𝓢𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓟𝓼𝔂𝓬𝓱𝓸

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷

𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓪 𝓟𝓞𝓥

As I left the interrogation room, I heard Ercole yelling at Guido and Ciccio for their clumsiness. I felt slightly bad- they were two of the only people I liked in this place. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alberto twist his head around to see them, and when he looked forward again, he looked sympathetic.

I suppressed a growl as I led him through the halls. Why would he ask me to keep the prisoner in my room? We could always move another prisoner, or just kill one of them to free up the cell! I thought. A few people waved at me, but I just glared at them and they shrank back from my venomous expression. 

When we reached my quarters, I thought about what Ercole had said. It's not like you have to treat him well. You can lock him in a closet and feed him table scraps, for all I care. As I pressed my hand to the door to unlock it, I allowed myself a small smile. I mean, I already scratched him. Does it really matter if I keep him in a closet?

I glanced over at Alberto, who looked surprisingly calm. I felt the scowl return to my face, then shoved open the door and pushed him inside. He stumbled forward, then turned to face me. I slammed the door shut and let out a growl. 

"This is going to be fun," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I reached towards him and ripped the tape off of his mouth, much less gently than when I first did. "Gah!" he said, wincing in pain. I ignored him and walked across the room to my kitchen area. 

My flat was very small- the living room and kitchen were separated by a single counter, with a fridge and oven along the counter. A small hall led to a bedroom with a queen-sized bed and a bathroom. There was one closet in the hall where I kept a single box- I'm assuming Ercole wanted me to keep Alberto in there.

Even I'm not that cruel. I'll just let him sleep out on the couch. Unless he annoys me. Then he's staying in the closet, I thought. I grabbed a glass and filled it with water, then began drinking it in an attempt to calm myself down. My senses were incredibly heightened- I could hear every movement Alberto made, along with the more distant sounds of footsteps moving through the facility halls. Those sounds started to fade away as my anger did, though. 

That was when he decided to speak. 

"So.... what tribe of siren are you?"

I spit out my water, the droplets spewing across the counter. I started violently coughing, and my hearing grew so strong that it started to hurt my head. How does he know I'm a siren? HOW!?! I thought. 

There was a loud ringing in my ears. I could hear everything- the people walking on the next floor, Guido taking Ciccio to the hosptial wing, my own loud, ragged breathing. It was too much. I thought I had this under control. Ever since I was a kid, when I got too upset, my hearing would get too strong and hurt me. It had been years since this had last happened. 

What changed? Why did I grow weak? How did I fail. The answer's simple. I'm weak. I'm still not strong enough, even after all those years of training... The voices in my mind taunted me. Shut up! I screamed back.

"Breath, breath, breath. Deep breaths," said a new, different voice in my head. I started taking deep breaths, and I felt my heart rate slowing back down. But as my hearing slowly returned to normal, I realized that it was Alberto who was saying that. He was next to me, talking in a soothing tone. Slowly, my breathing and hearing returned to normal. My vision came back into focus. 

I looked up and saw Alberto standing at my side, staring at me with genuine worry in his emerald green eyes. I let out a sigh, relaxing my shoulders. He shuffled a little, then cleared his throat and asked "Are you alright?"