Chapter Eleven: Moment of Sleep

Chapter Eleven - Moment of Sleep

Black. It surrounded me entirely. No sense of self, I just let myself drift. To forget myself at this point felt like a blessing. That moment before sleep, where thoughts start to bleed together and drift, inevitably becoming dream. Eternally drifting, while letting unrestrained thoughts flow in no particular direction. The stress of life seemed so far away.

Pin pricks danced along my senses. They have a distinct feeling of numbness to my being, marking the return of feeling. In absolute stillness, true numbness can't be differentiated from nonexistence. The key feeling that comes to mind, thus, is the prickly feelings of exiting numbness, instead of the numbness itself. But I digress.

Thoughts stirred at my attention simultaneously with the chilled air. I'd never been bothered by cold, but this felt unnatural. Instinctively, I remained motionless, letting my soft breaths carry smells into my nose, trying to get a grip on where I was. The only odor present however, was that of mildew and an unkempt decay. Frowning, I withheld a sneeze to the best of my abilities, and tried to put pressure on my nose.

My thoughts froze. I attempted to move my arm again, but it was held in place, outstretched to my right. Testing my left, I swallowed hard as it was similarly held, simply inversed. Performing a check on my legs as well, I discovered they were both bound, and I seemed to be propped at about a twenty degree angle. Finally giving in, I opened my eyes.

Dull gray concrete greeted my eyes, and a large mirror. The mirror was mounted on the concrete blocks, and spanned at least ten feet across. It stopped waist high to the ground, but came within inches of the ceiling towards the top. Frowning, I suddenly realized how chilled the room was. It felt like an abandoned basement would feel.

Given the nature of mirrors, I examined myself in it. I was held on what appeared to be an operating table, but at an angle. The restraints were actually solid metal cuffs, which bolted into place, and seemed to be locked down with a full weight system. There were similar cuffs on my biceps, thighs, and around my waist. The only thing that wasn't locked down with a metal cuff was my head. A simple leather strap held it to the thin cushion at the top of the table.

My clothing had been removed entirely, replaced by a hospital gown, by the looks of it. It felt entirely open in the back, and the metal I was resting against was uncomfortably cold, especially with more sensitive parts laying flat against the surface. My eyes widened and I blushed as I noticed there was an indented curve to the table, leading to a bowled out section. The bowl had a large hole towards the back of it, and I sighed, realizing they wanted me to just go to the bathroom whenever right like this. What the hell was this thing? Why was I even here?

Nobody answered of course. I guess I wasn't expecting one, really. I decided a more verbal approach. "Um, hello? Is anyone there?" I asked weakly, coughing as I realized my throat was still full of crap.

Silence. It was unnerving. Suddenly, I really didn't like this place. It felt familiar as well, which added to the unsettling environment. The only lights came from above; a washed out fluorescent with a colorless filter panel over them.

After a couple seconds, I sighed and tried turning my head. I discovered I could look in either direction if I slid the leather across the top of my head, but I couldn't bend my neck in the slightest. Upon further examination of the restraints I was in, I noticed that the tension weights attached to the sides of them were almost a thousand pounds, and grounded direction into the cement! It suddenly clicked. These were meant to hold pokégirls. I must be considered dangerous after everything that happened in the battle, so they were keeping me here until they realized I was fully back in control.

I exhaled lightly and realized that, if I could convince them I was me, that there wasn't going to be any issues. My voice was a solid indication, of course. I'm sure they could run energy scans on me as well. Or I'll just tell Jessica to let a simple brain scan through and that would show it too. I pondered how to talk to Jessica, in that case. I'd never willfully sought her out, before.

My thoughts were disrupted with the high pitched squeaking of some sort of audio device. A microphone? "Testing. Can you hear me, Keith R. Ó Braonain?" suddenly came through the wall, in a surprisingly clear fashion. Sound plates disguised as concrete blocks, maybe? I suppose it would be of little risk if they insulated the system with more concrete.

I cleared my throat weakly and nodded, returning, "Yes, I can hear you, um," I trailed off, realizing he hadn't introduced himself.

"My apologies, but my line of work doesn't present itself for names. For the sake of identification, you can call me Coeus," the definably male voice spoke. There was a certain sophistication to the rhetoric, but the tone hinted towards a more malicious nature.

I nodded weakly. "Um, is there a reason I'm being restrained? I'm me, not Kessandris. I'm not going to hurt anyone," I asked, attempting to get to the bottom of this so I could get out.

There was a light chuckling for a few seconds. "Oh, I know you're you. And you may truly desire no harm to us," he assured, letting the sentence fall flat.

I waited for several seconds, but he wasn't adding more. "Oh, well why am I restrained then? And what more use can I be?" I asked warily, unsure of what was going on suddenly.

"Oh, the reasoning is very, very simplistic. All I require is information. It's a very valuable commodity, I'm sure you understand, and certain individuals within power desire the information you have. I'm in the employ of said individuals, and am here to get the information they wish," he explained dispassionately.

Frowning, I attempted to nod again. "Okay, so what do you want to know?" I asked, just wishing they'd let me go. Precaution was one thing, but this was ridiculous.

"Let's start simply then, shall we? You met the Dark Queen by the name of Karumi three and a half weeks ago, correct?" he asked leisurely.

What the hell? How could he not know this? "Yes," I answered weakly, his voice already tiring me out.

"Good. Your father was murdered in that event, and you and your friends followed Karumi into her dimensional construct, correct?" he asked next.

I frowned. "Mostly. We were taken captive, though. We didn't follow willingly," I corrected, not liking the tone he put on it.

"Yes, yes. I'm sure. Now then," he interrupted.

Now I really didn't like the tone, or the way this was going. "You remained in the dimension for three weeks, roughly, and were taught necromancy and transmutation, correct?" he asked. 

A neutral sounding question. Either he decided I might be truthful, or he was lulling me into a sense of security. "Yes, her intent was to enlist me to her cause," I explained.

"Ah hah! So she enlisted you, and then? What were her current plans? Who was supplying her with artifacts and knowledge?" he asked, suddenly sounding eager.

I frowned and shook my head. "You have it wrong. She never let me in on her plans, nor did I have any desire to work with her. Cuthbert interrupted before she even finalized my training," I tried to explain.

"Ah yes, you must be very heartbroken that you didn't learn everything you could from her. My condolences," he added softly, but in a decidedly mocking context.

My eyes narrowed, but I said nothing. "Oh? You look upset. Please, don't refrain from any commentary. I would be delighted to hear anything you wish to say," he added, sounding amused again.

I remained utterly quiet, and he chuckled after almost half a minute. "Stoic, aren't you? Very well. Now, a few questions about you, shall we?" he asked.

"Where are my friends?" I asked, disrupting his flow.

There was a moment of pause, then a sigh. "I'm not in a position to reveal that information to you, as you're currently in custody," he informed, sounding irritated by my disruption.

"What did I do wrong? Why am I being detained?" I asked.

There was a slamming noise, that sounded like something against a wooden object. "Enough! There will be no further questions from you until we clear this up. You are a cohort of a Dark Queen, have been taught her magic, and are already a suspected individual by your very looks, and I will not tolerate scrutiny by such a dubious individual."

"My looks?" I asked, glaring towards the mirror I realized must not be a mirror.

"Yes, your looks. You're just like one of them. A half-breed who can't be trusted. So until you submit to judgmental process and prove otherwise, you are not to be forgiven," he explained.

He was distrustful of pokégirls, and saw me as one of them, then. I sighed and realized I'd probably be here a while. "Now then, who is this Kessandris?" he asked, sounding less friendly now.

"My Mother," I stated curtly, unsure of what more he could possibly want.

"Our records indicate her displaying purely average abilities, and being your father's Alpha. If she was the personality you displayed yesterday, explain yourself," he ordered.

Well at least I had a time reference now. "Not personality. Somehow, her soul got stuck inside mine. I don't have the energy required to do what she did, even if I knew her techniques, so her soul must be fully inside of me," I reasoned, shaking my head, then remembering how hard it was to do.

"That doesn't explain how she was so powerful, nor where she learned those techniques. That magic was entirely undocumented," he pointed out.

Sighing, I tried to shrug, and failed miserably. "I don't know either. I thought she was just a normal pokégirl too. But she acted like she didn't even know me," I agreed.

There was several seconds of nothing, followed by a sigh. "This is getting us nowhere. He's fully loyal to them, and masterful at lying, I'll admit. We'll need to try other methods," I heard Coeus mutter, apparently to someone near him. Great. Although I suppose I didn't expect him to believe me.

"What do you desire, Master?" I heard asked softly back. Master? For someone who hated or distrusted pokégirls, he had one of his own? I hated hypocrites.

There was another sigh, then a scratching noise I barely picked up, causing my ears to twitch. Pen on paper, maybe? "Normally I'd go for a scan, but reports indicate he's highly trained in resisting mental techniques. Use level four deep analysis," he ordered. Huh? I'd never heard of the term, so I could only assume it was something he developed himself. Or it was code for something else entirely.

"Are you sure, Master? He's a human," the feminine voice asked hesitantly.

"I gave you an order. Get on it," he reminded, causing me to hate him just a little more.

There was a timid sigh. "Yes Master. Just me, or?" she asked.

"No, all three of you," he corrected before she even finished. Three of them? What were they? Mental techniques must mean they're some type of psychic pokégirl. Would that mean he's an inspector of some sort?

All mental reasoning and deduction ground to a stop immediately. As in, Skarmoress to side of mountain, stop. My eyes widened abruptly as it felt like someone took power drills to the sides of my skull. Screaming out before I could even stop myself, I felt the tearing sensation worm its way through my head, digging deep into my mind. Jessica screamed out inside my head immediately, and I felt her trying to push back the drill feelings. She would push on one side, and the other would grind deeper, however.

Everything exploded into a blinding white wave of agony, as it felt like each drill head expanded, shredding everything around them as they ripped my mind to pieces. Metallic taste flooded into my mouth, and my vision was blinded by grays and whites, as I jolted against the restraints. "Make sure he doesn't lose consciousness, girls. People can hide things like that," I heard echoing from all around me.

It was like I was being held there. Why wasn't I dead yet? It felt like someone was running my mind through a paper shredder, but the pain just kept coming. There was no relief from even passing out. It was like someone was keeping me alive, at this exact moment of death. I squirmed and twisted against the restraints, screaming out again, and unable to catch my breath. My awareness dwindled as I realized I couldn't think past the agony at all.

"Keith!" was suddenly screamed out through my head, and I felt the distinctness of someone grabbing me around the waist. They pulled backwards then, and I felt like I was sinking. Slowly drifting backwards, trying to scream in agony again, then realizing I was sinking into acid rather than water. Even the sanctuary of unconsciousness burned at everything I was consciously aware of.

Writhing, I twisted around and shook, managing to cry out one last time before everything went black.

* * * * *

Patrick's fist slammed violently into the wall. "What the fuck is wrong with these people?!" he shouted, glaring angrily towards the door.

Nishia winced at the outburst, but continued looking at Patrick. "I'm sorry. It's out of our jurisdiction. Cuthbert's fighting tooth and nail to get him out of here, and let you all go, but it's an uphill battle," she whined, wincing again at his glare.

"Keith didn't do anything wrong, though. Why is he being punished?" Kari asked from her position, sitting on the couch.

Nishia shook her head weakly. "Coeus isn't known for his compassion, especially towards pokégirls. This extends to humans with mutated genes, or 'half-breeds' as he so gently refers to them as," she replied.

Patrick snorted. "So he's targeted because he has fuzzy ears and a tail, is it?" he asked sharply.

"Hehe! Fuzzy!" Danni repeated from the couch opposite of Kari. Kiya raised an eyebrow in her direction, while sitting next to her.

Nishia shook her head sadly. "That's probably a leading factor. He was also closest to Karumi, and displayed whatever that weird power was," she defended, seemingly more herself than anything.

Patrick growled again, but Kari sighed weakly. "Patrick, stop it. It's not Nishia's fault."

He sighed after a moment of silence, and nodded. "Sorry. I'm just on edge, that's all," he apologized quietly. After considering it for a few seconds, he added, "And have a bad case of nausea."

Kiya shook her head sadly, while Kari blushed. She'd attempted recharging his crystal this morning by simply blasting it with a power bolt or two. It had worked, somewhat. It wasn't glowing as bright as usual though, and Patrick had immediately and violently expelled the contents of his stomach into the toilet. Twice.

Nishia winced. "That's right! I thought I heard someone throwing up this morning. Should I have Tyra come down and look at you?" she asked, smiling politely towards him.

"No, that won't be needed," he declined, scratching lightly at the reddened line around his neck. It was nothing but a scar at this point, but almost looked infected if one didn't know its true nature.

Nishia nodded curtly. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked softly.

"Um, I'll need a taming soon. When is Keith getting released?" Kari asked quietly, barely audible.

Nishia swallowed uncomfortably, and looked away from her. "Well it might be a little while. He's kind of had his license revoked, hopefully temporarily. And um," she trailed off.

"What?" Patrick asked, eyes narrowing.

Kari frowned as well. "Um?" she asked.

Nishia winced. "I-It's nothing," she quickly returned, followed by, "Legally Kari's transferred over to Patrick. Cuthbert approved it. Oh, and Kittra was put through a healing cycle and into storage."

Patrick shook his head at the poor attempt to change the topic, but just let it drop. "Look, I'm not going to tame Kari while their are alternatives. Can you or Tyra do it?" he asked, glancing back at the now blushing Kari.

Nishia shook her head weakly. "I'm too busy with the huge backup of paperwork yesterday caused. Tyra might, although she prefers boys," she reasoned, shrugging afterwards.

Patrick nodded gently. "All else fails, I'll have Kiya tame her," he muttered, causing the Ria to squeak and join in the blushing.

Kari coughed lightly. "Um, Keith will get his license back after this though, right?" she asked, also sucking at covertly changing topics.

Nishia nodded and smiled again. "He's done nothing wrong, and even the three Ka-D-Bras can't lie about what they find," she assured.

"Wait, Ka-D-Bras?" Kari asked hesitantly.

Nishia paled visibly. "Er, well that's what Coeus uses to discover the truth when he feels someone is lying," she replied, swallowing uneasily again.

"So he makes three psychic pokégirls brain-rape whomever he doesn't trust?" Patrick asked in disbelief, eyes widening.

Kari stood up off the couch instantly. "What?! Is that happening right now? I want to go make sure Keith's okay!" she exclaimed nervously.

"No, you can't! Coeus doesn't want visitors, plus pokégirls aren't allowed down there unless pokéballed or restrained," Nishia rapidly shot back, hitting the lock button on the door behind her.

"Fuck that asshole. I'll visit Keith, then. And I'm not a pokégirl," Patrick pointed out, stepping towards the door.

Nishia held out both arms and backed up against the door. "No! You're all suspects and currently 'arrested' technically. You busting your way down there isn't going to help Keith at all," she protested, causing Kari to look down sadly.

"So you're just going to let this bullshit happen?" Patrick snarled, glaring at her heatedly.

Nishia suddenly narrowed her eyes. "Look, if I had the power to do so, Keith and everyone here would be free on merit of honor alone. But we're trying our hardest to talk to the league and get these accusations removed," she informed, taking. Pause to breath before adding in an equally loud voice, "Furthermore, I didn't even have to come down here and tell you all this, but I wanted to help you as best I could!"

Patrick was wide eyed and looked taken aback by the time she was done. Kari just sighed and nodded. "We're sorry for being stressed out. We didn't mean to take it out on you. Thank you for helping us, Nishia," she apologized gently. Kiya nodded politely along before standing and walking over to Patrick's side. Danni remained cowering against the couch while covering her ears, a fresh egg resting on the cushion where she was before. Kari groaned and flopped back down onto the couch.

Patrick frowned down at Kiya as she smiled up at him and took his hand, pulling him back towards the couch gently. Nishia looked at Kari for a few seconds before releasing a deep breath and slumping. "I'm sorry too. Honestly, that man makes me uncomfortable. I guess we're all stressed," Nishia agreed, apologizing as well.

Everyone remained quiet for a few seconds before Nishia bowed politely and let herself out the door. Kari sighed weakly after she left and shook her head. "The thought of what they're doing to him isn't setting well with me," she muttered, Patrick watching her while trying to comfort Danni.

"I suppose she's right. There's nothing legal we can do to help him right now, unfortunately," he admitted, sounding frustrated.

Kiya rested weakly against his side as he held Danni in his arms. Kari finally sighed once more and stood up again. "I'm going to take a shower I think," she muttered, followed by, "It might get my mind off everything."

Patrick chuckled and grinned.  "Go join her, Kiya. Help get her mind off things," he ordered, causing both girls to blush. Danni blissfully say in Patrick's lap, ignorant of it all.

"That's not needed, Patrick," Kari whined.

"Nonsense! I'll take care of Danni while you two are distracted," he finalized, winking at Kiya. She blushed but nodded, walking over to Kari instead.

Kari frowned softly at the Ria, but she shook her head. "It's okay. You're temporarily a harem sister," Kiya assured, leaning up and kissing Kari gently. 

Kari shuddered, and sighed weakly before nodding. Patrick grinned as both girls went into the shower. He decided that getting pissed off at everything wouldn't resolve this. Sighing, he gave Danni a gentle hug.

* * * * *

My eyes opened weakly as my consciousness slowly returned. It always returned. Why couldn't they just kill me and get it over with? Letting out a groan, I shifted my head in the leather straps more.

This was the third time I'd came back after losing consciousness. I had no idea how long I was out, or how long each session lasted. All I knew was they were getting worse each time. Coeus was getting frustrated, and I overheard him talking about them not finding anything before the last session.   He just kept pushing harder though. I had no reservations about living through this anymore. In all likelihood, he was just going to continue until there was nothing left of me to wake up. My only real hope was that someone cleaned me up afterwards.

Smells assaulted my nose, and I felt sick again. Coughing, I tried to breath through my mouth. My throat felt raw from my own stomach acid after throwing up repeatedly, even after their was nothing in my stomach anymore. It had simply went down the front of my gown, and nobody had bothered getting me a new one. It was dried up now, but the smell was overwhelming. It didn't help that I discovered the tube of my excrement basin below me only lead to a bucket behind my chair. It smelled like I'd made use of it sometime during the last session, and nobody bothered to change it.

I listened weakly, but the only sound that came to my ears was a steady dripping. There was nobody in the observation booth on the other side of the mirror. I wondered what time it was. The dripping persisted faintly, and I glanced to the right. Blood was trickling at a minuscule pace from my raw skin contacting the metal cuff. I sighed and shivered, my stomach protesting heavily.

The silence was maddening, with only the dripping of my blood to the floor. My head throbbed, and I couldn't really think straight anymore. Thoughts drifted in my mind, seemingly unanchored and unorganized. I wondered what day it was. How long had I been here? Did it really matter? I suppose if this was to be all that was left of me, or worse after he finished, nothing really mattered. It was a strangely nihilistic direction, but when faced with the possibility that I might simply cease cognitive functioning and there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it, I didn't see a lot of other options.

Damn that dripping! My head was starting to pulse with every drop, it echoing through my head. Wincing, I snarled at my own arm. What did they want from me?! My thoughts spun out of control, and I watched my magic materialize by itself. Just shut up! Lashing out at my own body, I watched as a bone spear released and smashed through my entire right forearm, fracturing the bone aside and smashing through into the metal beneath. The pain was absent entirely as I started laughing, discovering bone shards stuck in the skin of my right cheek. That'll teach it!

I laughed more as it hazily drifted away, my thoughts abstracting, and I briefly forgot what I was doing. The bone spear faded from view, and I noted I was still restrained, no damage to my arm at all. Chuckling, I couldn't help but be amused at where I was. What was my intent? Why was I here? If I was to be erased so easily after everything I tried to do, what was the point of any of it? I'd never figure any of this out, and it was never in my power to do so in the first place. Where was the justice in any of this if some asshole like him can just waltz in and snatch away everything?

Snickering more, I felt my left wrist start to bleed from my spasms as well. More snickering joined mine, and I looked up weakly. The scar over my left eye suddenly ached as I watched the faint image of a girl drift through the mirror in front of me? I raised an eyebrow as I realized she wasn't entirely healthy looking. Or alive looking. Her right eye was missing entirely, replaced by a gory puncture wound. She also had deep cuts all over her body. My eyes widened as she fully emerged, and I realized I could see the mirror through the hole in her head. It went all the way through. Definitely not alive looking.

She giggled again as I watched her, and drifted over to me, sniffing my face gently. I tried to instinctively back away, the gore of her right eye making me sick again, but I couldn't move an inch. She made a licking motion to my cheek, and I realized her tongue had been cut out as well. I shuddered as I watched the useless stub move in her mouth before she drifted backwards away from me. She turned around in midair, and glanced around the cell I was in. That's when I noticed she had a tail. It was long, and cat-like. Wait, if she had a tail, where were her ears? Were their cat pokégirls that didn't have ears? I examined her head more closely, and felt my gag reflex kick in. I saw the shredded remains of one of her ears sticking out of her matted hair. The other ear seemed gone entirely. She was tortured?!

She made a throaty meow noise as she turned around and smiled back at me. The motion of her cheeks made her eye hole shift, and I watched blood ooze out and down her face as she drifted. There was more snickering suddenly, resounding from a deeper voice, as another girl drifted through the mirror. My thoughts blurred a little as both of them grinned. The new girl was obviously a Dragon type, but my head felt stuffed with cotton and I couldn't identify her species.

Not that it mattered, as she was clearly dead as well. The right side of her face looked minced, tattered flesh drifting freely off her by whatever force propelled her through the air. Her eye was still present, and drifted as freely as her flesh. She smiled at me, shards of her jaw drifting about as she got closer to me.

That did it. I choked, and managed to throw up a little bit again, struggling to get away from her. She tilted her head and leaned in, inches from my face. The other girl giggled again and drifted closer as well. I slammed my eyes shut, but I could feel their presence directly in front of me. There was a sudden smell of blood, and I couldn't tell if it was real or memories.

Gasping, I felt Jessica pull me deeper into my head again, and away from the spirits. I landed a lot rougher than usual, and sat up weakly. Sis was chained up to a large rock, exactly where the three pokégirls left her after breaking through. I walked over to where she was, carefully stepping onto the drifting island chunk. Things were disaster. Large grooves were gashed into the terrain from where they dug for data. Rocks and bits of the run down structures were drifting free of gravity now, some as large as a garage. This place was supposed to be subjective to my own consciousness, but I couldn't seem to think clear enough to repair any of it. In a haze, I stumbled over to the rock she was chained to and collapsed against her.

The rock was round originally, and vaguely stout. They had cut it into an hourglass shape and tied her to it in a sitting position. Pushing into her side, I rested there wearily. She smiled gently and kissed the top of my forehead. Coughing tiredly, the faint smell of blood prolonged even here, but at least I got away from the spirits.

"It'll be okay, Bro. They've searched everywhere, so they have to be almost done," she reasoned, her own voice sounding tired and taxed.

Sighing weakly, I nuzzled into her side more, trying not to smell the blood. "Does it matter? I can't seem to think straight anymore," I asked.

"You can't just give up!" she protested, struggling to get free of the restraints.

I snorted, but didn't move, ignoring getting jostled by her straining. "Why not? If I don't have the power or capacity to even find the truth, or resist blatant injustice, what is the point, Sis?" I asked softly, feeling tired. I'd never felt tired in my own mind before. That probably wasn't a good sign.

After a few more pointless thrashes, she settled down and slumped. I watched the rain start to gently fall, and her face slumped towards the ground. Sitting upright now, I simply watched the drops of rain slide off her bangs. It was hypnotic, watching the trickle of water, and I finally just stopped trying to focus. My mind relaxed, and I let my thoughts release peacefully.

"I'm sorry, Brother. I wish I could have been stronger," she suddenly whispered, not looking up.

Frowning, I shook my head and wondered what I'd truly wanted at this point. "None of this seems like our doing," I pointed out weakly, after considering it.

She remained utterly silent, not even seeming to breath, and I felt sleepy. Could I sleep here? It felt almost as if I could. I found myself wanting to do as so, badly.

"...nothing further to find..." I suddenly heard, echoing and fragmented. My attention briefly flickered to the main island, where I saw the three formless entities bickering again. They did that a lot when they were here.

Oddly, it was hard to hear them this time. I caught merely echoing fragments, as if they were off in the distance. "...pointless. To further dig would simply degrade..." I caught. It was the calm and logical one.

"But it's fun! Who cares what..." echoed back. Ah, the bitch.

"...be retarded. Repair, not..." the nice one replied.

Suddenly, I realized I didn't really care, and slumped sideways, directly into the mud next to Sis. I saw her look over at me slowly, eyes looking tired and sad. The mud was warmer than I myself felt, and very soft. I felt numb suddenly, as I decided I really didn't care. Fuck them all. I didn't have to pay attention to them anymore.

Everything drifted as I let my thoughts slip away. My body was suddenly feeling as weak as my real one, and I just let myself lock up and go numb. Resisting took too much work. The smell of blood came back, stronger than ever, but I didn't care.

"...don't, Broth..." was the last thing I heard, echoing, as I let myself drift to sleep to my sister's voice.

Chapter Eleven - End