My body and mind had finally given out, and I'd finally fallen asleep again.
I'd apparently been asleep for a long time, but my fatigue wouldn't go away. It clung to my bones like a second skin.
I leaned against the nearest wall to straighten up. My legs, still numb, protested, but I managed to stand. I glanced over at my comrade, still sprawled on the floor, and clumsily made my way over to him.
"Hey, Isaac..." I murmured, my voice hoarse with sleep.
I put my hand on his shoulder and shook him gently, but he only responded with a long yawn before turning on his side, oblivious to my efforts.
I insisted.
"Isaac, get up, quickly!" I shook his arm with more vigor this time. His eyelids opened abruptly, and he sat up with a start.
"WHAT?!" he cried, panting, fear painted on his face. His panicked gaze swept across the room until it met mine.
I tilted my head slightly, a half-smile on my lips.
"I'm bored. Got an idea for a game?"
He stared at me for a few seconds, incredulous, before letting out a desperate sigh.
"You woke me up for this?! I'm sick of playing with you! You could at least show a little interest in what I'm..."
And there it was. One of his famous dramatic monologues, unstoppable, always tinged with exaggeration. His voice came in waves, theatrical and animated, and despite myself, a discreet laugh escaped my lips.
It works every time. I thought, an ill-concealed amusement piercing right through my thoughts.
Since the incident with the flames, we'd grown closer, and even if I wasn't ready to admit it, he'd become... important. And above all, he was the only living distraction in this sinister place.
A sudden thud echoed through the corridor. Footsteps.
I immediately turned towards the door, my heart frozen. My fingers tightened involuntarily.
Isaac fell silent instantly. Our eyes met, more serious, more worried. Someone was approaching.
The metallic sound of a lock turned slowly. Isaac and I froze.
The door opened with a muffled creak, revealing a lone man in a slightly rumpled black and gray suit. He wasn't the kind of guard you'd normally see: no stiff posture, no blank stare. He looked... weary. His eyes swept the room before settling on us, and a shadow of regret passed over his features.
"Come with me, you need to be examined." His voice was deep, husky, low and... hesitant. Almost soft. He stood there, without taking another step.
I could feel my heart beating restlessly in my chest, right next to the fruit, and a question popped into my head.
If they find out, they'll go on experimenting on me, they might even dissect me. I instinctively put my hand on my breastbone and took a step back. Then another.
Isaac looked at me for a moment and merely nodded before darting towards the guard with a scream.
His points were covered with a fine layer of minerals as he rushed closer to the man, but before he could get within range, he was lifted by the neck to the guard's level.
The movement contained not the slightest intention or violence, it seemed millimetre, just coldly efficient.
"I don't want to hurt you, so please cooperate." His voice still had that softness that made it sound sincere. I squeezed the stitches.
This is disgusting. If you're going to lead us to our deaths, at least have the courage to assume it.
I threw myself at him in turn, my fists clenched, striking blindly with my points imbued with faint golden flames, which he blocked with disconcerting ease and, with a controlled gesture, pushed me back.
I fell to the ground, panting, my eyes blurry with tears of rage. Isaac was still screaming, his legs flailing in the air.
"Separate them," the guard shouted without raising his voice.
Other silhouettes appeared. We were grabbed like sacks of grain. Isaac called out my name. I shouted his too.
He stretched out his arms toward me, his eyes full of a fear I'd never seen in him before.
"Isaac! Let go of me!"
The door slammed behind us.
No matter how much I struggled, the guard's grip prevented me from fleeing with insulting ease. He dragged me through the facility like a weightless bundle.
Barely two corridors later, as he continued to pull me along without a word, a commotion broke out.
An inhuman howl echoed behind one of the doors, followed by a bang. The door shattered and crashed against a wall with a crackle of energy. A silhouette emerged, drowned in a cloud of dust.
Then a metallic crash. Another scream, even higher, more monstrous.
The guard stopped dead in his tracks. So did I.
It was a child. Or what was left of one.
His body was streaked with throbbing black veins, his skin cracked like burnt ceramic. A sickly gleam shone in his glassy eyes. He advanced on all fours, like a broken animal. Two guards sprang up to intercept him - the first was crushed against the wall, the second... pierced with a single blow.
I froze.
So did the guard beside me. For the first time, I sensed hesitation in him. His face wrinkled as he watched the boy.
"Another failure..."
The boy - no, the creature - turned slowly towards me. His eyes sought something in me. Or maybe he'd already found it.
And something in me did the same.
I could feel the fruit. It was moving. It was falling apart faster. And a dull hunger grew inside me - directed at that thing, that distorted source of energy.
The guard slowly drew his sword. He took up a fighting stance. I was frozen in place.
My body refused to move.