Chapter 5

Aaliyah POV

I wake to the familiar sounds of beeping. Keeping my eyes closed, I listen to hear if any of the doctors are with me. They tend to leave me when they think I won’t give them proper feedback.

Not hearing a sound other than the machines, I wiggle my arm a bit, but I’m met with no resistance. Opening my eyes, I look down to find no restraints around my wrists. Moving my leg up, I don’t have any chains tied around my ankles.

Did they honestly forget, or do they truly believe that I would be too weak to escape? I think to myself. I hope for a second that Aiya will give me a sarcastic response, but I don’t even feel her inside me.

Before I look around the space, a deep male’s voice flies into the room from the hall outside. The first words are too muffled, but I can tell whoever it is is getting angrier as he starts yelling on the other side of the door.

“What are you saying then? You’re supposed to be helping her!” the voice screams, “Why hasn’t she woken up?”

Someone responds in a lower voice, but I can’t hear the words they are saying.

Knowing I don’t have much time before the voice will enter the room, I move quickly and grab the scalpel off the tray next to me. Gripping the cold blade, I hide it under my wrist and lay back in the position I woke up in.

The second my eyes close, the door to the room creaks open. I keep my breathing steady as I hear footsteps getting closer to my bed. The soft touch of someone’s hand brushes against the hair on my forehead. A light spark of heat radiates through my head at the feel of human contact. I can hear the beeping of the heart monitor attached to me increase the moment the person’s skin touches mine.

“Shh,” the voice from earlier coos into my ear, “It’s just me. You’re safe now.”

His voice is deep and moves through my body like the soft caress he continues with his fingers.

“The doctors told me that you’ll wake up when you’re ready to, that you need time. But I’m really hoping that you’ll be ready today. I’ve waited so long to meet you, angel. I need you to open your eyes for me.”

I keep my eyes shut, pushing off my gut instinct to give this man what he wants. He said doctors, which means I didn’t escape from the laboratory.

No more, I tell myself, I won’t allow them to hurt me anymore.

Focusing on my breathing, I start to take deeper breaths to simulate panic. The heart monitor beside my head starts to beat rapidly as the male’s voice screams out for the doctor. I hear two sets of footsteps enter the room, “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” the guy from before says, his voice giving away his panic, “She started breathing faster and her heart rate spiked.”

“Everything else in her vitals seem fine. She might be having a nightmare. We can give her something to calm her down.”

I hear a bit of shuffling as the warmth of the voice from earlier leaves my side. I feel small, cold fingers against the crook of my left arm as the doctor searches for a vein. I’ve had my blood taken enough times to know what it feels like. I also know that the doctor’s entire focus will be on finding that vein. They won’t be looking at my other hand.

Snapping my eyes open, I jerk up and twist my arm from the doctor’s hands. I grab her arm and when she tries to pull it back, I use the force to pull myself off the bed and slam us both into the side table. I hear voices shouting at me to stop, but I ignore the commands. I won’t allow them to cut into me again.

Within two seconds, I move behind her and pull her closer to me with one arm as I hold the scalpel to her throat with another. Moving the blade to touch her skin in warning, I let her know exactly what I will do if she attempts to move.

My eyes move back and forth between the other two men inside the room. One is wearing scrubs with a long lab coat covering most of him. He’s another doctor, but he keeps looking at the other guy in the room as if waiting for his direction.

Assuming he most likely in charge, I look at him too. He’s tall with dark hair and scruff covering the bottom of his face. His t-shirt is stretched over his chest, showing off his defined muscles. After a quick scan, I focus back on his face to see his deep brown eyes. Looking into his eyes tugs at my soul as I feel a tether tying us together. I don’t know why, but I know he means something to me.

In another life, I would let myself focus on the instant attraction I am feeling for the man. But this isn’t the life I was living before.

“Let’s just slow this down,” the man, the same voice from earlier, growls. My eyes draw directly up to his face as I try to read his eyes, “Let her go.”

I shake my head no as I start to move us back near the end of the bed. Both guys are standing between me and the door. I can see light coming through a window behind me as the idea reaches my mind. I spot a small chair near the end of the bed.

“You don’t want to do this, angel,” the guy tries again. I can see pain in his eyes as we lock our gaze, “Please.”

I shake my head no again and jerk my chin towards the door behind them.

The guy glances to the open door and back to me, “You want to leave?” I don’t give him a response since he already has figured it out, “You’re still hurt. The doctors just need to check your wounds, then I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

I shake my head again, moving closer to the chair near the window. I’m not going to allow any of these doctors to come near me again. I know what will happen if I agree to what he wants me to do. I will die.

“Just let Nel go,” he says, reaching out his hand. My eyes stay on his. I can see his mind working as he tries to read me. The moment I get close enough to the end of the bed, my thoughts click for him, “Wait!”

He shouts but he’s too late to react as I move my arm. Cutting into the doctor’s shoulder in the move, I throw Nel into the two men. Swiftly, I grab the chair off the floor and throw it into the window, and the shattering of glass echoes in the room.

I don’t turn around as I follow the chair right out.