I know I'm in a room, in a building of some sort. There were no lights, but my senses discerned there was nothing in here that was worth looking at. In fact, there was nothing; no chairs, no table, though the feel and build was identical otherwise to an interrogation room. I was certain that I had committed any federal crimes lately, as a matter of fact, never in my existence. Yet the two way mirror and the utter isolation in a place I know I have never been caused me to wonder what kind of danger I was in. If the location was strong signal, the fact that I had woken in the room with no recollection of being taken here was the nail in the coffin. I lifted myself from the floor, which seemed to be made of the same metallic sheeting that built the walls, and took a few steps towards the center of the room. Staying here may have given me some answers, but the sense of impending tragedy overwhelmed curiosity. I needed to be home. As I was about to smash the mirror to make my escape, bright lights flashed and a voice from a speaker in the corner was calling to me.
"Ah ah ah," I could hear the disapproval in the tone, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves and commit something foolish. Stay awhile."
I paused, my expression unreadable when I turned towards the mirror. I saw my reflection, my eyes bright from the recent hunt with Emmett, and what looked like hospital scrubs draped on my pale figure. The voice was silent, waiting for me to respond; his thoughts were pleading for an angry reaction. This man wanted to provoke me, to amuse himself at the expense of my imprisonment. He couldn't possibly be aware what I was capable of, considering that the only protection he hid behind was a slab of glass that I could shatter with a finger. My eyes narrowed, but I kept silent. I could hear his dissatisfaction.
"I bet you're wondering about a lot of things, most of all about why you're here," he finally spoke, "You'll find that out in time, but the more pressing matter is why you shouldn't try to leave this room, Edward."
His voice was patronizing, like placing a string in front of a kitten to see it swat away, and I could hear his thoughts once again hoping for a retort. I was about to oblige when I heard what else he had to share. He knew. More than that, he despised what I was more than his voiced words would share. And I felt the sense of sick pleasure he relished knowing he had power over me.
"We're scientists, everyone in this facility, we'd like to know more about what makes you tick. All of you."
I stiffened when his thoughts confirmed his words. All of their faces: Alice, Carlise, Esme, Jasper, even Emmett and Rosalie. I could see the man's hate associated with them. It was no use to find them through his mind either, he was assigned to my case alone. He knew more about me, my kind, than I preferred and it was this moment that I realized the extent of the danger we were all in. My hands clenched into fists, but I refused to move. I stopped breathing and waited for him to continue.
"Your coven is split off into rooms of their own, that's all I know. However, shall any of you try to make your way out of here without helping us learn something more about you... let's just say we are experienced with killing vampires."
With those very words, and the thoughts that accompanied them, I lost my resolve. I shut my eyes and turned away from the mirror livid, but defeated.
"It's your turn, Edward," he said, "Tell me something about yourself. How long have you been what you are?"
I sighed before answering, "I died in 1918. Do the math."
He whistled, "About a century. Are you the youngest? Middle demon? Oldest?"
"The third eldest, Carlise and Jasper precede me."
"What about your eyes, Edward? The color is new to us, why are your family's eyes not crimson?"
This man was evil, everything from his voice to his thoughts betrayed any sense of humanity that I may have thought he had. Standing there, I contemplated if Carlise would understand that killing this man would make the world better off; I knew I wanted to be the one responsible for his death.
"We do not feed on humans. Animal blood is our sustenance."
"Intriguing. Very interesting. Listen Ed --"
"Edward," I corrected, a snarl escaping my throat.
"Edward, I want you to know that you can be honest and open with me, though I may not be able to share as much. Scientists and the 'need to know' type of experiments, you understand. The short answers don't make my job all that fun, and I'm sure that if you opened up a little more you'd make your time here more... survivable."
"I will do what I can, Mr..."
"Call me Professor. I have a meeting right now, but my associate here will be asking you some more questions. Remember now, open and honest."
I heard the microphone shift as another man cleared his throat, his thoughts nervous and constant. He was very easy to read once I focused on him; I was surprised I couldn't hear him before. He was thinking to himself to keep calm, to remind himself that I couldn't hurt him. My first instinct was to assure him that he wasn't on the menu, but Professor had set the tone for my intense hatred for him and whoever worked in this facility. I turned back to the mirror and flashed a bright smile, letting my eyes burn into the mirror.
"H-hello Edward, you can call me, erm..." he trailed off.
I waited for him to finish, but I heard an audible gulp through the speaker and his mind was racing, his thoughts flooded my head with information. I could hear him trying to calm himself, reminded himself all of the other times....
I shut my eyes to compose my demeanor, for all I knew, they were not aware of my extra capability. But what I had uncovered in the mind of this man was too much. I saw pair after pair of crimson eyes, vampires who snarled at him and cursed him for imprisoning them. Some after awhile pleading to be killed, for whatever the other scientists had done to them. I felt sick, if there was any real way for me to vomit I would try. I tolerated other vampires' ways of feeding; I even tried myself. I've killed others as well, even of my own kind, but the torture through experiments and suffering for days only wanting death.... I nearly spoke, but the man had finally obtained the nerves to begin his questions.
"Have you ever killed a human before?"
"Yes," I made sure to give him a toothy grin, "many."
His voice wavered as he asked the next question, "Have you killed any of your kind?"
I dropped my head, "Yes," was all I said.
As the questions continued I found myself sunken onto the floor, digging my hands into my legs to keep myself from letting too much show. Moments went by, and when it was finished, I was left alone in the darkness of the room. My thoughts alone now, I wished I could see them, any of them, even Rosalie. Not knowing what was going to happen was going to drive me mad.
