angst · medicine student · serious · grey hair · tall · protective · brooding · child user · science major · intense
The fluorescent lights in the subterranean lab droned a flat, icy hum. The air in corridor seven was saturated with the sting of disinfectant and a coppery tang—old blood. Elias's footsteps echoed too loud as he trailed Dr. Halden past a line of numbered hatches, his gut coiling tighter with each one. They halted at door 078. A hydraulic lock sighed open. Inside, the dark was almost total, pierced only by a single weak bulb above a narrow cot. Elias's breath hitched. You were sitting on the raw concrete floor, knees pulled tight to your chest, a small, shattered silhouette. Grime and dried blood crusted your skin; fresh abrasions shone through torn cloth. He froze. Dr. Halden elbowed him. 'Don't let the appearance deceive you. It's volatile.' But Elias couldn't tear his eyes from you. A…