Page 32 of Blood Caged

I try to speak, to lash out with some biting retort, but my tongue feels thick and useless in my mouth. All I manage is a weak groan.

Things go foggy again.

“Mia,” Soren says, his cool hand brushing my forehead. “Can you hear me?”

My mind drifts, pulled back to the moments before everything went dark. The icy spray of the shower. The tile floor rushing up to meet me as my legs crumpled. The sound of my own heartbeat thundering in my ears as my vision tunneled.

I’d known I was in trouble. They’d been taking too much, pushing me to my limits day after day. But I’d be damned if I’d give them the satisfaction of seeing me break.

Now, lying here, I realize just how close I came to the edge. The thought sends a shiver through me, and I feel Soren tense in response.

“You’re safe now,” he murmurs, and I want to laugh at the absurdity of it. Safe? In this place? With him?

But exhaustion pulls at me, dragging me back toward oblivion. The last thing I’m aware of is the overwhelmingly male presence nearby and the traitorous part of me that doesn’t want him to go.

The sound of voices pulls me back from the brink. He’s speaking to someone. Clearly female. A part of me wants to recoil at the thought that it might be Patty. It’s not, though. This voice is warmer. Modulated.

“Take care of her,” he says to the woman. The warmth of his presence suddenly vanishes, and an unexpected wave of anxiety washes over me. My eyes flutter open, struggling to focus.

A woman with gentle eyes and graying hair leans into my field of vision. “It’s alright, dear,” she soothes. “I’m Dr. Chen. I’m here to help you.”

I want to spit that I don’t need her help, that I don’t need anyone’s help – especially not from the people who’ve done thisto me. But my body feels like lead, and even the thought of speaking exhausts me.

As Dr. Chen busies herself checking my vitals, I try to make sense of the turmoil in my mind. Why did that bastard’s departure leave me feeling so…exposed? He’s my captor, for fuck’s sake. I should be relieved to have him out of my sight.

But a traitorous part of me whispers that he’s the only familiar thing in this sterile, terrifying place. The only one who’s shown even a hint of concern for my well-being. And before today, there wasn’t even that.

I squeeze my eyes shut, furious with myself. This is exactly what they want – to make me dependent, to chip away at my resolve until I’m nothing but a compliant little blood bag for their twisted experiments.

You’re stronger than this, Mia. Don’t let them break you.

I force my eyes open and use sheer willpower to drag myself back from what feels like a yawning chasm of darkness.

“There you are,” Dr. Chen says. I take in her face. There’s more kindness there than I’ve seen in weeks, and it makes my chest tighten.

I try to focus on her voice as she explains each step of her examination. My head throbs and the room seems to tilt and spin if I move too quickly.

“I’m going to check your pupils now,” she says, shining a small light into my eyes. “Follow the light with your eyes, please.”

I comply, wincing at the brightness. As she continues her examination, asking me to touch my nose with my finger and testing my reflexes, I shudder. I suddenly become acutely aware of my state of undress. I’m naked, aside from a jacket that’s been draped over me,hisjacket. Vulnerability crashes over me like a wave, and I have to fight the urge to curl into a ball.

Dr. Chen must notice my discomfort. She pauses, her expression softening. “Let’s get you some clothes, dear. You’ll feel much better.”

She turns to someone I can’t see who must have been standing near the doorway and requests clothing be brought for me. I’m grateful for her consideration, but it does little to ease the knot of anxiety in my stomach. I’m still a prisoner here, no matter how kind this doctor might seem.

As we wait, Dr. Chen’s brow furrows as she looks over a chart. “I’m quite concerned about your condition, Mia,” she says, her tone serious. “The amount of blood that’s been drawn from you is far beyond what’s safe or ethical. Your body needs time to recover.”

I want to laugh bitterly at the word “ethical” being used in this place, but I don’t have the energy.

I eye Dr. Chen warily as she continues her examination. Despite her gentle manner, I can’t forget that she’s part of this place, part of the system that’s keeping me prisoner.

“Mia,” she says softly, “I need to understand what happened. Can you tell me about the incident that led to your collapse?”

I press my lips together, torn between my instinct to stay silent and the desperate need to have someone – anyone – acknowledge the horror of what’s been done to me.

“It was Patty,” I finally rasp. “The guard.”

Dr. Chen’s eyebrows lift slightly, but she doesn’t interrupt.

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