Evolutionary

IX. Connor

His soft but sound footsteps echoed in my mind as I followed him. We wove through what seemed like endless tunnels, one leading into the next. How does a warehouse have such a maze inside of it? He paused in front of a door, slowly spinning around to me. 

"Ladies first," he says quietly, a smirk enveloping his smoldering face. How dare such a creeper be so handsome? I hesitantly take the lead and fall into darkness as I step into the stale smelling room. I don't hear his footsteps behind me... Something feels very wrong. A drop of water hits the floor somewhere in the corner of the room. One beat. Two beats. I spin around to find him watching me, his smirk never straying from his face. I do wonder what his intentions of me are. 

"Please sit," he half demands. I scoff as I strain my eyes across the room, looking for a chair. 

"I can't see, Connor. It'd help if you turned on the light."

He chuckles, almost excitedly. "There isn't one. " He uses his foot to slide a stool to me, and it bumps into my shin. I sit down quickly, hoping to get this over with shortly. "So? Talk to me," I say, a light tone taking over my voice. I don't want him to know I'm petrified. He blocks the only shred of light illuminating the doorway and starts speaking.

 "I am apart of the project, The E. I'm the one who found you all those years ago in your school and decided to take an interest in you. Something about you," he pauses, thinking. "intrigued me so fully. Perhaps it was your eyes, or maybe something else. Maybe the defiance in you, beginning at such an early age. Even you know your parents never treated you wrong, however you still had that look in your eyes that said 'I'm in pain'." He leaves his post at the doorway and starts walking towards me, slowly circling his prey. "Of course, I kept my distance, made others examine you closely while I stayed behind the sidelines, analyzing the reports. I still feel close to you now, as if I raised you in a way." His eyes were black holes from where I was sitting and I couldn't read his facial expression. All I knew was that this didn't sound good. 

"I was hurt to learn that that boy named... Parker was it? Yes. He had gained your affection. For the years you two were together, it broke every part of me. The only thing left to do was threaten him, threaten his family's lives to have you all to myself once again. I allowed you a couple of years, and then I followed him to work one day. The parking lot was mostly empty, so it was quite easy. Who knew it was as easy as waving a gun and telling him to break your heart?

"So, when you crashed, because of our radio wave technology overlapping the stereo in your car, guess who was the first on the scene? Ah, but you wouldn't know that. The E followed behind me closely, but not fast enough to claim you for themselves. No, I, one of the first scientists to get behind this project, of course had the authority to take you and monitor you myself. I brought you here, to this very warehouse-- this very room. You screamed for days. I just couldn't get a hold on you. Your defiance carried into your second life," he paused again to gauge my reaction. I stared in horror at the black shadow that was Connor. 

"You tried escaping many times, no matter how much I tried to calm you and spoke very kindly. So, you gave me no choice but to chain you to the corner of the room, as if you were an animal," he shook his head and looked at the floor. "I'm still so sorry about that. I wish you remembered."

"You... you're the reason for all of this? Parker? You made him break up with me? YOU made me crash? YOU chained me up like a prisoner? What did I do to deserve this?" I broke down, the tears falling down my cheeks. 

"No, don't cry my little dove. We accomplished so much together while you were here. Part of the project is to gauge why you are the way you are. Why do your eyes turn milky? How do you hone the power to control others? How did you not know you had that power for so long? What put you in so much pain when you were younger, that even you don't remember? I learned so much about you here. I still have one more test to run for this project, and that is why I asked you here. When we have completed it, I will wipe your memory once again and you can return back to where you woke up, again having to complete the same tasks to regain your memory."

I stood from the stool. "Is this some kind of sick fucking game to you? I am a human being! I am not an animal, there are no tests to run on me! What are you even fucking talking about?" I quickly made my way to the door, shoving past him. "Tell the E I'm escaping, what they'll do to me is far better than what you'll do." I made it halfway down the hallway when I realized I didn't remember the way out. I looked around me, in the same maze I let him lead me through. His footsteps quickly penetrated the air around me, and I ran. I ran as fast as I could, weaving through halls that led me any and everywhere. Where the fuck was I? I ran until I reached a door. I quickly turned the knob, but it wouldn't budge. Panic sank in, churning my stomach. Oh god, I'm going to vomit. A cold sweat started to run down my back, and I slid down the wall, tears pouring down my face. How could I be so stupid? His footsteps found me, getting closer and closer. I closed my eyes, not letting myself see his smirking face. 

"Cassie, you can't run from me." He took my hand and dragged me back to my dungeon. I kicked and screamed, nothing deterring him, it only made his hold stronger. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulders. I wasn't going to be saved by my knight in shining armor today.