I can do neither, thanks to being so dangerously concussed. But even if I could, right now, my shock is enough that I wouldn’t be able to anyway.

“Hold still,” he says, looking me over. “Just—Just hold on a moment, Six-Eight-Four.”

I ignore him and try to move. Pain spasms from my temple down my neck and along my spine as I barely manage to start inching away, the panic inside me growing by the second. Ward comes in and out of focus as more shooting lights flare in my vision. He does nothing but watch me, following Vanik’s order—no, the security guard’s order.

It was never Vanik.

But … the real Vanik is still here. My intuition was right about the two of them being connected. The question that remains is how? And why?

“Don’t move, you’ll just make it worse,” Vanik says as he disappears for a few seconds before rushing back to my side. He’s wearing his iconic lab coat but it’s smeared and filthy, not at all its usual pristine white.

I’m still having trouble focusing beyond the throbbing pain, but I can see enough to start struggling anew when the scientist drops down beside me and tugs at my sleeve.

I gargle out a fear-fueled, incomprehensible sound, but my useless limbs still won’t respond enough for me to yank my arm away, not before the sharp sting of a needle jabs into my flesh.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

Not again.

Not again.

“Easy, Six-Eight-Four. I know you have every reason to distrust me, but I’m trying to help you,” Vanik says, backing away from me with his hands raised.

I’d be more likely to believe him if he wasn’t holding an empty syringe in one of those hands.

He follows my panicked gaze and says, “It’s just a vitality cocktail. Adrenaline, mostly, with an added analgesic for the pain. It won’t heal you, but it should take the edge off and give you an energy boost to get you back on your feet.”

I don’t believe him. Not after everything he’s done. Little more than a week ago, he had me strapped to a bench and was all but torturing me. Prior to that, he experimented on me for years. There is no reason why he would suddenly decide to help me, rather than hurt me.

And yet … the pain is fading. The flashing lights are vanishing. My limbs are responding.

I scramble away as the drug continues to take effect, stopping only when my back hits the door. I’m shaking all over, but I can move again. I can think again.

“Wha-what are you d-doing here?” I stammer out. “Who is that man?”