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"She was quite hard to fool." I heard a familiar voice. "But nonetheless, not that hard."

I slowly blinked open my eyes, feeling the familiar pressure of the leather ropes tied around my wrists and ankles.

Days.

It must've been days.

"Ah, she's awake." It wasn't Cynthia's voice. Even though I was sure she was here in the room, it wasn't her voice.

Fully awake, I raised my head and saw Cynthia already looking at me. However this time, her auburn hair were up in a neat bun.

My gaze traveled from her to the man beside her, probably in his fifties. His face seemed familiar, almost as if I had seen him somewhere before. In a picture. His blond hair were combed back against his scalp, almost in a disgusting way.

Everyone in this department was freakingly disgusting.

"Morning, Grace." Cynthia chirped up, looking quite ecstatic to be standing beside that man, who was registering me with a narrowed gaze. "Now that you have woken up, it's finally time you meet Mr Burner."

I started struggling again. "Let me go, you psycho!"

Cynthia's eyes widened as if I shouldn't have said that. But the man –Mr Burner– smiled at that, almost in a knowing way. Which just made my insides twist themselves.

"You are like him, Ms Collins." He spoke up in a smooth voice, stuffing his hands in his coat's pockets. "Quite stubborn."

Cynthia stayed quiet as he came towards me, a sort of brooding aura surrounding him. He was tall and since I wasn't even sitting up, he towered easily over me.

I just glared at him. "You killed my parents. You'll regret it so much. I really mean it."

He laughed at that, the sound echoing lightly against the white walls. "I don't see how a...pathetically weak girl like you can do any harm to me. But then again, we aren't here to insult anyone."

I really, really felt like punching him. Right this second.

"Where is Jack?" I spoke up. "What the hell have you done with him?"

Now that he was close, I noticed the mad –almost wild– look in his grey eyes. Like a fucking madman.

Maybe he really was.

"Let's just say...your brother hates the dark." He passed Cynthia a knowing look. She just cracked a smile at that.

As if this was supposed to sound like a freaking joke.

I remembered back to the picture I had found in my kitchen. The day after that fire in my house. My heart clenched when I remembered the fear on Jack's face and that darkness around him.

"What have you done to him?" This time it was just a scared whisper that escaped my lips, because I felt horrible thinking about the stuff they could've done to him.

"He could've lost his sanity." His eyes crinkled up at the edges as he chuckled. And once again, I felt like I had really seen him before. "And we might never know."

The dread filling my insides was overwhelming at this point. I felt like I'd suffocate with the sudden panic.

"Please, leave him alone." I spoke up, shaking my head. "He never did anything. This isn't his fault. Please."

He nodded sympathetically and he even had the nerve to lightly pat my shoulder. "Of course, it isn't. It isn't your fault either."

I nodded slowly, my throat constricting at his words.

"Your father's fault." He clicked his tongue before sitting down on the chair beside my bed. His face was clean shaven, giving him more of that disgusting greasy look.

"Now you see, Ms Collins, Marcus was a really great biologist." His eyes brightened up at that as if he really meant it. "One of my favorites, I must say. He was so great at this research stuff. I really admired him. My favorite staff under this department, yes."

I saw Cynthia rolling her eyes at that.

"But then, you must know that he went against me. He defied my commands." He shook his head in despair. And I had to clench my fists tightly at that, my nails digging into my palms. "And if someone stands up against me, I don't take that well."

There was silence after that. A silence that told me so much. A silence that felt so incredibly wrong—horrible.

I gave him a disgusted look. "You are a fucking sicko."

He smiled at that but nonetheless, I saw the glimmer of sudden anger in his eyes. "Yes, I am. Science makes you like that. Now tell me, little girl, where the hell is it?"

I just stared at him blankly.

"Talk!" He bellowed. And Cynthia took a step back in surprise, or maybe it was fear.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I glared at him.

He smiled at that. A very creepy smile. "You don't know?"

Hesitatingly, I shook my head.

"Ah, you see, your father went off to one of his mutational missions few years back." The smile didn't leave his face when he spoke up, pacing in front of my bed. "One of the missions I assigned him to, to find the most precious thing science has to offer."

I looked at him blankly.

"Your father found it." He nodded. "But he refused to give it to me. Now tell me, where is it?"

I just passed him a look of disbelief. "Why don't you go fucking find it yourself, you psycho? Why don't you use your stupid brain instead of killing innocent people?"

His smile faltered and I did see Cynthia's glare directed towards me.

He looked over to his left, at the white translucent wall. Almost immediately, a man clad in black came inside from the doors. I tried looking at him but my neck really hurt at that moment.

"Now, Grace. Let me tell you one thing." It was the old creep's voice again. "Getting out answers from your little mouth won't be hard for me."

I eyed him as he came closer.

"But it would be painful for you." He gave me a pitiful look. "Even if your pathetic brother didn't lose his sanity, you might. And that really wouldn't feel good, now would it?"

I gulped when I saw a bottle in his hands. A small glass bottle.

"And like they all say," He said. "I don't like showing mercy. To anyone."

Before I could've reacted, which wouldn't have helped anyway, I felt somebody gripping my jaw. I did remember struggling. I did remember my muffled screams. But it didn't matter when he opened the small glass bottle and drained the liquid in my mouth.

I did remember the burning acrid taste and it was horrible.

I blinked furiously, sudden tears clouding over my vision. All of a sudden, everything started blurring.

However, I didn't pass out even if I was expecting that to happen any second. My head felt light. Everything inside me felt numb and unresponsive, but I didn't pass out.

I felt the leather ropes loosening itself around my wrists as somebody untied them. I felt the strong grip on my arms as somebody pulled me up. But I couldn't see. All I saw were blurred images.

Yet I still didn't pass out.

"Start speaking." I heard a voice. "Where is it?"

I didn't reply at first. I didn't know what was happening to me. It was horrible. But then, I realized what horrible actually was when I felt a sharp electrifying pain go down my spine.

I gasped loudly.

"Where is it?" This time, it sounded more angry.

"I-I don't know." I heard my own voice growing so distant.

I was definitely supposed to pass out. Why wasn't I blacking out?

"He must've given it you. He must've told you." The grip on my arm tightened.

I heard my voice but I couldn't make out the words as if my brain was shutting down completely. I tried moving my hands, my feet, but nothing seemed to work.

And when I was sure that I'd pass out, another jolt of pain went down my spine. And it was even more horrible than before.

"Everything. We need every piece of information from her." I heard another voice. But it seemed so far away. "The location. The exact location."

I don't know how long this kept on happening. All I remembered was myself speaking; words that I didn't hear. Words tumbling out of my lips, that I clearly didn't remember.

Then the grip around my arm loosened, letting go of me. I felt the soft bed against me as I fell back. Not aware of my surroundings, not aware of anything.

And then everything went black. All over again.

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Xoxo,

Crystal 🌿