An Adventure Into Darkness

Science Experiment

Previously:

"You look oddly familiar dressed like that actually, I just cant put my finger on it." I say looking back at him, "its on the tip of my tongue.... Sherlock! You look like Sherlock Holmes, I read about him in my history text books as a kid." Khan stopped dead in his tracks and let out a shaky sigh, closing his eyes. "What?" I ask, placing my hand on his arm with a confused look.

"I haven't heard that name in a very long time."

***

I raise my eyebrow while letting a smile play across my face, "Um, well probably because he is dead...and super old." I said with a chuckle, patting Khan on the arm as I continue walking down the hallway. Khan continues to stand outside his bedroom door, motionless. "Khan? Come on im super hungry!" I whine, beckoning to start walking. He finally makes eye contact with me, tilting his head in that creepy yet attractive way that he does.

 "How old do you think I am, River?" He says quietly, his expression was cold, his eyes looked almost sad. I never see his eyes like that. I shuffle my feet around, the air in the room became tense and awkward rather than light like it was just moments ago. I clear my throat, ready to give my answer,

"Well, from what I can tell you look like you should be in your 30's, but your crew looked like that as well and they were hundreds of years old. I- I don't know Khan, why does that matter?" I mumble, tilting my head, mimicking his. He lets out a sigh as he steps closer to me slowly, causing me to tense up. 'River you have gotten too comfortable around him, hes a killer and you have gotten too damn comfortable with him.'  I think to myself, my body shuddering as Khan stands up to me at full height, giving me the same look he gave me the first day that we met when he threatened to kill me. I close my eyes tightly, scared to face him. 'What did I do? Where did I go wrong?'  It was like all the walls that I had torn down, he was putting back up again, becoming angry and emotionless. 

"River. If I look like I am in my 30's, but have obviously been frozen in a cryotube along with my crew, How old does that make me."  He hisses at me. I feel him reach for my chin to make me face him but I quickly step back, opening my eyes. 

"I don't know Khan! 300 years old maybe, why does it mater!? What is your deal?" I feel my face turning red as I look up to face him, half out of anger and half out of embarrassment from thinking that he could change. He looked as though he had something to tell me, but he just couldn't do it. He looks down at me once more with a glare that felt like a thousand knives,  he turns around and starts to walk back to his room. I stand there, speechless, watching him head to his room.

***

I look in the mirror, trying not to cry as I brush out my hair and remove the beautiful dress Khan had given me. I toss it on the bed and put on a black tank top and some black athletic shorts, wondering where it all went wrong. He had been in his room for hours now. I glance at the clock by my bed, 

9:00PM

I obviously hit a nerve of his, causing him to revert back to his former self, not caring about anyone. But at the same time, he seemed sad, he wanted to tell me something but It just wasn't clicking. Running my fingers through my hair I think about all the things I said, 'Sherlock, I said he resembled him. But Sherlock is dead, he died almost three hundre-' I inhale sharply, running out the door of my room into the cold, metal halls. I take of into a sprint, trying to navigate my way through the ship in search of Khan. I finally see the door that leads to his room, I continue my sprint, ready to confront Khan. "Door open!" I shout, about to collide with the metal door.

SWOOSH

I run into his room, panting as I come to a halt at the entrance. I see Khan looking out the window, still dressed in the outfit I picked with his hair curled. He tenses up as I slowly make my way over to him, scared to get to close. "Kh- um Sherlock?" I whisper, trying not to upset him. His shoulders fall as he lets out a sigh, turning around to face me. His eyes were red, like he had been crying, but his face was no longer cold or angry. 

"So it clicked then?" He mumbles, trying to avoid eye contact with me. I nod my head while taking a seat on his bed, I pat the bed, beckoning him to take a seat next to me. He reluctantly walks over with long strides, slowly sitting down with excellent posture. "I assume you have questions then." He says while waving his hands in the air the way he does when something annoys him. 

"Um...If you are willing to answer them, yes I do." I say, reaching to put my hand on his, then quickly putting my hand back on my lap thinking twice. His eyes follow my hand then look back to me, narrowing as he sighs. 

"Okay, what would you like to know?" He reluctantly states, running his hands through his curly hair. I straighten my posture, thinking about what I should ask.

"Well...How did you um... Ho-"

"How did I go from a famous detective to a murderous science experiment?" He states with no emotion at all. I nod my head slowly while avoiding eye contact, embarrassed about the question. He clears his throat, preparing to explain how everything went wrong.

"Its all very simple, I was bored, my brother told me he had an opportunity for me to help out with human enhancement, things went wrong. Now I am here." 

"Thats it? Thats your story?" I asks, hoping for more information. He nods, laying down on the bed, obviously done with my questions.

"Thats all that I really care to tell, the rest is um- 'painful to talk about', thats what people say isnt it?" He mumbles. "Goodnight then." he rolls over, his back facing me. I tense up, realizing I would have to eventually sleep and face my nightmares again. I play with the blanket on the bed, trying to do anything to avoid sleeping. "I was hinting that you should exit the room, and go to your own. In case you were unable to pick up on that." I hear Khan mumble with chuckle. 

"Oh ya, right." I whisper, scooting my way off the bed. Hoping that he would remember and offer me some form of comfort. I shuffle my way down the cold halls to my room, thinking about everything that had happened with Khan. 'Is he good, or is he bad? Did he shut me out because it was a painful topic or did I just think he actually cared about me?'  I open the door to my bedroom, preparing myself to face the nightmares.