Kill Me, My Love

Chapter 16

"The Room"

Waking up, Lina didn't understand where she was. She saw a snow-white blanket. In her old room, it had been gray, not snow-white.

She sat up so abruptly that she almost lost consciousness again. Her head was spinning, and her stomach twisted with waves of nausea. “Where am I?” – the first thought flashed through her mind. With wide-open eyes and straining to listen to every rustle, the girl looked around.

She was lying on a narrow bed in a metal room that reSambled a sterile box. Sama wasn't here. Neither was Natan. Where are they? What happened to them? Why is it so quiet? Why does everything smell of bleach?

A small toilet was attached to the opposite wall, and there was also a door. Heavy, solid doors, without a handle or a keyhole, with a small window barred with grates.

Lina thought it was night now, though she wasn't sure about that. Two lamps were burning under the ceiling, and her internal clock had lost all possible references. The first desire that arose within her was an instinctive fear of escape. To find an exit, some kind of weapon to protect herself. But the drug that had been injected was still working. The girl tried to get up, but her legs were so wobbly that she simply collapsed onto the floor.

She lay motionless for a few minutes. She understood that this was not an order. There were no such rooms in the estate, and what sense would there be in isolating her again? But then who did this? And for what purpose?

Ultimately, Lina gathered her courage, began to crawl, and then slowly, like some addict in withdrawal, stood up on her trembling legs. She approached the door and pressed her nose against the cold surface. She knew that out there, the world was still moving. The sun was setting over the ocean, splashing orange hues on the water; raindrops were tearing the clouds apart; leaves trembled in the gusty wind; people hurried, were late, made love, cried, were born and died. They didn’t even notice how happy they were in this relentless whirl of life. They were free, unlike her.

Many textbooks mentioned that the world was dying. The ozone layer was thinning, fresh water was becoming scarce, glaciers were melting. The girl understood how nasty and vile this world was, but still, pressed against the cold metal, she wanted to return to it. She took a few deep breaths and, rising on her tiptoes, peeked through the window.

A snow-white corridor, and equally snow-white doors opposite her. She scanned the ceiling and the floor with her gaze, trying to find at least some clue as to where she was. But there were no clues. No clock, no windows, no signs of life. Lina had no idea how far she was from the place where Samael's car had stopped. And she had no idea how much time she had spent unconscious. Hours, days, or weeks.

Eventually, she gave up. Her head felt like it was being crushed in a vice, so the girl barely made it back to the bed and curled up in the corner, staring at the door. Sooner or later, they would open. Sooner or later...

It felt like she sat that way for many hours. Crouched like a cornered beast, she was terribly cold and occasionally felt a chill run through her. She was scared. For the first time in her life, truly scared. For herself, for Sama, and Natan. What happened to her guides? Maybe they were somewhere in neighboring rooms. Or maybe they were left in the woods since men were immortal, and killing them was impossible. If that's the case, they should be looking for her by now. Calling the police or her parents. Isn’t that how it works when someone is abducted? Someone calls somewhere, and then a lot of people in specialized uniforms show up, with leashed dogs.

All the books with similar themes she'd read flashed through her mind. Detectives would have already combed the crime scene a hundred times, finding some clues. Maybe a used syringe or someone’s name tag. They wouldn’t waste any time! They would input the found evidence into a database and eventually find this place and her in it. But those were just silly fantasies. Most likely, no one was looking for the girl, as they probably didn’t suspect her abduction.

Minutes passed, and loneliness tightly wrapped around the girl's stiffening body. Now she regretted most that she had gotten so angry at Sama by the fire. What was she expecting? That he would say the guide's purpose was to take care of her? Or that he would provide comfortable conditions so that her last days of life would seem like paradise... Naive, foolish Lina. She had convinced herself that she was worthy of love, that she, like Cinderella, had suffered enough and now deserved a happy ending with her prince. But she was not Cinderella, Sama was not a prince, and their lives were far from a fairy tale.

From sitting in one position for so long, the girl's legs became numb. It was time to get up and inspect the room. The cold, solid walls had no cracks, as if they were chiseled from a solid piece of granite. It was clear that everything here was thought out to the smallest detail. No springs in the bed, only two soft foam mattresses on a rigid frame. Feeling along the edges of the door in search of hinges or something that could be unscrewed, she found nothing. Then she pressed her ear to the floor, listening to what was happening downstairs. Maybe she could overhear someone’s footsteps or even conversations. However, another failure awaited her. Only deafening silence responded.

Lina had no way to protect herself and no way to get out of here. She needed to prepare for the worst, but thoughts of it made her panic and go insane.

Eventually, she realized that she was trembling again like an aspen leaf. She took a few deep breaths and tried to focus on the facts. To be afraid of death was pointless and even funny. After all, the body is immortal, though vulnerable. Besides, by keeping her in isolation, these creatures were only making things worse for themselves. Because if the girl didn’t complete the mission, she would simply obliterate this world into tiny pieces.

But Lina hadn’t had time to relax and calm down, when she heard the sounds of footsteps echoing down the corridor. Then a bunch of keys jingled, and she heard some mechanical beep as if someone was entering a code, and the door slowly opened. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

The man was dressed in a white coat, white pants, and white shoes. He had wavy chestnut hair, stylish glasses, and two moles near his thin lips. His face showed no emotions, neither sympathy nor interest. Lina observed him carefully. Indifferent brown eyes, an ordinary pleasant appearance of a middle-aged man. At first glance, this was not someone one would notice, let alone remember.

He froze in the doorway, curiously looking at the girl, then took a notebook and a pen from his coat pocket and began to write something down.

– I’m glad you woke up! Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known what dosage would affect you.

He began to walk toward her. So Lina backed away to the farthest corner, behind the bed, and curled up, pressing her back against it.

He stopped abruptly.

– Are you afraid of me?

– Where am I, and what do you want from me?

– For now, nothing, just to find out some indicators, perhaps to chat a bit. How are you feeling? Is your head spinning? Have you felt nauseous? Any diarrhea? Rashes?

Lina shook her head in denial. Like hell she would tell this guy how she was feeling.

– Any nasal discharge? Unpleasant odor from your mouth?

– Listen, sir, I’m not going to tell you anything until you answer my questions! – Lina snapped, shooting a glare at the man from under her brow.

– Unfortunately, I am not authorized to disclose any information to you. My function is to ensure you feel good and don’t experience any side effects from the injection. So, I recommend you think carefully and tell me how you feel.

– How can a person feel when they have been attacked and locked away in an isolated place? You have no idea what danger you're putting yourself and the whole world in!

The man sighed heavily and sat on the bed, setting his notebook aside.

– It's not at all what you think. We want to protect you.

– You can't kidnap people and take them who knows where. That’s a crime!

He smiled.

– I hate to state the obvious, but it seems I'll have to. Listen, I’m about to lift the curtain of secrecy for you. We are in a secret base created specifically for you. Hundreds of people have taken care of everything down to the smallest details, so you will be in absolute safety here.

– Are you mocking me? – I screeched. – What security are you talking about? I am the creature that will soon obliterate this world to pieces. How can you talk about safety when you should be facilitating my destruction instead!

The man slowly shook his head.

– I don’t like it when women use vulgar words... You don’t understand anything, foolish girl. It’s not my job to explain everything to you; when the time comes, you’ll get the answers to your questions. For now, just accept that you’re here and that we will take care of you. Would you allow me to check your temperature?

Lina shook her head in denial. Her brain was simply boiling with outrage and various theories about what was happening.

– Alright, if you get hungry or thirsty, just knock on the door. There will always be orderlies and guards waiting for you behind it to help you with everything.

He got up from the bed, took the notebook and pen, and, without saying goodbye, left through the door. The sensors beeped again, locks ground, and the girl was left alone, even more troubled than before.