HYDRA n. thing hard to get rid of

Oxford English Dictionary

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Chapter One – To Know

One might wonder, should they know about such things, why the sunlight streaming through the walls of the glasshouse did not reduce the man within it into flames.

They might wonder why it was that such a person would be kept trapped in a place like this, alone and silent, but with a steady supply of books from his captors. And if one were to look closely enough, they might wonder why it was that this particular prisoner wore an expression devoid of anything but calm. They might wonder why he was not rebelling, fighting those who kept him trapped there.

But of course, those people know nothing of the situation and would consequently need to be told. They would need to be told that the glass was of a special brand, which filtered the sunlight that passed through it. That this person was no human, but something else completely.

Then, perhaps, they might understand.

--

“Will you speak with me today?”

The woman was of a comfortable height, lifted a little by the heels on her grey boots, which kept colour with the rest of her uniform. The white scientist’s coat looked out of place on her, as young as she appeared, but the untidy style of her hair and the slight blue smudge of ink on her cheek suggested that this woman was a little more of a workaholic than one might originally think. The chestnut strands of her hair half-glimmered in the evening’s first moonlight, her green eyes fixed on the man before her with confidence, though her clipboard was held too tightly against her chest.

Sitting as he often was on the grass, the man actually turned to look at her before he nodded. It seemed the first hurdle was cleared in the woman’s point of view, because she moved to sit on the white, metal seat. She kept a comfortable distance between the two of them, as she’d been taught, but couldn’t help but stare a little, against her own better judgement.

“How old are you?” It was a softly spoken question, as was everything the man said. His eerie eyes fixed on the woman, unmoving even when it made her tremble under the weight of his gaze.

“Uh, twenty-one.” She answered automatically, realising only after she said it that the second thing she’d been taught was not to give any information about herself.

“And what is your name?” He seemed to be enjoying stealing her control of the situation, sitting with his head tilted slightly back and a curve to his lips. The woman on the other hand began to shake, the papers on the board rustling with her small movements, and her legs tensed, as if she was preparing to run. A coil of fear curled in her stomach, as if the man were pushing her to feel it, to be afraid, with only a look.

“Li-Lilith.” Again, she answered without really meaning to and despite the situation not seeming very dangerous, the woman was terrified, her entire body rigid, her breathing coming quickly, and she couldn’t help but wish the man’s eyes would deviate from her own.

“Ah I see… and why is it your turn to visit me?” He arched a smooth black eyebrow questioningly, his smile now a little more obvious.

“Th-they thought-”

“They thought that the new girl should understand the situation more? Or they wanted to make you realise the seriousness of working in this place?” He laughed silently, shoulders moving slightly with the sentiment. “How boring. I should have thought that they would be afraid I would steal you from them. You are young, aren’t you?”

Lilith nodded hesitantly, seeing that the man wanted a response, and flinched when he slowly began to climb to his feet. A thought struck her suddenly, that she was not supposed to sit while he stood. It stopped her from being able to move away as easily. She mimicked his movements with a barely controlled trembling in her limbs. Somehow this man could frighten her just by looking in her direction, but she didn’t understand how since nothing in his manner, except the slightly too-long canines that had at one point glinted in the light, had been even slightly alarming.

The chair whined its annoyance at being shifted back so abruptly, scraping quietly against the stone. Lilith’s breathing and heartbeat seemed far too loud to be real, especially in comparison to the entirely silent movements of the man.

Long slender limbs that belied an inhuman strength, smooth ivory white skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight filtering through the glass ceiling above, long raven-black hair tied in an old-fashioned manner with velvet ribbon, and utterly demonic crimson eyes that could seem humanly brown one moment and glow an unearthly vivid blood-like hue the next.

Assiah.

Lilith watched as the man looked up, his eyes seeming to completely ignore the faintly tinged glass in order to see out into the night itself. It made her shudder.

This was a mistake on her part, since the small movement drew the distracted man’s attention back onto herself. He just looked at her for a moment, standing unreasonably still as if he wasn’t even breathing (which, Lilith reminded herself, he might not be).

“What’s wrong?” A dark humour to the question, an irony only he understood. It made Lilith take an uncertain step backwards, almost falling over the chair that was still behind her. The moment that the metal chair hit the stone patio, Lilith had turned tail and was fleeing towards the armoured doors that led back into the lab area.

It was a short distance, not even giving her the moments she would need to consider looking back, but in the second that her fingers touched the cool surface of the left-hand door, she felt him behind her.

One of his hands pressed onto the back of hers, pressure making the metal leech the warmth from the skin she couldn’t move. His other hand rested lightly on her opposite shoulder beside the pale face that loomed over her. He nuzzled his nose into her hair, the breath feeling more like a laugh than normal breathing, but there was nothing the helpless girl could do. She only stiffened at the contact, attempting to keep her gasping breaths under control, stop herself shaking, and trying to ignore the utter chill of the man’s flesh against her own.

“Do you want to go back to your friends, little mouse? The toy scientists? Those who rape the natural world, who revolt against the innate standing of things?” Lilith shuddered, trying not to think too deeply about the words he hissed into her ears. “The liars and hypocrites, the ones who say they wish for universal pacifism and spill blood every night they live? You want it?”

A moment of stillness descended, as if the man was waiting for a response they both knew she was unable to give.

Lilith practically heard the man draw back his lips, could imagine the sharp teeth she’d glimpsed earlier lengthening and moving closer to her, and with an instinctive scream she was pummelling the door with her free fist, screaming for the others to save her.

“Fine.”

--

“Lilith. Lilith, wake up. He’s here.”

The lady scientist, who had been dozing away on her desk after a sleepless night of research, jerked awake. She winced at her sudden headache and the strange stretched sensation on the side of her face, where she had been lying on her mouse-mat. Allowing herself an indulgent groan, she squinted against the light in the room, dim as usual but too bright for her current state, while wondering what would cause her to dream of the past again. Seven years was a long time.

“Oi sleepy-head, the new guy’s here. No need to be rude and go to sleep on him.” Lilith glared at the forest green-haired scientist who had woken her, wishing she had something for her headache. She’d left the aspirin packet at home again, she realised. Great.

“Where is he?” She asked finally, rubbing her eyes a little. Kei, who was methodically tidying up his green mane of hair, glanced down at her.

“He’s just gotten through the third security checks. Should be here in a minute.” He glanced at the woman beside him again. “You sure you’re okay? You look a little spaced out… Bad dream?” He asked sympathetically. He knew all about that; in their line of work bad dreams were common-place. Lilith nodded, sweeping her hair away from her face and into its usual clip at the back of her head.

“Yeah.” She offered nothing further, but Kei had been working in this place longer than she had and had similar memories. She knew he wouldn’t pry further. “I’ll be okay.”

Both scientists looked up at the sound of the door sliding open to watch as their new member, laden down with a large box and some plastic bags, entered the main office.

He was of medium height, with thick, messy sand blonde hair and deep brown eyes. He had the build of one of their more physical workers, sporting some noticeable muscle, though he managed to remain lean, and he looked to be in his early to mid twenties. He looked a little unsure as he walked in, as if his confidence and insecurity about the situation were having a battle right there and then.

The first room in this department of the building was large, with many desks, computer systems, lab tables, a weapon’s rack, many doors leading out and a very high ceiling with metal beams. The whole building, in fact, had a particularly metallic look to it, but this place in particular.

The two ominous-looking doors on one side with warning signs and locks all over them were also a noticeable feature to the place.

For a moment, the new man paused to look around the room, as if he didn’t notice the people watching him do so from various parts of the office. Then he finally began to examine those people. The way his eyes were moving made it obvious he was memorising the faces and when Kei made the first move, half-skipping across the lab towards him, the blonde appeared slightly bemused.

“Kei,” he introduced himself with a slight bow, even as he was shaking the other man’s hand, “I’m one of the nerds of the department.” Lilith saw him wink and rolled her eyes, sighing and moving to rescue the poor blonde, who she noticed either didn’t notice his advances or was ignoring them, by being the next to introduce herself.

“Lilith, another nerd.” She sent a pointed glace at Kei, who widened his grey eyes in mock innocence at the silent accusation.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Dai. I guess I’m your new team mate.”