Chapter Text
A white room. Fluorescent lights that never seem to fill the darkness completely. Wires, tubes, IVs, electrodes, anything that can be shoved into a socket or outlet or anchor or just slapped on has been stuck with surgical neatness. Hazy, muffled voices are explaining something I should probably pay attention to, but they don't care if I understand or not.
‘Sensory… ger response… duce stress… comfortable…”
And so on like that. It’s more of a formality to make them feel better than anything. A button is pushed.
Chik-k!
A whirring noise starts. Nothing changes in the room. The whirring only gets louder. And louder. The lights seem brighter. Are they getting brighter? Did one just flicker? No, it couldn’t have, this building is extremely well-maintained- there it is again. The whirring gets faster and louder and- i want to scream- louder and louder- there's the light again, another one- and- i feel my claws dig into my thighs, just above my knees- louder and-
I wake up, gasping for air. The air is dry, and I cough once, weakly, almost like I was clearing my throat without drawing too much attention. I’m laying on my side, supporting myself on an elbow. I put my other hand down to stabilize myself on the ground. My hand does not find the familiar dirt of the forest, but something softer. So of course, the correct course of action is to completely freak out, letting my instincts take over.
I snap my head around, trying to get a good bearing of my surroundings. Corner, wall, corner, door (shut, probably locked), wall, corner, whatever’s behind me (another wall). I back up against the headboard- oh, guess there’s a headboard, this must be a bedroom- making myself as small as possible to guard myself, in case of an attack. My breathing is a little quicker than usual, my chest heaves as I attempt to assess the situation. Suddenly, the door starts to open with a slow creak. I jump to my feet, backing up to the nearest corner and attaching myself to the wall. I hiss as a warning that I will not go down without a fight. Once the door is fully open, a wave of dread washes over me. I freeze. I never freeze.
The first thing I notice is the suit. The dark, fitted fabric wrapped around long, humanoid limbs- too long, in fact. My eyes trail up to above the collar of the shirt to where I expect to see a face. All that I am greeted with is a paper white, featureless expanse of flesh. I can feel my eye twitch (a nervous tic, low on the list of imperfections to iron out) as my pulse starts to increase, my mind becoming more unsettled the more I look. However, I retained some semblance of ‘eye contact’, whatever that means when there are no eyes to contact, staring the creature in front of me down. And then he starts to speak.
“You’re awake. Welcome to the estate,” his voice is deep, and sounds far away, as if it’s echoing. He has no mouth, so I don’t understand how he’s speaking. “This is quite the chance encounter, I must say. I’ve been keeping an eye on you for months now. You’re quite difficult to track, you know.”
He must be able to sense my discomfort increasing as he’s basically admitted to stalking me, and decides to continue.
“I mean you no harm, I just have a proposal for you.”
He stops talking and I assume he’s waiting for a response. I collect myself just enough to try to answer him.
“May I ask a few questions?” I ask with caution, testing the waters.
“You may.”
“Are you tracking me down on behalf of Dr. Vincent Owens?”
“I have no intentions of capturing you or sending you back into government custody, no. I am presenting you with an… opportunity, we’ll say. You get to stay here, in the estate, safe from those you’ve been running from, along with having permission to leave at any time for your own life, activities, etcetera. As long as you keep a low enough profile, of course. In return, you become my proxy, aiding in guarding the manor and the surrounding woods, going on the occasional mission- you’ll understand in due time. You’re extremely capable, from what I’ve heard. There are many others like you in this mansion.”
The last comment confuses me. There weren’t any other ‘me’s created, as far as I know, and if there were I’m sure they would have been destroyed.
“Others like me?”
“Well, not exactly like you. I meant more… other beings who share similar… bloodlust. Others who are similarly dangerous. Monsters, if you’ll forgive the connotations.”
I think about his offer. I get the feeling that if I don’t accept, I won’t get any more answers about the details, but if I do accept it’ll be too late to back out. And what happens if I refuse? Could the creature before me have been lying about not sending me back to the lab? I couldn’t risk it. Besides, living on my own in the forest wasn’t comfortable. Sure, I wasn’t struggling by any means, but that doesn’t mean I liked it.
“Do you need time to think, or do we have a deal?” He asks, extending a long, slender hand towards me for a handshake. I take a breath, detaching myself from the corner of the wall. I nod and approach the figure. I shake his hand carefully yet firmly.
“Welcome home, Lorelai.”