Experimentation
Chapter 25

My eyes widen in horror as Cade gives me a pain filled look and Edwin releases a chuckle. “You’re his son?” I spit out letting the pain slip from my lips, unable to look Cade in the eyes. Edwin just sits there with a smirk as Cade tries to form words but I knew it was all a lie whatever comes out, I shake my head refusing to listen and focus my energy on Edwin as Mona stands beside me, knowing the pain that I went through. “How the hell are you alive?” I scream out at him filled with anger. Edwin’s eyes shine with amazement and starts to walk towards me. “I knew that place inside and out, the rooms you never saw, the one where your dear Katrina now rest-” I cut him off by lunging at him but became restrained by Cade, I turned to him and pushed him back letting the electricity spark around my body. “Don’t you touch me again.” I felt a hand on my shoulder and a feeling of dread was pulsed through my body, a familiar feeling that I know and hate. Edwin puts his lips against my ear and whispers softly, “You seem nervous Ria, do I make you nervous?” Quoting one of the many words that Trina said to me. Tears start falling down my face, pain clearly reflecting in my eyes. I glare into Edwin’s eyes and his amusement is clearly shown, “Why do you replace pleasure in others’ pain?” I hear Mona whisper out from behind me, clearly terrified of the man.

Edwin walks towards her very slowly, surprisingly Mona doesn’t move, she stands her ground. “Their pain is only a lesson, I’m giving them moments to fight for but now I give them gifts. I gave Irisa her power to manipulate electricity, she should be grateful for all that I did for her.” He spats out, grateful? “I should be grateful? You were the one who tortured me, hunted me when I tried to escape, killed the lo- Katrina and yet I should be grateful for the powers you gave me?” The anger starts to radiate off of me as the words spill out. Cade steps in between us as we both start to step forward. “No.” The simple word that caused us to freeze. I see Cade’s head snap towards me, “I understand what my father did was horrific but you need to stop living in the past, he can’t hurt you anymore. I promise you I won’t let him but you need to move on.” Cade marches over to Edwin with a murderous look in his eye, “You will never lay a single hair on her ever again, you were a monster to her. You became a murder and you’ve told me you want to change now, then do it. Let go of this insanity that holds you and just let her be free, let the others be free.” The boom of his voice held anger and sadness, never in my years of knowing him had I heard this tone of his voice before, it shows another side of him. I know what he wants, but I don’t know if I’m capable of letting go.

Cade grabs my hand and wipes the tears that are pouring from my eyes, his cold palm against my heated cheek helps calm the tears but not the emotion I’m feeling. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I struggle to speak due to the dryness of my throat. I close my eyes, unable to look into the ones I’m beginning to learn to love, I am pulled towards a hard surface and arms are wrapped around my upper and lower back. “I didn’t know what he did to you, I just knew he was your doctor. When you told me it was hard to believe but the pain in your eyes once you saw him showed me everything. I am sorry for not telling you, I’m sorry for what he did to you, but I’m mostly sorry for the fact I wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most. I should have visited more and helped you heal but-” I opened my eyes, grabbed ahold of his face and pressed my lips against him cutting him off. Tasting the saltiness of my tears, letting all the emotions of the day flow into this one kiss. When we pulled apart to catch our breath, a laugh erupts from the side of us. “How sweet? My two creations that I’m most proud of, in love, what a great gift to see.” Edwin cheered with a sinister smirk on his face. “Creation? I am not your creation, I am a human being that which you tortured.” I said calmly. Cade squeezes my hand gently trying to calm the anger that is rising inside of me. Edwin reaches inside of his pocket but lets his hand stay there, it’s his gun.

“Choose your words carefully Ria, I made you who you are today therefore you are my creation. I made you therefore I can end you, just like my son. He need to choose his actions carefully or my dear Ria, history will be repeating itself all over again. If I remember correctly, it was a year ago that Katrina had sadly passed away.” My rage has only ever been this extreme one other time in my life, when Katrina died and I lived. “You fucking killed her.” Cade didn’t even have time to stop me as I raise my hands towards him and send a pulse of lighting so strong that it knocks me back 5 feet, causing me to skid into the wall. Edwin blasts through the wall of his garage sending him into the driveways pavement. My breathing gets heavier as I begin to walk towards Edwin, my actions are no longer ruled by logic but by vengeance. He killed dozens of people for his own sick needs, to satisfy himself he had ruined lives all around him.

“Stop!” Mona screams from behind me, her voice helps me grasp onto reality. I’m becoming a monster that I’ve locked away a year ago, the one that didn’t care that I had caused hundreds of lives to end for me to escape from that horrid hospital. All of those people, I killed them not Edwin. I’m just as much as a monster as Edwin has become, I’ve turned into him. A warm set of hands wraps around my wrist pulling me away from the rubble of the garage wall, bring me towards the door facing outwards. “Hurting him won’t bring Katrina back nor will it help you heal. He deserves to pay for what he has done to people, to you, but is killing him the way to get that justice for yourself? All this will do is send you to jail or to scientist to experiment on you further than that monster did. I don’t want to lose you Irisa, I can’t lose you. Please, I’m begging you, don’t do this.” Mona’s eyes show all of her fear and worry for me, I don’t know what to do. The tears streaming down her face starts to shatter my heart, I’m hurting her. I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore, I don’t want to be this monster. “I won’t Mona, but I lost all the evidence a year ago. What do I do?” Sorrow floods through me as I let my mind go back to the fire. The phone feel out of my pocket onto the floor, the only way to let Katrina finally be in peace burned with the rest of hel- Malignant Asylum. That place doesn’t have a hold on me anymore, I beat it, I won.

“Where do you think you’re going Ria?” Edwin’s voice speaks up from behind me but I didn’t jump this time. I didn’t even move a mussel, I’m not afraid of him anymore. “I’m leaving, I’m going to go home and back into my bed. Than I’m going to do everything in my power to get you locked up behind bars for all the horrible things you’ve done to innocent people. For what you did to Katrina, you will pay for your crimes, but not by my hands.” I glare into Edwin’s eye, forcing all the anger inside me to show in the tiny windows of the soul. He tucks his hands behind his back and begins to pace slowly in front of me, his face has no expression, and that’s what scares me the most. “You are going to stop me.” Edwin says that as if he was making a statement. “I am.” I stand tall allowing this part of me that I didn’t recognize about myself. Confidence, guess I can say that I did grow up.

“I wish I could say that I’m gonna put up a fight my dear Ria, that way you could put a end to me is..” Edwin fully reaches into his pocket and grabs something out. “ With Death.” He holds up a gun to the street light, it’s the same gun that he used to kill Trina. After watching her die, I replayed the scene in my head over and over again. My memory has been tainted for months because of that murderous weapon. A bang is heard and I froze, I just froze. Unable to move or fight back because of the fear that is coursing through my veins. I’m going to die.

I close my eyes, I can’t watch. My mind drifts to Trina, her light blonde hair blows gentle through the wind. Her green eyes light up as she sees me, an old friend. My feet moves towards her but I never seem to reach her, why can’t I reach her? “You need to live for us.” Katrina’s voice whispers in my ear, I can’t die. I promised her I’d live, I won’t let him win.

My eyes shoot open as the bullet grazes my shoulder, a sharp pain floods me. I fling my hand towards my shoulder trying to stop the blood from erupting from my arm. My hand gets warm and sticky, I’m bleeding heavily. I turn towards Edwin and smile, “Is that all you got?” I raise my bloody hand and send a wave of electricity towards him knocking him onto his back, I try to turn my body but the pain in my left shoulder stops me. “God damn it.” I tare the bottom of my shirt, just above my belly button, and tie it tightly over the wound.

“Iris, are you okay?” Mona whispers softly on the side of me, ducking behind a bush. The blood soaks the cloth quickly, but I think I secured it enough. I hope I did.

My movements were all quiet as I try to get over to Mona but having to keep an eye on Edwin, I can’t let him hurt her. I don’t want to lose someone else, especially my sister. Mona is in every way my sister, except for the blood flowing through our veins. I can’t take the pain of her being ripped away from me, I have to protect her, unlike Trina.

I shouldn’t have let my thoughts wander as I managed to trip on a rock resting on the ground. “I’m honestly surprised that you’ve made it this far with your selfish tendencies Irisa.” Edwin keeps his gun pointed at me as my back hits the ground. “You selfishly got so many innocent people killed, all those hospital patients. If you would have been open and willing to be a good person, for the sake of science, so many of them would have gone home to their families.” His face twists to that disgusting crooked smile he loves to dawn so much. His eyes glint with joy, angling the barrel towards my head.

“Enjoy seeing Katrina again, Irisa. I’ll be sure to greet you both in hell once it’s my time.” Laying on the ground, I close my eyes. The window smells smoky, gunpowder coursing through my veins. I can’t fight this anymore, Mona can get away from all of this. I can finally rest.

Two gunshot rang through the air as I braced myself for impact, but nothing hits me. I open my eyes to see red spilling onto Edwin’s shirt from his forehead, one shot through the center of his head. His body crumbles to the ground, all life leaving his eyes. A wave of relief passes through my body, it’s done. Katrina, he’s dead.

“Iris,” Cade approaches quickly, placing a hand over my wound. “I’m so sorry.” Coughing behind me is heard, turning my head towards the source. Through the center of her chest, the other bullet went off. Mona smiles as some blood spills from the corner of her mouth and she collapse.