C3 3

Alexei POV

I do not remember how or when I came to this place; a significant part of my memory has been completely erased. I have asked myself many times: Who am I? What am I? All that remains in my mind are the echoes of agonizing cries in that rotting basement before I was brought into this room. My life was a void of nothingness. I do not know how long I have been trapped here, but on that day, everything changed.

I saw her enter my room, and she was watching me. She was different from all of them; she treated me with a kindness as if she had known me before, and she called me Alexei. I do not truly know if that was my name, but I loved it when she called me by it.

She smiled gently, sensing my suspicion. "I understand what you are thinking. I did not put anything in it... Look, I will share it with you," she said while nibbling on a small piece of an apple and then handing the rest to me.

I stared into her hazel eyes and carefully took the apple from her. I ate a few bites while she sat down to watch me with a charming smile. I noticed her gaze wandering toward my hands, which had been chained to the wall for so long. She tried to talk to me all the time and asked about my past life, but I do not remember anything to tell her. I have been deliberately silent since I arrived here, determined to observe and find out what is going on around me.

It did not take long before the door to the room swung open and that doctor entered. "What are you doing in there, Eileen? You are late in writing the results for Case One Hundred and Nine... Is he not ready for the test yet?" he asked in a cold tone.

Eileen turned toward him so suddenly that her papers fell to the ground. "No, he is still weak," she said, looking confused.

The doctor crossed his arms over his chest. "Anyway, I do not need to take the results anymore. I want you to leave the room because in a little while... we will move him to another place," he said.

She nodded her head and turned to look at me one last time as she left the room, her sweet scent disappearing with her. I watched that doctor bring a small cart with some equipment into the room. He took out a large syringe and filled it with a clear liquid. As he approached slowly, I bared my fangs, warning him not to come any closer. I was ready to kill him if I had the chance.

He stopped in his tracks and gave a sly, cruel smile. "You seem to have recovered, dog. It was not right to put a beautiful girl next to you," he sneered.

He placed the syringe on the cart and reached into his pocket. Suddenly, he pulled out a device and lunged toward me, hitting my shoulder. I felt a massive surge of pain spreading through my body. "This stunner is strong enough to kill two men. If you want me to stop, you will have to calm down and take the shot," he said.

I roared in his face; I would not allow him to inject me again. He electrocuted me once more in the stomach, and I fell to my knees, gasping. Suddenly, I saw Eileen standing right behind the doctor. She stabbed a large syringe into the side of his neck with desperate force. He released the detonator from his hand and grabbed the syringe, trying to pull it from his neck, but he lost control of his legs and collapsed to the ground.

Eileen POV

When the doctor in charge asked me to leave the room, I knew he was planning something sinister. He wanted to inject Alexei with the drug and get rid of him somewhere before the authorities raided the center. I watched him from outside the room and saw him ruthlessly electrocute Alexei. I could not stand the cruelty; I ran inside quickly, and when my eyes fell on the syringe on the cart, I took it without thinking and drove it into the neck of Roman.

He fell unconscious immediately. I stood there stunned, putting my hand over my mouth in disbelief. I could not believe I had actually done this. I raised my head toward Alexei, who was watching me as if he was surprised by my sudden action.

I swallowed hard and realized there was no turning back. He would reveal me after the doctor woke up, and he would surely report what had happened. Without delay, I took the keys to the handcuffs from my pocket to undo the padlocks around his wrists and feet. I stood at the door of the room, watching the corridor, and fortunately, there was no one in sight.

"Come on, follow me... let us get out of here," I whispered urgently.

I saw Alexei stand up, stretching his arms, and then he followed me in silence. We went downstairs using the stairwell. I knew all the staff in the center used the elevators, so it was rare for anyone to be there. We ran toward the emergency corridor of the building until we reached the back door. I tried to open the door by pulling and pushing it, but it was locked with a massive padlock.

Alexei gently pushed me aside with his hand and then moved toward the door, kicking it open with immense strength. At last, we were outside, and I saw Alexei inhaling the fresh air around him. He had been imprisoned here for about six months in an isolated room, and I was so glad to see him free again.

"Leave now! Go home!" I told him.

But he stayed standing there, looking at me. He moved anxiously and hesitantly, passing his hand over his forehead as if he were refusing to leave. I wondered what he was waiting for; he was finally free and he should run away. Suddenly, I heard the sirens sounding from deep inside the center.

I was terrified to hear those sirens. I realized they must have discovered that Doctor Roman was injured and that Alexei had escaped from his room.