“Please check the vitals, too much sedation can cause memory loss and risk of heart failure.” The weary man spoke out clearly, a sense of urgency laced in his tone as he distractedly flipped through documents on his tablet.

His thin frame was disproportionately tall, giving him the semblance of a being more scarecrow than human.

“Doctor,” Kyrian murmured, standing still at the large two-way mirror that served as an observational window into Eiden’s confinement, “are the sedatives so necessary?”

If they cause such dangers. He wanted to say, but closed his mouth before the unneeded question escaped.

Dr. Ambrian Kroft, the Head Esper Researcher at this off-shoot location, lifted his head with exaggerated disapproval from the tablet screen.

“Necessary?” He repeated, the word sounding like glass.

“Why the hell wouldn’t they be necessary, Mr. Averin? That monster in there would kill us in a heartbeat without those sedatives!” The volume of his voice increased as he lost his patience with the simple question. 

Everyone assigned to the monitoring of Eiden had been under immense stress trying to maintain an uneasy balance until a Guide could be claimed. Now, the research team wanted nothing more than to hurry with the process to get themselves out of immediate danger.

Kyrian’s forehead twitched, wanting to openly show his unease over the outburst. Instead, he nodded his head in silence, gaze locked onto the lone figure huddled in the confinement room.

Why won’t he stay on the bed? 

His eyes narrowed, studying the Esper who had exerted the last of his strength to drag himself to the floor, where he now laid on his side.

Bare feet exposed, and wearing nothing more than a thin hospital gown, Kyrian couldn’t help but worry that he would get too cold.

“Are the sedatives necessary?” Dr. Kroft muttered sharply under his breath, still in disbelief over the seemingly audacious question.

Scritch, tap.

The sound of his stylus tip tapping and scratching across his screen filled the silence like an angry wasp.

A nurse cautiously entered the room from the opposite side of the window. The unlucky member was there to check if the vitals monitor was functioning properly, and to change the sedatives out for the IV.

She cowered from the figure curled on the floor, glancing nervously to check for movement as her trembling hands fumbled with the bag.

Kyrian pursed his lips as he watched, hands clenched tightly behind his back. What use was there in being so afraid of someone in such terrible condition? Unless he was near a rampage-state.

Curious, Kyrian focused on his energy, trying to gauge the stability.

The hair on his neck prickled as his consciousness brushed against Eiden’s overwhelming psychic energy. A heavy pressure built behind his eyes, and his breath caught in his throat. It was just as volatile as it had been a few days prior when they first met face-to-face, but due to his heavily sedated state the soft-sync had successfully curbed the possibility of an immediate rampage.

There was no risk of a rampage, for the moment… but what would happen when he was lucid?

Just as he was about to retreat his consciousness, Eiden’s body stiffened and twitched. He was awake.

The nurse froze, eyes wide. Though the lower half of her face was covered with a surgical mask, it was still obvious how fearful she was being so close to an Esper.

Kyrian’s temples throbbed.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Dr. Kroft asked suspiciously, suddenly aware of what was going on around him. 

He approached Kyrian’s side, peering around into his face with an irritable glare. “You’re sweating like mad-”

The nurse inside the confinement room let loose a terrified scream, interrupting the doctor, and Kyrian’s consciousness broke contact with a snap. Both men looked through the window to see Eiden pinning the shrieking nurse to the floor.

“Fucking hell-” Dr. Kroft raced to the control panel and pounded a button with the heel of his hand.

He lifted a communicator to his mouth and screamed, “Activate the Corrective Behavior Protocol, now!”

An alarm sounded, sweeping through the entire wing to alert armed personnel to prepare for standby.

Kyrian wondered if this was what happened on the other side of the glass when he had been inside that room. He swallowed thickly, recalling how that experience had ended.

Mesmerized by the scene on the other side of the glass, he stood still, amazed even as chaos unfolded around him. Kroft yelling about codes and procedures, warning alarms drowning out the hurried footsteps and panic. It felt surreal, and all too familiar. 

‘I’m tired of living like this, Ky. Why can’t you understand?’

‘...’

‘Of course you wouldn’t understand… you’re not a monster. You didn’t awaken with a horrible disease like I did, that’s why you can’t understand.’

‘I… I want to understand though? Can’t you explain it to me?’

‘No, leave me alone before your father finds out you were here.’

‘... he’s your father too though, isn’t he?’

‘Ha! No, I would rather die than have him be my father. Silly Ky.’

Tears misted his mismatched colored eyes, and he blinked in surprise at the surfaced memory. A conversation that was had so long ago, followed quickly by a scene just like the one playing out before him. 

Eiden had the wires that had been attached to his body wrapped around the nurse’s neck, Her body flailed as he strangled the life out of her. His movements were sluggish, but still more than enough to overpower the woman. A brief moment of lucidness, and he immediately resorted to violence.

Kyrian had seen that anger in another, the seething resentment that they had to exist without their consent. 

His heart pounded heavily, fingers twitching at his sides as he stood conflicted. He didn’t want to get involved outside of what he had signed up for, but he felt the strain of merely standing idly by as he watched someone die.

The nurse, losing consciousness quickly, raised a hand towards the mirror. Her terrified eyes seemed to lock onto Kyrian, his breath catching in surprise, but it was impossible for her to know exactly where he was. She was desperate, terrified of the death that gripped her by the throat.

“Where the hell are you going?” Kroft snapped.

He realized he had moved towards the door, and wavered for a beat.

Really? Am I really fixing to do this?