Tightrope: Part 1
It's Dredge-Up Friday! I feel slightly embarrassed looking over melodramatic old fics like this, but I suppose it does them better than sitting to rot on my computer. I'll try and post all three chapters this time. The other two need editing.
And what the hell is with this new LJ layout? Yeesh.
Part 1
“Miss Grayson! Welcome, welcome! I trust your journey was pleasant?”
“Yes, thank you,” I replied, stepping through the doorway. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to excuse me - my Japanese isn't the best that it could be...”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I heard about your transfer from the UK, and can’t tell you how much I appreciate your choice in coming to work here.”
I nodded politely as the man took my coat and slung it over his arm. Kobayashi was a broad man, much like an overfilled sack of butter, with thinning grey hair and a brown jacket that couldn't quite cover his bulging chest. Smiling, he bowed his head a little - as was Japanese custom - and indicated the way forward with his free arm.
The place reminded me of a hospital, what with its white, slightly dull walls and sterilised smell. Every now and then, we would pass through a grey door marked with some sort of sign, though I was never allowed to stop long enough to read them. The whole building was like a maze, what with all its individual corridors and rooms that all seemed like copies of one another.
“Miss Grayson, would I be correct in saying that you are to work here full time?” Kobayashi said after a few minutes’ worth of walking.
“That's right,” I answered. “I was told that there would be on-site accommodation as well.”
The man chuckled. “Yes, there’s a full suite on the second floor of the building - luckily for you, you’ll be able to use it all by yourself.”
I breathed a silent sight of relief. Not that I was antisocial, but I’d never warmed to the idea of sharing a living space with strangers. Still, it seemed a little odd that there would be enough room, even in a building this big. “Don’t you have many people working here, then?”
“No, just me.” Kobayashi eyed me as if telling a joke. “I run this place completely independently.”
I frowned to myself. Did Kobayashi mean to tell me that he was the only one operating an institution of this size, without any internal help? It was impossible! Clearly, the man was taking the opportunity to trick me. I was just about to point out how ridiculous the idea was, when all of a sudden, he stopped, and his face turned from light-hearted to serious.
We were standing in yet another corridor - probably on the first floor, judging from the amount of stairs we’d climbed.
Kobayashi raised his hand and brought it down upon my shoulder, yet there was something unfriendly about his grip - it was far too hard. Slowly, he brought his face closer to mine, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear what he was about to tell me - though if what he’d just said was true, then there was no risk of that happening.
“Miss Grayson, do you have any idea what this place is?”
“The Gakuyama Institute,” I replied. “A research centre that studies rare bacteria and their industrial manufacturing. I came for the position of-”
“Miss Grayson!” the man exclaimed all of a sudden, silencing me. Then, at a lower volume, he muttered, “Follow me.”
He pulled back, turned and started to walk towards the nearest door, apparently without any intention of answering my questions. I thought for a moment, rubbing my shoulder where it had been squeezed. Was this all some kind of practical joke? Kobayashi seemed like the kind of person who enjoyed making a fool out of people, despite his politeness towards me. Yet as a new employee, I was obliged to follow his direction, and if that resulted in me becoming a laughing stock, then I would have to just grin and bear it. This was my first proper job and part of my medical degree training, after all.
I caught up with him after a few rooms, but still he refused to stop. However, his pace did slow a little so that he was able to speak to me as we walked.
“Miss Grayson, I feel I need to show you the kind of work this institute does. I was hoping to do this later, after a tour of the work area but, well…” He paused to chuckle a little. “To be honest, I'm a little excited.”
We descended a set of stairs, similar to the ones we'd come up earlier, though instead of stopping on the ground floor, these continued downwards, wrapping around in a square shape. The bottom was visible as I leaned over the edge, albeit badly-lit.
The more we walked, the more my scepticism faded and my curiosity grew. Kobayashi moved fast for his size and appeared to be in a rush, as if he were anxious about something. It was difficult to keep up, but at last, I arrived at the floor a few seconds behind him.
What lay in front of us was a passage, lit dimly by lamps mounted onto the walls. Unlike the upper floors, this area seemed to have little care put into its upkeep, as if it were not accustomed to visitors.
At once, Kobayashi began his march forwards, and I was obliged to walk several paces behind him due to the narrowness of the corridor. There was a door at the end, though instead of just opening normally, this one required a key to be opened. My heartbeat filled my whole chest as I watched the man pull the small piece of silver from his jacket pocked and fumble with the lock - it seemed as if each second was drawn out into an hour.
And then, it was open.
Kobayashi stepped to the side and nodded to indicate that I was the first to go through. I shot him a nervous look before taking my first step forward into the room.
Like the corridor, the area was dark, though instead of lights, tall, thick candles illuminated the area, most of them so big I imagined they'd last for weeks before having to be replaced. Needless to say, this limited my vision and turned a lot of the objects around the room into mere silhouettes, this meant that that my vision was limited, though there was one unmistakable item that caught my attention straight away.
It was positioned in the middle of the room as if it were the centrepiece of a display - a cage that came up to my chest and stood about a metre and a half wide. Usually, it would have been used to hold dogs, but as far as I could remember, they had been banned in the country for the purpose of containing animals due to cruelty.
“Do you like it?” Kobayashi appeared beside me suddenly, making me jump. From his trouser pocket he pulled a cigar, placed the end of it between his lips and lit it before snapping the lighter shut. “The Gakuyama Institute is independent in the sense that our research is, in fact, based upon this. Take a look, Miss Grayson. It can't hurt you - don't worry.”
I took a step towards the cage, both weary and a little scared about what I might find inside. The pace of my heart hadn't slowed - if anything, it was faster now, anticipating the moment my eyes would fall upon the thing was contained.
A figure lay strewn across the base of the cage, dressed all in black with leather bands wrapped tightly around its arms and waist to constrict movement. Due to the small area, its body was bent round into a position that seemed far inadequate for sleeping, and as a result its arms were brought in close to its chest.
I gasped - it was a human!
“What… W-what's going on?” I stuttered. I was shocked - what was a man doing down here, confined like this? My whole body turned to face Kobayashi, but I was just as surprised to see him grinning as he chewed on his cigar.
“I know what you're thinking, Miss Grayson, and I can tell you now that that thing is not human.”
I felt myself shiver as his foot came crashing into the side of the cage.
The figure inside raised his head a little and stared at Kobayashi with dark, lethargic eyes. It took a few seconds for him to realise what was going on, but when he did, the reaction was immediate. His whole body leapt into motion as he scrambled up off the floor and threw himself to the back of the cage, narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth like some kind of animal. A cascade of glossy black hair fell over one side of his face and reached down to somewhere around the middle of his chest, though there were signs that it was badly cared for and neglected. I also noticed a single chain leading from a collar on his neck to one of the upper corners of the cage. In my eyes, it was completely unnecessary, since the container itself was sturdy enough to hold him in place; thus, I couldn't help wondering whether it had been put in place simply to mock him.
Kobayashi twirled the fat cigar between his chunky fingers, staring at the person in the cage as if admiring a work of art. “This is my prized possession - out of everything here, it's definitely my favourite. But of course, the most dangerous…” He drew in on the cigar and sent a cloud of smoke billowing out in front of him.
I eyed him in disgust, feeling the anger rise within me as the initial shock wore away. “Mr Kobayashi, I'm sorry to be rude, but that's a person! What the hell's he doing down here?”
The fat man laughed in response and took a step towards me - I sharply avoided the contact. “I see there's no convincing you, is there, Miss Grayson? In that case, I suggest you watch and learn.”
My fists clenched, but I said nothing as Kobayashi positioned himself in front of the cage and bent so that his head was level with the top. The black-haired man hadn't moved - from the looks of it, he was trying to get as far away from us as possible within the confined space. Grinning, Kobayashi reached into the cage - only just able to fit his hand through the bars - and tightened his fingers around the chain that connected the cage to its denizen. The man seemed to realise what was going on, as he immediately launched into a violent fit, growling and clutching the bars at the back of the cage so hard his hands were bone-white. This only made Kobayashi chuckle, and with a sharp tug on the chain, the man was pulled forward, hitting the front so hard the sound rebounded off the walls.
It seemed that this still wasn't enough to quieten him, though. Desperately, the he thrashed out, trying as hard as he could to wrench himself away. Yet even I could see how hopeless it all was. The bond around his throat held him firmly against the bars - any more pressure and it would have asphyxiated him. In the end, the only option for him was to slump downwards - out of breath and wincing at the pain of exhaustion, but still holding an aggressive, animalistic expression on his face amid the defeat.
Now that he was in the light, I could see for the first time just how bad a condition he was in. His body wasn't thin or emaciated - but then again, it wasn't exactly what would have been classed as 'healthy' amongst medical students, leading me to wonder how often he was provided access to food. However, what really caught my attention was the paleness of his skin, commonly due to a lack of
sunlight or extreme blood loss.
Just how long had he been trapped down here for?
A low sound brought my attention back to the scene in front of me. The man growled as he followed Kobayashi's hand with his, which he was moving back and forth through the air in a waving action, like a child teasing an animal.
“Stop it.”
Kobayashi turned his head,, a grin upon his face. “But Miss Grayson, don't you see?” Still gripping the chain in his left hand, he took the cigar from between his lips and held it for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden, he swiped it around and pushed the burning end into the man's face, just below his eye.
I gasped, unable to do anything but stand and watch, utterly horrified. The man in the cage twitched in reflex as the cigar scorched his skin, then kicked out and jerked his head back. This time, the chain gave way and allowed him to fall back in a heap on the ground.
“Jesus!” I rushed towards the cage, took hold of the bars with both hands and peered in. What I was planning to do I didn't know, but I wasn't going to stand around and watch, either.
Kobayashi's voice jeered again. “Watch, Miss Grayson - you may be surprised.”
My eyes were fixed upon the man in front of me - I simply couldn't take them away. One of his hands was pressed against his scorched cheek as he gathered himself off the floor. The moment he saw me, his teeth bared again and a low growl rose from his chest, though he didn't throw himself to the back of the cage - it was more of a warning to keep away. Slowly, the figure moved into a crouching position and placed both hands on the ground to steady himself, revealing the mark on his cheek as he did so. The whole area was red and looked agonising.
I shot a look at Kobayashi, who had returned to the activity of chewing on his cigar. His pupils were fixed upon the man, gleaming with amusement. All of a sudden, he nodded and muttered something, which brought my attention back to the cage; though what I saw was enough to make my eyes widen in astonishment.
The mark on his face was fading, as if it were being wiped away. Upon first look, I couldn't quite believe what my eyes were telling me, but with a second glance, I realised that the impossible was actually happening in front of me. The burn was melting away! After ten seconds, I wouldn't have even known such a mark had ever been there.
“You saw that, didn't you, Miss Grayson?”
I forced myself to tear my eyes from the man and look at Kobayashi. He still held a smug expression, but this time it was aimed more at me, as if he took satisfaction in proving me wrong.
“What... What is he?” was all I could manage. I had to glance back at the black-haired man once or twice to make sure that what I'd seen hadn't been all in my head, but there was no denying that the burn had disappeared. What the hell was going on?
“That, I do not know,” Kobayashi replied. “However, I intend to find out, and for that I need a live subject…” He paused to stare dreamily into the cage. “God, wouldn't I love to cut you up and find exactly what you are…”
The figure only snarled in response.
I could feel an anger boiling deep within me as I stared at Kobayashi - just what was wrong with him? I'd never held a strong faith in the supernatural, and thus found it hard to believe that the person in the cage wasn't human. Even so, Kobayashi seemed to take the excuse to treat him like some kind of animal. No, worse than an animal - this man was being treated like some… Thing. And what's more, Kobayashi seemed to enjoy it, as if he were showing off some kind of trophy. Judging from the black-haired man's reaction, it didn't seem like the first time he'd been hurt like this either.
This wasn't mere research - it was torture.
“Miss Grayson?”
I remained quiet, only snapping away from my thoughts when I heard my name repeated a second time.
“Yes?” I said dryly.
Kobayashi was already walking towards the door. Once he reached the opening, he stopped to beckon at me, though I stubbornly remained where I was. He laughed.
“Miss Grayson, I need to show you your room. You can sleep down here if you want, though I doubt you'd find it very comfortable.”
I scowled, careful not to let my expression be seen, but made my way towards the door nonetheless. At least if I was in my room, I could get away from the boss I'd developed a steady hatred for in the last half an hour. I'd be able to leave this basement and even wipe away the horrors of what had happened today - perhaps I'd never have to visit this place again. All at once, I felt a wrenching anguish at the thought of leaving a person down here to rot. But what else could I do? It wasn't as if Kobayashi was going to give up his number one possession for the plea of an insignificant medical student - especially when doing so would clearly eradicate his little hobby of 'research'.
A few steps short of the door, I turned and looked back at the cage. The man had moved into a crouching position, with one arm extended towards the ground and the other gripping the front bars. The angle of the candles left most of his face in shadow, though it was easy to see his eyes were locked forward, frozen on one particular point.
My heartbeat stopped. He was staring straight at me.
Kobayashi, sensing my sudden lack of movement, placed a hand upon my shoulder. “Miss Grayson, your room…”
“Yes, you're right,” I muttered as I broke from my trance. Without a second thought, I slipped through Kobayashi's grip, walked from the room and into the dimly-lit corridor, allowing the door to be closed behind me at last.
Next Chapter →
And what the hell is with this new LJ layout? Yeesh.
Part 1
“Miss Grayson! Welcome, welcome! I trust your journey was pleasant?”
“Yes, thank you,” I replied, stepping through the doorway. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to excuse me - my Japanese isn't the best that it could be...”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. I heard about your transfer from the UK, and can’t tell you how much I appreciate your choice in coming to work here.”
I nodded politely as the man took my coat and slung it over his arm. Kobayashi was a broad man, much like an overfilled sack of butter, with thinning grey hair and a brown jacket that couldn't quite cover his bulging chest. Smiling, he bowed his head a little - as was Japanese custom - and indicated the way forward with his free arm.
The place reminded me of a hospital, what with its white, slightly dull walls and sterilised smell. Every now and then, we would pass through a grey door marked with some sort of sign, though I was never allowed to stop long enough to read them. The whole building was like a maze, what with all its individual corridors and rooms that all seemed like copies of one another.
“Miss Grayson, would I be correct in saying that you are to work here full time?” Kobayashi said after a few minutes’ worth of walking.
“That's right,” I answered. “I was told that there would be on-site accommodation as well.”
The man chuckled. “Yes, there’s a full suite on the second floor of the building - luckily for you, you’ll be able to use it all by yourself.”
I breathed a silent sight of relief. Not that I was antisocial, but I’d never warmed to the idea of sharing a living space with strangers. Still, it seemed a little odd that there would be enough room, even in a building this big. “Don’t you have many people working here, then?”
“No, just me.” Kobayashi eyed me as if telling a joke. “I run this place completely independently.”
I frowned to myself. Did Kobayashi mean to tell me that he was the only one operating an institution of this size, without any internal help? It was impossible! Clearly, the man was taking the opportunity to trick me. I was just about to point out how ridiculous the idea was, when all of a sudden, he stopped, and his face turned from light-hearted to serious.
We were standing in yet another corridor - probably on the first floor, judging from the amount of stairs we’d climbed.
Kobayashi raised his hand and brought it down upon my shoulder, yet there was something unfriendly about his grip - it was far too hard. Slowly, he brought his face closer to mine, as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear what he was about to tell me - though if what he’d just said was true, then there was no risk of that happening.
“Miss Grayson, do you have any idea what this place is?”
“The Gakuyama Institute,” I replied. “A research centre that studies rare bacteria and their industrial manufacturing. I came for the position of-”
“Miss Grayson!” the man exclaimed all of a sudden, silencing me. Then, at a lower volume, he muttered, “Follow me.”
He pulled back, turned and started to walk towards the nearest door, apparently without any intention of answering my questions. I thought for a moment, rubbing my shoulder where it had been squeezed. Was this all some kind of practical joke? Kobayashi seemed like the kind of person who enjoyed making a fool out of people, despite his politeness towards me. Yet as a new employee, I was obliged to follow his direction, and if that resulted in me becoming a laughing stock, then I would have to just grin and bear it. This was my first proper job and part of my medical degree training, after all.
I caught up with him after a few rooms, but still he refused to stop. However, his pace did slow a little so that he was able to speak to me as we walked.
“Miss Grayson, I feel I need to show you the kind of work this institute does. I was hoping to do this later, after a tour of the work area but, well…” He paused to chuckle a little. “To be honest, I'm a little excited.”
We descended a set of stairs, similar to the ones we'd come up earlier, though instead of stopping on the ground floor, these continued downwards, wrapping around in a square shape. The bottom was visible as I leaned over the edge, albeit badly-lit.
The more we walked, the more my scepticism faded and my curiosity grew. Kobayashi moved fast for his size and appeared to be in a rush, as if he were anxious about something. It was difficult to keep up, but at last, I arrived at the floor a few seconds behind him.
What lay in front of us was a passage, lit dimly by lamps mounted onto the walls. Unlike the upper floors, this area seemed to have little care put into its upkeep, as if it were not accustomed to visitors.
At once, Kobayashi began his march forwards, and I was obliged to walk several paces behind him due to the narrowness of the corridor. There was a door at the end, though instead of just opening normally, this one required a key to be opened. My heartbeat filled my whole chest as I watched the man pull the small piece of silver from his jacket pocked and fumble with the lock - it seemed as if each second was drawn out into an hour.
And then, it was open.
Kobayashi stepped to the side and nodded to indicate that I was the first to go through. I shot him a nervous look before taking my first step forward into the room.
Like the corridor, the area was dark, though instead of lights, tall, thick candles illuminated the area, most of them so big I imagined they'd last for weeks before having to be replaced. Needless to say, this limited my vision and turned a lot of the objects around the room into mere silhouettes, this meant that that my vision was limited, though there was one unmistakable item that caught my attention straight away.
It was positioned in the middle of the room as if it were the centrepiece of a display - a cage that came up to my chest and stood about a metre and a half wide. Usually, it would have been used to hold dogs, but as far as I could remember, they had been banned in the country for the purpose of containing animals due to cruelty.
“Do you like it?” Kobayashi appeared beside me suddenly, making me jump. From his trouser pocket he pulled a cigar, placed the end of it between his lips and lit it before snapping the lighter shut. “The Gakuyama Institute is independent in the sense that our research is, in fact, based upon this. Take a look, Miss Grayson. It can't hurt you - don't worry.”
I took a step towards the cage, both weary and a little scared about what I might find inside. The pace of my heart hadn't slowed - if anything, it was faster now, anticipating the moment my eyes would fall upon the thing was contained.
A figure lay strewn across the base of the cage, dressed all in black with leather bands wrapped tightly around its arms and waist to constrict movement. Due to the small area, its body was bent round into a position that seemed far inadequate for sleeping, and as a result its arms were brought in close to its chest.
I gasped - it was a human!
“What… W-what's going on?” I stuttered. I was shocked - what was a man doing down here, confined like this? My whole body turned to face Kobayashi, but I was just as surprised to see him grinning as he chewed on his cigar.
“I know what you're thinking, Miss Grayson, and I can tell you now that that thing is not human.”
I felt myself shiver as his foot came crashing into the side of the cage.
The figure inside raised his head a little and stared at Kobayashi with dark, lethargic eyes. It took a few seconds for him to realise what was going on, but when he did, the reaction was immediate. His whole body leapt into motion as he scrambled up off the floor and threw himself to the back of the cage, narrowing his eyes and baring his teeth like some kind of animal. A cascade of glossy black hair fell over one side of his face and reached down to somewhere around the middle of his chest, though there were signs that it was badly cared for and neglected. I also noticed a single chain leading from a collar on his neck to one of the upper corners of the cage. In my eyes, it was completely unnecessary, since the container itself was sturdy enough to hold him in place; thus, I couldn't help wondering whether it had been put in place simply to mock him.
Kobayashi twirled the fat cigar between his chunky fingers, staring at the person in the cage as if admiring a work of art. “This is my prized possession - out of everything here, it's definitely my favourite. But of course, the most dangerous…” He drew in on the cigar and sent a cloud of smoke billowing out in front of him.
I eyed him in disgust, feeling the anger rise within me as the initial shock wore away. “Mr Kobayashi, I'm sorry to be rude, but that's a person! What the hell's he doing down here?”
The fat man laughed in response and took a step towards me - I sharply avoided the contact. “I see there's no convincing you, is there, Miss Grayson? In that case, I suggest you watch and learn.”
My fists clenched, but I said nothing as Kobayashi positioned himself in front of the cage and bent so that his head was level with the top. The black-haired man hadn't moved - from the looks of it, he was trying to get as far away from us as possible within the confined space. Grinning, Kobayashi reached into the cage - only just able to fit his hand through the bars - and tightened his fingers around the chain that connected the cage to its denizen. The man seemed to realise what was going on, as he immediately launched into a violent fit, growling and clutching the bars at the back of the cage so hard his hands were bone-white. This only made Kobayashi chuckle, and with a sharp tug on the chain, the man was pulled forward, hitting the front so hard the sound rebounded off the walls.
It seemed that this still wasn't enough to quieten him, though. Desperately, the he thrashed out, trying as hard as he could to wrench himself away. Yet even I could see how hopeless it all was. The bond around his throat held him firmly against the bars - any more pressure and it would have asphyxiated him. In the end, the only option for him was to slump downwards - out of breath and wincing at the pain of exhaustion, but still holding an aggressive, animalistic expression on his face amid the defeat.
Now that he was in the light, I could see for the first time just how bad a condition he was in. His body wasn't thin or emaciated - but then again, it wasn't exactly what would have been classed as 'healthy' amongst medical students, leading me to wonder how often he was provided access to food. However, what really caught my attention was the paleness of his skin, commonly due to a lack of
sunlight or extreme blood loss.
Just how long had he been trapped down here for?
A low sound brought my attention back to the scene in front of me. The man growled as he followed Kobayashi's hand with his, which he was moving back and forth through the air in a waving action, like a child teasing an animal.
“Stop it.”
Kobayashi turned his head,, a grin upon his face. “But Miss Grayson, don't you see?” Still gripping the chain in his left hand, he took the cigar from between his lips and held it for a few seconds. Then all of a sudden, he swiped it around and pushed the burning end into the man's face, just below his eye.
I gasped, unable to do anything but stand and watch, utterly horrified. The man in the cage twitched in reflex as the cigar scorched his skin, then kicked out and jerked his head back. This time, the chain gave way and allowed him to fall back in a heap on the ground.
“Jesus!” I rushed towards the cage, took hold of the bars with both hands and peered in. What I was planning to do I didn't know, but I wasn't going to stand around and watch, either.
Kobayashi's voice jeered again. “Watch, Miss Grayson - you may be surprised.”
My eyes were fixed upon the man in front of me - I simply couldn't take them away. One of his hands was pressed against his scorched cheek as he gathered himself off the floor. The moment he saw me, his teeth bared again and a low growl rose from his chest, though he didn't throw himself to the back of the cage - it was more of a warning to keep away. Slowly, the figure moved into a crouching position and placed both hands on the ground to steady himself, revealing the mark on his cheek as he did so. The whole area was red and looked agonising.
I shot a look at Kobayashi, who had returned to the activity of chewing on his cigar. His pupils were fixed upon the man, gleaming with amusement. All of a sudden, he nodded and muttered something, which brought my attention back to the cage; though what I saw was enough to make my eyes widen in astonishment.
The mark on his face was fading, as if it were being wiped away. Upon first look, I couldn't quite believe what my eyes were telling me, but with a second glance, I realised that the impossible was actually happening in front of me. The burn was melting away! After ten seconds, I wouldn't have even known such a mark had ever been there.
“You saw that, didn't you, Miss Grayson?”
I forced myself to tear my eyes from the man and look at Kobayashi. He still held a smug expression, but this time it was aimed more at me, as if he took satisfaction in proving me wrong.
“What... What is he?” was all I could manage. I had to glance back at the black-haired man once or twice to make sure that what I'd seen hadn't been all in my head, but there was no denying that the burn had disappeared. What the hell was going on?
“That, I do not know,” Kobayashi replied. “However, I intend to find out, and for that I need a live subject…” He paused to stare dreamily into the cage. “God, wouldn't I love to cut you up and find exactly what you are…”
The figure only snarled in response.
I could feel an anger boiling deep within me as I stared at Kobayashi - just what was wrong with him? I'd never held a strong faith in the supernatural, and thus found it hard to believe that the person in the cage wasn't human. Even so, Kobayashi seemed to take the excuse to treat him like some kind of animal. No, worse than an animal - this man was being treated like some… Thing. And what's more, Kobayashi seemed to enjoy it, as if he were showing off some kind of trophy. Judging from the black-haired man's reaction, it didn't seem like the first time he'd been hurt like this either.
This wasn't mere research - it was torture.
“Miss Grayson?”
I remained quiet, only snapping away from my thoughts when I heard my name repeated a second time.
“Yes?” I said dryly.
Kobayashi was already walking towards the door. Once he reached the opening, he stopped to beckon at me, though I stubbornly remained where I was. He laughed.
“Miss Grayson, I need to show you your room. You can sleep down here if you want, though I doubt you'd find it very comfortable.”
I scowled, careful not to let my expression be seen, but made my way towards the door nonetheless. At least if I was in my room, I could get away from the boss I'd developed a steady hatred for in the last half an hour. I'd be able to leave this basement and even wipe away the horrors of what had happened today - perhaps I'd never have to visit this place again. All at once, I felt a wrenching anguish at the thought of leaving a person down here to rot. But what else could I do? It wasn't as if Kobayashi was going to give up his number one possession for the plea of an insignificant medical student - especially when doing so would clearly eradicate his little hobby of 'research'.
A few steps short of the door, I turned and looked back at the cage. The man had moved into a crouching position, with one arm extended towards the ground and the other gripping the front bars. The angle of the candles left most of his face in shadow, though it was easy to see his eyes were locked forward, frozen on one particular point.
My heartbeat stopped. He was staring straight at me.
Kobayashi, sensing my sudden lack of movement, placed a hand upon my shoulder. “Miss Grayson, your room…”
“Yes, you're right,” I muttered as I broke from my trance. Without a second thought, I slipped through Kobayashi's grip, walked from the room and into the dimly-lit corridor, allowing the door to be closed behind me at last.
Next Chapter →