Inside, Pt. 1

by Kyra Anderson

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  I had to get ready for Archangel at the Commission for the first time. Clark told me to bring everything I would need to school and, therefore, to the Commission. Mark would drive us to Archangel. Annoyed, I hauled another bag around with my dress, shoes and makeup to school and managed to stuff it into my locker.

  But I wasn’t sure exactly where I was going to get ready in the Commission.

  When I had finished my homework, agonizing over the question as much as I could, I finally turned to Clark.

  “Hey…where am I going to get dressed?” I asked. Clark hesitated and then took a deep breath.

  “You can use my mother’s office,” he suggested.

  “What about you?”

  “I just need to change my shirt, I’ll be fine,” he assured. He glanced at his phone. “We have about an hour, if you want to go ahead and get ready.”

  I reached down to grab my things when there was a knock on the conference room door. Sean stepped in.

  “Hello Clark, Lily,” he nodded to both of us. “I just wanted to let you know that Dana doesn’t want you to ride the bus home tonight. Mark and Josh will be going with you and stay outside the club in the car.”

  “Why?” Clark hissed. “It’s dangerous for them to be out like that. What if either one of them gets seen without their glasses?”

  “It’s a chance Dana is willing to take,” Sean shrugged. “I don’t like the idea, either, but Dana insisted.” He looked at me. “You’ve probably seen Josh before, but I don’t think you’ve actually met him. He’s like Mark. He came from the same hidden society.”

  “Oh…” I said, not sure what else to say.

  “Don’t worry, they’re just there for protection, considering what happened a few weeks ago.” Sean looked at both of us and nodded slowly. “Alright, just let Mark know when you’re ready.”

  He stepped out of the room and Clark shook his head.

  “I don’t like this…” He turned to me. “If you want to get ready, go ahead and use my mother’s office. I’m going to see if I can find Dana. I’ll try and get him to change his mind about this. I don’t want Mark and Josh left exposed like that.”

  “Are you sure that’s wise?” I asked. “Confronting Dana?”

  “No,” Clark sighed. “But it’s dangerous enough to have Mark driving me everywhere in the day. If two of them are looming outside Archangel, people will get nervous and then curious. It’s just too dangerous.”

  “Alright,” I agreed. I didn’t want Mark in any danger, either.

  I grabbed my bag and walked out of the conference room, heading to Mrs. Markus’ office as Clark left to find Dana. It eased my mind that Clark would keep Dana occupied so that the leader of the Commission wouldn’t find me while I was changing.

  I curled my hair quickly and put on some makeup before unbuttoning my shirt. I started on the button on my jeans when a shiver ran up my spine. I heard a click behind me and whirled around to see Dana standing by the now-closed office door, locking it.

  “What the hell are you doing?!” I snapped, snatching my shirt to cover my bra.

  “Don’t worry, Little Lily. I’m sure you have nothing I haven’t seen before,” Dana grinned, stalking toward me. The room suddenly seemed much smaller. The closer he got, the warmer it became and I began to tremble despite my will-power to stay strong.

  He finally reached me, the desk behind me stopping me from retreating further. I stared, unable to take my eyes off his exposed, golden stare. He looked powerful, dominating, and a different heat ran through my body. I needed to find a way to combat his seductive glare. I could not put words to the power he held in his eyes. Dana was exceptionally attractive, but the gaze held a different power, a promise that he would take what he wanted, and as much as I wanted to deny it, it was an incredible turn-on.

  He gently tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, his fingertips barely brushing my cheekbone and the top of my ear, igniting sparks through my body.

  “You look beautiful, Little Lily,” he whispered, his voice dripping with nectar. I shivered and my eye lids fluttered, my breath shuddering out of me.

  His hand moved from my hair to my collarbone, his finger ghosting over me, causing my hair to stand on end. His finger pressed into the top of my sternum and slowly descended until it hit the shirt I was still clinging to. Internally, I was screaming at myself to push him away, to stop his advances, but I was a prisoner in my own body. My body refused to move, pleased and excited by his very presence, while every other part of my conscious mind wanted him to run away.

  Dana was a drug for my instincts. His presence, particularly his stare, made me want to bow to carnal desires.

  His fingers slowly wrapped in the fabric of my shirt and pulled it away. I did not let go, but I did not hold on to it, either. The fabric slid between my fingers. Every sensation was amplified, and I could almost count the number of threads that passed through my fingers as he pulled.

  He dropped the garment to the floor and smiled, stepping even closer as I hit the desk once again, falling back on my hands. His hands came to rest on mine, pinning me between him and the desk. His leg slipped between mine and I gasped before I could help myself.

  I stared at him, afraid he would attack me. He chuckled.

  “Are you afraid?”

  Slowly, I shook my head.

  “No?” he pressed, clearly not fooled. I nodded, still locked in his stare. He leaned closer.

  “Why are you afraid?”

  I could not find an answer. I was afraid that he would assault me, pin me down and molest me, maybe even rape me, or take me into the back and test on me because he had discovered my plan of revolution. The frenzied thoughts prevented me from forming the fears into words. I swallowed hard and forced my lips and tongue to work.

  “C-Clark is looking for you…”

  “I know,” Dana smiled. “But…” he leaned even closer, allowing me to feel his breath on my cheek as I turned my head, “I was looking for you.” He pressed his mouth to my skin, but did not kiss me. “Imagine how pleased I was at the show you were putting on when I walked in…”

  I struggled, futile against his strong hands. I was hot and flushed, drunk off his presence.

  “That was not a show…”

  “You have a natural grace,” he told me, his mouth moving away so he could capture my eyes in that intense stare. “It has been so long since I’ve seen you…I’m sorry I’ve been so busy.”

  “I haven’t noticed,” I snapped. “It was nicer when you weren’t around.”

  “Why?” Dana asked with a smile. He pressed forward with his leg and another spark ran through my body as I felt his weight against me. His presence was intoxicating, his faint scent enough to overpower my senses and cause me to lose grip on reality. I felt my skin flush and had to bite my lip to stop the moan that threatened to bubble out from the contact.

  “Are you afraid?” he repeated.

  I couldn’t speak.

  “I have a theory about you, Little Lily…” His hand ran up my side to rest at the base of my neck as he moved his mouth to the other side. I arched my back as his breath passed over my nape, creating more friction against his leg and causing the fire to flare inside me. “You are not afraid of me, but you’re afraid of your reactions around me. Everyone is like that at first.” I felt his lips trap my racing pulse. He chuckled, the air moving over my neck.

  “You’re afraid of these feelings…” He grabbed my hip and pulled me closer, his leg rubbing against me intimately. I groaned, my arms going weak as I fought for control of my body. “Why should you be afraid of them?”

  He smiled, looming over me.

  “I already told you, you’re mine. You’re allowed to feel these things with me…” He leaned toward my lips and his hot breath fanned over my mouth. “Soon…you’ll even start to seek them…”

  I turned my head away when he tried to kiss me.

  “What? Don’t think I don’
t know that you and Mykail have been at least eyeing one another,” Dana smiled. I turned back quickly, unable to stop the immediate fear that ran through me. Dana looked at my neck and chest and gently splayed his fingers over my sternum. Thankfully, my hicky had faded to yellow and was easier to disguise with makeup, so he could not see the mark Mykail had left earlier in the week. “I was pleased to see that your body seems unsoiled,” he grinned. “But, should I check,” he moved his hand between my legs, “everywhere, just to be sure?”

  I shoved him away, finally getting the coordination to move my freed hands off the desk. He backed away a few steps, but he was so much bigger than me, that my shoving had little effect. He sighed, shaking his head.

  “Little Lily…he’s not even human.”

  “And what? You are?” I growled. He smiled widely.

  “Touché.”

  “So, what are you? Are you one of the Machines of Neutralization?”

  He laughed richly. “Of course not,” he smirked. “You really should see Eyna, though, Little Lily. He becomes more beautiful every day. I wish I was like him…”

  “If you’re not one of them, what are you? Are you one of the experiments?”

  “And if I was?”

  For some reason, even though the thought had occurred to me before, I was not prepared to believe that was actually the answer. I halted, my jaw open to try and speak. He laughed.

  “What? Can’t put the pieces together?”

  “You said you worked under Bryant Morris…”

  “I did,” he nodded. “There might have been some things that happened in that lab that weren’t put on record, but they had to be tested, and the result is what you see before you,” he motioned to himself.

  “…you opted to be an experiment?” I breathed. Dana walked back toward me.

  “Oh, come now, Little Lily, it would spoil the fun if I told you,” he grinned. “You will just have to find out for yourself. I can’t even remember who suggested what test and who said which time…it’s all kind of a blur…your investigation would be beneficial for me as well.”

  “An experiment of the Commission runs the Commission now…” I chuckled brokenly at the irony. “You are so fucked up…”

  “Ooh, I love it when you use that language.” He glanced at his watch. “You better get dressed,” Dana smiled. “Fucked up or not, I can tell time, and you don’t have long before Mark and Josh will drive you to Archangel. You best get dressed.”

  “I will when you leave.”

  “Why?” Dana smiled. “Let me assure you, Little Lily, you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. And, as I’ve stated, you have nothing I haven’t seen before.”

  “You’re quite proud of that, aren’t you?”

  He shrugged.

  “I’m not proud,” he corrected me. “But, people want me, so I take advantage of that.”

  “That sounds like pride to me.”

  “You asked if I was proud about how many conquests I’ve had, not if I was prideful,” Dana clarified. He stepped forward. “So, you can get dressed on your own, or I can help you.” He reached closer to me and his hands latched onto the unbuttoned band of my jeans and I shoved at his chest uselessly.

  “If you touch me, I will kick you in the fucking balls!” I snarled at him dangerously. He groaned smiled.

  “Please do,” he hissed. “I love it when you try to fight how much you want me.”

  “I do not want you!” I told him as strongly as I could while struggling to push his shoulders. “I can get myself ready!”

  He backed away.

  “Then do it.”

  I reached for my dress. I decided to put the dress on before removing any other articles of clothing. I slipped it over my hips as I stepped into it and pulled it over my chest before reaching under my skirt—my back turned to Dana—and shimmying out of my jeans, being careful not to expose anything.

  Dana sighed.

  “You’re boring…”

  “Then leave,” I snapped, stepping out of my jeans and throwing them over the desk as I started to take my bra off. Before I knew it, he was behind me, his hand on my shoulder. He placed a hand against the bandage covering the tracer.

  “This is still noticeable…”

  “You were the one who insisted that I have tracers,” I snapped.

  His hand drifted down my back and unclasped my bra. I shivered but managed to take it off without turning into a trembling mess. I folded my clothes together and packed my makeup, Dana’s eyes on me the whole time. When I was finished, I turned to him and he looked me over from head to toe. I tried to stand strong while he scrutinized me, but my legs began to quiver. He stepped forward after what seemed like an eternity of standing still.

  He reached to my shoulder and, even though I flinched away, he grabbed the strap of my dress and righted it tenderly, looking at me in the eye with an intimate look that I had me blushing.

  “Breathtaking…” he whispered.

  I walked past him, toward the door, desperate to leave. Even though I knew he was dangerous and that he seduced people without hesitation to get what he wanted, I could not stop the fluttering of my heart at his compliment. My reaction frightened me more. I had to clear my head as soon as possible.

  “Be careful tonight, Little Lily,” Dana called after me. I turned to him as he stood, his head turned slightly over his shoulder. I stormed away, trying to keep from shaking.

  In the conference room, I was met with another shock.

  “Lily…” Clark whispered, lifting his hand. What I saw in his fingers startled me.

  Folded pieces of paper—more notes from the anonymous person helping us.

  “What? When?”

  “They were just laying on my book when I got back,” he blinked. I stared at him, and then turned to Mark, who was standing by the door, watching us both, confused, not knowing what was going on.

  “Was it Mark?” I hissed, turning back to Clark seriously.

  “It couldn’t have been,” Clark shook his head. “He came with me to find Dana.”

  I looked around the room, nervous and confused. Someone must have been watching us, knowing we were both out of the room, slipping the notes to us when no one was looking. They must have seen we were gone from the conference room cameras. That would also mean they were being recorded placing the notes on Clark’s book, unless the cameras were turned off, or not real…or any other number of possibilities.

  Clark followed my gaze around the room. When we both had found the five security cameras, we looked at one another again.

  “Are those real?” I hissed.

  “I thought they were…” Clark said. “Now…I’m not so sure.” He looked at Mark, who was clearly distressed at not knowing what we were worked up about. When I realized how little he understood the situation, I knew he was not our mysterious helper.

  Clark quickly slid the notes into his pocket, shaking his head.

  “I really hate this place,” he groaned. “We better go.”

  I agreed, though I could only think about the notes. As I picked up my bag, the door opened again and Dana walked in, causing us both to halt. Mark backed away from Dana, and turned to nod at the other man in sunglasses and a suit behind the leader of the Commission. He looked like the Asian I had seen walking out of the lab the day I had my tracers put in.

  “Ready to go to Archangel?” Dana asked, smiling as he looked between the two of us. We nodded slowly, nervous, particularly since Clark had the notes not particularly well-concealed in his pocket.

  Dana glanced at Mark and the other man.

  “Josh will be joining Mark tonight,” Dana told us. “This is Josh, by the way,” Dana told me, pointing. “They will be waiting for you. You will not ride the Commission bus from the club tonight.”

  “Why not?” Clark asked.

  “Because I do not want you to.”

  “But it’s dangerous to have Mark and Josh there,” Clark snapped. “What if someone sees them and no
tices that they’re Asian? Can you imagine?”

  “You seem to have no faith in Mark,” Dana noted with a chuckle.

  “I have faith in Mark, I don’t have faith in other people,” Clark clarified sharply. “I just don’t want to put him, or the Commission, in a difficult position.”

  “They won’t be standing outside the doors,” Dana laughed, rolling his eyes. “They will pull around the back after dropping you off and stay there until you are ready to leave. Just slip out the side door. They’ll be waiting for you.”

  “Why are you so worried about us?” I asked suspiciously.

  “I’ve angered a lot of the young people recently with that ridiculous fiasco with Miranda and Julie,” he shrugged, looking at his nails, disinterested. “And, since you two are my favorites, I must be sure that you are safe. I wouldn’t want you two swept up in some insurrection against me.”

  “Are you really worried about that?” I challenged. “I thought that you had control over everyone.”

  “Maybe I do, maybe I don’t,” Dana said, seeming bored. “Who knows anymore? So, if you kids are ready…”

  Clark was angry, grabbing his backpack and storming past Dana. When I started to walk past Mark and Josh, Mark elbowed the other lightly. Josh stared at him for a moment before bowing shallowly and reaching his hands out for my bag. I blinked, but slowly handed my backpack to him. He carried my things, both experiments following me as I tried to catch up to Clark.

  Clark was waiting for us by the elevators.

  “I can’t believe he’s doing this…” Clark groaned, rolling his eyes as we stepped into the elevator. “He was the one who always told me not to put Mark in unnecessary danger by taking him out in public often, and now he does this…”

  We reached the lobby of the Commission building, grabbing our phones from the reception desk as Mark retrieved the car.

  It was a short, awkward drive to Archangel with Josh and Mark in the front seats. Josh made a motion to Mark at one point, but Mark shook his head and motioned something else. After that, they did not look at one another. I glanced at Clark, who shrugged, not concerned with the silent conversation.