Benevolence

SHAY

Blood. Thick crimson liquid blood trickled down Shay Zephanie's cheeks.

She watched her reflection stoically. She knew that it should have been painful, but strangely, she didn't feel anything at all.

A steady flow was dripping from both sides of her face from the deep cuts she made with a razor she had found in a cabinet situated inside the comfort room.

She often saw Marcus grabbed his shaving supplies from there. With her desperate thoughts of wanting to go home, she found her resolve.

Her attention was unwavering towards her mirror image. She hardly even noticed when Amber, the only other person whom she had seen aside from Marcus inside his lab, walked in and frantically grabbed her walkie talkie upon the sight of her.

Shay Zephanie tightened her grip on the blade she was holding. She was sure that blood must be dripping from her hand as well.

She badly misses home. She misses her room, her bed, her mother.

She wants to assure her father that she was alright.

She wanted to hug them both and tell them that she was fine and that she was safe.

She wanted to tell them that Marcus Zephanie was going to make her better.

They must be worried about her.

In a span of minutes, Marcus had appeared, a concerned look on his face. He gently seized the sharp object from her hands.

She was right. Her hand was covered in blood.

"What have you done, Shay?"

She blinked, momentarily getting out of her daze.

"I want my mommy." She replied.

Marcus Zephanie fell on his knees, a serious expression plastered on his face as he leveled his gaze with hers.

"Do you want to get better?" She nodded.

"Do you trust me?" At that moment, she wanted to shake her head no.

However, she didn't want to expose to him that she was beginning to have doubts about his promise.

"Will I really see her after I get better?" She watched Marcus Zephanie give her that reassuring smile.

"Yes, I promise." Satisfied, Shay Zephanie let Marcus drag her out of the comfort room and led her towards his lab.

He patched her up, cleaning her wounds and sewing them shut.

However, the scars remained.

A few days after that, that was when Marcus introduced Avalyn, the strange girl that looked exactly like her.

Right from the start, she knew that Ava and her could never be friends.

Although she honestly had no grudge against her, Shay didn't want anything to do with Marcus's 'experiment,' as she heard him call her one time.

She had mused over that word for a brief moment but instantly lost interest in it.

Whatever Avalyn was, she wasn't about to show any regard. She didn't want to let Marcus nor Ava know that she was beyond intrigued.

And she had wanted to keep it that way.

Except, one day, she stumbled upon an exciting discovery.

Marcus had restricted Shay to linger around his laboratory. He would often tell her that it was no place for a little girl like her.

He kept her inside his loft, the medium-sized room adjacent from the lab.

It was a cozy place.

Marcus had bought toys and other necessary stuff for her.

He wanted to keep her busy and avoid loitering in his laboratory. He added that it was dangerous, and it was better for Shay not to put herself in harm's way.

It worked for a while. Until he introduced Ava.

Much as she had wanted to deny it, Shay Zephanie was dying of curiosity.

She was torn between ignoring the nagging feeling at the back of her head and acting on it.

She had been successful in ignoring it for a few days. Unfortunately, her curiosity won over logic.

Feeling a little rebellious and bored at the same time, Shay Zephanie poked her head inside Marcus Zephanie's laboratory one day when he seemed to be taking longer from coming back.

She silently tiptoed around the quiet corridor.

"It's okay, Xavier." Shay Zephanie heard Avalyn's soft voice seemingly coming from down the hallway.

"I'm here." She was confident that it was her.

Arriving at the source, she stumbled upon Ava and a boy whom she had never seen before.

They were both looking at her, expressionless. Yet seemingly surprised nonetheless.

"You're not supposed to be here." Ava said to which Shay Zephanie raised her chin defiantly.

"I'm no prisoner. I can go wherever I want." The mysterious boy looked at her. There was something off about him. Though he seemed normal.

He had light olive skin and bright green eyes. His jet black wavy hair was pushed back, revealing his striking face. He looked much older than them.

But despite that, Shay seemed to be drawn towards this boy. There was a certain pull that she can't explain.

The mysterious boy seemed intrigued by her as well. He had begun to reach out towards her.

However, before anything else could happen, Shay Zephanie heard Marcus' voice.

She caught Ava's stare.

"Hide." She told her that even though she didn't understand why. Somehow, she felt that all three of them weren't supposed to be there.

And despite her 'I don't care' personality arising from her stay in Marcus' place, she wanted to take the fall for this one.

Shay Zephanie waited for Ava, and the mysterious boy to disappear inside the closest room, leaving her alone. She braced herself as she found Marcus' narrowed gaze boring into her the moment he caught sight of her standing idly in the empty hallway with Amber trotting behind.

"Why are you here, Shay?"

"I was bored." She replied, which wasn't entirely a lie.

But her mother had taught her that half-truths were still lies. For whatever reason, she told Shay never to lie.

Regardless now, her mother wasn't there.

And besides, she was doing it for a good cause. That should count.

Marcus Zephanie let out a tired sigh.

"You can't just come in here whenever you're bored, Shay. Didn't I make myself clear on that?"

She pouted her lips, playing the little cute girl card, which had always worked against her father.

"I'm sorry." Like magic, it seemed to have worked with Marcus Zephanie as well. She watched him smile and give her a small pat on the head, gently taking her by the hand.

'Thank you.' She looked over her shoulders. She wasn't entirely sure if she heard Ava say that or if it was her imagination.

'I owe you one, Shay Zephanie.' She definitely didn't imagine it.

Oddly, she was left mystified. But the large part of her was brimming with excitement.

'Yes, you owe me one, Avalyn.' She responded.

"Everything alright, Shay?" Shay Zephanie smiled broadly towards Marcus.

"I'm hungry." She said, masking the joy of her fun discovery.