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14

Bianaca

Angry, gray storm clouds obscured the sun from view. As the sky opened up, releasing its torrent of rain, I remained huddled beneath the bough of the largest tree. The canopy provided minimal shelter from the raging storm, but I eagerly welcomed each raindrop cascading down my cheek.

The icy rain reminded me that I was still breathing.

My mind raced, formulating more questions than answers. Each new number to this fucked up equation caused a piercing headache to appear behind my eyes.

Hell. Supernatural. Experiment.

So many scenarios.

I tried to piece together what little I knew. Tanner was right. I, along with the others, had arrived in a cab. I hadn’t had one conversation with any of the professors, though I did see them often gliding through the hallways. Students were being plucked from the school and being fed to a…monster? Even to my own ears, that sounded insane.

Insane.

Insane.

That one word reverberated through my head, pounding my skull like a sledgehammer. It was killing me slowly from the inside out, demolishing my defenses until I was nothing more than a trembling pile of discarded waste.

Insane.

Insane.

Was that what I was?

Insane?

The idea held merit. More merit than anything else I could conjure up.

Placing my head in my hands, I let out an anguished cry. It echoed in the surrounding forest, this chaotic battle scream.

Insane.

Insane.

Insane.

I released my head and clenched my hands. My fingernails dug into my palms, and blood welled. Still, I pressed down harder, relishing in the blistering pain running up my veins. My nails continued to pierce my skin, tiny crescent-shaped indents, but I didn’t relent. My hold tightened.

More. I needed more.

More answers. More pain.

More pain.

Blood cascaded down in red rivulets, staining my pristine gray uniform. Pain continued to assault me, each stab a wound I wasn’t sure I could recover from.

“What are you doing?” I heard the voice, somewhat distantly, come up from behind me, but I paid it no heed. Instead, I dug my fingers farther into the flesh of my arm. Tears sprang to my eyes, but I couldn’t separate them from the rain pelting my face.

In the distance, lightning struck, a giant spotlight being flickered on. The light was snatched away, and gray darkness returned.

Pain.

More.

I needed it.