The ride up the elevator was filled with an emotion Lann couldn't quite place, but it was electrifying. He finally felt alive, after so long hiding in the shadows underneath the weight of his benefactor.
The smile on Lynn's face was just as enthusiastic as his, but Vella's…
Vella's smile was downright terrifying.
Lann swallowed and tried not to let the ugly claws of panic ensnare him further than it already had. He had made friends that cared about him, and he was going to finally win that chess game against the famed Dr. Evie!
The elevator stopped with a whirr of noise and the doors slid open to reveal an opulent bedroom.
"Lann? Is that you? I can't believe how you've managed to checkmate me in two moves, but I'll say you've grown quite a lot since our last match-"
Dressed in a fluffy bathroom, Dr. Evie's eyes widened and she cut her ramblings short when she noticed the two other people that were with Lann.
"Miss, I… I brought friends." Lann smiled, and hoped that she wouldn't mind.
Vella pushed past Lann roughly, and he nearly fell over from in confusion. Lynn's grip on his arm turned almost unbearable.
"It's not an easy thing, meeting your maker." Vella sauntered over, a dangerous gleam of insanity in her eyes.
Lynn dragged Lann over with each step she took. He let her.
"What can I do for you?" Dr. Evie aimed the question towards Vella, who was steadily advancing closer.
"Can the maker repair what she makes?" The last word was hissed out, like it was tainted. Toxic.
Dr. Evie circled the chess table, putting some space between her and her creation. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Death." Vella stalked even closer, her entire posture screaming that she was ready to pounce, to devour, the consume. "I want more life, mother. Four years is not enough!"
Dr. Evie stilled, and then smiled coldly. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible at your stage."
Vella circled the doctor. "What about a protein to block the process?"
"You'd get a virus that would kill every subject within minutes. I'm sorry."
Vella sat down on the edge of the doctor's bed, blank-faced in the flickering light of the candles. "You…"
"You were made the best we could make you." The woman poured herself a glass of red wine.
"But not to last." With that note of finality in her tone, Vella got up and strode over to where the doctor was sipping her wine. Before she could react, her hands were around the doctor's neck, synthetic muscles working together to crush skin, bones, and musclewith an inhuman force.
"The light… that burns twice… as bright… burns… half… as long…" She forced every word between each scrap of breath she could get before she slumped forward, still and unmoving.
Lann gaped in horror as Vella dropped the Dr. Evie's body to the floor like it was a sack of trash.
A giggle to his left, and then a young girl's tiny hands circled his throat and squeezed.