The Transcended: They call him Lucius

Part 1: Memories ~ Chapter 5

"So tell me, did you ever learn anything about Lucius' true identity?" Doctor Langston asked Amy without looking up from his notebook.

She sighed. "I doubt there is a true identity. The small town where his mansion was, the townsfolk called him..." She trembled as the memory came back to her. "They called him Sir Andrew Westwood."

-

Amy wandered through the big mansion. The rising sun shone through the tall stained glass windows, casting small rainbows on the white walls. Lucius didn't allow her the freedom of coming up from the metal cellar very often, so she cherished every moment of it when he did. She halted in front of the garden doors and bathed in the sunlight with her eyes closed.

The thought of being free again went through her mind and her pulse quickened. No heart, shhh, please don't... She tried to focus on her heartbeat in order to slow it down, but her mind was too busy fearing Lucius had noticed and that he was coming her way.

Time crawled by, but there was no sign of him.

The alarm must have gone off, why isn't he here yet? Paranoid, she looked around. She knew there were cameras hidden everywhere. Is he watching? Why hasn't he called via the intercom?

Perhaps he's dead.

The thought alone made her heart jump in joy. She swallowed and whispered, "Lucius?" She waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. She called his name again, louder this time. As she waited for a sign from her captor her heart pounded in her chest. She was certain that the alarm connected to her pulse was going crazy by now.

After several minutes she called out his name again, just to be sure that he was indeed nowhere nearby.

He is gone. Maybe he suffered a stroke or an aneurysm, or perhaps he fell down the stairs and broke his neck. She bit her lip as she eyed the door to the conservatory. Maybe they're open... A battle erupted in her head between reason and hope—or the chance of being free again versus the chance of a fate worse than death.

Slowly, she moved towards the conservatory, heart throbbing in her throat. Her greatest fear right now was Lucius coming up from behind a corner. She stood still in front of the glass doors. I'm just going to feel if they are locked—they probably are. Her fingers slid over the cool iron handle, pushed down, and the door slipped open. Oh dear sweet Jesus! Hastily, she looked around: still no sign of Lucius. She quickly entered the conservatory and walked towards the back where the final door was that separated her from the outside world.

Fuck this shit—if it's locked that chair is going straight through the window and I'll be taking a sprint!

Cold sweat coated her skin while her heart pounded painfully against her chest. Her hand trembled as she reached for the door handle. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, prayed to God and all that was Holy, and pushed down.

Everything happened in a daze. The grass tickled between her bare toes, still wet from the morning dew, as she ran from one bush to another. She stayed low to the ground as she tried to take in her surroundings. There was still no sign of Lucius, and as much as this pleased her, it also scared the hell out of her.

She made her way around the mansion to the front gate—the only gate—as quickly as she could. The moment it came in sight she ducked below a rose bush.

Fuck!

The gate was open, but Lucius was there, talking to some guy in a fancy suit. A black limousine was parked on the driveway. She could tell by Lucius' small movements that he was on edge—his left hand kept going to his pocket.