[David]

I sighed in relief as I closed the door behind me. I hadn't expected Anatox to come, or anyone, obviously. And honestly, I liked her company. I just... didn't feel like talking right now.

I waved some smoke out of my face, coughing as I walked across the room. My hand brushed against the couch as I went, turning left and entering the small corridor that led to my room.

It was a small room, seeing that this was an apartment, and light shone in from the window that overlooked this part of the city. My satchel was lying on the nightstand, next to the item I had been searching for - a silver lighter. I picked up the small object and put the flame to the end of the cigarette. I inhaled, then exhaled, the acrid, grey smoke filling my senses.

But it wasn't that that made me lower the cigarette and turn away. Instead it was the creeping, spine-chilling feeling of eyes on me.

My gaze darted around the room, uneasiness churning in my stomach. I didn't hear anything, which should ease my paranoia.

Yet it only made it worse.

I turned back around, still on edge.

Only to be met by a monster.

-x-

[???]

My claws dug into flesh, my breathing heavy and ragged. Blood dripped from my mouth - not my own, but that of the person I had pinned to the ground. His arm was a bloodied mess - no, his arm was gone. Crimson spilled from the open socket, and the man's face was twisted in fear, agony. My right hand was heavy on his chest, weighing him down and pinning him below me.

He was trying to say something, but he was too weak to speak. Blood gurgled from the back of his throat, splattering on the ground next to him as he choked on the liquid. He screamed as I felt something break under the pressure of my hand, bone caving in beneath me. I could tell he was trying to breathe, but his ribs were probably stabbing through his lungs now. His heart was barely missed, seeing that he was still alive.

My left hand was on his still-attached wrist. I lifted it, noticing the abnormal blisters where my hand had laid. Must have been putting too much pressure. I ignored them, putting my hand back and crushing his wrist once again.

The man looked dizzy, his eyes slowly beginning to glaze over as his eyes slowly tried to close. He's losing consciousness, I realized. Right. He's probably in a lot of pain.

Why wait for him to not be present?

He inhaled sharply, a strangled gasp as my claws broke skin. My hand wrapped around something soft, and I yanked as hard as I could. The man jerked one last time before finally falling limp, head lolling to the side with dead, lifeless eyes.

His heart was still beating in my hand as I crushed the delicate organ.

-x-

[Anatox]

I pulled my mask over my face as I entered the alleyway, slipping through the shadows as I left the open street of the city. I had left David's apartment and, out of having nothing else to do and not wanting Tonix to tear my apartment down in one of his little hallucination spells, had decided to head home. As I walked, I heard a metallic thump to my right. I turned, my sight landing on an orange feline sitting on the dumpster. Yellow eyes blinked, the cat flicking its ear at me as it sat down.

Stray cats weren't an uncommon sight here, so I wasn't very surprised to see the creature. It was probably just out hunting for mice and other rodents. What surprised me was its friendliness. The cat jumped down from the dumpster, letting out a small meow as it landed and trotting over to where I stood. It pressed its side to my leg and purred, a soft sound like a tiny generator rising from its throat as it rubbed against me.

I couldn't help but smile at the cat, kneeling down and holding my hand out to it. The cat sniffed it, its small pink nose twitching for a second before pressing the top of its head to my palm. Its fur was dirty, but soft. I stroked its head, scratching the cat behind its ears.

My eyes suddenly widened as a burning pain suddenly struck my throat. I cried out, my hand flying to my neck as I fell. The cat jolted backwards, jumping away from me with its back arched and claws unsheathed. It made a strangled MREEEW sound in surprise as it backed away.

I coughed, the pain suddenly starting to increase, overwhelming my senses swiftly. I tried to breathe, but instead gagged, and immediately doubled over as blood spilled from my mouth. Through the pain and blood I was trying to scream, but it came out as a helpless gargle. In the corner of my vision, the cat retreated, the fearful feline running back into the alley and away from me. I tried to get up, but my arms shook, and I fell back to the ground as more blood painfully rose from my throat and splattered on the ground. I couldn't stand, I could barely move.

I tried to croak out a call for help, as much as I wished I could handle this myself, but only a liquified gargle escaped my vocals. My vision spun, black swarms slowly caving into my line of sight.

"Anatox!"

Who is that? I know that voice... is someone... coming... can't... stay awake...

Green eyes met mine as the world around me darkened into the black void.

-x-

I shot up from where I sat, breathing heavily as I clutched my heart. My chest rose and fell rapidly with quick, panicked breaths as I tried to figure out where I had been taken. I recognized the room - my own apartment, the living room. Out the window was a familiar view of the city, the same view I saw every day. Despite having been unconscious for however long, my limbs still felt like lead and my eyelids were heavy. But that was normal - I was never fully energized.

As my vision came into focus, a blurred figure in the corner of my vision became clear. It was Tonix. His expression was plastered with worry. His light brown hair, usually tied back, fell in an untamed mess to his shoulders, as if the ponytail had fallen out while he was running at some point. I noticed the strands around his face were wet and dark with crimson - blood. His own, I assumed.

I groaned, rubbing my face. My mouth still tasted metallic, and I wiped extra blood from my mouth with my sleeve. Before any more could come up I stood, brushing dirt off my hoodie.

Tonix's head perked, and I felt his eyes on me. His tense shoulders relaxed visibly, and his stressed expression softened. "Thank god, I thought you were dead."

"It'll take more than some blood to kill me," I said, a dry chuckle escaping my throat. My insides still burned, and I coughed. Red blossomed in small droplets on my hand. Grimacing in pain, I slowly made my way across the room to the kitchen. My hand grasped around the cabinet handle, and I pulled my medication bottle from the shelf. Tonix watched with some mix of curiosity and concern as I shook two pills from the bottle and swallowed them dry with no difficulty.

"There's a medication for this?" He queried once I finished. I slipped the bottle into my pocket so I wouldn't be caught off guard again.

"No," I replied with a sigh, "It just helps fight off the blood and exhaustion. No cure, but a decent compromise to keep the pain at bay."

Tonix raised an eyebrow. "And did you get this prescribed, or...?"

I didn't answer him. Instead I averted his gaze and walked across the room.

He wasn't finished, though. I felt his hand around my arm, and I whipped around angrily.

"Let go of me, Tonix!" I snapped through gritted teeth. His grip remained firm. I noticed his hands were bloody, the same blood that stained parts of his hair. The blood wasn't completely dry, but it had gotten there recently.

"Anatox, answer the question," Tonix said with almost a growl.

I jerked my arm away, rubbing the place where he had grabbed. His grip was strong, that was for sure. "Why do you care?"

"I have a right to be worried about you," Tonix said, "You're young and obviously haven't had any parental supervision for however long."

"Well, you're not my parent," I said aggressively, "I barely met you the other day."

"That doesn't mean I can't care."

I huffed, looking down at the floor for a moment longer before looking back up at Tonix. "Fine. No, they weren't prescribed. I got them from a friend that sells things like that."

"So you're friends with a drug dealer?" Tonix queried blatantly.

"We-" I cleared my throat. "Yes, I am. But it's fine. The meds help, it's not doing any harm."

"Aaaand that's what they all say," Tonix rolled his eyes. "Look, Anatox, I understand that you're trying to be all 'I can take care of myself-'" he made quotation motions with his fingers, "- but I can tell you from experience that it does nothing."

"From experience? What, you were on some kind of drug, too?"

"Being fair, I didn't say that."

"You said it was from experience. That's what that means."

Another eye-roll. "Fine then, yes. I'd much rather not talk about it."

"Good for you, then, we're not going to," I said without thinking. I would have wanted to get information, but now's not the time for prying. I began to turn around when I heard an aggressive snarl, and suddenly I hit the floor with a thud.

"Tonix, what the hell!" I snapped at him. My hand slipped on something small and round, and I fell again as I tried to push myself to my feet. I must have not closed the container properly. Small, white and red capsules were scattered next to me, some still slowly rolling away from the open blue container. The lid I felt in my pocket.

Tonix didn't answer me. I looked up at him, and saw his eyes glued to the mess next to me. He paid me no mind as I tried in vain to regain his attention. Slowly, I stood back up. Tonix still didn't flinch or avert his eyes from the spillage.

In a flash, the scene around me changed.

-x-

I wiped the blood from my mouth as I stuck the bottle in the pocket of my lab coat.

The room I stood in was white. In one corner was a cot that, if I had been anyone else, would have been used as a bed. There was a window on one side, but from my view the other side of said window was obscured by the fluorescent light above reflecting off of its surface and the wall. In the mirror I stood at I could see myself, a fatigued, disheveled husk of who I used to be. I pulled my hair back, tying it in a ponytail to keep it out of the way.

"Subject 6-A."

I huffed at the name, and turned to the man in the doorway. My exhale softened a bit. I knew this one. The name was protocol, since the guards were right there. One of them held up five fingers to the man, who nodded and stepped into the small chamber I resided in. The door slipped closed behind him.

"How are you feeling today, Aaron?" The man asked, expression softening as the door sealed shut.

"No worse than usual," I said with a dry chuckle.

The man nodded. "Well, that much I'm thankful for. At least your condition isn't degrading." His voice was thick with an accent, British by the sound of it.

"Anything on a cure?" I asked, despite knowing the answer deep down. My suspicions were confirmed as the man shook his head sadly.

"Not much progress has been made. It's strange, really. The blood samples damage the machines somehow."

I recalled the burning I felt in my throat when I vomited. Maybe it was something with my blood.

"Is the prescription helping?" he asked me.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I think so, but... everything I know about addiction tells me that might be my brain talking."

"I understand your concerns," the man nodded his acknowledgement, "But this is the only thing that even has a possibility of making some improvement to your health. We've got to try."

I nodded, looking back to the mirror. In the line of sight was now both me and the man. Short, reddish-brown hair and grey eyes stared in the mirror at my abnormally green ones.

"We'll do something about this, Aaron," the man said, "Mark my words, we'll find a way to help you."

"I hope so."

-x-

"YOU PROMISED!"

"Please, Aaron, don't lose yourself!"

"Do you think I CARE?! You PROMISED you would find some kind of cure!"

"We need more time! Just be patient, we'll find something!"

"LIAR! I've been patient for two years, Avery. TWO YEARS! And what have you all done? NOTHING! THIS HAS DONE NOTHING! And all the while you keep me locked up, treat me like some kind of animal!"

"Aaron-"

The very mention of my own name twisted a knife into my heart. I snarled, claws unsheathed as I slashed at his face. His screams echoed in my mind, blood dripping from under his hand, which was over his left eye.

"I won't be your little pet any longer."

Avery's good eye widened as rings began to form around me. What looked like small orbs orbited on them, surrounding me like planets to a sun. They glowed the same green as my eyes, only brighter, burning my retinas as I looked at them.

And then the world evaporated.

-x-

I blinked, stumbling a second before holding my head. Tonix had snapped out of his trance, gnawing on his lip and mumbling something to himself. I stared at him with wide eyes, my breathing heavy. He didn't seem to know what I had seen. So the visions aren't his conscious doing.

"I-I'm sorry," I said finally, "I'll... I'll stop."

"No, I'm sorry," Tonix sighed, "I... overreacted. Though I would appreciate it if you stopped, it wouldn't endanger you more than you already are."

"O-okay."

I couldn't help but give worried glances in his direction as I knelt down to clean up the mess from when I fell.

-x-

Might be the longest chapter I've ever written holy crap

2409 words