Everglow: Chapter Twenty-One
Vivian hadn't been looking when a startling force hit her legs, clinging to her tightly and spilling wetness on her hospital scrubs. Frightened, Vivian looked to find that it was only Nadiya, but the fear of an attack was soon turned to an overwhelming concern. "Nadiya," Vivian cooed softly, removing the thin arms from her legs so she could bend down and cradle the girl in her arms. "Nadiya, what's wrong?"
The girl sniffed, hiccoughing into her shoulder as the tears continued to fall. "Baby, what is it? What happened?"
Nadiya shivered, wrapping herself in the protective cocoon of her soft wings, and then climbed into Vivian's arms, letting the nurse lift her and nestle her against a strong shoulder.
Still whispering soft reassurances, she walked slowly down the halls. Her room would be a welcome sanctuary. The other workers gave the pair a wide avenue, some looking with sympathy, but more by far with contempt.
The hallway to Nadiya's room was emptier, and they both welcomed the change. The silence was thick and heavy; Vivian's padded footwear was nothing more than soft whisperings. Nadiya had fallen still, but still peered warily out through a gap in her little cocoon with wide, bright eyes.
Nadiya heard the stranger before Vivian did.
Vivian had no warning to suggest Nadiya's violent writhing that was to accompany the revelation. In the grip of panic, she tried to scamper down, and fell hard. Her nails, though not intentionally, had left soft red lines on Vivian's arms. Nadiya seemed worse, and tried to dash away. Her footing was unsteady.
Vivian seized the small wrist and held fast, then moving her hands to her shoulders and forcing the girl to look at her. As she had expected, Nadiya's eyes were unseeing, her vision darting all over the place in terror. Her breathing was out of control gasping and she fought with all the strength her tiny body possessed. She was beyond rational thought as she struggled in the vicious grip of this nightmare.
Vivian's gentle hands were thrown off the girl's shoulders and she ran again in a different direction than before. Vivian leapt, encircling the girl in her arms and holding tight, wincing as her struggles rocked the both of them.
In the shadows, a silhouette watched as Vivian tried to calm the girl, eyes glowing a startling blue, like portals of sky in the darkness. Only when Nadiya fell, defeated, energy spent, into Vivian's arms, did the spiky haired blonde advance from where he had hidden.
Vincent was on Aidan duty.
The boy had been spotted kicking the life out of his ball, but when Vincent went to investigate, Aidan was gone, only the lifeless carcass of his toy remaining.
He wasn't in his own room, and a quick peek into Nadiya's room revealed nothing of help. No one in the staff had caught glimpse or word of the silver-haired boy since his violent outburst in the gardens.
So he surveyed the hallways, occasionally peeking into doors or searching behind stalled carts or laundry bins.
After an hour, he met a janitor with a mop in hand. The man smiled through a salt-and-pepper moustache. "I shouldn't be on call this late. My hours are over," he said good naturedly.
Vincent looked to the floor. Spreading from the growing trail of water and disinfectants he saw a trail of small footprints inked on the tile in thin, powdery dust.
"Little tramp left quite a trail. The ones coming from the door were an inch thick in mud and grass shavings." The man scoffed in jest. "Probably could have made bricks out of the stuff."
Vincent nodded silent thanks and followed the faint, fading trail.
It was a long, winding path, but by the time the footprints faded away entirely, he was left at the mouth of a dead-end hallway. It had to be one of the doors down there, and there weren't many. It would be easy, assuming he was still in there and hadn't left, but if not, it was as good a place as any to start.
The first door led to be a plain, abandoned office, tidily arranged, but coated in a thick layer of dust and laced with vacant cobwebs. The second was a small supply closet, shelves holding everything from tools to chemicals except a small silver-haired boy. The third was a small passageway leading to another door, but that was bolted, locked, and sealed off with orange and yellow tape, so he assumed that Aidan had not taken that route.
He casually reached for the fourth doorknob and stopped, feeling as if he had been jolted with lightning.
This was Hojo's laboratory, left over and untouched since the days when he had worked here.
Aidan couldn't be in there. Even if he wasn't his father's son, with the monstrosities of the famed Soldier's youth burned into his very blood, Aidan knew firsthand what would be in there. Every fiber of his being would scream to get away from this nightmarish place.
But there was a small, tiny noise from behind the door.
A mouse, perhaps?
He wouldn't possibly go in there…
But Vincent, bound by his duty to the child, swallowed the rising memories of his own, pushed the door open, and slowly, cautiously, stepped into the room.
A/N: I'm leaving tomorrow. I will write on my laptop, but I can't post unless I can get the WiFi working. Sorry guys...but it's the best I can do. I may come home Sunday and post like 5 chapters then leave for camping. Chaos. Vinnie!