Twenty-one, guys! Can you believe it? I never thought this would get as far as it has, and I just wanted to thank all of you so, so much for reading. You have no idea just how much it means to me. Enjoy, and please review!
When I wake, I am lying on a metal table in the middle of a room that is dark except for a single light hanging above my head. If I was watching a movie, I would have laughed, saying it was horribly cliché, but in real life it's terrifying.
My hands and feet are shackled to the table. They are metal, and they're so tight the edges are biting into my skin. There is a gag in my mouth, and it tastes like the smell of dishwater. My stomach is roiling, and I feel like I am going to throw up.
Someone comes in. It looks like a guy, no feminine curves, but he wears a mask that covers his face. Big goggles, and mesh over the mouth and nose. You can't even see his hair.
We've been waiting to talk to you.
Don't talk. Don't talk. You know what they will do.
Why me?
He chuckles, and the sound is more frightening than the voice of my stalker. You know.
He comes closer, and places one hand on my cheek. The palm of his glove and the fingertips are leathery and rough, and I begin to shake.
It's a pity, he said, shaking his head. You had so much going for you. Three-point-seven grade average, nice house, nice family. You could have done so much with your life. Instead, you betrayed your species.
I'm so cold. The metal is sucking the heat from my skin, even through the thin clothes they dressed me in.
He walks around the table, attaching wires and cables to me. They lock into my cuffs, and for the first time I feel the table humming. A studded cap is placed on my head. I begin to thrash and attempt to scream.
He pulls the gag out of my mouth, and slaps me. My head whips to the side, and I gasp for breath.
You have two options. One, you can tell us everything you know. We'll let you go, and we'll watch you for a while. You will not tell anyone about us, of course. We will destroy those monsters you consort with, and you will escape with your life. Or, two….
He gestures to the switch by his side. Ice filters through my veins.
Well...I bet you can guess.
My eyes grow wide. I'm afraid. But I also know they are lying. I can feel his hate for me, burning at me. He thinks I'm a monster, an animal, and even if I gave them what they wanted he'd just put me down like a sick dog.
And, if I told them you would die. All the other would too.
I know the right and moral choice. I should tell them. I made a mistake in trying to know you, and I should pay for my sins. And if I died, it would mean my parents would be safe.
But I suppose I'm selfish.
I love you. So many people think teenagers can't know real love. They think all we know is animal lust and want. I know different.
I won't go home. I will die here, in this place, because I will never tell them what I know about you. My parents will be fine. They don't hurt humans unless they have a reason. And, you will be okay as well.
So I gather my courage, and spit in his face.
He wipes it off slowly. He throws the switch, and the cuffs on my hands start to glow with contained electricity. He speaks into the device on his wrist.
Gentlemen, light it up.
Two hours later, they throw me back into my cell. I feel, well, cooked. That's basically what they did to me. I don't know how I'm still alive.
No one comes to check on me. No one comes and gives me food. I just lie there, and feel my cells slowly calm. I should be dead. No one can survive the amounts of electricity they put through me.
Unless, they're not quite human anymore.
Something pricks at the edge of my consciousness. A feeling of burning anger, and rage. Quiet, controlled fear. And most of all, a raging, hungry bloodlust.
The others are coming. You are coming. And you are not happy.