In White Robes

Chapter 10 - Through Blood and Bone

With the last day of tension behind me, I was able to move on without a doubt in my mind. Things in our room, for me at least, had gotten better. Less dark.

I'd slept peacefully that night, Tabby cuddled in my arms because he claimed he "couldn't sleep alone." Avery wasn't so happy about that. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he stayed up all night, watching the two of us sleep together from his side of the room. Completely unable to do anything about it.

But surely he wouldn't go to that length for me. Surely . . .

I awoke the next day to the sound of voices clamoring in the room. About two or three. One of them belonged to Avery, another belonged to Tabby, and the third . . .

Cold. Emotionless. Calm.

Koko.

"Give him some more time!" I heard Avery shout. The noise caused me to jolt, bolting forward into an upward position. Tabby was no longer in my arms, but rather in the middle of the room, standing face-to-face with the gray feline.

"If you want him, you'll have to get past me, little pussycat." Tabby's voice was that same dull depth as before, when he threatened me.

Quickly I realized what kind of danger he was in. I remembered Koko's strength, how easily he took me into the air and threw me down so hard that I passed out in the Devil's office.

I didn't want the same to happen to Tabby, so I hopped up from the safety of the sheets and screamed to him, "Get away from him! He's—"

Then I froze.

Avery stopped yelling.

The room fell completely quiet.

There was Tabby, splayed out on the ground, nose against the floor, blood pooling out from beneath it. I hadn't even seen Koko do anything. Didn't hear anything. It just . . . happened. Tabby was downed in the blink of an eye. And Koko was now wiping his hands off.

I couldn't help but wonder if Koko had been holding back when I was the one receiving punishment. What power really laid inside his veins?

"I told him not to intervene," said Koko, stepping over Tabby's body and toward me. Wait. Was he dead? From here I couldn't tell if Tabby was breathing or not. I could only see the blood. The dark, thick ocean of blood staining the white tiles.

I didn't even act or say anything. I couldn't find the words or the courage to move. Especially not against Koko. Whatever sheer strength resided in him, it was nothing to play around with.

Slowly I pointed to Tabby's slumped body. "Is he . . ."

"I did not kill him," Koko said instantly, a bite in his tone. "I only silenced him. Now, follow me." His hand reached out for me, gesturing for me to take it. And I didn't.

"You killed him," I said.

Koko rolled his eyes, turned toward Tabby's body and gave it a hard kick. Tabby rolled over onto his back, audibly groaning. Thank God.

"See? Are you satisfied now?" Koko grabbed my hand roughly and led me through the open door, out into the hallway. The door shut behind us, he locked it, and then we started down the hall.

But I didn't stop thinking about what he just did.

****

Deeper into the facility we went, disappearing into a quarter of the building I'd never seen before. The walls here were dark, as gray as a thundercloud. Soon the hallway narrowed into a tight walkway, the numbers of doors on each side thinning to none.

"What is this place?" I asked. But he did not respond, only continued guiding me through this corridor. There was nothing more to look at besides the darkness of the walls and Koko and the singular door waiting ahead.

"Your test begins now," he said as we approached this new door. It was like all the others. Metal, bolted, featuring a few locks to keep the subjects contained. But when we went in, my eyes flashed with fear.

At the middle of the room, there was both an operating table and a black leather chair. Above it a wide light was installed. It felt like I'd been brought to the dentist.

Then I looked closer at the chair. It wasn't any normal chair—on both arms there were large velcro straps, restraints, as though its purpose was not to bring comfort, but to bind. Another small cage in this labyrinth of cages.

"Sit down," said Koko as he went to the back of the room to retrieve a pair of elastic gloves. I listened to him, getting myself into the chair and waiting to be strapped to it.

What was going to happen here?

The possibilities were endless. Perhaps I was getting surgery. Maybe I would learn of this place's true cruelty and they would sever my arms. Maybe they were going to poison me. Kill me right here and now.

That.

That had to be it.

Koko didn't like me, I knew that for sure, and after all it was just me and him in this room. Alone. No one else to witness my death. That just had to be the answer. Koko was going to kill over a personal grudge. I'd disrespected the Devil headmaster; this was my payment.

He came over to the chair, holding my arms in place as he set the restraints onto me.

"What's going to happen? What are you doing to me?" The questions flooded from my mind. Still I got no answer.

"You will try to escape." That was all he told me before he looked to the operating table, grabbed a syringe full of bubbling green liquid, and gave it a little push. Some of the liquid came squirting out, dotting the table. Then he looked at me again, satisfied with his preparation.

The needle was all I could see in this moment.

A thin, sharp piece of metal, ready to inject me with whatever poison he had in-hand.

It graced my skin, like Koko was toying with me. I bit my lip, waiting for the punch. Waiting for the poison to come in contact with my blood and kill me right there.

I shut my eyes.

And the needle was all I could remember in that instant before it slipped into my flesh and I became wild with sudden fury.