Title: Into The Eyes Of Madness
Author: Darien's Muse
Rating: R
Summary: The new girl at The Agency has a great first day.
Disclaimer: I don't own Darien, or any other I-Man character. The only one I own is Madeline.
Author's Note: While revamping my other QSM exploration, I was attacked by this red-eyed little baby plot bunny. It has since mutated into a full-grown plot bunny. And yeah, the girl looks like me, I admit it. And she does share some personality traits with me, most notably her not being impressed by Darien's good looks. *g*
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Into The Eyes Of Madness
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She was afraid. Darien could feel it, even without looking at her. She was trying to hide her fear, but he knew it was there. Not that he could blame her. Hell, even he was afraid. Afraid of what he'd undoubtedly do to her if they ran out of time. He silently checked his wrist. Down to one green. That checked with his headache; he was already feeling the all too familiar buzz of the madness. He smiled at her, trying to reassure her that everything would be okay. But she wasn't stupid. She had seen the tattoo, and she knew as well as he did that it wasn't likely that anyone would get to them in time.
---
"Dammit!" cursed Hobbes at his latest failed attempt to open the door. He'd been stuck in the Keep with Claire for more than two hours now. The power was down, and the stupid thing was, whenever that happened, all the doors in The Agency closed shut. Locked. And stayed that way. Hobbes was gonna kill the genius who had thought of that.
He had to get to Fawkes, fast. He hadn't gotten his shot yet, and could go wacko at any minute. And that girl Madeline was still with him. They were trapped together, down there in that stupid archive basement. Fawkes had insisted on showing her the way before coming to the Keep, even though he must have known he really needed that shot. "Will only take a minute, Hobbesy," he'd said, "No worries!" No worries. Yeah right.
---
'Help.' That's what went through her head over and over again. 'Help! Somebody save me...' She knew he wasn't dangerous, not yet. But she couldn't get it out of her mind. He would go insane eventually, and then there would be no telling what he'd do. Try to seduce her, rape her, kill her... She'd read the files, she knew what he'd be capable of. For the moment, however, he was okay. He was looking at her with those deep brown eyes of his. Puppy dog eyes, they were. A look designed to break down even the thickest walls a woman can build around herself...
'He is cute, though,' she thought, and her face turned red when he looked at her, smiling, as if he knew what she was thinking. 'Oh hell, what am I thinking? Get a grip on yourself, girl!'
She had been expecting a lot of things when she came in the door that morning, but this was definitely not one of them. Things like this weren't supposed to happen on your first day at work! She was only a lab tech. Okay, so she was a little overqualified for the job, but she just couldn't let this opportunity pass her by. She had worked on a few government projects, but this was by far the most interesting one she had ever seen. Seen... He just kept looking at her. It was starting to creep her out a little. She looked away, a little uncomfortable, knowing he'd turn into a maniac soon.
---
"Claire, you got that counteragent ready, right?" Hobbes asked for what seemed to Claire the millionth time.
"Yes, Bobby, it's still right here, in the fridge, just like the last time you asked," said Claire, a little exasperated. She knew Bobby was worried about Darien, and he wasn't the only one. But he wasn't able to distance himself from his emotions quite like she could, at least not where Darien was concerned, and it was starting to get on her nerves.
She didn't seem to care. That was what irked him most of all. He knew she cared, but she had adopted this cold attitude that just annoyed the hell out of him. His mind raced a mile a minute, thinking of all the things that could go wrong.
---
"Ahh!" Darien cried out as the first of the spikes hit his skull, hands flying to the back of his head as its white-hot pain numbed his brain. Madeline froze, then scrambled away as she panicked, thoughts racing, clearly laying out every possible scenario in her mind, all of them bad. Leaning against the far wall, she silently watched as the pain let go of Darien's body and he lay on the floor, exhausted. Slowly he looked up at her, the expression on his face made it clear that he wasn't going to give up so easily. But Madeline was still afraid.
As another of the painful spikes hit Darien, driving its long nails into the back of his head, her doctor side finally kicked in, and she rushed over and kneeled down beside his writhing form. Knowing there really wasn't much she could do, she settled for rubbing his arms and his shoulders, and it seemed to relax him a little. But she knew she had to be on her guard because no matter how strong his resolve might be, there would inevitably come that time when he would have no choice but to give up.
As Darien was once again released from the convulsions that the onset of the madness always brought, he got up and looked at her. His eyes were bloodshot, the madness already starting to take hold. Madeline's breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight. It scared her more than she had thought. She realized then that there was a big difference between reading about it and actually seeing it. She slowly backed away from him until she bumped into the far wall. She remained there, staying as quiet as possible, but continually staring into his eyes, mesmerized by the tiny threads of red crawling over his eyes like a spider web.
Darien checked his tattoo again. It was still one green. But it wouldn't be long now before it would be all red. He knew his eyes were already getting there; he'd seen the girl's reaction. Yes, the girl... He turned his eyes back to her. She was pretty. She had an oval shaped face, a classic kind of beauty. Her eyes were gray, but they seemed to have a different hue every time he looked at them. Blue, green, hazel... as if it depended on her mood. Her hair was brown and she wore it at shoulder length. Now that he thought about it, it was actually the exact same shade of brown as his. And her lips were just perfect. She looked so cute with her lips pink like that... He mentally shook himself. What the hell was he thinking? He closed his eyes, not allowing his thoughts to go that way, not while he could help it. Then it was made easier for him as his thoughts were blacked out by pain.
Madeline watched in horror as Darien's mind and body were once again wracked with pain. The madness, it was really starting! She was more frightened than she had ever been before, and yet she felt a nearly overwhelming need to help him. But both feelings were equally strong, leaving her confused, unable to act upon either. When Darien relaxed again, an idea popped into her head.
"Er... Mr. Fawkes...?" she began. Darien looked up. He didn't really like being called mister, and he'd told her that. They'd been over it a million times, yet she kept insisting. Oh well.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"D-do you think, uh..." not knowing what to say, she vaguely motioned towards the archive boxes.
"What?" he asked, not understanding.
"Well, er, the-the-the archive boxes all have rope around them..." she managed to stutter.
Darien caught onto her idea. "You want to tie me up?"
"Well, yes," she said.
'Kinky...' went through his mind, and he mentally slapped himself. He had a deal with himself not to think those things. Instead, he got up and started to work on getting the ropes off the boxes. It was as good an idea as any.
They collected a couple of good, strong looking pieces of rope, and Madeline moved into position behind Darien to tie his hands. Just then, he was attacked by another one of the spikes. His legs gave out, but Madeline caught him. And she discovered it felt nice to hold him. Nice, but no more. He might have good looks, a charming smile, a witty sense of humor, not to mention a considerable amount of height, but all of that didn't really impress her. She liked him, and she knew they would be friends, but no more.
It felt nice to be held, but Darien pushed himself to his feet. Madeline followed. He held his hands behind him again, and she began to tie the rope around them. He felt that she was being way too careful, as if she was afraid of hurting him.
"Tighter," he ordered.
"B-but Mr. Fawkes..."
"No buts, just get those damn ropes tied already!" He was shouting now, his temper growing short due to the fierce battle with the madness that threatened to engulf him.
Startled by his sudden outburst, Madeline stiffened in fear and fumbled with the ropes, nearly dropping them off his hands. Darien realized that he had sounded harsher than he meant to be and he squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating for a moment and willing himself to calm down. He succeeded in pushing the madness back to where it belonged, the far corner of his mind. For now.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Madeline nodded in return before realizing Darien couldn't see that since he was facing away from her.
"It's okay," she whispered in his ear, laying her hands gently on his shoulders after finishing with the rope. For a second, she closed her eyes and let her chin rest on his shoulder. She was nearly as tall as he was. It was refreshing, for both of them. It occurred to Darien that if she wore high heels, she would actually be taller than him. He smiled slightly. A chick who was taller than him. Who would believe it?
There was more rope, so there was more work to do. Darien sat down to allow Madeline to tie up his legs as well. He didn't have to remind her to tie them tight this time and he grimaced as she pulled hard on the ropes. She was a quick learner. She tied the long ropes around his ankles and all the way up to his knees. No way she was letting him get out of this one.
Madeline thought she must be going crazy too. Here she was, trapped together with a man who could go insane at any moment -- a possibly life-threatening situation. And yet she found herself quickly growing fond of him, despite the fear that still inhabited the back of her mind. It was the eyes, she decided. Those big brown puppy dog eyes. She wondered how many women had found themselves drowning when they looked into those eyes.
Finished with the ropes, she looked up at him -- and in his eyes. She winced at the redness in them. It was getting worse, but the expression on his face told her he was still in control. She raised her hand and gingerly she ran it through his upswept hair. She liked his hair. It was rebellious, like the rest of him. She liked rebellious. Darien liked the feeling of hands in his hair and smiled. She gazed into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity.
---
To say that Hobbes was worried would be the understatement of the century. To say that he was nearly going out of his mind with anxiety and worry about the millions of things that could go wrong with Fawkes and the girl locked up together down there in that basement would be closer to the truth.
He had been feeling so good this morning that he hadn't thought it necessary to take his meds, a decision he now regretted with all his heart. His paranoia now forced him to think of all the things that could go wrong, making him play out countless scenarios in his mind. And his tendency towards depression made sure that there was not one good outcome among them.
He was sure Fawkes would end up hurting the girl, one way or another. Maybe even killing her. And he knew Fawkes would beat himself up over it afterwards because he always felt guilty about what he did when he was insane, no matter how many times they told him it wasn't his fault. He knew his partner. And that was what worried him even more.
He got up, unable to sit still, and started pacing back and forth through the lab. He knew it would probably irritate the hell out of Claire, but at this point he could care less. He had to concentrate on something other than Fawkes, and he hoped walking around would do the trick. He started counting his paces. One, two, three, four, five, stop. Turn. One, two, three, four, five, stop. Turn. One, two, three, four, five, stop. Turn.
Claire lay back in her chair and closed her eyes. She was lying in the chair that was usually reserved for Darien when he needed his shot and she was feeling slightly guilty about it, especially since he needed it so badly now. But it was more comfortable than any of the other chairs in her lab and she needed a little comfort right now. She was getting a headache. And the squeaking of Hobbes' shoes wasn't exactly helping her relax. Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, pause. Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, pause. Squeak, squeak...
"Would you please stop that?" she asked in an annoyed tone of voice.
Squeak, squeak, pause, Hobbes' voice: "Stop what?" Pause, squeak, squeak...
"That noise! You're giving me a headache!" Claire's patience was running short.
Squeak, squeak, silence...
Claire relaxed.
"Who do you think you are, giving me orders like that?" said Hobbes loudly in the silence, startling Claire. "I'm not just some mook you can just order around whenever you want to!"
"It's my lab and as long as you are here you will do as I say!" Claire was getting angry now.
"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see about that, Miss High-and-Mighty!" Hobbes started for the door.
Claire got up and stepped towards him.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Hobbes turned.
"I'm gettin' outta here!"
"Yeah, well, in case you've forgotten, we are locked in!"
"Well then I'll just break down the door!"
"Hah! You and what army?"
"Ah, you think Bobby Hobbes can't handle a silly little door?"
"That 'silly little door' is two inch thick armor plating! You couldn't even shoot through that door, much less kick it in!"
"What, are you implying now that I can't shoot a door?"
Claire and Hobbes stood face to face, glaring and shooting daggers into each other's eyes.
---
Somewhere along the way, Darien's smile had gone from adorable and friendly to dangerous and insane. Startled by that realization, Madeline scrambled away, her fear renewed. The madness was here, and there was no way out. She sat against the far wall, breathing unsteadily as fear and adrenaline coursed through her veins. She couldn't help but stare into Darien's blood red-eyes as they followed her every move, hungrily taking in every detail of her body.
Darien licked his lips as lust finally was allowed to enter his mind -- and his eyes. Madeline couldn't suppress a shudder, but she managed to close her eyes in an attempt to escape Darien's stare. It didn't help much. She could still feel it. She could feel him looking at her, undressing her with his eyes. Lab coat, blouse, bra... She pulled the white coat tightly around her, hoping to protect herself from those eyes.
She could hear Darien moving around, grunting as he tried to break free of his bonds, yelling at her to untie him. But she was too frightened to move and she pulled her knees up even further, curling up into a little ball as more and more horrible scenarios kept unfolding in her mind.
To Be Continued...
Author: Darien's Muse
Rating: R
Summary: The new girl at The Agency has a great first day.
Disclaimer: I don't own Darien, or any other I-Man character. The only one I own is Madeline.
Author's Note: While revamping my other QSM exploration, I was attacked by this red-eyed little baby plot bunny. It has since mutated into a full-grown plot bunny. And yeah, the girl looks like me, I admit it. And she does share some personality traits with me, most notably her not being impressed by Darien's good looks. *g*
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Into The Eyes Of Madness
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She was afraid. Darien could feel it, even without looking at her. She was trying to hide her fear, but he knew it was there. Not that he could blame her. Hell, even he was afraid. Afraid of what he'd undoubtedly do to her if they ran out of time. He silently checked his wrist. Down to one green. That checked with his headache; he was already feeling the all too familiar buzz of the madness. He smiled at her, trying to reassure her that everything would be okay. But she wasn't stupid. She had seen the tattoo, and she knew as well as he did that it wasn't likely that anyone would get to them in time.
---
"Dammit!" cursed Hobbes at his latest failed attempt to open the door. He'd been stuck in the Keep with Claire for more than two hours now. The power was down, and the stupid thing was, whenever that happened, all the doors in The Agency closed shut. Locked. And stayed that way. Hobbes was gonna kill the genius who had thought of that.
He had to get to Fawkes, fast. He hadn't gotten his shot yet, and could go wacko at any minute. And that girl Madeline was still with him. They were trapped together, down there in that stupid archive basement. Fawkes had insisted on showing her the way before coming to the Keep, even though he must have known he really needed that shot. "Will only take a minute, Hobbesy," he'd said, "No worries!" No worries. Yeah right.
---
'Help.' That's what went through her head over and over again. 'Help! Somebody save me...' She knew he wasn't dangerous, not yet. But she couldn't get it out of her mind. He would go insane eventually, and then there would be no telling what he'd do. Try to seduce her, rape her, kill her... She'd read the files, she knew what he'd be capable of. For the moment, however, he was okay. He was looking at her with those deep brown eyes of his. Puppy dog eyes, they were. A look designed to break down even the thickest walls a woman can build around herself...
'He is cute, though,' she thought, and her face turned red when he looked at her, smiling, as if he knew what she was thinking. 'Oh hell, what am I thinking? Get a grip on yourself, girl!'
She had been expecting a lot of things when she came in the door that morning, but this was definitely not one of them. Things like this weren't supposed to happen on your first day at work! She was only a lab tech. Okay, so she was a little overqualified for the job, but she just couldn't let this opportunity pass her by. She had worked on a few government projects, but this was by far the most interesting one she had ever seen. Seen... He just kept looking at her. It was starting to creep her out a little. She looked away, a little uncomfortable, knowing he'd turn into a maniac soon.
---
"Claire, you got that counteragent ready, right?" Hobbes asked for what seemed to Claire the millionth time.
"Yes, Bobby, it's still right here, in the fridge, just like the last time you asked," said Claire, a little exasperated. She knew Bobby was worried about Darien, and he wasn't the only one. But he wasn't able to distance himself from his emotions quite like she could, at least not where Darien was concerned, and it was starting to get on her nerves.
She didn't seem to care. That was what irked him most of all. He knew she cared, but she had adopted this cold attitude that just annoyed the hell out of him. His mind raced a mile a minute, thinking of all the things that could go wrong.
---
"Ahh!" Darien cried out as the first of the spikes hit his skull, hands flying to the back of his head as its white-hot pain numbed his brain. Madeline froze, then scrambled away as she panicked, thoughts racing, clearly laying out every possible scenario in her mind, all of them bad. Leaning against the far wall, she silently watched as the pain let go of Darien's body and he lay on the floor, exhausted. Slowly he looked up at her, the expression on his face made it clear that he wasn't going to give up so easily. But Madeline was still afraid.
As another of the painful spikes hit Darien, driving its long nails into the back of his head, her doctor side finally kicked in, and she rushed over and kneeled down beside his writhing form. Knowing there really wasn't much she could do, she settled for rubbing his arms and his shoulders, and it seemed to relax him a little. But she knew she had to be on her guard because no matter how strong his resolve might be, there would inevitably come that time when he would have no choice but to give up.
As Darien was once again released from the convulsions that the onset of the madness always brought, he got up and looked at her. His eyes were bloodshot, the madness already starting to take hold. Madeline's breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight. It scared her more than she had thought. She realized then that there was a big difference between reading about it and actually seeing it. She slowly backed away from him until she bumped into the far wall. She remained there, staying as quiet as possible, but continually staring into his eyes, mesmerized by the tiny threads of red crawling over his eyes like a spider web.
Darien checked his tattoo again. It was still one green. But it wouldn't be long now before it would be all red. He knew his eyes were already getting there; he'd seen the girl's reaction. Yes, the girl... He turned his eyes back to her. She was pretty. She had an oval shaped face, a classic kind of beauty. Her eyes were gray, but they seemed to have a different hue every time he looked at them. Blue, green, hazel... as if it depended on her mood. Her hair was brown and she wore it at shoulder length. Now that he thought about it, it was actually the exact same shade of brown as his. And her lips were just perfect. She looked so cute with her lips pink like that... He mentally shook himself. What the hell was he thinking? He closed his eyes, not allowing his thoughts to go that way, not while he could help it. Then it was made easier for him as his thoughts were blacked out by pain.
Madeline watched in horror as Darien's mind and body were once again wracked with pain. The madness, it was really starting! She was more frightened than she had ever been before, and yet she felt a nearly overwhelming need to help him. But both feelings were equally strong, leaving her confused, unable to act upon either. When Darien relaxed again, an idea popped into her head.
"Er... Mr. Fawkes...?" she began. Darien looked up. He didn't really like being called mister, and he'd told her that. They'd been over it a million times, yet she kept insisting. Oh well.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"D-do you think, uh..." not knowing what to say, she vaguely motioned towards the archive boxes.
"What?" he asked, not understanding.
"Well, er, the-the-the archive boxes all have rope around them..." she managed to stutter.
Darien caught onto her idea. "You want to tie me up?"
"Well, yes," she said.
'Kinky...' went through his mind, and he mentally slapped himself. He had a deal with himself not to think those things. Instead, he got up and started to work on getting the ropes off the boxes. It was as good an idea as any.
They collected a couple of good, strong looking pieces of rope, and Madeline moved into position behind Darien to tie his hands. Just then, he was attacked by another one of the spikes. His legs gave out, but Madeline caught him. And she discovered it felt nice to hold him. Nice, but no more. He might have good looks, a charming smile, a witty sense of humor, not to mention a considerable amount of height, but all of that didn't really impress her. She liked him, and she knew they would be friends, but no more.
It felt nice to be held, but Darien pushed himself to his feet. Madeline followed. He held his hands behind him again, and she began to tie the rope around them. He felt that she was being way too careful, as if she was afraid of hurting him.
"Tighter," he ordered.
"B-but Mr. Fawkes..."
"No buts, just get those damn ropes tied already!" He was shouting now, his temper growing short due to the fierce battle with the madness that threatened to engulf him.
Startled by his sudden outburst, Madeline stiffened in fear and fumbled with the ropes, nearly dropping them off his hands. Darien realized that he had sounded harsher than he meant to be and he squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating for a moment and willing himself to calm down. He succeeded in pushing the madness back to where it belonged, the far corner of his mind. For now.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. Madeline nodded in return before realizing Darien couldn't see that since he was facing away from her.
"It's okay," she whispered in his ear, laying her hands gently on his shoulders after finishing with the rope. For a second, she closed her eyes and let her chin rest on his shoulder. She was nearly as tall as he was. It was refreshing, for both of them. It occurred to Darien that if she wore high heels, she would actually be taller than him. He smiled slightly. A chick who was taller than him. Who would believe it?
There was more rope, so there was more work to do. Darien sat down to allow Madeline to tie up his legs as well. He didn't have to remind her to tie them tight this time and he grimaced as she pulled hard on the ropes. She was a quick learner. She tied the long ropes around his ankles and all the way up to his knees. No way she was letting him get out of this one.
Madeline thought she must be going crazy too. Here she was, trapped together with a man who could go insane at any moment -- a possibly life-threatening situation. And yet she found herself quickly growing fond of him, despite the fear that still inhabited the back of her mind. It was the eyes, she decided. Those big brown puppy dog eyes. She wondered how many women had found themselves drowning when they looked into those eyes.
Finished with the ropes, she looked up at him -- and in his eyes. She winced at the redness in them. It was getting worse, but the expression on his face told her he was still in control. She raised her hand and gingerly she ran it through his upswept hair. She liked his hair. It was rebellious, like the rest of him. She liked rebellious. Darien liked the feeling of hands in his hair and smiled. She gazed into his eyes for what seemed like an eternity.
---
To say that Hobbes was worried would be the understatement of the century. To say that he was nearly going out of his mind with anxiety and worry about the millions of things that could go wrong with Fawkes and the girl locked up together down there in that basement would be closer to the truth.
He had been feeling so good this morning that he hadn't thought it necessary to take his meds, a decision he now regretted with all his heart. His paranoia now forced him to think of all the things that could go wrong, making him play out countless scenarios in his mind. And his tendency towards depression made sure that there was not one good outcome among them.
He was sure Fawkes would end up hurting the girl, one way or another. Maybe even killing her. And he knew Fawkes would beat himself up over it afterwards because he always felt guilty about what he did when he was insane, no matter how many times they told him it wasn't his fault. He knew his partner. And that was what worried him even more.
He got up, unable to sit still, and started pacing back and forth through the lab. He knew it would probably irritate the hell out of Claire, but at this point he could care less. He had to concentrate on something other than Fawkes, and he hoped walking around would do the trick. He started counting his paces. One, two, three, four, five, stop. Turn. One, two, three, four, five, stop. Turn. One, two, three, four, five, stop. Turn.
Claire lay back in her chair and closed her eyes. She was lying in the chair that was usually reserved for Darien when he needed his shot and she was feeling slightly guilty about it, especially since he needed it so badly now. But it was more comfortable than any of the other chairs in her lab and she needed a little comfort right now. She was getting a headache. And the squeaking of Hobbes' shoes wasn't exactly helping her relax. Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, pause. Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, pause. Squeak, squeak...
"Would you please stop that?" she asked in an annoyed tone of voice.
Squeak, squeak, pause, Hobbes' voice: "Stop what?" Pause, squeak, squeak...
"That noise! You're giving me a headache!" Claire's patience was running short.
Squeak, squeak, silence...
Claire relaxed.
"Who do you think you are, giving me orders like that?" said Hobbes loudly in the silence, startling Claire. "I'm not just some mook you can just order around whenever you want to!"
"It's my lab and as long as you are here you will do as I say!" Claire was getting angry now.
"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see about that, Miss High-and-Mighty!" Hobbes started for the door.
Claire got up and stepped towards him.
"And where do you think you're going?"
Hobbes turned.
"I'm gettin' outta here!"
"Yeah, well, in case you've forgotten, we are locked in!"
"Well then I'll just break down the door!"
"Hah! You and what army?"
"Ah, you think Bobby Hobbes can't handle a silly little door?"
"That 'silly little door' is two inch thick armor plating! You couldn't even shoot through that door, much less kick it in!"
"What, are you implying now that I can't shoot a door?"
Claire and Hobbes stood face to face, glaring and shooting daggers into each other's eyes.
---
Somewhere along the way, Darien's smile had gone from adorable and friendly to dangerous and insane. Startled by that realization, Madeline scrambled away, her fear renewed. The madness was here, and there was no way out. She sat against the far wall, breathing unsteadily as fear and adrenaline coursed through her veins. She couldn't help but stare into Darien's blood red-eyes as they followed her every move, hungrily taking in every detail of her body.
Darien licked his lips as lust finally was allowed to enter his mind -- and his eyes. Madeline couldn't suppress a shudder, but she managed to close her eyes in an attempt to escape Darien's stare. It didn't help much. She could still feel it. She could feel him looking at her, undressing her with his eyes. Lab coat, blouse, bra... She pulled the white coat tightly around her, hoping to protect herself from those eyes.
She could hear Darien moving around, grunting as he tried to break free of his bonds, yelling at her to untie him. But she was too frightened to move and she pulled her knees up even further, curling up into a little ball as more and more horrible scenarios kept unfolding in her mind.
To Be Continued...