fight for air. No . “Sorry, Fields, but you’re wrong. My mom was an addict. She had mental issues, she didn’t transform.” That you know of. But you were only a kid .
“And no one knows who my father was,” she continued. “My mom barely even remembered his name.” She laughed, the sound weak and false. Wrong again, Eden. Her mother had loved him so much that she didn’t want to repeat his name, only saying it when she was so drunk or high she didn’t know what she was doing. Not knowing that her little girl hung on every word because she wanted so much to know about her father.
“Shit,” she said. “I don’t even remember it.”
“Ian,” he said aloud at the same moment she said it silently. Ian .
The name hung in the air between them. The only thing she knew about her biological father, other than that he was a bastard who had left her mom right after he’d knocked her up.
Ian. Not a particularly common name, certainly not the name one would just throw out as a guess in a situation like this. If there were situations like this. For normal people.
“About a month ago,” Fields said, “my daughter almost died. They saved her, but there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. If you help them, maybe someday there will be a guarantee.”
“They think I can help just because I got royally screwed-over in the genetics department?” Thanks, mom and dad. What did that make her? A double freak? A cross-breed between two Abnormals? A mutt?
“You’re different than any other. That’s why you have to stay. Or, at least, come back regularly so they can figure out what’s going on—how you’ve been able to mesh your Jekyll with your human side.”
“How do they know that ?”
“Well, your eyes for one. And from the little I know of how you used to be, I can’t imagine you’d have been so difficult to subdue a few weeks ago. The speed of your healing. That’s all part of being a Jekyll. But you’re smart, emotional, not as single-minded as a true Jekyll is.” He glanced at the bed.
“I’m no different than she is, Fields.”
“You’re wrong. Please , give them some time to figure it out. I know they don’t want to force you, but you have to agree. Think of all the people you’ll save.” His steps were fast as he crossed the room. “You have to help us.”
She backed away, knocking one of the machines over. The sound of glass shattering, metal hitting tile, stopped him. Broke him out of his trance. He blinked, shaking his head to wake himself up, blood rushing to his cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Eden. I didn’t mean to— I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I take it back, Fields. I don’t trust anyone in this place.” As she walked by him, she slugged him in the arm. He could blame it on her abnormal-side or whatever-the-hell-else he wanted to blame it on. She knew what had caused the reaction. And knew just how human it was.
CHAPTER V
It took two men to pull Mitch off the other guy. His vision didn’t clear until they threw him against the cinderblock wall. He shook himself off and picked a piece of cement out of a bleeding gash on his shoulder.
That hurt.
The man he’d just beaten was lying motionless in the middle of the chalk-outlined square, while a couple people took turns checking to see if he was still breathing.
Mitch knew the men who’d pulled him off were screaming at him. But it was as if he were in a tunnel about a half a mile away. He saw their jaws moving, fists clenched or angrily thrown up occasionally, but he could barely hear them.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone…too badly. But this was the only way he could feel peace. The only way to quiet Hyde. Shit, it was the only way Mitch could shut his mind off from thinking about her . For him, fighting was like a brief visit to nirvana, like some kind of fucked-up Zen garden. Every punch he threw, every kick he felt make contact, numbed him. Like meditation. And he’d been meditating a hell of a lot lately.
“And no one knows who my father was,” she continued. “My mom barely even remembered his name.” She laughed, the sound weak and false. Wrong again, Eden. Her mother had loved him so much that she didn’t want to repeat his name, only saying it when she was so drunk or high she didn’t know what she was doing. Not knowing that her little girl hung on every word because she wanted so much to know about her father.
“Shit,” she said. “I don’t even remember it.”
“Ian,” he said aloud at the same moment she said it silently. Ian .
The name hung in the air between them. The only thing she knew about her biological father, other than that he was a bastard who had left her mom right after he’d knocked her up.
Ian. Not a particularly common name, certainly not the name one would just throw out as a guess in a situation like this. If there were situations like this. For normal people.
“About a month ago,” Fields said, “my daughter almost died. They saved her, but there’s no guarantee it won’t happen again. If you help them, maybe someday there will be a guarantee.”
“They think I can help just because I got royally screwed-over in the genetics department?” Thanks, mom and dad. What did that make her? A double freak? A cross-breed between two Abnormals? A mutt?
“You’re different than any other. That’s why you have to stay. Or, at least, come back regularly so they can figure out what’s going on—how you’ve been able to mesh your Jekyll with your human side.”
“How do they know that ?”
“Well, your eyes for one. And from the little I know of how you used to be, I can’t imagine you’d have been so difficult to subdue a few weeks ago. The speed of your healing. That’s all part of being a Jekyll. But you’re smart, emotional, not as single-minded as a true Jekyll is.” He glanced at the bed.
“I’m no different than she is, Fields.”
“You’re wrong. Please , give them some time to figure it out. I know they don’t want to force you, but you have to agree. Think of all the people you’ll save.” His steps were fast as he crossed the room. “You have to help us.”
She backed away, knocking one of the machines over. The sound of glass shattering, metal hitting tile, stopped him. Broke him out of his trance. He blinked, shaking his head to wake himself up, blood rushing to his cheeks.
“I’m sorry, Eden. I didn’t mean to— I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I take it back, Fields. I don’t trust anyone in this place.” As she walked by him, she slugged him in the arm. He could blame it on her abnormal-side or whatever-the-hell-else he wanted to blame it on. She knew what had caused the reaction. And knew just how human it was.
CHAPTER V
It took two men to pull Mitch off the other guy. His vision didn’t clear until they threw him against the cinderblock wall. He shook himself off and picked a piece of cement out of a bleeding gash on his shoulder.
That hurt.
The man he’d just beaten was lying motionless in the middle of the chalk-outlined square, while a couple people took turns checking to see if he was still breathing.
Mitch knew the men who’d pulled him off were screaming at him. But it was as if he were in a tunnel about a half a mile away. He saw their jaws moving, fists clenched or angrily thrown up occasionally, but he could barely hear them.
He didn’t want to hurt anyone…too badly. But this was the only way he could feel peace. The only way to quiet Hyde. Shit, it was the only way Mitch could shut his mind off from thinking about her . For him, fighting was like a brief visit to nirvana, like some kind of fucked-up Zen garden. Every punch he threw, every kick he felt make contact, numbed him. Like meditation. And he’d been meditating a hell of a lot lately.
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