The Protector

FIFTEEN

KYLER

A bright light strobed white and unforgiving somewhere in the basement of The Loft. A man lay curled on his side, screaming in agony, begging his soul not to leave his body as the light flashed again. This agony is what they wanted. They wanted him to forget about everything that mattered. They wanted him to forget about her. If he could make it through one more treatment without losing his mind, they'd be done for the day. He quickly learned their schedule over the past ninety-two days. They woke him up every morning at five thirty, as the three guards behind the glass changed shifts. They fed him a strategic protein packed breakfast to maintain his strength, and somewhere around seven they tortured him. First, the light therapy - ten sessions throughout the day, one per hour. Next, darkness immersion, family therapy, and for the grand finale, the cleansing of his sins. He shuddered at the thought of the cleansing, by far the worst part, as it prayed on his worst fear: drowning.

The light suddenly shut off and the slow melody played, signifying another session he survived. The man closed his honey Brown Eyes and focused on the concrete colored eyes that haunted his memories. His heart ached from the way she looked tonight in her black dress. She was so close to him her floral perfume still lingered in the stale air. The man grabbed onto the drainage pipes in the ceiling overhead and pulled himself up over and over again. He had to remain strong if he was ever going to have a chance of beating them, of overpowering his captors, the ones who once hid behind the false pretense of protecting others.

The heavy steel door suddenly slammed open and the man dropped from the ceiling silently, crouching on his hands and knees, like an animal awaiting its prey. His carmel eyes snapped up to meet a pair of gray eyes, eyes that were so much like hers, taunting him. He sprang up to rush the man, banking on every ounce of cunning, speed, and strength he possessed. It was more than every other Protector, but still not nearly enough for this adversary. The gray eyed man in the doorway smiled darkly as he calmly lifted his palm and slammed the charging man with the Brown Eyes against the wall, causing the wound on the back of his head to open again, staining the white wall burgundy.

"Kyler, Kyler, Kyler," the man taunted as he shook his head. "You're getting faster. I only wish you would harness your strength towards something more... productive," the man said, disapproval dripping from his voice.

"Killing you would be incredibly productive," Kyler growled, his voice thin and forced against the crushing pressure at his throat.

"Oh, Kyler. How do you think my beautiful daughter would feel if she knew you were threatening to kill her precious daddy?" President Andrews mocked, feigning surprise by the attack.

"You're an asshole, not a father," Kyler choked, struggling to break free from President Andrews' influence.

"Kyler, son, I would like to think after spending three months together we would have moved on past the childish games and name calling. Besides, after seeing your reaction to Perry earlier, and how you used that tricky little connection of yours to lure her down here, I thought you deserved a gift for your hard work," he said, his eyes shining brightly, thrilled with himself. Kyler struggled again, recalling the way he was pinned against the wall, unable to move or speak as Perry stood there, frantic and searching for him, calling out to him. He never had a chance with the control her father yielded over him, hiding Kyler beyond the veil. President Andrews suddenly dropped his hand causing Kyler to fall to his knees as he scanned a silver metallic wand against the edge of the double sided glass. Kyler slowly rose to his feet, watching in awe as the entire wall transformed into Perry. He saw her face, her voice, and her tears as she screamed within the purple walls of a bedroom.

"Enjoy the show," President Andrews chuckled, giving the guards beyond the wall a series of hand signals before slamming the steel door shut. The cell slowly filled with ice water, trickling down the walls and along the cement floor like the belly of a snake, but Kyler didn't notice. His eyes were glued to the screen, watching Perry as she paced. She looked different with her short, black hair and her haunted eyes. Shockingly, the brokenness in her eyes somehow made her even more stunning to him. She suddenly stopped pacing, fury filling her gray eyes.

"How dare you! You are nothing like my last Protector! He was incredible and made me feel alive," she screamed, pulling at her hair. Kyler flinched as the water rose past his muscular calves and touched the back of his knees. The man across from Perry recoiled as she slapped him. This is the same man from earlier tonight, the one in the expensive suit who gazed at her as if she walked on water. Suddenly, the man grabbed her face and kissed her full lips without abandon. Kyler waded across the room, the water now battling against him, rising above his chiseled stomach. Perry grabbed onto the man and kissed him back, their lips moving in unison. Kyler raged as he remembered those lips, ones he once worshiped as his own. The water rose above his nipples and he slammed his fist onto the glass over and over as hard as he could until a thin crack appeared over the man's cheek as he kissed his way down Perry's bare chest.

Kyler screamed, not from fear of drowning as the water rose above his shoulders, but from the despair that threatened to pull him under. After all these months, months he desperately fought to find his way back to her, Perry had given up on him. She never truly loved him, not in the same earth shattering way he loved her. Something in Kyler broke, cracking deeper than the crack in the mirror, fragmententing down into his core. Watching Perry make love to someone else, someone her father had chosen, made him mad with jealousy and anger. He closed his eyes as the water finally covered his nose and mouth, giving into the darkness, getting lost within the new crack that had formed inside of himself.