Alright, things get a little rougher, setting the stage for the next chapter which will be quite graphic.

Hope everyone enjoys. Please let me know either way.

Thank you all for your encouragement and loyalty.

If I could send you all gifts, I would.

Enjoy!

Chapter 13

Crane's eyes flicker like blue venom as he examines me with in dark intrigue. Should I really expect anything else? He straightens the lapels of his costly suit and inhales sharply.

'Ah, my ever formal doctor...'

"As you wish…"

Crane hoists me up by the back of my shirt and drags me out of the bathroom, his mask in the other hand. Roughly he leads me to the nearest elevator and thrusts me inside. My back slams against the wall along with the metal railing. He turns the key, the doors close, and we descend. I cower into a far corner to avoid him touching me. Silently, I wonder exactly where you must hit to effectively crush a man's trachea. Crane seems to sense this for he moves in on me.

"There's something I want you to see Kyra. I think it will shift things into perspective for you." Crane props both hands on either side of me as he pins me with those eyes. The elevator dings and the doors slide open. Once again he hauls me to a room where I'm thrown to the floor. With one final glance he exits in silence. Quickly, I gage my surroundings to note I am someplace that resembles an interrogation room. Yet, I know not its actual purpose.

'I don't want to know.'

One wall consists entirely of double sided Plexiglas, permitting me to see into the nearby room. I hear the door open from that room as a bound figure stumble inside. The weak form crumples to the floor instantly and doesn't attempt to get up. I take a cautious step toward the glass. The Scarecrow steps inside. I startle but hold my ground. Scarecrow grabs the figure by the hair to leans in close. It is then I recognize the young man's face. Gasping I rush toward the glass.

'My brother, the Scarecrow has my brother!'

I pound on the glass with my shoulder. I know what would inevitably come next.

"No Crane! Let him go! Let him go you son of a bitch!" I pound with all my might, until my shoulder aches. A white substance clouds the air around the two figures. The white smoke billows and rolls like the extinguishing of a fire. My brother folds into the fetal position, unable to use his bound arms to clutch his chest. I know his heart is burning. I have felt that pain before. He begins to roll on the floor screaming in agonizing terror and pain. I didn't know a human could produce that pitch, such horrible excruciating sounds. I wish desperately my hands were free to cover my ears. I couldn't bear to see nor hear my brother like this.

And he would never know that he wasn't alone.

His convulsions grow worse and I can tell that it isn't just from the hallucinations. My brother's eyes roll to the back of his head as he begins to vomit. The gas is giving him seizures. I slam my shoulder harder then send an array of kicks upon the surface until I'm sure I made it quake.

"Help him! Crane, it's going to kill him! Stop it! Make it stop!"

With wide eyes I watch my brother's final convulsions for a solid few minutes. Then his body goes lax. Crane stands over him for a few moments then nudges my brother with his foot before taking off his mask. I watch him crouch down and check for a pulse. He then turns in my direction and calmly gazes through the glass at me. He is astonishingly accurate as to where I'm standing. Seething with fury and mortification I collapse completely against the glass, gazing at my brother's dead form. His eyes are open and wide, his mouth twisted, caught in mid-scream. All around him faint white powder glimmered like ground crystals. This is the work of my doctor. This is the craft he had honed. Surely, my fate will be no different than my brother's. I glance at Crane whose expression is elated as he exits the room.

Slowly I slide down to the floor sobbing, my body shaking wildly against the glass. I try but I'm unable to push back the scenario I had just witnessed. It won't stop replaying in my mind.

'Please stop…'

My brother is gone, gone.

"No…"

I will not take my eyes from the dead form of my brother. Desperately I plead audibly for him to move, twitch a finger, to see the slight rise and fall of his chest…a flutter of his thick lashes. Anything! Some sign of hope. The door to my current room clicks then opens as the unmasked Doctor Crane steps inside. Inside my straightjacket my fists are balled so tight I feel a slight warm liquid creep underneath my fingernails. I tighten the back of my teeth until they grind. I want to kill him. I am a myriad of emotions, anger, hate, despair; all cloud my mind but strike my every nerve. I am ready to do battle, bound or not I want his screams.

And I know it won't serve me, not yet.

I won't hold back my tears, my tongue, but I will temporarily hold back my actions for I will put them to better use at a later time.

"No screams? No comments? No attempts to avenge your dead brother? Perhaps you are more cowardly than I had thought." I hear him stealthily approach with every provocation until he's crouching in front of me. I sit with the side of my head against the wall. I feel angry and almost broken, almost.

"Or is it you're scheming in there?" He places a cold hand on the side of my face.

'When do you finish me?'

I suck in weakly; my face still turned away. I snap it away from him even as my head strikes against the wall.

'What is it you're waiting for?'

His eyes gleam in a way I have not seen before. Bruised lips curl at the corners for reasons I do not know.

"Kyra, you are all alone. I'm all you have."

'Then I guess I'm really not alone.'

I look up.

"No, you're not."

"Pardon?"

"You're nothing."

That cold hand inches its way around the back of my head, digging into my scalp as he pulls me forward.

"Well then, let's see just how much nothing affects you."

Without warning Crane snakes a possessive kiss over my lips. It is deep and aggressive, stealing the breath from my lungs. The cold hot of his lips stings as if laced with poison as they burn upon my own. I've never felt such violent passion from such a simple act. I've always been chaste throughout my adolescent years, saving my virtue and kissing only but a rare few. Their kisses pale in comparison to the fervent lust I taste now.

I try to pull away yet he presses harder, smothering me with his toxic kiss. His right hand constricts around the back of my neck. The heat from his grip sears me. Crane's other hand grips tightly onto the jacket straps at my side to keep me firmly in place. I fight hard for room, pushing weakly against his lanky frame.

I manage some space.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The devil grins back at me.

"Affecting you…"