my wrist. I blinked trying to focus and make sense of what I was seeing. I had pulled so much I had caused the zip ties to cut circular gashes into my wrists, but the skin was fusing back together at an alarming rate. I quickly looked back up at Lance, in time to see him running out the door. I heard a commotion and then someone shut and locked the door back.


    I leaned my head back, letting the cool water run into my mouth. I reached up and turned the shower off. My body had begun to feel numb from the cold, but I didn¡¯t really care anymore. I had a feeling things were only going to get worse. I laid my head down in the shower and fell asleep.


    ***


    In my half-awake state, I felt my body being moved. I could hear people talking around me, but everything seemed muffled. My wet clothes were being removed but I couldn¡¯t speak or open my eyes. I was laid down onto something soft and it felt like blankets were being placed on top of me. The weight and warmth of the blankets was comforting and I started to relax until I felt a stab in my right arm and something warm flowing up it. The sensation was so strange and uncomfortable that I grabbed at what was in my arm. The adrenaline forced me fully awake and as my eyes adjusted I realized I had pulled out an IV. They must have been administering some sort of fluid into my arm. There were several people around me. One of them was ordering the other men to hold me down. There were too many of them to try to fight so I just gave up. I could hear two men talking and recognized one of the voices as Mr. Creso. My heart beat rapidly in my chest and I felt like a trapped animal. I could hear footsteps as someone approached.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Mr. Creso looked down at me, his eyes were cold and piercing. His fingers ran across my lips and I shook my head violently to avoid his touch. He looked over to the others and said, ¡°the color is coming back his lips, his body is recovering on its on. Do nothing more for him!" He looked back at me and leaned closer, I felt something cold and sharp touch my neck. I swallowed but was too afraid to move or speak. Mr. Creso smiled at me and said, ¡°Liam, I have a lot of plans for you, so I would appreciate it if you would behave. I¡¯m sure you can imagine what will happen if you don¡¯t.¡± He pressed the knife into my neck and moved it a small amount, slicing it open. I flinched and my eyes began to water. He closed the knife and ran his hand over my neck roughly where I could feel intense pain.


    One of the other people spoke, ¡°sir.¡± He turned aggressively towards the man who spoke and held his hand up, dismissing the words. He reached for a nearby cloth and wiped my blood away from his hand and then my neck.


    He turned and looked at the person behind him and said, ¡°he is already healing, fascinating!¡±


    The man behind him stepped forward and said, ¡°sir, he can still feel it.¡±


    Mr. Creso looked back at me and said, ¡°I could care less what he feels.¡±


    The man became noticeably agitated and said, ¡°sir, if his mental state deteriorates it will be harder to get accurate results and data.¡±


    Mr. Creso placed a hand on the man¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Dr. Nemeroff, you are to follow my instructions regardless of what you think,¡± and then he walked away.


    The man stood still until Mr. Creso had left the room then he walked over to me. He looked at me and said, ¡°you don¡¯t remember me do you?¡± I stared back at him very confused and shook my head. The man sighed and pulled up a chair beside me. He lowered his head and said, ¡°I heard that you were severely injured and lost your memories. So, I assumed that you would not remember me. How much do you know about your past?¡±


    I felt sick, I didn¡¯t know if I should tell this person about Fuchsia. Dr. Nemeroff looked at me and said, ¡°I understand, you have no reason to trust me. I will assume you know some about your past, am I correct?¡±


    I nodded yes, hoping to avoid any discussion about Fuchsia.


    Dr. Nemeroff said, ¡°I worked with your father at the research laboratory, Eclipse Medical. We were also friends but we had a disagreement about how our research was progressing and funding. I was approached by Mr. Creso who offered a large amount of money for my research as long as I worked for him and helped to convince your father. I tried to convince your father to work for Mr. Creso but he wouldn''t listen to me, nor could I convince him to willingly meet with Mr. Creso again. Your father was always so stubborn when it came to his research.


    "After my failure to convince your father, Mr. Creso threatened to withdraw funding for my research unless I let him into the lab one night. He said he wanted one more chance to convince Dr. Collins to join him.¡±


    I grabbed Dr. Nemeroff by his lab coat lapels and was filled with rage. ¡°You were his friend, how could you betray him?¡±


    He grabbed my hands and tried to remove them from his lab coat while saying, ¡°you have to believe me, Liam. I had no idea things would go the way they did. I am so sorry!¡±


    I let go of his coat and withdrew to my bed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be called that name again, Liam died that day, along with Dr. Collins.¡±


    ¡°Liam, if I had known¡­.¡±


    I flew across the bed and hit the doctor in the face, breaking his glasses. Two men came running from the door and pinned me down to the bed. I fought against them and yelled, ¡°let me go.¡±


    One of them dug his knee into my back and yelled, ¡°shut up,¡± at me. The other man asked the doctor if he was ok and pulled his phone from his pocket.


    Dr. Nemeroff stood up quickly and said, ¡°do not bother Mr. Creso. I can handle my patient. Please hold him still and I will be back in a moment.¡± A couple of minutes passed and when he returned he was carrying a syringe.


    I tried to get out of their grasp but I couldn¡¯t budge them. Dr. Nemeroff injected whatever was in the syringe into my arm. A couple of minutes later I started to feel very heavy and tired. I heard Dr. Nemeroff say, ¡°you can release him and leave.¡±


    He waited until the men left then sat back down beside me and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I couldn¡¯t have Mr. Creso come back. I don¡¯t know what he would have done to you. Just sleep for now.¡±

 Chapter 2: Change of Plans

    Dr. Nemeroff sat at a small desk near where Jax lay sedated. He was sifting through the data that had been collected but was having trouble focusing, partially due to his broken glasses. He pushed his chair back and walked over to Jax.  He had spotted something unusual during an earlier examination and kept it a secret from his colleagues and Mr. Creso. He carefully moved the young man¡¯s hair revealing what appeared to be an access port; he tapped it lightly with the edge of his penlight as he probed the area. The skin was completely healed and showed no signs of being a recent procedure but the young man¡¯s hair revealed a different story. The short pieces were easily visible against the long tresses of his hair and gave the doctor evidence of a more immediate date.


    Jax¡¯s eyes opened and startled Dr. Nemeroff, he stepped back slightly waiting for a reaction from his patient. Instead Jax stared blankly in front of him and didn¡¯t speak. Dr. Nemeroff called his name and got no response so he began checking for vitals. The doctor noticed some irregular muscle movement and jerks in his limbs as well as some discomfort evident in his face.  Several minutes passed and the young man seemed to become aware of his environment. Dr. Nemeroff pressed a hand gently on his shoulder and said ¡°Liam.¡± He was met with tired but angry eyes as he pulled on the restraints that kept him immobilized on the bed. He frustratingly said, ¡°I told you not to call me that name.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff sighed, sat down and asked, ¡°what do you want me to call you then?¡±


    Jax looked away and softly spoke, ¡°my name is Jax.¡±


    ¡°I will call you Jax from now on. I am sorry for upsetting you!¡± Dr. Nemeroff said. Jax shrugged and continued to look away from the doctor. ¡°We have a lot to talk about but I am not sure where we should start.¡±


    Jax looked back at the doctor with a defiant gaze and said, ¡°what if I don¡¯t want to talk?¡±


    ¡°It would be better for both of us if you willingly answer my questions. Mr. Creso will get answers from you one way or another, and I can assure you it will not be pleasant,¡± Dr. Nemeroff replied.


    Jax started to pull loudly on his restraints, unintentionally drawing the attention of the guards. Dr. Nemeroff looked back at the guards and turned back quickly, grabbing Jax¡¯s arm and whispered, ¡°what are you trying to do?¡±


    Jax tried to relax his arms but a feeling of panic was present as he said, ¡°can you please remove these. I don¡¯t think I can stay like this any longer please!¡±


    ¡°I think it is best if they stay on for your sake and mine.¡± Dr. Nemeroff said quietly so no one else could hear him.


    Jax twisted uncomfortably within his restraints but tried not to make noise. Although his cravings for Blue Cryo were drastically reduced and probably manageable in a normal situation, his weakened mental state was only magnifying his withdrawal symptoms. He tried to control his movement and behavior, but the crawling sensation that had surfaced just below his skin was maddening. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what Fuchsia had told him about how many days this might last.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Dr. Nemeroff had been watching Jax¡¯s strange behavior and was about to question him about it when the door opened. He could see Mr.Creso enter with several other men. He began to panic and started squeezing Jax¡¯s arm and said, ¡°pull yourself together¡­Mr.Creso is coming.¡±


    Jax had broken into a sweat and his heart was beating erratically. Mr. Creso approached Dr. Nemeroff and said, ¡°do you have anything new to share with me?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff adjusted his broken glasses and responded, ¡°I am still trying to analyze the data we have collected from his blood tests and EEG, but I should know something more soon.¡±


    Jax tried not to listen to their conversation further. The knowledge that they had drawn his blood and examined him while he was unconscious made him feel extremely uncomfortable.


    ¡°I held a meeting with the other members and doctors on the board and we all agreed we need to speed up the process. I have prepared a list of what our plans include for the patient.¡± Mr. Creso said as he shoved a data stick into Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s hands.


    Dr. Nemeroff squeezed the data stick in his hands and began to argue with Mr. Creso. ¡°Why was I not consulted on the matter? You said I would be leading this project and be in charge of the patient.¡°


    Mr. Creso stepped forward. ¡°If you question me or disagree with my decision, I can remove you entirely from the team.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff bowed his head and said, ¡°I understand sir. I will review the list and prepare the patient. When do you want us to proceed with your plans?¡±


    ¡°The test will begin tomorrow. I will be here by noon so have everything ready by then.¡± Mr. Creso said.


    Concern evident in his voice Dr. Nemeroff said, ¡°tomorrow? Sir, please reconsider. I haven¡¯t even had time to analyze all the data from today. Jax also needs more time to stabilize before we begin.¡±


    Dr. Creso laughed. ¡°Jax. So that is what we are calling him now.¡±


    ¡°Yes Sir, he requested that we call him Jax.¡± Dr. Nemeroff said.


    ¡°My decision is final Dr. Nemeroff. Tests will begin tomorrow.¡± Mr. Creso said and then walked towards Jax.


    Jax couldn¡¯t control himself anymore. He was pulling at the restraints while begging to be let go.


    Mr. Creso grabbed his face in one hand, immobilizing Jax¡¯s head movement and said, ¡°stop fighting, it won¡¯t do you any good. You belong to me now.¡±


    Jax felt anger surface and he screamed back at him, ¡°I do not belong to you! Let me go!¡±


    Mr. Creso released Jax''s face only for a second before slapping it. ¡°Oh, but you do.¡±


    Jax turned a ghostly pale as he held his breath. Mr.Creso said, ¡°I will see you both tomorrow,¡± and then walked away.

 Chapter 3: Mending

    Fuchsia laid motionless on her stomach. Her now fading pink curls laid messily atop the pillow. Her tear stained cheeks and tired eyes were enough to break her Mother¡¯s heart alone. Keri gently smoothed the bandage across the middle of Fuchsia¡¯s back. She pulled a soft blanket over Fuchsia and said, ¡°you are lucky the bullet only grazed your skin. I have cleaned your cuts and stitched you up.¡± She placed a hand on Fuchsia¡¯s shoulder and gently patted her out of concern.  She walked to the side of the bed where Fuchsia had her head turned and could see her face more clearly. Her eyes glistened, having formed a convex meniscus of tears, like a dam it threatened to break. She slid her hand on to Fuchsia¡¯s hand and squeezed lightly. Fuchsia closed her eyes, the tears finally released but she remained silent and unmoved. Keri felt her chest squeeze at the pang of rejection. She began to pull her hand away but Fuchsia quickly grabbed it. Although her eyes were still shut and she was silent, Keri knew Fuchsia wanted her to stay.


    Keri sat down on the edge of the bed and wiped the tears away from Fuchsia¡¯s face. How long had it been since she had seen her cry? How long had it been since she had comforted her? She gently stroked Fuchsia¡¯s hair until she believed she was asleep. Keri looked at her child, to whom she had been so cold for so many years. Her ignorance and stubbornness had hurt her so much, and yet her child risked her life to protect her. The bullet came close to hitting her spine and that could have resulted in her being paralyzed, or even death.  She leaned forward and kissed Fuchsia¡¯s head and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for hurting you all these years! I love you daughter!¡± Keri stood up and slowly left the room unaware of the few tears that ran down Fuchsia''s face.


    ***


    Keri tiredly walked into the dining room and she looked up to see Sina sitting at the table. They were all exhausted, needed to rest, and heal before they discussed what to do next. The drive to the beach house was long and painful. Bren and Fuchsia were both injured and needed treatment, but both were adamant about not wanting to leave Jax. Sina ultimately had to make the final decision. Fuchsia and Bren were both angry but she knew she had to get them to safety and set the situation with Jax aside.


    Sina looked up and asked, ¡°how is she?¡±


    Keri swallowed back tears, regained her composure, and said, ¡°her injuries are not severe. She will have scarring, but otherwise she is going to be fine physically.¡±


    Sina brushed a hand through her hair and said, ¡°are you worried about how she is going to handle all this?¡±


    Keri placed her tired head in her hands and nodded as she was unable to speak. She let herself cry, both tears for her past regrets as well as the present situation.


    Sina rhythmically tapped her metal fingers on the table trying to think of what to say. She had never been one to handle emotional situations well. She sighed and said, ¡°Fuchsia is the strongest person I know. She just needs some time to rest!¡±


    Keri uncovered her face and said, ¡°I know she is strong, but I am so worried about her! Strong people can only be strong for so long before they start to break. What has she been keeping inside? I should have been there for her this whole time. I am her mother and I have failed her!¡±


    Sina flexed her hand and dropped it to the table. ¡°Keri, I know you had trouble accepting Fuchsia. She has always hoped that one day you could see her for who she really is and mend your relationship. She has never stopped loving you! I also can assure you that she has not been alone. Dr. Collins and his son were there for Fuchsia when she was a teenager. I am sure you know how close she was to them.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Keri wiped tears away and said, ¡°it was difficult for both of us when she was little. I worked all the time and I pushed for her to be self-sufficient and independent at a young age because I couldn¡¯t always be with her. I didn¡¯t realize I was pushing her away and hurting her! I was always jealous of how close Dr. Collins and his son were with Fuchsia but I never tried to interfere. I am grateful that she had them!¡±


    Sina reached across the table, placed a hand on Keri¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°she has had Bren, Jax and I as her supportive family and now she has her Mother too! She will be ok, trust me!¡±


    Keri placed her hand on Sina¡¯s and said, ¡°thank you, Sina! I needed to hear that!¡±


    Sina slowly pulled her hand back and said, ¡°I am worried about Bren. Do you think his eyes will heal?¡±


    Keri sat up straight and said, ¡°honestly, he will likely have impaired vision in his right eye, but his left eye is severely damaged.¡±


    She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and said, ¡°I am going to have to get Fuchsia up later so she and I can work on his right eye. We need to remove the metal and glass fragments from his cornea. I also know that she will want to evaluate his left eye and see if there is anything she can do.¡±


    Sina shifted her hand to her head, ¡°he is not going to handle any of this well!¡± She pushed her chair back and stood up while saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to check on him.¡±


    Keri leaned back and nodded but nearly fell out of her chair when Nix jumped into her lap. She was a bit shocked by the cat''s arrival.


    Sina walked over and petted the cat on the head, it hissed at her as it tried to bite at her metal hands. She laughed a little and said, ¡°it will do you no good to try that on me! Keri, this little troublemaker is called Nix. He is Fuchsia¡¯s cat.¡±


    Keri reached out and carefully touched the cat¡¯s head, followed it¡¯s arching back to it¡¯s tail as it purred. ¡°She said this cat looks a little like one Fuchsia tried to bring home when she was little. I had to make her get rid of it because we couldn¡¯t give it the attention it needed.¡±


    Sina smiled and said, ¡°Fuchsia loves Nix!¡±  Then she headed back towards the room where Bren was sleeping.


    She carefully pushed the door open and peaked in. Bren was laying on his back, his eyes had been cleaned and bandaged. She approached him quietly in case he was still sleeping but before she made it to the bed he said, ¡°Sina you suck at being quiet.¡±


    Sina leaned over and touched her cheek to his forehead to check for fever. He carefully pushed her away and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. How is Fuchsia?¡±


    Sina plopped down on the chair beside the bed and said, ¡°her injuries weren¡¯t severe, Keri patched her up and she is resting now. You need to do the same!¡±


    Bren tried to sit up, but between his inability to see and the painful cuts it was difficult. Mr. Creso¡¯s men had used some sort of specialized bullets that obliterated the bulletproof car and caused a lethal shower of glass and metal to fall. If Sina had not arrived when she did they would have all been killed.


    Bren tried to stabilize himself on the bed as he asked, ¡° Sina, tell me the truth, how bad are my eyes?¡±


    Sina let out a heavy sigh. ¡°Keri says that you should regain some vision in your right eye but your left eye was severely damaged. But we will know more once Fuchsia looks at them later.¡±


    Bren let his hands fall to his side, ¡°What are we going to do? We need to be able to rescue Jax! I don¡¯t want to leave him there for long. Who knows what they are doing to him. I promised him I would get him back!¡±


    Sina walked over, wrapped her arms around him and said, ¡°we will get him back!¡±

 Chapter 4: Tests (part 1)

    A dismal grey world emerged as dawn broke. Jax lay motionless on the bed, his eyes fixated on the rain as it fell on the window glass. The sound of the steady but somewhat muffled rain had a soporific effect on him. He had laid awake most of the night, tormented by his own thoughts and fears. His eyes were becoming heavy and his breathing had slowed as he slowly succumbed to sleep.


    A loud guttural sound emanated from outside the building and startled him into an alerted state. He heard another loud noise followed by and exasperated, ¡°dammit.¡±


    Jax looked up to see a disgruntled Dr. Nemeroff as he struggled comically to put his glasses on. He adjusted his messy brown hair and wrinkled clothing while looking at a stack of papers and books that lay on the floor. He sighed as he leaned over and collected the items, quickly standing back up and placing them on his desk. Another loud sound rumbled from outside, which Jax now recognized as thunder. Dr. Nemeroff, startled yet again by the loud noise, knocked a box of paperclips off his desk. The small metal pieces scattered noisily across the floor. Jax let out a small laugh at the doctor. Dr. Nemeroff pressed his glasses up on his nose and squinted irritatingly at Jax. Jax quickly looked away not wanting to draw anymore attention from the irritated doctor.


    Dr. Nemeroff started to walk towards Jax but was stopped when one of the guards grabbed his arm. The man was tall, looked to be in his 20¡¯s, and had short blonde hair and blue eyes. He stepped in front of the doctor. Jax could hear the conversation easily but continued to look in the opposite direction, giving little attention to the two. The man was apparently relaying a message, ¡°Mr. Creso called. He said to make sure you have everything ready by 12 or else there will be repercussions.¡±


    There was a silence before Dr. Nemeroff responded. He moved his hand through his messy hair, sighed, and then said, ¡°I understand.¡± The guard nodded and walked away.


    ***


    Several hours had passed since Dr. Nemeroff had talked to the guard. It must have been getting close to 12. He wondered what kind of preparation he needed for the tests, with so little time being left. He was restless and needed to go to the restroom. How long did they plan on leaving him like this. He pulled himself up onto his elbows and called for the Doctor. Dr. Nemeroff looked over at Jax from his desk. Jax cleared his throat and said, ¡°I know you are busy and all but I really need to go to the restroom.¡±  Dr. Nemoroff looked like he was a bit shocked. Jax wondered if they honestly just chose to forget about something like that.


    After several apologies from Dr. Nemeroff, he called the guard over and asked if he would take Jax to the restroom. To Jax''s surprise, the restraints detached from the bed and attached to each other. Dr. Nemeroff leaned over and quietly said, ¡°please do not try anything. There are too many people in this building for you to get away.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    After making sure the restraints were secure, the guard placed a hand around his arm and walked Jax towards the bathroom. It was a single room without windows.The guard pushed Jax into the bathroom and said, ¡°the door stays open, do your business quickly.¡± Jax stepped into the cold room, it was barely light enough for him to see. He looked into the mirror, his pale face and dark eyes stared back at him and made him feel sick. He heard the guard knock on the wall, a reminder for him to hurry. He didn¡¯t take long but by the time he got out of the restroom the guard was rushing him back in the direction of Dr. Nemeroff.


    Dr. Nemeroff was sitting on the edge of the bed and was holding a set of folded clothes. He said, ¡°I need to get my patient ready, please remove the restraints and step outside the room.¡±


    I could tell the guard didn¡¯t feel comfortable leaving Dr. Nemeroff was alone with me and he rubbed the back of his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think that is a good idea, sir.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff looked angry as he said, ¡°I need to hurry, I don¡¯t have time to argue with you.¡±


    The man looked at his watch and finally agreed. He removed the restraints and said, ¡°yell if you need me.¡± and then he left.


    Dr. Nemeroff, handed the stack of clothing to Jax and said, ¡°I need you to change and I need to tell you what to expect with these tests.¡±


    Jax took the clothing and said, ¡°can I get some privacy?¡±


    The doctor said, ¡°No. Now hurry up!¡±


    Jax walked to the opposite side of the bed that was facing the wall and began changing.


    Dr. Nemeroff crossed his legs and pulled a tablet off a nearby table. Without looking up he said, ¡°Jax, I need to talk to you about what Mr. Creso has planned for you.¡±


    Jax sat down heavily on the bed and asked, ¡°will it do me any good to know? Dr. Nemeroff stopped tapping on his tablet and turned around to face Jax. He flinched when he saw the numerous scars that laden the young man¡¯s back. He felt sick just thinking about what Jax would have to soon endure.


    Jax noticed the doctor was staring at him, so he quickly pulled his shirt on. He stood up and faced the doctor and said, ¡°I can¡¯t do anything to stop it, so what good will it do for me to know?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff removed his glasses and wiped the sweat off his brow. How could he tell the young man to expect nothing short of Hell. He returned his glasses to his face, stood up placing a hand on Jax¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I suppose you are right. I am truly sorry!¡±


    Jax pushed the doctor¡¯s arm off his shoulder and turned away. Anger and fear were slowly swallowing Jax whole as time went on.

 Chapter 5: Focus (Bren POV)

    Over a week had passed since we had left Jax with Creso. The longer we took, the more apprehensive I became. We had felt certain that Creso wouldn¡¯t do anything to Jax, but we were wrong. In the final moments before I lost my vision I was able to see Jax. Blood dripped from his panic stricken face as Creso grabbed him off the ground and pulled him to his feet like a ragdoll. In the moments after I lost my vision, I heard Fuchsia and Keri¡¯s screams and the squealing tires of our car as Sina arrived. I later found out Fuchsia had been hit by a bullet, but she had managed to grab my arm and drag me into the car along with her mother.


    My eyes watered underneath the bandages as I impatiently waited for Fuchsia to remove them. It had been several days since she had operated on me. When I first awoke from the surgery I had felt a heaviness from my new eye. My skin felt raw and sore against the non-organic surface. I was ready to get this over with so we could leave.


    I heard movement near me, and it put me on guard. I must have looked nervous because Fuchsia said, ¡°alright Bren! Are you ready?¡±


    I simply nodded. At times like this I was grateful that I had an artificial heart, because surely by now It would have taken flight. I flinched as I felt Fuchsia¡¯s cold fingers on my face, and thought I could feel a slight tremble in her touch. I swallowed back my fear and told her, ¡°everything is going to be fine, Fuchsia. I trust you. Now remove the bandages, please.¡±


    She withdrew her hand from my face and then I heard metal clinking together. Cold metal touched my face as I felt the bandages begin to loosen. A few minutes passed as the cloth bandages fell into my lap, leaving the soft circular gauze in place.


    Fuchsia said, ¡°mom, dim the lights for me.¡±


    Seconds later, I felt cool air replace the warmth that had been sealed underneath and it caused my whole body to tremble. My right eye opened easily, but it felt strange, perhaps a little stiff and sore. I tried to open my left eye but a slight sting radiated behind my new eye. ¡°Don¡¯t force it Bren, there may be some swelling,¡± Fuchsia said.


    My vision was blurry in my right eye, but I knew this was probably normal so I remained calm. I waited while Fuchsia gently worked on my eye.


    After she examined the outside of the eye she said, ¡°I am going to have to administer a steroid injection in the tissue beside your eyeball. I am going to carefully lift the lid and insert the needle, so I need you to stay still.¡±


    It was a little painful as she pulled the tender skin open, but it was more startling when the light entered. It felt like I was looking at the sun and I wanted to shut my left eye and force the light out. After about 20-30 min I felt like I could move my eyelid freely. I slowly began to crack it and when I felt no resistance I opened it fully. I grabbed the table as I experienced sensory overload, I felt like the world was spinning. Like a child¡¯s kaleidoscope, colors and shapes rotated in front of me like they were trying to find their correct place. I placed my hand over my mouth feeling sickness rise from my stomach. My head throbbed as my brain tried to make sense of this chaotic visual input. Fuchsia calmly tried to talk me through what I was experiencing.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°Bren, it is going to take a couple of hours for your vision to stabilize. Your brain has to adjust and learn how to communicate properly with the neural link and new eye.You can rest here and we can talk about our plans later,¡± Fuchsia said.


    I felt dizzy and a little strange, but I had no intention of resting any longer. I pushed myself off the table and said, ¡°I will need some help making it to the living room but I want to go ahead and talk. If I can see properly, and no other problems arise I want to leave at sunrise tomorrow.¡±


    Fuchsia sighed and placed a hand on my arm and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to wait any longer either so I am not going to argue with you.¡±


    She guided me to the living room and helped me sit down. Sina was already sitting on the sofa and I could tell she was staring at me. I turned my head in her direction, the movement causing a wave of dizzy vertigo. I have always appreciated Sina¡¯s direct and straightforward personality so I waited for her to speak. When she didn¡¯t say anything, I jokingly asked, ¡°are you going to say something or just stare?¡±


    Sina chuckled and said, ¡°it is going to take some getting used to! How well can you see?¡±


    I looked back forward and said, ¡° not too well yet.¡±


    I blinked my eyes a couple of times, the pieces were starting to come together but if I moved it


    was like everything scattered. I held my head as still as I could and I was able to see Fuchsia but everytime she moved it would make the pieces scatter again too. I was getting a worse headache as I tried harder to focus.


    ***


    We talked for several hours about what would be the best approach for rescuing Jax. We couldn¡¯t rely a hundred percent on my abilities considering my current situation. Our current plan is for the three of us to leave in the morning and head back towards Jax. Thankfully, Fuchsia placed a subdermal tracker on him so we know exactly where he is. We know that they moved him to another facility, and according to Fuchsia, it is an old hospital. Sina and I are going to infiltrate the hospital and locate Jax. Hopefully, with minimal confrontation and casualties. We will be better prepared when we go up against Creso¡¯s men this time.


    The vision in my new eye is mostly clear now. I am surprised that the neural link has been able to create a successful communication bridge so fast. I walked to the bathroom, finally ready to see what my new implant looks like.


    I leaned against the sink and took a deep breath. Nervously, I looked into the darkened mirror trying to get a glimpse of it before I turned the light on. All of a sudden I felt a strange sensation in my new eye and I could see a glowing blue circular ring rotate rhythmically in my eye. A few seconds later my vision was clear and I could see. Shocked, I stared into the mirror and said, ¡°you never fail to amaze me, Fuchsia!¡±

 Chapter 6: Resuscitation

    Jax POV


    The smell and sound of sizzling bacon drew my attention. I slid the pan of crispy meat off the eye to let it cool, then I grabbed three eggs and milk from the fridge. After cracking the eggs into a bowl I added a splash of milk and a dash of nearby salt and pepper. I whisked the mixture vigorously. The delicious smells were making my stomach growl.


    Suddenly, I stopped, feeling like that was a strange thought to have, but why? Pushing the absurd thoughts away I laughed at myself instead. I returned to cooking and dumped the mixture into the hot pan. My focus now on the soon to be scrambled eggs that were in front of me. They had just begun to bubble, so I slid the spatula carefully around the pan not wanting them to brown. They looked perfect, just the way Bren likes them. I wanted to surprise him with breakfast.


    In a way it is funny to find myself in the kitchen cooking, I usually am a terrible cook. I laughed thinking how I couldn¡¯t even cook a packet of instant ramen properly.The coffee pot sounded like it was about to finish brewing, and I feared the aroma would wake Bren up before I was ready. Hurriedly, I turned to the old fashioned toaster that I had already loaded with bread. Pushing the button down, I felt a little mesmerized by the glowing coils and warmth that emanated from inside.


    The coffee pot gave a final pop, so I quickly reached for two mugs and walked over to it. The coffee pot was still dripping it¡¯s final drops when I removed it, the steam rose and tickled my face. I began pouring the coffee into the first mug when I was startled by the sensation of something around my waist. I spilled a little coffee on the counter but let out a relieved sigh as I realized it was Bren.


    His arms squeezed gently around my waist and I could feel his warm breath on my neck. His touch sent a shiver up my spine so I quickly sat the coffee pot down. A little coffee spilled out on my fingers and he spun me around quickly and said, ¡°careful Jax, did you burn yourself?¡± He held my hand up inspecting my wet fingertips, checking for burns before kissing them. I looked into his green eyes, feeling like it had been forever since I had looked into his eyes or felt his touch. He reached for my face, his own face full of concern.


    Why did I feel sadness? He wiped tears from my face and I pushed the side of my face against his hand, craving his touch. The haunting feeling of loneliness didn¡¯t make sense, Bren was right here in front of me. He leaned forward and pressed our lips together and I felt overwhelmed by passion and longing. I felt more tears escaping my eyes as I tried to burn this moment into my heart and mind as I feared it would disappear any moment.


    Bren pulled away looking even more worried as he looked into my eyes. He asked, ¡°what is wrong, why are you crying?¡±


    I shook my head and wiped the tears away and smiled and said, ¡°nothing is wrong.¡±  He tilted his head to the side and gave me a disbelieving look and then pulled me into his arms. The warmness of his body felt so comforting and I didn¡¯t want this to end. Why was I so afraid it would? I closed my eyes tightly and held on to him wanting this moment to last forever.


    ***


    ¡°Jax¡­Jax¡­ can you hear me?¡± Dr. Nemeroff said as he shown a bright light in Jax¡¯s eyes.


    Jax swatted the light away. The small light stick hit the floor and broke. The bright light had made Jax¡¯s head throb and he reached up to cradle it in his hands, but before he could he noticed tears on his cheek. A disheartening reminder of his dream. He closed his eyes and wished to sleep, to sleep forever if it meant he could be with Bren again. Even if it wasn''t real it was better than this.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Jax are you ok?¡± Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s worried voice echoed in Jax¡¯s ear.


    Jax grabbed his forehead and squinted his eyes at Dr. Nemeroff while saying, ¡°do I look alright to you?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff was sitting on the floor beside Jax, the older man had a look of distress on his face. His face glistened with sweat and his hair looked a mess. He placed a hand on Jax¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I thought we had lost you. I had to use the defibrillator on you.¡±


    Jax rolled to his side, and realized how much pain he was in but still pushed himself to sit up. His body was soaked with sweat and blood, and the smell was nauseating him. The doctor shifted in front of Jax and told him to stay still, but Jax pushed him away.


    He looked up and saw Creso staring down at him. His sickenly evil smile and intimidating figure hovered over Jax. The man pushed his fingers through his hair and laughed as he said, ¡°I was beginning to think I had wasted a lot of time and money on you, it is good to see you survived again.¡±


    Jax rose to his feet at what could be perceived as an inhuman speed and grabbed Creso by the shirt with one hand. He took his other hand and hit him in the face before Creso¡¯s bodyguards could grab him.


    When the men grabbed Jax, they knocked him to the ground. Pinning him to the cold floor so he couldn¡¯t move while they waited for Creso¡¯s orders.


    Dr. Nemeroff pleaded, ¡°you are hurting the patient. He is still in shock and I don¡¯t know how stable he is.¡± When the men didn¡¯t respond to him he got more frustrated and yelled, ¡°good god he was clinically dead moments ago. Get off of him!¡±


    Creso wiped blood from his face and then adjusted his clothing. He yelled at his bodyguards, ¡°sit him up.¡±


    The men pulled Jax to his knees as Creso approached. Jax hung his head towards the ground and Creso yelled for him to look at him. When Jax didn¡¯t look up Creso leaned forward and pulled his head back by his hair and said, ¡°I should kill you right now. No one touches me and lives.¡±


    Jax looked at him with dead eyes and scoffed and said, ¡°and yet here I am.¡±


    Creso seemed to vibrate with rage as he squeezed tighter on Jax¡¯s hair causing a pained look to surface on Jax¡¯s face. He then struck him in the face with his knee releasing his hair on impact. Blood poured from Jax¡¯s face as he limply hung forward in the men¡¯s grasp just barely hanging on to his conscious state. When the men released him he fell to the floor, his body seemed to convulse from the pain.


    Creso squatted down and brushed hair out of Jax¡¯s bloody face and said, ¡°next time you won¡¯t live, I promise.¡±


    Creso stood up and turned towards Dr. Nemeroff. He gave the doctor a threatening look and said, ¡°don¡¯t even try to argue with me. Get him cleaned up and ready for more tests tomorrow.¡± Dr. Nemeroff just nodded and looked towards Jax as Creso and his men left the room.


    As soon as the men left and the door shut he rushed over to Jax. He looked down at the bloody crumpled mess on the floor, and wondered how anyone could be so cruel. He sat down beside Jax and lifted his head carefully into his lap. Elevating his head was something small he could do since he was bleeding so much. He called a nurse over to get him supplies to ease Jax¡¯s discomfort until his body could begin regeneration. It was impossible for him to imagine the pain that Jax was feeling or had experienced from all of the tests so far. He knew that Jax could heal from these injuries. He had seen Jax heal from much worse injuries over the last couple of days, but it didn¡¯t make this any easier for him. He was still feeling all the pain. Honestly, he had no idea how the poor boy was still sane after everything Creso had put him through. He may seem frail and weak on the outside, but there was a strength beneath the surface that was keeping him alive and sane.


    Dr. Nemeroff looked down at his blood stained lab coat and an unconscious Jax. He tried to brush the bloody matted hair out of the young man¡¯s face, revealing painfully familiar eyes. Dr. Nemeroff sighed and said, ¡°you look so much like your father.  Everytime I see your eyes, it''s like your father is looking back at me and I am reminded of my sins and betrayal. My closest friend died because I allowed that devil access to him.¡±


    He closed his eyes and whispered, ¡°Joseph my old friend, I promise to do what I can to save your son and get him out of here even if it kills me!¡±

 Chapter 7: Running out of Time

    Tiny lights flickered in the dark abyss that lay just beyond the tempered window above Jax¡¯s bed. His grey and blue eyes sparkled in an ephemeral calm as he lay in uninterrupted silence. He had woken up not long ago and his body was still feeling the heaviness of the day''s tests. His body wasn¡¯t in pain, but he felt as though all of his energy had been used to heal. He rubbed his hand over his bare chest and felt a small adhesive bandage. There was a slight discomfort as he pressed the area and he began to panic as he realized the location. He carefully sat up and eased himself off the bed, trying not to make any noise. The lab was dimmed except for the light that illuminated Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s desk.


    The doctor was furiously typing on his computer and unaware of Jax as he approached. Jax stood right behind the doctor and began reading what he was typing. Most of it was scientific data, measurements and terminology which he didn¡¯t understand. Light ricocheted off of a small test tube that lay beside the keyboard. Although he had only seen it once he recognized the object. The tracker implant lay loosely inside the tube and the thought of what that meant terrified him. Fuchsia had implanted the subdermal implant as a last minute safety measure so they could locate him. The small device now exposed to the world meant that if his friends tried to rescue him they would be in danger. He reached without thinking for the test tube and startled Dr. Nemeroff. Dr. Nemeroff grabbed the test tube and spun his chair around looking rather pale and tired. The Doctor let out a sigh of relief as he realized it had only been Jax behind him.


    Jax looked down at the test tube that the doctor was still clutching protectively in his hand. ¡°Have you told Creso about the tracker?¡±, he nervously asked.


    The doctor shook his head no, and then said, ¡°I had to remove it! When I was checking the progression of your wounds healing, I noticed swelling and discoloration. After further examination I discovered the implant. The device was encased in a silicate glass capsule and it shattered from the electrical burst administered to your chest. I had to remove the glass pieces and the damaged tracker from your pectoralis major. Fuchsia embedded that device deep in your muscle and it was difficult to get the pieces out by myself.¡±


    Jax flinched when he heard Fuchsia''s name. His words were just a whisper when he asked, ¡°how did you know Fuchsia did it?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff flashed a grin at Jax and said, ¡°it wasn¡¯t only the tracker implant. I also recognized her work as soon as I discovered the external data port. She and your father had been working on the implant in secrecy for over a year before his death.¡±


    Jax clenched his fist tightly as he asked, ¡°if it was a secret how did you know about it?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff stood up and tucked the glass tube into his shirt pocket underneath his lab coat. ¡°Your father and I worked together often on projects, but after Fuchsia became a part of our team we began to work together less and less. I will admit I was jealous of Fuchsia, she was brilliant and had her whole life ahead of her. She had found her way under your father¡¯s wing and with his guidance she was going to go far in her field. I found out about their research surrounding neural implants and tech by accident. I couldn¡¯t believe how far they had come with their research and development. I tried to talk your father into looking for some investors to help further their research and mine. I knew that there would be many investors who would gladly fund our research simply knowing about your father¡¯s and Fuchsia¡¯s research.¡±


    The doctor stopped talking long enough to create a bit of distance between him and Jax. He didn¡¯t want to get punched again when the young man got emotional.


    ¡°I had already told you we had a huge disagreement and he wouldn¡¯t listen to me. I decided to approach the investors on his behalf and was sure that when the investors personally contacted him he would agree. Your father was furious that I had leaked information about him and Fuchsia¡¯s research. He told me to leave immediately. So I did. I left and went to work for Creso. I tried several times after leaving to talk your father into accepting funding from Creso and he continued to say no. In the end Creso was more interested in what your father and Fuchsia had to offer than my research.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Jax sat down in a nearby chair and leaned forward to hold his head. He felt sick again after hearing more about how Dr. Nemeroff had betrayed his father.


    Dr. Nemeroff walked closer to Jax. He looked down at the young man and said, ¡°I am not asking for you to forgive me. I know what I did was wrong and I feel responsible for your father¡¯s death and your injuries. I will not tell Creso about the tracker and I am limiting the amount of information I give him about your implant and source of your regenerative abilities. I am going to do everything I can do to get you out of here. So please trust me!¡±


    Jax looked up, a blank stare present on his tired face and he said, ¡°what other option do I have than to trust you?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff sat back down in his chair and said, ¡°from what I heard, the people who were with you at the time of the trade were armed. Was Fuchsia with you then?¡±


    Jax nodded, gritted his teeth and said, ¡° yes she was with me, because Keri is her mother. The others are my friends too. I am afraid they were injured. There was a lot of gunfire and I don¡¯t know what happened to them.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff looked confused and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t know the woman they had was Fuchsia¡¯s mother! I was told she was a nurse who you were close to at the hospital. Is that true?¡±


    Jax nodded his head and said, ¡°she was the only person who acted like they cared about me in that hospital. I tried to keep contact with her after I was released but something happened and we had to stop communicating. I found out later that Keri was Fuchsia¡¯s mother.¡±


    ¡°What is Creso up to? He must have known about Fuchsia and her connection with your father. Why did he not tell me? Unless¡­,¡± the doctor stopped talking and wiped the beads of sweat that were forming above his brow.


    ¡°Do you have a way I can contact Fuchsia?¡± he asked.


    Jax chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he debated giving Dr. Nemeroff Fuchsia''s cell phone number. He pushed his hair out of his face and said, ¡°can you be sure that Creso won¡¯t find out?¡±


    The doctor leaned back in his seat and said, ¡°if he was aware of what I was doing at this point I would already be dead. I will make sure I contact her away from here.¡±


    Jax nervously tapped on the edge of the chair. The doctor placed a notepad in front of him and a pen. Jax took the pad and the pen and scribbled Fuchsia¡¯s number out as quickly as he could and handed it back to the doctor.


    The doctor tore the paper off the pad and folded it and placed it in his shirt pocket with the glass tube. Jax had slouched over again and placed his head back in his hands. Dr. Nemeroff reached out and touched Jax''s head and said, ¡°get some sleep. I am going to go out for a bit.¡±


    Jax picked his head up quickly and asked, ¡°are you going to contact her tonight?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am sure that Fuchsia has already realized the tracker has stopped working. Your friends probably fear the worst, so I need to let them know the situation before they do anything rash.  Get some rest and I will let you know if I talk to her when I get back.¡± The doctor turned away from Jax and started to walk off.


    Jax reached up and grabbed the edge of Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s lab coat. The doctor turned back to look at Jax. Jax looked down at the floor, not wanting to make eye contact as he said, ¡±please be careful!¡±


    The doctor carefully placed his other hand over Jax¡¯s hand and squeezed lightly. Jax dropped his arm back to his side and the doctor walked away leaving Jax in the cold silent room with only his thoughts.


    ***


    Dr. Nemeroff glanced at the guard at the door and said, ¡°I am going out to get some food and a coffee. The test subject is sleeping and I should be back before he wakes up. Please call me if anything happens while I am gone.¡±


    The doctor exited the building and looked up towards the night sky. His warm breath created a fog against the cold air. He dug in his pants pockets searching for his keys before he headed away from the building. If anything, working for Creso had made him jumpy as hell. Every noise made him think that Creso¡¯s men were following him. He tried his best to look calm as he walked to his car, just in case Creso¡¯s men were watching. He needed to find a safe place that he could call Fuchsia. He knew he was running out of time. After talking to Jax he could only think of one answer as to why Creso had not told him about Keri. His days were numbered and he needed to act fast to get Jax away from Creso.

 Chapter 8: The Call

    The doctor shivered slightly as he stepped out of his warm car. Gravel crunched beneath his feet as he walked towards the autoserve mart. The glass doors and windows allowed him to see that it was empty. He had chosen this location because he knew the area was rarely visited at night. He tapped the console on the door and it began to glow. A female voice greeted him, the monotone voice sounded cold and unwelcoming against the silence of the night.


    ¡°Hello, I hope you are doing well tonight. Please select your preferred identification method.¡±


    The options pulsated on the screen awaiting his selection. His fingers fumbled in the cold as he tried to reach for the ID card that hung around his neck. Oddly enough he hated biometric scans and microchip ID implants. He would rather use the almost outdated technology for as long as he could. His refusal to use these new technologies had always been a source of ridicule considering what his area of expertise is. Even Dr. Collin¡¯s would playfully chastise him about it. He smiled for a moment as memories of his old friend emerged. His phone vibrated and he nervously reached for it thinking it might be the guard who was watching Jax, or worse Creso could be calling him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and was relieved to see it was just his alarm.


    Although he was frustrated he forgot what he had started in the lab. He had extracted blood from Jax earlier and was waiting for it to reach room temperature so he could begin the centrifugation process. He pushed his phone back into his pocket, aggravated with himself. The blood would be of no use after so many hours. He would have to dispose of it and start over with a new sample.The female voice spoke again, please select your preferred method of identification. He looked back at the screen and selected a non-biometric scan. The female voice spoke again, ¡°please place your device over the console and wait.¡±


    The console glowed in recognition of the ID card. It only took a couple of seconds before the voice said, ¡°Welcome, Dr. Nemeroff. Please enjoy your visit to ZMart.¡± The doors slid open and warm air rushed out. At least the store was warm and he could be comfortable while making his call.


    He walked to the drink cooler and selected a bottle of water. There were several tables sitting in the open space. He sat his bottle down and walked to one of the food coolers and selected a sandwich and chips. The food bay opened and he removed the food and quickly returned to the table. He sat down at the table and tapped the mini console. He selected the option; privacy mode. A barrier materialized around him blocking the outside world from seeing or hearing him. He opened his water and took a couple of sips before beginning the daunting task of calling Fuchsia.


    He didn¡¯t dislike Fuchsia, but he had always treated her coldly because of jealousy. He pulled the paper out of his shirt pocket and his phone out of his lab coat pocket. He typed the number in and stared at the call button, he was worried she wouldn¡¯t believe him. Prolonging the call was not going to help Jax though, so he pressed the call button. It rang three times and then someone said, ¡°hello¡±. He recognized the female voice. He was silent trying to gain the courage to speak. Fuchsia said, ¡°hello¡± again.


    Dr. Nemeroff said, ¡°hello Fuchsia, this is Dr. Nemeroff.¡± There was a silence on the other end and he worried she would hang up before he had a chance to say anything about Jax. The next words came out fast and rather loudly. ¡°Please don¡¯t hang up! I have information about Jax.¡±


    Fuchsia spoke in a firm voice, ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    Nemeroff spoke quickly so he could keep her attention. ¡°First of all. Jax is ok. I had to remove his tracker because it was destroyed.¡±


    An audible swallow was heard from Fuchsia and her voice noticeably shook. ¡°How could the chip have been destroyed? He would have had to have undergone a high energy electrical shock.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff cut Fuchsia off before she could continue and said, ¡°his heart stopped. I didn''t have a choice and had to use the defibrillator on him. He is being subjected to a series of lethal tests that have been ordered by Mr. Creso.¡±


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    There was a long pause before Fuchsia spoke again. This time disbelief evident in her voice.


    She said, ¡°Dr. Nemeroff, why are you calling me? Aren¡¯t you working for Creso?¡±


    The doctor placed a hand on his forehead and leaned forward. How could he explain why to Fuchsia? He needed to make sure she would trust him and know about his past mistakes. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said ¡°Dr. Collins was my closest friend and I owe it to him to make sure his son survives.¡±


    Fuchsia said, ¡°you know Creso will kill you if he finds out?¡±


    There was a silence between them before Dr. Nemeroff responded. ¡°I am fully aware of that, but I can¡¯t let Jax stay here with Creso. He has suffered enough at his hands and I am afraid eventually Creso will kill him. Once he discovers and replicates the tech that is within him he will be of no use to him.¡±


    Fuchsia asked, ¡°how much does he know about Jax¡¯s implant and other tech?¡±


    ¡°I have limited the information available to him. He knows Jax has an implant but he doesn¡¯t know what it is capable of. He also is aware of his ability to regenerate but doesn¡¯t know why yet. He keeps pushing Jax through lethal tests in order to see what he is capable of. I think he has also noticed that with each injury his body seems to be learning to speed up regeneration time.¡±


    Fuchsia cried out over the phone, ¡°what the hell is Creso doing to Jax to cause the process to increase so much?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff sighed and said, ¡°let¡¯s just say I¡¯m worried about his mental state if this continues for much longer.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff could hear other voices over the phone. A male voice spoke. ¡°Can you get us information on the facility where they are holding Jax?¡±


    ¡°What do you need to know?¡± the doctor asked.


    ***


    After a long talk with the man who identified himself as Bren. He had a mission to collect as much information about the facility and guards as he could. He needed to do it quickly so they could rescue Jax. Dr. Nemeroff collected his stuff off the table and tapped the mini console to turn the privacy mode off. The barrier dematerialized quickly almost instantly. He collected his uneaten sandwich and grabbed another sandwich and drink for Jax. He knew that Creso was restricting the food being brought to him. He also had noticed he was extremely sensitive to smells and taste so he picked up a simple cheese sandwich and water. He collected the items and headed toward the door. The console at the door buzzed and the female voice spoke, ¡°Thank you for your visit to Zmart. Please visit us again and have a goodnight.¡± He walked out the door and headed to his car quickly so he could return to the facility.


    ***


    Creso sat at his desk, in deep thought while rotating a cylindrical device in his hand. The metallic object glistened in the light and caught the attention of the man who sat across from Creso. The man had quietly waited for Creso to give him orders. The silence was becoming extremely uncomfortable for the man so he finally asked, ¡°do you want me to go get Dr. Nemeroff for you?¡±


    Creso looked coldly at the man as he leaned forward in his chair. He tapped something on his desk and a holographic display appeared. The live video filled the transparent display and was visible to both men. Although it was slightly dark in the room it was still easy to see Jax¡¯s figure as he sat on the edge of his bed. The young man stared up at the window above him; motionless. If it weren¡¯t for the flickering of a single light one might think the feedback had frozen. Creso used his fingers to magnify and change the direction of the camera. The young man looked tired but relaxed as he looked into the night sky above him. A sound of a door opening alerted Jax and he turned his head quickly in its direction. He jumped up off the bed and approached the visitor. Dr. Nemeroff walked in carrying a bag and the two began conversing.


    Creso smiled and looked at the man across the table  from him and said, ¡°send me the recording of the conversation between Dr. Nemeroff and the other doctor. There is no reason to stop them from paying us a visit. I will even be more than happy to provide them with the information they requested from Dr. Nemeroff. Of course, I want to make them feel welcome when they arrive, so there will be some small details left out.¡±

 Chapter 9: Burn

    Jax rubbed his arm where the doctor had drawn blood hours ago. The adhesive bandage clung uselessly to his already healed skin. He pulled at the edges of the bandage, his hair offering resistance as it had fused with the adhesive substance. He grimaced as he bit his lip and pulled it loose in one final go. The sound of laughter startled Jax, he had become so fixated on the bandaid he had forgotten the rest of the world around him.


    His eyes rose nervously and found Dr. Nemeroff staring at him. The older man was leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, and his head leaning on his hand. His glasses were hanging from his other hand as it rested on his knee. Jax was silent but his face bore a look of irritation having been laughed at.


    Dr. Nemeroff couldn¡¯t help but laugh again before saying, ¡°Jax, you looked like a little kid fighting with that bandaid.¡±


    Jax turned his back to Dr. Nemeroff. ¡°Pfft! It¡¯s not that funny!¡±


    A ding resonated from the computer in front of Dr. Nemeroff signaling him of the completed upload. He slowly sat back up in his seat and replaced his glasses on his face. The information from the recent blood analyses, microscopic images and recordings loaded onto the screen. He split the screen so he could see it all. He leaned forward as he tried to make sense of the microscopic images. For the most part the images didn¡¯t show any anomalies and his CBC was mostly normal, except for his leukocytes were significantly higher than normal and his red blood cells were much lower than normal. The high levels of stress and trauma that Jax was experiencing could definitely correlate with the abnormalities in his blood.


    Jax stood up and walked over towards the doctor. He stood silently behind him as he scrolled through different information on the computer. Jax sighed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand any of what you are looking at.¡±


    The doctor chuckled and said, ¡°you were never interested in science when you were a child. You spent a lot of hours at the lab. When you were there you were either reading or playing video games. You often distracted Fuchsia from her work. In fact there were many times you two would sneak off to one of the storage rooms to hide and game. Your father would get frustrated, but never punish you. Now that I think back on it, I think it was good for both of you.¡±


    There was a long silence before anyone spoke again.


    Jax pulled up a chair beside Dr. Nemeroff, and said, ¡°could you explain some of what you are looking at to me?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff took a pen and pointed at the screen. This is an image of your blood under a scanning electron microscope. I expected to find evidence of the small nanostructures responsible for your regeneration, but there are none. I can only speculate that your body quickly eliminates them after they have done their job. In order for me to see them I would have to obtain a sample from you when you are badly injured. The number of nanostructures in the sample would be the highest at this point.


    The doctor slid his pen over to a different screen. ¡°These are the results from the CBC, you have elevated levels of Leukocytes and low levels of red blood cells. There were a couple of other slightly abnormal results, but nothing of any concern considering what you have been through.¡±


    Jax pointed to the two results on the screen that Dr. Nemeroff had circled and said, ¡°what does it mean that these are abnormal?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff pointed again at the Leukocytes and said, ¡°your number is significantly higher than what is considered to be a normal range. Normally we would be concerned that the patient is suffering from a serious infection, cancer or autoimmune disorders.¡± He then pointed at the red blood cell count and said, ¡°your red blood cells are dangerously low which would normally be indicative of anemia caused by cancer, excessive bleeding, or other factors. Considering your unusual circumstance and what you have experienced, we are unsure what is considered normal for you. It is really quite fascinating to imagine what your father and Fuchsia were able to create. Without your implant and nanotech, you would not be alive.¡±


    Jax gripped the arms of the chair with his hands, ¡°maybe it would have been better if I had died in the streets the day Creso and his men attacked me. If I had you and the others would be safe.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff turned in his chair and placed a hand on Jax¡¯s right arm and said, ¡°your friends and I would still have been in danger regardless of your presence. Creso would have eventually tracked Fuchsia down and anyone connected to her. If anything, your presence has helped me to see I was wrong and given me reason to do what is right now.¡±


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Jax looked down at the floor, feeling a mix of emotions. He wanted to believe Dr. Nemeroff was right! He wanted to get out of here and return to his friends.


    The doctor flipped his lab coat sleeve back and looked at his watch. It was after lunch and Creso had not arrived at the lab, no one had. It was not like Creso to be late. Should he be worried? He looked at the door to see if he could see movement from the guard, but there was no one. He patted Jax¡¯s arm and stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going to step outside the door for a minute.¡± Just as he started to walk to the door Creso opened the door and walked in. He had two of his men with him and he was followed by another man in a lab coat that he didn¡¯t recognize.


    Creso stopped in front of Dr. Nemeroff and asked, ¡°where are you headed, doctor?¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff took two steps back. He didn¡¯t like the situation, what was going on? He quickly spoke, ¡°I was going to ask the guard if he had heard from you. You are late.¡±


    Creso adjusted the cuffs on his sleeve as he said, ¡°yes, I apologize to keep you waiting. I had an important phone call to make. I¡¯m sure you can understand.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff turned around and headed back towards Jax. He was within a couple of steps from Jax when he heard his voice and then Fuchsia¡¯s. The recording echoed in the laboratory. He could see the look of horror on Jax¡¯s face, any color he had in it now gone. He spun around quickly and yelled. ¡°that was not me! What are you doing Creso?¡± He spun back around towards Jax and said, ¡°I promise I didn¡¯t tell Creso. That wasn¡¯t me on the phone with Fuchsia.¡±


    With a heavy thud Dr. Nemeroff hit the floor. One of the guards stood over him. He tried to reach his glasses that lay a short distance away, but Creso walked around in front of him and crushed them underneath his feet. Jax tried to run to Dr. Nemeroff but was caught and slammed on to his knees. He yelled, ¡°what are you doing? Let me go!¡±


    Creso spoke to one of the guards at the door, ¡°take Dr. Nemeroff to the basement. He will be of some use to us later, I am sure.¡±


    As the guard drug Dr. Nemeroff away he said, ¡±I''m so sorry Jax. I wanted to save you.¡±


    Creso walked over to Jax. He motioned the person behind him to step forward. A bald man in a lab coat appeared beside Creso. ¡°Let me introduce you to Dr. Wilhelm, he will be in charge of you now. I am excited for you two to get to know each other, Jax.¡±


    Jax managed to pull away from the guard and tried to swing at Creso. He was grabbed again and this time forced to the ground on his back. Creso leaned down close to Jax and said, ¡°Dr. Wilhelm is eager to meet you and share some of his research with you.¡±


    Jax thrashed on the floor. ¡°I don¡¯t care about his research! Let me go!¡±


    Dr. Wilhelm knelt down beside Jax, smiled, and said, ¡°it is wonderful to finally meet the son of the late, ¡®Dr. Collins.¡¯ I never had the opportunity to meet your father, mostly because our research differed so much. He had the reputation of being a virtuous person and frankly it made me sick.¡± The doctor looked down at Jax silently like he was studying him.


    Jax stopped thrashing, he felt a chill fall across his body, and he was filled with a paralyzing fear.


    Dr. Wilhelm reached down and patted Jax on the shoulder and said, ¡°I have a gift for you.¡± He pulled a syringe out of his lab coat. ¡°I created this while working in Argos. Unfortunately, my research is frowned upon. They deem it unethical and won¡¯t allow me to test it. Creso has shown an interest in my work and shares the same ideals.¡±


    The doctor held the syringe up and popped the cap off the end. Jax pulled against the guard that was holding him but he couldn¡¯t get away. The doctor said, ¡°roll him onto his stomach and hold him still.¡±


    Jax lay motionless on the cold floor, paralyzed by fear. The doctor pulled his shirt up and he felt a sting at the middle of his spine and then a burning sensation. The doctor said, ¡°he will need to be restrained so he doesn¡¯t hurt himself or anyone else.


    The two guards moved Jax to his bed where they placed him back in restraints. He cried out, ¡°what did you do to me?¡±


    Creso and the doctor walked over to Jax. Dr. Wilhelm said, ¡°you will find out soon enough.¡±


    Jax lay on the bed motionless and silent. What else could he do but wait?


    Creso and Dr. Wilhelm had walked over to Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s computer and were talking about the data that was displayed.


    Jax began to feel a strange warmth, almost like warm fluid was running through his veins. Then it began to feel hot and unbearable. He started to twist in his restraints. The guard that was standing beside him called out to Creso, ¡°sir, something is happening to the patient.¡±


    Both Creso and Dr. Wilhelm looked at Jax. Dr. Wilhelm said, ¡°it looks like it has begun.¡±

 Chapter 10: They Know

    The wind danced lightly across Fuchsia¡¯s face as she warmed herself in the sun. Her skin and clothing were bathed in an ornate pattern as the sunlight billowed through the lattice that surrounded the porch. The purrs of her little friend made her smile as she stroked his back. Nix was feeling quite content with his human as he lazily sprawled across her lap. His little paws kneaded rhythmically and drew her attention. She raised her eyebrow and said, ¡°you better keep those little nails to yourself mister.¡± Nix purred loudly as if it were insulted by her insinuation. She laughed at the cat as she looked out towards the ocean. The water lapped against the shore and the little birds scuttled across the sand. If things were different she would love to be here, she had never been on a vacation and seldom took time for herself.


    The last couple of days had been uneventful and her mother had begged her to take some time to rest. Fuchsia had argued with her about the silly request but she eventually lost when Sina joined in. She couldn¡¯t help but get frustrated with them, she felt guilty resting when she knew Jax was suffering. She was tired, they all were. The whole ordeal had been mentally and physically draining and as much as she was opposed to rest, she knew she needed it. What good was she if she was burnt out.


    Fuchsia¡¯s phone rang and it startled both her and Nix. Fuchsia stopped moving her hand and it lay heavily on the cat¡¯s body. Nix turned his head around, his one eye stared at Fuchsia in disapproval. Her heart fluttered nervously as she pulled the phone out of her jacket pocket. She recognized the number as Dr. Nemeroff. He was contacting them faster than she had anticipated. She stood up quickly, opened the door and gently tossed the angry cat into the cottage. The door slammed behind her as she entered behind him. She held the phone up to her ear and said, ¡°hello.¡±


    There was a pause before she heard the Doctor''s voice.


    ¡°Hello Fuchsia, it is Dr. Nemeroff. I have the information that you requested,¡± he said.


    Sina heard the door and came out to check on Fuchsia. Fuchsia grabbed a piece of paper and scratched out Nemeroff. Sina read the word and took off running to get Bren so they all could hear the call.


    They returned quickly and Keri eventually showed up when she heard the commotion. They silently sat in the living room carefully listening to the phone call that was now on speaker phone.


    Dr. Nemeroff seemed to have all the information they had requested and more. With the information he had provided them with they would have the upper hand and things should go smoothly in retrieving Jax.


    Fuchsia thought it almost seemed too good to be true. She rubbed her nails into the leather couch nervously and said, ¡°how has Jax¡¯s implant been functioning?¡±


    There was a pause before he answered, ¡°everything seems to be functioning well.¡±


    Fuchsia said, ¡°I wish I knew more about the implant but it was Dr. Collins¡¯s and Dr. Sanders¡¯s research.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff responded back with, ¡°it¡¯s not your fault. You have done as much as you can to help the young man.¡±


    Fuchsia dug her nails into the couch and said, ¡°thank you Dr. Nemeroff. That means a lot to me.¡±


    Dr. Nemeroff said, ¡°I think we have a good plan. I will see you all at the facility tomorrow night at 9:00.¡±


    Fuchsia responded, ¡°yes, hopefully everything will go smoothly. We will see you then. Bye¡±


    Fuchsia sat the phone in her lap after ending the call with Dr. Nemeroff. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, her furrowed brows evidence of her worry. Keri reached out and patted Fuchsia on her back, trying to offer some comfort to her distraught daughter. Fuchsia shook her head, opened her eyes and looked at Bren. ¡°They know,¡± she said.


    Keri pulled her arm away from Fuchsia. Her voice trembled as she spoke, ¡°but how?¡±


    Fuchsia said, ¡°there is no Dr. Sanders, and Jax¡¯s implant was Dr. Collins¡¯s and my project. Dr. Nemeroff knew this, he would not have made a mistake like that.¡±


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Keri said, ¡°what are we going to do now?¡±


    There was a long pause as they all seemed to be thinking.


    Bren smiled as he looked at the others, ¡°we save Jax!¡±


    Keri said in a panicked voice, ¡°you¡¯re not still planning on going in there. They will kill you all.¡±


    Bren laughed and said, ¡°this is going to be fun! I want to see Creso¡¯s face when things don¡¯t go as he has planned.¡±


    Sina said, ¡°paybacks gonna be a bitch! I can¡¯t wait!¡±


    Keri grabbed Fuchsia¡¯s arm and said, ¡°you can¡¯t be serious! Are any of you actually thinking?¡±


    Fuchsia looked up at Keri, and her stare held a transparency as she ignored her mother¡¯s concern.


    Fuchsia leaned back and sighed, ¡°I¡¯m going to have to make some calls. We are going to need help if we are actually going to pull this off.¡±


    Fuchsia stood up and without another word she walked to the bedroom and shut the door.


    Sina looked over at Keri. The poor woman looked so confused and on the verge of tears. She stood and walked over to her and said, ¡°things will be different this time. Fuchsia is going to make sure we succeed. I have some stuff I need to work on. If you need me just come just knock on my door.¡±


    Sina looked over at Bren who was now standing. She walked over to him and squeezed his arm and whispered, ¡°I know you have been worrying non-stop about Jax but you need to get some sleep. I will come and get you if anything happens.¡±


    Bren nodded and walked off to his bedroom and shut the door. He sat down on the bed and took his boots off. His bag was lying open beside the bed and he could see the corner of his sketchbook poking out. He leaned over and pulled it onto the bed with him. The sketchbook was old, it had been gifted to him by his grandmother when he was young. He squeezed it in his hands as a flood of memories began to seep into his mind. He turned to the page where he had sketched Jax. The sketch had been made before he had realized his feelings for Jax. He ran his fingers along the edge of the page, he wanted to get Jax back and away from Creso forever. Anger filled him, if it wasn¡¯t for that bastard none of this would be happening. He shut the book and laid it down beside him. He fell back onto the bed and closed his eyes, too exhausted to fight sleep anymore, he laid there thinking about Jax. As sleep began to engulf him, so did a dream.


    ***


    Sina panned in and out of the images on her computer screen. She had obtained the blueprints for the building that Jax was being held in. She hoped that if they familiarize themselves with the layout of the building it would prove useful to their mission. She heard a strange scratching noise and got up to investigate. She opened her door and stepped out into the hallway. She turned to look towards Fuchsia¡¯s room and there was the source of the noise. A disgruntled Nix scratched at Fuchsia¡¯s door. Irritated by the persistent scratching, Sina walked down the hall and scooped the cat up. Nix purred and vibrated happily in Sina¡¯s arms. Sina whispered to the cat, ¡°you have become quite spoiled.¡±


    Sina heard a loud noise come out of Fuchsia¡¯ room and leaned closer. Fuchsia was talking with someone, ¡°no, that won¡¯t work! I told you it has to happen then¡­No, you don¡¯t understand. If we don¡¯t show up, they will be suspicious and they might do something to Jax or Dr. Nemeroff¡­¡± The longer the conversation went on the more agitated she became. Sina could hear Fuchsia moving around the room and it sounded like she was heading towards the door. She turned around quickly and realized that Keri was still sitting on the couch and had been watching her the whole time.


    She walked quickly to the couch and joined Keri before the door opened.


    Fuchsia opened the door and suspiciously eyed the two sitting on the couch and said, ¡°what are you two doing just sitting there?¡±


    Keri spoke first, ¡°Sina was keeping me company and we were having a nice talk.¡±


    Fuchsia squinted her eyes, ¡°Mom! You always taught me not to lie. Were you both eavesdropping on my call? ¡±


    Sina dropped Nix gently onto the floor and sat up and said, ¡°no, it was just me Fuchsia! Nix was causing a lot of noise and scratching at your door. I could hear you through the door and was worried.¡±


    Fuchsia sighed and sat down in one of the chairs and said, ¡°I tried to contact the men from the government. They don¡¯t trust me because I disappeared for years. They don¡¯t believe my story about Jax either. They said they needed to investigate more and then they would send people to help. I got upset and told them we couldn¡¯t wait and hung up.¡±


    Sina said, ¡°I am surprised you contacted them.¡±


    ¡°It seemed like the best option and I really thought I could convince them. But, I have other ideas and I know we can still do this!¡±

 Chapter 11: Another Dream

    Jax laid motionless on the mattress. The cotton sheets were soaked from the sweat and fever that he had experienced. Dr. Wilhelm placed the heart pod on Jax¡¯s exposed chest. His skin was tinted blue and glistened from sweat, a sign that he was most likely suffering from hypoxia. The device hummed as it took readings to assess his current state before performing an intracardiac injection. The device chimed signaling that it had collected sufficient data and it was ready to perform the injection. The injection would deliver nanobots into his system to complete a thorough evaluation of his condition. The device chimed again requesting authorization to continue. Dr. Wilhelm tapped the device and the needles emerged from the device, quickly penetrating Jax¡¯s chest. Despite his unconscious state, his body responded as his face contorted and his body tensed from the pain.


    ***


    Amber embers crackled as the fire danced wildly in the fireplace. How long have I been sitting here, lost in some tranced state. I pulled my legs up and tugged at the blanket, feeling cold despite the obvious heat that filled the room. Something slid off the blanket and onto the cushion beside me. A book. The pages turned as it fell open. I picked it up, strange that I can¡¯t remember what it is about. I flipped through the first couple of pages and the story seemed a little familiar, it was about a futuristic explorer. Strangely, the explorer has the same name that I do. I started back at the beginning of the book and had become completely absorbed in it when I felt something touch my face. I froze, afraid to move until I heard a familiar voice.


    He ran his hand down to my shoulder and squeezed as he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.¡±


    I let out my breath as I said, ¡°Bren.¡±


    I placed my hand on his while wondering why I had been scared.


    I laid the book on the table beside the couch and turned slightly so I could see him. He stood there with a warm smile on his face and a coffee cup in hand. He reached out and placed a hand on my forehead while looking concerned he said, ¡°you look really pale. Do you feel ok?¡±


    I smiled at him and held the blanket open and said, ¡°just cold.¡± Hoping he would take the hint and offer some extra warmth.


    He walked around the couch and sat his coffee cup on the table beside my book. Then he sat down beside me and pulled me closer to him. Warmth radiated from his body as I pressed myself tightly against him. I leaned my head against him and breathed in his comforting scent, a mix of coffee and cloves. He brushed his hand through my hair and his fingers found their way to my scars. Normally, I would have pulled away because they are a painful reminder of the past and I find them ugly. But somehow things have changed and I don¡¯t mind when he sees them or touches them. He leaned over while I was distracted by my thoughts, my skin tingled as he started leaving a trail of kisses up my neck. By the time he reached my mouth we were both fully in the moment and he fell back onto the couch and it didn¡¯t take long before I was on top of him. His eyes sparkled in the firelight as he looked at me, and even though we were silent I felt like so much was being said. Suddenly, I felt short of breath and felt pain in my chest. I began to panic and feel scared. I didn¡¯t even realize where my hand was until Bren was pulling it away from my chest and asked, ¡°what is wrong?¡± His words seemed to wash away whatever I was feeling but I was hit with an immense sense of exhaustion. I looked at him and just smiled. Why do I feel so tired? Not now, please. I pulled the blanket over the both of us. I could feel his hot breath on my skin but everything was dark. His arms wrapped around me and I felt a single kiss on my forehead as he chuckled and said, ¡°just sleep.¡±


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    I didn¡¯t fight it. I couldn¡¯t fight it!


    ***


    I became aware of my discomfort, wet bed sheets lay beneath me and I felt cold and exposed. I didn¡¯t want to open my eyes and face reality, maybe if I didn¡¯t I could sleep again. Maybe I could dream again of Bren, and feel his warm embrace and kisses. Even if it were a dream it was a happiness I could accept instead of existing in this painful reality. I could feel tears forming beneath my closed eyes. I shook my head and squeezed my eyes tightly in anger. I moved my legs as a phantom pain resonated, a memory of what I had been forced to endure. What could be the purpose of creating something so horrible? After the injection took effect, I felt like my whole body was on fire. It really felt like I was burning alive! The longer I endured I felt like I was in delirium. I begged the doctor to end it, to let me die but his unfazed eyes just stared at me coldly. It shouldn¡¯t surprise me that Creso was interested in Dr. Wilhelm, they both are soulless creatures who take pleasure in other¡¯s pain.


    I heard a noise in the room so I finally opened my eyes, afraid that the doctor had returned to torture me more. The room was dark and, as I had assumed, my arms and legs were strapped to the bed. I looked around to see if anyone was in the room with me. I couldn¡¯t see anyone and since my view is limited I couldn¡¯t find the source of the sound. My throat was dry and I could assume that I wouldn¡¯t be getting a drink anytime soon. I looked towards the door where the guard usually is stationed, a shadow danced across the small window. Ironically, I found that a little reassuring, the idea of being completely alone scares me for some reason. I couldn¡¯t see the clock so I had no idea how long had passed or how long until the doctor would visit me again.


    My skin crawled and my stomach tightened as I thought about what Creso and Dr. Wilhelm might have in store for me and the others. I needed to ensure that Bren and the other¡¯s were safe. I pulled angrily at the straps, frustrated that I can¡¯t do a damn thing like this! I slammed my head back against the pillow feeling completely useless. I couldn¡¯t even pull a blanket over my cold and exposed body. How do I think I am going to help my friends? What the hell! I have to figure something out!

 Chapter 12: Confusion

    Time seemed to slow as I waited for something, anything to happen. My fingers were sore from where I had nervously scratched them together. How many times had I repeated this action? My body would repair the minuscule injuries not long after it happened, and I couldn¡¯t help but be annoyed. It was mentally and physically draining being trapped on this bed, in this room, with only my thoughts to keep me company. At this point, I almost wish that someone would come see me. This isolation, no matter how short it might be, was making me feel like I was losing what little bit of sanity I had left. Every noise in the room seemed to echo loudly in my ears, the things that I normally used to distract me were gone. I raised my head slightly and could see the empty seat where Dr. Nemeroff would normally sit. His broken glasses lay on the desk, placed there by one of the guards after they drug him away to who knows where. I hope he is still alive, and I hope that I can find him when I get out of here. My own bodily scent permeated my nasal cavity and I retched in disgust. I desperately wanted to shower.


    I heard movement and talking at the door and I turned my head waiting for someone to enter. The door slowly slid open and I saw two figures, Dr. Wilhelm and Creso. The two men stood at the door talking with the guards and then they walked my way. Creso greeted me with an artificial smile and Dr. Wilhelm looked at me with the same cold stare as yesterday.


    The doctor reached for my upper arm and I instinctively tried to pull away. I heard a click as a wide black cuff fell into his hands. I don¡¯t know how I had been unaware of its presence, not that it mattered. The doctor tapped on the device in silence, no expression indicative of what he was looking at.


    Creso stepped closer to Dr. Wilhelm and looked at the device. I let out an unintentionally audible ¡°Tsk¡± as I stared at Creso. I am almost positive he has no clue what he is looking at. I received an evil glare from Creso and looked quickly in the other direction.


    Creso asked the doctor, ¡°have there been any significant changes?¡±.


    Dr. Wilhelm said, ¡°no, aside from some slight changes in his blood, everything is where I would expect.¡±


    Creso said, ¡°good. Remove the restraints and I will be back.¡±


    He approached the side of my bed but I didn¡¯t want to look at him so I continued staring at the wall. Angered, he grabbed my chin and made me look at him as he said, ¡°do not cause any problems!¡±


    I swallowed hard and just nodded.


    He walked toward the door and motioned for the guard to follow.


    My focus returned to the doctor as I felt him removing the restraints. When he removed the last strap I rolled to my side and pulled myself into a fetal position before attempting to sit up. My whole body felt sore from laying in the same position for many hours. I set up on the bed and hung my legs over the edge. The thin hospital style pants offered little warmth, and my chest was exposed. I looked around for my shirt but couldn¡¯t find it. So, I instead tried to create some warmth by rubbing my hands over my arms.


    I hadn¡¯t even had time to stand on my feet before Creso walked back into the room. Behind him a guard pulled Dr. Nemeroff along. Thankfully, other than the injuries he received yesterday he didn¡¯t look like he had been injured any further. Creso pulled the chair over from Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s desk and sat about six feet in front of me. He motioned for the guard to place Dr. Nemeroff in the chair. The doctor was pushed into the chair, his tied hands fell into his lap, and he looked silently down at the floor.


    The guard stood behind Dr. Nemeroff while Creso walked in my direction. Creso pulled out a small dagger in a black leather sheath and held it out to me. I looked up at him like he was crazy and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    He tipped his head to the side and said, ¡°you are going to help me.¡±


    I looked at the knife and then at him again. I swallowed hard and my whole body began to tremble.


    Creso laughed, ¡°your confusion is priceless. Let me explain it to you. You are going to kill Dr. Nemeroff for me.¡±


    ¡°What? No!¡± My voice cracked as I spoke.


    Creso smiled as he said, ¡°your friends will be arriving soon. I have no use for anyone except the doctor but I will consider allowing them to live if you do as I say.¡±


    I didn¡¯t understand what Creso was asking for. Why was he asking me to do this? Any of his men could do this, so why ask me?


    He held the dagger closer to me. I reached a trembling hand towards it. My fingers just barely touched the metallic handle and I could feel its cold smooth surface. Creso said, ¡°we are wasting time, make your decision.¡± I wrapped my hand around the knife and pulled it towards me. I looked at it unsure of what to do.


    Creso snapped, ¡°make your decision!¡±


    I scooted off the table and felt like my legs were going to buckle. I held the dagger in my hands as I walked towards Dr. Nemeroff. My palms were sweaty and I felt like the dagger was going to slip out of my hand. I stood in front of Dr. Nemeroff, he was silent and wouldn¡¯t look at me. Had he resigned himself to death? What was I supposed to do?


    Again Creso spoke, ¡°stop wasting my time and just do it.¡±


    He grunted as he walked over to Dr. Nemeroff, he pulled his head back exposing his neck to me. I felt like I had sweat running down my face and I wanted to vomit. I looked down at the dagger. I can¡¯t do this! I would never do this! I pulled the dagger out and was finally met with Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s eyes. I stepped closer to Dr. Nemeroff and place the dagger into the air. I caught sight of a sickenly grin on Creso¡¯s face and I returned the smile as I turned the dagger toward myself and lodged it into an area that I hoped would miss an organ.


    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    I could hear Dr. Nemeroff as he spoke, ¡°Jax, No!¡± but I didn¡¯t look back at him.


    I locked eyes with Creso, his face full of shock. With what little strength I had I said, ¡°now that look is priceless!¡±


    Creso let go of Dr. Nemeroff and shock soon turned to anger. He walked over to me and yanked the dagger out of my chest. I felt dizzy as blood spilled down my chest and onto the floor. He took a cloth from his pocket and wiped it clean and then placed the dagger back into the sheath.


    My vision was blurring a little and Creso¡¯s voice seemed a little muffled.


    It wasn¡¯t like I hadn¡¯t experienced something like this before. The last couple of weeks has shown me exactly what my body could take. It didn¡¯t make it any less painful though. I lowered myself to the floor and tried to hold pressure on the wound. I could just barely make out what he was saying. ¡°Get this mess up and return the doctor to the basement.¡±


    He looked behind me and said, ¡°Make him suffer. I have to go and prepare for our guests.¡± He locked eyes with me and snarled, ¡°enjoy your time with Dr. Wilhelm.¡±


    Dammit! I gritted my teeth. I had forgotten about Dr. Wilhelm.


    Dr. Nemeroff was trying to pull away from the guard as he said, ¡°what the hell are you going to do to him?¡± They drug him out of the room and offered no response to the man.


    I could feel my wound closing up, but that didn¡¯t do much for the blood I had lost and I was almost positive that Dr. Wilhelm wouldn¡¯t help me. Hopefully, it just was less than I thought and I would be ok.


    I felt something push me onto my stomach and pain shot through my body. I writhed in pain as he told me to stay still. I tried to turn my head towards him and yelled, ¡°fuck You!¡±.


    He placed a foot on my back and said, ¡°Stay still and stop fighting or else I will open you up and let you bleed to death on this floor right now.¡±


    I knew that Dr. Wilhelm was serious. I tried to be still although the pain was horrible. I felt the cold needle enter my spine and the memories of the pain from yesterday came rushing back. Maybe, I would pass out and not have to experience this all over again. The doctor called two guards over. ¡°Place him on the table and replace the straps,¡± he said.


    When the guards picked me up off the floor I could see there was a lot of blood.  When they rolled me onto the table the pain was unbearable and I was sweating profusely. Thank god I could feel myself slipping into sleep.


    ***


    I awoke to excruciating pain, my entire body was on fire. I pulled at the restraints disoriented and confused. I looked around for Dr. Wilhelm, but instead I see Lance staring at me.


    He says, ¡°I wondered how long it would take you to wake up. You were pulling so hard on the straps that you almost flipped the bed.¡±


    Why did I have to go through this again? Why did that Doctor leave Lance watching me?


    Lance walked closer to me and reached out and ran his fingers across my cheek and down to my lips. I shook my head trying to avoid his touch but the pain was so horrible I just wanted it to stop. Tears escaped my eyes and I started to beg, ¡°please unstrap me and to let me escape. I can¡¯t go through this again. Please!¡±


    Lance removed his hand from my face and reached into his pocket. He said, ¡°I can''t let you go but I might be able to help you feel less pain.¡±


    He held a bottle of blue cryo in front of me. I started to cry more as the pain increased.


    Lance squeezed the bottle and said, ¡°do you want these?¡±


    I looked away, why am I in this position again? I hate this man and now I am having to depend on him yet again. I¡¯m going to hate myself for this, I know it. The pain was increasing and I was afraid. I needed to get control of this and get out of here.I turned my head back and cried out, ¡°Yes, please!¡±


    He pulled back from the table and walked away. When he returned he was carrying a paper cup of water. Lance sat the paper cup on a nearby table and then unstrapped my arms and legs. He opened the pill bottle and shook out what sounded like a handful of pills. He helped me sit up and pushed what felt like five or six pills into my mouth. He picked the cup up and poured water into my mouth. I swallowed but it was painful and I felt like I was choking as they went down. He let go of me and said, ¡°well this is either going to make you feel a whole lot better or it¡¯s going to kill you.¡±  Lance looked towards the door like he was afraid the guards would enter. He looked back at me with a coldness in his eyes, grabbed me by my arms pulling me up off the bed. My legs were weak and I barely could stand. He said ¡°you better not die, or my life will be on the line.¡±


    When he let go of me, my legs couldn¡¯t support me and I ended up on the floor.


    Lance didn¡¯t even try to help me up. Instead he walked over to Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s chair, pulled out his phone and ignored me.  About 30 min later I felt like the pain had decreased enough for me to sit up. After a couple of tries I was able to stand. Lance finally noticed I was up and he stood up and walked towards him. My back was to him and I didn¡¯t want to turn around to face him, I was already disgusted with myself for accepting help from him. He said, ¡°go shower and I will find you clean clothing,¡± and then headed out the door.


    My mind was cloudy from the pills and everything felt numb so it made things difficult to walk. When I made it to the bathroom I caught sight of myself in the mirror. A pale sickly figure looked back at me. How long have I been here to change so much? Acid filled my throat and I was hit with another wave of dizziness that made me grab the counter. I carefully walked towards the shower and turned the warm water on. I removed what little clothing I had on and crawled into the open shower space. The water ran over my body, but strangely I couldn¡¯t feel the temperature. I had used what little energy I had left so I slid down the wall onto the wet floor and let just let the clean water run over me.


    My body began to shiver uncontrollably as I realized the hair on my arms and legs were standing up.  Confused and unsure of how long had passed I reached for the water to turn it off. As my consciousness began to re-assimilate I started to remember what had happened and where I was at. I could hear talking in the distance. Lance and one of the guards were talking and despite my current state I was still able to follow the conversation. My mind was quickly engulfed by fear as I heard the words, ¡°Jax¡¯s friends have been spotted within the surveyed area. Mr. Creso thinks they will try to enter the facility at nightfall.¡±

 Chapter 13: Causation

    My heart was beating fast in my chest and I tried to stand but my legs betrayed me. I crashed into the wall but caught myself on an old metal arm rail. The rusty piece creaked and I was surprised it didn¡¯t break with my weight. I quickly grabbed the towel off the counter and wrapped it around myself. The bathroom was spinning and my head felt strange. I was afraid to leave the bathroom but I needed to do something. The pain was getting worse so I slid down into the floor hoping the pain would subside.


    ***


    Where am I? I tried to open my eyes but they felt heavy. I could hear a muffled voice, ¡°Jax, Jax, wake up?¡±. I felt a hand on my cheek.Tiny bits of light began to slip through the slits of my eyes and I could see movement in front of me. I finally forced my eyes the rest of the way open but my vision was blurry. I could see two green eyes staring back at me.


    Bren!


    I had so many questions. My heart felt like it might explode out of my chest and I felt like it was hard to breathe. I tried to say something but he leaned forward and took what little breath I had away. Our lips pressed tightly together. He grabbed me and stood me up against the wall and continued to kiss me. I felt like I was suffocating. I pushed him away and our lips parted and I gasped for air. ¡°Bren¡­how?¡±


    My words were cut short when he pushed me forcefully back up against the wall. I struggled to speak and understand what was going on. My vision was blurring again and I had a sharp pain in my head and squeezed my eyes shut. He laughed and said, ¡°those pills really fuck with your head don¡¯t they.¡±


    In horror my eyes flew open. In front of me was Lance, not Bren. My entire body convulsed as it sunk in. I tried to pull away but he pressed his body up against me. I cried out. ¡°No!¡± I twisted trying to get away and he grabbed the back of my head forcing another kiss on me.


    Someone pushed the door open. My eyes met the shocked stare of one of the guards. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°Creso needs to talk to you.¡± Lance gave me a death stare as he released me. He reached for the counter and then threw something at me.The guard spoke again, ¡°Creso is not happy, he has tried to call you several times.¡± He looked back at me and snarled, ¡°get dressed!¡± and then walked towards the guard muttering and left. The guard looked back at me and then shut the door behind him.


    I turned around, grabbing the sink, disgusted and gagging. My stomach was empty from not eating and clear bile burned my throat as it escaped. Why did I let this happen? I should have known it couldn¡¯t be him. I laid the clothing on the counter and washed my face off. I looked in the mirror and saw Lance behind me. I turned around quickly, but no one was there. I need to get control of myself but the Blue Cryo was making it impossible. I put the clothing on and readied myself the best I could, at least out there I wouldn¡¯t be completely alone with Lance. I opened the door and looked around. The guard was inside the room and Lance was nowhere to be seen. I sat down on a chair and tried to think of something that I could do. If I could escape this room, where would I go? Without a plan or way of communicating with the others I was useless.


    The guard seemed to pace nervously at the door while looking at his phone. The man looked like he was around my age. I wonder how he got involved with Creso. He pulled out what appeared to be a pack of crackers. As if to remind me I hadn¡¯t eaten in a very long time my stomach growled, the sound was loud enough for the guard to hear. He looked across the room and then walked towards me. He held out his hand which held a pack of crackers and said, ¡°I have noticed they don¡¯t bring you food. You must be starving.¡±


    I looked at him surprised but didn¡¯t refuse his offer. I took one and said, ¡°thanks¡±.


    He sat the rest of the crackers on the bed beside me and said, ¡°you can have the rest of them if you want.¡±


    I managed a smile in between chewing. I hadn¡¯t eaten much of anything since I had been here, and only then when Dr. Nemeroff snuck me in food. Although I was hungry, I didn''t know how much my stomach could handle, so I ate slowly.


    The guard returned to the door and continued his nervous pacing. I appreciated the kindness no matter how small it was.


    There was nothing for me to do while I waited, so I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes. I wasn¡¯t sleeping, but instead I was listening to every sound. Every conversation and every movement hoping that I might hear Bren and the others.


    There was a commotion at the door as Lance and another man stepped in. Lance and the two other men were arguing about the instructions that had been given to them. The older guard that came with Lance said, ¡°Creso wants to change our positions and Lance will be left in charge of the patient.


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.The younger guard looked at me and then back at the older man and said, ¡°I think it is a good idea to leave one of us watching the patient''s room.¡±


    The older guard said, ¡°we are supposed to strictly follow his orders. Now let''s go!¡±


    The younger guard started to say something else and then looked my way again. The older guard said, ¡°do you have something more you would like to say?¡±


    The younger guard looked frustrated and said, ¡°no, let''s just go.¡±


    Lance turned away from them and walked in my direction. The door shut loudly as the two guards left and I was left alone with him.


    He looked at me with expectant eyes. I have known Lance for long enough to know exactly what he wanted. I looked up at the window above me, and noticed it was already dark. Lance walked towards the door and locked it as he said, ¡°I should keep this locked just in case your friends come looking for you.¡± He then turned the main light off. The glow of the one light that remained gave the room an eerie glow.


    My heart seemed to palpitate furiously as I thought about my friends and their safety. I needed to have faith in them, Fuchsia is smart and I am sure she has figured out what is happening.


    I could feel Lance staring at me and it sent a shiver up my spine. I stood up and started to walk away but he grabbed my arm and said, ¡±where do you think you are going?¡±


    His phone rang and he let go of me. He turned his back to me as he answered his phone. I could hear the conversation. The man on the other end said, ¡°the boss wanted me to let you know that two people have just been spotted outside the building. Make sure that you keep a close eye on the patient.¡± Lance picked up one of his hands and ran it across the top of his head. It was just enough to raise his jacket so I could see he had his gun holstered at his lower back.


    I turned around and headed quickly to the bathroom. I sat down on the floor in the bathroom. How can I get the gun away from him? I heard movement outside the bathroom and then everything was quiet. I sat in the room for at least 15 minutes. Had he left?


    I opened the door to peek out and was instantly grabbed from behind by Lance. He had one arm around my waist and the other was placed diagonally across my chest. His voice was low and his face was too close as he said, ¡°don¡¯t you think we should finish off where we started earlier?¡±


    ¡°Like hell we are!¡± I tried to get away but he just squeezed harder.


    He leaned closer and said, ¡°do you really think that your friend is going to save you? What''s his name Bren?¡±


    I didn¡¯t respond to him. He was squeezing me so hard I could barely breathe. My heart was beating so fast and I was starting to feel lightheaded.


    He whispered in my ear, ¡°I¡¯m sure if he knew what you had done he wouldn¡¯t want to be with you!¡±


    His words echoed in my head. No, he¡¯s wrong. What if Lance is right. What if he is disgusted by me. What if he just felt sorry for me. Lance pulled me across the room and sat me on the bed.


    He ran his hand through my hair and said, ¡°look at your hair¡­¡± He pushed my hair behind my ear and rubbed a finger over my scars roughly and said, ¡°and you are covered in scars. You are a freak!¡±


    What if he is right? My thoughts were racing as I sat on the edge of the bed silent.


    I felt his hand on my chin as he pulled my head up to look at him. He leaned forward and kissed me. My lips were numb and I was in a daze. His other hand was on my shoulder and when he pulled back, I finally realized what was happening. He is trying to manipulate me, just like Creso.


    I was filled with rage and said, ¡°I told you no!¡± Stupid son of a bitch. My leg was positioned perfectly, I used all my strength and kneed him in the groin. He fell over into the floor cursing me. He was on his side writhing in pain and I could see his gun. I quickly jumped off the bed and grabbed the gun. He rolled to his back and grabbed my leg and slammed me to the ground. The back of my head hit the floor, I was fighting to keep conscious. He stood up quickly and yelled something at me. He raised his leg and tried to kick the gun away but I closed my eyes and fired it three times.


    I heard a loud thud. I was afraid to open my eyes. Did I hit him? Was he dead?


    I slowly dropped the gun to my side. My arms were outstretched. I could feel blood behind my head and it stung. What had I just done? Did I kill Lance? Where were the others? Too many questions eroded my mind and I was tired. I could close my eyes and just give up tonight.


    I looked up at the window above me, but the stars sparkled and resonated with me and I knew I had to survive.

 Chapter 14: Rescue (Part 1)

    It was dark outside, and time seemed to be slowing down as I waited to make my move. Sina and Fuchsia had already left. Their part was to act as a decoy for our rescue mission. They would draw the attention of Creso¡¯s men and allow for the rest of us to fall into position and enter the building unnoticed. I checked to make sure that my gun was secure on my chest.


    I spotted movement to my side and quickly turned my head allowing my new eye to scan the darkened area. I placed my hand on my gun and remained motionless ready to attack if need be.


    A vibrant blue danced through trees and caught my attention.


    ¡°Tag, you''re it.¡± A whisper at the back of my head. I turned around probably louder than I should have and grabbed the hot headed kid behind me, gripping his tactical jacket in my hands. How the hell did Fuchsia find this kid?


    Frustrated, I let go of his jacket and said, ¡°are you trying to get killed? If I hadn''t spotted your blue hair, I would have shot you!¡±


    He smiled at me and said, ¡°I doubt that sir. I would have gotten you before you had a chance to pull your gun. They don¡¯t call me Jackrabbit for nothing.¡±


    Is this kid serious?


    I turned my head back towards the building and said, ¡°I wonder if they have made it into the building yet?¡±


    Jackie¡¯s movement¡¯s were surprisingly quiet and smooth as he appeared by my side. Another one of Eclipse Medical¡¯s miracles stood beside me, a quadruple amputee.


    Jackie tipped his head and said, ¡°are you worried about them?¡±


    I sighed and said, ¡°yes!¡±


    He patted my back and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know about Sina, but Fuchsia kicked my ass a bunch of times! He looked at me and chuckled, I bet she had you doing her dirty work. She doesn''t like to get her hands dirty!¡±


    My phone buzzed and I pulled it out so that Jackie could see it also. The text said, ¡°we are in. They know we are here. We will try to keep them busy. Go!¡±


    I typed, ¡°be careful.¡±


    And with that we heard an alarm go off in the building and smoke emerged from the first floor. Jackie tugged at my jacket and said, ¡°let¡¯s go rescue that boyfriend of yours.¡±


    I wanted to find Jax but I was scared. I had some idea of what he had been through because of my conversation with Dr. Nemeroff. It had taken everything for me to keep it together when I heard what they were doing to him.


    I stood up quickly and slid my phone into my pocket. We took off running towards the front of the building. I was in the lead because I could see everything clearly in my left eye. I was still trying to get used to relying on my left eye in situations like this as it was now the stronger, more dominant eye. I couldn¡¯t hear Jackie behind me, the boy was freakishly quiet; a ghost in the night. I slid quickly placing my back up against the back of the building, my hand on my gun. Jackie was beside almost instantly. His gun was already pulled and ready.


    I could hear talking towards the front of the building and hoped that most of the guards were relocating towards where the smoke was escaping. We climbed the back steps, backs close to the wall and guns at a low ready position.


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    When we reached the top of the steps I looked over at Jackie to let him know I was going to enter the building. He nodded at me as I moved quickly to the door. I continued to hold my gun at a low ready position as I cautiously entered the building. I felt Jackie push back up against me as he entered the building, letting me know he was still covering us from the outside. As soon the door shut he was up beside me. A more serious look now on his face, as he scanned the hallway for signs of life. ¡°Where do you think Jax is being kept?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Dr. Nemeroff said he was on the top floor. There is a small chance that they didn¡¯t move him,¡± I said.


    I looked in the direction of the stairs and then the elevator. The elevator would be quicker but it would also be more dangerous. I headed towards the stairs. We walked on opposite sides and I was walking forward and Jackie tried to keep watch behind us in case someone entered from another floor. We quietly climbed the stairs. I started to walk faster as we got closer to the top floor. I stood at the door afraid to enter. When Jackie caught up with me. He said, ¡°do you want me to go first?¡±


    I shook my head no, and pushed through the door. I was hit with a pungent odor, and I was almost certain it was blood. Jackie reached an arm in front of me stopping me from walking and pointed at the floor. There was a large trail of blood going down the hall toward the elevator. I gripped my gun tightly and tried to still my shaking hand. We heard a noise behind us, someone was coming up the stairs. We moved quickly into the shadows of the dim lit floor. Two men entered and they also noticed the blood on the floor. One of them appeared to reach for their phone, probably to notify Creso. Before the men or I knew what was happening Jackie had grabbed the man. Within seconds the man collapsed to the floor, and I am sure he was dead. I was close enough at this point that I was able to slam the other man against the wall and he fell disoriented to the floor. I looked at Jackie, the boy was completely unfazed by the kill he had just made. I looked back at the man and he was trying to get up. I rotated my hand and hit him with the back of my gun and he fell unconscious to the floor.


    I decided to follow the trail of blood, it was a pretty good indication that Jax was either close or had been. Maybe we would find some evidence of where they have taken him. My stomach began to knot as we got closer to the room. The door was open and it was quiet.


    I stood in the open doorway motionless. I could see a figure lying on the floor surrounded by blood. Jackie pushed me into the room and said, ¡°we don¡¯t have time to do this. Go to your friend. I¡¯ll stand guard.¡±


    He was right. I needed to go to Jax. The closer I got to him. I could see his chest rising and falling. He was alive! I picked up speed and when I got to him I squatted beside him. There was a pool of blood under his head. I placed my hand on his face and said his name.


    His eyes opened slowly as he said, ¡°Bren¡­if only it was really you.¡±


    I looked at him confused and then heard metallic scraping against the floor. I looked to my side, Jax was gripping a gun in his hand. Luckily, before he could fire the gun, I knocked it from his grasp.


    ¡°What the hell, Jax! What are you doing? It¡¯s really me. It¡¯s Bren,¡± I said while trying to calm him down. Was he hallucinating?


    Jax squinted his eyes at me and then touched my skin beside my eye. I recoiled in fear, he hadn¡¯t seen me since I had the surgery. Maybe he didn¡¯t recognize me. He gently brushed the side of my face and said, ¡°is it really you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is really me,'''' I said.


    He pulled himself up and placed both hands on my cheek, he got incredibly close like he was examining me but didn''t say anything about my new eye. He let go of my face and fell into my arms and took a deep breath in.


    He pulled back and smiled at me until something caught his attention behind me. He started to stand and lost his balance and I helped him up. He was staring at the blood on the floor in front of him. He looked terrified as he said, ¡°where is Lance?¡±


    I looked at the blood on the floor, wondering what had taken place. What could I say to calm him?


    Jackie¡¯s voice reminded me that we needed to hurry as he said, ¡°I hate to rush you two, but we have to go. Now!¡±


    Jax seemed to be transfixed on the blood in front of him. Whatever was going on in his head was going to make it harder to move through the facility with him like this. I pulled him towards the door and away from the room hoping that he would snap out of it.

 Chapter 15: Rescue (part 2)

    Jackie took the lead as we headed back towards the stairs. We had decided it was best to put Jax in between us and let me cover the back. The lights flickered in the hallway and the two guards lay only partially hidden by the shadows. I looked towards Jax hoping he had not found the guards but instead almost ran into him as he stopped. His eyes were transfixed on the crumpled lifeless figures. I stepped to his side hoping to block his vision while placing my arm around his back and gently pulling him forward. Jackie waited at the stairs, his gun in a low but ready position. When we reached him, he looked over his shoulder at Jax, pausing for a moment before looking towards me. He asked, ¡°Are you ready?¡± I nodded despite my concern for Jax¡¯s current condition and uncertainty of what lay ahead.


    I placed a hand on Jax¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I need you to stay between us.¡± Jax looked at me and then at Jackie. I could tell Jax was confused as he squinted his eyes at Jackie.


    Jackie tilted his head to the side, smiled and winked at Jax and said, ¡°my name is Jackie, I am a friend.¡± Jax looked back at me and I nodded in agreement.


    We began our descent down the stairs and it was clear that Jax was having some problems as he gripped the stair railing. Jax¡¯s pace had slowed and I was getting worried about Sina and Fuchsia. How long could they evade Creso¡¯s men?


    All of a sudden Jax came to a stop and grabbed his chest and let out a pained sound. He sat down heavily on the step clutching his chest, he sounded like he was hyperventilating. I was a couple of steps behind Jax and Jackie was closer. Jackie turned around quickly and squatted in front of Jax. The gun was in his left hand, pointed up and away from Jax at about shoulder height. With his right hand he reached forward and said ¡°hey, are you ok?¡±


    I was a step away when I saw Jax¡¯s arm go out towards Jackie. Jackie leapt to the right side and grabbed the railing to stop himself from falling down the stairs. Jax continued to travel forward and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt just before he went down the steps. I yanked him back and we both fell onto the steps behind me. His body was covered in sweat and he fought to get out of my grasp. I reached my left arm across his body and grabbed his flailing right wrist. I spun him around and he fell to his knees in front of me. Jax looked at me like he didn¡¯t know who I was. He was terrified. I had seen him like this before, when he had a large amount of Blue Cryo in his system and was hallucinating. But how and why did he take it?


    The whites of his eyes were red and he was sickly pale. I placed my right hand on his face and said, ¡°Jax, it''s me Bren.¡± I looked into his eyes hoping that he would recognize me. He tried to pull away and I grabbed his upper arm. I felt sick as I said, ¡°please snap out of it Jax!¡± His eyes now on the floor as he continued to pull away.


    I didn¡¯t know what to do. Jackie was silently standing behind Jax and stared at me. I shook my head at him. What the hell was I supposed to do? I looked back at Jax and released his wrist and placed my other hand on his other upper arm and said, ¡°Please Jax! I love you!¡±


    Jax lifted his head and looked at me. He reached a hand slowly towards my face and said ¡°Bren.¡± The edges of his fingers had just made contact with my face and something happened. I looked up to see Jackie holding two hypodermic needles at his side. I looked back at Jax and his arms had dropped. His eyes were wells of tears, a few escaping as he mouthed something I couldn¡¯t quite hear. He fell forward and I caught him in my arms. I looked up at Jackie again and screamed, ¡°what the hell did you do to him?¡±


    He threw the needles to the side and held his hands up in the air and said, ¡°calm down, it''s just a sedative! Fuchsia gave me a couple before we parted. She said I might need them.¡±


    I turned Jax in my arms so I could see his face. His breathing had slowed and his face looked calm. I pushed his hair out of his face, it was stiff and stained with his blood. I swallowed hard, thinking about what he must have been through. I looked up at Jackie and said, ¡°he had just recognized me, if you had just waited a couple more seconds. He would have¡­¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Jackie cut me off and said, ¡°he would have likely had another hallucination and gotten us all killed. You know this was our only option. Pick him up and let''s go!¡±


    I ground my teeth together, irritated that he was right. I would never have been able to do that to Jax. That is why Fuchsia gave him the needles. I shifted Jax in my arms and stood up. It was disturbing how much weight he had lost since the last time I had seen him. I needed to be able to still have one hand free for my gun so I decided to put him over my shoulders.


    Jackie placed a hand on my shoulder and then said ¡°listen I know this is hard. If anything happened to my girlfriend, I would be losing my shit! But we have to keep moving!¡±


    I nodded.


    We were able to move quicker with me carrying Jax. When we got to the third floor we could hear lots of noise. Jackie laughed and said, ¡°it sounds like Fuchsia and Sina are keeping them busy.¡±


    Jackie looked out the window at the stairs. I could tell he was thinking the same thing I was. How were we going to be able to do this with Jax?


    I looked out the window and didn¡¯t see anyone. Was it possible that Creso¡¯s men had all been pulled into the hospital to help.


    I looked back at Jackie, he was furiously typing messages into his phone while chewing his bottom lip. My guess is he was texting Lyra.


    He stopped and looked at me and said, ¡°Lyra is going to meet me at the treeline and I am going to pass Jax off to her.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I said frustratedly.


    I didn¡¯t like the idea of separating from him again, but I also understood this might be our only option.


    ¡°How are we going to get him down there?¡± I asked.


    Jackie smiled and looked at the window.


    I looked at him like he was crazy and said, ¡°we are on the third floor. How can you safely get him down there?¡±


    Jackie said, ¡°you will just have to trust me. We don¡¯t have any other option right now and luckily Jax will heal if injured.¡±


    I sighed. This kid! It may be true Jax will heal from the injuries but what about him. A jump like that is extremely risky, especially while carrying Jax. He needs to be able to make it to the treeline and back to me.


    His phone buzzed again and he squeezed his phone. ¡°Listen, I promise I will get him to Lyra and she will keep him safe.¡±


    I eased Jax off my shoulder and sat down on the step. I ran a hand along the side of his face, I had so many things to say to him. I couldn¡¯t help but be afraid that we wouldn¡¯t see each other again. I looked up at Jackie. He had somehow worked the entire window loose without making a sound.


    I stood back up with Jax in my arms and said, ¡°how are you going to carry him?¡±


    He looked out the window and quickly climbed into the windowsill. Then he motioned for me to hand Jax over as he said, ¡°on my back, I think it will minimize the impact felt by both of us when we hit.¡±


    I helped him get Jax adjusted.


    Jackie said, ¡°you are going to have to tape his arms together because I won¡¯t be able to hold them.¡± I nodded and reached into his jacket for the tape. His phone buzzed again as I finished up. He looked at his phone and said, ¡°she is ready for us. I will be back quickly.¡±


    Before I could respond he dropped from the window. I felt like I was going to vomit, everything happened so quickly. I heard a loud sound as a dust cloud obstructed my vision of where they had just landed.


    The dust cleared and I caught a glimpse of blue streak across the hospital grounds as it disappeared into the trees. Now all I could do was wait. I stood with my back up against the wall close to the window so I could see the treeline and keep an eye on the stairs around me.

 Chapter 16: Rescue (Part 3)

    Jackie POV


    My body was sore from the landing, but it was nothing compared to what I had experienced in training. I¡¯m not sure how badly Jax was hurt, but I could feel a good steady heartbeat against my back so I knew he was alive at least. I burst through the trees and saw Lyra immediately. She ran over to me and said, ¡°you really scared me! I thought you were hurt when you rolled after landing.¡±


    I sighed, and said, ¡°My legs absorbed most of the impact, thanks to the carbon fiber and titanium design. I was just a little off balance when I landed because of Jax.¡±


    She grunted and then reached up and cut the tape off Jax, releasing him from me. I was afraid to let go of him completely until I was sure she had him. I could feel her start to lift him down and I released my grip.


    When I turned around Lyra was already checking his injuries. ¡° How does he look?¡± I asked. I was a little worried about his injuries considering when I rolled I kinda crushed him. ¡°Oh god, Bren is going to kill me.¡±


    Lyra didn¡¯t answer me, instead she leaned forward and appeared to be listening to his chest. She raised back up and looked at me and said, ¡°he is really red around his ribs, they might be broken and he might have a collapsed lung. Some minor cuts and scrapes; other than that he is ok.¡±


    I wanted to be able to tell Bren the truth when I returned. My palms felt sweaty and I nervously started to adjust my jacket as I asked, ¡°a collapsed lung? Do you think his regenerative ability will resolve that?¡±


    Lyra stood up and walked over to me. She placed her arms around me and gave me a reassuring hug. ¡°He is going to be ok. I¡¯m not sure to what extent his regenerative ability has but I know he will be ok, it isn¡¯t life threatening, if that is what you are worried about.¡±


    Lyra¡¯s eyes sparkled in the moonlight as she leaned forward and kissed me. I ran my hand over her head and down her back feeling her long black braid. ¡°Are you going to move him or try to keep him here?¡± I asked.


    She looked back at him before saying, ¡°I am going to wait about ten minutes and move him to the car. It will be safer there and I will be ready when you all need me.¡±


    She walked away from me and went back to Jax. I looked back at her, we didn¡¯t ever say goodbye or anything similar to it. It was a promise we made to each other a long time ago. I walked back towards the treeline to see if I saw anyone. It was mostly dark, except for a few light poles. Not that I could see that well but still nobody was in sight. I noticed a gutter that traveled up the building close to the window. If it was strong enough I could climb back up the building.


    I sent a text message to Bren, letting him know I was headed back. I raced across the hospital grounds back towards the building. When I reached the building I felt like an easy target. If anyone was out here I was going to be easily spotted especially when I started to ascend the building. I pulled at the gutter and decided it was sturdy enough to hold my weight. I grabbed the gutter and began pulling myself up as quickly as I could. I had made it about halfway up when I felt something hit my leg. Although my legs were made of titanium they still could sense touch and certainly felt the vibrations move up my body. It was gunfire, I tried to move more quickly up the gutter but, another shot hit my shoulder. Luckily it felt like it just grazed it. In a matter of seconds Bren had taken out the men. When I reached the top Bren pulled me the rest of the way in and I fell on to the floor with a heavy thud. I turned back around and looked down at the ground and said, ¡°thanks for taking those two out.¡±


    Bren looked out the window and said, ¡°I only took one out.¡±


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    I chewed on my bottom lip nervously while staring out towards the treeline. I said under my breath, ¡°Lyra.¡±


    I felt a pat on my back as Bren said, ¡°I¡¯m sure no one saw where the other bullet came from. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Bren reached out towards me and said, ¡°your shoulder is bleeding. Let me look at it.¡±


    ¡°It only grazed me, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I said.


    Bren raised an eyebrow and said, ¡°I need to make sure we all make it out of here. Now show me!¡±


    I gave in and took my arm out of my jacket and let him look. It was a little worse than I thought. The bullet had entered my skin and it was starting to hurt really bad. He tore part of his shirt off and tied it up. Then he put duct tape over the wound.


    ¡°Hopefully that will decrease the bleeding,¡± he said.


    I carefully put my arm back into my jacket.


    Just as I was about to stand up. The entire floor shook. I yelled, ¡°what the hell was that?¡±


    Bren ran toward the door, ¡°I don¡¯t know, let''s go find Fuchsia and Sina and get out of here.¡±


    We ran down the last two floors. It was so loud when we got to the first floor we fully expected to enter the chaos immediately. We both had our guns ready and Bren cracked the door. There was a thick layer of smoke and lots of yelling.


    Bren slowly shut the door back and said, ¡°it looks like most of the action is to the right. The smoke is going to limit our visibility but according to Fuchsia I have thermal vision. Luckily, my new eye auto detects and adjusts to the environment. When I open the door I am going to move quickly along the wall until I find cover. I want you to stay close and cover my back.¡±


    He reached down and unfastened the gas mask off of his pants. I reached down to get mine but noticed it was missing. ¡°Shit, I must have lost my mask when I jumped.¡±


    Bren tapped his mask and said, ¡°we will have to share this one. I will give it to you when you feel like you need it.¡±


    I laughed and said, ¡°nah, you need it old man. I see how much you smoke.¡±


    Bren frowned at me. I knew he wasn¡¯t old but it was too funny to see his reaction.


    I checked to make sure my gear was all secure and then said, ¡°alright let¡¯s do this!¡±


    Bren pushed the door open and started moving against the wall. The smoke was thick and I wasn¡¯t doing as well as Bren maneuvering. I was starting to feel the effects of the smoke. I let out a couple of coughs and started to feel a little disoriented. I looked up and saw Bren facing me. He slid the mask over my face and motioned for me to follow. We found our way to what looked like a bathroom. Bren kicked the heavy door open, the bathroom was surprisingly clear. He pulled me in and shut the door quickly. I pulled the mask off and took a couple of good breaths of air. Bren had pulled out his phone and flipped it around so I could see it. There were a couple of neon dots moving on the screen and then two stationary dots.


    Bren pointed at the two stationary dots and said, ¡°these dots are us.¡± He moved his finger across the screen. ¡°These two dots are Fuchsia and Sina. Once we leave this room we are going to move fast so we need to stay together. Once we regroup, you will message Lyra to be ready. That should give us enough time to get out of the building and reach her.¡±


    I started to say something but we heard footsteps outside the bathroom. We both slid to the wall beside the door. The door opened and a man stepped in unaware of the gun pointed at his temple. He held a gun in his left hand and motioned with it for someone behind him to follow.


    I didn¡¯t want to make a shot this close but it was the best chance we had. I fired and the man went down. Fire erupted from outside of the door into the bathroom. Pieces of metal, plastic, and bright sparks flew all around us. We were trapped. When the fire ceased Bren leaned forward and said, ¡°it''s now or never. Rapid fire. Don¡¯t stop. Let¡¯s go!¡±

 Chapter 17: Rescue (part 4)

    Lyra had noticed several men emerge from the building after she had taken one of the men out that were attacking Jackie. She pulled Jax into a dense area of trees and brush, propping him up against a large trunk. His breathing had become rapid and she was worried he might be about to wake up. She tucked a sheathed knife into his hand just in case something happened to her and he wasn¡¯t found. She then moved quickly and hid in a nearby location. It didn¡¯t take long before two men entered their hidden location. Lyra silently crouched while she watched the men and hoped she had hidden Jax well enough. The men walked closer and Lyra held her breath hoping they would continue walking past his location. The brush moved slightly and what sounded like a moan drew the attention of the armed men. The taller of the men motioned for the other to check. The other man appeared to be scanning the area with his gun held visible. The other man appeared to have lowered his gun and was fighting with the thick brush while holding a small flashlight. Lyra quickly raised her gun and fired. The tall man somehow dodged the shot and dove behind a nearby tree. ¡°Shit,¡± she muttered as she quickly changed her location while still keeping an eye on where Jax was hidden. She had lost sight of the other man but hoped he had run away when he heard gunfire. Lyra watched, waiting for the men to move, but it was a small twig breaking that alerted her of their presence. She spun around and came face to face with the shorter of the two men. He started to raise his gun but she kicked him back, his gun went flying in the other direction. Lyra landed on one knee as he quickly tried to get up but she delivered a swift elbow strike to his face knocking him unconscious. Lyra heard movement near her and she stood up and took off running towards Jax. She was a couple of feet away from Jax when she felt a sharp hit to her side. She dropped to the ground, she had been hit by a bullet but luckily she was wearing a bulletproof vest. It still hurt like a mother fucker and she was going to have a hell of a bruise. The impact had knocked the breath out of her and she was trying to stand when she realized the man was now standing beside her, his gun pointed directly at her.


    ¡°Drop your gun,¡± he said.


    Lyra held her side and said, ¡°fuck you.¡±


    The man laughed and said, ¡°I will make sure to hit that pretty face of yours this time.¡±


    Lyra hissed and threw her gun to the side.


    ¡°Now lay on your stomach with your hands behind your head,¡± the man said.


    Lyra did as the man said but kept her head turned so she could see him. The man started to walk backwards towards Jax. He leaned into the brush while having his gun out from his side. Lyra leaped to her feet and was behind him in seconds. She placed her hands around the gun and twisted, forcing him to release it. He pulled his arm away from Lyra and regained his tall composure. Before Lyra had time to aim the gun the man kicked the gun out of her hands. Lyra turned her body and faced her opponent. Lyra had placed herself between Jax and the man. The man gave her a grin as he tried to strike her. She dodged his hit and grabbed his arm and used a frontal kick. He pulled out of her grasp and heaved a little from the impact of her leg. She quickly moved back between Jax and the man. Sweat dripped from the man¡¯s brow and he breathed heavily. At least he understood she wouldn¡¯t be an easy opponent, she thought. He again tried to attack Lyra, this time with a bear hug. She slid back towards Jax, just barely stopping herself from colliding with him. Lyra blocked him from closing the space in between by placing her hands at his hip bones. He pushed against her and her elbows pressed against her abdomen. Even though she was small in stature she was able to hold her on against the large person in front of her. She arched her back and launched her knee into his groin repeatedly. The man loosened his grip and Lyra pushed him back forcefully. The man stumbled back and Lyra delivered a final roundhouse kick to his liver. The man fell to the ground coughing blood and exhausted.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Lyra heard movement behind her and she defensively spun around ready to attack. Jax was standing, one hand on the tree as if was giving him support. The other hand was holding the still sheathed knife that Lyra had left. Lyra stared at Jax not knowing what to say. Jax stumbled forward and yelled, ¡°behind you!¡±. Lyra turned around just in time to catch the fist of the man behind her. With her free hand she punched him under the chin. The man fell to the ground motionless. Lyra turned around to face Jax again but he was already gone.


    ¡°Shit,¡± she said under her breath. She looked back at the man, he probably wasn¡¯t going to get back up for a while. She quickly located her gun and ran to the edge of the trees and stared out towards the hospital. Jax was running back towards the hospital. ¡°What the hell is he thinking?¡± she growled.


    She took off running with her gun ready in a low position towards Jax. He ran surprisingly fast and when she finally caught up with him he was already to the building. She grabbed him and pulled him into the shadows. She pushed him against the wall ,her hand loosely over his mouth as she whispered angrily, ¡°what the hell are you thinking, why would you try to go back in? Everyone is risking their lives to save you!¡±


    Jax¡¯s eyes were huge. He pushed her hand away and said, ¡°I don¡¯t even know who you are.¡±


    He covered his face and shook his head and said, ¡°I don¡¯t understand what is going on.¡±


    Lyra gently pulled his hands away and said, ¡°I am a friend of Fuchsia¡¯s. She contacted my boyfriend Jackie and asked us to help rescue you. Bren and Jackie are trying to get to Fuchsia and Sina. I am supposed to keep you out here and safe.¡±


    Jax swallowed hard before saying, ¡°one of the doctors tried to help me. He is injured and being kept in the basement. I can¡¯t just leave him.¡±


    Lyra sighed and looked at Jax and said, ¡°things are chaotic inside, it would be impossible to get to the basement from there. Let me see if we can find an outside entrance. There is a small chance that all the guards are on the first floor. There is a chance we can get to him.¡±


    Just as Lyra finished talking, gunfire erupted above them and a shower of glass pieces fell from a window. They heard a commotion and the flash of metallic hands glinted in the moonlight as a man dangled out the window.

 Chapter 18: Rescue (Part 5)

    I coughed as I rolled on the floor, the air was acrid and thick with toxic smoke.  Broken material crunched beneath my body, remnants of the events that just took place. Only seconds ago a deafening outpour of bullets had filled the space that we crossed. The debris had begun to settle and there was an uncomfortable silence that surrounded me. I flexed my right hand a little, it was stiff from holding my gun so tight. I started to raise myself up with my left arm and found myself looking at the barrel of a revolver. The man who stood in front didn¡¯t look in good shape. His injuries were visible as they saturated his pale fabric shirt. His hand shook as he tried to hold his gun steady. He was wearing a mask and I couldn¡¯t make out his features.


    His breath was rapid as he struggled to speak, ¡°drop the gun or I will shoot.¡±


    I stared at him, wondering if I could disarm him in his unsteady and injured state. Before I could try, I saw a glint of metal and a red haze momentarily filled my vision. The body slid to the floor as a mass amount of blood poured from the wound, a sign that death was fast and he didn¡¯t suffer much.  I felt something warm run down my face, and reached up to wipe it away. I looked back up to where the man had been standing, swallowing uncomfortably at the sight. If I didn¡¯t know who stood there I might have been afraid. Jackie stood in front of me, his blue hair twisted like a serpent around his neck, a wide grin and large bright eyes stared at me. His skin was covered in blood and I had a feeling the majority was not his. He moved the knife that he had just used across his body and wiped the blood on his left jacket sleeve before resheathing it on his leg.


    He walked closer to me, and said, ¡°sorry about that¡±


    I looked at him confused and said, ¡°what?¡±


    He pointed at my hand and I looked down, it was covered in blood. Realizing now that I must be covered in the man¡¯s blood.


    I sighed and said, ¡°I need a drink when this is all over with.¡±


    Jackie laughed and said, ¡°are you buying?¡±


    I laughed and said, ¡°are you even old enough to drink?¡±


    He pushed past me looking offended and said, ¡°it¡¯s all clear. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    I stared at Jackie as he walked away, sadly he and Jax were a lot alike. Both had been forced to grow up too fast in this world that they had unwillingly been forced into, surviving by any means necessary.


    I wiped my face and hands off again trying to remove the blood as best I could. I called out to Jackie, ¡°wait a minute.¡± We needed to check and see if Fuchsia and Sina were still in the same location. I pulled my phone out and gasped as I said, ¡°they are headed towards us and fast.¡±


    Jackie froze and turned around just in time for me to grab him and get out of the way of gunfire. I checked my gun and the ammo pouch on my leg. I whispered, ¡°I¡¯m all out of ammo.¡±


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Jackie clicked his tongue and said, ¡°I am too, that''s why I was using my knife.¡±


    ¡°Dammit¡±, I said under my breath.


    All we could do was wait for them to get close enough for us to try to attack. I heard another loud explosion and the sound of glass breaking. I peeked out from where we were hiding and I could clearly see Fuchsia and Sina. Fuchsia was facing our direction and Sina had her back to us and appeared to be holding someone out the window. I couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying but they were arguing about something. I heard Fuchsia say loudly, ¡°just drop the bastard.¡±


    I started to laugh at the two of them until I heard Sina say, ¡°Jax, why the hell are you down there?¡±


    Jax? Why and how was he back at the building. I scanned the area to see if I saw anyone before heading there way.


    I could feel a hand grab at my arm but I pulled away and headed down the hall towards Fuchsia and Sina.


    Sina pulled the man back inside and slammed him into the floor. I cringed as I heard what sounded like bones breaking from the impact.


    A shower of gunfire erupted near us and Jackie and I ran into the corner where Fuchsia and Sina were.


    In retrospect, this was probably not the best decision considering two of us were out of ammo, but here we are. I screamed, ¡°no ammo as we dove behind Fuchsia.¡±


    Fuschia grabbed a smoke bomb off of her leg and threw it into the hall. Fuschia turned around and yelled, ¡°Where the hell is your mask Bren?¡± I ignored her as I tried to make my way towards the window where Jax had been seen.


    Sina grabbed my shoulder and said, ¡°he is gone. He and Lyra must have run.¡±


    I sat down on the floor and placed my hands on my head. What the hell is he doing? He was safe! Why would he run back into danger?


    Jackie was furiously typing into his phone. Sweat was pouring from his face and he looked as worried as I felt.


    I called his name, and he looked up at me.


    I said, ¡°and?¡±


    He swallowed hard before saying, ¡°they were attacked and Jax took off running back to the building. Lyra tried to stop him but he is insisting on getting some doctor who helped him.¡±


    ¡°Bloody hell, when I get a hold of him...¡± I said as I hit the floor.


    I started to cough again, the smoke was thick and filling the alcove that we had claimed. Fuchsia pulled her mask off and forced it onto my face.


    She looked at me with concern as she said, ¡°how long have you been maskless?¡±


    I shook my head at Fuchsia and she said, ¡° dammit Bren. Don¡¯t just shake your head at me. You are going to have pulmonary edema.¡±


    Jackie looked at his phone again and said, ¡°Lyra said they are looking for an entrance to the basement. If they can¡¯t find one soon she will make him leave.¡°


    I stood up quickly and said, ¡°let''s get to the outside of the building! If I have to drag him away I will.¡±


    We headed to the closest exit, without any problems. Luckily, the smoke bombs and whatever else Fuschia and Sina had done had slowed Creso¡¯s men enough for us to escape.


    We ran down the steps and I pulled the mask off and sucked in the fresh air. I said, ¡°don¡¯t separate, we have to stay together. Let¡¯s find Jax and Lyra and get out of here.¡±

 Chapter 19 (part 6)

    I could hear Lyra saying something behind me but I didn¡¯t have any intention of stopping. I moved quickly around the building looking for a basement entrance. I wasn¡¯t paying attention to where I was walking and I tripped on something. I grabbed at thin air as I began to fall but something stopped my descent.  I turned around and saw Lyra, she was out of breath and had an angry look on her face. She must have ran to catch me. I turned back around, embarrassed and irritated with myself.


    Lyra sighed as she said, ¡°why are you being so difficult? You can¡¯t just take off by yourself.¡± Just as I started to apologize I spotted light glowing from what appeared to be a stairwell to the basement. I tried to take off running and was quickly grabbed by Lyra.


    She pulled me close and whispered, ¡°I will knock you out and carry you to the car if you do that again.¡± I swallowed hard as I had no doubt that she would do exactly that.


    I nodded and she said, ¡°I will take the lead and you stay close behind me.¡± When we finally arrived at the stairwell she turned around, gave me a threatening look, and said, ¡°I want you to stay here while I check it out.¡±


    I tried to protest as she started down the steps alone only to silence myself when I saw the basement door open. Lyra quickly ran back up the few steps she had descended but not before  we heard Creso¡¯s voice. As Lyra reached the top step I looked over her shoulder and could see Creso. Our eyes met and he smiled at me with a sick grin. I felt acid rise in my throat. Lyra was right, we should have left. Creso had Dr. Nemeroff in one hand and a gun pointed at his head in the other.


    Creso said, ¡°Oh good. You have saved me the trouble of finding you, Jax.¡±


    I stood at the top of the stairwell, frozen, unable to move. Lyra grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from the stairs, stepping between Creso and I. Her gun was raised defensively at Creso and she looked down at him and said, ¡°there is nothing to talk about! We are leaving.¡±


    Creso continued to ascend the steps and Lyra pushed us farther away. Several men emerged from the basement, their guns pointed at Lyra and I.


    I heard movement, footsteps. It sounded like more than one person on my left. I couldn¡¯t see anything in the dark and it was maddening.  Lyra squeezed my wrist, returning my attention to what was going on in front of me.  An eerie amber glow surrounded us, and the shadows and light moved across Creso making him look like the monster that he is.


    Creso was laughing as he reached the top of the steps and said, ¡°what did I tell you would happen if you misbehaved, Jax?¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Creso forced Dr. Nemeroff forward to his knees. He moved the gun to the back of the doctor''s head.


    Dr. Nemeroff¡¯s wrists were bound and he looked weak. Despite his poor vision and the darkness he appeared to be looking right at me. He smiled and mouthed something at me but I couldn¡¯t tell what it was.


    Creso said, ¡°Jax, you are causing me a lot of problems. If you try to leave here I will kill Dr. Nemeroff and I will find and kill everyone who you care about.¡±


    I panicked as I tried to pull away from Lyra and she held my wrist tighter. I could hear her whisper, ¡°Jax, calm down¡±.


    I heard more footsteps, but this time they were on my right side. This time I looked up and could see movement in the shadows of the night. We were surrounded and there was no way out. I pulled harder but Lyra¡¯s nails dug deeper. She again whispered to me, ¡°Jax, stop.¡±


    This time I whispered back, ¡°just let me go. He is going to kill everyone if I don¡¯t go back.¡±


    Lyra raised her voice a little and said, ¡°no¡±.


    I looked up at Creso as I heard his revolver cock. He looked at me and said, ¡°what will you do, Jax?¡±


    Quick movement diverted my attention as Dr. Nemeroff pushed off the ground, his arms circled around and caught Creso in the face. He screamed, ¡°run Jax!¡±


    My heart was pounding as I heard gunfire. Lyra grabbed me and we dove into the darkness. I heard a whooshing sound as smoke filled the amber lit area where Creso and his men stood. More gunfire. I looked up to see Dr. Nemeroff. His back was towards me and he had several gunshot wounds to the chest. He fell silently to the ground. I clawed at the ground trying to get to him. Dammit this is all my fault. Another whooshing sound went over my head and more smoke filled the air around us. Someone grabbed me. I turned around and met the stare of a glowing blue eye. I screamed and tried to get away. The arms squeezed tightly around me and the voice above me said, ¡°Jax, it¡¯s me. It¡¯s me, Bren.¡±


    I shook my head, afraid that I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes. I said, ¡°no¡­let me go! I don¡¯t believe you.¡± The person pulled me closer and I tried hard to push them away. Not again, it can¡¯t be.


    I screamed, ¡°let me go!¡±


    The person again spoke, ¡°Jax please stop, we have to get out of here.¡±


    I was too weak to fight anymore, I just wanted this to be over. I stopped fighting and the person above me looked down at me, one unfamiliar inhuman eye pulsated glowing blue. I shifted my vision across their face to their other eye. A familiar green eye looked back at me. I felt so tired. I mumbled, ¡°Bren?¡±


    I closed my eyes and could hear another familiar voice, ¡°don¡¯t give me that look Bren. He is in shock and we have to hurry.¡±


    I mumbled, ¡°Fuchsia.¡±


    I wanted to open my eyes and see my friends again. I felt someone brush their hand over my cheek as they said, ¡°just sleep, hun¡±


    A warmth filled me and washed away my worries as I fell asleep.

 Chapter 20: Visual

    I could clearly see Lyra with my right eye, surprisingly she moved with ease through the night. Unfortunately, it was different for me. My left eye was contributing to the inaccuracy of my binocular vision and my depth perception was terrible. My vision in my left eye had greatly decreased since the injury. Running through the dark at this speed was making it impossible to rely just on one eye. I kept trying to shut it and avoid using it but when I stumbled and almost lost Jax I immediately opened it again. Perhaps when I have more time to adjust to my new eye or possible monocular vision it won¡¯t be a problem. I do not relish discussing further surgery on my eye as Fuchsia is already suggesting replacing my other eye with a matching cybernetic ocular. The world feels different through the cybernetic eye. It feels less real and I can¡¯t help but be afraid of that. At least at a distance my new eye resembles a normal eye to the casual observer.


    My clothing was soaked from sweat and it was becoming difficult to keep Jax from sliding off my shoulder. Sina and Fuchsia had filled the air around Creso¡¯s men with smoke, but the men still pushed through as it offered little resistance. I didn¡¯t turn around but I could hear gunfire exchange between both sides. We just needed to keep moving.


    Lyra called out, ¡°we¡¯re close, the car is just ahead.¡± I quickly rotated and forced myself to look and locate the other members of our group. I nervously scanned the area with my eye as it focused on the surroundings. I just hoped that we had all made it out unscathed. Luckily I located everyone quickly, although they were farther away than I had hoped.


    Jackie appeared to be the closest. I called out to him, ¡°we are almost to the car can you¡­.¡± He was gone before I could finish my words like a flash. His blue hair left a glowing trail in my vision as he moved at an inhuman speed.


    I noticed movement on my right side and was able to immediately focus in on a man who was attempting to stay hidden in the trees. I scanned him and his surroundings and quickly noticed he was pointing his gun at something. I held my breath as I raised my gun and fired a single shot, the man dropped before he could even pull the trigger. I heard lots of movement and I spun around causing Jax to slide as he was precariously balanced on my shoulders. Jackie was almost face to face with me, and scared the crap out of me. He smiled and said, ¡°everyone is here, let''s go!¡±


    I could hear the light rumble of a car engine and I turned back around and ran in its direction. It didn¡¯t take long for us to arrive at the car. Jackie crawled in the front next to Lyra. Fuchsia nudged me and said, ¡°let me have him.¡± I carefully slid him off my shoulders and into her arms.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.I turned around and looked at Jax. His skin looked deathly pale and I could barely see his chest rise and fall. Fuchsia sighed and said, ¡°Bren, get in the car so we can check him.¡±


    I crawled into the car and Fuchsia sat down with Jax cradled in her lap and slid over. Sina quickly sat down beside her and shut the door. Fuchsia carefully removed her arms from around Jax and allowed his body to fall across the three of us. Lyra revved the engine and pulled out onto the road.


    Cold sweat and blood caused his hair to stick to his face. I carefully brushed my hand over his face and pushed it back so I could see him more clearly. His face was pale and his veins showing through in a concerning way. How long has it been? How long had he been away from us?


    I looked at his exposed chest, his bones were too visible. Had they tried to starve him?


    So many questions plagued my mind and I grinded my teeth together in anger. Why had it come to this?


    I looked over toward Fuchsia and she was gently holding Jax¡¯s wrist. Her brow was wrinkled and she chewed on her bottom lip. ¡°What is wrong?¡¯ I asked.


    She carefully laid his wrist down and sighed. ¡°His pulse is slow but steady. I need to get him back to my equipment so I can check him out fully.¡±


    I felt like I had failed him. I closed my eyes and said, ¡°I promised him¡­.¡± tears started to form in my eyes and I couldn¡¯t say anything else.


    Fuchsia gently tapped our shoulders together. ¡°Bren, if anyone can survive this it is Jax. Also, have a little faith in his doctor,¡± she laughed.


    I placed my hand on the top of his head and closed my eyes.


    The sound of car doors woke me up. I stretched in my seat and the warm scent of sea salt filled my nose. Jackie and Lyra were standing in front of the car looking out at the water and the sunrise that burned in the sky.


    I noticed that my lap felt warm and looked down. Jax was sweating immensely. I reached down and felt his head. Alarmed by how hot he was I looked over towards Fuschia. She was staring at Jax as well. Without looking up at me, she said, ¡°he has been running a fever for a couple of hours.¡± She squinted her eyes at Jax and tilted her head and started to say something but stopped.


    ¡°What is it, Fuschia?¡±


    She looked at me and said, ¡°I need to check his vitals and run some scans before I can say more.¡±

 Chapter 21: Fever

    Fuchsia and I had just made it through the doorway of the cottage when Jax started to wake up. We struggled as he thrashed; his slippery fevered skin made it impossible to hold on to him. He slipped from our grasp and fell to the floor, he rolled to his side pulling his legs to his chest and crying out in pain.


    Fuchsia and I both knelt by his side. His normally pale skin was red and he was breathing rapidly. Jax cried out again in pain. Without meaning to, I yelled, ¡°dammit Fuchsia! Can¡¯t you give him something? This is horrible!¡±


    She gave me a fierce look, her eyes red and filled with tears. She quickly stood and turned to Sina and said, ¡°help Bren get Jax to the couch and I will be right back.¡±


    I looked up towards Fuchsia and noticed that Keri was standing in the hall, not moving, her eyes just fixed on Fuchsia.


    Fuchsia walked into the hall and stopped in front of her mom, an uncomfortable silence circulated through the room only broken by Jax¡¯s again pained cry. Keri reached out and squeezed Fuchsia¡¯s arm and said, ¡°what can I do to help?¡± Defeated and tired, Fuchsia folded and placed her head on Keri¡¯s shoulder.


    Fuchsia let out a sigh and stood up straight again. She shook her head slowly and walked off to the makeshift lab. Keri followed behind Fuchsia.


    As soon as they disappeared through the doors, I returned my full attention to Jax. I carefully brushed his knotted, sweat drenched hair out of his eyes. His eyes were swollen and puffy, and I was somewhat thankful he couldn¡¯t see me right now. My appearance might upset him again in his weakened and confused state.


    Sina cleared her throat behind me and said, ¡°Bren, let¡¯s move him to the couch.¡±


    I scooted behind him and locked my arms around his waist. I looked up and could see Sina looking over her shoulder. ¡°Are you ready?¡± I asked.


    She nodded and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go¡±.


    We didn¡¯t have far to go luckily so the descent to the couch would be easy. Lyra and Jackie had moved pillows out of the way and were standing near us. Just after we had laid him down, noise erupted from the other side of the cottage. I could hear Fuchsia and her mother arguing. Moments later Keri emerged from the makeshift lab carrying something. I could tell she was upset, she looked at me and sighed.


    ¡°Where is Fuchsia?¡±, I asked.


    She ignored my questions and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to administer two injections of tranquilizer. The first should help to reduce the pain that he is experiencing and allow you to talk to him. We need to get as much information from him as we can before I give him the second tranquilizer. Fuchsia will join us in just a minute and help ask him questions.¡±


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    I looked back at the lab, waiting for Fuchsia to show her face. Keri gently patted my arm and said, ¡°she just needs time to collect herself before she comes back out here.¡±


    I nodded and looked back at Jax. He was in a fetal position and breathing rapidly. I reached out and laid my hand on his back to offer comfort but he flinched as soon as my fingers touched him.


    Keri leaned over closer to Jax and spoke softly to him. ¡°hey Hun. It¡¯s Keri. Can you hear me?¡±


    Jax didn¡¯t open his eyes, but nodded slightly.


    Keri touched his forehead with her hand and said, ¡°I am going to give you something to make you feel better, ok.¡±


    Jax gave another small nod. He was still sweating but now he was shivering uncontrollably.


    I felt a nudge at my back and turned around to find Jackie. He was holding a stack of small towels and a thin blanket. He pushed them towards me as he said, ¡°Lyra and I found these in the hall closet, you will probably need them.¡±


    Keri reached over me and took one of the towels from Jackie. She started wiping the sweat from Jax¡¯s exposed upper body and arm and said, ¡°I need you to hold his right arm, Bren. Jackie, I need you to stand at his head and shoulders and Lyra you can make sure he doesn¡¯t move his legs. We need to minimize his movement as much as possible.¡±


    I noticed Sina had disappeared, but I assume she had gone to be with Fuchsia.


    Keri opened the container that held the tranquilizer. Plastic bits fell to the floor as the injection was readied. She gently brushed atop his deltoid with the dermal light disinfecting tool. She slowly moved the tranquilizer towards his arm and said, ¡°ok, here goes the first injection.¡±


    We all held our breath, afraid of how Jax would respond to the injection. It only took seconds and he seemed unfazed by it. Keri wiped his face and neck off and then placed a hand on the side of his cheek and said, ¡°now we wait.¡±


    I placed a hand on his arm and he jumped as if I had hurt him. I quickly moved away but his eyes opened and he grabbed my hand tightly. For the first time since we left the hospital, his eyes were open and locked on me. I was afraid and tried to pull away as he stared at me. There were no obstructions, he could see me clearly. My cybernetic eye was exposed and in the raw, I was terrified to see his reaction and quickly covered it with my other hand and pulled loose of Jax¡¯s grasp.


    Jax rolled to his back and grabbed my fleeing hand with his other hand. Both of his hands now squeezed my hand preventing me from leaving. I started to speak, but my voice stilled in my throat, choked by fear until Jax spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t leave me, please!¡±


    I was filled with a mixture of emotions and I couldn''t control it. Tears ran down one side of my face and before I could wipe them away Jax had sat up. He placed his hands on both sides of my face and was looking curiously at my new eye. He tilted his head and wiped the escaping tears away, and then he leaned forward and kissed me. His hands trailed down to my shirt, separating our lips as he crumpled forward against my chest. I wrapped my hands around him and hugged him tight. How many more times were we going to be separated? How many more times were we going to go through hell before we could find happiness and peace?

 Chapter 22: No Other Option

    (Jax POV)


    My whole body felt like it was on fire not long ago, but now I felt like something cool was running through my veins. I could hear familiar voices around me and I struggled to open my eyes. I twisted uncomfortably as bright light seeped through, followed by pain and nausea. All of a sudden I felt a comforting weight on my forehead and warm breath on my face. I blinked trying to clear my vision as I heard his voice. I slowly closed my eyes as a heaviness creeped up on me and I knew I was losing the battle to stay awake. I tried to say his name but my throat was dry and it came out as some unrecognizable sound. He squeezed my hand and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m here with you, you are safe. Try to sleep!¡± I felt his breath once again close to my face as he said, ¡°I love you!¡± and then the warmth of his lips brushed my cheek with a kiss. I squeezed back wishing I could do more, but this was all I had in me.


    Some hours later I awoke, painfully aware of my body. Whatever Fuchsia had given me had begun to wear off. I rolled to my side trying to sit up and realized Bren was asleep beside me. I crawled closer to him eager to wake him. I hesitated as I stared at his face, finally having the chance to see him properly.


    His eye must have been severely damaged when the trade happened. I placed fingertips gently on his face. The surgical site where the metal and flesh fused together were not completely healed and I worried that it might hurt him. I was admiring Fuchsia¡¯s work when Bren opened his eyes. I instantly froze as our eyes met, afraid to breathe in such close proximity. I was so close that I could see the eye adjusting and a blue shimmer pulsate as it focused on me. I swallowed hard as I tried to remind myself that this was Bren. Bren realized what I was looking at and flinched as he quickly covered his eye. I gently pulled his hand away and smiled and said, ¡°don¡¯t cover it.¡± His hand fell to his side as I placed my hands on both sides of his face and looked at him fully just before leaning forward to kiss him.


    If it were not for the sudden surge of pain we would have stayed in each other''s arms. I pushed back rather forcefully while gritting my teeth. Why can¡¯t I have some peace? Bren sat up quickly and said, ¡°I¡¯m going to get Fuchsia.¡±


    I fell back on to the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Flashes of what happened yesterday started to flood my mind, my stomach churned and acid filled my throat. I ran to the bathroom, sweat pouring down my body, not wanting to face the fact that I had probably killed Lance. I grabbed the toilet seat as my body convulsed and my throat burned as my body fought to purge itself. I covered my ears as I heard a sound of what I thought were bullets. I felt hands on my back and a voice causing me to shift quickly to the wall in fear. Suddenly I was being pulled into someone''s arms and I opened my eyes to see Bren. He pulled my hands away from my ears and said, ¡°Jax what is wrong?¡±


    I shook my head and whispered, ¡°I killed him. I killed Lance, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    Bren looked down at me and then pulled me tightly into his arms and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    My body trembled as I said, ¡°blood, blood was everywhere.¡±


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    When I awoke yesterday the floor was a sea of blood but I didn¡¯t see Lance. How could he have survived?


    Bren pushed me back and said, ¡°Jax no one was in the room when we got to you. There was a trail of blood down the hallway but we didn¡¯t follow it. Also a lot of the blood was yours, from when you fell and hit your head.¡±


    I heard another voice behind Bren say, ¡°I am surprised you didn¡¯t need blood. You are lucky Jax!¡± I opened my eyes and looked back to see a tired looking Fuchsia. She was rocking a pill bottle back and forth in her hand.


    I closed my eyes, and shook my head and said, ¡°No Fuchsia, I don¡¯t want to take that again.¡±


    She stepped forward in protest and said, ¡°Jax I don¡¯t have a better alternative right now.¡±


    I nestled back down against Bren, and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care! I don¡¯t want it.¡±


    Fuchsia sighed and said, ¡°Listen, Blue Cryo will no longer pose the same problems as before, We took care of that, remember?¡±


    Bren pushed me back again and said rather sternly, ¡°Jax there is no other option and you know it is only going to get worse without it.¡±


    He was right, the longer I sat here the worse I felt. Soon I was going to be in the same situation as before. I looked back at Fuchsia not wanting to respond, but I was too tired to argue so I agreed to take them.


    Fuchsia walked over and placed a hand on my forehead and said, ¡°you are as pale as a ghost but luckily you do not have a high fever. I will go get you a glass of water and then I will meet you back in the bedroom.¡±


    Bren pulled me up and we walked back to the bedroom to wait on Fuchsia. I noticed flashing outside and realized it was lighting. A loud boom erupted from outside and grabbed my ears. It must have been thunder that I heard while I was in the bathroom.


    Bren walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder and said, ¡°it started storming not long after we got you inside.¡±


    I heard a tap on the door and turned around to see Fuchsia and Sina. Fuchsia walked over and handed me the glass and motioned for me to open my hand. I was reluctant to do so, but what else could I do? I opened my hand just in time to catch the blue pills as they rolled out of the bottle into my hand. I stared at them. I didn¡¯t crave them, not like before. It was different, Fuchsia was right. I stared at them before throwing them down my throat.


    I started to take a sip to wash them down when another large rumble sounded. I almost dropped the class, luckily Bren grabbed my hand to steady it.


    Fuchsia walked over towards the window and said, ¡°we will be here for a while so we might as well talk.¡±


    She walked back over to me and took a seat on the loveseat beckoning me to join. I felt trapped. I didn¡¯t want to talk and be forced to remember what happened at the hospital. What good was it going to do? Dr. Nemeroff was dead. I am almost positive that I killed Lance. And Dr. Wilhelm decided to use me as a guinea pig for his sadistic experiments.


    I looked out the window as flashes of light filled the sky and the constant unpleasant rumble reminded me that I couldn¡¯t even run away.

 Chapter 23: Broken

    I disappeared into the bathroom needing some space and time alone. I was emotionally drained, after what felt like hours of Fuchsia and Bren asking me questions and having me give them detailed information about what happened at the hospital. Originally, she had wanted the whole crew present but I had refused. She protested but Bren supported me so she finally gave up. It was painful to remember the gruesome details of Dr. Wilhelm¡¯s experiments on me and what happened with Lance because it felt like I was reliving it. I could tell that Fuchsia and Bren were making an effort to not react to what I was telling them, perhaps for my sake. But now that I had left, their tone changed. In an attempt to not let me hear they whispered, but my hearing was far too sensitive to miss it.


    The bathroom was dim except for the light above the mirror. I turned the cool water on and splashed my face. The water trickled down my neck and onto my shirt. I placed my hands on the sink and leaned forward to look at myself in the mirror. The time that I spent captive had taken its toll on me in more than one way. The person who stared back at me was unrecognizable. He was emaciated, pale, and his sunken eyes looked dead and cold. As I reached for the towel beside the sink I thought I heard something. My mind had started playing tricks on me as I saw Creso standing behind me in the reflection. I turned around quickly as I heard his voice, ¡°Liam.¡± Was he really there? No he couldn¡¯t be. I struggled to make sense of the shadows in the bathroom.


    Then I heard another voice back in the direction of the mirror. It was Lance, my name, ¡°Jax,¡± rolled off his tongue like poison. I folded into the floor as fear washed over me. I held my head as it throbbed trying to sort through what I had just heard and seen. I stood back up and grabbed the sink to steady myself. I need to focus. Pull myself together. None of this is real, my mind is just messing with me.


    I could hear Fuchsia, her voice was getting increasingly louder and Bren sounded like he was trying to calm her down. My head throbbed more as I felt anger fill me. I struck the mirror with my fist. Shards of glass fell around me and droplets of blood hit the sink. I stepped back a little, shocked by what I had done. Bren and Fuchsia came tumbling through the door. Surprisingly, neither said a word to me. Bren walked over to me and wrapped a towel around my hand and pulled me out of the bathroom and back to the loveseat in the bedroom. Fuchsia remained in the bathroom. I had made yet another mess for her to clean up and with every clink of glass I heard falling into the metal wastebasket I felt terrible. I looked at Bren as I pulled my hand away and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°You have a right to be angry, don¡¯t apologize!,¡± he said.


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Bren reached out and examined my hand, rubbing his fingers gently over the light pink skin, the only remaining evidence of my injury. There was no pain, but his touch caused my muscles to contract and my body shivered as if cold. His eyes widened out of concern as he asked, ¡°are you ok?¡±


    I stood up, stepped in front of him and slipped my hands onto his shoulders. The blue light pulsed rhythmically within his cybernetic eye and I found it strangely calming. I released a long breath as my tension began to melt away.


    Bren whispered, ¡°Jax?¡± I realized I had been staring at him for far too long again. I leaned closer, shifting one of my hands to the back of the loveseat and a knee into the seat beside Bren.


    He looked up at me silently, as I whispered back, ¡° I have missed you, a lot,¡± before pressing my lips against his. His hands found their way to my back and pulled me closer to him. Bren made me feel safe and loved, and this was not something I was used to or not that I could remember anyway. I wanted to believe that this was real and that I could be happy. Voices and fear began to creep forward from the darkness in my mind. I tried to push them back as my body began to tense and my confidence began to falter. Luckily, I heard Fuchsia¡¯s heels click on the bathroom floor and assumed she was leaving. I quickly slid back onto the loveseat beside Bren, turning my head in the direction of the window. I didn¡¯t want to talk anymore and I hoped Fuchsia would just let me rest.


    Bren got up and walked towards Fuchsia and they talked. I sat alone on the loveseat watching the storm, grateful for the distraction until I heard something roll off the table beside me. I looked down to see what made the noise and noticed a notebook on the table with several pencils beside it. I squinted my eyes and realized it was Bren¡¯s sketchbook. I scooped it up and flipped it open. I flipped past old drawings until I found one and stopped. There was no mistaking it, Bren had drawn me. I continued to flip and saw more of me, and some with him. I looked up expecting him to still be talking with Fuchsia but instead he had turned around to see me and I could tell he knew what I was looking at. Before he could approach me, Sina came to the door and asked us to join her in the living room.


    When I stepped into the living room I could see Fuchsia''s friends Jackie and Lyra sitting on the couch. Jackie looked mad and Lyra was trying to calm him down. To my surprise Fuchsia laughed and said, ¡°I guess your Dad called and he is pissed. Right?¡±


    Jackie turned around and said, ¡° how can you laugh? He has threatened to come here.¡±


    Fuchsia sighed and said, ¡°Jackie, we knew this was going to happen. He should have listened to me when I first asked for help. If he comes I will talk with him, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    I was so confused. ¡°Who is Jackie¡¯s Dad? And why would he come here?¡±

 Influx

    Everyone converged into the living room to talk. Everyone took a seat except for me, because I didn¡¯t want to feel trapped. Everything just seemed so overwhelming right now and I wanted to be able to walk away if need be. I noticed Bren was motioning me over to the couch to sit with him and I shook my head no as I looked away not wanting to see the disappointment on his face.


    Fuchsia cleared her throat and said, ¡°Jax, you look like you have questions. So ask.¡±


    I shifted uncomfortably. ¡°I hate being the clueless one and I have the painful feeling that this is something that I used to know.¡± I stared out the window silently thinking of exactly what to ask.


    Everyone was quiet, which I appreciated because it was taking some time to wrap my head around everything. I looked at Jackie and then at Fuchsia and said, ¡°who is Jackie¡¯s Dad and why is Jackie upset?¡±


    Fuchsia laughed and said, ¡°that is because he and his father don¡¯t always get along. He often disobeys him and gets in trouble.¡±


    Jackie grunted and said, ¡°He¡¯s an ass.¡±


    Fuschia gave him a stern look and said, ¡°he is your Superior.¡±


    Jackie glared back at her and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t have to help you. I¡¯m in trouble this time because of you!¡±


    Fuchsia set up straight and said, ¡°at least this time you had a good reason.¡±


    Jackie started to say something but Lyra grabbed his arm and said, ¡°stop, you know she is right!¡±


    Jackie slid his face into his hands and said, ¡°I know, but General Morgan is still going to give me and all of us hell when he gets here!¡±


    I was starting to feel sick. ¡°Do we need to worry? Should we leave?¡±


    Fuchsia looked up and said, ¡°no! General Morgan is a good person.¡±


    Jackie stood up and turned my way. ¡°My old man is just going to blow off steam is all. I¡¯m sure he will be happy to see you so it won¡¯t last long!¡±


    The confusion in my head was giving me a headache. ¡°Why will he be happy to see me?¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Jackie looked at Fuchsia like he had said something he shouldn¡¯t have.


    Fuchsia stood up and said, ¡°before your accident you knew Jackie and General Morgan.¡±


    She walked over to Jackie and said, ¡°lift your arm¡±. He did so and she pulled back his sleeve. Metal glistened in the light as I realized his arm was prosthetic.


    Fuschia looked back at me and said, ¡°he has prosthetic arms and legs. He was a patient and recipient of technology created at Eclipse Medical. A team of five doctors including your father and I surgically attached him with these cybernetic prosthetics.¡±


    I felt a sharp pang in my chest. ¡°Did we know each other?¡±


    Jackie pulled his sleeve back over his arm and nodded. ¡°I actually stayed with you and your father while I was getting used to my new arms and legs.¡±


    I felt sweat forming on my forehead and neck as he spoke. His words felt like they were far away and my heart began to thunder in my chest. Why couldn¡¯t I remember my past?


    I felt an arm on my shoulder and looked up to see Bren standing in front of me. He said something to me but it seemed muffled. He pulled me outside to the covered porch. The cool air stung my face and distracted me from the conversation and panic I was feeling.


    I stood silently looking out at the ocean and the heavy rain until lightning struck somewhere out at sea. I flinched and covered my eyes from the bright light that was emitted. Bren pulled me into his arms and said, ¡°are you ok?¡±


    Was I ok? When will I ever be able to deal with finding out about my past.Why did I get so upset?


    I huffed and pushed away and looked up at Bren and said, ¡°I want to remember. I want to remember all of it but I can¡¯t. It¡¯s not fair!¡± I leaned over and placed my head on Bren¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°My memories will never return, I know that but I don¡¯t want to hurt the people who cared about me.¡±


    Bren wrapped his arms around me and said, ¡°the people who knew you as Liam will get to know you and new memories will be made. Just like you have done with Fuchsia.¡±


    We stood there for a little longer as I sorted through my emotions.


    I stood up straight and said, ¡°I think I will be ok now. We can go back in. I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    We walked back in through the front door. Jackie popped up and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I upset you. Fuchsia told me not to say too much and I did without thinking. We can talk about it more when you''re ready.¡±


    Jackie¡¯s phone rang before I could say anything. He reached into his pocket, and pulled it out. He frowned and quickly walked outside.


    Sina was in the kitchen with Lyra and Keri. The smell of food and tea were filling the air and my stomach growled. How long had it been since I had eaten a good meal, or any food for that matter.


    Sina leaned over the counter and said, ¡°Jax, I could hear that in here. I am making you a sandwich right now.¡±


    I smiled and thanked her.


    Fuchsia walked over to Bren and I and said, ¡°General Morgan called Jackie and told him that he is headed our way. I want you to go to the bedroom with Bren and stay there until Jackie and I talk to him. I am sure he has a lot to say and there is no reason for you to have to listen to it all.¡±

 Chapter 25: Remediation (Part 1)

    I walked into the bedroom, my head was a storm of emotions. Bren walked up behind me and motioned me toward the couch. I hesitated, part of me wanted to turn around and return to the living room and talk to General Morgan.  Instead, here I hid away like a child who everyone was trying to protect. I was angry, but not at my friends. I hated myself for making bad decisions and for being so weak. I heard Bren¡¯s voice and looked up at him. I was confused when I realized he had both of my hands in his. He looked upset as he massaged my fists open, they were red and bleeding where I had unconsciously dug my nails in.


    I pulled my hands away and walked towards the couch. I obviously couldn¡¯t feel it because the Blue Cryo was still coursing through my body. I whispered, ¡°stop worrying about me, you know It will be gone in minutes. I¡¯m not worth any of this anyway.¡± The last part I said without thinking.


    I felt a sharp jerk on my arm and I spun around. Now facing an angry Bren, I realized that he heard what I had said. We stood silently looking at each other. I was angry and I pulled away forcefully and said, ¡°don¡¯t look at me like that! It¡¯s the truth!¡±


    Sadness washed away the anger on his face. His feelings were obvious as tears escaped his one human eye. I flinched, I didn¡¯t mean to hurt him.


    I reached up and wiped the tears away. ¡°You lost an eye because of me and you could have died. The others were hurt and Dr. Nemeroff was killed because of me.¡±


    I pulled away and closed my eyes, ¡°I also may have killed Lance.¡±


    Bren reached out and grabbed both of my shoulders taking me by surprise, ¡°Lance put you through hell and he would have killed you if you had not got him first. Don¡¯t you dare feel bad about it!¡±


    His arms dropped to his side as he sighed. ¡°Listen Jax, Creso is dangerous and must be stopped regardless of your connection and involvement. There will always be casualties in situations like these ¡±


    Frustrated, I snapped back, ¡°it shouldn¡¯t be this way. Dad shouldn¡¯t have died. None of this should have happened!¡±


    Bren pulled me into his arms and said, ¡°and this is why we must stop him. So no one else dies because of him.¡±


    There was a knock at the cracked door. Keri pushed it open and cleared her throat loudly, to make her presence known.


    Bren and I separated and Keri walked closer with a tray of sandwiches, chips, and water. Bren took the tray and thanked her but Keri didn¡¯t leave immediately instead there was an uncomfortable silence.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    I stood behind Bren waiting for Keri to leave the room. I wondered if she had been listening to our conversation. I didn¡¯t want to upset anyone else right now. I just wanted her to leave. I saw Bren shake his head no, I assume in response to Keri.  Not long after, the door shut and Keri had left us alone.


    I walked off towards the couch and waited for him to join me. He carefully set the tray down on the coffee table in front of us. He turned to look at me and said, ¡°I¡¯m not letting you leave this room until you eat something.¡±


    I definitely needed to eat a little if I wanted to get myself healthy enough to deal with any of this. I reached forward and picked up half of a sandwich. I tried not to smell too much, worried that it would deter me from eating. I took a quick bite and swallowed. The flavors were not overpowering and I felt ok after the first bite. I hungrily grabbed the sandwich and devoured what was left. Bren poked me with the bottle of water and said, ¡°Slow down. I know you are starving but don¡¯t push it.¡±


    I nodded and took the bottle from him. The water was cool and felt good on my scratchy, dry throat.


    I sat the bottle beside me and leaned back. I was feeling more relaxed until I heard a deafening rumble outside. I sat up quickly ready to run.


    Bren gently grabbed my wrist before I jumped up. His voice was calm and reassuring, ¡°it is a helicopter, most likely General Morgan. The others will let us know if there is reason for concern. So just try to relax.¡±


    Easier said than done, I thought. I was tense and trying hard to think of something else. I noticed Bren¡¯s sketchbook was sitting where I had left it earlier. I pulled it into my lap and opened it up to the first drawing of me. I tapped one of my shoulders against Bren¡¯s to get his attention. He turned to me and realized I had his sketchbook open. His face turned red as he slid it out of my grasp and said, ¡°I guess you saw them all.¡±


    I laughed a little and said, ¡°hmmm¡­. I did! You should have said something to me earlier if you knew you liked me.¡±


    Bren closed the sketchbook and layed in on my lap and said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure about what I was feeling and if you would even reciprocate.¡±


    I turned sideways so I was facing Bren and said, ¡°you could have tried.¡±


    Bren moved closer and whispered back, ¡°so could have you,¡± before kissing me.


    The kiss didn¡¯t last long before Jackie came flying through the door. Luckily it wasn¡¯t shut completely or it would have been destroyed. He stood in a wide stance ready for whatever was coming at him. Bren and I both looked at the door, a tall man in a military uniform stood in the doorway. Fuchsia was standing behind him with a look of shock on her face and appeared to be trying to reason with the man.


    The man roared at Jackie, ¡°you may be my son, but you are a soldier and I expect you to act like one. Don¡¯t expect special treatment from me.¡±


    Jackie, out of breath, turned to Bren and I and said, ¡°let me introduce you to my father, General Morgan¡±.

 Chapter 26: Remediation (Part 2)

    The air was thick with tension with the arrival of General Morgan. Jackie looked back at his father, his breathing was heavy and sweat trickled down his face. I wanted to disappear as General Morgan looked my way. His eyes were filled with rage as he started to approach me. Fuchsia reached out and grabbed his shoulder and said, ¡°Listen we need to¡­¡±


    He knocked Fuchsia¡¯s hand off and turned around and roared, ¡±No you all have caused a huge mess and now I have to clean it up. I told you to wait!¡±


    I saw something black drop from the shelving beside the door followed by angry hissing and growling. Nix ferociously attacked General Morgan¡¯s face and the air was filled with a cacophony of curses.


    Fuchsia stepped forward and cried out, ¡°Nix! No!¡±


    General Morgan pried Nix from his face and held him at arm''s length by the scruff of his neck. The cat hissed and swatted the air with his tiny paws. In a stern voice he spoke to Fuchsia, ¡°This little devil must be yours. I shouldn¡¯t be surprised!¡±


    Fuchsia took Nix from General Morgan and nestled him in her arms and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sir!¡±


    General Morgan wiped some blood from his face and looked at it and then let out a laugh that startled us all. He turned back around and walked towards me again, my eyes were locked on him. I couldn¡¯t move and even if I could where would I go? Suddenly, Bren stepped in front of me.


    I swallowed hard. No, I need to handle this, I thought. I reached forward and tried to pull Bren back but I stopped when I heard him speak. ¡°Sir, we had no choice but to proceed with the mission without you. When we arrived at the hospital it was chaotic. Jax had been attacked and was lying unconscious on the floor. There was blood everywhere. Please understand¡­ if we hadn¡¯t moved when we did¡­ Jax most likely would be dead.¡±


    General Morgan nodded and waved Bren aside and said, ¡°I mean him no harm, now move aside.¡±


    Bren didn¡¯t move and I was worried General Morgan would do something. I stepped forward and leaned my head onto his back and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s ok you can move.¡±


    I could tell that Bren hesitated before moving but eventually stepped back so he was beside me. General Morgan stood right in front of me. The man was tall and fit. He had several scars on his face and had salt and pepper hair which was the only indication of his age. Jackie and his father looked a lot alike but Jackie didn¡¯t have this foreboding presence. I shifted uncomfortably in front of him.


    General Morgan let out a low sigh, ¡°It¡¯s a little late but I¡¯m sorry for the loss of your father. He was a good man!¡±


    I flinched, it was another painful reminder that I had very little memories of my father. I looked at Jackie, I couldn¡¯t help but be jealous of what he had even if they didn¡¯t get along they still had each other. Jackie had relaxed his stance, obviously feeling more at ease since he was no longer in his father¡¯s focus.


    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    General Morgan cleared his throat and said, ¡°When I first met your father it was to convince him to join our science and research division. I wanted to use your father and his team''s research to create better soldiers. He, of course, was well aware of my intentions and refused by saying that he wanted his research to be available to everyone and not controlled by the government or a corporation.


    ¡°When Jackie had his accident, I almost lost him. His injuries were severe and he lost all of his limbs. Although he survived the accident his future was bleak without some sort of major medical intervention. I approached your father and begged him to help Jackie and without a second thought he agreed. After the surgery Jackie needed rehabilitation and your father opened up your home to my son. I am forever grateful for what your father did for Jackie and the friendship that you offered to him when he was there.


    ¡°Not long after Jackie returned home, nefarious groups started making threats and tried to force your father and Eclipse Medical into submission. I reached out to your father with a different offer that would allow him to remain in control of his research and offer protection for all Eclipse Medical and you. He agreed and we moved forward relocating the lab, research team, you and your father to a safe area. The night that your father was in the lab he was visited by¡­¡±


    I started to feel shaky and my body broke into sweat. General Morgan''s voice trailed off and I think I heard Bren say something. I closed my eyes as the room started to spin and felt the cold surface of the floor beneath my hands.


    * * *


    I could hear a different voice now more clearly and it felt somewhat familiar. I opened my eyes and blinked. I was sitting in a chair, someone had their hand on my shoulder and lightly squeezed. I could see white out of the corner of my eye and I turned to get a better look. A man with a lab coat stood beside me. He was typing speedily with one hand on the computer. I heard another voice and looked for the source.  My view was mostly blocked but I could see there was a man in black dress pants and dress shirt sitting cross legged, one arm lay over his legs and in his hand a gun was visible. I saw more movement in the room and another man in similar clothing stood at the door. The man beside me leaned closer and pushed something into my hand and whispered, ¡°Liam, I will distract them, you need to run out the back. Find Fuchsia and  then you both go to General Morgan. He will protect you.¡±


    I looked down into my hand that now held a shiny metal object. My vision caught sight of something red, blood. I looked up into his face as tears began to form in my eyes, Dad. I started to panic and he gripped tighter on my shoulder and shook his head at me and whispered ¡°You have to go, now!¡±


    Dad smiled at me and then stood up tall, his trembling hand hovered over the keyboard. He shifted his body in front of me and threatened to delete all the data if they tried to hurt me. I grabbed the desk, I had to move but I didn''t want to leave him. I looked at the floor and the blood was beginning to pool. I needed to get away and get help. Someone to help Dad. I took off running through the door and it slammed behind me. I heard several shots fired and turned around. I screamed angrily and took off running through the lab towards the exit. Tears ran down my face and my heart felt like it was going to explode. I broke through the door to the outside world, it was raining heavily but my feet hit the pavement and I ran. I heard men behind me and I tried to run faster. Something grazed my side, the pain spread around my chest.


    I have been here before and I don''t want to be here again.


    I turned around to face the men.


    Why didn¡¯t I just die that day? Why?


    I closed my eyes and fell to my knees in the street.


    Loud sounds erupted and my eyes flew open. Was it finally going to end?

 Chapter 27: Remediation (Part 3)

    A loud noise startled me and I blinked furiously trying to regain a sense of where I was. My body vibrated as another loud rumble erupted. I felt something pressing against my chest and my right hand quickly moved to it, soft fur filled my hand. I gently patted the fluffy mound as it purred calmly upon my chest. I let out a small laugh and said, ¡°I¡¯m glad that General Morgan didn¡¯t hurt you.¡± I heard talking from another room and turned my head in the direction of the door. Distracted by the voices I let my hand fall away from Nix. Bren and Fuschia sounded angry as their voices echoed loudly from the other room. General Morgan''s voice sounded stern but calm. A bright light flashed through the darkened bedroom followed by a loud rumble that shook the entire room. I was so startled by the sound and flash of light that I shot up and knocked Nix to the floor. Nix turned and hissed angrily at me. My hands were shaking as I tried to reach for the nearby lamp and I knocked a stack of books into the floor. I heard footsteps and the bedroom door opened. My pupils constricted painfully as the room was flooded with light. I squinted my eyes while trying to focus on the person walking towards me. The smell of cloves saturated the air as they moved closer to me. I leaned forward and placed my face in my hands and sighed, how much did he smoke while I was out. I was relieved it was Bren who stood in front of me and not someone else.


    He placed a hand lightly on my shoulder and said, ¡°how are you feeling?¡±.


    I looked up into his eyes but I couldn¡¯t get words to come out. I pulled myself up so I was standing in front of him. He gave me a concerned look as I reached out and let my fingers rest on his chest. Another deafening rumble shook the house and I leaned forward against him. I muttered, "when are these storms going to end.¡±


    Bren let out a long, low sigh and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just seems to be hanging over us.¡±


    I shivered at the thought, ¡°I really didn¡¯t like this weather.¡±


    We stood there for a couple of minutes before Bren cleared his throat and said, ¡°General Morgan wants to talk to you.¡± I flinched remembering that he was the cause of my last episode of flashbacks.


    Bren pushed me away a little and said, ¡°Fuchsia and I have both explained your situation. If you get overwhelmed just let us know.¡±


    I knew it was something that had to happen and waiting was only going to cause more anxiety. I pushed farther away from Bren and nodded. ¡°Can you give me a couple of minutes before I go out there.


    Bren reached towards me and brushed some of my hair out of my face. Before, I would have been upset because my scars were exposed but it didn¡¯t seem to matter anymore. He smiled and said, ¡°sure, I will let them know.¡±


    As soon as he headed out the door I walked to the bathroom. I flipped the switch on and walked to the mirror. I should be used to this by now. I don¡¯t know what I expected to see, my face was


    almost transparent and I looked more sick than usual. I ran my hands through my hair, I needed a shower. I looked around the bathroom until I found a brush, this would have to do. I pulled at my knotted hair and tried to make myself a little more presentable. I rinsed my face off and adjusted my clothing. I swear after I talk with everyone I''m locking myself in the bathroom and taking the longest shower ever.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    I walked out of the bedroom and joined the others in the living room. General Morgan and Jackie were standing in front of the window, their voices were low but calm. Fuchsia and Bren were in the kitchen talking. Fuschia was sitting on a bar stool, hot tea in hand as she held it close to her lips. The unfamiliar scent of her tea caught me off guard, the pungent aroma made my nose wrinkle. I walked closer and stood beside Bren, he stirred his cup of tea. I could smell a black tea laced with a light citrus scent. I found the scent slightly more bearable than Fuchsia¡¯s tea. Fuschia sat her tea down and raised her eyebrow at me, ¡°I tried something new. Do you hate the smell?¡±


    I shrugged and said, ¡°it smells different, what type of tea is it?¡±


    Fuchsia tapped her long nails on the porcelain cup, the sound that resonated made my head hurt. My face must have given it away because she quickly stopped and frowned. She moved her hands to her lap and said, ¡°my mother fixed it for me. It is a ginger turmeric tea. It tastes a little bitter, but I like it.¡±


    I looked around for Keri and didn¡¯t see her. I also didn¡¯t see Sina or Lyra. ¡°Where are the others?¡±


    Fuschia looked towards her bedroom and said, ¡°Keri is resting. I don¡¯t think she has slept much and I am worried about her.Sina is working on something on her laptop and Lyra is helping her.¡±


    Bren tapped his shoulder against mine and said, ¡°can I make you a drink?¡±


    I shook my head no and looked out the window. The rain was pouring down the window, I could still hear thunder in the distance but not as much as earlier. ¡°I don¡¯t think it is going to stop," I said.


    General Morgan turned around and noticed me, I kinda wish he hadn''t. I would have liked to have sat here with Fuchsia and Bren instead. He cleared his throat and said, ¡°come over here and let¡¯s talk.¡±


    I looked over at Jackie, he smiled and gave me a reassuring nod.


    I heard the bar stools creak as Fuchsia and Bren got up. Fuschia walked over to the couch and Bren leaned over and whispered in my ear, ¡°it will be ok¡± and then gently nudged me forward.


    If Bren hadn''t been following closely behind me I probably would have bailed, choosing to run out into the storm seemed less intimidating. I sat down on the couch next to Fuchsia and Bren sat down next to me. I know they were there to help me but I couldn¡¯t help but feel trapped.


    General Morgan stared at me silently until Jackie spoke, ¡°sir, you are making everyone uncomfortable, take a seat and just talk for god¡¯s sake.¡±


    General Morgan sighed and sat down in a chair that faced me. He leaned forward and removed his hat, squeezing it in his hands ¡° I apologize for upsetting you and causing things to spiral out of control earlier. But now that we are sitting here and everyone is calm we need to talk about what needs to happen.¡±


    My hands started to tremble and I felt sick as I asked, ¡°what needs to happen?¡±


    General Morgan leaned back in his seat. ¡°First of all you all are going to promise me not to do anything on your own. I am surprised you didn¡¯t get yourselves killed.¡±


    I shifted uncomfortably on the couch, ¡°and¡­¡±


    General Morgan continued, ¡°You are all coming back with me. No arguments. You will see a medical doctor on my team and a psychiatrist. Then I will decide where we will go from there.¡±


    Medical doctors and a psychologist¡­. I wanted to protest. I wanted to get up and run. My heart was racing and I was starting to feel dizzy when Nix jumped to my lap. He purred and pushed his way between my trembling hands. He nestled down on my lap and purred as my hands instinctively stroked his soft fur. I breathed out and whispered to Nix, ¡°thank you¡±.

 Chapter 28: Remediation (Part 4)

    I took some deep breaths and closed my eyes. I felt Bren¡¯s hand on my back making gentle circles as he tried to calm me. I opened my eyes again when I heard Fuchsia speak, she calmly said, ¡°Jax is my patient so I must request that I be allowed to be present during all of his examinations and any decisions regarding his care and treatment must be authorized by me.¡±


    General Morgan huffed and leaned back as he eyed Fuchsia with a razor sharp glare. ¡°I should say no because of everything that has taken place, but¡­.¡±He paused and looked at me and then said, ¡°I have a feeling that you will be more cooperative if I agree to her request. Am I correct?¡±


    I didn¡¯t like what was going to happen, but if it was going to happen I wanted Fuchsia with me . I nodded and said, ¡°yes sir!¡±


    He squinted his eyes and looked back at Fuchsia and said, ¡°I will allow you to be present with him during all examinations and I will have you included in any care and treatment decisions.¡±


    Fuchsia¡¯s eyes widened as she was about to ask something, but before she could speak General Morgan sharply said, ¡°I can have your request denied and simply hold you and the others at my facility until this all has been resolved. Is that what you want?¡±


    Fuchsia looked at me and then started to argue with General Morgan. I stood up quickly with Nix. Exasperated by the way things were going and afraid that Fuchsia was about piss General Morgan off more than he already was. I raised my voice over Fuchsia¡¯s and said, ¡°No! We will do as you say Sir.¡± My head throbbed and I staggered a bit before dropping Nix on the floor. I turned quickly on my heels, I had to get away. I started down the hallway as sweat ran down my back. General Morgan¡¯s voice echoed behind me, ¡°We are not done talking yet!¡±


    I heard feet behind me and then a whoosh of air as Bren slid in front of me. ¡°Are you ok?,¡± he asked.


    I leaned forward and pulled at his shirt with my hands as I mumbled, ¡°Why do I feel like I am going from one Devil¡¯s Den to another?¡±


    General Morgan sounded like he was headed my way, his voice closer this time, ¡°I said we are not done talking yet. I need to talk with you about your father¡±


    I released Bren¡¯s shirt and rolled back on my feet. I spun around and felt a rage I had not felt before and yelled, ¡°You want to talk about a man I have no memories of except fragments of him on the day he died. He was Liam¡¯s father and Liam died on that day with his father. What little memories I have in this life have been mostly hell. So please feel free to carry on this conversation with Fuchsia who does have memories of Dr. Collins. I am going to the bedroom and I don¡¯t want to be bothered.¡±


    I turned back around and realized Bren was staring at me. His mossy green human eye glistened as it tried to discern my actions. The other eye was glowing in the lowly lit hallway. The light pulsated and seemed strangely soporific. Bren shifted out of my way like he was going to leave and I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him behind me.


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    I could feel his arm pull back, resisting slightly as he said, ¡°I thought you wanted to be alone.¡±


    I spoke quietly so only he could hear me, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to leave me.¡±


    I felt his hand grip my wrist and I released his shirt and he slid his hand into mine. We continued down the hallway towards the darkened bedroom. The bedroom door was cracked and the darkness seemed to billow out unwelcomingly. I pushed the door open and walked in but several flashes of light made me flinch.  I immediately felt Bren¡¯s hand on my shoulder and a reassuring squeeze to remind me I wasn¡¯t alone. I heard him push the door shut behind us and I turned to face him.


    He stared at me for a minute before saying, ¡°Do you want to talk?¡±


    I lowered my gaze towards the floor and said, ¡°There isn¡¯t anything to talk about. This is the safest option that we have.¡±


    He stood up straight and the silence made me look up at him. He stared silently at me for a moment and I felt worried. Then he reached forward and brushed hairs behind my ear and placed a hand on the side of my face and said, ¡°I know you don¡¯t like the idea of seeing any more doctors but I think it will be good for you. General Morgan seems to be a good person and I think he has your best interests in mind.¡±


    I pushed away from him and walked over to the bed. I flopped down onto my back and covered my face.


    Bren sat down on the edge of the bed and said, ¡°Jax, don¡¯t be mad at me. You have been through a lot and you need to talk to someone.¡±


    I pulled my hands away from my face and said, ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you and I know you are right but that doesn¡¯t make this any easier.¡±


    Bren fell back onto the bed beside me, ¡°I am going to stay with you as much as they will let me, I promise.¡±


    He rolled over and looked at me when I didn¡¯t respond. I felt overwhelmed by everything that was happening and I didn¡¯t even know what to say to him. He leaned closer and I felt his warm breath on my face. My anxiety started to lessen as I felt his warm lips on mine. He pulled back and smiled at me as I sucked in air because I forgot to breathe. He was so close I could smell his clothing saturated in cloves.  I rolled away not because of his smell but because I was reminded of my need to shower. I sat up and scooted off the bed.


    Bren sat up and grabbed my arm and said, ¡°What is wrong?¡±


    I turned around and leaned over and kissed him and said, ¡°I haven''t bathed in a long time and I have a feeling if I don¡¯t do it now I won¡¯t have a chance to.¡±


    Bren called after me, ¡°You know it''s storming right. Maybe you should wait.¡±


    I laughed and said, ¡°After everything that should be the least of my worries don¡¯t you think.¡±


    I walked to the bathroom and turned the light on. It was quiet, dim, and cold. A shiver ran up my spine.  I leaned back out of the bathroom door and saw Bren still sitting on the bed. I cleared my throat and said, ¡°Do you want to join me?¡±


    Bren stood up and walked over to me and pushed me gently into the


    bathroom and shut the door behind us.

 Chapter 29: It Hurts

    Jax sat on the edge of the bed staring at the floor, the towel laid in a disheveled heap beside him.  His thoughts were chaotic as memories flooded his mind. His pain was evident through his furrowed brows, tightly clenched teeth and the scratches that he was unknowingly making across his skin. Water dripped from his hair, and his skin glistened, still damp from his shower.  The creaking door startled him and he looked over his shoulder.


    When Bren had left Jax he was still in the shower savoring the last bits of therapeutic warmth the shower had to offer. Bren had dressed quickly and left Jax alone so he could talk with Fuchsia.  Now having just returned, he stopped in the doorway realizing that he had startled Jax and said, ¡°It''s just me.¡± Jax gave a somewhat spaced out smile as he slowly turned away. Bren walked closer and stood in front of Jax, his eyes followed the droplets of water that were trickling down his back and shoulders. He let his eyes follow the droplets of water down Jax¡¯s arms and he spotted fresh scratches and angry red welts. He reached out and placed his hand on the curve of Jax¡¯s jaw pulling his face gently up to look at him. Jax¡¯s eyes looked glazed and tired.


    One of the benefits of Bren¡¯s eye was that it could collect data from whatever was in his vision if he wanted. He closed his other eye, because sometimes the difference between the two would give him a headache. Fuschia told him it was only temporary that his brain was still trying to adjust and learn to accept information bilaterally. Bren winced as he saw the thermal imagery produced a purple and blue glow on Jax¡¯s skin. He had been gone for about 40 minutes and Jax had let himself get into this frigid state. He eyed the towel laying beside Jax and looked into the eyes that still stared at him solemnly as he wondered what was going on his head right now.


    Bren let go of Jax and reached for the towel, the towel that felt mostly dry. He sighed as he ran the towel across Jax¡¯s exposed shoulder and said ¡±You are going to get sick!¡±. Jax had let his eyes close and didn¡¯t respond. Frustrated, Bren placed a finger underneath his chin and pulled his face up toward him again. He raised his voice and said, ¡°Jax! Are you even listening to me?¡± Jax opened his eyes and stared blankly at Bren.


    After they had been locked in a silent stare, Bren worriedly said Jax¡¯s name again.


    Jax¡¯s eyes sparkled as they formed convex pools, he blinked several times trying to relieve his vision of the blur. He reached up and forcefully pulled Bren¡¯s hand away.


    Bren stepped back quickly, his breath stilled as he was afraid he had upset Jax by raising his voice.


    Jax placed his hands over his face and leaned forward. His body trembled as he said, ¡°I can¡¯t take this anymore! I feel like I am going crazy!¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Bren froze and looked down at Jax afraid to say anything.


    Jax pulled his hands away and looked up. ¡°My head is a mess and nothing makes sense.¡±


    Bren stood silently listening to Jax. He didn¡¯t want to see Jax like this! What could he say or do to help him? Most people would have lost their mind completely by this point. Every time he looked at Jax he was afraid he was going to give up or reach that point of no return. And yet he kept surprising him, somehow he kept finding the strength to keep going and survive.¡±


    Bren stepped forward wanting to comfort Jax but stopped abruptly when those sparkling gray pools finally broke. Tears ran down Jax¡¯s face as he said, ¡°It hurts! It hurts so much, Bren! He hit his chest with one hand while he wiped tears away with the other¡±


    Bren dropped to his knees in front of Jax, he reached out to hold his fist and pulled him toward him.Tears formed in his own eyes as he said, ¡°I know, Jax. I know! I¡¯m so sorry!¡±  Jax¡¯s head was just below his face and kissed it lightly. He could feel Jax¡¯s body tense and tremble as he knew he was experiencing a flood of emotions. All he could do was hold on to him and let him know that he wasn¡¯t alone.


    They stayed in that position until Jax finally calmed down. Bren finally felt like he could speak and said, ¡°I think we can trust General Morgan! I think his people are going to be able to help you!¡±


    Jax pushed back and he squeezed Bren¡¯s shirt tightly in his hands, his eyes were red and he had a look of panic on his face as he said, ¡°Promise me you will stay with me!¡±


    Bren didn¡¯t answer him immediately, his own worries surfacing. How could he promise something he didn¡¯t know he could keep. All he could do was try. He didn¡¯t know what General Morgan would allow him to do.


    Jax pulled on Bren¡¯s shirt tighter as he said, ¡°Please, Bren promise me!¡±.


    Bren pulled Jax into his arms as he said, ¡°I promise!¡±


    Luckily Jax couldn¡¯t see the worry showing on his face. He would do everything he could to keep his promise even if it meant pissing General Morgan off.


    Jax began to shiver and Bren was reminded that he was still soaking wet after his shower. He pulled back and reached for the towel that he had dropped on the floor. He sighed and looked at Jax again, his lips had started to turn purple and his skin had begun to look translucent.


    Just as he had wrapped Jax in the towel and started trying to summon some warmth with his hands the door opened. Fuschia stood at the door and calmly asked if everything was alright. Bren¡¯s back was to Fuschia so he couldn¡¯t see her but he could tell by the tone of her voice that she had been listening.


    He lowered his head and sighed and said, ¡°Can you bring Jax some hot tea to get warm.¡±


    She stood there a moment assessing the situation and said, ¡°Of course! I will be right back!¡±


    Jax leaned forward and rested his head on Bren¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    Bren wrapped his hands around him and said, ¡°What are you sorry for?¡±


    Jax turned his head a little to the side, and quietly whispered, ¡°For everything.¡±

 Chapter 30: Leaving

    The storm had finally come to an end. I now stood beside Bren on some rocks, where we were a safe distance from the beach. We silently watched the aftermath of the storm, the sea seemed at war with itself as it pushed back and forth angrily. The sound was deafening but it didn¡¯t silence my thoughts about our uncertain future.


    Bren turned towards me, we stared at each other in silence before he reached out and hugged me. He leaned forward resting his head on my shoulder. My heart pounded against my chest knowing we were about to leave our safe haven. He squeezed tighter and his hot breath made me tremble as it was encapsulated in the crook of my neck.


    He released me from the hug and looked at me with one somber eye, red and glistening before grabbing my wrist and pulling me gently with him. I wanted to resist, run the other direction, to disappear into that raging sea. In truth, it might be less painful than what I faced ahead. Bren didn¡¯t give me a chance to run or resist as his grip tightened and his pace quickened. I could see Fuchsia in the distance, her fading pink hair moving in the wind. A ball of black fur clung to her chest, its tail whipped rebelliously as it was restrained. A metallic hand glistened before tapping Nix on the head. It made a futile attempt to maul the hand that lingered in its space. Following the glistening arm to the perpetrators face, I was not surprised to find a sardonic smile on her face. Fuchsia swatted at Sina chatissing her for picking on Nix.


    My mouth pulled into a small smile as I watched them argue harmlessly over Nix, a sight which offered familiar comfort. I turned my sight towards Bren who was still in front of me. I followed his arm down to my hand and noticed he was now holding it and not my wrist. I squeezed his hand slightly and he turned his head to look at me, his eyebrows pulled together tightly and his jaw was slack. His face quickly relaxed and he pulled me up beside him as we walked together towards the others.


    Fuchsia and Sina stopped arguing as soon as we got to them. Fuchsia flashed me an irritated look, ¡°I thought we were going to have to go look for you two. Everything is loaded and General Morgan says we need to leave asap.¡±


    Behind Fuchsia and Sina I could see several men talking with General Morgan. I didn¡¯t see Jackie or Lyra with General Morgan and just as I was about to ask I spotted them standing close to the cottage. Jackie was glaring at his father and Lyra was shaking her head while talking to him..


    I looked at Fuchsia and asked ¡°Is everything ok?¡±


    Her mouth twitched as she looked at Jackie and Lyra and then back at me. She laughed a little and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry hun, that father and son are always fighting. It''s nothing serious!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t so sure if everything was ok because Fuschia had a strange look on her face.


    General Morgan had spotted us by now and called out, ¡°stop wasting time and let¡¯s go!¡±


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    We all hurried over to where he was standing and he sighed and looked at us all as he said, ¡°I feel like I¡¯m dealing with a bunch of goddamn kids¡±.


    General Morgan looked at Fuschia and Nix and said, ¡°you better keep that creature under control, I will throw it out if it starts to cause a commotion while we are flying¡±


    Fuschia huffed as she held tightly onto Nix, she looked like she wanted to argue but instead kept it to herself. Instead her eyes looked like daggers directed at General Morgan.


    General Morgan raised his voice and said, ¡°I have you all and my men to think about while in the air. Do you understand?¡±


    Fuschia stroked Nix¡¯s fur and solemnly said, ¡°I understand, there won¡¯t be any problems!¡±


    ¡°Good let¡¯s get loaded and get out of here!¡±


    ¡ª--


    We hadn¡¯t been in the air for long before I started to feel sick.


    The roar and vibrations from the helicopter made my head hurt and I felt a little dizzy.


    Bren rubbed my back and said, ¡°Jax, you look really pale are you ok?¡±


    I nodded as I pressed a hand against my head and said, ¡°I just have a headache.¡±


    He shook his head and placed his hand on the back of my neck and said, ¡°I think you are fevered.¡±


    The pain in my head worsened and I felt like my body was really hot. I gritted my teeth and looked at Bren. I was about to ask him if he had my bottle of Blue Cryo when I felt something hit my leg. I was a little disoriented and reached mindlessly down rubbing my fingertips across it. I felt more drops hit the back of my hand. The bright red blood stood out vibrantly against pale skin.


    Blood.


    My heart thumped and I reached towards Bren with blood tinged fingers. I felt a rush of air as he pulled me towards him as he said, ¡°oh shit! Jax you need to pinch your nose.¡±


    My forehead rested against his chest while I did as he said.


    I pressed my other hand against his chest and mumbled, ¡°I must have forgotten to take my meds¡±.


    My body felt like it was on fire now and I was having trouble focusing, sweat rolled down my face and back.


    I heard a rattle of pills beside me as Bren pulled the bottle from his jacket pocket. ¡°No. You didn''t! I watched you take them earlier.¡±


    I felt a squeeze on my shoulder and tilted my head back a little to see Fuchsia next to me. She pressed her finger against my wrist and then ran a hand over my forehead. She looked over her shoulder and nodded at someone. I pushed back a little farther to see who was behind her but the helicopter tipped and Fuchsia almost fell. She eased herself down beside me and fastened her seatbelt. The helicopter was descending rapidly and my dizziness became overwhelming.


    With a thud we landed and the helicopter began to quiet down. General Morgan had left the cockpit and headed our way. He stood in front of Fuchsia as she tried to explain what was happening.


    General Morgan crouched down in front of me. I didn¡¯t want to make eye contact with him but he pulled my head up and said, ¡°what exactly did that doctor do to you?¡±


    I swatted his hand away, not in the mood to have a conversation. ¡°What didn¡¯t he do to me!¡± I closed my eyes, my energy was depleted and the pain was too great. I leaned sideways onto Bren. I just wanted to sleep.

 Arrival

    (Bren¡¯s POV)


    Not long after we landed at our destination, Jax lost consciousness. His face was ashen and his body drenched in sweat as he lay in my arms. Only a few minutes passed before medical personnel pulled him away from me and secured him on a stretcher. I tried to push through the crowd of people that surrounded Jax, but General Morgan stepped in front of me and shook his head. ¡°What the hell, I promised Jax I would stay with him.¡± I held my arm up and tried to push him out of my way but General Morgan held his ground. Jax let out a pained scream from behind General Morgan and I pushed harder and yelled, ¡°Move¡±.


    General Morgan placed a hand on my shoulder and said, ¡°Let my medical team handle him, there is nothing you can do right now.¡±


    I saw a flash of pink as Fuchsia shoved one of the medical staff out of the way. Her voice was raised but she remained confident and professional as she said, ¡°Jax is my patient and I know the most about his condition. I will be staying with him!¡±


    General Morgan, stood with his back to Fuchsia and he let out what sounded like an aggravated sigh. I saw several men in uniform head to where Jax was at. I looked at General Morgan and said, ¡°I¡¯m going with him, let me through!¡±


    One of the men tried to grab Fuchsia but she knocked him down. She yelled at General Morgan, ¡°Call your men off, we had an agreement.¡±


    General Morgan didn¡¯t take his eyes off of me, his veins bulged in his head, as he said, ¡°Leave the doctor alone she can stay with her patient.¡±


    I started to walk forward again and he said, ¡°No!¡±


    I was pissed and balled up my fist ready to punch this asshole when someone grabbed my wrist. I turned around to see Jackie and he said, ¡°Listen. He is safe here. No one is going to hurt him. Let them help him and then you can go see him.¡± Despite not knowing Jackie and Lyra for long I felt like I could trust them. They had put their lives on the line to help Jax.


    I relaxed my fist and Jackie let my wrist go. I heard a commotion behind me and turned back towards Jax. I could see people fighting to hold him down as he thrashed on the stretcher. I moved quickly in his direction but Jackie grabbed me from behind and Lyra stood in front of me gently pushing me back.  Fuchsia said something to one of the doctor¡¯s close to her and they started pushing Jax away. Fuchsia spun around and ran over to me. Lyra stepped out of the way as Fuchsia grabbed me by both arms and said,  ¡°I will come and get you as soon as he is stable.¡±


    I felt useless, his cries echoed in my ears as they wheeled him away.


    Fuchsia hugged me and said, ¡°Jax is tough, I promise he will be ok!¡±


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Fuchsia pushed me away and ran to catch up with the medical team and Jax.


    General Morgan was busy talking to one of his men. The young man had a busted lip and was holding his side. Poor guy didn¡¯t have a chance against Fuchsia and he was getting chastised by General Morgan. In his defense not many people are able to go up against Fuchsia and win.


    I looked past General Morgan and could see Jax being wheeled into the building through two large glass doors.. Fuchsia had caught up with him and disappeared through the glass doors as well.I ground my teeth as I stared at the building. There was nothing more I could do but wait.


    I forgot Jackie was behind me until I heard him clear his throat. ¡°My Da¡­I mean General Morgan will be busy for a while. Let¡¯s go get a drink and you can rest until we hear from Fuchsia.¡±


    Jackie and Lyra took me to a smaller gray building that was next to where Jax had been wheeled off to. Jackie leaned forward at the door and scanned his Iris and then scanned a card. The system beeped and said, ¡°Lieutenant Morgan, will you have a guest joining you?¡±


    Jackie answered simply, ¡°Yes.¡±


    The system again spoke, ¡±Please have the guest scan their right eye and then enter personal data.¡±


    Jackie rocked on his feet and said, ¡°His right eye is cybernetic, requesting permission for use of left eye for iris scan.


    The system said, ¡°Please wait¡­.¡±


    I reached up and covered my right eye, with everything happening I had forgotten about my newest bodily anomaly. The screen pulsed as we waited.


    The system beeped and said, ¡°Request granted.¡±


    ¡°Please have guest scan left eye and enter personal data.¡±


    After I finished entering my data the door opened and the three of us entered.


    There was a long hallway, shiny floors and painfully bright lighting. I followed Jackie as we passed many doors leading to who knows where. A mix of people in military uniforms and labcoats scattered busily around. Jackie finally stopped at a double door labeled lounge.


    The doors slid open to reveal a large dimly lit carpeted room. There were lots of different sitting areas, containing a mix of large tables, chairs and couches. Some of the spaces were being used and had their privacy shields activated. Jackie walked across the room to two couches and a couple of chairs. He pointed to a menu laying on the table and said, ¡°Pick something¡±.


    I picked the menu up and glanced at it half heartedly and then tossed it back down and said, ¡°Just a black coffee.¡±


    Jackie looked at me and said, ¡°Anything else?¡±


    I shook my head no and plopped down on one of the couches. I nervously searched my pocket, what I really wanted was a smoke. My pocket rattled and I pulled out the bottle of blue cryo and stared at it. ¡°What are you going to do now Jax.¡± I let the bottle roll across the table in front of me and leaned over, placing both elbows on my legs and resting my head on my hands.

 Chapter 32: Exhaustion

    Fuchsia was exhausted, she tapped nervously on the desk with one of her nails. This had to work! She steadied her shaking hand and made one final adjustment to the schematic of Jax¡¯s new neural implant. The schematic glowed on the screen as she rotated the 3D image. Someone walked up behind her and spoke, she jumped. The lack of sleep was starting to take its toll on her. She needed to pull herself together, Jax needed this surgery ASAP. Her hands shook as she rolled the chair back to look the doctor in the eyes. A woman with grey hair and dark brown eyes smiled gently back at her. Fuchsia stood up and said, ¡°I am finished with the schematic, please let the others on our team know.¡±


    The woman reached out and placed a hand on Fuchsia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You need to rest, you can¡¯t perform the surgery like this.¡±


    Fuchsia sighed, ¡°Jax, needs the surgery now, I can¡¯t rest until it is done!.¡±


    The woman shook her head and said, ¡°Fuchsia, if you want his surgery to be a success you need to rest. We are a capable team.¡± The woman reached for Fuchsia¡¯s trembling hands and gently held them. ¡°This is a risky surgery, Jax needs you to be at your best. Let us help you, please!¡±


    Fuchsia looked away closing her eyes, could she really trust these people? What options did she have? This was it. Whether she liked it or not, she had to trust these people.


    She opened her eyes and turned her head back towards the woman, ¡°Please let the team and General Morgan know I am ready to meet.¡±


    Fuchsia went to the restroom and washed her face with cold water. The other doctor was right, she needed to sleep. She looked in the mirror, her hands trembled as she tried to dry her face and hands. She adjusted her hair and straightened her clothing trying to gain some professionalism in her state.


    ¡ª------------------------------


    She walked into the conference room and was greeted by the other doctors. General Morgan was nowhere to be found. Fuchsia scanned the room looking for the doctor with the soft brown eyes and gray hair. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. ¡°Ahhh, Dr. Moore, is everyone here?¡±


    Dr. Moore, looked a little agitated, ¡°General Morgan is dealing with a¡­uh¡­a situation. He will be here soon.¡±


    Fuchsia placed her hand over her eyes, ¡°Please tell me it isn¡¯t Bren.¡±


    Dr. Moore squeezed the edges of the tablet she was carrying. ¡°Umm¡­he¡­¡± the door opened and General Morgan entered.


    He looked like he was in a bad mood as he walked to the closest seat. ¡°Let¡¯s get started. I have a matter that I have to return to.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Fuchsia looked worried but knew she needed to focus on Jax right now. She walked to the front of the room so she could share the schematic of the neural implant and her plans for Jax¡¯s surgery. The meeting took about an hour and a half. As she finished up there was a noisy chatter among the doctors both amazement and curiosity in their voice. If there had been more time they would have liked to have asked more questions and learned more about her and her research and development. Luckily, Fuchsia had step by step instructions for the other doctors to follow in order to prepare the neural implant and surgical room tools. Many of the doctors tried to follow her and ask questions, but Dr. Moore shooed them away knowing that Fuchsia needed to leave and get some rest.


    Fuchsia approached General Morgan who was already trying to make a fast getaway. She reached out and grabbed his arm. He stopped and said without turning around, ¡°I have had to place Bren in a holding cell. He was determined to see Jax as soon as he heard about the surgery. He won¡¯t be harmed, you needn¡¯t worry.¡± Fuchsia released General Morgan and said nothing. General Morgan walked through the doors never turning around.


    Fuchsia stood motionless until Dr. Moore gently pushed her. Let''s go find you somewhere to get some sleep.


    Fuchsia turned and held her hand up, ¡°I need to see Jax first.¡±


    Dr. Moore nodded and they walked together to see Jax. He was in a dimly lit room. He was sedated but his face looked pained as he lay there silently. She brushed his hair behind his ear, and noticed he was still fevered. It was disconcerting, but not unexpected. There were two nurses and a doctor monitoring his condition. She leaned forward and whispered something in his ear and left.


    Dr. Moore walked Fuchsia to a different building next to the one that Jax was in. The halls were busy with lots of people walking around. After getting access to the building they walked to a dimly lit hallway. She stopped not far down the hallway. ¡°This is it.¡± She knocked twice and the door opened.


    Fuchsia shifted uncomfortably not wanting to share a room with anyone. She felt something brush her leg and realized it was Nix. She bent down and scooped the cat up. Nix purred in her arms as she hugged him. She looked up as she heard, ¡°Nix!¡± Dr. Moore smiled and stepped aside as she said, ¡°I will leave you to get some rest.¡±


    Fuchsia walked into the room, shut the door, and was welcomed by Sina¡¯s open arms. The cat hissed, having been squished between the two. His little claws madly scratched at Fuchsia¡¯s coat. Fuchsia let go of Nix, and the cat dropped to the floor and ran. They stood there a moment in silence. Sina finally gently pushed Fuchsia away, ¡°There are clothes and toiletries, go take a shower. We can talk when you are out.¡±


    ______________


    Fuchsia was not gone for long before she returned in clean clothes and her hair wrapped up in a pink tinted towel.


    Sina was sitting on the couch stroking Nix¡¯s fur. Fuchsia plopped down on the couch and yawned. Sina looked her way and asked, ¡°Were you able to figure something out?¡±


    Fuchsia, tiredly reached over and pushed Nix out of Fuchsia¡¯s lap. She leaned over letting her head take Nix¡¯s spot. Her eyes were heavy and glossy as she spoke. ¡°I have left them with a schematic for the neural implant and instructions to prepare for the surgery. I am afraid I have not had enough time to think everything through well enough, but we are out of time.¡±


    Sina reached down and wiped away an escaping tear as it rolled down Fuchsia¡¯s cheek. Fuchsia blinked as more ran down, ¡°It is going to be a dangerous surgery and I am afraid that it will have more¡­¡± Fuchsia started to cry, but her eyes were getting heavier. Sina placed a hand on Fushia¡¯s cheek as she fell asleep. She moved her hand to the dye stained towel that was still wrapped around Fuchsia¡¯s hair. She gently pulled the towel off of her hair as Fushcia lay undisturbed in a deep sleep.