Of Monsters and Humanity: The Genesis

Chapter 41 - Xander

Twenty-four days before....

I could feel her heat press against me.

Everything about her is soft: her hair, her hands, her lips. She's kissing me like she's hungry, like I can give her something that she needs.

I kiss her back, of course, and back her up against the wall of the Supply Closet. Her hands are feverish, all in my hair and on my shoulders. I let my lab coat fall to the ground. I want to be close to her. I want to be close to her warmth and her softness and kindness. I need it. I need it now.

Cold water cascades down on me, and I scramble awake.

Byligan laughs loud and heartily from the Observation Room. He looks genuinely happy for some reason, and his white smile shocks me. I never see him smile.

I run a hand down my face and then through my drenched hair. The bed is completely wet now. My breathing is heavy, and my heart is racing. What kind of a dream was that?

"No warning? No 'hey Xander, wake up, I'm going to turn on the Sprayers'?"

"I needed to get you awake somehow," he laughs, his smile still present on his face. There was a slight gleam in his eye.

I get increasingly uncomfortable, not only with his weird expression but with my dream. I sit up and scratch my head, retracing my unconscious steps. As I think more, I know exactly what I was dreaming about.

I was dreaming about Terra going into the Supply Closet the other day, and how Damian walked in after her. Not only was I dreaming about them kissing, but I was dreaming of myself being Damian.

I look down at my arms and realize that I'm clutching a pillow to my body. I toss it to the other side of the bed in disgust.

"Hope you've slept well. We are leaving in just a few short hours," he informs me.

My eyes wander to the desktop in front of him, and how his normally messy paper pile is gone. Something shocks within me. I'm really leaving. I'm really leaving this godawful Pit. He was probably excited to see me outside, too. The thought makes me slightly uncomfortable: him being happy that I will be outside. What is wrong with all of these people? One second they're cutting into me and the next second they pretend that my happiness is key.

They just don't want me to try to kill myself again.

Byligan breaks my thoughts. "Now, get up. We need to prepare you for transportation." His voice was blunt and to-the-point. I was used to this, and it made the knots in my stomach start to unfold.

I nod and get out of the wet sheets only to be knocked out.

Everything was a blur. This time, the sedatives not only weakened me, but I was unconscious for a little while. I'm not exactly sure how long that time period was, as the voices around me seemed to go slower than usual. It reminded me of the night that I saw Terra for the first time, and how they dressed me in a suit and tie. I was probably not going to be dressed in a suit and tie, but I could smell the familiar soap and cologne. It was weird, as normally I'm drenched in acid. I suppose they don't like the stench of death on me when they're not the ones causing it.

Everything was black and numb for a while, like I was in some kind of comatose sleep. I liked this sedative strain--it was painless and not terrifying. As long as I could be unconscious, I liked whatever they gave me.

The pleasant smells disappeared after a while, and as my senses started to come to me again, my brain started to bang against the walls of my skull.

I'm moving around in some sort of vertical coffin-like structure. It is made of the same material as my surgical table, and there is a small, barred square cut out in front of my face. I blink, as a blinding white light hits my eyes. A loud grumbling sound, like thunder, is taking place outside of my compact compartment. As I move around, I become aware of the eight metal bars tightly sitting around my body, squeezing me against the back wall of the compartment. Not even my arms can get free.