The Immortal Cure

3. Cure

"You can go back to Riley now" Duke shooed as he waved me off with his hand

"Excuse me" I spat angrily, bravely standing my ground, folding my arms across my chest

He paused during his attempted exit and turned around, quickly stepping in front of me

"What?" He demanded angrily, his cool breathe catching on my face

"Tell me what that was about?" I told him,  finding the courage I needed to stare straight back at him

"You failed your first test." He put simply, clearly not intimidated by me one bit

I narrowed my eyes and shook my head, "Failed my first test?" I repeated "What the hell does that mean?"

He took another step forward, leaving inches in-between our bodies and face.
I waited for a blast of anger to be unleashed.
I waited for curses to be spat in my face.
But instead I watched as he tilted his head sideways and studied my face with his eyes.

"Are you not afraid of me? Or are you just that idiotic?" He asked softly as he watched me. I felt my heart race in my chest, banging onto my ribcage. My ears went hot.

"Neither" I managed to answer, feeling my knee's giving way

I had to double take, when his lips slowly curled upwards, sending chills through my spine.

"Interesting" He mumbled, his breath catching on my nose

I narrowed my eyes, what was his deal?

"So, are you going to tell me what just happened or what?" I asked again, feeling more confident my courage had softened him

He still didn't move from his composure towering closely above me.

"Harriss couldn't read your thoughts" He answered, finally moving and stepping back towards the door he'd been heading towards earlier

"Read my thoughts?" I processed out loud

"That's correct" Duke answered as he opened the door and swiftly left me standing alone.

I stood motionless for a minute or two, confused, bewildered and unsure if I wanted to either chase him to discover more, or use this moment to attempt another escape.
Wisely, I decided to do what he had originally asked.

I made my way back upstairs. If I wasn't going to get clear answers from Duke, I'd get them from Riley, or Seth.
I debated which room to embark into, slowly walking along the narrow hallway.

"Hey!" Riley's voiced called from behind. I jumped, holding my heart.

"Don't do that" I breathed

"Sorry" He smiled apologetic
"So, Ready for Playstation?" He asked, as he walked ahead of me

"Sure" I nodded, coming to a sudden halt. Riley somehow noticed and turned on his heel.

"What's wrong?" He asked, tilting his head, reminding me of when Duke had done it.

I looked down at my clothes, and recognized my blood stained work shirt, along with my slightly ripped black tights, small spots of blood splattered across.
I shuddered at the thought, and looked up at Riley.

"I can run to your place and grab some of your clothes for you?" He suggested obviously noticing what I had
"Just gimme' an address and I'll pop over there now. It'll take me like 5 minutes. You can sift through games while I'm gone" He continued, smiling, pushing the bedroom door open that he was standing beside