Blood Bond

The towering white walls loomed overhead as I scurried down the hallway, hugging tight against the corner edge. I was currently one with Key as we explored the facility.

I had wanted to explore the various biomes at first, but in the temperate forest enclosure, I spotted a grey owl with its giant eyes fixed on to me. And then as I scampered past the desert, a fox trotted alongside. It kept licking its lips as it stared past the glass at me.

Then there was the swirling snow, crashing waves, and blistering heat. I wasn't sure Key would last long in any of those environments. I trailed a few figures in long lab coats past an open door and into a long side corridor.

It was a jarring shift in architecture. The pristine, glowing white of the main facility gave way to a dull, industrial grey. The walls here weren't seamless panels but thick, painted metal, and the air took on a sharp metallic edge that stung my sensitive nostrils. All around were the ambient whispers of ventilation fans pumping sterile air.

The bright, even luminescence was gone, replaced by the flat, harsh light of long halogen strips recessed into the ceiling. They bleached the color from the grey walls and highlighted the yellow and black caution tape that ran up and down the sides at various intervals.

The stark light cast strange shadows upon this unnatural collage of grey, yellow, and black, making my fur stand on end.

The oppressive feeling intensified here. Four massive, reinforced circular doors were set in the outer wall of the hub. Every door was identical—a huge metal vault reinforced with round bars emblazoned with bright warning symbols for radiation and biohazards, a glowing keypad beside each one. Whoever was behind them was meant to stay locked up.

I thought of the "man in the box" that Annie mentioned and my body shuddered.

The figures were gone.

Drawn by a morbid fascination, I scurried from the safety of the wall to the closest door. There wasn't any dust on the floor, but maybe I could find an imprint from a shoe, or catch their scent in the air. One of them had some food, perhaps chip crumbs in their pocket.

The moment my whiskers brushed against the cool metal at the base of the door, all hell broke loose.

Red lights flashed from the ceiling, bathing the grey room in pulsing crimson. An alarm blared, a sound so deep and loud it felt like it was physically shaking my bones. Pure, absolute panic took over.

I ran.

There was no thought, no direction, in my desperate scramble away from the deafening noise and the terrifying, flashing light. I darted down the first corridor I saw, careening into the next, and then another, until the sound of the alarm had receded into the distance. I looked about and was surrounded by towering white walls again.

My whiskers twitched. I smelled food, mounds of it.

A sliding door hissed open to let in a group of chattering nurses in white jackets. I quickly followed them into a vast room that stretched beyond sight. A sheer metal cliff rose in the distance, and the scent of freshly cut fruits and vegetables wafted over from there. Further off, another massive stone structure stood with a flat, smooth granite top. Steam rose from the metal trays sitting atop the granite, carrying the tantalizing aromas of roasted chicken with herbs, steamed fish, and... something mushroom-like with pasta?

Oh, this is a cafeteria, with a salad bar and hot food stand.

Long legs stepped over me. Two women walked past, side by side, laughing, with trays of delectable food in hand. Beyond them, a glass wall overlooked a rainforest biome where a swarm of colorful birds flew past.

A really nice cafeteria.

A shoe cut out the light above, and I ran for refuge under a round table. There were two pairs of legs sticking out of chairs. One in dark hosiery and black, low-heels, and the other in grey pants and brown leather shoes.

There was a deep sigh, followed by a tired, female voice. "I can't believe the Associate had us staying up all night running regressions."

"Another one of her whims?" a male voice asked.

"Yes, the Vega case again. She and the Professor went at it, and then she had us correlate all past telemetry from the patient and the cascade failure in the TX-11 xenografts. Took forever."

The sound of chewing continued, followed by the metal clink of silverware hitting porcelain. His voice had a gentle, encouraging tenor when it spoke again. "Well… ?"

Another sigh. "She was right, as always. We had to zoom in quite a bit, but in amongst the noise, there were events above standard-dev that correlated to the exact moment of failure in the xenografts."

The pants legs inched forward toward the other set of legs. "Really, that's interesting."

"Tell me about it. There was even proximity-based attenuation. Failures in labs closer to the patient were tied to larger spike events." Her words sped up as her voice grew higher-pitched. Her legs crossed and the heels moved closer to the male's legs. "This is real spooky action from a distance. I mean you know how sealed the walls are here. There is no way the patient would have any information ahead of time."

"And… the professor? How did he react?" His voice sounded impossibly smooth.

"Oh, he freaked out. Went from 'that's absolutely impossible' to 'we must procure more specimens'. Apparently, there's another one out there."

"Really?"

There was a long pause, and I held my breath in anticipation. What did she mean by another one out there? I dreaded the answer.

Finally, the male voice spoke again. "Say, I have some steak in the fridge, and a nice bottle of merlot that I managed to get a hold of. You want to come over again, tonight?"

A giggle erupted overhead, and a heel slid far up between the pant legs.

But all I could think of were the pinpricks of lights I had felt before, those must be the failures she had mentioned, and xenografts… mice. I hope.

And the other specimen, there could be only one answer:

Maya.

—

Street lights strobed overhead as the unmarked, black sedan that I was sitting in cruised down the highway. I tugged at the tie around my neck. It felt strange and ill-fitting. Though I wasn't sure what a right-fitting one felt like. I always had a clip-on.

Julia had actually pushed for a full tuxedo, complete with a bow tie, as if I was going to be her show-piece—maybe that's what they do for dance. I refused and stubbornly held on to the suit jacket and pants that Maya had picked out for me. In the end I relented on the tie.

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As she'd pulled the silk around my neck, I had debated confronting her about Maya. But watching the way her eyes measured the length of the fabric on each side, I hesitated. She would immediately ask how I knew, and given the way she could read me like a book, she'd find out about Key in no time.

No, I need to be smarter. I have to hold on to this one advantage I have.

—

The door swung open.

And there she was, Naomi, in a simple black dress. I had seen many fancy gowns—flowing silk, sheer satin, deep velvet with fanciful needlework and delicate lace; along with so many flashing, blinding jewels. But this simple black dress, stretching to the knees, with straps over the shoulders and hugging just enough of her hips, was all it took to catch my breath.

I felt the pent-up torrent of emotions crash over me as I looked at her face.

We embraced, with no one there to hold us back.

—

The chef behind the counter gave Naomi a wrinkled smile before slicing into a slab of red tuna with a knife patterned with waves.

Naomi inclined her head back at him.

"He's a friend of my father's," she explained as she picked up the two dishes he set out before us.

Thin slices of glistening red meat sat on the dishes with a dot of green garnish. I was about to reach for the soy sauce when Naomi placed her hand over mine and shook her head, glancing toward the old chef. "It's good as is."

I half-fumbled a slice into my mouth and was overwhelmed by the way the meat just melted over my tongue. It tasted… beautiful. I had eaten fish prepared by the finest chefs in all the realms, and yet, nothing compared to this.

"So how are you even out?" Naomi asked as she skillfully picked up her own slice of tuna with chopsticks. "I mean, last time we saw you, you were looking better, but aren't you supposed to be in the middle of chemo?"

She paused, her expression turning more somber. "It took my mom forever to recover once she got out of the hospital, and she still gets tired just going to the grocery store."

I managed to pick up another slice, holding it steadily this time. "You remember when I told you my blood was resistant, right? Apparently, it's really resistant. Chemo doesn't seem to do much to it, and the malignant cells even less so."

"That's impossible."

"That's what the Professor keeps saying." When I saw her horrified face, I quickly added, "They are trying some new mixtures, so this is basically just a little break before the mad professor does his work!"

The joke didn't land too well, and we ate the next dish—some clear-fleshed fish—in silence.

Naomi thanked the chef in Japanese and then turned back to me, half a grin on her face. "You know, I seem to remember you didn't like me much in middle school."

"No, no… I just thought you were too much of a know-it-all. Umm… I mean… you, like, answered all the teacher's questions all the time."

She laughed lightly, the light dancing in her eyes. "Well, I don't think I've changed that much since then. I still try to answer all the questions. So what changed for you?"

I ran my hand over the back of my head. "You remember that time we were forced to do a group project together?"

She nodded as a curved piece of cooked fish was set before her by a waitress. She somehow managed to elegantly break off a flake of the white flesh with her chopsticks and place it between her lips.

"Well, before that, I'd always had trouble concentrating. I couldn't focus on words for more than a few minutes. But sitting next to you that day…"

I thought back to us at the desk in the study hall. We were just sitting side by side with our textbooks open, her finger twirling a lock of her hair as she read. And I was actually reading. But thinking back, I must have been doing more than that. How else would I have known the way the sun glowed in her hair, the soft rise and fall of her nose, or the slight moistness of her lips?

"I guess that easily distracted part of me was just… mesmerized by you. It was the first time the words on the page actually sank in."

Naomi stared at me, her eyes like large, wavering pools. Suddenly, she lurched forward, covering her mouth with her hand.

"You alright?!"

She held up a hand, still covering her mouth. "Just a fish bone… But Leo, you've really got a new way with words."

—

I guess this was supposed to be a movie date. Julia had bought us tickets to what turned out to be a teen romcom. I was assaulted by the flashing lights from the screen, as the figures moved and talked with words that felt far and detached from me. I sat there with a bucket of popcorn drowning in artificial butter. The laughter in the audience kept pulling me back to the din of the Arena and the sight of the waves of raised fist, and then… Theron.

Soft fingers touched my hand. "Hey, not feeling it?"

I nodded.

"Me either, let's go for a walk."

We walked through a park under the pale moonlight, over a small path watched by trees shrouded in shadows. No words were spoken. None were needed. Just soft smiles and gazes at each other, our hands held tight.

We found a bench and sat down. I couldn't help but stare at her face, at the way it seemed to shine even brighter than the moon.

"This is just a little reprieve. But I'm glad." My fingers ran through her silky, jet-black hair before coming to rest on her cheek. This time, the words came unbidden. "You're beautiful."

She reached up and our fingers intertwined. Then she was atop me, her legs straddling mine. Her face leaned in, and our lips touched, sending swirls of heat through my mouth. Her scent, sweet and lightly floral, filled my nostrils.

The weight of her welded our bodies together, scrunching our clothes between us. The soft, smooth, heated curves of her body sank down against mine. Steam from her breath caressed my face and splashed white over the lenses of my glasses. They receded and revealed her haunting visage hovering over me.

Her lips came down against mine, sealing my breath so that I was gulping in nothing but her. Her tongue met mine, soft, warm, a hint of ginger and she tasted, impossibly, of rain. We twisted around each other. Her fingers unbuttoned my shirt and slipped inside, her touch scintillating against my skin. My hand slipped beneath the strap of her dress, fingers exploring the damp contours of her chest and coming to rest over her heart.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

I felt the strength of her heartbeat, the power, the vibrance, the richness of her essence.

Fish Bone. The thought blared in my mind. And I jerked myself back from her.

"No!"

A cut, and my blood could flow into hers… and then!

"No! Stop!"

Naomi stared back at me in shock, her hands reaching hesitantly toward me. Hurt contorted her features as a flood of images slammed into my mind: that of me standing over Aunty May as my blood drained her dry—her face and eyes shriveling away, and that ghastly, inhuman groan.

"Leo?! What's wrong?"

My hands trembled as I gripped her cheek, my thumb feeling over her lips. I focused, reaching out with my senses for any of my blood that might be in her, and thankfully found none. I exhaled a relieved breath, only to have tears flood my eyes.

"Leo! Come on, relax and breathe…"

A hand patted my back, but I was drowning in another wave of memories. That of me watching Kael descend into the darkness, of being held down, and of the explosion consuming everything and everyone around me. I blew myself up! I've failed everyone!

"No! I'm so sorry!" I wailed.

It took a while for my sobs to subside. By then the moon had slipped under the dark clouds above, but Naomi stayed, holding my hand. I leaned against her and sank into the comfort of her voice as she told me it'd be alright.

Then I remembered the ending to the book Aunty May had given me. I closed my eyes, realizing the fragility of both my worlds.

Please don't take her away.

—

I stepped into my room in the facility. My tie was gone, my shirt was half-unbuttoned, and my hair was a mess. Even my glasses were askew.

Annie was sitting in my chair with her teddy bear in her lap, waiting for me.

I stared into her eyes, and she shrank back, her tiny fingers plucking at the bear. "I had to do it, Big Sister Leo. You looked so sad that night, and you wouldn't respond to me at all. So..." She slowly put her hand over the bear's face. "I covered your eyes for a little bit."

A chill came over me. The previous morning, when I was staring at the beans, when I tried to recall why my throat was so scratched up—the fog that had risen in my mind then was from her. She had pushed back my memories of my confession to Kael, of the explosion, of what I had done to Aunty May.

She manipulated my mind!

I couldn't shake the sense of violation and wanted to scream at her for what she had done. But then I saw her watery eyes, and on her head was the pink bow headband I had gotten her.

After a long, still silence, I shook my head, my voice firm. "No, Annie. I don't want you to ever do that to me again. No matter what state I'm in."

I approached and knelt down before her. "The pain. It makes us who we are."