Draft Version (Don't Mind This One, But I'm Not Taking it Off)

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Periodic beeping shook him awake. He opened a tentative eye. Where am I, a hospital? How’d I… get here?

Memories of the previous night flooded back into his head in a great influx and his vision exploded into stars, providing him with a hell of a headache. As he struggled to cope with the pain, he could barely hear the sound of a mechanical door sliding open and shutting itself. Curious to see his visitor, he peeked through his fingers and caught the gaze of a stunning young beauty.

Black hair dangled down just below her shoulders, which were draped in a white lab coat. She had fair, pale skin, accentuated by the glow of the lights above. Underneath the coat he could barely catch the hint of what appeared to be bracers or gauntlets as well as a thin veil of armor.

Fierce.

“Well… hello there,” he grinned weakly.

“How are you feeling, Kelvin?” she asked. Despite her beautiful appearance, her voice dripped with hostility and the edge of a murderer. Kelvin felt the familiarity of the aura but ignored it.

“Pretty… good,” he replied, pulling himself up into a sitting position. A painful jolt shot up his spine and he successfully hid a squeal behind a bashful grin. “And who are you, uh?”

Lack of any reaction or smile wiped the grin clean off Kelvin’s face. Instead, she moved over to the shiny, silver technology gleaming in the corner of the room. “You’re still recovering from the after-effects of post-Imbalance absorption. For now, rest.”

“I’ll think about it if you smile while saying that,” he grumbled in reply, pulling the bedsheets over his head. She remained silent. “You still haven’t replied on who you were.”

The last three words sent a torrent of recollection into his brain, shocking him stiff. The dark crimson eyes, the shadows of the night consuming his body and soul. He ripped the sheets off, standing up quickly, his body screaming in protest. The girl nonchalantly gave him a bored gaze, then returned to her work.

Brown eyes.

“Who are you? Where am I?” he sputtered, confused. “What happened to the demon chick who stole my soul and beat me senseless?”

“Excuse you,” she interjected loudly, planting her hands on the edge of the equipment. “I’m said ‘demon chick’ and you are in the resting room of my laboratory! You will refrain from being loud and obnoxious and you will return to resting to recover from your previous exhaustion!”

“Oh, now you feel like talking, huh?” He cockily shot back. “Couldn’t have pulled the same negotiating fashion when you appeared in my room and decided to kill me, huh? What inspired you to change your great, high lord executioner mind?”

One of her eyes flickered and turned into the blood-crimson color that haunted his dreams the night before, shutting him up. “I’ll explain myself accordingly, but in return, you will return to your resting state and recover as such. I have received orders from above to keep you under our control, but there has been no interest in terms of strictly keeping you alive. Remember that.”

Kelvin slumped down into the mattress again, drained from the effort it took for him to stand. Exhausted, he muttered, “Fine. Tell me what’s happened. Tell me why my parents disappeared, why you took me here, who you are, and why my eye can burst into flames. Tell me just what’s happened to this world. It doesn’t make sense, but frankly, “a sly glimmer shone in his eye. “ – I wouldn’t mind a change or two. It’s refreshing.”