Chương 24: Relief

"What are you doing? Where do you think you're going?" Asaph rushed forward to block Enrique's path, preventing him from getting to Ellie. His face held pure irritation as he glared at his distractor with tightly knitted brows.

His action made Enrique pause his movement so as not to bump into him.

"What do you mean where am I going? Are you blind? Can't you see what's happening to her?" Enrique probed, surprised at the man's attitude.

He knew Asaph to be a mad scientist with some loose screws, but didn't expect him not to know the difference between when his torture mechanism was working as it was supposed to and when his victim was already on the brink of death. Unless, of course, he is doing it intentionally, with the aim of killing the person.

Asaph shut his eyes, clenched his jaws, and drew in a deep breath as if to calm his rising temper and stop himself from doing something stupid. By the time he opened his eyes, a warning was flashing in the pair.

"This is my department, Enrique. Whatever happens here is none of your concern. I don't tell you how to run your department. Don't tell me how to run mine. Mind your business." Asaph warned, closing the gap between him and Enrique.

"I don't care how you chose to run your crazy lab and prison. The girl has been transferred to my department so she has become my business. Move so I can attend to her." Enrique countered, returning the fierce look Asaph was giving him.

"Who transfers an unbroken prisoner? I am not done with her." Asaph stood his ground, unwavering in his stand.

"I believe research is what you know how to do best. Go out there and find the person who transferred her." Enrique returned.

Mary shifted her gaze between the three people and was increasingly getting alarmed whenever she looked at Ellie. Her trembling had slowed down, and Mary could tell that she was barely conscious.

"Out of my way, Asaph, or else you'll explain to Master Storm why you stopped me from getting to her before she died." Enrique threatened, seeing how the guy was still refusing to move away.

His last words finally got to Asaph and succeeded in making him move to the side. It, however, didn't do much to quelch the fury inside of him. It, in fact, fueled it.

He hated it when Storm gives preferential treatment to anyone, especially humans. Nothing annoyed him more than hearing Storm say he wanted to grant her wish. They were supposed to carry out a very important experiment, one that was supposed to be a breakthrough after so many failures, only for Storm to suddenly decide to grant the test monkey a wish.

Who the hell did she think she was?

Yes, he knew she was dying, and that was exactly what he wanted. He would wait until she was close to death, and then he would still use the potion on her, turning her into the vampire she didn't want to become.

After that, he would end her life, whether the experiment worked out or not.

But yet again, Storm decided to ruin his plans.

The moment he stepped out of the way, Enrique rushed toward Ellie, falling to his knees and lifting her upper body. She was shaking terribly, so he pulled her further up and used his body as a support system so she wouldn't fall back down.

"Why is she reacting like this? What else did you do to her?"

"Don't ask me stupid questions," Asaph responded.

"It's because she had nothing to eat last night," Mary spoke, eyeing Asaph.

Enrique's eyes widened and his head snapped toward Asaph's direction. "You injected her on an empty stomach?"

"How was I supposed to know she didn't eat?" Asaph questioned in a nonchalant manner.

"He knows. I told him she refused to eat." Mary, once more, countered Asaph.

A harsh slap that resonated around the room was the response Mary received from Asaph, and her hand instantly flew to her cheek.

"Hey, don't you dare lay your hands on my worker again. Are you crazy?" Enrique scolded Asaph, glaring at him.

"Then tell her to keep her mouth shut and her opinions where they belong — inside her head."

"She wasn't talking to you." Enrique countered

"She was countering my words."

"Because you were lying, and trying to get her in trouble."

"So what? Who gave her the right to counter her bosses even if her head is on the line?"

"You are not her boss. I am. And I gave her the right. Hand the antidote over." Enrique stretched his hand toward Asaph, and the latter unwillingly placed a small bottle he pulled out of his pocket, on his palm.

If not that Enrique mentioned their master's name and involvement in this, he would have gladly stood in the way until the girl died, even if he loses the opportunity to test his latest potion on her.

"The food," Enrique ordered again, and Asaph handed the plate of food over.

Seeing that was done, Mary walked out of the cell, while Enrique released several soft slaps on Ellie's cheek to wake up and pull back her already drifting mind.

Ellie, who was already unaware of her surroundings, felt a strange sensation on her cheek. It was painful, but softer and different from the one she was already suffering. That triggered her brain to try to understand what the new pain was and where it was coming from.

While she was trying to understand what this new pain was, another thing hit her, causing a stir inside of her. Enrique brought the plate closer to her nose, and once again, the aroma of the food forced her body to react.

Relief was close, so close she could almost taste it. The desperation to survive forced her back to reality, and her eyes snapped open.

A breath of relief escaped Enrique's lips when he saw her open her eyes. But what followed was a look of surprise, which lasted only for a moment before it disappeared.