What is this?! Oh look! Another update within 2 days of the previous! :O I really felt the love from all of you guys this week so I wanted to get the next chapter out as soon as possible! I hope you guys like it :) Please continue to post your thoughts below in the review box :)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own TMI, all credit for characters and inspiration go to Cassandra Clare; however, concept and plot are of my own creation.
When I got home that night, Valentine demanded to know how the trip went. I knew that if I told him about the woman he would flip shit and move us that very night. But I didn't want to leave Portland. I liked it here. So I kept quiet, and told him it was great. Thankfully, he seemed to be occupied with more important things and let my vague description satisfy his curiosity.
I sat on my bed for hours, running the conversation with the strange woman over and over in my head. Valentine had always described them as emotionless, evil, people who would not hesitate to shoot me down where I stood. And yet, the woman seemed so kind and gentle. I recalled the 'Institute' she talked about. Such a strange name. Jumping off my bed, I ran over to the middle of my floor, pushing aside the fluffy shag rug and popping open a loose floorboard. Inside was a gun and mag, some cash, and a laptop. Valentine didn't allow me a laptop of my own, so I found a way around it. Pulling it out of it's protective sleeve, I powered it up and quickly searched about the institute. Nothing came up. I tried a few more searches and still nothing. On a long shot I typed in The Institute, Clarissa Morgenstern. Only one link flashed across the screen. I clicked it and the page redirected me to a blog called Unveiled Archives. The most recent post was from a user called the PeoplesAdvocate. Most of the article was a bunch of conspiracy speculation by the author about the corruption of government. I skimmed over most of the post until I saw something that caught my attention.
"..An anonymous source confirmed that secret government organizations are still searching for the stolen Morgenstern child, Clarissa. They have narrowed the search down to the American Continent where they continue the pursuit for the Valentine and his men. Sightings have popped up all over the globe including Russia, France, Sweden, Australia, Greece, Brazil, Japan, and now finally back to America. We continue to ask, without answer, who this child is and why she is so important. We will not be silenced! We will continue to dig! We the people deserve to know exactly what our government is up to… "
I stared at my computer in surprise. scrolling down through the rest of the website in search for more but it never mentioned anything else about the Morgenstern child. It explained more about a place called the Institute but there were no facts or suspected locations. I shut the laptop down, replacing it back within the secret floor panel, and walked back over to my bed.
I had been fiddling with the necklace around my neck, thinking about the article when suddenly the door was thrown open. "Clarissa. Hodge is in the basement waiting for you." Markus announced. He quickly turned around and left. I groaned against the fluffy pillows. Valentine had been making me do sessions with Dr. Hodge ever since I could first remember. They both seemed to believe that there was something special about me but could never quite figure it out. Up until now the tests were simple, quite boring actually. They tested my abilities in math, science, memorization, combat, medicine, art, and many other areas, but they always came back normal.
When I walked into the basement, Hodge was leaning over a table with various instruments laid out. A chill swept over my body as I noticed some were quite sharp. "Hello Clarissa, please take a seat." he said, motioning towards a large complicated looking chair that sat in the center of the room. When I sat down he turned around and pressed some pedals that adjusted the chair. Metal cuffs clicked over and restrained my arms and legs. "Wha-what are those for Hodge?" I asked nervously.
He looked at me impassively "They are there to assure you don't move." he said. Hodge had never been a friendly person, but he had certainly never been a mad scientist type. I flexed my arms under the cool metal, unable to move my hands even an inch. He connected an iv to my arm and removed my shirt, sticking on two stickers against my chest that were connected to a larger beeping machine. After that, Hodge moved behind a glass wall and pressed a red and green button. Another metal strap shot across my waist, keeping me pinned against the chair. "Hodge…I don't like this" I murmured. He didn't answer me and continued on.
"Clarissa" Hodge called "I'm going to make an incision. We are going to test your abilities in rapid cell regeneration. Do NOT move" he cautioned. My bright green eyes flashed across the dark basement, searching for any way out. "I- I don't have cell regeneration, we tried this when I was 't-don't you remember the finger prick" I stuttered. "It won't work, wait! Please! Don't!"
He moved from behind the wall and back to my side. "Yes…I do remember that." he said picking up one of the sharp looking knives with a curved edge. "However, this time I want to try something a little more…fatal." my heart picked up rapidly as his hands drew closer. "If you scream, I will silence you" he warned, waving a rag in front of my face.
Excruciating pain racked my body as the knife sliced across my side. I cried out loudly, begging for him to stop. My hips bucked underneath the restraints. "Clarissa, I said QUIET" he shouted, annoyed. Hodge was starting to remind me more and more of Valentine. I bit down on my lip, willing myself to be quiet. Squeezing my eyes shut I tried keeping my mind off of what was happening.
"Clarissa, I need you to concentrate. You need to will yourself to heal" Hodge's voice loomed over me. I couldn't concentrate, I was in full on shut down mode. Blood flowed freely from the wound, completely soaking my once pristine white mini skirt. My vision started to cloud, and the room started spinning. "H-hodge..I feel-I feel s-sick." I murmured, swaying my head back and forth. Valentine's voice speaking over the PA system was the last thing I heard before everything blacked out.
Jace POV:
After lunch with the gang Jace told everyone he was tired and was going home. Izzy and Magnus were planning on staying later for even more shopping so he figured that he needed to get out while he still had the chance. "I gotta go train, see you two at home later" he had said before bolting out of the mall.
When he finally reached the house Jace immediately dropped his bag on the floor of his room, threw on some black combat gear, then ran downstairs into the training room. The Lightwood Manor was a very large 4 story mansion completed with all of the latest furnishings. Downstairs was a very spacious kitchen and living room connected to an outdoor patio. The second level was were Alec, Izzy and their parents rooms were located. On the third floor was a large training area the entire family used to train in combat and self-defense. Jace had been adopted later after they had built the house and so he chose a room on the very top floor. They didn't use any of the rooms on the fourth floor so they had allowed him to knock down all the walls and create one huge open bedroom, something Izzy and Alec had been trying to convince him to trade for years with no success.
"Tim, turn on some music will you" Jace spoke aloud as he walked through the training room doors and over to a fight dummy.
"Right away Jace" a computerized voice filled the room. Tim was a highly advanced computer system Mr. Lightwood had installed throughout the house. Tim controlled everything from the heating and collong systems to the locking of doors and windows. For all intensive purposes, Tim was the butler.
Almost immediately, Black Skinhead flooded the space, causing the floor to vibrate slightly, just how Jace liked it. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the music take over and then instantly began throwing a series of calculated punches and kicks to attack the dummy. He became so absorbed in the routine that he didn't even notice Isabelle walk in an hour later until she shut the music off. "What the hell?" he murmured before turning around and seeing Izzy walking towards him.
"Seriously Jace, you need to take a break! You never stop training and your music is causing the house to shake." she complained as her 6 inch heels clattered across the floor.
"I was just about done" he answered breathlessly while walking over to the fridge and grabbing a water. "You ever hear from Clary? She seemed a little…spooked when she left" he added before downing the entire bottle.
"Nope, I was just about to text her. I'd be freaked out too if some crazy bitch came up and grabbed me, telling me I was someone else." she replied flouncing over to a bean bag and plopping down. "Why the sudden interest hmm? If I didn't know any better, I'd say a certain someone has a biit of a crush" she smirked.
Jace's head shot up at her last comment. "Crush? Ha! Jace doesn't have crushes…Na uh, you must be mistaken" he laughed. Right? I mean yeah, he thought about her more than he's thought of any of the other girls. But that didn't mean anything. It was probably just the thrill of the chase or something. He smirked to himself, remembering how her toned body felt beneath his, the way her lips molded perfectly against his. His cheeks flushed as he remembered the vivid encounter in Bloomingdales.
"Ohmigod!" Izzy jumped up from her bean bag, running over to his side and jumping around "OHMYGOD! YOU LIKE CLARY! I can see it across your face! Thats it! You like her! Jace likes Clary! Jace likes Clary!" she sang.
"I do not like Clary" he shoved her away playfully. Izzy just smirked, grabbing up her bags and walking towards the door. "Whatever you say Jace" she laughed before leaving the room. Sitting down against the training dummy, Jace thought about it. Maybe he did like Clary. Maybe he didn't. It still didn't change things. Jace was not a one-woman guy and he never would be.
Clary's POV:
When I awoke, I felt myself laying against something cold and hard. I fluttered my eyes open only to squeeze them shut by the painfully bright lights that invaded my vision. "Looks like someone is finally awake" a familiar voice called. I squinted my eyes, gradually opening them fully as they adjusted to the light. I laid on a rectangular metal table with wires contacted to all sorts of different beeping machines jutting out from my arms and neck. Sitting up and swinging my legs over the edge of the table, I winced, clutching my side. I faintly remembered Hodge slicing me open but it was only a vague memory compared to the pain. "Can you walk" Valentine asked in a cold voice.
"I um think so" I replied, shoving off the table and placing my feet against the cool tile. "Yes." I replied more definitely.
"Alright, good. Here are some pain killers to take before bed and in the morning. If you are still too badly wounded tomorrow you will stay home from school. I don't want anyone questioning that wound. Understand?" I nodded, taking the painkillers. After that, he left, leaving me all alone in the white walled makeshift hospital room. I glanced around, deciding first to take out all of the wires. The one in my neck was the most painful, but once they were out I felt ten times better.
Walking down the hallway was a struggle, four times I had to stop and catch my breath. When I finally closed the door of my bedroom, I breathed a sigh of relief. For now at least I was safe. Walking over to my bathroom I removed the bandage to take a closer look at my wound. Ten stitches stretched across the closed wound. Asshole I thought silently to myself, remembering Hodge's stupid test. After replacing the bandage and taking the painkillers I walked over to my bed a slipped under the covers, allowing sleep to take over my body.
It wasn't until later that night around 3 AM in the morning that I woke up due to a searing pain burning from within my body. I clutched my side, fearing I had ripped a stitch or two. Opening my eyes I noticed a white light emanating from under the covers. Throwing off the blanket I saw that it was coming from under my bandage. Carefully pulling it away to get a closer look, I had to shield my eyes as the white light grew brighter. When it finally started to fade I moved my hands, glancing down at where my wound was.
Or had been.
When the light finally vanished I blinked my eyes in disbelief. The stitches had disappeared and the only thing left was a tender pink scar. I ran my fingers over the area. It hadn't completely healed, but it would have taken at least a few weeks to have reached this point. What was happening to me?
DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNN! So it looks like Clary IS pretty special after all hm...Will be revealing more about her "special-ness" in chapter to come. ;)
Thank you all again for reading! Please review what you thought below and what you'd like to see in the future such as certain characters, lemons, situations, couple pairings...etc. I want you all to enjoy and be excited about what I'm writing so..yeah, review!
Until next time my pretties xox
