Chapter Thirty-One （Make it Better）

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE (MAKE IT BETTER)

HAZEL

I walked past a group of Bedlam members who were slowly picking away at the walls. It was a useless action since behind plaster and brick was metal sheets. Still, they kept mindlessly tearing apart the walls with the single-minded focus of a zombie.

Hazel…

I swallowed thickly and kept going. People emerged from their rooms, teetering near the edge of their doorways as I walked towards the basement. The door had been ripped off its hinges, leaving a gaping mouth of an entrance. The speakers on the walls gave off a consistent static hum that grew louder as I approached.

"Hazel," Zero said through the static. People murmured and shuffled closer, listening as he called me towards him. I stood at the top of the steps, staring down. There was a red haze enveloping the stairs, so thick it made seeing the basement floor impossible.

Since Zero had been freed from the magic gag, anyone who approached the basement saw hallucinations and felt like their mind was splitting into pieces. With me standing here perfectly fine, some of Bedlam got bold. One guy moved towards me, but the closer he got, the worse for wear he seemed.

He twisted his head around and ducked as if he saw something flying at him. Finally, he fell down before scrambling away and screaming.

I felt the dark presence in my mind moving, pressing tenderly against my thoughts. I got the acute impression Zero was shielding me—protecting my mind.

"She's not affected," the group nearby whispered.

"Nah, she was always just the nuttiest one here," someone else responded. I rolled my eyes.

"Hazel." It came over the speaker attached to the wall next to me. "Come to me."

I took a deep breath and stepped down, slowly descending into the basement. The temperature decreased. Only a few steps in, I couldn't see the doorway behind me anymore. In front of me, the mist divided, showing me the way down. I continued on, hearing the static buzz of speakers.

I could sense Zero was close. But how close? I wasn't sure, and the red mist left visibility low. My hands trembled as I made my way down. My feet hit the bottom.

Shadows moved in the mist, dark and large. I stumbled back, trying to go back up the stairs. But there were no stairs anymore, or if there were, I couldn't find them even though they'd been right behind me a second ago.

My only choice was to continue forward and face Zero. I shuffled forward slowly. The shadows were gone now, but the static kept going, making it hard to hear if there was movement around me. I reached out, trying to find the wall. My fingers finally touched it, and it felt wet and sticky. I jerked back but then quickly put my hand back, worried I'd lose it again. The wall felt like it moved, inhaling and exhaling like a living thing.

I knew none of it was real though. The moving walls, the sensations, the static, maybe not even the mist. I'd come to realize exactly what Zero's powers were. They were entirely of the mind. Even gagged he still held some modicum of it, slipping into my dreams to perceive my desires. He must have been slowly getting stronger, eating the patients' brains in little pieces here and there.

Now that he was released and well-fed, there was no limit to what he could make a person see or hear. The mental manipulation leaked out of him without any effort. It was natural to him, like breathing. Which was why the walls always seemed to breathe, and the mist crawled around Verfallen in the deepest hours of the night.

I wasn't sure exactly where I was. It was as if all the doors were gone. I was trying to find Zero's office but I started to doubt where I was. It felt like I'd been walking too long. It was hard to tell because I was moving so slow.

The walls continued to breathe and leak against my fingers. The static hissed even louder, hurting my ears. Finally, my fingers trailed over a thick, wooden door. I leaned in, looking at it. It was his.

With a twist of the doorknob, I pushed it open. The mist was making my eyes water. I slipped inside and closed the door, rubbing my eyes. When I opened them, I sucked in a breath. There wasn't any mist anymore.

Zero was sitting at his desk, staring at me. I shifted back, letting my shoulder blades dig into the door. He smiled, knowing I was afraid.

"Sit in the chair, Hazel." My eyes flitted over to the same damn examination chair he strapped me into and got me off in every day. I looked back over, staring at his mouth. It was hard to forget the tentacles that had come out of them.

"What are you going to do to me?" Part of me was sure that this entire time, his real goal had been my mind and, subsequently, my brain itself.

"Mind? Yes. Brain?" He shook his head, his smile widening further. He pointed back at the chair. Was this even still the man I knew?

"I was never a man ," he responded.

"Do you know every thought in my head?" I asked.

"The examination chair, Hazel. It's time for therapy." His eyes widened, the pupils growing abnormally large. I clenched my hands into fists, looking down at the venom-kissed hand that felt like nothing had ever happened to it. Then, I shuffled forward and sat in the chair. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I had to try. Zero was protecting my mind, and he'd healed my arm somehow. Maybe, just maybe, he didn't want to hurt me.

"Very good," he said as I settled in. He got up from his chair and rounded his desk. My heart pounded as he got close. He leaned over me and began strapping me in.

"Did you fix my arm?" I asked, twisting my face to the side so his mouth didn't have quick access to mine.

"There was nothing wrong with it."

"Nerve damage—"

"It was mental." He finished strapping me in and pressed his fingers into my scalp, dragging his fingers across my skull. I whimpered, thinking of the cracked skulls in the hydrotherapy room.

"When you let me into your mind, I removed the pain." I felt his mouth press to the swell of my breasts. Then something wet and hot dragged up my throat, and I cried out.

"Just my tongue," he chuckled, pulling back with an amused look. Once he had my eyes, he leaned forward. I couldn't look away. I watched as eyes multiplied—six small iris in each eye, twisting around each other. I felt the fear bleed away from me unnaturally until I felt completely relaxed.

"Stop," I whispered.

"Don't you want to calm down?" He asked. He blinked and suddenly there was only one iris in each eye again. I felt the fear crash back into me and gasped. "Or do you like being afraid?" He reached out and gripped my neck, tightening his hold. His fingers were cold and his eyes were wild.

"I don't believe you," I said. He looked at me for a moment. I could feel him shifting through my thoughts like a finger flicking folders in a file cabinet.

"I see," he said, plucking out what I meant. "I don't want to eat your brain, Hazel. I promise," he said with a wide smile.

"But it makes so much sense. I'd just heal. A regenerating food source for all of time. You are immortal, right? You and me while the rest of the world fades." I swallowed. "And you eating my brain over and over…" I looked at his mouth.

"I did consider it," he said, dipping his mouth to my neck. I felt his lips kiss a line up my throat. He gripped my thigh and then slid his hand higher, walking his fingers under my dress.

"But then you wouldn't be a good little patient, would you?" He rubbed over my panties, making me squirm. A whimper escaped me.

Zero pulled back suddenly, dug his hands into my panties, and ripped them off. He moved with a desperate speed I'd never seen him with. He dropped to his knees between my legs and shoved his face in. His tongue pressed against me, making me swallow a gasp and fight against the wrist restraints. My thighs shook as he sucked.

I felt his tongue push into me. It took me a moment to realize he was also still licking my clit. I looked down in shock. He gripped my thighs, pushing them open wider. Tentacles from his mouth pushed inside me. One slid down my taint, massaging the skin.

" You need your therapy, Hazel. You've been skipping ," his voice said in my mind. I flung my head back, unable to control the pleasure that rippled through me. His nails dragged down my thighs, leaving red lines. His mouth fucked me and teased me all at once, working every part—squeezing, caressing, licking, and thrusting.

I felt him in my head. He grabbed hold of my pleasure in metaphorical hands, taking complete control. Then he wrung it like a sponge he wanted dry. An orgasm washed over me, so powerful I thought I was going to die. I passed out and came to with him crawling up my body. He ripped at his pants as the tentacles from his mouth pressed against my mouth, begging for entrance.

"No," I insisted, twisting my face. The long length of his cock ground between my legs.

" Yes ," I heard in my mind. I shook my head, trying to get away from the red tentacles. Suddenly, they withdrew, going back down his throat.

Slowly, the mad look in his eyes diminished. Half-lidded eyes I was familiar with looked down at me. I relaxed, sighing in relief.

"I told you that you changed me," he said.

"I remember."

"I'd never wanted someone before. Not like this," he said, grinding between my legs. He hummed in pleasure and leaned in, pressing his lips to mine softly.

"You aren't Zero anymore," I whispered, trying to close my legs. The straps wouldn't let me. He looked down, seeing me fight to shield myself from him.

"Do you not want me anymore?" He asked.

"I don't know," I admitted. His hand slid behind my neck, cradling it. His mouth pressed softly to mine again. His tongue flicked out, coaxing me to open for him. I shook my head.

"What do I need to do to have you want me again?" He asked. It was selfish and rude to tell a man you liked him better with a lobotomy. Too bad he could read my mind. He chuckled, peppering kisses across my throat. I felt his erection heavy on my thigh.

"You want me to assure you I'm still the Zero you know?" He asked. I swallowed and nodded.

"I fear I am exactly the same, minus a few quirks. I love you, Hazel. So much so that you've changed me entirely. Look at me acting like a man just so you'll kiss me."

He slowly moved his face closer, pressing his lips to mine again. When his tongue flicked out, I opened to him, wanting more than anything to have him back. He groaned into my mouth, his tongue pressing on mine in ownership.

I felt his cock notch in my entrance, and then he thrust forward, pressing inside me inch by inch. It knocked the breath out of me, not expecting him to move so fast. He smiled against my mouth and kissed me more. His thrusts were measured and restrained. His breathing was soft groans and hitches. He was holding back for me.

"Zero," I moaned. This is who I knew, but I felt bad. "Don't change who you are just because I said so."

"Fortunately, Hazel, it appears all those years as a man have altered me permanently."

"How can you know that?"

"Because of this," he said, sinking inside me yet again. He cradled my neck and kissed me languidly. "Because of how much I want you." He pulled out and then sunk in faster. "How much I need you." He thrust again, knocking the breath from me. He groaned as my walls clenched around him.

"I am free, but I am still the man you know." He kept fucking me. His fingers brushed the straps, making sure they held. I whimpered and tightened around him as he started to rub between my legs.

"Good little patient," he groaned, sinking inside me. "You need this therapy every day; don't skip again." He leaned forward to capture my mouth, and I turned to the side. He stopped thrusting.

"What is it? Please tell me, my restraint is paper thin."

"Gonzo," I said. I looked him in the eye. "You need to help him."

"What is wrong with Gonzo?" He asked in confusion.

"You don't know? He's gone insane. He saw you shot through the head—"

"I see," he said with a soft smile. "I'll go see our fox." His mouth pressed to mine, and he sank inside me again. His fingers rubbed between my legs furiously demanding I come fast.

"One more time," he whispered against my mouth. I felt him in my head, reaching out for the pleasure deep in my mind. Suddenly, it was pulled to the surface, and I cried out, writhing beneath him.

"I love you too," I told him through tears.

"How odd," he responded with a hitched voice before giving one last thrust and coming deep inside me. The way he groaned my name left goosebumps on my skin.