Explosive Heart

I managed to stumble discreetly towards the corner of the pale room, struggling to catch my breath. I glance at the nightstand through the haze of my vision, realizing I had left my phone at the lab. My breath almost gets caught in my throat as I hear the door knob turn.

He's here.

With shaky hands, I manage to grip the leaning pole weakly, trembling and face dark with fear. As his presence fills the room, I can feel goosebumps forming, but the mere feeling of his eyes on me made me shiver further. "Don't come any closer!" I scream at him, but he stares at me unfazed.

His eyes fall to the weapon in my hands.

His lips just curve upwards to a smile.

"Oh, little one., that's not how you hold a weapon." He smoothly slipped to closer proximity before I could realize it. The warmth of his gloves passed through my skin as he caressed my thumb, gently guiding my fingers. "You must secure the underside with your thumb or else the sheer force of the skin will wave at you through the pole. Newton's third law-- I hope you remember it."

I gulp as I manage to step back with my senses, closing my eyes tightly as I swing widely.

I am fucked.

Of course he's going to dodge that. He is the Caesar after all.

Yet, I had not braced myself enough for the success. I pause as I felt the pole strike something hard, something deserved. I peek through the darkness, seeing him clutch his side with a grin. My eyebrows furrowed.

Why did he just take it?

I dismiss the thought, throwing the pole at his body with all my effort and sprinting away from the scene. I run hall to hall, stair to stair, till I reach the front door. My hand grasps the knob, turning it with hope blooming in my heart.

Yet, when the light reached my eyes, it was quick overshadowed by a group of thugs. Caesar's men. Before I could move, a sharp pain shot through my head, making me collapse-- physically, and mentally.

The same pole fell on the floor with a loud CLANK as Caesar's boots clicked on the marble floor till it reached mine, crouching down to caress from my closed lids to my beating heart.

"It will all be mine... All hearts of humanity, all brains hiding under sediment, and your soul, Ilya."

My body felt light for the first time after years. My shoulders didn't feel heavy and my head wasn't tight till it throbbed with pain. My eyes opened to the sight of blinding lights. She drifted through me, by me, under me. My hand reached out to grasp and mouth opened to say nothing. I know I was supposed to turn my back on you, to never reach out like I did, to forget the attention. Why do you look the same? The same ivory coat, the same jet silk, the same gentle irises, and those words waiting to touch my heart, waiting at the tip of your tongue? Why won't you let me hold onto you just this once? I felt her slip through my fingers like sand, dissolving away no matter how hard I clutch.

I woke up with a jerk, my mouth tasting salty. The tears tickled my cheeks as I looked up through my lashes. "Caesar?" He looked at me with an unreadable expression. "You have been muttering her name for the past hour." He remarked dryly. I try to straighten my back but I feel myself tied up on the chair abnormally-- wrists behind my back, thighs tied to the armrests. He stood up from his own chair, crouching down right in front of me. "My men have already seen the recent markings of your new project in your lab. We have eyes and ears everywhere, boy. I need you to explain to me everything. I want to hear it by your own lips. Start now..." He gripped my knee. "I... don't know what you are talking about." I looked away, jaw clenching. "...I disposed off everything, so-" A raw scream tore off my throat as he squeezed and pulled my sacs through my trousers brutally. "BLOODY HELL, JUST SAY IT.!- DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE? PLAYING WITH DEATH, GOING AGAINST LAW, CREATING SOMETHING ENOUGH TO DESTROY EARTH!?" He screamed at me, his relentless torture agonizing me. My sore throat erupted in coughs as his grip loosened majorly. "Stop... Caesar-- please, I beg of you." I cried in defeat, sobbing pitifully, but not quite a wail too. He let go of my precious completely now, looking at me with wide eyes.

He gripped half my face, shaking me as if trying to rattle my brain. "Don't... call me by my name." He growled-- not with anger, not with sentiment. I can't quite place it. "Just... tell me everything, and I will let you go. No one gets hurt." I blinked my tears away. "I won't... tell anyone anything. I don't want to be responsible for lives being taken away. That thing... was a mistake."

He stared at me. I braced myself for a blow-- though it never came. He let go of my face and straightened up. "Fine then. If you don't want to say it, I have to use more persuasion."

I watch him pick up a pen. Then, he pressed the cold ink on my neck and traced a few words on my skin. As the cold ink seeps through my cells, I felt him mark the familiar curve of letters. "M-67T Explosive Heart" I looked down at his smile, then his tear mole.

"I already know who you are, Caesar."

"I know you do, Ilya..."

"...Don't call me that."