Did I run a marathon?

That's my first thought when I come into semi-consciousness. Everything aches, and I feel so stiff, I don't think I can move if I try. Even fluttering my eyelids takes a great deal of energy, and a sound comes up from my throat, one of pain.

"She's awake." I hear a woman's voice.

"It's too soon. The medication hasn't worn off. She'll be back under in a few seconds." A man's voice.

Then darkness.

* * * * *

This time, when I wake up, it's not as painful.

I open my eyes and see a white ceiling above me. Wait, I know this ceiling. It's the same ceiling I've stared up at for hours when bored.

Why am I in the lab?

I try to sit up, but fire shoots up my back and arms, making me go rigid as I gasp. The door opens and I make out the blurry figure of my dad through tear filled eyes.

"Ashley! Thank God you're awake! Lay down and don't move!" He says, and I all too happily follow his orders. He rushes out of the room, only to return in a few seconds with the doctor in tow.

I recognize him as the same doctor who conducted x-rays on me before Zero went berserk.

The doctor, a balding, tall man yanks his arm out of my dad's grip with an irritated huff, before walking over and checking the annoying beeping machine that I'm hooked up too.

"How are you feeling Ashley?" The doctor asks.

"Sore" Is all I can croak out.

My dad leaves the room in a rush, returning with a whole jug of water. He helps prop me up, and I wince as pain strikes down my back,but then I start to sip the water and the jug is finished in a few seconds. My throat feeling slightly better, I sigh, laying back down.

"You took a few bad injuries, Ashley. One of your shoulders was nearly dislocated and you almost fractured your spine. Not to mention the mark on your neck, which luckily is not a puncture wound. Fortunately you should heal within a few days, although you will be feeling extremely sore ." The doctor finishes.

My eyes go wide while he's talking, and I remember everything from the night before.

Sylvia is a Darkling.

And she's here for Zero.

And to get Zero she has to kill me.

"What happened?" I ask, wondering what everyone else saw and what illusion Sylvia wove.

"Peter heard a scream and saw you hanging over the side of the boat, with Dr. Collins running from the scene of the crime at the same time. The security team apprehended him before he could get off the boat and he's now admitting to assaulting you."

Poor Dr. Collins. I recall Sylvia saying something about him not being able to keep his eyes closed and his mouth shut. Did he know what Sylvia was? Or did he have a theory?

Only then do I notice what I'm wearing. I look down to see I'm in a night dress, probably since we have no proper hospital gowns. I'm glad to see it's a night dress I own, and hopefully it was at least a nurse who changed me.

"Ashley!" I hear someone shout down the hall, then a few scuffs and grunts. Suddenly, Peter, Shy, and Jack come bursting into the room, panting slightly. Jack has a bloody nose and black eye, which makes me quirk an eyebrow in confusion.

"She's awake!" Jack rejoices, waving his arms in the air. Shy smiles at me, moving closer and giving my hand a squeeze, while Peter gives me a nod.

"What happened to you guys?" I ask, Shy and Dad helping me to sit up with pillows to lean on.

"The guard was being stubborn. Said no one could visit except family. This idiot," Peter says, knocking Jack upside the head, "Couldn't stop spouting insults and got himself beat up."

"I got a few swings in!" Jack protests.

"The guard won't even have a bruise." Shy retorts, smiling, and I stare at her in shock. She shrugs at my look, causing me to smile. Shy seems to be warming up to all of us quite well.

"Zero has been going crazy." Jack says, sitting down on the bed. I recall seeing Zero at the party, before the whole shebang went down he was being escorted by Sylvia.

"I wonder how he thinks I feel." I retort.

Zero must have known Sylvia was a Darkling all along.....and he never told me. What if Sylvia succeeded in killing me? Would he have just said 'hasta la vista' to our bond and gone back to him home with her?

"What?" Peter asks, seeming confused at my irritation and helping to snap me out of my thoughts.

"Nothing." I mumble. I can't tell them anything. Because even though Zero may have withheld vital information from me, I don't want him, or Dalton in danger. "How long have I been sleeping?"

"About a little less than a day give or take."

My eyes widen. About a day? But the Doctor said my injuries weren't that serious. Could it possibly be my mind trying to recover from the stress and trauma?

I battle with myself, torn between asking to find Zero, or leaving him be for now. He kept information from me that could have maybe prevented me from being killed, but the fact remains that he doesn't want to go to Dalton, and it's not like I can force him to. He could have easily escape with Sylvia by now. What's keeping him from going back to his home?

"May I see Zero? Just so he calms down." I ask, turning my pleading eyes to my dad. He stares at me with hard eyes for a moment, contemplating. I'm starting to think he will say no, when he sighs.

"I'll go call up a nurse."

But before he can, a nurse walks in with a wheelchair. I eye it curiously. I've always wanted to ride in a wheelchair, but have never gotten the chance to.

"Why do I have to use a wheelchair? My legs weren't damaged, were they?"

"No, but walking will cause your back and arms extreme pain and I'm afraid you will faint."

"I'll push!" Jack suddenly shouts, getting behind the wheelchair.

"No, I will, you doofus. You'll most likely crash her into a wall." Peter says, shoving Jack out of the way. Jack shoves him right back, and they start bickering while I sigh.

"Shy? Can you please push me?"

She smiles, moving behind the wheelchair. My dad helps me onto it, and I yelp a few times from short bursts of pain, finally exhaling in relief when I'm seated.

Shy wheels me out, Dad, Peter, and Jack trailing, but not before the doctor gives my dad some pain meds in the form of pills, ewie. I hate taking pills, and wish all medication could come in liquid form no matter how nasty it tastes.

I'm surprised to see we are on the second floor when I pass by a window. Usually, only meetings are conducted on the second floor along with a few of offices.

We reach the elevator, and patiently wait as it takes us to the bottom floor. I can't stop the wave of nerves that crashes over me. This is the first time I'm going to see Zero since the party, when Sylvia had been by his side and flaunting their closeness.

I feel the lightest pat on my shoulder, to the point where it doesn't hurt at all, and turn my head to see Shy smiling down at me softly. That friendly smile gives me the boost of courage I need and I'm no longer that anxious to see Zero.

Don't get me wrong I'm still anxious, but not to the fingernail-biting point anymore.

The elevator doors ding open, and upon his insisting, Shy lets Jack take control of pushing for a second, but when he almost pushes me straight into a table she takes firm control again.

The curtains are closed, and besides the sound of footsteps and the squeak of wheels, it's silent. I wonder if Zero can hear us.

A door opens and I jump in my chair, gasping in surprise, but then I see it's only Mrs. Clark, coming out of her office. She folds her arms, taking us all in.

"Back so soon, Ashley? Shouldn't you be resting?" Her words might sound motherly coming from a different person, but Mrs. Clark is not a different person, and they come out in a biting tone.

"I'm just checking on Zero. We can't have an unstable subject, now can we?" I say, trying to keep the prominent sarcasm out of my voice, which is very difficult to do. She scrutinizes me for another moment, before nodding and disappearing back into her office, closing the door and locking it.

It makes me slightly suspicious. Why would Mrs. Clark need to lock her door? What is she hiding?

"Ashley? Are you sure about this? Zero might not be in a great state of mind to have visitors." My dad asks, worried. The last thing he wants to do is let his daughter who just woke up from a very long and painful nap into the same room as a test subject that could go off like a bomb any second.

"I'm sure." I say a little confidently. "I'm probably the only person who can get him into a right state of mind."

"I don't like this." He mutters, but gives Shy a waving motion, and she obeys, pushing me towards the huge iron door.

"Do you have a key card?" I ask, my hand searching for mine only to realize I don't have it on me.

"Luckily, I do." She says. She swipes the card and the door swings open, light flooding the cell. I give Shy an encouraging smile, as she lightly pushes me a few feet into the room before I roll to a stop, hearing the thunk as the door shuts behind me.

Zero, who was sleeping on his cot, instantly wake up, eyes darting straight to me. I take in a deep breath, calming myself as I observe him.

His grey body suit clings to his muscles, which I notice have shrunk slightly since when I first saw him. Probably since staying locked up in a cage isn't really good exercise. His light brown hair is brushed to the side, that one golden spot temporarily covered up. His grey eyes meet mine, sharp and exactly how I remember them.

Suddenly, I'm not sitting in a chair anymore.

I yelp as Zero lifts me up, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. Pain shoots up my back and arms, and I try to push Zero off, dots dancing in my vision, but he refuses, nuzzling his head into my neck and inhaling deeply.

I let out a hoarse cry in pain when he shifts on his feet, and only then does Zero notice my injuries. He sets me down, whimpering as I hold back tears.

That hurt like Hell.....and even that feels like an understatement.

I gasp a few times, feeling my ore muscles pulse in pain. Zero hovers a foot away, his hands fluttering all over me but not touching. Finally, I breathe out, back to normal but with aching arms and back.

"Zero....." I begin, trailing off since I don't exactly know what to say. "Wh-What happened?" I ask, my voice cracking. Zero knows I'm not only talking about the night of the party, but everything before too.

A rumbling sound comes to his throat as he gently reaches his hand out, his fingertips brushing my cheek, before I pull my head away, my gaze dead set on his.

"I want answers. And don't worry, the sound is off. No one will be able to hear." I had made sure to check while being wheeled around down here that the green light showing the sound was being recorded in the room was off.

He clears his throat, and tries to speak, his voice coming out in a rough, low manner. "Water, please. I have not used my voice in a while." I almost cringe at how rusty his vocal chords sound. It's only been a few days since he came to my room and talked, has he really not uttered a word since then?

I look around, noticing that there is no cup in the room, and it's not like I'm going to order him to drink sink water from his hands like he was some kind of animal.

"Fine. But when I get back, you will answer all my questions. And I mean all of them." He nods, and helps push my chair to the door, staring at the wheels like the wheel chair is something he's never seen before, which is most likely true. I hear a beep immediately and the door swings open, revealing a worried Shy.

"I'm fine," I give a little smile, and she cautiously moves towards me, keeping her eyes on Zero as she grabs the handles and wheels me out of the room.

"Your dad went to speak with the doctor, while Jack and Peter were hauled away by the guard they attacked earlier." Shy says at my questioning gaze when I see no one in the main lobby anymore.

I struggle to hold in a chuckle, before letting my eyes wander over the doors leading to various room. If I am correct, there should be a lounge in the far right room.

"Over there Shy." I say, nodding towards the door. She directs me over there and opens it to reveal the lounge room I had been expecting.

Seeming to guess what I want, she maneuvers me around a table to the refrigerator.

I open it, exclaiming in happiness when I find water bottles in neat rows. I grab one, then as a second thought grab two.

Oh, what the heck? I grab four.

Shy takes the handles of the chair and leads me back out of the room while I offer a water bottle. Just when she's about to take it, I pull it away, raising a finger.

"Only if you leave and give me your key card." I say, holding the bottle just out of her reach.

"On second thought, I'm not that thirsty." She says, glaring at me.

"Please, Shy? I'll be fine here. Just trust me when I say I need to be alone with Zero for a minute."

"Can you wheel yourself?"

"Yes, it still hurts, but I should be fine if I take it slow." I tell her, ignoring the phantom pang I feel in my arms from just the thought of moving them alone.

She studies me for a moment, before sighing and handing me her key card. I hand her a water bottle and she rolls her eyes, reluctantly taking it before giving me one last hard look before slowly walking to the elevator. She reminds me so much of my dad sometimes.

I put my hands on the wheels and slowly start to rotate my chair around.

Something catches my eyes when I finally do a one-eighty, and I see Mrs. Clark's door is ajar, no light coming from it. I roll myself over, curious as to how she managed to get past Shy or me without seeing her. I peer into the dark room, finding it empty. Hmm.

I turn back around, rolling over to the iron door. I swipe the key card in the slot, slowly opening it.

There, on the bed, is Zero, Mrs. Clark sitting next to him. Right when the door opens is the time when she puts her hand on his arm, almost possessively, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Ew, just Ew.

Suddenly, they both finally notice me, Mrs. Clark's face going sour and Zero's looking anxious, maybe recalling when i found him with Sylvia.

I don't know what to do in this situation, and I'm panicking, so I clear my throat, almost positive that there is disgust painted across my features as clear as day.

"Water, anyone?" I ask, holding up a water bottle.

I almost face palm myself for how ridiculous I sound. I just found Zero with yet another one of my enemies in an odd position, and I asked if they wanted water.

Suddenly, something catches my sight from the corner of my vision. Movement. A slight ripple through the air where there should be nothing. Wait a minute.

"I know you're here, Sylvia."



Hello, readers! Sorry for the late update, I just couldn't find any creativity for this chapter. Sighhhh writer's block is a tragedy. Vote, comment, and chug a water bottle, unless it could hurt your health, then don't do it, and just sip is slowly, like tea XD. Lots of love,

Dangeroustoken.