Page 50 of Resistant

Most of the yards are dirt, and the grass is not growing well because of the lack of sunlight. At the next crossroads, we see a unit of armed guards running together. Seven men are running two by two and at one running point. The point man glares at us but does not say anything and they turn down another street.

We keep running. I stop paying attention to where we are because I’m utterly miserable. Every limb feels like gelatin or is screaming out in pain. I gasp for breath.

“Can we walk a little bit, Declan?” He slows to a brisk walk, and I still struggle to keep up.

We turn down a side street and I’m reeling trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. My breath catches in my throat, and my vision darkens around the edges.It can’t be him. Why would he be here? I’m sure it’s him.I’m his mother, I would no my baby anywhere. Declan grasps my hand as the world starts to spin.

I hear Declan mutter, “Fuck.”

The ground rises to meet my face and I push my hands out to catch myself. When I come to, Declan is running his hands over my head, and he’s saying something. But I don’t hear him, I hear his voice, but it’s muffled and far away.

“You have to get him, Declan. Go, leave me here. You must get him.”

Declan looks around. “Who do you see, baby? There’s no one here.” I try to sit up and look around and he holds me still.

“Easy, Angel. Take slow deep breaths. We are in no hurry. You should have told me you weren’t feeling well.”

“I’m fine, Declan, where is he? Where did he go?”

“Where did who go Brynn?”

“David, it was David. He was right there.” I point to the bungalow further down the street.

“Baby, there’s no one there. I promise.”

I feel the hysteria bubble up from deep inside me, and the tears begin rolling down my cheeks before I can even begin to let out any of the emotions I’m feeling. I’m devastated. I’m certain that I saw him playing in the yard. I don’t understand why Declan didn’t see him, why he doesn’t believe me. I’m not crazy.

After showers Declan and I work silently in the lab. I’m reading through material he’s downloaded and I’m making small notes about things I don’t understand to look up later or to ask Declan to explain.

Declan set up his microscopes earlier and he’s fussing with them. He walks up behind me, and I feel his breath on my neck. He lifts my hands holding them together behind the chair.

He nips at my jaw and kisses down to my collar bone. Goosebumps prickle down my skin and I close my eyes. I feel Declan tie my hands together with his belt, soft clinking noises breaking up the sound of my breath. His hands glide over my breasts and belly and circle back to my arms and hands. His lips leave my neck, and he whispers,

“Be still Brynn.”

His fingers intertwine with mine and I feel him press against the side of my index finger. His lips are on my neck again and I drop my head backwards giving him more access. A tiny stick distracts me from melting into his body. I open my eyes, Declan is studying my face. He scrapes my finger with a glass slide.

“All done, baby girl.”

He covers the slide with another, sets it aside and pulls the belt free in one smooth move.

“Told you I wouldn’t hurt you babe. Next time I’ll do vials.” He presses a small band-aid against the prick and holds it tightly to stop the bleeding.

I shudder and glare at him.

“You are a son of a bitch.”

“Leave my mother out of this, Angel.”

He smirks, takes his slides, and moves over to the microscope. He’s won this battle, but no way am I going to let him take vials. My curiosity is peaked watching him work. He looks through the lens adjusting dials and sliding around on his rolling stool.

He grabs a camera and some stains, takes a series of photos, adjusts dials,snap, adding stain,snap, rinse and repeat.

“What do you see?”

“Nothing unusual. I didn’t expect to see anything here since you seem to be healthy. Later, I’ll extract a vial so we can do DNA testing. That’s where shits going to get interesting.”

Welcome to the Neighborhood

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