Creature (CENTURIES series: Book #7)

25

• I've been obsessed with this song lately •

It was with an impassive face that Charlie sat on the edge of his bed with my laptop on his thighs and me sitting nervously next to him. As the screen came alive, my heart dropped and I already dreaded what would appear, knowing full and well how awful it would be.

"Just know that no matter what," I said and put my hand on his arm which didn't even get a reaction from him as the film begun rolling. "You're still the same. It doesn't change anything, not unless you let it. I... just remember that they don't define you."

He didn't answer, but his lips pressed tightly together as he watched them run one experiment after the other on him. The only thing he did was blink. I figured he remembered all of it and he was just reliving the memories. His robotic façade was in perfect place, the same distant 'I'm-not-allowed-to-care' look just resting on his face.

Right until we came to the video I above everything didn't want him watching.

My stomach rolled over as the intro begun, the scientist presenting the experiment. There was a small twitch to Charlie's brows that only deepened as he with clear confusion now watched what they did. I could see it all there, the thoughts in his head showing on his face; 'I don't remember that... I don't recall that either... why is she sticking a needle in me there? What's happening?'

I then saw how his eyes widened when he witnessed the effect the drug had, and that wasn't even the bad part. I tried reaching for him, whispering his name, but he just jerked away and clutched the screen of the laptop. It was then I had to look away and cup my face when they reached for him and begun the experiment.

"No... no. They didn't..." His voice was broken, but he still kept watching. "Why are they... no... no, no, no... no."

"Charlie..." I tried reaching for him again.

"No!" He ripped away from me again and stood up, gripping the laptop tightly as the scientist now spoke the words right before I knew it would happen. Charlie's eyes were blazing, his whole body shaking with rage, and yet just like me, he couldn't look away from the screen.

Not until it happened.

"Charlie!" I stood up with tears in my eyes, already reaching for him when he smashed the laptop into the floor with a feral roar. "C-Charlie!"

I should've seen it coming. I knew I should, but I was such a mess, I didn't even hear the furniture clank or the trinkets on his countertops rattle. It was that exact reason I was unprepared when Charlie roared and clutched his head and then with a blast, threw everything away from him with an invisible force. Including me.

I was pushed back, but luckily since I had been standing in front of the bed, my back only slammed down onto the mattress and bounced, my head getting disoriented from the foreign power that hit me. Charlie was still shaking, clutching his whole self while violently rattling everything in the room.

"Charlie!"

"NO!" He shouted again, shaking his head. "What did they do to me?! They touched me! They fucking touched me like you've touched me and—"

"Charlie, please, I know this is difficult, but please try and calm down," I begged as I got up from the bed again and tried to carefully approach him. I'd learned from my first mistake, but I wasn't going to cower away from him, even though everything screamed dangerous around him right now. I felt that just the tiniest wrong step would make him explode, metaphorically or quite literally.

"They touched me!" He roared again and now started ripping at his hair. Pain laced through every one of his syllables. "They put me under and they fucking—"