Chapter 3 – Know . . .

Once more I awoke with a headache, only that this time it was much more subdued. Instead of the maddening pain from before, this was more akin to a throbbing, a pulsating in my mind. It was painful, yes, but it was almost soothingly so, like a wound that was healing. I was nothing like the agony I had felt few . . . now that I was thinking about it; I actually had no idea how much time had passed. I opened my eyes and looked around confused. I wasn’t in my room back home but an entirely different place! Going by the bed it had to be a hospital or some sort of medical station, yet there were no windows around, so either this was a prison or somewhere underground. But I didn’t know why I would be in either of those, I as far as I knew I hadn’t done anything that would land me in jail and an underground medical facility sounded too much of isolation due to being contagious for my liking.

But then again I having some sort of sickness would explain the holes in my memories. Because for the love of it I couldn’t really recall what I had even done since waking up. I knew I had woken up at home but had lost my memory of whatever incident had happened in the library. After that Tanya and I had driven somewhere in the city, to do something important? There were a few things I could remember though, I had flashes of a ritual in my mind something grandiose and terrifying but it hurt to think about it. Yet when I strained my mind there was another memory floating in the cesspool that was my own brain. No, it wasn’t a memory, more of a fragment of knowledge!

My Child. Young One.

Saw. Learned.

Heard. Know.

Speak. Understand.

Feel. Change.

Love. Become.

Devour. Embrace.

I frowned in confusion, just what were those words? Why did they feel so important to me? It was like I was convinced that I wanted to follow their instructions? ‘Wait, that . . . that is a list! And the first two lines are in the past tense?' Just what did I learn and what did I hear? The harder I thought about it the more those words felt right, but at the same time, they felt incredibly alien and unnatural. The way they wormed themselves into my mind, almost as if trying to take control of me, guiding me into a certain direction. A direction that tiny voice in me told me was very wrong, and yet at the same, it felt like a sirens call that I simply had to obey. ‘Obey . . . no! I don’t want this! How should I know that this new illusion isn’t leading me right into a trap?’ I gritted my teeth in anger; my demise was my choice and mine alone!

I looked around the room there wasn’t anything inside other than the bed, medical monitoring equipment and of course a camera pointed right at the place I was sitting. For a few seconds, I gave the camera the stink eye and then sat up on the side of the bed. Annoyed by the monitoring equipment stuck to me I ripped it off, and out with it came also the IV port. Honestly it hurt a lot less then I would have expected, once the little band-aids were off, the needle just fell out of my flesh. A little confused by this I picked it up and gave it a look over. The structure of the little pokey metal thing was odd, it was slightly deformed and if I wasn’t imagining it, it looked almost as if it had been attacked by acid. I looked back to my wound and weirdly enough there wasn’t a single drop of blood. I poked at where the puncture wound should be but I felt nothing but squishy flesh. ‘Huh, weird?’

Before I could resume my inspections I heard the door to my room open with the audible swoosh sound of an air seal. I looked over still a little dazed and saw a male nurse, as well as an armor-clad soldier, walk inside. The soldier's grip on their weapon told me all that I needed to know about what they thought of me. For some reason they had me deemed dangerous enough to provide an armed escort to even the hospital staff if this was even a hospital in the first place. This after taking a look at the soldier's armor I seriously began to doubt. The gear looked way too much like what the Black Site Guards of my Fathers Company. So I was in there or rather here after all. This memory loss made me more than anxious though and so before the nurse could even come close or speak up I addressed him.

“You there, Nurse! Am I correct in assuming that this is the AFI-Black Site? If so, how come my memories are so hazy? Have I been drugged?”

The Nurse blinked for a moment before turning to the Soldier who just shrugged as if they didn’t care.

“Um, I’m sorry for the inconvenience Miss Sherman but we had to sedate you after the incident. As I understand it, there were . . . complications after your attempted Ritual.”

While the smile on his face might have looked friendly, I had the distinct feeling it was entirely insincere.

“It is possible that due to the sedative used your short term memory might be slightly vague. But don’t worry such things can happen, and I’m sure your memories will return shortly. Now if you would please sit on the bed so I can take your pulse?”

While it was a pain to be stuck here I still complied. After all, I had no desire to find out if that soldier had load rubber bullets or the lethal kind. I shuddered at the thought, whatever happened must have made those guys seriously spooked. No matter now was not the time for that; I wasn’t even certain what day it was, so I had no way of actually reconstructing what was going on. I was positively sure, that these people would tell me soon enough. So instead of going against the wishes of a person guarded by a heavily armed and armored grumpy person, I just sat down at let the nurse go about his work. Or at least that had been the plan only that I jerked my arm back the moment he touched me.

:: ... stupid rich bitch just let me work ... ::

“What the fuck!” I shirked away from his hand. ‘Had he just seriously said that? No, I didn’t see him moving his mouth. Did imagine it after all?’ I shook my head in confusion; no, I had clearly heard those spiteful words, right? I looked back up into the gently smiling face of the man before me, only now his smile seemed even worse, as false as that of a snake.

“Is everything all right Miss?” The smile didn’t even twitch and once more his and closed around my wrist.

:: ... Fucking Lunatic just sit still ... ::

My eyes grew wide and I yelled out. “How dare you, you little shit!”

This time I was certain I had heard it! His hateful words were obviously directed at me but the Soldier didn’t even seem to care. I had to take action, I would not be ridiculed! I ripped my wrist free from his grasp and in the next second the palm of my hand connected with his face in a resounding slap. Apparently not expecting this course of action the Nurse was unprepared and the appropriately named bitch-slap send him tumbling to the ground. I was just about to stand up and show him just what I thought of his comment when I heard a metallic click to my left side and a cold female voice calling out to me.

“Don’t move!” I froze and glanced over, the soldier was pointing her rifle at my face.

“Good, now slowly place your hands behind your head.” Uncertain of the situation and her orders I complied.

“Get down on your knees and don’t try to run away.” ‘I am not really in any position to do that, now am I!?’ Yet instead of spitting those words at her I merely sat down on the ground.

“Wait here.” I heard her fumbling around behind me before she continued to speak. “Sir, it should be safe now for the CEO; also I need some assistance to take care of the nurse, he seems to be unconscious.”

Honestly, I wasn't really sure what had just happened, but I was relatively sure that the soldier had not reacted how a normal person would to someone slapping their nurse. It wasn’t like I had actually harmed him after all! ‘Now that I think about it didn’t she say I knocked him out?’ Both curious and a little nervous I took a quick look at the nurse and would have probably jumped back if I didn’t have a gun pointed at my beautiful noggin. The man in front of me must have somehow hit his head on the way down because he was completely down for the count.

I already wanted to turn around and tell the soldier that it wasn’t my fault, but as soon as I moved, something hard and cold-pressed against the back of my neck. I wasn’t entirely sure about it but I could almost swear that the soldier was slowly drawing circles with the muzzle on my skin! ‘What the fuck is going on here? This absolutely not right! Damn it I’m just going to sit here and wait . . . and ignore the weapon pressed to the base of my skull!’ Much to my horror while the seconds ticked down, the woman behind me continued her maddening play of tormenting me. First, it was just my neck, and then she drew the cold metal across the tip of my ears or the side of my cheek! It was both irritating and terrifying, and by the hells, I couldn’t figure out what her deal was!

We waited for almost a minute until the swooshing sound of the airlock announced someone coming. And by the gods had I absolutely no desire to see the person coming inside. In fact, if I hadn't been held at gunpoint I would have straight-up stormed out of the room. Or at least I would have liked to, in reality, I didn't have the guts to stand up to the man coming through the door. He was almost two-meter in height, with a lean build, and short cut black hair that framed away too strained face. The eyes behind the info-glasses were harsh and cold, in addition, they seemed to have adopted a perpetual frown. And when he glanced down at my kneeling form there was naturally no kindness to be found on his face, only cold disdain. I was just about to greet him when his hand moved. Faster than I expected it crashed into my face and with it came something else.

:: ... damned Failure! You should have never been born ... ::

He hadn’t slapped me and he hadn’t talked. No, he had punched my face with his closed fist and his true thoughts had flown out from his mind. Even when he pulled me up by my chin and clenched his finger around my cheeks I couldn’t do anything else but smile. He had finally shown me his true colors; he had opened up to me as he had never before. No longer did I need to guess his thoughts or intentions. No, now I could read them like an open book. This feeling it was . . . invigorating. Even if it was only spite and disdain, it was still his open and true feelings. His raw emotions finally reached me like he had always hoped they would. His look changed from disdain to disgust when he finally realized that I was grinning like a madwoman. Yet, even now that his fingers dug harder and deeper into my flesh my smile only spread and I knew that I had to tell him my thoughts too.

“Thank you, you must have gotten a new personal trainer. It was a truly mind-opening punch. And such a strong grip too, I must have really pissed you off this time. Now haven't I, father!?"

"I see, truly a shame. You have lost even more of your sad excuse for a mind. Evelyn, take all the records we have of my daughter's attempt at a rank nine ritual and place them into the Failed and Abandoned partition. I do not think we will ever need them again. And now to you, daughter."

His fingers finally released my face and he wiped his fingers on a wet-wipe his assistance had held for him. If my eyes could kill, the man would already be eating worms. But since my glare wasn’t sufficient my words had to do.

“What is it? What more could you want of this failure of a daughter? Have I not already proven that your seed is filth and poison?”

My grin was instantly stripped from my face when he nodded to the soldier behind me and she drove the butt-end of her rifle straight into my temple. This time there was nothing good. There were no thoughts and emotions. The only thing I felt was the rough texture of industrial carbon-fiber bruising my skin. The only embrace was the one of pain and suffering.

“Well done Soldier. What is your name?” The soldier saluted and moved her weapon away from my head.

“Lieutenant Sadiya Crook, Sir!”

"Good, you may discipline this girl whenever she misbehaves. I have decided to appoint a new personal guard to my daughter. Her old one has failed her tasks. Do you think you would be up to the task? Your salary will, of course, be properly adjusted."

I stared at my father in horror and surprise. What did he mean by saying that my old guard had failed her job? No! He couldn’t, he wouldn’t, right?

“Father, where is Tanya? Why did she not come in with you? Tell me this instance, where is my guard? Where is my friend!?”

Much to my horror instead of answering me properly he only once more nodded to the bitch behind me. Before I could even react or dodge her strike, her weapon’s shoulder stock already graced my face with its presence. ‘Fuck, this kinda hurts! Stop it already you brute!’ Yet once more instead of saying those words out loud I held my voice.

“Sadly, Miss Ralston has not met the specifics of her job for quite some time now, so I decided to relive her of her employment. From here on out you will have a new guardian. Lieutenant Crook, do you accept your new position?”

“Sir, yes, Sir!”

“Good. Valerie, this woman will be your new guard. I advise you not to annoy her. Well then, seeing as this farce is over, Lieutenant, escort my daughter to university. She still has classes to attend to today. I will take my leave now. Oh, and Valerie? Do not disappoint me again!”

He threw me one last pointed glare and left the room together with his assistant. Another soldier who I had completely overlooked until now carried away the still unconscious nurse. I, on the other hand, could only sit there and stare at the scene, nothing made sense anymore! My father knew about the Ritual and probably was even the one that allowed my access to this facility. I slapped a nurse unconscious and in turn, got beaten by a guard. And to make all of this worse, that insufferable shit of a father had fired my only real friend from her job of protecting me! I had to do something or I would never see Tanya again! I was just about to get up when I felt a strong hand grab me by the neck and fingers tighten around my throat.

“Aww, you weren’t thinking about leaving me behind, now were you?”

The woman must have taken of her faceplate because when she leaned down to whisper into my ear I could feel her hot breath on my skin. Had it been Tanya I most likely would have found the closeness comforting, but this woman had something seriously wrong with her mind. She only made me scared and agitated.

“I would if I could you damn brute! I will leave now do with that whatever you want!”

I finally lifted myself back onto my legs, only to find that they had gone numb from their prolonged kneeling position. After a first shaky attempt I was sure that I would manage perfectly fine, yet when I took my first few wobbly steps, the soldier’s arms snaked around my chest to support me. Disturbed by her sudden affectionate action I turned around to look at her. And surprising no one I was met with the most disturbing smile I had seen in a long time. The woman next to me had dark skin, straight black hair, and Arabic features, but above all, she simply oozed sadism.

“What are doing? You are uncomfortably squishing me!” I tried squirming out of her grip, but her arms could as well have been made from steel in comparison to my feeble body.

"Now, now, just so you know I don't intend to hurt you. Well, at least not if you cooperate. But you must have already noticed how week your legs are if I don't support you, who knows what might happen."

If her smile had been sadistic before now it was downright crazy!

"For example, you could fall down, and lie there all helpless with no one but me to help you out. I truly don't know if I could hold back in such a moment. I might just do this to you."

In the same second, she said that last sentence her eyes sparked with lust and the promise of pain. I had no time to even comprehend what that might mean for me. As in less than a second, her one hand that was wrapped around my chest gripped my breast tightly trough the thin fabric of my hospital gown. In one smooth motion, her armored fingers got a hold of my already hard nipple and twisted it sharply.

Tears gathered in my eyes as I suffered through the pain, but still, my fury burned hotter. And so for a second time today my hand slammed into the exposed cheek of an offender. Much to my surprise with it I finally Knew . . .

:: ... YES! Hit me you little bitch! Suffer and show me that cute pained face of yours! I will make you my pet! ... ::

‘What. The. Actual. FUCK!?’