When The Heart Sings

Chapter 9

Dr. Halbert stepped between us and broke our eye contact. Darien snarled, but Dr. Halbert interrupted him, "Stay there. If you cooperate, we will let her visit. There are rules though. There is an electrical restraint band on her ankle, and if you try to remove it, that could very well kill her. If you fight us, she will be punished."

Silence reigned as my heart started pounding in alarm, that band could electrocute me? I shivered slightly as his words sunk in. They were using me against him. This place was even sicker and more demented than I had imagined. Dr. Halbert stepped aside and reached back towards me. Darien roared in rage, "Don't you dare touch her!"

Dr. Halbert paused with a surprised look, before simply waving me forward. I really didn't want to have to walk through all of those soldiers as they packed themselves in the narrow hallway, but I wanted to get away from the insane doctor. The pull was practically dragging me towards Darien with an invisible force.

I walked forward and, thankfully, the soldiers parted for me. I was nervous and uneasy as I passed through the crowd of armed men, but their eyes never left Darien.

Darien watched me with a worried look in his eyes. His muscles were tense as if he was ready to fight if anyone tried to harm me. I passed the last rank of men and Darien came forward while holding out his hand. I took his hand, and something deep inside of me relaxed as the familiar heat and tingles re-appeared.

He immediately pulled me behind him before he started backing away from the weapons that were still pointed in his direction. I realized that he was using himself as a shield in case they fired. I put one hand on his back as he kept backing up.

I peeked out from behind him to see Dr. Halbert slowly working his way through the soldiers towards us. The look of excitement on his face, and the speed at which he was writing on his clipboard, made me uneasy.

Darien didn't like it either, he growled as he backed up against the wall, and blocked me from the sight of the others in a defensive position. Dr. Halbert's voice was calm, "She can keep you company if you go into your room. Don't touch the band on her leg, otherwise she will regret it - if she survives."

Darien snarled at his threat. Pain shot through my ankle, causing me to gasp. Darien glanced back at me in worry with a somewhat pained expression. I lifted my leg and gingerly tried to rub the skin around the band. That had hurt.

Dr. Halbert's spoke again, "That was just a warning Darien. We are being nice by letting you see her. Unless you want her to leave, I would advise going into your room."

Darien was livid at what the doctor had just done and shaking in anger, but he pulled me a bit to the side and through the doorway with the beat up door. I glanced behind me, but the room was very similar to the one I had been held in. White and plain.

Darien continued backing up while keeping himself between me and the men. The door swung closed and someone on the other side locked it. From the sound, numerous massive deadbolts were securing the door.

I rubbed his back lightly, trying to calm him. I wasn't sure why I did it, it just seemed right. He exhaled heavily as he relaxed a bit. He turned around and pulled me into a hug with a sigh of relief. I returned the hug, I couldn't believe how much I had missed him. He had his face once more buried in my hair.

I looked at one of the red marks on his arm. It looked like a burn mark, although it was fading even as I watched it, "Are you okay?"

He lifted his head, "I am fine. Did they harm you?"

I looked up at him, the furious rage from earlier was gone, and he only seemed concerned about me at this point. "No. Just that shock in the hallway."