Shade stared vacantly at her damaged left hand as it dripped blood onto the tiled floor in front of her. Shards of glass still were sticking out of the palm of her hand every which way. It hurt, and yet it didn’t. It was a weird feeling to Shade. Whenever she felt pain these days, no matter how severe, it always felt faint and distant. She felt detached from her real self. She felt as though her mind and body were separate. This world only held pain for her. For what reason should she ever care what became of her?
That was the way Shade felt as she sat, expressionless, inside the northern confession room of Building C. She sat there motionlessly as her father's followers carefully plucked out each shard of glass in an attempt to patch her up.
Shade was alone in this world. There was no one here for her. Nobody… except for her father. The man who hit her when she did something wrong. The man when who blamed her when things didn’t go as plan. The man who would starve her whenever she had not lived up to his expectations. Her father. The one… the one who saved her life. The one who dug her free from the rubble. The one who use to read her stories before she went to bed at night. Her father. The man she could never bring herself to hate no matter how terrible he had become.
The Patriarch’s followers pulled out the final piece of glass from Shade’s hand and had begun wrapping it with bandages. That was when she heard the distant shriek. Slowly Shade raised her head. She knew that sound, but the followers did not. Most of them just stared at one another with a confused look. Another shriek was heard as if answering to the last. Some of the followers were moving to the windows now. The person bandaging Shade’s hand turned her head somewhat distracted. “What was that?” one of the followers ask out loud.
Something was wrong , Shade knew. Her father wouldn’t ever call upon his Hybrids unless he was in trouble. Shade stood up just as the follower finished tying the bandage. A third shriek. Her father. She needed to get to her father. He needed her! He need her help! Silently Shade attempted to form a shadow. With difficultly she managed to pull one together before it dissipated on her. The AS-dart’s effects must have started to wear off. Her powers weren’t fully back, but this would have to do. Shade made her way out of the room.
“Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.” Tsked a Divine as he entered storage closet of Building C. The man went by the name Aaron in public. In private he preferred the name Torment.
“Sooo young. Sooo beautiful.” Continued Torment as he casually began walking over to the girl. He pulled out a lighter and began flicking it on and off. “Could have gone far. You showed potential” Torment began circling Sarah and decided to leave the lighter on. “So let me explain how this is going to work. The faster you tell me what I want to know, the less pain you’ll have to endure.”
A few faint shrieks could be heard from the distance. The sound made Torment smile. He was familiar with The Patriarch’s power. “That sound, you just heard, will be your screams in a few seconds.”
Torment stopped his circling in front of Sarah. “So let’s start the subject of our questioning with this girl here.” He continued while touching the lighter’s flame with his right hand. “Tell me.” He said as the flames consumed his hand… no… not consume. The flames became it. Torment raised his hand as if to strike. “WHO IS SHE?!” He yelled, his voice becoming a demonic roar. His eyes turned red. His hand of fire lunged forward.
The Patriarch ran as fast as he could. Shade! He needed Shade! Why hadn’t she returned to him yet? As these questions crossed his mind, he felt something hit his feet. It caused him to stumble but he managed to stop himself from falling. Too close.
The patriarch picked up his pace again before finally making it out of the rift room. He could sense his children again. They were closing on his location. Good. Now he just needed protection. DAMN IT! WHERE WAS SHADE?!