“We’re going to make such amazing headway with the samples you’ve collected, Dr. Platts.”

Miller’s gushing was little more than background noise to Rowan’s preoccupied mind, blending in with the rest of the praise she received after leaving the containment room. None of it was quite enough to distract her from the unsettling thoughts this time, though. Problems piled up: While the attention from Miller and her colleagues was addictive, Rowan was now gaining unwanted attention from the subject as well, a result she hadn’t planned for and didn’t know how to handle.

Miller didn’t seem to notice Rowan’s distraction, gleaming in excitement while escorting her to the infirmary, an enthusiasm that Rowan tried to mirror but struggled to emulate.

“His cooperation means everything to this project. I’m really grateful that you’ve agreed to his requests. We all are.”

Rowan nodded away Miller’s thanks, not wanting to dwell on the uncomfortable topic. The subject said he wanted her blood, and she hadn’t known if she wanted to give it to him. Perhaps something about her apprehension was selfish, but the idea of him drinking her blood, even out of a plastic bag, made her itch under her skin like there were bugs in her veins.

It was only fair though, since they made a deal to give him what he wanted for his cooperation. Rowan had more blood than she needed; she donated regularly to help keep other human beings alive, so donating to satiate his appetite shouldn’t be a far stretch. Keeping him satisfied would hopefully mean further cooperation, as well, which was vital. She definitely didn't want to be on his bad side. When Miller started to beat around the bush for an answer, Rowan agreed to donate without much of a fuss.

If she was being honest, it wasn’t even this request that truly weighed on her mind. It was there, prodding at her brain like an annoying child, but lingering on it was an excuse to ignore the real discomfort that consumed her, put there by the words he’d given just to her.

They still turned goosebumps up on her neck as she remembered, leaving a cold chill along her spine. According to his suggestion, whatever made him the way he was, it could be shared. There was a secret in his blood, a secret he knew about, tried to share with her, and perhaps the most disturbing part, seemed like he wanted her to accept.

It was obvious he saw himself as privileged despite being made into a monster by his own hunger, and it seemed like he wanted to share that with her. Rowan didn’t know if she should take it as a sincere gesture or just another game.

She couldn’t just ignore information like this, though. It was important to consider. It would be in her best interest to take everything he said seriously. Yet, just like the first day he spoke to her, something crippled Rowan. An uncertainty that she couldn’t place, that kept her lips tightly sealed.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of being wrong. At this point, if she told Miller this information and it turned out to be false, it would be written off as the boy messing with them, and she would simply be praised further if it ended up being true. Her fear was not about personal repercussions of being right or wrong, but rather, the prospect of what his words being true meant.

Just a small taste of his blood, and someone could crush metal with their bare hands and hear heartbeats through walls, just like him? The idea of being so powerful so effortlessly, it was easy to overlook the possible downsides. A part of Rowan had even been tempted, if only for a brief moment of primal curiosity, so who’s to say someone else wouldn’t be, also? They had a vial of his blood now, stored away in a research lab, where anyone could take it.

It was a foolish notion. The rest of the doctors on this project were professionals, just like Rowan, and wouldn’t cave to simple temptation. Whatever games the subject was trying to play, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to fall for them. Rowan had no reason to keep this to herself.

When given the opportunity though, the information hung on her tongue.

“Dr. Miller!” Reaching the infirmary, Rowan called to stop the older woman before she returned to the group to analyze the samples. Miller paused, and so did Rowan, before shaking her head and offering Miller a reassuring smile. “I just wanted to say, I know how important it is to keep our word to him. I’ll do what it takes to have his cooperation.”

Miller blinked, then beamed. “Phelps will come by in a moment to take the sample.”

Rowan didn’t get enough time to react before Miller strode down the hall, leaving her alone with yet another dilemma: What would she say facing Phelps, alone, for the first time in days?

Phelps was gentle with the needle as he punctured her skin, humming a little tune to himself as he worked, making the awkward silence between them much more painful on Rowan’s end. She thought to just remain silent if he would let her, but before he even began drawing blood, she tried to break the tension.

“You didn’t have to do this. One of the nurses could have. I’m sure there are more important things you could be doing right now.”

He smiled and waved the comment away. “I volunteered. How else was I supposed to get a moment alone with the outstanding Dr. Rowan Platts?” His words were teasing but there was just enough pointedness in them to make Rowan lower her gaze in shame.

“I’m hardly outstanding. I’m just doing my job, sir,” Rowan muttered, keeping her eyes on her blood as it pooled in the plastic bag. When the silence became thick again, she had to fill it once more. “I’m sorry about… Disagreeing with you the other day.”

Phelps chuckled. “Rowan. We’re all adults here. You, also a perfectly capable doctor yourself, just like the rest of us. I’m not going to judge you for coming to your own conclusions based on given evidence. While having a minion on my side is certainly easy on the ego, I didn’t bring you onto this project because I thought you’d be my little lackie the whole time.”

Rowan sighed heavily, nodding but still feeling weighted. “I guess I was just worried that you’d think I was… Picking sides.”

Mostly because that’s what it felt like it was, and it made her feel dirty doing so. However playful, there was a clearly established rivalry between Miller and Phelps that she felt like she had gotten in the middle of.

He laughed again. “You don’t have to apologize. I knew that you were going to take a liking to Miller. Besides being well aware of how much of a fan you are, you and Miller are also both very similar, so of course some of your opinions will line up better with hers than mine. I don’t take that personally. In fact, it pleases me, that you didn’t just side with me to suck up.”

No, instead she sided with Miller to suck up.

Phelps seemed to have heard her thoughts, perhaps seeing negativity on her expression, and put a hand on her unoccupied arm to bring her eyes up to his finally. “Listen. I know the affect that Miller has on people. I’ve been watching her woo everyone around her for her whole career. She can leave most a little... Starstruck, to say the least. But trust me, we’ve worked together for a while now too, and I haven’t been the least bit surprised by any of your decisions so far. Whether I agree with them or not is another story. But, you’ve always had a strong will and sense of self. You know what you want and how to get it, and that hasn’t changed just because you’re starry-eyed.” His gaze glinted when Rowan offered a weak smile of appreciation.

She’d be lying if she said the thought hadn’t been swimming around in her head, especially now as Rowan dwelled on why exactly she was donating blood when the idea of what it was for turned her stomach. Was she really doing it because she wanted to, or was she getting caught up in the desires of someone else? Cameron would usually have reassured her by now, but unfortunately, he couldn’t know enough details to give her what she needed to feel secure in her own decisions.

Luckily, it seemed like Phelps was ready to step up in his place. Offering one last gentle smile, Phelps let the look sink to something more somber, adding, “Just promise me one thing.”

Rowan nodded earnestly. “Of course, doctor.”

Lifting his hand from her arm, he pointed a finger to his temple. “Keep that hard-head of yours. Miller has one of her own, and it would be good for her to have someone to butt heads with, if necessary.”

Rowan couldn’t help but chuckle. Butting heads with Miller sounded… Undesirable.

“Is this one of those situations where you think Miller would respect me more in the long run if I have the guts to disagree with her?”

Phelps snorted, holding down his laughter. “Oh no, Miller hates when people disagree with her.” This concept was apparently hilarious to him. After reigning in his humor, he continued, “But if anyone can in this case, it’s you. You’ve proven yourself to Miller. She respects you more than she’ll let on. So keep following your gut, and don’t let Miller persuade you into simply going along without question.”

Rowan smiled, nodding again in a silent promise.

“Good.” Dipping his head curtly, he returned to her arm to extract the needle now that the bag had filled with her blood. “We’ll take this to the subject so you don’t have to worry about it. In the meantime, I’ve been informed that Miller will be working with her team through the night on the samples you collected. Perhaps you would like to stay the night in the infirmary, as well. I imagine a mild sedative would be appreciated at the moment, help you get some proper shut eye? You’ve had a busy few days.”

Rowan’s relief must have been palpable in the air because he laughed again after she responded with a weighted exhale. “That sounds like heaven.”

With a little chemical help, Rowan fell into the first restful sleep she had in days, waking a few hours later as the ticking clock on the wall neared six. The infirmary nurse asked if she’d like to sleep longer, but Rowan decided against it. She felt stiff and wanted to move around, opting for a walk after getting a glass of water instead.

The halls of the laboratory were eerily quiet that late in the evening. Miller and the other doctors were in the research wing tending to the samples, so the rest of the floor was empty of life; except for one creature, of course.

Her curiosity pulled her feet in the direction of the observation room even though she felt like she’d regret it. Nothing good happened when she was there alone; he liked to say terrible things when it was only her listening. Rowan reminded herself that he could only do so much from the other side of the glass, and the temptation to speak with him was insatiable. She wanted to know what other terrifying, mysterious secrets he would share if she listened long enough.

“You keep surprising me, little mouse. I was sure our earlier interaction was going to be our last. After all, you got what you wanted from me, didn’t you?” He heard her before she even took a step into the observation room, and it was unsettling, which was most likely the intention.

In the containment room, the subject was lying on his mattress like a lazy cat, stretched out and content, an empty bag of blood on the floor not far from his hanging hand. He didn’t bother moving, even as Rowan approached the glass. His only reaction was a deep intake a breath.

“The fragrance doesn’t do the taste justice.”

Rowan swallowed down her disgust, wrapping her arms around herself defensively to try to keep the discomfort from getting under her skin. A coldness still managed its way into her bones.

“I take my donation was satisfying, then?”

He chuckled as he sat up, glinting eyes finally glancing towards her voice. “I was not expecting you to agree to it. It was an inappropriate request. Purposely so.” A cheshire grin spread his lips, proud of his intentionally abusive behavior.

“You make a lot of inappropriate requests,” Rowan noted under her breath. Whether she intended for him to hear or not, she wasn’t sure.

He did regardless, the mischief in his eyes growing a color darker as she reminded him. “Why didn’t you tell anyone about my other offer? Given your previous behavior, I thought you wouldn’t be able to wait to share with the boss lady any juicy details about me.” The question seemed genuine, his tone ringing curiosity.

Rowan scoffed, annoyed by the fact that he felt he knew her well enough to predict her behavior. “You told me drinking your blood would make me like you. Forgive me if I was skeptical about your reliability.”

He grinned slick. “Solid evidence didn’t stop you before. You had no proof I drank blood, but that didn’t get in the way of you testing the theory. You are a scientist, after all. No, I think I know the real reason you didn’t tell anyone.” His voice taunted, winding around her like a snake, tightening. “You didn’t tell anyone because you were tempted, weren’t you? A part of you was considering it. And maybe still is.”

Rowan felt the anger burn in her belly and the embarrassment flare up on her face, but she caught herself before saying something regrettable. The anger was what he wanted, and she wouldn’t get anywhere with it. She was looking for answers, and answers were only given to questions.

“Was that why you made the offer then? To prove something to me about myself?” She paused for a moment, probing deeper into her suggestion. “Maybe you think I’m not so different from you?” Or maybe… he hoped?

Something kept her from adding to the consideration further.

He rose to his feet and approached the glass, stopping just in front of her, his blue eyes dancing. Tilting his head, he imitated deep thought for a brief moment before responding. “Maybe I just wanted to see what kind of monster is creeping under your skin, Rowan.”

For the first time, he said her name, and he said it with possession, like he owned a bit of it. Owned a bit of her. As though he planted something inside of her, branded it with his mark, and was now calling out to it by a name he had given. It answered, a hot stirring in her gut somewhere between anticipation and anxiety.

Rowan uprooted her feet and stepped away from the glass. Her pulse pounded hard in her head now, a painful distraction. “Obviously, whatever monster I am, it’s not the type that would willingly choose to be like you.” Her voice failed her. She meant for those words to come out strong and confident, but instead, they were broken and timid. She wasn’t sure he entirely believed her.

If he doubted her resolve he didn’t comment on it, choosing for once to not use her weakness against her. She was thankful until he spoke again.

“What about the other doctors? What darkness is lurking in them, do you think?"

Rowan took in a sharp breath. The question already crossed her mind, but the realization that came along with it surprised her. He knew what he offered her was a dangerously tempting opportunity, for anyone. He also must have assumed they’d figure it out, once having his samples under a microscope.

“You expect the others to be unable to resist the temptation?”

His lips tilted up with her conclusion. “I have the habit of bringing out the worst in people.”

So he expected chaos. She could see it in his eyes, like fire in the wide blacks of his pupils. If it was what he thought of them, mindless monsters who couldn’t resist the draw to such a powerful prospect, what did it mean, that he’d offered it to her first?

Attempting to snuff out her silent question, Rowan gave a small, dismissive laugh. “We’re not the monsters you think we are.”

To her surprise, he chuckled as well. The tone was tainted with irony, like he knew something she failed to realize. “That’s where you’re wrong, doctor. Humans are the worst kind of monsters.”

There was something in the way he said it. A sad wisdom flickered just briefly in his eyes and brought a dreadful sickness to her stomach. She wanted desperately to brush off his words like they meant nothing, but she couldn’t. They lingered in the corners of her mind, tangled up with all the questions, even after going back to the infirmary to accept another dose of sedatives.