UPDATED 28th July, 09:20 AM GMT+2
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Notice: I'll be updating inside the chapter until it's finished. Take a look inside the story to see if I added a new part to it. Hope you like it. Enjoy reading!!
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Meeting
New Mexico, nowadays:
„Miss, there's some girl that wants to speak to you"
I looked up from my work and raised an eyebrow.
"Well, send her in."
It was one of my colleagues from the second floor who had shown the new student apprentice round the company and ended up at the seventh floor just in front of my office. All by chance, of course! It was always the same. I would end the conversation as fast as possible.
The door swung open.
I stood up and stepped around the desk to welcome her.
The girl who had entered was very shy and nervous. You could tell that form the way she walked.
"Welcome, to Natla Technologies. I'm Jacqueline Natla, CEO of the company." I reached out my hand.
She took it and looked up to me with her blue-green eyes that were half covert by her extremely long ash blonde fringe. She was punctiliously hiding behind it.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Melody Haw, German exchange student." she said.
Her voice was high and thready; it fitted the rest of her appearance perfectly.
I noticed that she had almost no accent. She actually sounded a little Scottish.
I went back to my office chair and had her sit down.
"And how do you like my company?"
"It's awesome. I've never seen so many new inventions bunched together. The progress your company makes is unbelievable." her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
I smiled at her. "Good to hear you like it. How long are you going to stay with us?"
"Ten months."
"Well, then I hope you'll enjoy your stay here."
I stood up again and pointed at the paperwork that had accumulated over the week.
"I'm afraid I have to get back to work, otherwise I won't finish it until the end of the week."
I opened the door for her. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Melody."
She smiled. It was bright and honest. "Pleasure was all mine Miss Natla."
She left the office.
The colleague from the second floor was patiently waiting for her at the end of the hall.
I closed the door behind me.
7:00 PM.
I was about to leave office, when I heard a deafening hiss from below.
The lights went out. The whole building was wrapped in darkness.
I rummaged around for a flashlight in my desk drawer and turned it on.
The light cone threw shadows on the walls making them look alive. Most of the personnel had already left. Someone who was afraid of the dark would definitely have been scared. I smiled viciously. My wings were prickling in my back. I'd have loved to unfold them, but this was not the time for it.
I made my way down to the sixth floor and turned right.
The door of the test lab stood wide open. Flashes of lightning were blasting out onto the floor.
I heard footsteps behind me and turned around. Melody also found her way here.
She winced as the light beam hit her.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I have no idea. I was about to leave, when the lights went out."
Melody noticed the thunderbolts coming out of the lab. Her eyes widened.
"Are you ok?"
"No. I don't think so." Melody was stumbling backwards. "No, no, no… It's my entire fault. I'm responsible for this." She was nearly breaking down.
"What are you talking about? What did you do?" My eyes narrowed and I took a step forward. I was on the verge of loosing temper. *Ok, just a small set-back. We will be back to the actual state of affairs in no time.*
I took a deep breath and said as nice as possible. "You can't be responsible for this. You were not around as, whatever it was happened. Trust me; I won't blame you for this."
"But I didn't turn the capacitor off." She whispered. "It was already fully charged. They told me to leave it be."
"Who told you to?" I asked keenly.
"That guy with the black hair and the horn-rimmed glasses. I think his name was Bernard"
I spun around and headed for the lab. "Did they turn the Tesla coil off?"
Melody jumped forward. "I don't know. What are you doing? You can't possibly want to go in there!"
"Oh, I do want to go in there." My expression turned stiff. "Go down into the cellar and turn on the standby set. It's on the hall to the right, second door on the left. And be quick about it!"
*I can afford no more delays.*
Melody's point of view:
The halls seemed never-ending.
They looked all the same in the dim light of the flashlight, which begun to jitter.
*Wonderful.* I thought. *That's the last thing I needed.*
I kept moving towards the staircase where the emergency exit was located. I was sure I would be able to reach the cellar the fastest that way.
But apparently I thought wrong. Suddenly I found myself standing in an oversized power plant. Was that the standby set? I never saw any, so I couldn't tell if I was right.
I searched for a sign or anything else, that'd give me a clue. I walked around the generator.
There was absolutely nothing.
The flashlight jittered again and again.
"No, no. You damn fuck thing, don't let me down now!" It went out. "Shit. Why is it always me who gets stuck in such situations?" I struck the flashlight against the generator and shrieked as it spew sparks.
I hadn't noticed how cold it was in here, but now that the light was gone I paid more attention to it.
I couldn't see a thing. I was buried in total blackness.
I entered the lab, which looked like a tornado had raged in it.
Overthrown desks, shattered test tubes, melted wires and in the back corner an on switched Tesla coil.
I felt the electricity prickling under my feet just before an electric shock wave hit me. I clenched my fists in pain. I felt the electricity dashing through my body.
I screamed.
My knees gave way under my weight. The smell of burned skin was hanging in the air.
I pulled myself together. My skin started to heal.
Luckily no one was around who could have seen this. Melody was still in the cellar trying to turn on the standby set.
The Tesla coil was one of the devices that wasn't connected with the main generator, and that was the only reason why it still worked.
I took a look at the capacitor. It was seriously damaged. My colleagues had made a good job of it by telling the student apprentice to not turn it off.
*One year of hard work vanished into thin air.* I boiled with rage.
I left the room, but not without ripping the wires of the Tesla coil out. The residual energy would keep the thing running for at least an hour.
Cursing silently I slipped down the wall and stared along the hallway. There was still no light.
Melody should have been back already. What the hell took her so long?
Speak of the devil. Melody was approaching me slowly, as if she was afraid of what she would find in front of the lab. I closed my eyes. It was too dark for her to notice me at that distance. I was still mad about the loss in the laboratory. I stood up.
"Miss?!" Melody's voice was trembling with fear. "Miss Natla?"
I didn't reply. I started grinning balefully. I was intoxicated by the anxiety in her voice. I felt like a druggy. I wanted more! Grabbing the flashlight I moved forth. Melody stood approximately six feet away from me and stared into the darkness. She probably must have seen my outlines silhouetted against the light of the thunderbolts that was shining from behind me.
"Are you always doing what you're told to?" I asked coldly.
"Yeah..." Melody stepped back. "Miss, I'm sorry I didn't…"
I rushed forward. In one flowing movement I pushed her against the wall, making it impossible for her to move.
"No please, you're hurting me!"
"Oh, am I?" I pushed her even harder.
Her eyes started to fill with tears. I smiled.
"Tell me, Melody. Is it really so hard to turn the standby set on?"
"No, but I didn't…"
I cut her off. "What? You didn't find it? Got lost in the building?"
"Yes, yes." tears ran down her face.
"Do you know that you destroyed one year of hard work within seconds, just by not turning one tiny off switch?" I snarled.
"No. I'm sorry! Please, I just did as I was asked."
I released her just to immediately pull her towards the lab, where the Tesla coil still generated electricity. Melody tried to free herself.
"No, I don't wanna go in there! No please, why are you doing this to me?"
I stopped, turned and leaned forward until I reached her eye level. "Because you're here and I need to express my feelings." The intensity of my glare made her cringe.
She was still trying to free herself out of my grip.
I burst into mad laughter.
Pulling her further to the lab Melody used another tactic. She attempted to soothe me.
"I'm sure there is a way to save the progress in the lab."
"No. Not unless the power has returned." I hissed.
Melody remained silent. She hung the head and mumbled. "Ich hätte im Keller bleiben sollen.[1]"
We reached the lab.
„And now excuse me, please." I toughly hustled her in and shut the door behind her.
"What the fuck are you doing?" She screamed in terror. "You can't do this! Let me out! This is torture!" Banging her fists against the massive metal she started to panic. "The Tesla coil is still on. Please let me out!"
I knew she could see my face through the small squarish window at the door. I waved at her and chuckled.
"Good night, Melody."
[1] Transl. I should have stayed in the cellar.