Morph: Book One

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"Come." Elik said while holding the transport door open for us to exit. Ezic stepped out first before offering his hand to me. I immediately grasped his hand and squeezed it reassuringly as I exited the transport. Ezic looked down at me with a tiny glint in his eye before returning the gesture. He didn't release my hand like I thought he would; instead, he held it in his, even as we walked into The Defense Headquarters. Elik eyed us both intently, studying the intimate gesture that occurred between the two of us. I could feel my cheeks heat, but I ignored Eliks' calculating stare.

"Please this way." Elik stated, guiding us through the compound quickly, his men following close behind us.

"What's with the entourage?" I mutter quietly to Ezic. I watched as he glanced behind us at the large group of men who started tailing us when we exited the transport.

"There was an assassination attempt made on one of the most important people known to Zorr." Elik stopped before us and turned around to face me before continuing. "It is our job to prevent chaos from taking over. Had The Krispar Chief in Command, Q'halezic, been killed it would cause a worldwide uproar." Elik's eyes narrowly studied me.

"It's our job to protect the balance." Elik's eyes held something calculated in them. It looked like something close to suspicion.

"Thank you for explaining." I say genuinely. I hadn't noticed how much power The Krispar Division held. It was odd to think about Ezic in that way, an overlord of sorts. Elik nodded curtly before spinning on his heels and leading us deeper into the building.

Eventually, we came to two doors with symbols on them. I recognized them as numerical in design; however, I had yet to learn their exact meaning. Elik stopped in front of us, both doors on either side of him. He turned slightly to look over at Ezic.

"Please, Chief Q'halezic enter door number three and wait for me to come for you." Elik's eyes darted to me, and motioned me forward to a door at his left.

"Ryn, please follow me." I felt Ezics's hand tighten around mine, and I snapped my gaze to his. He was looking at Elik, his eyes filled with uncertain anger.

"You never said we would be separated." Ezic said roughly, glaring at Elik.

"It is necessary to eliminate all possible threats to your life, she will only be questioned. No harm will come to her. I swear it." Elik said, throwing his hand to his heart and bowing slightly in reassurance. Only then did Ezic release my hand, although hesitantly. I offered Ezic a reassuring smile before facing Elik and following him into the room.

"Please sit." Elik threw his hand toward a metal table and chair, closing the door behind us. I couldn't stop the chills from erupting at the similarities they had to the table and chair I had been restrained to during the experiments. The chair was thick and had small clasps on the arms where one could be restrained. I hesitated, which caught the watchful eye of Elik.

"Is something the matter." Elik asked tentatively, studying my every move. Finally, I broke my gaze away from the chair and cast it towards the large mirror that faced us. I didn't need to look at it to know that It wasn't just any ordinary mirror. My breathing became labored as I studied the plain white walls dissociatively, panic planting itself deep into my gut. It took everything in me to walk over to the table, pull out the chair and sit in it. I felt my nails scrape against the metal, causing a shiver to run through me. I grit my teeth in discomfort as I force myself to relax.

Elik stood and walked over to the front of the mirror before leaning against it slightly, studying me. "You look uncomfortable." He stated, observing my tense nature. I only nodded, unable to form words as I tried to suppress my panic.

"Would you like the door to be open?" Elik asks, and I snap my head in his direction, making eye contact for the first time since we entered the room.

"Please?" I ask over-enthusiastically. He hummed lightly before returning to the door and slightly cracking it open.

"You are safe here." Elik said quietly. I felt my eyebrows draw down in confusion at his sudden statement. Elik caught my facial expression through the mirror and continued. "I know what you endured in the experiments. The council and I are working together in this case and they briefed me on some details." I felt myself relax a little at the knowledge, but I couldn't ignore the slight prick of annoyance that flooded me. I was irritated with the council for telling someone such sensitive information.

"Now, tell me. What is your relationship with Chief Q'halezic." Elik asked, returning to his place in front of the mirror. I raised one of my eyebrows at him in question. Was this necessary information?

"It's just to gauge why you were where you were..." Elik followed up quickly. I offer a small uneasy smile and release the death grip that I had on the arms of the chair, flexing the tense muscles anxiously.

"He is my guardian--!"

"You only see him as your guardian?" Elik asks with an unimpressed look on his face.

"Im not sure of our relationship. Does it matter?" I asked, and I saw Elik's face darken and his body tense as he strode to the table. I instinctively reared back in reflex. Elik saw this and slowed his advance.

"You need to answer me honestly and precisely. Lives are at risk." I stared up at him widely. Then, without any rhyme or reason, I heard an audible 'tik' sound in my mind and felt my body relax automatically, and my mind became clearer.

"I...like him a lot." I mutter embarrassingly under my breath. I stared at my reflection in confusion, not grasping what had just happened to me. I had physically gone from a nervous mess to one of calm in a split second. I recognized that it happened in certain situations. However, this was the first time I was in tune with myself enough to witness it in great detail. I cast the obscurity aside and quickly focused on the conversation.

"What were you doing at Q'halezics' living quarters that evening?"

"I heard commotion late at night and I investigated it." Elik stared at me intensely, attempting to distinguish if I was lying.

"Were you awoken?"

"No." I say plainly, and Elik narrows his eyes.

"You said you heard commotion late last night, yet you hadn't been awoken by it?" I shook my head, automatically assuming where he was headed with this.

"I can't sleep most nights."

"Why is that?" Elik asks. He slowly walked around the table to stand behind me, pausing briefly while waiting for my answer.

"I have bad dreams." I could hear an audible scoff from behind me. I felt my skin itch with anger. Clearly, he didn't think my answer was sufficient. "If you've done what I've done you wouldn't sleep either." I muttered under my breath darkly and dug my fingernails into the palm of my hand.

"Do I anger you so easily?" Elik asked in amusement, and I could feel my composure start to break.