The vial fell to the floor, the green liquid inside spilling on the hard linoleum.
Sarah lunged at it, clutching the broken glass in her hands. "No!" she cried. "No, no, no." Her eyes were wide as she stared down at her work, lying crushed on the floor of the lab. She glanced up at the man, looming above her.
"Yes," he said. "Do you see now? This is what happens when you betray us. When you lie, and cheat, and threaten everything we worked so hard to build."
Sarah's mouth turned into a hard line, a grimace as he regarded her.
"You son of a bitch," she spat at him. "I worked so hard on this project, and smashing my only progress is what you give me for it?"
He grinned, looking amused at her anger. "This is what I told them would happen...When little children get too attached." She shook her head, willing herself not to cry. I will not shed a single tear in front of them, Sarah thought. She glanced around the room, at those she had considered her friends. White lab coats dotted the room, their owners staring at her, still holding the broken glass. She couldn't tear her eyes off Daniel, the only one she had ever really thought she could count on. His eyes were red, and wide. She noticed the steaming cup in his shaking hand. So as to not draw attention to him, she looked away, even though she felt her eyes could say more to him that her words.
The old mans long coat spilled to the floor in pools of fabric, draping his entire body in a parchment coloured robe. His hood was pulled up over his head, ending so low that even she, kneeling right in front of him, could not see his face. She stood up, letting the glass fall to the floor, just as the rest of her life had. Looking only towards the door, she stalked past him, gripping the handle so hard her knuckles turned white.
His booming laugh sounded behind her, Sarah shook with frustration. The last thing she saw, before slamming the door in his face, was his pasty white hood lifting a little, as his shoulders bounced with sick laughter. He had a long scar running down the side of his face, starting back somewhere up underneath the fabric. It ran down his chin, mutilating the skin just below his jaw.
His dry lips were twisted into a cruel smile.
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