The Art of Truth (TRC #2)

Chapter 6 - A Cold Welcome by the Conspiracy

A/N: Hey everyone! It's been two, long weeks since I've updated, but here is your next chapter! I think the next upload will be next weekend, 08/03/14, but campus is being really hectic and I don't want to stress about uploading or not uploading, so no guarentees! I'm also having some TRC plot problems, which won't really affect these pre-written chapters but they may slow down some future updates because I'm not increasing the amount of content I have. Hopefully, they'll be solved soon :) Read, enjoy, vote, comment and share! Thanks and I love you guys! :)

~Hikari

Chapter 6 – A Cold Welcome by the Conspiracy

I uncurled myself slowly, broken from my reverie by the sudden silence. My stomach ached in protest to the movement, begging for food. I looked up and rubbed my eyes. Perhaps I’d be able to get a brief moment of sleep. Shivering, I slid from my sitting position and rested my head on my arm. I was used to the cold creeping into my bones, but the constant noise and lights prevented me from getting any rest. Now that they’d stopped, I had some peace.

I didn’t notice the water filling up the room until it touched my skin. I sat up, cupped my hands and gratefully sipped some of it. The sweet taste against my cracked lips was a bliss. Iciness travelled up my arms and legs. The water level rose rapidly, filling up the small space quickly. I scrambled into a standing position with my back against the wall. It wasn’t long before my waist was submerged. My body shook with a mixture of adrenaline, cold and hunger. The room spun and I kept my hands against the wall to steady myself. I took a deep breath. I felt my chin slide into the water. I lifted my feet off the ground, letting the water support me. I was going to drown. I didn’t have the energy to fight against it.

The rushing cut off. There was a small gap between the ceiling and the water where I could breathe, but the air wasn’t going to last long. I stayed there while I could, my eyes closed. I lost feeling in my fingers and toes from the cold. The dull sensation was spreading up my arms and legs. I wanted to give up. It was almost peaceful.

I was falling. I slammed into the concrete floor as the water rapidly drained away and screamed as pain shot through my body. I wiped my face, unable to distinguish tears from water. My hair dripped down my back, sending even more shivers down my spine. I felt the floor shift, a subtle movement. I dragged myself to a wall and felt the join between the floor and the wall. There was a tiny, barely perceptible gap between them. The water had drained out and entered through that opening. The shift had been in closing. I’d been too distracted to see a possible way out.

I felt warm air waft through the opening and gratefully pressed my fingers against it. The heat sent painful pins and needles through my skin as feeling returned. I closed my eyes, fighting the pain and absorbing as much of the heat I could. After so much cold, it felt almost ghostly against my numb skin.

Orange light flickered between the slit. I tumbled over as the floor shifted again, widening the gap to nearly five centimetres. When I tried slipping my hand closer to the warmth, it met a steel grille. I was still as trapped. Sharp pain travelled through my fingertips as the steel grew too hot to touch. I pulled my hand back and blew on it, pressing it against the cold concrete floor to prevent blistering. That was a bad idea; the floor was heating up. I stood up, shaking with the sudden temperature change. Steam rose from my damp hair and waves of heat travelled through my body.

Threads of flame flicked out of the edges of the room. I moved as far away from the walls as the small space would allow, covering my mouth and nose with my hands. I didn’t smell smoke, but it was only a matter of time as the fire reached out, almost beckoning. It didn’t crackle, but hissed and was tinged in different shades. A sharp, chemical smell hit the back of my throat, more bitter and acrid than ordinary smoke. I coughed, my chest aching as I bent over. My stomach turned, too empty for me to throw up. Agony shot up my legs from my burning soles. I stood on tip-toe, but the effort made my muscles ache. Hot tears evaporated before they rolled off my cheeks. I was going to die. I knew it. There was no way to stop it. If I didn’t burn to death, I would starve or die of thirst. I didn’t try to restrain the sobs, even though I knew they’d waste my energy. There was no escape for me. I shuddered, coughing at the fumes. Perhaps I’d suffocate first. That seemed to be the quickest and more painless way to go. All the fight I had burned away with the flames. I dropped to a crouch, too tired to stand up any longer. I clenched my hands into fists, pressed my forehead against them. I felt my hair fall over my hands, creating a curtain. I squeezed my eyes shut and sobbed.

The fire snuffed out, as suddenly as it had begun. I wiped my burning eyes and blinked as cool, sweet air wafted into the cell. I inhaled deeply, my sigh turning into a cough as my lungs fought against the toxins in them. I rubbed my eyes and lifted my head. A humming, mechanical noise began as the walls began moving down, sinking into the floor. I stood up, slowly to ease my stiff muscles and turned around. Was I dreaming? From my left came the hard, echoing sound of someone clapping.

“Didn’t think the b*tch would last that long.”

I spun around, shaking, to glare at Blackwell. He turned his attention away from Art, who was seated next to him, to leer at me.

“You made it. Congrats.”

Anger overtook my fear and weakness. I staggered towards him, ready to throw a punch, but ran straight into something clear, solid and almost invisible. A glass wall. I pounded my fists against it, but it didn’t waiver. I screamed, my voice shrill and full of frustration. I was still as trapped, but at least I knew who my tormentors were for certain.

“Sir, would you like the next two tests?” asked a timid voice. I looked over to see a man and women in white lab coats, cowering under Blackwell’s gaze.

“No. You said she’s unsuitable. It will be a waste of time. Have her taken away, Eric,” answered Art. He looked at me carefully, assessing. I crossed my arms and felt my face warm up, conscious of my flimsy clothing. I tried to maintain a neutral expression as his cold eyes examined my face, but I flinched and dropped my gaze when he looked me in the eye.

“As you wish, sir,” replied Blackwell. He opened a door in the glass wall by touching an electronic panel and trapped my arms with a pair of restraints before I could react. I held my head up as I was marched past Art and the scientists.

“Wait!” I demanded, grinding my heels into the tiled floor to stop him from dragging me along further.

“What? I don’t have time for this,” warned Blackwell.

“Art. What am I unsuitable for? What are you planning this time?” I kept my voice level and calm.

“You’re unsuitable as the Elemental. It takes time to find a suitable host...One who can be controlled,” Art answered. There was a hint of expression in his voice. Amusement? Did I imagine Art giving me a compliment, in his twisted way?

“Pity you can’t control me. What are you going to do with me now?”

“This was just an experiment, out of curiosity. Now, you’ll be given food, water and a comfortable place to rest...Until the Lifemark is ready for you to be sacrificed to.”

I reached my limit with his words. The room blended together, blurring and distorting as if I was underwater once more. My vision grew dark, and I drowned in the calm blackness.