➽Eleven: Genomics

                                    

                                          
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."
-Lao Tzu

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
Waking up in a hospital bed was nothing new to me; the handlers had a way of being particularly rough at times. But waking to find someone sitting in the chair next to me, fast asleep with my hand in theirs? That was a first. Becca snored softly, her head tilted in a way that would surely hurt her neck. The sound wasn't loud enough to drown out the delicate tap-tap of shoes across the floor.
My body ached, yet I sensed nothing significantly wrong. I attempted to speak, but the machinery next to me erupted in beeping before I could.
Queen Helen rushed over, her fingers darting to press a button. I caught a glimpse of her swiping at her face, trying to erase the tiredness etched into her features. With a relieved sigh, she looked down at me, her eyes wide with concern. "Maddie! Oh, thank goodness you're awake!"
Her exclamation jolted Becca awake. She blinked rapidly, darting her gaze around the room before settling on me. Recognition dawned, and her eyes widened in relief. "Maddie, I was so scared!" 
Her grip on my hand tightened, an anchor in the emotions swirling within me. Though her expression made my heart crumble. How could I ever explain what I had done? The brutality that had surfaced within me?
Queen Helen spoke, her tone severe but soothing. "Before we talk, Madelyn, I want you to know that we saw everything. Creed set up a camera in the corner of the room to record the pain she inflicted. I believe she intended to anonymously send it to the manor to punish me for the orders I gave my guards."
Her hand rested gently on my shoulder, her eyes unwavering and earnest. "You are safe now."
Safe. The word echoed in my mind but felt heavy with unspoken truths. I was alive, yes, but at what cost? The memory of the violence I had unleashed flickered at the edges of my consciousness, threatening to pull me under again. How could I reconcile the monster I had become with the girl they still saw me as?
"There was something we didn't tell you about your mother. " Helen tucked a loose strand of hair behind her neck, her gaze steady yet concerned. She shifted in her chair, drawing attention to a thick folder in her hands, brimming with papers. "Research—extensive research. I'll give this to you so you can examine it more closely."
As she extended the file towards me, my heart raced. I hesitated, the weight of her words heavy in the air. With dread coiling in my stomach, I asked, "Is something wrong with me?" 
"No, darling. Not at all," she assured me, her tone soothing as she pulled the file back, keeping it within my reach. "You know how every supernatural being is simply a different human species? That our disparities lie in a few genetic variations?"