Page 2 of Calico Descending

And I wait for the monsters to find us, too.

Chapter 2

Present Day

I’m eighteen years old today.

Up until this point, birthdays have been virtually meaningless, nothing more than another year in this place. Perhaps Hell, but one would have to believe in Heaven, and I stopped believing in God and the idea of paradise long ago.

This birthday is different, however. Today, I will meet my Champion.

Dishes rattle with the trembling of my arms, as I hold the tray of food--a gift for our first meeting. The savory scent of meat with a fig jam sauce would, under normal circumstances, have my mouth watering, but right now it’s bone dry, and I have to clamp my lips together to keep from vomiting all over the food I’ve been tasked to offer. Even my reflection, in the silvery shine of the elevator walls, looks pale and frightened.

As I should be.

Stories often trickle down through the pipes. Horrific stories of other female subjects who were assigned Champions.

Beatings. Rape. Torture.

Death.

For the last four years, I’ve been poked and prodded. Primed for this moment, when I’ll be fully equipped to perform my duties. For the greater good, as I’ve been told—so many times, I wish I could scrape the words right out of my head. And yet, I still don’t know my purpose in all of this.

The elevator opens onto a long dark corridor in the bottommost level of the research wing. In all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen, nor ventured, down here, since doing so would be automatic grounds for punishment, or death. This is the experimental floor of S-Block, and the only thing I know for certain about it is that the boys who are sent down here never come back to the main floors.

Sometimes, at night, screams echo through the ventilation shafts, which are rumored to be when most of the experiments are carried out by the doctors here. At the moment, the only sound I hear is the incessant pounding of blood in my ears and the dishes still rattling in my grasp.

Closing my eyes, I draw in a long, shaky breath, which is quickly expelled by a harsh shove from behind. I turn to see the female guard, a stocky, pestilent woman with the build of a man, who’s acted as the bane of my existence since the day I arrived.

With a cautious glare, I step out of the elevator onto cold concrete. It’s never warm in this place, but the frigid air on this floor is the kind that seeps beneath the skin and wraps itself around the bones.

This meeting is designed to determine whether, or not, we’re compatible, and Medusa, as I like to call her, is here to report back to the lead doctor and scientists. If it fails, I’m merely assigned to a new Champion. I know nothing of mine, other than he is one of three most feared Alphas in this facility, so reassignment wouldn’t exactly break my heart. Their lips are rumored to be sewn shut, though, so I’m not exactly sure how they determine compatibility, or how they expect him to eat this food, for that matter.

A hard thumping sound startles my muscles, and nearly dropping the tray, I snap my head to the right, to see dust falling from the ceiling in front of one of the many thick, iron doors that line each side of the corridor. A second thump from the left swings my attention to another door across from the first.

“W-What is that?” I ask, curling my fingers tight around the tray handles.

“Alphas.” Medusa’s flat and cold voice only adds to the fear snaking through my bones. “They smell you. Keep moving.”

Yet another shove from behind kicks me forward, and I swear, if I don’t drop these dishes before I get there, it’ll be the only miracle I’ve witnessed in this place.

Each door we pass thumps and rattles, as if whatever is on the other side might plow through it, all the way until we reach one of three doors on the end.

Medusa steps between me and a keypad on the wall, and above that, the outline of a hand. “Don’t make eye contact. Don’t talk too much. Don’t cry. Don’t laugh. Don’t make any loud noises. If he approaches you, don’t move. Attempt to fight, or engage him, and you’ll die. Down here, he’s known as Valdys, but don’t call him by name. Ever.” She draws a breath and exhales through her nose, her eyes more stern than ever. “And under no circumstances should you touch him.”

Mouth gaping, I stand dumbfounded by her instruction. How the hell do they determine compatibility?

She punches in a code and sets her hand against the outline above it. Not even two seconds later, a click echoes through the corridor, and the door slides to the left on a cold rush of air, opening on a shadowy cell inside.

From the doorway, all I can make out is a bed. My heart beats so wildly in my chest, I’m certain it’s about to slam through my ribcage to save itself.

A third shove sends me stumbling into the room, and I catch myself before every dish shatters to the floor. The thunk of the door has me spinning around to find Medusa has left me alone in the room.

“Hey!” I call out to her, stepping toward the door. A small patch of iron in the center of it slides to the side, and I’m greeted by the dark eyes of that wretched woman. “You’re leaving me in here with him?”

Her eyes squint, but I can’t see her lips when she says, “I’d keep my voice down, if I were you.”

Eyes wide, I turn toward the dark cell again, remembering that a killer, a beast designed by this place, lies waiting for me somewhere in the shadows.

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