For A Star To Fall

Chapter 34: All-seeing

Chapter 34

Jordan swallowed. "I'm not a monster," he said, looking at Emyle again. Her flat stare told him that she did not care what he said or thought about her. "Sorry," he mouthed anyway. The look she gave him did not change.  

Seth snarled at his reply and hauled him backwards. Jordan fought his grip, straining against it. He felt sweat roll down the sides of his face. "Let me go!"

His smirk was evident in his tone when he replied, "Have it your way, then." Suddenly, he relinquished his hold on Jordan. As a result, Jordan stumbled forward, slave to his own momentum, and caught the edge of a table in his abdomen. He doubled over, wheezing. Seth's feet appeared in his line of sight. He dragged Jordan up by the collar of his shirt. Raising his fist, Seth prepared to punch Jordan in the jaw. 

Seeing this, Dr. Valin started forward, his free hand raised. "Seth," he chided, "restrain yourself from such unneeded violence, please."

Seth's fist lowered immediately. He bowed his head. "Yes, sir," he replied meekly.  

Dr. Valin approached Jordan, leaving Emyle behind him, her black stare burning holes into his back. "I don’t blame you for not remembering, Jordan," he said gently. "That's because you were too young to notice what I put in your food and your drinks. And do you remember that time when I took you for vaccine injections? Guess what was in the vaccines!" He shot Jordan a half-smile. 

"The serum," Jordan breathed, now hanging limply in Seth's grip. 

"Yes," he nodded. "And soon the serum in your blood will evolve and grow to become the current one here. Of course, it won't be as effective and powerful as the one I have now, but it will do. Unless, you want me to inject you with this one now?" Again, Dr. Valin raised the needle he held in his hands.

"Um, thanks, but no thanks. I don't want to die like..." Jordan's eyes flicked towards Emyle. 

"Her mother? Katherine?" A triumphant smile grew on Dr. Valin's face. "So I was right. You did see the videos." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Emyle shift slightly at this. That was already enough to make him uneasy. What did Dr. Valin mean? He seemed to note the confused look that Jordan shot at Emyle. "Surprise!" he exclaimed. "I am quite stunned at how long it has taken you two to figure this out."

There was a sudden sharp intake of breath. Jordan glanced at Emyle, just as the barrel of her gun dipped slightly before returning to its original position. Emyle was not the type to allow that to happen. Was she that surprised? "You tricked us, did you not? You have been manipulating me from the minute I got here. Obtaining the thumb drive should not have been so easy."

"Yes! You are finally catching on! I may have not taken the serum myself, but I have my supplements and my own experience to be smart enough to play this game. However, it really became dreadfully boring, you know, being two steps ahead of you for so long. So I organised this little gathering of sorts!” He rubbed his hands together earnestly. “This is the part where everything gets interesting.”

He began to circle Emyle, stalking around her like a shark waiting for its prey to reveal its weakness. She stiffened. This was too similar to the first time they had met for it to be a mere coincidence. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something. There was a predatory glint in his eyes and he was still holding the syringe. Silence stretched out and not even Jordan seemed to want to break the tension. Dr. Valin’s face twisted. He strode to the metal table and resumed his original position. “If you just co-operated with me, I wouldn’t have to do this so often,” he muttered and held the needle over Father’s chest again. 

Emyle stepped forward. “What do you want from me?” she asked warily. 

Smiling now, he remarked, “That is much better, Emyle. I want you to ask me. Ask me how I outwitted you.”  The glint in his eyes intensified.