Tiger, Tiger

Tiger, Tiger: Chapter 16

This chapter is dedicated to Irandall4 because they sent me a super long and lovely comment ^__^ Lots of you loverlies have too, but this one was so nice :) x

It's Frrrriiiidaaaaay :) 

I got to 53 on What's Hot! I can't believe it! I've had so many amazing comments and fans recently! I've been blown away by it all! :D HAPPY BUNNY n__n

I hope you enjoy it and I can't wait to hear what you think! xxx

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As I slowly followed Simon through the now eerily quiet maze of corridors, my heart was still causing a racket in my chest. The movement of each nervous, pounding beat left a hollow aching behind. It was slowly dawning on me that I hadn’t thought this plan through. It was a spur of the moment thing, a desperate attempt to escape. What if he needed the keys along the way and found them missing? What if another scientist arrived and saw?

A closed door began to draw nearer at the end of the corridor as if someone had heard my thoughts. Involuntarily I began to shake and I pressed the keys even tighter against me until the sharp metal teeth bit into my skin. Each step became drawn out, the time between us and the door stretching on forever. My chest felt as if it were about to explode.

Simon’s hand rose, and then he pushed straight through the door. Relief flooded through me till my legs shook. Hopefully this luck of unlocked doors would last us all the way to the ‘holding area’.

We rounded another corner into another blank, lifeless corridor, but this time I recognised it. There was a subtle shift in the scent of the air. I smelt leaves and bark mixed with a faint scent of rust under all the human disinfectant. This was the corridor that lead to my family. I was but steps away from setting our escape plan into motion. Steps away from freedom, from fresh forest air, from Alexander. I was filled with anticipation just at the thought.

Like a sun trapped in the small room, I could feel their presence and warmth radiating out as Simon and I moved closer. When Simon almost angrily thrust open the door the sensation swallowed me whole. Seeing them all there, safe as they could be for now, I realised how much being apart from them had taken the strength out of me. Simon’s hypothesis had been right: I needed them more than I could ever put into words.

Suddenly a room full of jewel hued eyes turned to face me. Relief flooded most of their features, some eyes filling with surprise. I must have looked an absolute mess, because worry was etched into the faces of my closest family. No words were spoken, but I could practically feel the messages they sent to each other filling the air. No voices touched my mind though. People seemed too nervous to shatter me like fragile glass.

I turned and caught my image in one of the glass walls, agreeing with my earlier statement. I wouldn’t have recognised the shadowed face looking back at me had I not known that she was my reflection. Her face was pale, tired and thin. Her green eyes were almost human in their dull tiredness. I looked like I’d been broken, waiting quietly behind Simon, but I couldn’t make any move that would lead him to find out what I had done.

My breathing hitched as Simon led me forward and opened my cube door. It yawned widely for me, like an open mouth ready to swallow me up. I stepped in without argument and my heart thudded widely. His face a storm of sadness and anger, Simon closed my door with a hollow thump, before turning and walking away to the door with a sigh.

“There will be a check up session in twenty minutes,” he called over his shoulder, opening the door and slipping out.

The fear and tension that had been keeping me upright suddenly dissipated with his retreating form. My body was tired and too heavy to hold up. I swayed uneasily and then the next thing I knew, the white tiles were moving quickly towards me. I thumped down heavily, the force of impact reverberating through me and sending circles of crimson dancing across my eyes.