The Rain (Book 3 - The Evolving)

Chapter 3 - Dents, les alarmes et les feux rouges

The door swung open again and Amelia marched inside along with another man. He was holding the tool box in his hands. Nate sighed and turned back around, lowering his head in defeat. He sniffled and pushed the tears aside, he could feel the pain and they hadn't even begun yet.

"You think I can't save the world because I'm a..." She walked around the table and sat across from him. She leant forward, digging her elbows into the metal and perching her head atop her clasped hands. She tilted her head to the side and looked back at him, sending him a teasing smile. "What did you call me? A monster?" She asked, a quiet giggle following her words.

Nate closed his eyes and let his head sway from side to side. He tried blocking out her words and her voice but it didn't work. He knew what was going to come and he didn't bother trying to fight it, there was nothing he could do.

"Did you know," She leant closer, Nate could feel it. He opened his eyes and lifted his head, only to be met with her beady pupils glaring back at him.

He looked hopeless. Broken. She took pride in this. She broke him. Only a few days ago was he so confident. Bags hung under his eyes and his cheeks were hollowed out. His lips were cracked and she could see his collar bone poking out from his blood and sweat-stained shirt.

He watched her as she continued. She lifted a hand and gave the man behind Nate a signal to continue. He closed his eyes for a moment and let go of all his hope. "Did you know that out of the entire body, even if water hits your foot or your palm, your teeth are the first to disintegrate?"

Nate's eyes widened, his mouth fell open at her words. He watched as her lips turned up into a sick smile. She knew that he knew. He sat up, his spine digging into the metal of the chair. He looked down to his right hand. His entire pinkie and half his ring finger gone.

"You know, we once had someone here," She sat back in her seat and crossed her legs as if she was about to tell a story to a child, "who's teeth were last to burn. Even after all his flesh was gone, his teeth were still...burning." She chuckled and uncrossed her legs, leaning back across the table so her face was inches from his. Her ice cold breath chilled his entire body. Her claw-like fingernails clicked off the metal table.

"We thought he was the one," She chuckled humourlessly, shaking her head at her own words. "He wasn't." She pursed her lips in disappointment and sniffed all the emotion away. Nate gulped as she spoke, grinding his teeth together. "I guess the question here is, how long will it take for your teeth to burn?" She asked rhetorically, pushing herself upright and laughing to herself.

Nate opened his mouth to yell but was silenced when a hand gripped his jaw, holding it open. He yelled but it came out as a gargle. He shook in his restraints, feeling his whole arm burn.

She stopped in front of the door. Nate's head was turned to the side so he had no choice but to stare at her. He saw the pliers in the man's hand nearing his mouth. He let out another yell but it made no difference.

"You called me a monster." She stated thoughtfully, processing the word. She pursed her lips and shrugged at him, one hand on the handle of the door. "Maybe I am. But I guess I'll have to settle for being the monster that saves the world." She smiled at him and nodded at the man.

He felt the cold metal wrap around one of his teeth and he closed his eyes, feeling the tears escape and run down his hot cheeks. He could feel the pressure as the man started to pull slightly. But before he could go any further, before Amelia could make it out of the room, an alarm went off.

The man froze, the pliers still gripping Nate's tooth. Amelia looked up at the ceiling like as if she was looking through the entire building. The sound was loud and constant, causing Nate to cringe. It reminded him of a school fire alarm.