Ephemeral

Monster

I sat in the dark study, leaning my arms on the desk in front of me. The flickering of images on the laptop screen lit up the room, since it was the only light source inside of it, I was only paying half attention. 

Everything seemed so gray lately. 

I had a hard time seeing in colors. 

The motivation to do anything – including the forced schoolwork from Xavier seemed meaningless. It seems like nothing that I did seemed to...matter.

I was still here – I was still in the mansion; nothing had changed. The only thing that had were a few more additional injuries to my body. I just didn't know when to stop. I didn't know when to submit and succumb to defeat.

It had been a few days since Jack, Ryan, Sean, and Hunter were all sent home, though I was skeptical and just how easily Aidan had relented to my demands. I had thought that he would have killed them just to prove a message to me. 

Instead, they were happily reunited with their families back in their home state of Maine...or, at least that's what I was told.

But, I doubted that Aidan told me the truth – why would he chance his operation of being blown? 

Why send the four of them back home in one piece, unscathed, and while they had the possibility to blather about what was really happening across the United States?

I wouldn't have done that – I wouldn't have allowed them the chance to talk.

"Vienna?" Came a knocking at the door. I didn't bother to move from my spot. Instead, I was looking somewhere between the laptop screen and the corner of the adjacent wall. There was a large bookcase, but with no books on it.

The door slowly opened. "How are you doing?" I heard Dominic's familiar voice. I continued to stare. There wasn't a use in moving. My actions weren't at all impactful. Aidan would still torture his product. 

I would still be here no matter what else I did. I couldn't be saved unless the government came for me – and that wouldn't happen since...

I was legally dead.

"Aidan sent me here to check on your injuries today."

Dominic walked into the room. I kept staring mindlessly at my spot, his words registering in my brain. I blinked, gathering my thoughts as they darted to the ground. Dominic slowly walked in, now standing a few steps inside of the room. 

"Why are you such a monster, Dominic?" I asked, suddenly bringing my eyes up to look at him. He looked at me. For the first time, I honestly saw the late twenty year to early thirty year old as inhuman. "You shoot at kids. You enjoy it..." I leaned my elbow on the desk, positioning my body forward. "I thought that you were at least sort of alright."

"Vienna, this is my job."

"You're going to tell me that it's just business?" I snapped over at him, closing out of the lecture video by slamming the top of the laptop down. I stood up from my chair and glared. "You're the same as him. You're the same as all of them. Ryan and Sean were brothers. They have a family. Hunter and Jack also have a family. People who love and care for them. People who want them home for holidays..."

Dominic remained silent. 

"You know what really happened to them, don't you?" I asked, looking at him. The man seemed taken aback by my question. "No one leaves here in one piece. I know that Aidan didn't send them home," he didn't move. 

I knew something was wrong. 

"Where are they? What the hell did you do to all of them??" The man remained silent, but he he did choose this chance to look away from me.