Page 30 of Milk
Susan’s eyes filled with judgment again, and I sighed. She wasn’t falling for any of my bullshit. I wasn’t either. This is what I wanted. I wanted it badly. Not to be branded. No, God, the pain! It was horrible to think about. But I wanted to be his. I wanted someone gorgeous, as important as Carter, to look at me and call me his. For him to see something in me worth claiming.
Susan leaned down, hands on her knees, to bring her face level with mine. “So, Tiffany. What do you want?”
“I want to be his. I want him to own me,” I said, slowly, trying not to second guess things.
“Will you accept his mark? Will you endure the pain to have it branded on your skin?” Susan asked.
I swallowed dryly. I hesitated for a moment; it was enough for Susan to add. “Mr. Hill will be really happy if you do. I’m sure of that.”
I couldn’t help it. I asked nervously, “P-promise?”
She held my chin gently and said, “Yes, I do.”
I nodded my head, finally giving permission. She got up and gestured to the farmhand with the hot poker. Dave, had she called him? I felt the heat coming near my ass as he pulled my cheek aside to stretch the skin taut. I braced myself for the inevitable.
“This will sting a little,” Susan said evenly.
“No shi— AHH!”
First, I shouted in startled surprise as the searing settled in. I felt my skin sizzle and pain rolled through me like a shockwave. I thrashed violently in the contraption, but I was tied firmly and couldn’t move. I didn’t ruin the process, but I didn’t stop screaming, not while Dave made sure the burn would scar. I smelled my flesh burning. It was sickening. Luckily for me, the pain was too great for me to dwell on the smell.
Even after Dave pulled the poker from my skin, I continued to scream in. The burn sunk deeper and deeper. He sprayed something over the brand and the agony ebbed ever so slightly, letting me breathe, speak without screaming.
“I w-want to see it,” I muttered, hoarse from howling my soul out of my throat. “Can’t you show me with a mirror?”
“No,” she replied.
The deadpan response almost restored my senses. Her hand brushed my neck and she injected me with something. I knew she was sedating me. Again.
“Did you j-just… Drug me?”
“You’ll thank me later. You’ll see the brand later, Tiff. Not right now.”
“Not right now?! When… I.”
My words stumbled upon each other. The drug was fast acting. I didn’t feel pain. I didn’t feel anything below my waist. No, not anything below my neck. I couldn’t feel my face. I couldn’t speak. And soon, all was dark.
Istood in front of one of the laboratory windows, with my eyes set on the curled, screaming person in the cell in front of me. The cell was made for this. It was covered floor to ceiling in all white tiles. There was a small drain to absorb any mess. Perfect and functional. My phone rang and a message from Susan appeared.
‘She went through with it.’
I texted her a request for clarification. Apparently, Susan had engineered some test of Tiffany’s loyalty to me. She said she knew I was getting attached and decided it was necessary. So she gave Tiffany the chance to be branded with my mark, or to refuse it. She’d gone through with it. She accepted my mark.
Part of me wanted to punish Susan for going off the rails, but the pleased surprise that coursed through me calmed my desire for vengeance.
“Mr. Hill. This mutation is far beyond what we’ve seen in any specimen,” One of the scientists said, interrupting my thoughts. “It doesn’t look stable.”
“That’s because it isn’t. How is his heart rate?”
“In the danger zone, sir. I’m surprised he hasn’t gone into cardiac arrest.”
“So, it’s still beating.”
The scientist looked shocked at my cold assessment. Fine, let him be shocked. I didn’t owe anyone explanations anyway.
“Yes, sir, it is still beating,” he confirmed.
“Good. Have a crash cart ready to resurrect him in case it stops,” I added. “The observation data from this is too valuable to go to waste.
