Alienated | Breeder

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1DisorientatedI can hear the sound of someone calling my name softly nearby. I can’t put a face to the voice, but I gradually let it guide me out from the darkness of dreams.

A large, callous hand gently caresses the side of my face, ticklishly coaxing me to open my eyes. When I don’t react immediately, another hand strokes the bare side of my arm, evoking a warm and inviting sensation. But just as soon as they are there, the hands are gone in a flash, causing me to peer up in protest — though it only lasts for a split second.

“Svegliati, angelo mio. È tempo,” the gentle yet rich tone speaks again. (Wake up, my angel. It’s time.)

È tempo? Time for what? I moan groggily, causing someone else to stifle a laughter at the background.

The kind voice speaks again, this time in a slightly lower tone. “The others are waiting. We have a tight schedule to keep up.”

Instead of complying, I find myself drifting off again. Even though he’s just a dream, he sure sounds delectable. His voice is cordial, a deep baritone that hints to a faint European accent. Hello and goodbye, mystery man, I giggle inwardly, the corners of my lips curving up a little.

“If you’re not gonna wake up soon, I’m gonna have to make you,” the other person speaks up, this one playful and seductive, but I ignore him completely.

Before I can dive further into my dream, something warm and slimy runs itself across my exposed neck, causing me to reel up in surprise.

My hand instinctively moves up to cover the now damp area on my neck, my eyes balkingly open wide just in time to see the young man retracting his tongue back into his mouth, before licking his bottom lips and sending me a boyish grin. He has his arms caging around each side of my head, the upper half of his body leaning over so closely near my lying form that there’s barely any space for me to move from. What, what, what, what—?

“That surely woke you right up,” he chuckles lightly, lips curved into a (somewhat familiarly annoying) naughty smirk as his dark amber eyes bore into me, twinkling with glee.

My facial features contort unpleasantly at the first sight of him. “Sebastian? What the heck are you doing here?” I scowl irritatedly at my arch-nemesis.

Instead of answering me, he turns to the man standing next to him. “See? I told you she wouldn’t be happy to see me.”

“Gee, I don’t know. Maybe that’s because you licked my freakin’ neck?” I answer sarcastically. Before Sebastian attempts to deny my accusation, I beat him to it. “And don’t try denying it. I obviously caught you red-handed.” Then I immediately take advantage of his disgruntled state to push him away, so I can climb off from the bed and put some good distance between us.

The frown in between my eyebrows creases even deeper when I realize that I’m no longer in my bedroom, but in a big, square room covered with dark panels that’s reflective like black mirrors on all sides, as if taken straight out of a page of a sci-fi comic. My eyes automatically scan around for an exist, but I don’t see any visible windows or doors. Even the bed I just slept on is not a normal bed, but something that looks suspiciously similar to a cryotank, minus a glassed lid.

“Whoa— What is this place? How did I end up here?”

A man in a white coat and half-framed spectacles steps up, and I recognize his voice as the one who called for my name before. A slight hesitance crosses his eyes when he introduces himself. “My name is Dr. Gabriel Smyth, and you’re a current resident in my clinic.”

“Why? Am I sick?”

“Thankfully not, though I do wish I can say the same to some of the others.”

I start inspecting myself as he blabbers on, finding a white monochrome panel dress already worn on me, complete with some matching white leather choker and a pair of glove cuffs on each wrist, the code ‘#00-13’ printed on one of the inner bands. These all look a tad bit too fashionable for a patient’s garment, which raises my suspicion a bit more. This is also when I notice that my nails and hair are much longer than the last time I saw them.

The last part of his sentence catches my attention. “Others?” I question, voice shrieking at the end. Hitting my limit, I end up with a series of coughing fit, throat feeling unbelievably dry.

Attentively, the doctor quickly picks up a glass of water for me. I take it gratefully and drink the entire content dry, not realizing just how thirsty I’ve been. Feeling better, I clear my throat and hand back the now empty tall glass to him. When our hands touch, he pauses a little, shoulders looking stiff. I’m guessing he’s not comfortable with strangers, so I brush it off.

(But wait, if he’s not comfortable touching strangers, then who was the one who caressed me gently just before? Can’t be Sebastian, can it? I shiver just the thought of it.)

Dozens of more questions form in my mind, but the next I choose to ask is, “If I’m not sick, then why am I in a clinic?” Brushing the end of my hair, I add, “How long have I been asleep?” Last time I check, my hair is supposed to be shoulder-length, but now it has reached all the way to my hip. (I can tell that it’s real because my scalp stings when I pull too hard.) “Where’s my family?”

The last question turns everyone wary, and watching their reaction only makes me feel queasy.

Dr. Smyth studies my expression carefully before saying, “I can explain things to you, but first, I need to brief you on our current situation. I think you’d better sit down for this.”

My vision begins to spin, but I hold my ground.

“Just give it to me straight. What happened?” Somehow, I know that it’ll be bad news, but I still need to know.

“Let me explain—” Sebastian tries to cut in quickly, but I shush him up right away, not feeling sorry at all when I say, “No offence, but I’d rather trust a stranger than you.” Then I turn to the doctor expectantly for an answer.

Dr. Smythe sighs in defeat, feeling sorry for what I’m about to learn.

“A massive outbreak had occured while you were asleep, Ms. Goodacre, and not many survived from that. From your city alone, only you and Mr. Warren had survived the attack. We don’t know what happened exactly, only that in less than a day, it occurred instantaneously from all over the globe. Until today, we still can’t figure out what kind of disease it was, only that it eliminated almost 99% of the world’s population. Those who survived from the attack are only a small portion from our original population in total. We’ve gathered everyone we could, but even this city alone doesn’t consist of more than 138,000 people.”

A hundred thousand? That’s not even one percent from the original population. Billions of lives, snuffed out in a flash.

The impact of the news forces me to take an involuntary step back. I try to stop myself from panicking, but it’s no use. My lungs are hunting for air, my entire body shaking from overventilation. If what he said is true, then… that means… my family— Suddenly, I can feel a lump forming in my throat.

“No!” I instinctively raise my voice, the word coming out louder than I intended. “That- that just can’t be! Mom, Dad, my brother! I just saw them yesterday. They can’t be—” Dead. The lack of oxygen is turning my head hazy, making my chest aches.

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they’ve all perished from the outbreak,” Dr. Smythe confirms solemnly. “You’re lucky enough to be still alive when we recovered you. You were the only survival in your family. We tried to check for any other living relatives of yours — friends, anyone from your contact list — but I’m afraid they’ve all have passed on from the attack,” he says regrettably. “You’re not the only one, though. Relatives or friends rarely survived from the outbreak.”

That’s- that’s impossible! I have relatives living outside the country. What kind of an epidemic is so deadly it can wipe out all of them? I stare at Dr. Smythe in disbelieve, looking for some semblance of lies, but all he can give me is a sad look of regret.

For a moment, no one says anything until Sebastian speaks up, breaking the silence. “It’s true. They’re all dead. Believe me, I’ve checked.” He sounds uncharacteristically despondent when he says this that I don’t think I’ve ever seen this side of him before, making me almost regret seeing him this way. His parents, his friends. I’m not the only one who has lost everyone I’ve ever loved. And, if someone like Sebastian can react so strongly like this, then it must be true.