CHAPTER 4: HUMAN AGAIN
1084 Words
Silence.
_Beep… beep… beep._ Steady. Calm.
Selene woke slow. White walls. Soft lamplight. Glass wall showing only mist and dark trees. A private ward. Hidden.
She looked at her hands. Human. Five fingers. No claws. She touched her face. Lifted the sheet. Feet. Human toes.
She was human.
“What happened?” she whispered.
Pain split her head. Fragments. Glass. Blue liquid. The raid. Vant’s neck. Blood. Her claws.
“Vant— I hurt you—”
“Hey, little thorn.”
Low. Rough. Like smoke.
She looked up.
Dr. Vant stood in the doorway. Black Henley, sleeves pushed up. Dark jeans. Broad shoulders filling the frame. The bandage at his throat had a small stain of dried blood. He should’ve looked weak. He didn’t. He looked dangerous. Real.
His lips pressed thin. But his eyes softened when they met hers.
“How do you feel?” He stepped in. Slow.
“Don’t come close.” She sat up fast. Tears burned. “I don’t know what happened to me. I could hurt you—”
He stopped. One finger over her lips. Warm. Firm.
“Shh. It’s okay. Don’t blame yourself. You’re also a victim.”
His thumb wiped the tear on her cheek. Gentle. Like she’d break.
Selene choked. “I can’t take this, Vant. I can’t… My brother, Ben… he’s twelve. Deaf since the accident. I promised I’d fix him. Now he’ll look at me and see a monster. Not his sister. And Maya? My best friend? She’d run if she saw what I became.”
Vant’s jaw tightened at Ben’s name. He let his hand fall.
“You were unconscious for two days,” he said quietly.
Her eyes widened. “Two days?”
He nodded. “I met Nolan while you were out. Nolan Virex. He doesn’t know you’re awake. But he knows you absorbed the DNA. He saw the footage from the lab raid.” Vant’s voice went flat. “Virex is after you now, Selene. Not the formula. You. You’re in danger.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know if the Council saw anything. I don’t know if Virex has footage. I don’t know what anyone saw that night.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Vant said. “Right now, no one has proof. One research wing got raided. Not VantCorp. Workers still clock in. Investors still get reports. I’m still in business. You can still go to work.”
He stood. “But you can’t stay here. There are things about this city you don’t know. I have a place for you. Far from the city. Off every grid. We call it Starfall Sanctuary. It's a special place For special people like you. I can guarantee your safety there.
Selene frowned. “ I need to go to the office first. They'll think it’s weird if I just disappear.”
Vant hesitated, then nodded. “ I'll take care of that, just head to HR."
---
*VantCorp HQ. 3:17 PM.*
The office buzzed like nothing happened. Coffee. Screens. Normal.
Across the street, a black car idled. Tinted windows. No plates. A lens flashed once. Twice. Pictures of Selene and Vant stepping into the building. Unknown to them both.
Inside, Selene walked to her department head’s office. Dr. Harold Finch.
“Selene,” he said, surprised. “Heard you were out sick.”
“Family emergency,” she lied. “But I’m here.”
Finch nodded. “Good timing. VantCorp’s sending a small team on a business trip. Remote site. Two weeks. Off-grid research. I need someone with your genetics background. You in?”
Relief hit her. Not leave. A business trip. Less suspicious to staff.
“I’ll go,” she said.
“Pack tonight. Flight’s at dawn.” Finch smiled. “Safe travels.”
She turned. Maya was waiting by her desk. Eyes wide, worried. She grabbed Selene’s arm. “Thank God. Where were you? The audit… the raid… everyone’s saying crazy things. Did you see it? Did you see what happened to the lab?”
Too many questions. Too fast. Too sharp.
Selene forced a smile. “I was sick. Family emergency. Now I’m on a business trip. Two weeks.”
Maya didn’t let go. “A trip? Now? Selene, talk to me. You’re scaring me.”
Selene pulled away. Brushed it off. But her hearing caught it: Maya’s heartbeat. Fast. Uneven. Like she was hiding something.
Vant appeared behind her. Hand at her lower back. Protective.
“Maya,” he said smoothly. “She needs rest before the flight. I’ll handle the briefing.”
Maya’s eyes flicked between them. Then she smiled. Too bright. “Of course. Safe trip, okay?”
When Maya walked away, Vant’s voice dropped. Only for Selene. “There’s a mole, little thorn. Someone leaked the lab location. I don’t know who yet.”
Selene watched Maya’s back. A suspect. She didn’t want to believe it.
---
8:42 PM. Thornewood Estate.*
Her stepfather’s mansion. Glass and steel. Gates like a fortress.
Richard Thorne. Corrupt politician. Senator. Owner of ThorneTech Industries. The man who married her mother, Eleanor Thorne, when Selene was ten.
She cut ties at eighteen. The night she found out Richard buried the police report on the car crash that made Ben deaf. The crash he caused. Drunk driving. Cover-up. Her mother, Eleanor, chose him over the truth. Over Ben. Over her.
She hadn’t spoken to either of them since.
Vant waited in the car. Engine low.
Selene knocked. The butler opened. Ben’s wheelchair was in the hall. He lit up when he saw her.
“Sis!” He signed fast. _You’re back. I missed you._
She knelt, hugged him tight. He felt small. Fragile. Her whole world.
“I’m going on a business trip for a while, Ben,” she signed. “But I’ll call. Every day. I promise.”
Ben’s smile faded. _Why? Are you sick?_
“No,” she signed. Lie. “Just… work. A special project.”
Upstairs, Richard’s voice boomed. “Selene? Come to ask for money again?”
She didn’t answer. She kissed Ben’s forehead and left.
Back in the car, Vant didn’t ask. He just handed her water.
“Starfall Sanctuary,” he said. “My place. Your place now. You'll be safe there."
Selene stared out the window. Away from her old life. Into the dark with him.
She didn’t feel like a hero. She felt like a runaway.
But for the first time in two days, she wasn’t alone.
--
- Writer
