• Cover made by PaperBlanks - thank you, love •

Watching as we pulled up to the C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S facility, the car came to a stop. A man in a black suit stepped up and opened the door for me, even before I had the chance to unfasten my seatbelt.

"Thank you," I said as he offered me a hand. He gave me a brief nod and then he escorted me inside through all the security which had become a silent procedure by now.

Everything ran like clockwork inside the C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S building. Everything was so clinical, I was always afraid to step a toe out of line. I had been here a few times, but never gone below ground where I knew that all the... experiments took place. Nevertheless, I always felt clammy coming here. The aura of this place was horrid and made my skin crawl.

Today was the day I was meeting Charlie for the first time. The hour had finally come where the first Creature would be transferred into the real world, and the rest of the world were going crazy about it. Nobody knew where he was going, how he looked, or even which state he was going to be in. That was causing most of the country to panic, bringing out the worst of the conspirators.

Was it safe to let the 'monsters' out of their cages? Would they be the 'revolution' of a new world or the end of the one as we knew it?

C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S kept their cards close, so nobody really knew to what extend their research had come. Only vague reports every now and then had been doled out to the public to let them chew on their continuing progress. But never anything about the means they used to achieve said progress.

Naturally, that meant the world didn't know what to expect from these Creatures. To the public they were considered aliens or mutants – freaks of nature. Some people were curious and some were understandably scared. Were they dangerous?

I was finding out today.

"Ms Bloom," Mr Alan greeted me once I had gotten through security alive. "How are you? Prepared?"

I nodded and gave a professional smile. "As well as one can be."

"Did you read the file on him we gave you?"

"I skimmed it," I replied as we begun walking down a hall which at the end had an elevator. "I surveyed the important parts, but I prefer to get to know Charlie in person rather than off a sheet of paper."

Mr Alan raised a brow, but didn't comment on my choice of approach. "Right this way then."

We stepped into the elevator and rode it down, both silent. Finally, after what seemed like a long descend, the elevator doors opened and we stepped out. Mr Alan led the way and I followed.

"We've moved him from his cell to a more appropriate room, one where you may better converse," He told as we passed a couple of guards who manned their seemingly sporadic stations down the hall. "We have cameras on him at all times, so there'll be no need to be nervous."

"I'm not." I assured him. Scared, however...

"Good," He stopped up in front of a metal door where two guards stood guard, and after swiping a card through a machine and entering a code, he turned to me. "Are you ready to meet Charlie?"

"Yes, I am," I confirmed. "The question is, is he ready to meet me?"

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

With that, he swung the door open, and I braced myself for what I was about to see. I hoped for the best, but prepared the worst. After all, this was my first time seeing a Creature.

Hell, this was the first time anyone besides the C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S people laid eyes on a Creature. 

But as I stepped inside the small iron-cased room that made me feel like a sardine in a can, all I was saw was a seemingly normal man sitting in a chair behind a metal desk.

He was a Creature? Was this a joke?

Besides being one hell of a giant specimen, even as he merely sat there with his head bended, he looked pretty normal to me. His body was packed with muscles and his shoulders were at least thrice as broad as my own. He wore a white jumpsuit, not unlike those orange prison suits inmates wore. His hair was a dark-blond color, cropped short, almost military, which I had to assume was standard in here for them. He didn't meet my eyes, just sat there silently, his face shaded by the harsh, fluorescent lights shining above.

Nothing about him seemed out of the ordinary, but with these people, I had learned to be on guard. Nothing was ever what it seemed here.

"We will let you get acquainted," Mr Alan said, bringing me out of my thoughts long enough to see him give me a nod and then walk out, shutting me inside the sardine can with the possibly dangerous Creature. Swallowing a lump, I turned around and looked back at him.

Exactly how dangerous was he?

I carefully walked up to him, my heels clinking on the metal floor, and then took a seat in the chair across from him. Folding my hands on the metal table, I tried to keep my voice as controlled and as professional as I possibly could. "Hello, Charlie. My name is Carly Bloom. I'm your new guardian. Caretaker, if you prefer."

He didn't respond. I questioned if he actually heard me. Clueless, I decided to just continue to see if he would eventually make contact. 

"I don't know how much you've been informed, but I'm going to be the one helping you to adjust to the world outside. I'll be teaching you everything you need to know. Charlie?"

This was getting a little freaky. He still didn't respond, not even as much as looked up. He just kept staring at the table, keeping his eyes off me.

Could he even speak? If so, did he understand English?

"I know this must be difficult," I tried again, nonetheless. I carefully raised a brow. "Do you feel like talking to me about what's going on inside you? I'll be your confidante as well as your therapist. Anything you need to talk about, I'll be there to help you through it. Charlie?"

He frowned ever so slightly.

Finally, thought. I got a response, small as it may be, but it was something.

"Charlie? You know you don't have to be scared, don't you? No harm will come to you, I'm not dangerous. Are you scared?"

He now slowly looked up, and I had only just thought 'yes, success!' before his eyes connected with mine and made me stop breathing.

I hadn't been prepared for this. His pupils were an electric, almost neon purple color. If there was ever any doubt about him being a Creature, it vanished in that moment. He looked at me with the most mysterious deep glow.

There was no way those magenta eyes were naturally developed.

"Are... you?"

I blinked twice, opening my mouth. Did he just... speak? "Excuse me?"

"Are you... scared... of me?" He asked. His voice was barely a whisper. Hoarse. He tilted his head slightly to the side and looked at me with a childish inquiry. "Your heartbeat is stronger than normal... and your pulse is elevated... you're also breathing... differently... heavier."

Sweet Jesus, he could detect all that?

I swallowed. "So you do speak. Well, this isn't about me, Charlie. Do you want to tell me how you feel?"

His brows furrowed a little again in confusion. He blinked slowly. "I don't know."

"You don't know how you're feeling?"

He pressed his lips together, a concentrated expression painted on the rest of his face. He looked like he was struggling for words. Could it be that he didn't know what the different feelings felt like? Had they not taught him?

"Try describing to me what you feel inside," I said, sitting up a little straighter. "Do you feel any strange, abnormal sensations inside your body?"

He thought for a long moment again, lowering his eyes to the table once more. After what seemed like minutes, he finally spoke up, hesitantly. "I can feel... stirrings. In my stomach. And... prickling."

He's just nervous, the poor thing.

I exhaled, feeling sympathy for him. He was probably more nervous than I was. "That's called being anxious or nervous. It's perfectly normal in situations like these. The best thing you can do is take some deep breaths and try and remember there's nothing to be nervous about. I'll be taking good care of you. You'll be safe with me."

He looked up at me again. "Safe?"

I nodded, forced to lick my lips when I felt the air evaporate. Those eyes were hypnotic in a way I couldn't explain. "Yes. Safe."

He raised a slow brow. "And will you... be safe from... me?"

That caught me off guard. My mouth stood slightly agape for a split second before I managed to compose myself and clear my throat. "Yes, I will be perfectly safe, too. Don't worry."

I didn't want to tell him it was only because I could literally kill him with the push of a button. I wanted to forget ever knowing that.

He looked down at the table again and that's when I felt it was time to bring the conversation back on track again.

"So, Charlie. What's going to happen now is that you're going to come home with me," I told him, licking my lips again. I paused when I noticed his eyes flicker up to the movement. Frowning again, he then slowly imitated me, running his tongue over his own lips. An act so innocent looked so deadly poised when he did it. I had to take a moment to remember what I was saying. "Uh... so, ah, you and I are going to be living together. Does that make you more nervous?"

By now I'd learned he responded slowly. After a moment, he shook his head.

"That's good, because there's no need to be. C.E.N.T.U.R.I.E.S will fund everything you might need; clothes, books and other necessities you'll need to accustom to the world outside. Oh, that reminds me, during the first two weeks of your probation, you're not allowed to leave my house," I informed him. His gaze had lowered to the table in front of us again and it now looked like he wasn't listening anymore. He'd zoned out. Nevertheless, I continued. Maybe some part of him would still hear me. "This is just to make sure you don't get overwhelmed by new impressions or get frightened by what you might see. However, as our training progresses, we'll slowly begin to inaugurate you into the world outside. Does that sound okay?"

He didn't respond, big surprise. His magenta eyes just glowed hypnotically.

"Charlie?" I asked. I had to remind myself that even as human as he looked, he wasn't human anymore. The scientists had changed his DNA from Homo Sapien to Homo Cerebral. Glowing eyes could be a sign that he was about to do something – something supernatural. "Are you still with me? Are you feeling alright?"

After a moment, he looked up. He looked saddened for some reason. "You are scared of me."

My heart quickened and I could feel myself quickly pale. He said it as a sort of statement that had no questioning. A fact.

He was smart. He must've made the connection to what he was feeling and paired it with what he could hear my body doing, then made the conclusion from there.

I therefore compelled myself to take a deep breath and then met his eyes, point blank. "No more scared than you are of me," I assured him with confidence. "We're going to have to spend a lot of time together to build up trust to one other, so eventually neither of us will be scared anymore. How does that sound to you?"

He went back to not responding. Purely judging from this first meeting, I could tell he was intuitive, observant, incredibly smart and scared. It was a dangerous, yet fascinating combination. Working with him could prove to be an interesting challenge.

"So..." I said after a while of silence. "Do you think you're ready to come with me?" I asked, softly tilting my head to the side and then tried for a smile. "Are you ready to come live with me?"

His eyes flipped up to mine, and this time there was no fear. He abruptly stood up, which automatically made me stand up as well. His height – a staggering six-foot-seven – dwarfed me and frankly intimidated me, but he showed no signs of being hostile. On the contrary, he looked revived, alive for the first time since I stepped inside.

"I am ready."

• • •

Are you?