subject 13 // h.s. au

chapter six.

I winced, breaking the man's sharp gaze to stare down at my feet. My once gray socks were now littered with wine-colored splotches, more appearing by the second as my nails reflexively dug into the center of my palm, shifting the long sweatshirt sleeve. T

hat's not a simple question, I thought to myself, beginning to search my mind for a believable lie; the proximity of the green-eyed man's body to mine and his gentle breath skimming the top of head was overwhelming, clouding my thoughts, and I closed my eyes tightly trying to gain even a fraction of clarity. 

My inner voice lashed out at me, get yourself together! it screamed, frustrated at this sudden sign of weakness.

"Harry, we were on a sweep of Section 4-" a voice calmly stated from behind me, before being abruptly interrupted.

"Like you said to do," a second voice emphasized in a dramatic tone.

The first voice cut back in harshly,

"Anyways, we were doing a sweep and you said that if we found anyone, we were supposed to bring them back to you in case they were allied with Asher," the voice halted, unsure if they should continue.

The low, rumbling voice of Harry cut through the silence,

"And?"

My gaze remained locked on the floor, unsure of what to do next, surely they'll let me go when they realize this was all a misunderstanding, I mused. I had only ever heard the name Oliver, and now, Harry, in my twenty-two years of existence. 

Of course, from my lessons I knew that names existed on the surface, but I had never known anyone who actually had one. I definitely didn't know anyone by the name of Asher.

A third voice replied, speaking with a sense of urgency,

"She didn't have a suit on," the man asserted, an emotion underscoring his words that I couldn't identify.

Harry's hand loosened its grip completely from my arm and before I could process its absence, a finger hooked under my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his own. 

I fidgeted as his green eyes seemed to pierce through mine with hostile suspicion, the gun in his other hand still directed at me. When he took a step even closer, my eyes widened and my breath hitched, unable to escape my lungs.

"No suit?" He inquired slowly, searching my face for a sign of some kind.

"No," I responded, trying to keep my voice steady as his eyes narrowed.

He looked back up at the other three men, muttering to himself,

"What the hell is Asher playing at now," he questioned, a frown slowly emerging across his face. His eyes snapped back to glare at me as I decided that this was most likely my last shot and mumbled quietly,

"I don't know why I'm here, can I please just leave,"

I took a deep breath and continued, trying to disguise the slight tremble in my voice,

"You'll never see me again, I'm sorry for attacking your brother, but they wouldn't let me leave and I really need to be on my way," I finished saying, a small sigh punctuating the end of my sentence.

Harry's hand underneath my chin pulled away cautiously, his rings glinting in the harsh light, as he slowly lowered the gun to his side. His green eyes flitted briefly to the men in front of him before he took a step away from me to rest his back against the door frame.

I could see him more clearly now and immediately felt the heat rise to my cheeks, yet again. He was covered in black from head to toe; his large knit sweater, jacket, and wool pants were all the exact same shade of black. 

The pain from my injuries ceased momentarily as my chest tightened and my stomach flipped. Am I sick? I wondered. 

Maybe the radiation's finally catching up to me. I directed my eyes to the wall by his head, unable to look at him anymore.

He crossed his arms, still resting on the door frame, as his lips began to lift at the corners into a lazy grin as he noticed my desperate attempt to avoid eye contact. The long, painful silence was broken as he suddenly barked out to the men still hovering in the room,

"Leave! Go get Elias."

His commanding voice became much darker as his eyes flashed back over to mine, his smile taking on an eerie quality,

"Asher's girl is bleeding all over my floor."

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