The room was cold, and it did little to reduce my shuddering. Teeth clattering and body shaking tremendously, it took much longer than I imagined to get myself into a sitting position. 

In a daze, I looked around, analyzing my surroundings.

Medical and scientific equipment were scattered on top of tables. Glass jars, full of various powders, sat on shelves. Mountains of books took up even more space, carelessly discarded. 

But what stood out were the tall, glass containers, lined up in perfect rows. 

There were hundreds of them, shaped like cylinders, enclosed with circular lids. In each container, there lied parts of what one would refer to as humanly. 

On my right, there was an arm, floating in the bubbly water. On the other side, there was only a torso. None of the cylinders contained a full human body, as it was all I could have scavenged for these lost souls. 

It was the one and only sign of respect I could have payed to my fallen friends.

I was in the Forbidden Room.

A throbbing pain on the side of my head made me wince. My hand traveled upwards, and a stain of blood covered it. Had I been hit on the head?

It was difficult to remember, as hazy my vision and memory were. My body was practically screaming for proper treatment, my clothes not too far behind. I was in tatters on the cold laboratory floor, surrounded by countless body parts.

Slowly, I forced my wobbly knees to support my body. I tripped, almost knocking over a table on the way. Pressing myself against it, I moved unsteadily, walking in the middle of one row. 

There was Wren. No way would I not remember that muscular arm. Or that tattoo on his index finger. 

Oh, was that Jennifer? Her leg did not look as toned as before, but she would be proud to show it off, complimenting her everlasting miniskirts.

On and on I walked. Watching. Absentmindedly humming a melody. Reminiscing about the past.

Louis, Veronica, Karina.

Trey, Kyle, Bradley…

I've been in this room so many times, I knew about all of them. There may not have been much of them left, though I viewed them as precious memories. 

I mentally associated each of the body parts with their owners. Many would have described that behaviour as being strange, but it was one of the ways I could calm myself. To pick up my senses and think rationally. 

It was my way of coping with stress, I believe. 

Samantha, Gregory, Misa.

Lee, Ericson, Fion –

Suddenly, I stopped. Dead in my tracks, the tune lost in the back of my throat.

Out of all the body parts in the room, the one my eyes lingered upon was fully assembled. They were naked, their dark brown hair floating around their head. A breathing mask was attached to their mouth, tubes connected to machines plastered near the brim of the cylinder’s lid.

All the time I had spent to calm myself down, walking aimlessly down the aisle, went to waste. Instantly, all the memories, the horror, came crashing down.

Mom and Rhea had left and come back earlier than I had expected. Dad, he was away, working on the final project. He would need me to complete it. 

The servants, they were definitely under my family’s control. Most people fell under their control anyways, as powerful, and as important as they were. 

And finally that person, positioned into a ball, trapped inside the liquid.

A single tear turned into dozens when I realized that I had failed. I had failed myself. I had failed him. 

I had lost the battle.

For as long as I could remember, I’ve hated my family.

Hated them with a deep, scorching passion. All three members. My parents and my sister. Sometimes, I found myself daydreaming about the moment they would perish, imagining the worst possible ways for them to go.

Drowning. Burning. Hanging. Being buried alive. Things I had experienced all too well, but who never went as far as to end me. Things I wished would happen to them. 

Anything would be appropriate, as long as it was slow. Agonizingly slow and painful.

What would my life be like if they were gone? Would I be spending my days, rolling around in money, enjoying my freedom, buying friends left and right?

Would more people want to befriend me, once they knew that they would not find themselves floating inside containers, part of experiments? Would I be liked? Accepted? 

In all honesty, it didn’t matter because I had failed them too. All I could do was look at them and pray they would forgive me one day, even if I did not have it in my heart to forgive myself for allowing this to happen.

Nevertheless, I felt as if an opportunity had risen. I knew what my parents were like. Knew what Rhea thought. Just like they had done on multiple occasions, they would introduce me to those special people, and get me to grow a liking to them. Use me to later experiment on them.

Apparently, it was for my own good. For the sake of the nearly extinct sorcerers' race.

I was no fool.

There was nothing I could do to escape with Damian. Not only was I severely wounded, but it would take several hours before I fully recharged my magic. I was a mess, and carrying someone with me would not be beneficial for either of us.

Therefore, my family believed that I had been cornered. That I had given up, just like I’d done on so many occasions. It was over...

Or so they thought it was.

As I watched him, anger gnawed at my stomach, threatening to burst out of my chest. I’d never been so furious in my entire life. All the times Rhea had told on me, or the times she had beaten me up and gotten away with it, the times my parents had unfairly punished me, even that time Rhea had killed my dog because I’d ruined everybody's plans, could not compare to what I was feeling now.

My heart pounding, I placed the palm of my hand on the surface of the glass, pressing my forehead against it.

“Damian…” I whispered.

I wanted to break the glass separating us. Smash it with my fist and hold Damian in my arms. I wanted to shower him with affection, bestow him with feverish kisses, tell him how sorry I was. Protect him like I believed I had been doing all these years.

But I knew better than to interrupt him while he was in the middle of transforming. Knew better than to succumb to my desires. 

“No matter what kind of monster you wake up as,” I said, convulsing in frustrated tears, “I promise I will not give up on you. I will save you.”

Voices could be heard down the hall. I could more or less make out Dad’s amongst them. 

So, they were coming to get me after all. Coming to fetch me for the project’s completion. I didn’t have much time.

Quickly, I scurried towards one of the many tables, and grabbed it by two of its legs. All its contents clattered noisily on the ground. I turned towards a window, located in the opposite direction, and hurled the table against it. 

SMASH!

Shards of glass exploded in the air, raining downwards, the table in pursuit. I climbed on top of the ledge, and peered downwards. It was a long fall, though it would not hurt me as long as I calculated my moves properly. As long as I concentrated long enough. 

My determination had given me a burst of energy and I would not let it go to waste.

I closed my eyes, waiting for a familiar feeling to envelop me. Magic. A warm energy began to wrap around my frame, powerful yet limited. There wasn't much left, therefore, I had to use it accordingly. 

The voices approached, and I took one last look at Damian. A final look before his complete transformation. 

There was no proof he could hear me. No proof he would even remember me, but I was definitely not going to go down without a fight.

I may have lost the battle against my family, but I was not going to lose the brewing war I was putting myself against my race. I was going to abandon them all, abandon my roots, my family, for the sake of a boy who would eventually become a full-fledged demon. 

A demon who might, in the end, be the very one who will wound up destroying me.

I was ready to sacrifice everything for his sake, regardless of how much blood I was going to spill, regardless of how many people I was going to annihilate.

The moonlight shone, illuminating the room. As the doors blasted open in the front, I convinced myself to go. I needed to leave him behind or I would never be able to grow.

It was time for me to change. To take a step forward, away from those chains who had been holding me back for more than a decade.

“Damian,” I said, my voice shaking slightly, “No matter what, I’ll always love you.”

And with that, I jumped out of the window, disappearing into the night.