Four men were bound on the floor of my lab, tied and naked. The men were on their knees, bent over until their noses nearly touched the floor. Their arms were straight by their side, tied to their ankles. At the same time, their legs were in a bent position to negate the possibility of getting up, with an extra knot securing their legs to their torso. The knots and position allowed for easier blood flow, as I did not want to harm them yet. I needed them alive to collect. Phoebe had figured out after some experimentation with ropes that this was the easiest position to collect saliva.
While the image was no longer shocking to me, I was familiar enough to appreciate them properly now. Their tired bodies were bathed in the purity of dawn, unworthy of such beautiful lighting.
Their mouths were held open by a mouth prop, typically used for holding a patient’s mouth open during surgery or dentistry. Today they were used for a similar purpose, but the procedure was less complicated.
On the floor in front of their faces was a metal bowl to collect their saliva. All I had to do was spray their mouths every once in a while with a perfume bottle full of water and keep a close eye.
I knelt down before one of the specimens, lifting his head by my grip on his hair. His eyes were dark and sagged from discomfort. The prop holding his mouth open was making the skin around his lips turn pale and dry. I gathered the glass perfume bottle and sprayed water directly to the back of his throat.
“Swallow,” I demanded.
The subject flinched and tried his very best to let the water go down without inhaling it. The same was repeated for the others.
A steady throbbing in my temple had begun, a slight thrum. My eyelids were heavy and puffy. Each breath felt like some extra labor. My day of rest was anything but. Nevertheless, work needed to be done.
“You have always been socreative.”
I spun quickly to face the dark and elusive man leaning against the doorframe.
“Would you like me to give you a personal demonstration? Don’t slither around like that,” I warned.
“If it means that I will end up like them—” Luka tilted his head toward the men on the floor, a slow smile making a dimple appear on his cheek, “actually, I would not mind it.”
“That is because you are afreak.”
“Says the woman who left thousands of teeth as a gift.”
“It was not a gift; it was a warning.”
“Is this how you get it? The teeth? The venom?”
I neglected to answer and turned to my workbench, beginning to gather the glasses and filing them on the cabinet beside the table. Not once did I turn my back to him in the time I pretended to look busy.
“I didn’t come to visit to be pleasant.”
“When are you ever?” I sneered.
“Alina.” His voice wavered. “Can we put aside our differences?”
“What differences? I’m fine with the arrangement as it is.”
“I want to eat.”
“You have one rule.”
“It’s unfair!” he snapped, slapping his hand on the edge of the table.
I paused, slowly looking up at him. “Youare worried aboutfair?”
“I have bent overbackwardfor you and your insufferable behavior. I’ve let myself become the sack you kick when you’re frustrated.”
“Is that not what you deserve?”
“It may be, but it is unproductive. When will you just admit that you need my help since Silas is entirely delusional with no knack for leadership? He doesn’t know what it’s like out there. We do.”
“We?”
“You’ve seen what it’s like out there. How these jokes of Nests function, how they act. Without any sort of order, a free-for-all is the last thing we need. You and all your girls are in danger if they suddenly decide they don’t want their food dictating the rules.”
