Primals (Reverse Harem 1)

Like the above floors, this first one’s empty, though no dust seems to have gathered. Walking around, my gaze falls on empty boxes, toppled chairs and shards of glass.

When this place was shut down, it was done so in a hurry. Recently too.

I go down a corridor but Sebastian, coming from the other end, stops me, gripping my arm.

You don’t want to go through here.

I wrench my arms free. You brought me here to find out about my past, didn’t you? Well, I’m here.

I shove him aside, taking a deep breath before moving forward. Thankful that he follows. Even more thankful that he respects me enough not to argue when I’d defied him.

Now, I’m curious.

And scared.

And it doesn’t take long to find out why. The corridor is lined with doors, doors with bars and slits for trays.

Prison cells.

Peering inside one, I see a bed with a blanket and what looks like a small, plastic, portable toilet.

They kept humans here?

I keep going, finding most cells the same but one of them is different, with dried blood spattered on the walls.

I step back, clasping a hand over my mouth as I feel my stomach coil, the image of my father dying in this cell popping in my head.

No.

“Clarissa?” Toshi places a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m fine,” I tell him, forcing the contents of my stomach down.

My hands and knees shaking, I move on. Finding a staircase, I go down, finding myself in an area with hospital beds, cuffs tied to the beds, blood on some of them and on some parts of the tiled floor. There are a few tanks of oxygen and a bunch of medical equipment as well as empty shelves where bottles of medication must have been kept. On one pole, a bottle of IV fluid still hangs. Metal trays are scattered everywhere, some empty, some with tools like scalpels some on them.

Again, my stomach churns.

What did they do here?

I don’t know but I’m guessing whoever was here wasn’t being treated for something and that whoever is responsible for this bloodbath isn’t human.

“Cats,” Sebastian tells me, his entire face mirroring his distaste. “This whole place stinks of Cats.”

“And blood,” I add, stepping carefully though the puddles have long since dried, leaving only sinister stains on the floor.

This may look like a hospital ward but human lives were not being saved here. No. Clearly, something sinister has been going on.

Were my parents here?

“Clarissa,” Toshi calls me. “There’s something you should see.”

Forcing my knees to become steady, I run to him.

“What did you find?” Sebastian asks from behind me.

“Files,” Toshi answers, handing me a folder. “Most of the files were taken but these were in a secret compartment in the wall.”

With trembling fingers, I open the folder. The first few sheets are scientific gibberish like those back at the Lab, chemical formulas and mathematical equations. But under those are patient files, the first of which has a picture of my mother.