Page 86 of Wicked Nightmare

"Fuck!" he gasped, clutching at the wound. "What do you want?"

I crouched beside him, rage narrowing my focus to a point. "Oh, honey. I want for one of you fucking assholes to give me some goddamn answers for once!"

His eyes searched the room for an escape. I pressed the tip of my blade against his throat, just hard enough to draw a bead of blood.

"Let's start simple," I cooed. "What the fuck are you doing to young women down here?"

He swallowed hard. "It's... it's a reproductive program. Highly classified."

I tilted my head, feeling the rage build inside me like pressure behind a dam. "Reproductive program? That's a fancy way of saying you're torturing girls."

His eyes went wide with recognition. "Wait... Patient X? Lakey?"

What? What the fuck. How did he know me?

"What did you just call me?" I pressed the knife harder.

"You're Patient X," he stammered. "But you shouldn't be here. How did you—"

I cut him off, grabbing his coat and yanking him close. "Tell me everything. Now."

But he clamped his mouth shut, his hands trembling as his eyes welled with tears.

My mind raced. Patient X? What the fuck did that mean? Searching my mind, nothing came up. I'd filled in a blank, but so many more remained.

"Listen, asshole," I said, my facade of sweetness cracking. "You're going to tell me exactly what's going on here or I swear to God, I'll carve the answers out of you piece by fucking piece."

The doctor whimpered, but still said nothing.

I wanted to know why my memories were so fragmented. Why the fuck they had me in that room, drawing pictures and memorizing some fucked up poem.

"Please," I whispered, surprising myself with the vulnerability in my voice. "I need to know."

The doctor's eyes went wild. "The Vessel," he blurted out suddenly. "She's the key to everything."

My stomach dropped. "What vessel?"

"The little girl," he babbled, words spilling out in a rush. "She'll change everything. She's special, unique. The culmination of years of work."

The anger I'd been barely containing erupted. My girl. He had to be talking about my girl.

"Where is she?" I snarled, pressing my face close to his. "What have you done with her?"

Before he could answer, heavy footsteps approached. Cam's imposing figure filled the doorway, taking in the scene.

"I remember you... you fuck! That’s Dr. Colson. He used to draw my blood monthly. No idea why. We should take him with us," Cam said. "Get more information."

I shook my head, not taking my eyes off the doctor. "No. We finish this here."

The doctor's gaze shifted to Cam, and his expression changed to one of awe. "Patient Y?" he breathed. "My God, look how you've grown. So intimidating, so... detached. Just as we hoped." He clapped. "And the two of you together? Magnificent."

Cam's brow furrowed. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

The doctor let out a wheezing laugh. "Oh, there are more questions than answers, my boy. But the only question you need to ask is the one you haven't figured out yet. The one you already know the answer to."

I felt sick. What did he mean? What had they done to Cam? To me? To all of us?

Cam's hands clenched. "Stop speaking in circles, you piece of shit. Tell us what we want to know."