Page 32 of Master B-1901
“You keep insinuating suspicion of me, Elec. Do you have something to say?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to question me.
“What happened after your Master changed? What did he do next?”
“He headed for the door. I tried to stop him. I almost managed to, but he kept hitting me, and we were already too close. He opened it enough for her to push through.”
“Liar! He let me in! Elec, I demand you put a stop to this right now. Did you tell her to say these lies? Are you trying to ruin my career?My life?”
“Continue, Allison.”
“She…once she got in…” I blinked hard, swallowing even harder. My throat suddenly felt tight and dry. My pause and expression had Elec’s lids narrowing.
“Would you like some water, Ally?”
“No.” My head shook. “I’m okay. I’m sorry. The…” my hand came up next to my ear, “the yells are so loud. It’s making it hard to recall what was being said between the blows. I…I heard…”
My hands shook in Elec’s hold through the screams in my head. They repeated as they looped.‘You’re coming back tomorrow. You want me as your doctor. Now, hit her again. Again! That’s right.Don’t stop until you finish her. Finish her. Finish her! When you’re done, you remember none of this. Nothing! See you first thing in the morning.’
With the silence, I thought she had left. She hadn’t. The Mistress just wanted Braddock’s mind to think she had. She’d been watching, and I didn’t think my Master knew she was there at all. Something told me she was watching for her personal enjoyment. But it was all such a blur. I was on the verge of passing out when she was suddenly stepping closer. She had Braddock hold me steady to face her. He’d been momentarily winning, and I knew I was hurt.
“I could shut you down right now, bitch. I know the precious little Master code to do it. But I won’t let you off easy. Blank or not, you’re going to feel this pain. You’re going to bleed.And before you die, as you’re laying there fading away…the last person you’ll see is me. You remember nothing. You’ll know nothing. No one but me. Me.”Her finger tapped against my head in a rhythm, over and over.“Me. Me.”Foreign words filled the space, and the tapping had me wanting to scream as she keptme locked in her stare. With every tap, I felt myself fade away even more. Gone. Gone. Until…I was gone. But I returned. Just…different.Fighting for my life.Braddock was hitting again, and she was gone. And me…I temporarily disabled my Master the only way I could to stop the abuse.
“Calm, Allison. You got this. Like you protect me, I’m going to protect you too. You don’t have to be afraid.”
“Afraid? She clearly has no idea what happened. I think Braddock hit her one too many times. Look at her face. She clearly has a concussion.”
“Her mind is working fine.”
“For what, exactly? What are you trying to prove? Blank or not,truth or not, none of this is even admissible. She’s a weak witness, Elec, and you’re playing with fire if you think of taking this to the Collective High Council. Be very careful who you make your enemy. If you were smart, you’d stop while you’re ahead.”
The clicking sounded, heading towards the door. Blue eyes held mine, and for the first time, I saw an evil I hadn’t felt in him before. There was a tide of tumultuous deadness inside so vast that it sucked the soldier in me in its undertow, pulling down so deep that my words left me without warning—but they were a warning—maybe even the Main Master’s own warning.
“Threats only come from the guilty or doomed. I’m sorry for the pause, Sir. I’m not afraid.I’m pissed.You want to know what happened.” He nodded for me to continue. “She told my Master, Braddock, to hit me. To not stop until I was dead. That when he finished, he wasn’t to remember any of it. …But that was to him. To me, she spoke of having the ability to shut me down with a Master code. But that she wouldn’t. She wanted me to suffer. And as I died…I’d only remember her. Her. Her. Her. I remember, Mistress.I remember everything.” For the first time, I turned from my Main Master, glaring at the woman who heldto the doorknob, staring at us. “An enemy to my Main Master is an enemy to me. Oh…and you won’t see Braddock in the morning like you ordered. He has another doctor now,and it’s sure as hell not you.”
Master B-1901
Hushed whispers drew me from the darkness. Every bone in my body ached. Even breathing sent pains shooting down my limbs. A sound left me, and I tried to move more on my side so that my back and legs would stop aching.
“About time he starts to wake up.”
Opening my eyes was almost impossible. Light and colors flooded in, but they were blurry. It took me repeatedly blinking to bring the room into focus. What I saw had me jolting to a sitting position and I regretted it instantly.
“Master, no.”
My slave rushed to my side, but all I saw was the dark bruising and laceration on her cheek. It was taped with butterfly bandages. One of her eyes was still swollen and purple, and the other had hints of underlining black. I didn’t have to ask. Just taking in the excessive damage, I knew it was from me.
“It happened. I hurt you.” Her shoulders shrugged, and the expression she wore had me scanning her face. It was full of…emotion. More than I’d ever seen on her, but still not quite normal. “How bad are you hurt?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. We need to worry about you right now.”
My lips parted, only just realizing it was me in the damn bed. I looked down at my bandaged hands, cursing as the pain became all too real.
“How bad was it?”
“Bad. But I did as you ordered. I…lived. I stopped you.”
“Did you break my hands, or did I do that hurting you?”