Thank you to each Soul who is reading my work!!! You are appreciated!

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• Amir •

Amir was five seconds away from snapping someone's neck.

He could feel something surging through Luna somewhere inside the facility. The staff was giving her shocks around her forehead and it caused him to have a headache. He was trying to listen to what Dr. Kim was explaining to him about each patient under his wing, but whatever they were doing to Luna was distracting. She closed off their connection, but not enough for him to sense her insides frying like they were on a stove.

Who knew how many hours had passed since she was put in complete isolation? Amir just knew he hadn't spoken to her since he revealed about Vikram being a Tethered Soul, which was three weeks ago.

Coming into St. Matthew's as a volunteer geneticist was tricky and nearly impossible. Amir was supported by biologist Tahir Malik, who alerted Dr. Kim about his skills. Mr. Malik, his investor for several years, briefed colleagues about Amir's work ethic and desire to work in America. 

Of course that was far from the truth. He quickly updated his passport and work visa, intending to track down one person and make sure she was free of her suffering.

Why do you have to leave now?" Farooq asked Amir as he continued packing his things. He was at Amir's house when he felt Luna's soul shattering.

"It's just something that I have to do."

"I don't get it, but okay. You want anyone to go with you?" 

Amir raised an eyebrow. "Are you offering to keep me company?" 

Farooq shrugged and smiled. "I don't have work for another three days. Why not?" 

Amir's bedroom door opened slowly, and Faisal popped in.

"Hey man, sorry for barging in," he murmured in the doorway. "I knocked several times, then used your spare key behind the light switch. Are you going somewhere?" 

"Amir decided that he's just going to up and leave for America," Farooq said as he stood near the window.

Faisal's mouth dropped open. "What? Are you serious, bro?"

Amir nodded.

Farooq scoffed. "I don't understand. Why now?" 

"Dude, trust me, you wouldn't. But I understand why, and I'm excited for our cousin," Faisal said, walking over to Amir, and giving him a light hug. "Are you going alone?"

"No," he said, shifting his gaze between both of them. "I'm hoping you'll come along, Faisal." 

"Yeah, man. I'll run home and grab my things," Faisal replied, with a jolly grin on his face. "Aluna will be united."

Farooq raised an eyebrow as Amir and Faisal both chuckled.

Amir shook his head, breaking himself out of his memory while he was escorted to a laboratory on the first floor. 

Dr. Kim wasn't there, and Amir then got acquainted with the lab techs. They showed him a few patients who either had their heads hanging low and not making eye contact with anyone, or they rested at the table.

He went along with everything and conducted full exams of the patients he was introduced to. 

One patient who was eighteen and needed help, according to the information Amir was given about her, kept staring at him. He turned away and glanced around at the thirty people in the room, sensing Luna somewhere nearby. 

He sped up the long process of doing blood samples and questions, just counting the minutes before he could see her. He bet she was stashed away in a room that was no bigger than a tiny walk-in closet. He couldn't connect to her. He could, however, feel her weakness from wherever they had her.

All he saw was red. 

While working on one child, which caused him to feel sick and saddened that children were in the building in the first place, he excused himself and told another lab technician he had to go to the restroom. In return, she batted her eyes at him as he gave her a pleasant but small smile back. The staff didn't have any respect for him. He wore his father's wedding ring that had been passed to all the men in his family. Amir explained to his father that his heart was connected to one woman in the States, and she was the only one he ever cared about within his lifetime. 

Couldn't the employees see that I'm married? 

Rushing into the bathroom, Amir paced along the walls, unable to steer his mind away from Luna. He couldn't help but wonder for the hundredth time if she was pacing around too. Or did they have her body strapped down again? He couldn't tell what was going on, but the weird link between them only seemed to become active if they were close to one another. There was a small chance, a sliver of hope, that she was right around the corner.

Allah, I miss her. 

His eyes tore up, thinking about what it will be like to see her in person. He also wondered if he'd run into Cami at some point. Amir told Dr. Kim to give him all the patients he had a concern about, and he would assist them. He needed to keep his cover, so he could be sure of helping Luna flee that place. 

A loud knock slammed against the door, scattering Amir's nerves to pieces.

"Yes?" he asked as he made his way to the door.

"Mr. Khan, Dr. Kim has a new part of the wing he wants to show you," a sergeant said to him on the other side. "The Orange floor, where we keep the severely deranged patients at." 

That knocked Amir's mind back into place. He quickly washed his hands and spruced up his hair in the mirror. He was about to see Luna—the love of his life. 

Casually stepping out of the bathroom, one soldier placed a hand on his shoulder, guiding him with them to wherever the doctor was. Once they were in the elevator, they ascended further up many floors and then walked out into a narrow, almost vacant corridor. Most of the staff and personnel were in suits and uniformed white scrubs. But Amir was wearing a pair he chose at Walmart three blocks away. 

Brown. 

Luna liked him in that color. 

His already thin patience had stretched more when they stopped in front of a door that didn't read Luna's name; it read it for a male patient. 

Amir's spidey sense was telling him Luna may not be on that floor, considering it had more male names than females. 

After the sergeant did some secret handprint with the control panel, the door slid open and revealed a large desk with several monitors surrounding it. Dr. Kim perked up at him like he was a celebrity who came in there to shoot a film. "Mr. Khan. Welcome to the control room." 

"Okay." 

"This is where the entire facility is monitored. It's on the top floor for obvious reasons. Our patients can be a little wacko." 

Amir was so close to smacking the doctor's jaw. Referring to his patients like that was uncalled for. 

"I see. Is this floor where most of the male patients are held?" he asked him, curious about where the women's floor was.

"This floor houses each division of our patients. Children. Teens. Young adults, both men and women. Some older adults."

"What kind of protocol do you have in place at this facility?"

Amir was adamant about learning what he can about the institution, and where the fastest location would be to exit the place. He wasn't leaving the country without Luna. And possibly Cami, if they can extract her as well.

Dr. Kim moved his finger up to a post on the wall and pointed to a paragraph. Amir read it quickly, and his insides twisted when he saw the treatment plans per patient. Shock therapy. Multiple medications. Isolation. 

"As I have explained to you beforehand about our mission, these are necessary steps we take to ensure the best care for all patients," the doctor uttered.

Amir gagged. Shock treatments shouldn't be done to any human being; especially to children. The doctor had no morals. 

"I guess I wonder why you feel it is necessary for shock treatments. When I was exploring options in other hospitals, none of them had anything like that." 

Dr. Kim stayed mute.

"You don't understand the need for them, Mr. Khan?"

"No. I do not," he replied, dryly. 

Dr. Kim glanced downward and chuckled a little. 

Why are you chuckling? 

"Using that method of treatment is beneficial for the patient. Previous memories in an individual that was once lost can resurface, which is a good thing when we're treating them. I could show you the main reason why we use that treatment plan here." 

His jaw clenched. Dr. Kim was probably about to show him patients on camera who undergoes pain, and that may include Luna. 

"You don't have to. It's okay," Amir said.

"Mr. Khan, we have many patients who psychologically show they need treatment. Shock treatment, specifically. I know you have mentioned you work in a research lab at home, but this facility is different. Are you sure you don't want to see what we are about?" Amir didn't want to meet his gaze, but he had no choice. "These people are severely ill. As a man of science, you've studied the human brain and know how it works. Patients on this floor are delusional." 

"I just never thought children would be subjected to this kind of pain. Shock therapy can damage a person's brain, given too much of it." 

"I understand where you are coming from. We only perform that treatment on them as young as age thirteen. Sometimes older," Dr. Kim explained, and the pencil Amir was holding in his hand snapped in two. "Some of the female patients need help. There is one just a few doors down, Ms. Carlyle, whose mental state is terrible." 

"What's wrong with her?" Amir could barely choke anything out.

"She has a slew of emotional and mental problems. For starters, she was happily engaged to our biggest benefactor for the facility . . ." 

What? 

That clarified everything to him. Chase had been donating money to this facility, and he had been keeping Luna in here by handing the doctor extra finances. Amir was about to cause a scene, but he held back, waiting to hurt Luna's ex. 

"Her name is Luna. She is a young mother, and her biggest issue is her illusions of people who aren't there in front of her. She tends to imagine her late boyfriend who died right after their daughter was born." 

Amir breathed heavily under his breath. The doctor was giving him her entire history, which he knew already, and he was finally inside this place to get her out. Somehow.

"Luna hallucinated seeing him for many years, and just when we thought that she was getting better here, she fell, quickly. It baffles me how fast she had fallen. She became friends with the patient next to her room and forming that friendship ruined her mental state. Camille Taylor will be transferred soon to another location because she has shown more improvement than Luna. But her parents have stopped donating their money, so I'm simply shipping her off." 

"With all due respect, Dr. Kim, is it more about money, or the mental health of each individual?" 

"Not all the patients are held here because of the money that is coming in, but that is some small part of it. We also assist them in their safety to return to the outside world and ensure they are cared for by people who will be strong enough for them. There are reasons why mentally ill patients continue their routine in life, and if they have a relative who is financially stable to ensure our care for them, then we keep them here." 

Amir noticed the nurse shifting her body against the wall, and then he turned his gaze back to the doctor.

"I read in Ms. Carlyle's file that she and her fiancé are no longer together. Why would he continue paying for her care here?" 

"That little information is not exactly accurate. Luna believes she has broken up with him, but he is her Health Care appointed personnel, and realistically they have never broken up. She is angry with him for placing her in here."

"So the fiancé believes they are still engaged?"

Dr. Kim nodded. "She's only going through a temporary phase and will get better, eventually. We hope. I mean, he pays a good portion for our building, and we need to keep him happy. When she makes improvements, she is rewarded. She is given more meals and has mail sent to her. It's pleasant for her."

Amir stilled, and his heart sped up more. The institution was beyond pleasant for her.

As Dr. Kim jumped up from his seat, he gestured with his hand for Amir to follow him. "Now remember, Mr. Khan, you have signed our confidentiality agreement papers. What you see and hear at this hospital cannot be shared anywhere else."

"Yes, sir." All Amir could do next was slightly nod in return to please the man.

While walking in the corridor of the Orange Floor, Amir's eyes widened. He was closer to her and his spidey sense kicked in.

"Luna Carlyle is in the next room," Dr. Kim told him as they eyed a door with her name above it. "She is feisty and sometimes hard to manage." 

"Is something wrong with her?" 

"I haven't checked in on her since earlier today." 

Frustrated and shuddering under his breath, Amir could sense her more than ever. It felt as if someone had massaged hot oil all over his skin, causing the back of his hair to feel damp.

He could faintly hear voices coming from inside the room, and like his favorite song playing on the radio, he heard the beautiful sound of her tone. His Luna. Her sound was angelic and euphonious to his ears. Her tone was just as beautiful to hear in person as it was in his mind.

His stomach filled up with butterflies as he was close to falling over.

"Are you okay, Mr. Khan?" Nurse Smith asked him.

"I'm just a little light-headed. I'll be okay." He was a few feet away from Luna. He couldn't wait to lay his eyes on her.

The doctor and nurse glanced at each other for a moment, and then opened the door, revealing Luna in all white clothes, with her brown hair wavy around her face. Amir never thought this moment would happen, and now it has. He was in the same space as his soulmate, and he didn't know what to do. She had to know he came for her. They learned a lot from watching their Terminator films together, and what it meant to be there for each other.

Amir hadn't taken any antidote that Faisal was creating for pairs who couldn't meet in person, but he knew he'd be cautious around Luna whenever they were in the same space. He'd wear gloves and a face mask if he needed to. He just needed to get to her location and make sure she was all right. That was all he could focus on.

Like floating in space and sauntering on the moon, Amir moved forward, cautiously, not feeling his feet on the floor beneath him. The air suddenly thickened, causing him to feel choked, without air in his lungs, but in reality, he walked passed the doctor and still didn't feel like he was close enough to her. 

Luna's beauty struck him hard like a shock wave hitting the middle of his chest. He froze in place, unable to peel his eyes away from her. He couldn't stop himself from rushing to her side, finally seeing her face to face. This was the happiest moment of his existence, and his heart was finally connected with the one person he'd waited for in his lifetime.

His heart was united with his soulmate.

Luna.

And he was a heartbeat away.

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  Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. More emotional and heart-wrenching scenes await. The last line here is the title in Interlude: Aluna from the older version. #Alunaunited