Nico looked at the light with dull eyes. His mouth was tilted downward in a permanent frown, lips slightly ajar, and his ebony hair hung in his face. His chest heaved as he fought for breath, as he clung to life.
"This one's more resilient than the rest," the cool, unfamiliar voice said. He sounded vaguely disappointed. Nico strained to hear the other man's reply: "He's been given the serum. He's taken it better than I thought he would, to be completely honest."
Nico squeezed his eyes shut, and attempted to steady his breathing. He was tense with fear, but his expression was emotionless, cold. He tried to ignore the needle that was poked into his arm, and the foreign liquid that was injected into his bloodstream.
The a few seconds of silence. There was no sound, but that only unnerved him even more. The Scientists stepped back, and they seemed to be holding their breaths. Nico waited. He counted about twenty heartbeats.
He bit back a scream as his blood started to grow hot, a searing pain, like he'd held a handful of snow for too long and his senses were overwhelmed. A few tears slipped out of his eyes, but he refused to give into the pain.
That's what Bianca had done. She had thrashed and scratched at her restraints. She had cried and screamed and they had let Nico watch as she went limp, and was carried away. And now Nico was alone again.
"You see, William," a man's voice said in a disgusted tone, "this is a what a siren looks like." Nico nearly flinched at the words. The word that he was labeled. The word that had been spat at him countless times.
Nico glanced up slightly through his dark hair. The tall blond scientist--Lester, was it--had a little boy by his side this time. The boy had golden hair, blue eyes, tan skin, and a river of scattered freckles on his face. He looked horrified.
Nico looked down again. The boy was probably revolted by his appearance. He had bags under his eyes, unhealthy pale skin, and dark hair and blank, obsidian-colored eyes. He was exactly the picture of what anyone would think a siren would look like.
Sirens were creatures that looked human in appearance, but their teeth were sharper, their eyesight was sharper, and their voices were meant to lure people into the woods or the sea, and kill them where they couldn't reach help.
Nico knew what he was. He knew what his sister was. But despite being constantly referred to as a monster, he felt human. Sometimes, he'd think he was back in the forest with his mother and sister--until he woke up.
He was jolted from his thoughts by a voice by his ear. "Are you okay?" A boy's voice breathed. Nico's head snapped up to see the blond boy undoing his bonds.
Nico bit back a sarcastic comment and shook his head. Swallowing his pride, he spoke three words: "Feel like crap." He clipped off each word, wincing in pain. He hadn't used his voice in so long he was afraid there were cobwebs in his throat.
The boy's eyes met his. The first thing Nico thought was: wow. His eyes are really blue. And then he thought to himself, wait what.
The boy's eyebrows knit together with worry. His eyes swam with different emotions: fear, sadness, and concern. "Dad doesn't want me down here. You need to leave."
Nico rubbed his hands, now unbound and sore. He opened his mouth to say something--anything. Thank you? A blow to his pride. See you later? Probably not. Can we be friends? Nope. "My name's Nico!" He blurted before he could stop himself.
The boy--William--smiled. "My name's Will."
Nico turned in surprise as he heard heavy footsteps echoing throughout the hall. Too late.
His smile dissolved quickly. "But...you have to go. Preferably now."
