STRANGULATE | Markicest

35 | TOO NORMAL

Thank you everyone for bearing with me on updates, and sticking with the story! Now that I've graduated, I have more free-time to write :) Hope you enjoy! <3

Evolveds seemed to stare at him from every inch of the mansion.

Mark wavered as he stood in the middle of the balcony, gazing down at the mass of people. All powerful, all menacing... all simmering with a bloodlust at the mere sight of him.

He was a rabbit in a fox's den.

No... Ten foxes.

Twenty.

Hell, he was trapped with predators at every corner; no safe haven, no protection... out in the open, exposed, bare, vulnerable to any attack. Helpless.

Mark swallowed thickly, glancing down at Pearl when she joined his side. Her small hands curled over the reflective, golden railing of the balcony.

"It's okay to be scared," said Pearl in that high voice of hers. "I would be too if they looked at me like that."

Mark followed her gaze, making eye contact with a few Evolveds. Some even gnashed their teeth at him, and he suppressed a flinch.

Viper. You are Viper, he scolded himself.

He had so many questions: why Antinstine wanted him, what he was going to do to him... whether or not he'd make it out of here alive.

Mark held onto the thought of Dark, his chest tightening.

I have to hold on for just a while longer, he thought.

Mark flinched when Pearl grabbed his hand, and he glanced down at her. She smiled innocently, her white lashes fluttering. She most likely knew nothing—thought of him as only a guest. Or maybe she did know who he was and how he had come here... and that thought was all the more sickening.

"Let's go eat," she said, tugging on his hand.

Eat? At a time like this? he thought.

Mark swallowed, letting her guide him down the stairs and down the bustling hallways. Evolveds glared or smirked at him, but no matter the sadistic hunger in their eyes, they never crossed his path. A few times, they'd come so close he thought his life would end right then and there—but right before they could even touch him, they were back to walking down the halls again.

Antinstine didn't want anyone touching his "prize." Mark saw that quite clearly.

He tried focusing on Pearl's hand guiding him through the enormous mansion, letting his gaze trail off to examine his surroundings.

The mansion was absolutely beautiful, no doubt. As they walked, Mark would catch glimpses of his reflection in the glass ceiling or in the golden accents along the wall. Even the floor was so shiny that, if he looked down, he could see himself.

In all his life, he never imagined stepping foot in a place as grand as this...

If only it didn't belong to a monster.

Pearl slowed, and Mark glanced up, his heart shooting into his throat. The doors to the dining hall were wide open, but all he could focus on was the figure of Antinstine, standing right beside the table.

His hand couldn't help but tremble in Pearl's, and she gave him a gentle, reassuring squeeze. The gesture stunned him, but he quickly tried to clear his head. He had to act natural, strong... like an Evolved.

Turn your fear into fuel, he repeated in his head.

"Viper," said Antinstine with a grin, his fangs gleaming. "Did you enjoy yer room?"