Fated to My Twin Brother

CHAPTER 10

Hannah's P.O.V

I just still have not managed to get rid of that unsettling feeling from this morning. This drowsiness in my head feels as though something wants to break into it, and something wants to come to the light from the deepest part of me. There is a certain kind of pressure inside my mind, the one which is alien to me, and the feeling becomes stronger with every recollection of the woman who touched me on the face. Her smile was bad. Her coming brought shivers across me, yet I could not understand why.

Twelve noon came and with it, our professor, Ms. Irine, dismissed us for lunch. The hallways were full of students chatting, laughing, and moving in groups—groups I didn't belong to. I was wandering aimlessly around the university, hoping to find a quiet spot to sit. Everywhere seemed loud, full of life. I walked for nearly fifteen minutes, but I still hadn't seen Hadzen, which wasn't unusual, but somehow it bothered me that day.

The thought of him seemed to leave a bitter taste in my mouth, though I couldn't fathom why. Was it because he kept his distance? Or because I weren't sure of who I was around him anymore? I don't know if it's my lost memories or the cold way he treated me but Hadzen feels more like a stranger than the brother he is supposed to be.

I kept walking while my eyes caught an empty room close to the lab. The door was a bit open, and the dim light coming out of it felt, for whatever reason, inviting. The silence was almost deafening, but I needed it at least for now. Maybe if I hide inside here, I could flee from the creepy thoughts that were actually haunting my mind. No hesitation, I went inside.

I froze the moment I entered.

"Shut up! You are too loudly you slut!"

A man's voice cut through the silence. It was sharp and brutal. I turned toward him, and my eyes went wide with horror. Two bodies, naked and entangled, lay on the floor. The man wore a lab coat; his face twisted with an even evil grin. The woman beneath him shuddered as her tears flowed down her cheeks. He was saying something to her, a plea, but I couldn't hear it; his laughter was too cruel.

His face became grotesquely distorted in a sneer. "This is what you want, right? Now give me your best shot," he sneered.

I wanted to scream. To move. To help her. But my legs felt like lead, and my voice caught in my throat. All I could do was stare in shock as the man turned his gaze toward me, a sickening smile curling his lips.

"New student, huh?" he asked, pulling up his pants nonchalantly like nothing had transpired. "You better keep your mouth shut if you know what's good for you."

Panic hit me, and even as I did nothing but think about that, I ran out of the room. I didn't stop running until I was quite a distance away, my heart pounding in my chest. I could've tried to save her. I should have done something. But the fear locked that throat of mine, and I ran.

The sound of the bell signaling everyone's next class fell through the corridors and brought me out of my frantic thoughts. I rushed into my classroom, but just before getting to the door, a hand clamped onto my arm, pulling me into some other room.

"Surprise!"

It was her—the woman who had touched my face earlier.

That smile was the same as before-but now, curiously, it seemed invasive. Something was wrong with her, something which made my skin crawl. I yanked my arm back from her, feeling unwell.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. "You look pale. Did something happen?"

Before I would ever utter a word, our professor entered the room. Our conversation came to a close for now. The woman sat down quickly, and so did I, as my thoughts were in the turmoil of everything which had gone on up until this point.

Then I caught a glimpse of him. Dr. Philip.

My heart sank to my stomach. There at the front of the classroom stood the man from that abandoned room. He beamed with a warm smile, radiating an entirely uncanny sense of amiability; he wasn't that killer that I had seen before.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Philip, " the rest of the class chimed in unison, except me. My mouth had gone dry and I couldn't muster even a word.

It was the woman beside me-the woman who had followed my every step all day-that spoke. "Excuse me, Sir. She's new here." She batted at me with a saccharine smile, but in her eye, there was a glint that sent a shiver down my spine.

Dr. Philip looked at me, and for an instant, I thought I had seen some glimmer of recognition. But the instant passed and disappeared from his eyes. He smiled at me a smile so different from the one I had seen a while ago.

"No problem. Welcome to my class, Miss.?"

I could not talk. My throat had tightened up. I could only nod. He didn't seem to mind and carried on with the lecture as if nothing was wrong.

In a time when she remained still as my eyes would shift constantly towards Sonia, a lady who had come in earlier, so composed and silent, there was something behind those eyes, something tormented. Did she remember me? Did she recall that I saw everything?

I sat through the entire hour without noting a single thing. Nothing is sticking in my head from that lecture on how phases of the moon affect wolves and their migrations. The words just swam there before me, like vacuous things, as my mind insisted on having other things to ruminate over: what I had just seen.

Just before the end of class, Dr. Philip spoke to me once again.

"Hannah, please see me in my office after class. I have your textbook."

I felt as though everyone in the room was staring at me, but I could do nothing except nod in acceptance. I gathered my things; my hands were actually shaking as I did so.

When the class ended I stayed around, not wanting to leave. My desire was to be anywhere else than with that man. The feeling made my stomach twist in knots, but I had no choice.

I waited till the class emptied, but just as I was turning around to leave, someone stopped me. Again it was the woman, this time only a few inches from my face.

"You're coming with me. We need to talk."

The words seemed to claw their way from her throat, like she was forcing them out against her will. Her mouth and chin moved realistically as she spoke, including the point where her lips nearly disappeared into the crack in her chin. She sounded very businesslike, but a thread of imperativeness underscored her words. Without reason or thought, I followed her, as if my body now had a mind of its own. For no reason, there was something familiar about her, but I couldn't place it.

She led me out down a line of hallways, past the noise of classrooms and into this quiet little canyon in the building. My heart was running, and that pent-up pressure in my head increased.

Somewhere within that second, it all locked together.

"I remember you," I whispered, my voice barely audible.

The woman smiled - slow, predatory, with an intensity that makes the hair on your back stand on end.