Chapter Nine （Experiments）

CHAPTER NINE (EXPERIMENTS)

HAZEL

"I feel so much better," I said, using my pant leg to clean the guts off my fingers. Did I kill someone instead of dealing with my feelings? Yes, yes I did. There was a dead demon at my feet and a new levity in my chest. Murder always eased my soul.

They'd told me I couldn't see my therapist today. Tuesdays and Thursdays at two pm was my slot. Apparently, it was Wednesday. I'd missed Orson leaving his office the other day so I hadn't been able to follow him.

Another day inside Verfallen with the ominous Doctor Stein hanging over my head was making me feel panicked. Time was weird here. There were no calendars or clocks. I was about to start scratching lines in the wall with my nails. Maybe I hadn't even been here all that long, but every day felt like one too many and they were starting to stack.

There was also the odd sensation that I'd been here longer than I thought. That maybe I'd slept days away and hadn't even noticed. I felt tired and dizzy at random times. They kept telling me I wasn't on any medication so what was it? Was it Baz? What if the very air was laced with venom…

Needless to say, I was frantic to see my shitty therapist, Doctor Orson. I couldn't find my brother and I needed to today . That felt important. A hitman who didn't listen to their instinct didn't last long in the business.

Things were off kilter—crushes, mad scientists, and wondering why Baz willingly chose to stay in this place. Uncle Vernon would literally kill me if he got a whiff of me wondering about my brother beyond the best way to murder him. He'd also kill me for daring to divide my attention on the goal I had sworn to achieve. It wouldn't matter that Gonzo could make a good ally. I was supposed to do things alone.

I eyed the body on the ground, looking with pride at the excessive mess I'd made of him.

The nurse earlier informed me that therapists saw patients outside of normal scheduled times in emergency situations.

"Hope this is enough for an emergency situation. If not… gonna have to kill a few more of you," I said, looking at the other demons in the hall. Three had been waiting outside my room like punk rock Mormons, ready to preach the good news about Infernals while flashing pierced tongues and dangerous smirks.

They'd offered to fuck me senseless three times a day if I joined their gang. That's about the time I started hacking.

"I'll take that as a strong maybe for joining Infernal," one of the demons said, eyeing their dead friend.

I had gone a little wild with the evisceration. My fingers were coated in spare parts and there was a spray of blood on the ceiling. I'd even lost one of my knives inside the body. Guess he'd get to keep that as a party souvenir.

"I'm not joining Infernals," I said. My emotions were more mellow now than before I started screaming and slicing.

"She's as crazy as Baz," one of them whispered to the other. My head snapped up.

"What was that?" Maybe I needed to find the missing knife after all. A second and third murder would do wonders for my mood.

An orderly in brown scrubs popped around the corner, stomping towards me. The key ring on his belt jingled as he moved in a rush. He was bald with thick eyebrows and a cruel glint in his eyes. They all had that look though. They reminded me of prison guards. Really, they were more of that than orderlies, no matter how they were dressed. It felt deceptive—as if everything here was crafted to look like one thing when really it was another.

"Finally," I sighed as he pushed me forward. "Please take me to my therapist." Instead, he took me in the opposite direction.

"Uh, wrong way," I said, staring behind my shoulder. The two demons watched me go.

Shit, was killing a demon going to make living in my hall a nightmare? Gonzo's offer to room with him flashed in my head and I groaned internally. I hope it didn't come to that. What was more distracting—having to kill demons every day or dealing with sexual tension with Gonzo…

Definitely Gonzo.

"Are we sure Baz's sister is a good option? She's fucking creepy," the demon with a red mohawk said, waving at his dead friend on the ground.

"At least she doesn't eat us."

We turned a corner and I couldn't hear the rest of their conversation. The orderly took me to the back of the hall and unlocked a thick door. When it opened, I saw a steep set of concrete stairs descending into a dark hallway. I didn't like being underground.

"I need to see my therapist, it's an emergency," I said as he pulled me down the stairs. Apparently, my words weren't important because he flat-out ignored me. The temperature dropped ten degrees and I shivered for a brief moment. I knew it was hot and humid upstairs to everyone else, but I enjoyed the heat.

The basement looked older than upstairs. No one had drywalled over the stone, which left ancient walls and exposed rusty pipes on display. I was starting to grow worried about where the orderly was taking me.

"Where are we going?" I asked. Please say solitary. I heard there were padded rooms down here. I'd surely earned a lengthy time out. Yesterday after dinner, I'd drowned Elvis in the hydrotherapy room before we took relaxing baths together. Separate tubs, of course. He was easy to talk to post mortem so I let him have half my bath bomb.

Even if they hadn't found Elvis soaking his death away, the staff was well aware of the other murders. But what if I wasn't headed to solitary. What if it was Zero.

I stopped in the hall and considered running.

"Hurry," the orderly grunted.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked again.

"Doctor Stein wants to see you." He crossed his meaty arms across his chest and then flashed a mean smile. I turned around and started to fast-walk back towards the stairs.

"None of that. No one escapes him," the orderly said before he grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hall.

I swallowed thickly, wondering what happened to Gonzo. He said he'd come by today, after sneaking out to talk to Doctor Stein last night. I expected him in the morning but he'd been nowhere—not at breakfast, not in the halls, and not in therapy. It was almost dinner time and he was still missing.

That did not help my nerves.

"Can't we do this tomorrow!" I blurted out, starting to fight against the orderly. I looked up at him and considered the best way to take him down. Eye gouging would be visceral and fun.

He gripped my wrist tighter and I winced. He had my bad arm. All I could do was hurry up beside him. Still, he gave a short tug to show he meant business and a cry broke from my lips before I could stop it.

We turned into an office. Zero stood there, looking at where the orderly gripped my arm a little too tightly. His brown eyes blazed with anger before it bled away to apathy in the blink of an eye. The orderly froze. Sweat trailed from his hairline into his eyes and he winced before dropping my arm and wiping his brow.

"Doctor Stein?" He asked tentatively. "Are you feeling… okay?"

"I'm not feeling at all. You can go."

The orderly nodded and left in a rush. Great, even the prison guards broke out in a sweat from this man. My attention lingered on the closed door before I turned back to the office.

Zero stared at me as if bored, but his attention stretched longer and longer. I swallowed thickly. There was an examination chair attached to the ground behind him—like a dentist's chair, including the floor pump used to make the chair lay flat or sit up.

Uncle Vernon and I had something similar at his house. I stared at the reclined chair. It looked insidious. I knew that when I put someone in a chair like that, it wasn't for anything but torture. Zero was still watching me.

His black doctor's coat was tight and his leather shoes were perfectly polished. His eyes were half-lidded and his full lips were in a perpetual state of apathy.

All the brief conversations I'd had about him rose up, making goosebumps trail up my neck and arms.

"The doctor is not a man."

"Don't let the doctor strap you to his chair…"

"I think you might finally be the thing that he finds entertaining."

"Are you thinking of running?" Zero asked, finally breaking the silence. I didn't want to leave the safety of the wall—the door was just in reach and my back was covered. It was just him and me now—all alone in the basement behind a closed door. What terrible things did he want to do to me?

"If you're thinking of running, you'll be dragged back," he commented apathetically. I think my luck ran dry the moment I woke up in Verfallen.

The doctor's eyes dragged down my body, cataloging with an intensity that made me feel flayed open already.

I wasn't dumb. I knew it would end up with me torn to pieces. This man of science would gut me open and shove his hands elbow-deep in my body, touching every part meant to be left alone. I could almost feel his long fingers inside me already—stretching and squeezing.

My hands balled into fists. This task of killing Baz was becoming a nightmare. I shuffled forward and sat in the chair, resigned to my fate. Zero lifted the leather straps.

"That won't be necessary," I hissed quickly, my fingers gripping the chair. A stray strand of brown hair fell from his low ponytail and into his eyes.

"I assure you, it is." His fingers were cold as they brushed my wrists, working to get the straps secured tightly. He lingered where the guard had grabbed me, gently running his hand over the green veining. His eyes slid up to mine, holding me hostage as he continued strapping me in—wrists, arms, ankles.

His leather coat brushed my skin as he stood up tall, looming beside me.

"Are you a vampire?" I asked—wondering if he was hypnotizing me. Zero ignored my question as he sat down on the stool and examined the metal tray.

"I've been waiting a very long time for you." Zero plucked a pair of latex gloves up and began working his hands inside them, one long finger at a time. He gave small snaps to the material, and I flinched each time. The anticipation was causing my nerves to fray and split.

"You've been waiting for a phoenix," I said.

"No," he responded, twisting to face me. I wished he'd look somewhere else, anywhere else. His attention was unnerving. I moved my arms, testing the restraints. My heart rate picked up when I felt them hold. He didn't react at all to my growing panic—clearly, he was used to this reaction.

"I was waiting for you , Hazel Fury. I first learned of phoenix in nineteen-sixteen." Now that his gloves were snapped on straight he slowly wheeled his stool closer. It gave a small squeal. My eyes darted around the room but I couldn't see any other ways to escape than the door I'd come in from.

I felt the brush of his knee against my thigh as he leaned over me. He flicked on a bright light right above me, half-blinding me. I felt small and powerless all of a sudden. Panic began to bleed into my veins.

He'd wanted me specifically. But why?

"A lot of people consider phoenix to be a myth or an exaggeration. Immortality is a hard thing for people to accept." The light behind him made it hard to see his face. Something clicked and then a penlight was shining into one of my eyes and then the other. I could see his glasses behind the small light, a murky shadow looming in front of me.

"But you aren't an exaggeration." He clicked the pen light off. Orange blotches bloomed in my vision.

"I can die," I whispered, trying to bite back the anxiety rising up in my words.

"Yes, by a basilisk. Basil Fury…" he commented. "The only person here I personally retrieved. Did you know that your parents had arranged for me to meet him and bring him here? They insisted I come specifically."

I squeezed my eyes shut as his words soaked in. They'd planned to get rid of my brother.

"Open your mouth," he said.

"You're implying that our parents wanted him… locked away when he was a child," I said. Stein pressed two fingers between my lips and forced them open. I sucked in a sharp breath as latex-covered fingers invaded, feeling hard in my soft mouth.

"It's easier if you do what I ask, Miss Fury." His fingers pressed down on my tongue, trapping it. My hands turned into fists as my legs squirmed.

"I'm not implying, I'm stating it clearly. They wanted him locked up." He stood up and his thighs pressed against my trapped arm. His fingers were in my mouth, running over my gums—back and forth. My face felt hot.

I tried to ask him to tell me more about what happened with Baz and my parents, but instead drooling mumbles came out. Stein pulled a handkerchief from his jacket pocket and pressed it around my lips, cleaning me up while knuckle deep in my mouth.

"Your parents wanted Baz where he couldn't hurt innocent people. Unfortunately, I arrived a little too late for them. It took a while for the council to approve my departure from Verfallen. They like for me to always be on site." The council … he meant Supra.

The pads of his fingers dragged across the shape of my teeth as he talked. My breathing picked up and my fists twisted in the wrist restraints. I wasn't used to being touched. My life was death and abstinence. On top of that, doctors weren't something phoenix bothered with.

Needless to say, I wasn't handling his fingers in my mouth very well. My gums tingled and a weight was growing low in my stomach.

"Baz had been in the house with their bodies for who knows how long. Maybe days. It's hard to tell because his venom has preservation qualities. I don't think he'd left their side since the unfortunate accident."

I didn't want to hear what he was saying. Accident ? That wasn't right. He murdered them—probably because they were sending him here. They were locking him away in the worst place on Earth for a child.

Stop it , I hissed. Don't take his side in this. It didn't matter if he had a reason, even a good one. It wouldn't change anything.

"A basilisk is intriguing and the council was interested in obtaining that power. However, I was after something else." Zero's long fingers slid down my tongue slowly, passing my molars. My eyes watered and an involuntary whimper came out.

The doctor pulled his hand out of my mouth and patted my tears dry. My face burned. Was this always how doctor visits went?

"I knew, without a doubt, that if I had Baz one day I'd have you," Zero said. Everything in my body tensed up. "You took longer than I expected," he went on.

"How could you know that I'd come?" I whispered. His attention slowly trailed over my chest and hips. I squirmed beneath him. All the hair on my arms rose up.

"What do you plan to do to me?" I asked.

"What don't I plan to do?" He responded. I swallowed thickly. "You're scared. I suppose that's expected."

"Shit," I hissed. The man treated emotions like he treated a wound. Ah yes, they do bleed—how annoying.

"An immortal being, truly immortal. I've planned for you to end up in my hands for your entire life."

"I don't think I want to be part of this anymore," I said, struggling in the restraints. Where had the orderly gone? Was anyone else coming?

"If you really want to leave, go ahead. Walk away from Verfallen," he said. I glared at him, knowing I couldn't leave. I had to be here. The doctor leaned over me, pressing the back of his hand against my cheek almost tenderly. Except there was nothing tender in his eyes.

"You're very warm. I'll need to take some internal temperature readings." That sounded far less innocent than a thermometer in the mouth.

"Dammit," I whined, thrashing beneath him. All he did was brush my hair from my face and ignore my fit.

"I'm going to kill you, Hazel. Just for a moment." His words in no way should be exciting me… but they were.

"What?" I wheezed. I felt a keen sense of hopelessness—strapped down and worked up. There was nothing I could do. I was his to do with what he pleased and what he wanted was to murder me.

The loss of complete control felt relaxing but also terrifying. If there was no fight to hide behind, there'd be no concealing how an intimate murder affected me. Equal parts excitement and concern swam inside me. All his little touches had my skin breathing and a strange weight low in my belly.

"I'm going to kill you," he repeated. One of his hands trailed up my arm, leaving a trail of tingling skin, before settling on my neck. His light touch turned into a steel band. My body gave a shocked thrash as he gripped my throat without mercy. My mouth opened but no sound came out.

His intent was unquestionable, this man wanted to kill me. He was killing me.

My thighs pressed together. I squirmed as best as I could while restrained beneath leather straps and his vicious grip. I was lightheaded, and my neck tingled and throbbed.

His gaze traveled over my parted lips and the tears streaming from my eyes. Pleasure built deep inside me as I felt the determination of his grip.

"Do you like me killing you, Hazel?" He asked. My embarrassment was the worst part of this. He was fully capable of seeing I was turned on. I thrashed, using whatever energy I had left. Suddenly, I broke out of one arm restraint.

I gripped the straps of his doctor's jacket, tugging him closer. His body fell on top of mine, blanketing it.

The edges of my vision were going dim. Not once had he loosened his grip or lost his determination. The pleasure kept growing the longer he choked me. He felt powerful and unwavering and I felt anything but.

"It's a delight knowing you're finally mine," he whispered closely. My fingers gripped the straps of his jacket tighter. "And it's a pleasure killing you, Hazel Fury."

It was too sensual even if it shouldn't be. I felt completely at his whim, his weight on top of me, and his heavy breath close to my face. It was the closest thing to sex I'd ever experienced.

My body wanted to grind against the man murdering me, make my pleasure grow faster, but it was too late for that. My hand fell away from his coat as I lost all my strength.

Zero's mouth was close to mine. I remembered the dream and felt like I was back there. The lack of oxygen to my brain was making things hazy. He nearly kissed me in that dream. Maybe I was addicted to kisses now, having tasted how divine they could be with Gonzo.

My lips pressed against his. Zero sucked in a sharp breath and his hand tightened. With the last of my consciousness, bliss washed over me. If I had any breath, I would have moaned against his mouth. The orgasm was brief but burned with power. I could feel nothing else until death finally greeted me.