I haven't seen Zero in three days.
Things are back to normal and I'm back to spending my days sitting behind the desk and tapping a pencil. It's a little better, since Peter is still guard and we now chit-chat and make conversation, so the boredom doesn't kill me as much as it used to.
Because I ask, Peter updates me on Zero's well being. Whatever happened three days ago, the fact remains that I don't hate Zero. He is locked up all day after all, besides the little bit of exercise he gets in the mornings, but even then he's still trapped in a guarded perimeter.
I had been hoping he was doing alright, but the news Peter gives me is almost heart breaking.
Zero doesn't eat.
It's nearly gotten to the point where they're contemplating giving him forced nutrients through IV's. Whenever he's not sleeping, he's whining himself hoarse, then once his throat heals he's back to howling. During his fitness hour each morning, he refuses to do anything but run until he's on the brink of collapsing.
Peter says he keeps muttering my nickname, the one he gave me. Ashie.
I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a pang of sorrow when I heard that, but I have to do this. maybe if I keep my distance the connection or bond Zero formed with me will vanish on its own.
Still, I toss and turn at night, knowing Zero, who has been nothing but sweet to me since day one, is hurting.
My dreams of finally getting off this island intensify, although some part of me knows no distance will separate me from this guilt.
On the fourth day all the employees held a funeral for the nurse who died at Zero's hands. I force myself to attend, even though it's not the real funeral. The body was shipped back to main land and given to the family. Friends and acquaintances say a few words, while I stand there is a knee length dress, remembering the glow to the nurse, the happy bounce in her step.
A heart attack. My dad told me the cause wasn't certain, that it could have happened at any moment, but I don't buy it. It's definitely more easy to have a heart attack when a giant, non-human being is rushing at you with murderous intent.....and all of that was because of me.
I can't sleep that night.
I manage to last the rest of the week, but on the seventh day I don't think I can take it anymore. The guilt of leaving Zero behind without a proper goodbye gnaws at me, and I know if I ever want to remain on the island until I can finally go to college I need to resolve things with Zero.
Maybe saying goodbye and explaining to Zero that he can't damage his health will help alleviate my guilt.
I wait till it's night, and my father's fast asleep from the heavy work load he's been doing these days. After all, running a lab is not anywhere near easy, especially after one of the personnel just died from a heart attack.
I pass his sleeping form on the couch and pause, before doubling back, grabbing a blanket, and laying it on him. Dad and I haven't really talked these days, both of us in our own little anxious world, and I see the stress weighing down on him.
Sometimes, I wish it were different. I wish we were a normal family, who's mother didn't get lost at sea and who's father doesn't work for a lab studying a not quite human being. We all can't choose our life stories though, and I have to remind myself that no matter what happens, someone out there always has it worse.
For example, the locked up person named Zero who's experimented on everyday.
I shut the door to the house quietly, feeling the humid night air hit me immediately.
A sense of deja vu washes over me, forcing memories of when I snuck out the first night I met Zero. Then I was running, but now I walk, letting the ocean sounds relax me and my racing thoughts.
I reach the lab quicker than I wanted to, and like I planned earlier today, Peter is there, waiting.
I enter the building, waving at Peter while I walk over. He gives me a small greeting smile, concern in his eyes.
"Are you sure about this?" He whispers, just so any patrolling guards don't pick up on our voices.
"Pretty sure." I whisper back. Why does he have to do this to me? I already have enough self-doubt, I don't need more. He raises an eyebrow as if responding to my thoughts, but I turn away, walking quietly towards the elevator.
I salute Peter playfully the second before the elevator doors close, trapping me with my worries.
The elevator goes to the bottom floor, the sudden stop making me dizzy for a second, before I step out. The curtains are closed, sealing Zero off from the big room.
My feet carry me towards the door, each step sounding against the tile.
The closer I get, the quicker my heart beats.
I hold my key card over the slot for a minute, or maybe even two, an internal war going on inside my head.
Do it.
Don't do it.
You're a coward.
You're also me.
Stop being a baby.
Babies are cute.
Tired with the bickering, and thinking I might just go insane, I do a quick swipe of my key card, flinching when the green light flashes.
The door now unlocked, I take a deep breath and push it open, quickly pushing it closed behind me. My eyes immediately land on the figure huddled in the corner, tense and silent as he hears me enter.
I step forward and his head snaps up, making me freeze. It's only been a week but I already forgot how sharp his grey eyes are, or how he has that small patch of golden hair among his light brown hair. His eyes stare me down, making it a little hard to breathe.
Calm down, Zero knows me, so nothing like the last time I snuck out to come here should happen, I tell myself, recalling that night when he had a crushing hold on me. Shaking my head, I focus back on Zero.
Peter was right, he's doing horrible. His body looks utterly exhausted, his eyes red with veins and bags big enough to hold groceries in them. His usual golden, tanned glow has paled, and he almost looks sickly.
I can't believe it's gotten to this point, and pray that I don't look the same at him, since I haven't necessarily looked in a mirror the past few days, too worried about what I'd see if I actually looked. Maybe my worries weren't for nothing then.
"Ashie," He whispers, and then things are a blur.
When my vision clears I realize a few things. I can't feel my key card in my pocket, the door to Zero's room is now open, and he's carrying me over his shoulder as he strides out of his cell and into the lab.
What.
I squirm, wriggling while also in disbelief as he walks out the door and into the huge, main room, making a bee-line for the elevators.
"Zero, put me down! Where are we going?" I ask, swinging my legs and giving his back a few smacks. He has amazing strength for how weak he looks.
He gives a faint rumble before holding my legs tighter.
"Home," he finally answers in an almost soothing tone.
Oh, Shitaki.
Did Zero just say we were going home? Home as in......the island he came from? And he's taking me......with him????
I start to wriggle again, grunting and feeling slightly nauseous as I dangle up side down.
For all those men out there trying to woo a woman, carry her bridal style, not over the shoulder, unless you never want to see her again.
We reach the elevator and he swipes the key card, pressing the main floor button. How does he know how to do this? Well, he's probably watched scientists do it while he sits in his room, bored.
The elevator ride is nothing short of awkward and weird as I continue my fruitless struggle.
"Zero, please put me down. I can't go with you. I have to stay here. Ashie Stay." I plead, remembering how he used the word and hoping me understands.
Zero doesn't respond, his hold only tightens and finally I give up, just laying limp. I hope he doesn't plan on carrying me like this for much longer, or else I might actually throw up.
You would think for a prestigious and top secret lab they would already be on a code red, having seen him in the elevator camera and escaping or yadda yadda, but I'm not hearing any alarms blaring.
Zero is making this escape look so easy, it's almost as if he could have done it way earlier without a problem, so what has changed? Why attempt it now?
The elevator dings, and slides open, and he steps out, only to be greeted by guards filling up the hallway, guns pointed on us. Oh so there's that code red I was thinking of. It's just much more quieter and organized than in the movies. Maybe they have walkie-talkies and don't need to use an intercom.
I sigh in relief, thinking that I'll finally get put down, but it quickly disappears when Zero sets me on the ground and shoves me behind him, growling at the threat, while I wobble on my feet, all the blood rushing in the opposite and right direction now.
I can sense the storm coming, something I don't want to see. It'd be really bad if the guards had to actually use the guns, or if Zero tired to fight them head on.
What can I do in this situation?
An idea comes to mind, and I sigh. I'm not given many options, and out of all the ones being listed in my head, this one is the only one so far where everyone makes it out alive. Let's just see if it actually works.
I reach out my hand, placing it against Zero's back after a hesitant second. He tenses, but then relaxes slightly into my touch, but the growls still roll off his body.
"Ashley!" I hear someone shout, making Zero completely back on edge. Darn it. Peter pushes his way through guards, holding his hands out when Zero snarls at him, sizing him up.
"Peter. You need to stay back. Zero isn't restrained right now and I don't know what he'll do." I warn him.
Peter nods, taking a small step back, which makes me want to face palm because that small step back isn't even half a foot away.
The only explanation I can have for every guard to be out in the hallway like this, guns trained on us, is that the security personnel working the cameras, who peter told me usually takes his break around now, didn't take his break tonight. My thoughts are only confirmed when my eyes meet Peter's and he gives a slight grimace.
Back to the main issue though, which is the riled up and muscular being right in front of me.
"I'm going to try and calm him down, please don't shoot." I tell Peter, who doesn't seem to like this but nods.
"Zero." I say firmly, pressing my hand slightly harder into his back. "Calm down."
I get no response and so I decide to carefully ease my way out in front of Zero, which makes him look at me, his sharp grey eyes softening slightly when they see me before looking up and over my head coolly at the guards that surround us.
Something hits me deep to the bones in that moment, almost like someone has shoved me from the inside, and the realization dawns on me that Zero could kill each and everyone of these people in a flash, probably fast enough to avoid the bullets. Just like in the doctors office, only that time he had luckily not killed anyone.
What happened with Sylvia, uh, I can't even think her name without wanting to vomit, was uncalled for and he was taken by surprise. But now he looks like a skilled general, assessing the enemy, and conjuring up a plan to take them down. If they stand in his way, there's no doubt that he's going to pulverize them.
Not yet. Maybe one day, but not today.
I inhale so suddenly, stumbling back a few steps only for Zero's hand to shoot out and firmly grip my arm, keeping me from getting too far away. I look up at him, his expression calm and encouraging, like he knows I heard that voice in my head.
I'm terrified suddenly. Terrified of the voice that came from inside me, speaking loud and clear through my head. The low, gruff voice was no doubt Zero's. I have to be imagining it, because this has never happened before and I don't want it to happen now. I will it to never happen again.
But luck is never on my side.
If that foolish boy, Does not quit staring at you like that I will reconsider.
I shake my head, trying to push the voice and invisible presence of someone inside me out, out, out. I look up only to see sure enough that Peter is staring at me, looking like he wants to step in,which would be very bad.
Peter clears his throat, taking a teeny step forward this time.
"Well have to take Zero back now. Can you help, Ashley, since you're the only one he responds to?"
I nod numbly, feeling empty when suddenly the feeling of something or someone in my head vanishes. I look at Zero only to see he's staring Peter down, calculating his new target.
"Zero." I manage to say, reaching out a hand to most likely try and calm him, before dropping it when I realize it's shaking.
Even though the presence inside me is gone, I can still hear that voice, repeating its words over and over again. Am I going crazy and hearing voices inside my head? Or is this one of Zero's other abilities? Should I tell my dad? But would he believe me? If I say a word about this new revelation, I would get what I always wanted. A one way trip off the island, but also straight into a mental facility.
I'm not crazy.........at least I hope I am not. It getting harder and harder to tell these days.
Zero doesn't respond to my movement or word, but pushes the elevator button, stunning a few guards. They must of thought him ignorant of such a thing as pushing a simple button.
The elevator doors open again and he steps in without a word, not looking content in the slightest.
I gulp, before cautiously following. Peter and two other guards are all that can fit, and I'm the barrier between them and Zero. Peter pushes the bottom floor button, his free hand relaxed on the gun in his belt, as if he was ready to pull it at any given moment.
When the doors shut, my head brings back the memory of the words in my head, starting to finally process and think of it logically.
If that truly was Zero speaking in my head, that means he can perfectly understand English. Now I think of it I probably should have been much more suspicious sooner, seeing as how he's been saying words no one has said or taught him, and looking like he understands whatever he hears around him.
It doesn't make sense though. Why was he lying and pretending to not know English?
I recall trying to teach him English using a children's book, and before I know it my face is heating up in embarrassment.
The elevator doors ding, and we step onto the bottom floor. The guards step out to the side of the elevators, guns out and ready, but oddly enough Zero strides out of the elevator. Heading straight back towards his cell.
He's being complacent. Almost.....too complacent.
I watch as the guards shut the huge metal door behind Zero, making sure it's locked.
Suddenly, The elevator dings again, and Mrs. Clark steps through in formal dress wear and heels, even though it's one in the morning. I storm up to her, forcing her to look up from her clip board and raise an eyebrow at me.
"We need to talk."
Is all I say.
Hello, readers! I've started getting more support from you guys lately and its really boosting my happiness. Please vote and comment, comments are the best although votes are also appreciated. I'm already working on the next Update. I can't guarantee special dates for posting chapters, but at least once or twice a week. At most the whole freaking seven days, lol XD. See you next Update,
Dangeroustoken.