Under Loch and Key

by Kathryn Cockrill

  The blood is still warm. Oh God. I think I’m gonna throw up.

  I took another deep breath, trying to keep down the bile. Caden watched me, amused. There was a clacking and a shuffling; I blinked through the tears to see him move the camera closer. I tried to turn my face away from the lens, but he grabbed my mouth again, forcing me to look at it,

  “Show your brother. Show him what he’s done to you.” I had never hated anyone more than I hated Caden at that exact moment. I was completely weak; I couldn’t do anything to get out of this. I dreaded to think what was happening to Eli on the other end of the camera feed. But I wasn’t giving up. Snapping my mouth shut, I kept glaring at Caden. He rolled his eyes and grabbed something from next to my chair, placing it at my feet. A bucket. Some kind of liquid sloshed around inside.

  “I don’t know if she told you Eli, in your little catch up, but I almost killed Ari once. I threw her in the Loch. She was drowning and she was ready to be eaten by your very own monster. How would she fare, do you think, if I made her think she was drowning again?” He held up a large flannel and my eyes widened as I realised what he was going to do. “Would she beg for mercy? Or would she just give up?” He paused as something buzzed in his ear. I looked closer and realised he had a comms unit in, clearly attached to wherever Eli was.

  “Oh Eli, you shouldn’t have done that.” He murmured and turned back to me, still holding the flannel. “She won’t be able to breathe, you know? She’ll panic to the point of passing out. Then not even she can stop me; I can do whatever I want to her.” He held one hand up to his ear as the unit buzzed again and dropped the flannel back into the bucket of water. “That’s better.” Picking up the smaller knife again, he twirled it around his fingers. “It looks like we’re getting somewhere Ari. You should be glad. I wasn’t sure your brother was going to give in.” I panted, the adrenaline that had surged through my body at the thought of feeling like I was drowning again slowly dissipating. Swallowing a couple of times, so my mouth wasn’t quite as dry, I spat at his feet again. He found it hilarious. “Do you want to thank your brother Ari?” I wanted to say something, that was for sure. There was no way I was letting Caden win; even if Eli wasn’t who I had lost anymore, there was no way GAI were going to win. I nodded meekly and Caden turned the camera, so it was just on me,

  “Eli… don’t give them what they want.” I saw surprise ripple across Caden’s face for a split second, followed by anger, “I don’t care what they do to me, don’t let them win. Then it would all be for nothing-” I stopped as Caden slapped me, dropping the camera on the table where it fell to it’s side.

  “You fucking bitch!” I turned my face away as he hit me again, punching my cheekbone. I didn’t know if it was his knuckles or my face that cracked. “You’re going to regret that.” The knife was back. He was right in my face, his nose grazing my cheek. “I’m going to make sure you do, every time you look in the mirror.” He pushed the tip of the knife into my skin where he had it earlier, just below my eyebrow. I felt the skin break, the blade piercing through and settling in amongst my blood. The pain from it lasted a split second, blossoming across my temple. Then, ever so carefully, he dragged the tip of the knife down, keeping the same amount of pressure. My skin broke under the encroachment of the knife with agonising slowness; the pain rushed at me in tidal waves, shattering across the left side of my face in an unrelenting tsunami. I couldn’t stop the screaming. As he continued to drag the knife down my face, I screeched, until my throat felt like it was raw and bleeding. Blood dripped from the top of the wound into the corner of my eye, painting one half of the world a faded scarlet, a harlequined reality. When he reached the bottom of my jaw, pushing even harder on the knife as it came into contact with bone, he stopped. I was panting, trying to blink the blood from my eye, trying to stop the fast-approaching panic. With a malicious grin he twisted the knife on my jawbone, holding it there for a few seconds before dropping his arm. The stained blade clattered to the floor and I slumped forward against the restraints, my hair falling across my face. Droplets of hot blood hit my pale thigh spreading along the minute lines of my skin like a macabre watercolour. Suddenly there was a camera in my face,

  “Doesn’t she look pretty Eli? I think she needs a matching one the other side though. What do you think?” I closed my eyes against the camera. I heard him put it down; the next moment he was lifting my head up, my blood staining his palms. “Do you want to see what you look like sweetheart? I can show you.” I kept my eyes closed, my head pounding. I was taking long breaths, trying to keep the panic at bay, trying to take myself away from here. There was a chuckle as Caden released my chin, letting my head fall forward. “It’s very rude not to answer when someone asks you a question, Ari. I said, would you like to see what you look like?”

  You’re not here… ignore him… he’ll go away eventually…

  “Arrrriiiii…look at me.” He said it with a singsong but there was an edge to his voice. “Ari.” I felt the blade of the knife press against the other side of my face and jerked my head back, my eyes shooting open. He stayed there, holding the blade in the air, admiring his handiwork. “That’s better. Look.” He held up a small metal tray. My eyes dropped to it and tried not to cry at the version of myself staring back. In the tray my face was distorted, curved and chopped in odd places, but even the fun house mirrors of me couldn’t hide the left side of my face. I’d heard it said once that head wounds bled a lot, but I’d never seen one. Now, the left side of my face was a Picasso painting, red blood streaming down my cheek in haphazard lines, interrupted by my mouth. Strands of hair were caught in the torrent and one side of my lips had been stained a burgundy blush. I flicked my tongue out despite myself, the sharp metallic tang sitting on my taste buds. Blood had even mixed with the tears caught at the corner of my eye, running themselves down my face and dropping off the sheer edge of my jaw. That bit looked the worst. Where Caden had twisted the knife was a starburst of broken skin and bleeding tissue. A falling star. I couldn’t hold back the sob. Caden lowered the tray as I broke down; I was still shivering, the spasms becoming more and more violent as my thighs turned red. “Do you see what you’ve done yet Eli?” he whispered.

  There was some more clattering, ringing sharp in my ears and he crouched in front of me, a wad of cotton in one hand and a bottle in the other. “Look, I’m not completely heartless. I’ll clean the wound for you. I wouldn’t want it to get infected.” He daubed the cotton with some of the clear liquid and held it up, “By the way, this might hurt a little bit.” Without hesitation he pressed the cotton to my face. There was a beat, a pause as the liquid worked its way into the wound, then liquid fire blazed the length of my face. I was screaming again before I even realised it was me. The edge of my vision went starry, tiny specks closing in on my pupil. Caden began to pour straight from the bottle onto my face, causing an inferno. The grey fuzz at the edge of my vision rushed in, my scream fading into the blood splattered air as the pain pushed me over the edge and into the dark.

  Chapter 17

  The first thing I felt was more pain. I came to with a jolt, desperately gasping for air, my mind scrambling. Then the dull throb hit me. My left eye had lost its rose-tinted spectacle but none of the searing had left me. It was only when I looked around that I realised I was alone. I wasn’t in the same room anymore. I’d been moved to a bed, laid down on a blanket. My hands were no longer restrained. I sat up slowly, the spinning in my head cautioning my movements. As I swung my legs around, another throb greeted me.

  The stitches,

  I remembered Caden ripping them out with the blade. I went to look at my leg, expecting to see an open, gaping wound, but was greeted instead by a loose black fabric. Looking at the rest of my body, I realised I was dressed; not in my clothes, but I was no longer in my underwear.

  Did we get rescued? Are we free?

  I tried to glance around the room but moving my head set off a sledgehammer in my skull. I winced, lowering myself b
ack onto the bed. Once I was lying down, the pounding stopped, my head settling itself back into a stationary form. I tried to sort through what had happened, but I had no recollection from after Caden had doused my face in what I assumed was alcohol. The pain had been blinding, I remembered that much. But I didn’t know where I was, or how I had got here. Or, alarmingly, who had dressed me. As I felt the material of the top against my breasts, I realised someone had taken my bra off. I was trying to sort through the jumbled mess of my thoughts when the door opened. I tensed but didn’t move. I wasn’t strong enough to do much more than swat a fly, I had no chance against a person. I didn’t recognise the face that appeared above me; she was young, with coffee coloured skin and a mass of crazy curls tied up behind her head. She smiled at me, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

  “I’m glad you’re awake. I was beginning to get a bit worried about you. I need to check your wounds.” Her voice was soothing, a gentle caress that I welcomed. But I still didn’t know where I was. She made a move to touch my face, but I brought my hand up to stop her. She blinked at my fingers now wrapped around her wrist as if she’d never expected me to move.

  “Wh-who are you?” my voice was scratchy, my throat sore. Even my mouth moved with difficulty, the skin stretched and tender. She dropped her hand.

  “My name is Illiana. I’m- I’ve been assigned to treat your wounds.” She seemed cagey. Her eyes kept flicking to somewhere I couldn’t see.

  “Okay.” I clearly wasn’t going to get more than that about her, “Where am I?” She shifted her eyes again and sighed,

  “You’re in a safe place.” That wasn’t an answer.

  “Where?” I let my voice go pitchy at the end, the inflection rising more than it should. Worry immediately crossed her features, “I need you…to tell me where…or I will start screaming…”

  “You’re in the GAI Freiburg building.” She rushed out, her eyes pleading with me. I shut my mouth from my threatened scream, disappointment settling on my chest. Taking my silence as satisfaction, she moved her hand to my face again but before she could touch skin, I turned my face to the side. I caught her look of frustration.

  “More.” It wasn’t a question this time. I’d really had enough of being lied to. She shook her head and I painfully raised an eyebrow. Casting another glance out of my eyeline, she relented,

  “You were moved here after you passed out in order to facilitate your recovery. The Director’s orders.” I assumed she meant Rick, “You’ve been unconscious for nearly three days. We were beginning to think you’d sustained a more threatening injury…”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, was my torture not threatening enough for you?!” I knew it wasn’t her fault, not directly, but I was pissed. She couldn’t meet my eyes.

  “I have- I have been caring for your… wounds. Unfortunately, we believe they will scar.” I snorted,

  “I don’t think that’s seen as unfortunate by some people.” Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I was freaking out, but I didn’t have time to deal with that right now. She didn’t say anything, and I rolled my eyes. “I’m done. Do whatever you need to do.” I snapped, closing my eyes. I felt her gently probe the skin on my face. It really fucking hurt. From where she was pressing, I could tell there was swelling, as well as the obvious giant wound from my eyebrow to my jaw. I only had a vague recollection of what it looked like and part of me was wondering if I could go the rest of my life without looking in another mirror. If I lived in the woods I probably could.

  She applied something to my face, a cold balm that numbed some of the pain and moved down to my leg, rolling up the fabric. As she peeled away the bandage I hissed, the wound a lot more painful the second time around. She worked silently, applying more balm to my leg and quickly rebandaging the wound. As she continued, I stared at the ceiling, wondering how long it would be before I could get some real answers. Hopefully, when I did get a chance, the room would considerately stop spinning long enough that I could at least sit up. I’d rather not question someone whilst staring at a badly-painted ceiling.

  Luckily, after a few more minutes she left, shutting the door quietly behind her. I closed my eyes, listening to the gentle hum of the machines in the corner. I think I drifted off to sleep for a few minutes, only to be jerked awake by the sound of the door opening again. I sat up, glad that the room didn’t spin this time, only to groan as I was greeted by Rick’s face. He was leaning against the now closed door, watching me. As my eyes met his, he gave me a tight smile. I didn’t return it,

  “What do you want, Director?” He might not have been present when Caden was torturing me, but I know he had a hand in it. In fact, I was willing to bet the only reason he was here instead of Caden was because I would have immediately tried to kill Caden. I was going to get some information out of Rick first. A muscle in his jaw ticked at my tone but instead of answering me, he stalked forward and sat on the chair in the corner. I swung my legs round, my eyes following him. I might not want to slaughter him just yet but that didn’t mean I had any kind of trust in him. For all I knew, he was here to finish the job Caden had started, and failed, twice now. His icy gaze flicked over my face and then down to my ribs, thankfully covered by the clothing and finally settled on my leg. Illiana hadn’t done anything to my ribs so I could only assume they were surface wounds. We stared at each other in silence, the low hum the only thing that was breaking the tension. I raised an eyebrow.

  “Illiana said you had some questions.” Each word was tight, forced between his teeth. There was something in this situation he wasn’t happy with. I wasn’t thrilled with any of it, so I didn’t see how there was anything he could be upset about. Apart from the fact that I was alive. There was no point in bringing that up though. So, I nodded,

  “Why am I here? What happened in the last three days? Where is Eli?” Those were the main ones. I had a couple of subsequent questions such as ‘Why are you all psychotic?’ and ‘Would you prefer to be killed quickly or slowly?’ but I figured I could save them for after I’d got something useful out of him. He ran his hands down the lapels of his suit, smoothing them out, the deep navy flush against his skin.

  “Eli made a deal.” Even as he paused, my stomach was already sinking. This couldn’t be good. “As you know, he was watching your… interaction with Caden via live feed-” I snorted, interrupting,

  “Oh, please, call it what it was. Torture.” I didn’t know if this guy had a conscience; I was pretty sure he didn’t but if there was even a chance that somewhere in there, there was a guy with actual human emotions, I was going to play on them. I wasn’t just going to let him forget. He inclined his head and when I remained silent, continued,

  “He was watching Caden torture you.” He didn’t even flinch as he said it. I did though, the pain blossoming again in my skull. I pushed it away. “To begin with he seemed remarkably unmoved.” Ouch. “Until we realised he was verging on an episode of anger like we had never seen. He killed one of the lab technicians and seriously injured another, just through trying to get out of the room. But he wouldn’t relent and do what we needed him to do. I told Caden to step up the intensity, which was when he-” he gestured to my leg and I repressed the involuntary shudder as I remembered the knife slicing through the healing wound.

  “He was almost ready to give in and was about to agree to carry on with his research into the Lycan Project but then you-” he glared at me as he paused. I returned the favour, “You told him not to give us what we wanted. It was like a switch flipped. He regained his composure, completely calm and refused to continue with the project. He almost- you almost cost us everything. None of this would work without Eli’s research, you have to understand that! I didn’t tell Caden to attack you again, he did it of his own accord. He has some anger issues of his own.”

  Pot calling kettle black much?

  “When you passed out, and Caden kept going, he finally relented. He told me he wouldn’t continue with the experiments, but he would continue his research fo
r application on a different subject.” My heart dropped. I drew in a breath, holding it as he continued, “In return for your immediate safety and care for wounds inflicted, as well as subsequent release, Eli agreed to modify his research for use on an adult test subject… him.” The room crashed down around me. Injections were one thing, but I knew what he had been working on. I knew what modifying his research meant. Rick didn’t seem surprised as he watched my face, and the realisation that was dawning on it. Clearly, he knew I was aware of the research.

  “Per our agreement, we have been caring for your wounds and when you are well enough to leave, we will let you go. However, I have some stipulations of my own. You cannot tell anyone about GAI. If anything is leaked to the news, if I have even an inkling that you’ve told anyone, I will kill Eli there and then. I won’t even blink. Furthering this, for the agreement to hold, you must leave here without any argument. If you don’t, your safety will immediately be rescinded. Am I clear?” My mind was still reeling from the realisation that Eli was, or maybe already had, turned his research on himself. I nodded, my eyes not really focussed. Rick carried on, “He has spent the past two days preparing our team of scientists and the procedure that they have agreed upon took place this morning. He recorded a video message for you.” He placed a tablet on my lap, a video already loaded on the screen. Eli’s face beamed out at me, but I could see his smile was slightly strained. It was the same smile he used to flash me across the dinner table when he was stressed about exams. With shaking fingers, I pressed the play button and he immediately came to life,

  “Hey Ari… I don’t know where to start. I’m really sorry that you got dragged into all of this. I never meant for you to be involved and I’m sorry that I lied to you as well. I know you told me not to give them what they wanted but I couldn’t just sit there and watch Caden kill you. You were upset about the animal experimentation, so I’m stopping that. This way, the only person I can hurt is me… anyway. I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You’ve been the most amazing sister I ever could have asked for; you were willing to die for me and I’m willing to do the same to keep you safe. I spent three years thinking I would never see you again, that we would never be able to have a conversation about whatever weird tv show you were watching or go to the Coffee Cup. I know we won’t get to do most of that, but when I walked into Rick’s office, and you were there, it felt like the best day of my life. I’ve never forgotten you or Mum or Dad, not even for a day, but I didn’t expect you to keep searching for me. I thought you would have moved on with your life. In a way, I’m sorry you didn’t. It might have been better for you if you’d thought I was dead, if you’d been able to grieve and start afresh. But I will be forever grateful that you came to find me; that you literally fought the Loch Ness Monster to get to me. So, this is my way of making sure you’re safe now. You can move on. I don’t know if I’ll make it through the procedure; it’s never been done before and I haven’t really had enough time to prepare but they were going to keep you here until I did it and I just really want you to be able to get home, to see our parents and your friends. If I make it through, we won’t be able to be in contact. GAI feel it’s too dangerous, but I won’t ever forget you little sis. I’m so so sorry, I hope you forgive me. I love you.” He was crying by the end of the video and, as a tear fell onto the glass, I realised I was too.