the monster within → b . banner

[36] We Were Never Human

"Daddy, I feel sick." a little girl whimpered. She was sitting on the floor in her room, her forehead on her bed and her arms wrapped around her stomach. 

"Princess, I know. But I was there for your mother when she went through this, and I'll be here for you." a man whispered, walking over and pulling the girl onto his lap. She curled up against him, sobbing softly.

"It hurts so bad daddy. Make it stop." she whimpered, and the man rocked her back and forth, still on the floor.

"Cynthia, your skin's on fire. Come on, let's get you outside into the cool air." he whispered, and Cynthia nodded. He stood, his daughter in his arms, still sobbing. He rubbed her back and went down the stairs carefully, and she started to groan.

"Daddy! Let me go! I don't want to hurt you!" she screamed, fighting to get out of his arms. She fell to the floor, curling up into a ball. Coulson bent down to pick her up, but she screamed and pushed him away. In a panic, he went to grab her, but her whole body burst into flames, making her shriek and writhe in pain.

"Daddy! Make! It! Stop!"

*** 

I jerked upright, breathing quickly. Bruce was beside me, worry all over his face. I looked at him as tears welled in my eyes, and I flung myself onto him. He wrapped his arms around my waist as I sobbed onto his chest. He held me close, rubbing my back and stroking my hair.

"Cynthia? What's wrong?" he whispered.

"It's me. It's me! I was never human. My mother, she was never human. I'm a monster! Get away, I don't want to hurt you." I started to yell at him, but my voice softened to a whisper. 

"You could never hurt me beautiful." Bruce whispered. I looked up at him, and he ran his thumbs over my cheeks, wiping my tears away. I leaned into his touch, hiccuping slightly. He chuckled softly, and I sighed.

"How can you be so sure?" I mumbled, and he sat up, pulling me into his lap.

"Because, whether you like it or not, I know you. and I'm always going to know you. You're going to be my wife, and I your husband. Good or bad, we're always going to be there for each other." Bruce whispered, kissing my hair. 

'Easy for you to say. You didn't just dream about catching on fire.' I thought, but said nothing. He was just busy with keeping me calm so that I perhaps didn't set us on fire. 

"Here, sit up. Your skin's on fire. I'll go open a window." Bruce said softly, and I sat up so he could get up. He walked over to the window and opened it, and a wave of cool air hit my face, feeling pleasant against my face. Bruce came back to bed, and I snuggled up to him. He wrapped his arm around me, and I sighed.

"Now, speak slower and tell me about what happened." Bruce whispered.

"I was just dreaming of the first time I literally had my skin on fire. I was in so much pain, and I felt so sick." I whispered, still kinda scared of my own self. Bruce nodded and traced circles into my side slowly. 

"Do you feel that way now?" he asked me, and I shook my head. Was I lying? Possibly. Did I want to? No, absolutely not. 

"I may ask Tony if we can borrow his lab again. I just want to make sure you're doing fine." Bruce whispered, tracing over my lips with his thumb. I blushed lightly, nodding slowly.

"Sure, anything to make sure I won't hurt anyone I love, or tolerate." I joked, and he smiled.

"There's the humor of the girl I fell in love with. Now come on, smile for me." he said gently. I shook my head, and he kissed my forehead gently.

"Please? For your almost-husband?" he pouted. I groaned and smiled, too quick for his liking.

"Not good enough. I want a real smile, from my real Cynthia." he whispered, tickling my side. I squealed and tried to get away, but he kept on tickling me. I started to laugh, which made me smile. 

"There it is." Bruce smiled, leaning down to kiss me. I kissed him back, bringing one hand up to cup his face gently and lovingly. He really was the love of my life. and he was right. There really wasn't anything wrong with me, was there? No, no, there is. I'm not human. No one in the right mind would call me human. My mother wasn't human, therefore I am not human either. There's something wrong with me. Something inside of me is corrupting the rest of my mind, body, and soul. And the worst part was, I had no idea what it was. I couldn't ask the voices in my head, since it could be one of them, though I doubt it. As I was kissing Bruce, I had the strangest urge to just.... attack him. I quickly pulled away, and he looked at me.

"I.... I need help.... Now." I gasped, gripping at my own throat. Bruce jumped up, and I struggled against myself. I was gasping for air, but I was clawing at my own skin. I was preventing myself from getting one of my basic needs, which meant I was fighting against my own body. You can't protect yourself from yourself, so either I was going to die, or I was trying to harm only a part of me. A part I couldn't see, only hear.

The voices in my head weren't what they seemed.

XxxA/NxxX

hey guys! so sorry for the serious lack of updates on this books. but, here's one now! and I've numbered the chapters, so yay me. what do you guys think is happening to our beloved Cynthia? -dun dun dun-