Experiment: KJ

As Dane became more and more submerged in his work, Collin became more and more discouraged that his plan was going the way he’d wanted it to. Maya was greatly displeased at the lack of results and Dane’s rebellious attitude towards everything she said and did. She’d expressed to Collin that she was going to have to take matters into her own hands, and that was something neither of them wanted her to do.
Collin was about to give up- he didn’t know what to do. “Maybe…” he began hopelessly, “Maybe you should just give him what he wants.” He was sitting in Max’s kitchen, speaking face to face with his creator.
She pursed her lips and furrowed her eyebrows. “I should give him the Kantrei Jhantra experiment.”
“Maybe if you did he’d trust you more- return to reality and be compliant.” It never once crossed Collin’s mind how Maya would go about obtaining the Kantrei Jhantra experiment. The creature’s sex never occurred to him either; he just assumed.
Maya seemed to like this idea, despite how miserably Collin’s last plan had failed her. She stood; Collin stood as well. She nodded once, dismissing him, and he went. Though Collin had no idea how Maya would give Dane what he wanted, she herself knew exactly what she had to do.
The forest in which Dane’s castle was located was very densely populated by magical creatures- it was a magic forest. It was a mobile wood as well, and so Maya, being the sage that she was, called out to the forest. The wood replied. She commanded the forest to move- the find the Kantrei Jhantra experiment… to make sure that he found it. Maya too had no idea that the Kantrei Jhantra experiment was female. The reason alone was why her plan had failed.
And so, we join KJ as the girl wanders the mountain scene searching for a home, a purpose, a reason to merely exist. She ponders her existence as the four others in her head assure her all will be well. She stumbles upon a wood.
“Go through here,”The one with mal intent tells her. Naturally this one knows what will happen to her, but truthfully she does have her host’s best interest in mind.
KJ hesitantly enters the wood. She remembers looking around, seeing the sunlight vanish behind the canopy of trees as she continues further and further in. She hears a wolf howl in the distance and she stops. There’s something about this noise, she realizes, that separates it from any other of its kind. Something… human. She keeps going, and soon it’s too late to turn back because she can’t go back the way she came.
“I,”she says to herself and anyone else who happened to be listening, “Am hopelessly, irrevocably lost.” Nobody has a smart remark- they know that she’s right.
She hears that howl again, that painful, strained, human howl. She knows that she has to get out of there- has to keep herself safe.
“We’ll protect you,a small, rational voice in the back of her head says to her. For some reason, KJ doesn’t entirely believe her.
Something catches the corner of her eye. Whirling around, heart racing, she briefly catches a flash of silver as the trees shake, raining leaves and pine needles down upon her insignificant form. Gooseflesh has risen up on her arms, despite the jacket that covers them. “We aren’t alone,”she realizes with a resounding horror. The trees rustle again and she snaps her head around. Her eyes are wide with pure terror; jaw is shut tight to prevent her teeth from chattering and making any noise.
Then she sees it: the beast. It’s head comes into view first: golden eyes pierce right through her, pinning her to the spot; lips curled back in a snarl to show sharp, blood stained teeth; ears pinned back flat against the top of it’s head as a growl is ripped from it’s throat.
KJ’s first instinct tells her to run. Another voice in her head tells her not to. “You’re never supposed to run from a dog,” the voice says.
“A dog.” She doesn’t think that this thing is a typical dog- the way the voice makes it seem. “More like a wolf.”
The beast begins to advance towards her, each step horrifyingly slow. She doesn’t know what to do- she’s never been in a situation like this before. “Help me,” she whispers, hoping that someone- anyone- will hear her plea.
“You’re pathetic,”one says to her. This one pushes her aside- mentally- and takes control. As she does, she begins to change. KJ- the girl with the dark brown hair, mocha colored skin, and gray eyes- vanishes; changes. In the blink of an eye, a different girl is standing in her place. This one has black hair- much longer than before- with crimson eyes and very pale, pallid, pasty skin.
For just a brief moment the beast is stunned and doesn’t move. This new presence- Kacey, her name is- startles him. It doesn’t- can’t- think, but if it did- could- it would know that this girl was exactly what he had been looking for. He howls again.
Kacey frowns. She recognizes that something is afoot, but is unable to put her finger on what exactly that something is. She knows what she must do, and feigns an attempt to escape, allowing herself to be attacked by this beast. To the other girls, Kacey did all she could, and that was how it was meant to be.
KJ awakens looking at an unfamiliar ceiling and sits straight up, alarmed. “Where am I?”She asks the other four inside of her head. None of them know. She thinks hard- tries to remember what happened to her- and fails.
Kacey remembers. “The beast,” she reminds KJ. “The beast attacked you.”
“Then how did I get here?”KJ is suddenly very aware of another presence. Someone is walking towards the closed door before her. She can hear her own heart pounding in her chest, coupling with the footsteps. The two rhythms become one as the door knob is slowly turned and the door is pushed open.
“I know you,”is her first thought, though she doesn’t exactly know why. “Where have I seen you before?”
Vivid green eyes are glaring at her, piercing right through her. His lips are settled into a permanent scowl as he studies her, displeased with what he’s seeing. He doesn’t remember her looking this weak- so vulnerable. He is disappointed. “So you’re awake,” he says softly, deep voice resonating pleasantly in the small room with the stone walls.
KJ is almost too afraid to answer him. She realizes that even though she’s been tucked warmly- almost snugly- beneath the covers in the bed she awoke in, she’s shaking. Was she really that afraid? She didn’t want to be; she had no reason to be. “I know you,” she says out loud now.
He raises one eyebrow, amused. “As I you. Shall we skip the formalities, then…” he inquires of her, “Kantrei Jhantra?” His scowl morphs smoothly into something more of a smirk now, which is still unsettling to her.
KJ’s blood runs cold. “He knows my name.” Nobody was supposed to know that she was the Kantrei Jhantra experiment. If they did, it meant that they knew about the alchemists (who you could’ve guessed by now weren’t very good people) and what had happened to them. KJ doesn’t want people to know that. She isn’t the monster that they tried to maker her; she wanted a fresh start. “Dane Wolfsbane,” she says in retort. If he knew her secret, she might as well let it be known that she knew his.
Dane stiffens noticeably. “I shouldn’t be surprised,” he says. “Again we meet on the same ground.”
“Why am I here?” She abruptly demands to know. She feels fear threatening to overcome her. “What could he possibly want from us?”Serena’s voice asks. “KJ, what if he’s like them? Like the alchemists?”Her thoughts swim in her head, and she begins to feel herself in an overwhelming hysteria- rapidly loosing control.
“You were attacked,” he says simply. Almost instantly, although as if due to the cool, smooth sound of his voice, Serena is mollified, and KJ regains full composure and control. He continues, “I found you out on my doorstep. You were injured quite severely, and so I took it upon myself to heal your injuries.” There was no doubt in his mind that she knew all about the magical world, so he felt no need to further explain this to her.
Kacey helps KJ to recall their confrontation with the beast, and KJ understands that the beast had brought her there. “Back to it’s lair,”she realizes with certain horror. “This is the beast… and he has no memory of what he did to me in the forest.”
The way he’s looking at her is a frightful one; as though she’s something to eat. She again shifts uncomfortably in the bed and bites her bottom lip. “So then I should be on my way,” she says to him. She tries to get out of the bed, but discovers that she’s frozen solid in terror. She carefully keeps her eyes locked on him, afraid of what could happen if she doesn’t.
“Why leave so soon?” He asks, eyes flashing. Now he’s really scaring her. “You just woke up. It wouldn’t be safe for you out there.”
Something then, in her heart, pangs with almost an audible sound. She doesn’t know how, and she doesn’t know why, but in him she sees an unbearable loneliness- a loneliness that she had never experienced herself, yet felt an overwhelming desire to cure. Suddenly, she doesn’t want to leave him alone, but doesn’t wish to comply with his unspoken request to stay either.
“He’s smart,”Amy says to KJ. “If you readily agree with him, he’ll know something’s up. You seem too adamant about leaving to suddenly change your mind.”
KJ knows that she is right, and so the five of them devise a plan.
“This is stupid- it will never work.”
“I honestly don’t know why you’re bothering.”
“You need to stop and think about this; you’re making a mistake.”
“I cannot even begin to fathom why…”
She ignores all of the voices in her head as she takes a deep breath and speaks. “I can’t stay here with you.”
He doesn’t seem surprised. “I can’t let you leave,” he tells her. “And now I see that we are at a standstill, so I will offer to you a challenge. You have fought before, I assume?”
She blinks. KJ has no fighting experience, but imagines that a person such as Dane would believe that anything and everything could be solved with violence. She feels reassurance from her comrades, and nods.
“Then we shall settle this matter thusly,” he beams. “With a fight.” She can see it in him more clearly now- a very twisted, demented way of thinking. “Come.” He beckons her to follow him before disappearing out of the room.
KJ now finds her legs and stands, following him out and into the castle. She keeps her focus on him, struggling to not look around at her prison. She succeeds in doing so, and Dane soon leads her up a set of stairs that concludes at the ceiling… or rather, a circular door in the ceiling. Dane opens the latch and pushes the door open before bracing his hands on the floor up above and pulling himself through the opening. KJ places her own hands on the edge, preparing to lift herself up, when she feels his large hands wrap entirely around her small wrists and pull her up.
“For a demented freak,”Carmen comments, “he sure is a gentleman.”The others ignore her.
As KJ sets foot on the ground below her, she is greeted by the sight of a huge, circular room with an open ceiling. This room is very medieval in design, with stone walls and flying buttresses surrounding the couple. There seems to be no way out but up or back the way they’ve come. Dane leads her into the center of the room, which she now regards as their arena.
“We shall fight until one surrenders or loses consciousness,” he explains to her. “Is that reasonable, or do you have any stipulations of your own that you would like to add?”
She quickly shakes her head. “No, that sounds fine,” she tells him. The plan she’s concocted is simple in theory, but she knows that it will be difficult to actually pull off. She doesn’t fully understand why the others agree to helping her, but decides to not question it and be grateful instead.
“Pay attention.” Her blood runs cold as she realizes that their fight has begun. He is so quick and agile in comparison to her that she knows she needs to change soon in order to at least appear competent. “We need to be offensive.” KJ recognizes this and is able to duck away from one of his strikes, putting enough distance in between them for Kacey to tag in. Kacey has been eager to fight ever since the first mention of the word and KJ is more than happy to grant her that freedom at this point.
As the change is completed, Dane merely stands his ground and chuckles. “This is power men like I have only been able to dream of,” he says softly to himself. “I had been hoping to witness the full power of the Kantrei Jhantra experiment first hand,” he booms with another loud, resounding laugh.
Kacey smirks, amused by his pleasure. “Glad to be of service to you.” Always one to show off, she steps back into a shadow provided by one of the buttresses and vanishes. Dane does not blink. He’s not expected this exactly, but has done his best to not underestimate this girl’s power. Guard up, he can simply wait for her to make her next move, and she does.
She reappears in his own shadow, and Dane is barely able to quickly spin around to catch the punch that she throws. He holds her left hand in his vice like grip, tightening his hold on her with each second that passes, and she grimaces. The pain is immense- much more than it should be, and she knows it- shooting all the way up through to her shoulder. Dane punches at her with his left, but Kacey deflects it easily with her right hand and retaliates with a kick aimed towards his head. He unconsciously loosens his grip on her arm to deflect the kick and she forcefully yanks her arm back away from him. In the process of trying to maintain a grip on her, his nails rake across the exposed flesh of her left arm, drawing blood.
Dane stops to stare at her arm. It’s now that he notices what KJ and the others have always known- Kacey’s left arm is a mass of scars and abused flesh. The blood, at first, seems to be coming just from the newer scratches, but as she slides back away from him and grips her arm in pain it becomes clear that the blood is coming from nearly every scar. The pain is unbearable, and Kacey knows that she won’t last much longer.
Dane brings his hand to his mouth, tasting the fresh blood that he’s drawn. “You are…” he drawls. “A hemophiliac.”
“Oh he’s good.”
“Shut up, Carmen.”
Tears now beginning to form in Kacey’s eyes, the others decide to aide her in this fight. “I’ll take it from here.”Kacey, who knows when her limits have been reached, complies and allows Amy to make the switch.
Dane seems amused, indicating to KJ that he isn’t taking this fight seriously yet. Kacey didn’t last long, and he doesn’t think that any of the others will either. “Well, let’s see it,” he says impatiently.
“Brace yourselves,” Amy tells the others. She crosses both of her arms in front of her chest- everyone can feel the immense amount of energy building up. Dane, however, remains unmoved, mocking them. Amy quickly shifts her arms- her hands now beside her head, palms facing outward- and pushes towards Dane, sending a visible wave of energy at him. Sensing a bit too late that this energy poses a threat to him, Dane tries to escape the blast by darting to one side, but fails to get away completely. His right arm caught in the attack, he roars in pain, grimacing as he moves to cradle his wounded limb by drawing his shoulders forward and hunching his back.
“Not bad,” he grunts, attempting to straighten his back. With a shake of his head he rids himself of any mental pain and lifts his eyes to meet hers. The intensity of the orange that meets his green is surprising, and he immediately breaks his gaze. “But I’m not done yet.”
He’s on her in a flash, pummeling her with kicks and his good arm. The attack catches her slightly off guard, and she barely begins to levitate- not even a foot off the ground- when he catches one of her feet and spins her. Falling, she touches a hand to the ground so as to regain her balance and bounce back with full force. Countering with more ferocity than before, she catches Dane off guard and succeeds in bringing him to his knees.
“Don’t over do it,”KJ is forced to remind her. “Remember my plan.”
Amy groans and exhales slowly as Dane gets to his feet. “Yeah, yeah, yeah…” She raises her hands defensively and he begins to laugh.
“The moon,” he says, catching everyone by surprise. “It will be full by this time tomorrow.” He laughs, sending chills down Amy’s spine. “Your timing was impeccable. I applaud you for it.”
“What is he talking about?” KJ asks. Nobody answers her, but she knows that at least one of them has a hunch.
“Carmen, switch out with me.”Amy says. Her voice is suddenly weary, her breathing shallow and coming in very short breaths. She used up all of her power in that one blast; she had a lot of power, but proved time and time again that she was incapable of making it last. She staggers back and Carmen switches with her.
“Don’t tell me that you’re running away too,” Dane sneers.
“Not running away,” Amy growls as Carmen makes the change complete. Carmen, as she stretches her back, cackles a harsh, grating laugh.
“If we weren’t fighting for our lives, I would have to say that we’ve just unleashed the spawn of Satan.”
“Oh give it a rest, Kac,” Carmen says aloud with a snort. She rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips.
Dane seems only slightly amused at her antics, as he continues to stand there watching with a raised eyebrow.
“Let’s go, lover boy,” She says with another cackle. “I don’t got-“
“Patience,” he interrupts her. “Don’t you feel it?”
Carmen doesn’t notice anything, but KJ does. His eyes are now golden. KJ brings this to her attention, and her eyes light up. “Clever,” she says. “Stalling until the moon comes out.” KJ wonders how Carmen came to that conclusion- that the moon was boosting his power.
Dane smirks. “Perhaps we have both underestimated each other. I did not expect for you to figure out my plan.”
The sun is dangerously low now; the sky a very brilliant, pink and orange color. The gears are turning inside Carmen’s head, working out ways to use the sun’s position to her advantage.
“The plan!” KJ reminds her.
“Yes, I know,” Carmen replied with a frustrated groan. “Thank you, but why should Kac and Amy get to have all the fun?” She asks.
Dane answers with a growl, low and dangerous. It freaks KJ out; she desperately begins to wish that she’d never agreed to this. He rushes in, and trades punches with Carmen. Spying an opening, he seizes the opportunity to grab her arm. Sparks literally fly as Dane recoils, wondering how his clothes have managed to catch fire.
“Don’t touch me,” Carmen snarls. “Don’t ever grab me like that again.” Her words are almost laughable; how they contradict the situation that she’s in.
“Carmen, you’re in a fight for Christ’s sake,” Amy says. “Please at least try to retain some sensibility.”
Dane smirks at her reaction to his attack. “Oh, my dear, I’m terribly sorry.” His venomous words drip with sarcasm. “But, if you don’t mind me asking, don’t touch you… or what?”
His attempts to provoke her don’t work. The others know that because she is so mentally unstable, no form of psychological trickery will work on her. Half of the time, she doesn’t even know what her next move will be. Instead of reacting violently or in a comedic way to Dane’s question, she continues to glare at him with piercing, forest green eyes not unlike his own. “Don’t touch me, or I’ll light you on fire.”
Though he has already witnessed her pyrokinetic abilities first hand, he viciously rushes in again to attack her. Their melee lasts just long enough for Dane to find another opportunity to grab her again. This time he doesn’t let go- even as she counter grabs and scorches him. He quickly releases her to tend to his burnt arm as the smell of burning hair and flesh wafts through the night air.
The sun has vanished completely now; the moon is high in the sky. “He’s getting stronger. Recovering too quickly,”Kacey points out to the others.
Dane begins to laugh- his arm no longer consumed by Carmen’s flames. His eyes are an even deeper shade of gold than before. “I think it’s about time I finish this,” he breathes.
“I agree.” The irony in Carmen’s statement is painful for the five of them.
As the two exchange blows once more in a surprisingly energetic frenzy, everyone anticipates Carmen to make the move that will end the fight and seal their fates. As expected, she does come through for them. Before anyone can realize it, Carmen switches out with KJ right as Dane throws a strike to her abdomen. KJ drops to her knees in order to lessen the pain in her gut, but something prevents her from doing so. She looks down and notices Dane’s hand has pierced through her midsection, holding her up from the inside. She grabs his forearm to steady herself as she tries to breathe. The oxygen catches in her throat and she chokes, spitting up blood. Her vision blurs and she goes limp, unconscious in his arms.
-
KJ awakens in the same room as she had previously that same day. She blinks before she realizes that she isn’t alone. Dane is sitting in a chair by her bedside, holding her hand and gently rubbing the back of it with his thumb. He’s gently mumbling something in a language that she doesn’t recognize.
“Dane,” she says quietly in an attempt to get his attention. He stops for a moment but doesn’t look down. She looks up and sees his gold eyes trained straight ahead, not focusing on anything. She watches as a small shiver shakes his entire body, and he tightens his grip on her hand. He begins to twitch- first his eyes, then his fingers, and soon his whole body is wracked with spasms. A low growl is raised in his chest and torn out of his throat against his will. He twitches again- violently- and drops her hand, rising to his feet and fleeing from the room.
KJ remains in the bed as she listens to his thundering footsteps down the hall, coming to a stop and followed by a loud crash. Silence follows for a few seconds before the noise begins again. KJ hears the sound of splintering wood and the breaking of glass and she struggles to keep from imagining what’s going on down the hall. The beast,she reminds herself. The beast.The same half human, half animal howl rings throughout the castle and she hears the clicking sound of nails against a hard floor as the beast runs even further away from her.
KJ waits for the sound to fade completely before cautiously getting out of the bed and walking down the hall, retracing Dane’s steps. Without much effort she sees the mess he’s made. A wrought iron door has been partially smashed into a dark room on one side of the hallway. Every voice in her head screams at her to let it alone, but KJ enters anyway. Inside the room is not much better: the whole room is upturned as though hit by a storm. A wooden desk has been completely ripped apart, papers are strewn everywhere- only a few escaped the attack whole. A large, ornate, full length mirror that had once been hung upon a wall is lying on the ground as though someone has stuck their fist through it.
KJ remains in the middle of the wreckage, unable to move or do much more than breathe and allow simple tears to trace small paths down her cheeks.
“What are you doing here?”
She suddenly whips around, heart pounding in her chest, expecting to see the beast standing there waiting for her… but it’s not. Instead, she’s met with a rather innocent looking figure armed only with a mop of black hair she’d like to tousle and deep brown eyes that make her swoon. “Who are you?” She asks, relieved.
He gingerly walks towards her. Neither of them sense danger in the other, and both of them lower their guards. “I should be the one asking you that,” he replied. “You’re in my home, after all.”
KJ says nothing; her mind is racing a million miles a minute trying to fit all of the pieces in the puzzle together. “Where did he go?” She blurts out, not fully in control over her mouth. “Dane Wolfsbane.”
He is shocked at her words, but chooses to answer her anyway. “Dane is out. Are you here because of him?” At this point, Collin Stark is still clueless to the fact that the Kantrei Jhantra experiment holds a female form.
She nods absentmindedly. “Where are your manners?” She shakes her head. “I’m KJ. Dane brought me here after something in the forest attacked me.” She didn’t feel the need to elaborate any further.
“Yeah that’s what happened.”
“Who are you?”
The name ‘KJ’ catches his attention, but he still doesn’t make the connection. “Collin Stark,” he says. “Come out of there. You’ll probably be wanting a meal and a bed then, huh? I’ll set you up.” He holds out his hand for her and waits patiently with a warm smile on his face.
KJ complies, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her throughout the castle. “Thank you,” she tells him. “Are you an accomplice of his?” She asks.
Collin briefly wonders why she’s chosen to use the word ‘accomplice’, but quickly decides that it isn’t important. “Dane is my brother. We belong to the same pack, but have chosen to live separate of them.”
“Pack,” she repeats. Wolf. Beast.She understands. Looking over at Collin, she wonders about the difference between him and Dane.
“Not all monsters are the same.”She accepts this answer.
Collin takes her into the castle’s kitchen and sets a place of bread and lentils down in front of her. KJ doesn’t honestly believe that she’ll be able to eat after all that’s happened to her that day, but discovers that it isn’t so difficult as she takes her first bite. Her plate is soon clean, and she finds herself asking for another. Collin wordlessly prepares her a second dish.
“Stop that,” she suddenly says aloud, looking confused. She looks up at him. “Don’t do that! Stop! I have enough going on up here; I don’t need you too.” The others laugh.
Collin looks back at her, equally as confused. Nobody’s ever caught onto him like this before- not when he was only looking into someone else’s mind- he doesn’t like it. “What?” He asks her.
She frowns at him. “Stop trying to get inside my head,” she tells him. “Five is plenty. I don’t need another one.”
Collin stops what he’s doing to look at her. “How did you…” He can’t even find the right words to use. “Who are you?”
She lowers her eyes. “I told you. I’m KJ.” With a sigh, she realizes that she isn’t being fair, and adds, “The Kantrei Jhantra experiment.” Her secret was out anyway- she might as well.
Collin gets it now. “That’s why you’re here…”he says to himself, grateful that she can’t read his mind. “Dane must’ve already gotten to you, poor girl.”As he opens his mouth to speak to her again, someone else cuts in.
“What are you doing?”
Both KJ and Collin turn to see Dane in the hallway. His arms are hanging limply at his sides. His breathing is haggard and something he has to work at. There’s mud caked on his shoes, underneath his nails, on his knees and elbows. His light green eyes are burning holes into the both of them.
“I was welcoming our guest,” Collin tells him.
KJ is trembling slightly now- afraid to face him. Collin notices this and wishes he could soothe her- tell her not to be afraid of the Big D because he’s all bark and no bite- but he can’t do that. He can’t lie to her.
KJ lowers her eyes and clasps her hands together behind her back as though attempting to mask her involuntary body movements. “I’m sorry,” she says. The others wonder what she’s apologizing for, but know when they need to butt out. Now is one of those times.
Dane says nothing for a moment before turning on his heel. Wordlessly, KJ follows him off into the castle, leaving Collin with millions of unanswered questions and the girls inside KJ’s head with millions of unwanted answers.