BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

Chapter Thirty

|Shattered|

"Hey, beautiful," a male voice calls out.

"I hope you're not talking about me," I reply sheepishly.

A hand touches my shoulder. "Even now, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever known."

My face grows warm. "Finn, I know that's you..." I want to turn my head and face him directly, but I can't. Some force hinders me from doing so.

His laugh is full of kindness. "Look at yourself if you don't believe me."

His hand guides me around until I face a mirror. It isn't Finn who is revealed by the reflection in the mirror. Sylas is resting his hand on top of my right shoulder, coaxing me to look at my image.

But this can't be my reflection. This reflection is a Seraph's but with my features.

Screaming, I look away. "Stop this!"

"This is who you truly are, Irissa," Sylas chuckles, running his fingers down the back of my head, threading them through the dark brown strands.

This girl staring back at me with ashen skin, so pale, that you can see her blue veins coursing beneath the surface. Her hair and those eyes, those lips and that nose, those are mine.

This girl is me. I'm the prototype. I'm the one that started it all.

"Wake me up from this dream," I say softly, close to tears.

Sylas disappears into the darkness.

"Wake up," two male voices simultaneously echo one another, yet their distinct tones make me blink my eyes. Finn and Kyler stand behind me, shaking my shoulders.

The Mother Chamber shudders, making my eyes open quickly, awakening me from my dream. Straight ahead, through the bubbles floating to the surface, smoke clouds the outside area. Chaos erupts, people running left and right. Sylas's lab workers frantically exit the laboratory.

Bending my knees, I raise the bottom of my feet to the side of the glass and kick with all of my strength. I'm getting nowhere. A loud beep echoes through the water, piercing my eardrums.

What is that noise?

My lungs grow heavy, crushing like a ton of bricks lying on my chest. The weakness that overcomes me suddenly sets me in panic mode. The oxygen is running out.

Pounding my fists against the glass, I want to scream, but I can't. The mask is covering my mouth and nose. More figures rush around the glass tubes surrounding me. But none of them stop. None of them realize I'm right here.

Blasts of fire and smoke continue to engulf the laboratory. The Syndicate are pouring in. Muffled gunfire ricochets from the outside. A bullet hits the glass casing of my tube. It doesn't penetrate, but only leaves a spider webbed crack directly in front of my vision.

I'm not getting oxygen.

It's run out.

Gripping the mask, I tear it away from my face. The only chance I have now is if someone from the outside recognizes me. Before, I looked like every other female Seraph floating inside a chamber.

Splashing frantically, I hold my breath. The longest I've ever held my breath is only a minute. That's all I have now, one minute before I slip from this world.

Everything is becoming clearer.

As my minute is winding down, I can slowly feel myself slipping away. All the gunfire, smoke, and explosions seem distant. Now there is only a strange calmness washing over me. Blinking my eyes rapidly, tiny bubbles escaping my mouth attach themselves to the tips of my eye lashes. I gulp sporadically, trying to catch a breath, but only inhaling small amounts of water.