The S-Gene (Book 1: Amelia) - COMPLETE

It was the little things.

Her muscles would tense up, screaming at her to run. Her heart would race, her nerves feeling raw. She saw signs of danger everywhere. Yet, the second she turned around, nothing would be suspicious, nothing would be ominous…

People… sure.

People were allowed on the street. No one gave the impression that they were too close… no one sticking from behind a tree. So what the fuck was it?

Maybe it was mental fatigue. She wasn’t getting much rest in this wretched place. Yeah, that could be it. Amelia palmed at her neck, squeezing the skin of her exposed shoulder. All she had to do was make it to the library. Then she would feel better.

The other day, she had let Stephanie talk her into another date. A wizard this time? In her head, a wizard… was a regular human who practiced witchcraft? She might have been wrong.

Her impromptu trip to the library was to assist with that. She could collect information on some of them - know them, know their strengths and weaknesses. Amelia was aware that she was not prepping for a fight yet, it kept feeling like one.

She shook off the feeling, rolling her shoulders, as she kept marching forward. Eventually, the library came into view. All the tension left her shoulders, her chest finally feeling lighter as she passed the front door.

It was strange. Why would she feel relieved? Instead of being free, in the open, surrounded by people, she had entered a building… with walls. Like a trap. She shook off the feeling and entered the place.

Silence.

Not a footsteps, not a voice, nothing.

The whole place was engulfed in pure silence. It made her cringe when her steps echoed through the place as if she was disturbing its peace. She tried to step on her toes instead, but it barely limited the noise she made.

“Hello dear!”

The voice was high-pitch - almost comical. Amelia tilted her body to the side, spotting a tall woman standing behind a registry, books in her hands. “H-hello?”

“I’m Miss Lewis. Welcome to my library. Can I help you with anything today?”

She shook her head. “I’m - browsing.” That was one way to put it. Despite knowing about the supernatural, she wasn’t any good at detecting them - Noah being proof of that. She didn’t feel like offending Miss Lewis by saying the wrong thing.

Yes, do you have books on weirdos? That wouldn’t go well.

“That’s okay sweetcheeks. Let me know if you need me! I’ll be right here.”

“T-thank you.”

To say that the place was massive didn’t describe it accurately enough. Large wooden pillars, old time staircases circling the place, showing at least two more floors. It felt old - but it couldn’t be, could it? The place had to be… new. It was technological… it was… the houses were brand new constructions…

The company couldn’t be that old?

Dread dropped like a deadweight in her stomach. How long had they been doing this… undetected? Or… was it undetected? Sweat began to build at the base of her neck, and she ran her tongue across her dry lips.

Rabbit hole Amelia, rabbit hole.

Her focus was to learn about the creatures surrounding her. For now, she would put everything else aside, or else she would spiral down.

She took a quick stroll around the first floor, but everything here was classic. Normal books she would find in any library. Fiction novels, self-help, mangas… nothing that would attract her attention.

A few steps back to steal a rapid glance upstairs from down below was enough to notice the book covers were different. All she could see were the spines, but they didn’t have any titles on them. Most of them appeared to be some sort of thick fabric - leather maybe?

Amelia gripped the pearly white railing of the staircase and began heading up. She noticed from the corner of her eye that Miss Lewis glanced her way, but then, she returned to her books.

Was she not supposed to go up?

Oh well.

She continued her ascension until she reached the top. Unlike the libraries she had visited before, there was no title to help her figure out the sections, forcing her to browse through them.

It turned out that she was wrong; there were titles but they were extremely faded, rendering them almost invisible to the eye. Some words like origin, wolves and other words caught her attention, but she didn’t know which book to choose.

Maybe she should have asked the librarian for some help…

Djinn. There, in a section further at the back. She couldn’t make out the other words, forcing her to head that way. Once she reached it, she traced the carved letters with her finger. Noah.

Hesitation trembled through her fingers as she gripped it, pulling it slightly. A history of Djinns. How much would she learn with this? Should she even be focusing on Noah? He wasn’t on her list…

Zap.

That feeling. It was back. The one that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Like someone was watching. She turned her head left, then right. Nothing. Not a step, not a sound. Nothing but her.

Amelia pushed the book back, reforming a perfect line with the others. Maybe she should go back home.

She went to take a step back, but instead of finding emptiness, the air was knocked out of her lungs. Before she could blink, she was pushed into a wall, darkness surrounding her. Her breath was hitched in her throat, her eyes darting in the dark, trying to make sense of the form in front of her.

A tall man with messy, curly blond hair was standing in front of her, one hand on each side of her head. Green eyes glimmered down at her while he smiled. Who the fuck? He looked normal enough, but she knew that he was one of them.

Why else would have cornered her into a dark area - all alone?

Why else would he be looking at her like she was a prey to be devoured?

He approached his face to hers, his sharp nose gliding across the side of her jaw. She felt the burn from the stubbles of his beard and she scrounged her nose.

“As anyone ever told you how good you smell?”

“No, because I don’t usually hang around weirdos.”

He chuckled, the sounds sending a shiver down her spine. He was smirking but it was dark and menacing rather than joyful.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got shit to do, places to be.”

Except, Amelia couldn’t free herself. She was stuck. One little grip on her arm, his hand firm, and she couldn’t move an inch. She had known he would stop her, but she had tried regardless. She looked on both sides of his head, hoping to spot someone else or Miss Lewis - but nothing.

“Did you get my file?”

His file?

“When I heard you weren’t satisfied with what you got, I paid good money to be in that pile.”

Did he pay money to be in the pile? Wait - so it wasn’t based on what she requested, on what they were asking her? Why bother to ask her what kind of matches she wanted if they were simply going to ship over the profiles of the highest bidders?

She couldn’t trust a damn thing about them.

They lured her into a false sense of security by pretending they were protecting her, by snatching Ezekiel away but… it was a smokescreen. All they cared about was themselves and money.

Why was she surprised?

Honestly? He might have been in the pile. Stephanie paid a lot more attention than her. She would not remember him. All she could say was thank god they hadn’t chosen him…

“Nope. You weren’t there.”

A shot right through the ego. Maybe that would teach him to have such a big head. He wasn’t all that he thought he was. Plus, she wasn’t lying. She didn’t remember him - he didn’t make an impression.

He was now though.

“Now, as I’ve told you already, I’m busy,” she said, attempting to move forward.

Same result; he didn’t let her move.

“A file is so impersonal, you know?” His head dipped forward and his nose made contact with her neck. He wouldn’t let her go. “I prefer face-to-face.”

“I don’t. Let me go.”

This was on her - she thought it would be fine to be in here. She had ventured too far, too distracted by what she had been searching for. Now, she had left herself exposed in a dark corner. The library was already empty from the beginning. She hadn’t seen anyone except for the librarian.

Would it be enough?

They had eyes everywhere, except here. She found it a little hard to believe.

If they watched her in her home, they had to be watching her here as well. It left her with one conclusion: they were allowing this to happen. How could she be surprised? He paid to be matched with her.

Why wouldn’t he pay to do whatever he pleased?

Then again. Wouldn’t the same be said about Ezekiel? They had stopped him. There was something she was missing, something that wasn’t adding up. Did Ezekiel not offer enough, or was there something else at play?

Didn’t matter.

He wouldn’t let her go and they wouldn’t help her. If she wanted out of this situation, all she had was herself and it would have to be enough. Screaming. She could scream. Her lips parted, air filling her lungs…

Then nothing.

A hand was smacked on her mouth, and he chuckled. “Now, now, no need for that. Can’t we talk this out like adults?”

He pushed her into a corner, trapping her and he wanted to talk it out like two adults? Had everyone here lost their mind or lost their touch with reality? Because this was not normal.

“How about…” he began, trailing his free hand down her left side before resting on her hip, squeezing it. “We talk about everything I could give you…” He leaned into her body. “And everything you could give me?”

Asshole.

Fucking caveman asshole.

She was so fucking sick of the manhandling. Fine. She couldn’t scream, alright then. There were other ways to knock a man on his ass, weren’t they? He was close enough for her to do it. Amelia focused all of her strength and lifted her leg, jamming her knee between his legs.

Nothing.

He didn’t move.

His grip on her didn’t change.

What the hell?

Instead of pain, he appeared to find the situation absolutely amusing. “That would work on a normal man, but you and I both know I’m not.”

What did that mean? He had a body - it should work, or at least elicit some kind of reaction from him. Even a wince would have been something. There was no way he was invincible, now was he?

Damn it. This was why she was here. Why she had to know about them.

Fine. If hitting him didn’t work… and she didn’t have a weapon… It left her with one option. Not her favorite but… in a pinch? It would also allow her to test a theory… She sunk her teeth in his palm, biting as strong as she could.

She expected the taste of blood in her mouth, but it was something else. She didn’t know what. Regardless, she tried to tear at the skin as much as possible. His hand left her mouth, but it didn’t appear to be because of the pain she had inflicted.

Didn’t matter - her mouth was free.

And so Amelia screamed.

At the top of her lungs.

“HELP! HELP!”

Though it appeared pointless, she began punching him in the chest with all her might. A panic shone in his eyes and though she knew he did not fear her strength, he did fear something.

“Shut up,” he hissed, trying to shove her back into the wall and cover her mouth.

“Miss?”

The footsteps were evident and adrenaline spiked through her bloodstream. She used his distracted state to push into him, shoulder checking him into the chest. She ran for the stairs, hoping it would be more than Miss Lewis heading her way.

Except, she never got to see who it was.

Instead, she was hit in the back and pushed forcefully onto the floor. Her head banged the wooden flooring, tearing a moan of pain from her throat. Her palms were flat on the ground, barely keeping her head off the floor. Warmth spread from her forehead to her nose, and she knew it was blood.

From her angle, she saw his feet as he dashed down the stairs. An eek was heard and she had to deduce it was Miss Lewis. He was running away. Fleeing from who - or what? No. He didn’t get away with it that easily.

She ignored the dizzyness blurring her vision and the bile burning its way up her throat. Amelia jumped to her feet and grabbed the rail as a way to steady herself as she tumbled down the stairs.

Miss Lewis was in her field of vision as she hurried, hoping to catch him.

“Miss!”

She nearly tripped the last step, a strong iron grip being the only thing that stopped her from landing flat on her ass. She used the back of her hand to wipe her forehead, the drips of blood now landing in her mouth.

That tasted like blood.

He had to have gone for the exit. Hiding inside the library wouldn’t be smart. She followed a straight line to the door, but couldn’t see him. She did spot something near the door that wasn’t there before.

What the heck was that?

Amelia rushed towards the entrance, noticing something that looked like melted skin on the floor. It was fleshy and blob-like. There was no sign of him except for this. What the hell did he leave behind? Did he melt away or something? What kind of creature melted away?

“Ah, sorry sweetcheeks. Good luck trying to find that skinwalker again.”

“Skinwalker?”

The librarian patted her on the back. “That goo on the floor? His old skin. He already changed his looks. If they burn one face, they won’t use it again.”

“So… he could… I could see him again and not recognize him?”

She nodded. “Part of their bag of tricks.”

Amelia brought a hand to her trembling lips as she watched the door, almost picturing it moving and opening as if he would walk through there looking completely different. Still, the door didn’t move.

He was long gone.

Nowhere was safe.

***

Noah.

Noah was her only option.

He was backed into a corner when he told her the actual truth. He didn’t have to share as much as he did. He hadn’t been trying to woo her… yes, he had lured her into a false sense of trust but - he hadn’t used that to get to her.

As a matter of fact, if she thought about it carefully - everything he did was to send her out there. Away from him - and back home.

He could answer her.

Now that she had gotten the truth out of him once, she could ask him the real questions. There was no one else she could ask. Stephanie didn’t know much about this place and she was in love with this system. Amelia knew she never looked for the flaws, for what was wrong.

There was the possibility that this was only happening to her. Amelia didn’t think much of being a universal carrier - but it could be much more of a burden than it would ever be a gift…

The more time she spent here, the more hunted she felt.

It couldn’t all be in her head.

So if she was so sure of herself - why the fuck was she staring at her own door, unable to walk out? Grow some balls, Amelia. She had already lived through Ezekiel trying to force his way in and she had dodged whoever had been at the library…

Or was what the right word?

Ugh. Didn’t matter.

Go there.

He owed it to her.

She gripped the handle, yanking the door open. She couldn’t help the small peak of the head, the quick scan of the surroundings. She was turning into a complete lunatic, waiting for someone to jump at her from the bushes.

Sure, she could leave this place rich, but would she even have the mental capacity to enjoy such wealth? Would she ever step out of her house again? Could she live in the real world pretending that all of this didn’t exist?

She didn’t think so.

The air felt thicker the moment she stepped out, a buzzing traveling through her body. After what happened at the library, she would never think she was not being followed. Life had proven her right too many times at this point.

She rolled her lips inwards as she marched with determination, her feet clucking on the sidewalk with each step. If he didn’t see her coming, he would hear her. Though she had a feeling he had kept up with his window-watching habit.

Or maybe she was too full of herself.

Amelia filled her chest with air, giving herself the little boost she needed before pounding her fist against his door three times. It didn’t even take a second that he was opening the door. Oh yeah, he had been waiting.

“Amelia?”

“Drop the act. You saw me coming. Look - I have questions, okay?”

“…Okay?”

She puffed the air out of her chest with a long exhale while tapping her foot down on the cement step. “And I think…” She chuckled. “This is insane,” she added with a roll of her eyes “I think I can only trust you to give me the answers.”

His eyebrows shot up, a hint of teeth showing while the corners of his mouth lifted. It amused him. At least someone was having a good time. “Okay.”

“You can’t lie to me.”

“Okay.”

Why was he so fine with it? Like he expected it? If he had expected it, why hadn’t he provided the information in the first place?

“I’ll know if you lie to me.”

No. She wouldn’t. He could feed her whatever lie he wanted, and she would have to decide if it sounded truthful enough… which was crazy. This was supernatural, kidnapping, and a whole bunch of shit she didn’t know anything about. She couldn’t decide the truth.

He had to know that.

Yet, she would fake it as much as she could. She had to be in charge, she had to be confident. There was no way around this.

“I’ll wish for you to have to leave this place - are we clear?”

It took all of her self-control to not wince. She did feel a prick of guilt - after all, he had openly shared with her his past, his life… the constraints of wishes. Now? She was using it against him.

She wouldn’t do.

She wouldn’t take this place away from him. It was hell for her and heaven for him. He hadn’t done anything so wrong that she wanted him punished forever. Amelia simply wanted him to know she meant business.

No one could blame her for having trust issues, right?

“Crystal clear.”

“Good - then I want you to tell me about-“ The last word died on her lips when Noah pressed his chest to hers, his arms encircling her waist. “Wh-what…”

His lips pressed to the shell of her ear, his pine-scented cologne infiltrating her nostrils. She froze, her heart thundering in her rib cage. Did he have to be this close? “The houses are the worst places. No privacy.”

Oh. They could hear them. They could hear them.

She swallowed hard, closing her eyes as she nodded. He was doing this to bypass surveillance.

“If you wanna know about Genecorp, I will tell you - but not here.”

“Where?” she whispered.

“I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”

He pulled away from her, a smirk on his face. He bopped the tip of her nose with his index finger, taking a step back. He wouldn’t invite her in. Instead, he closed the door, never taking his eyes off her the whole time.

It was ominous but - in this case, she had no reason to believe he was lying. It did leave her stomach in knots; something wasn’t right about this place, she knew. Something other than the supernatural breeding and the weird kidnapping.

If that wasn’t the worst they did…

What was?

Suddenly, thinking that she got the go home once she struck a deal... felt untrue.

Maybe there was no leaving this place.

***