Merrin stared at the dormant hypnosite on the shelf at the foot of her bed. Her hypnosite. Not for the first time that day, not even for the hundredth, she wished she could be back in that body instead of this one. The hypnosite body was where she felt truly alive.

  The agonizing days of being trapped in her old body made her realize that she would never be content to be human again. She was truly something new, and almost as much as craved Charles’s affection, she craved being her true self once again. Was she a hypnosite? No, that wasn’t quite true. Yet she wasn’t quite human anymore either, since this body betrayed her. Merrin was something in between that could only be realized when she took on the hypnosite form.

  Charles fed her a spoonful of soup.

  “You seem distracted today,” Charles said as he wiped off her mouth.

  “Oh,” Merrin looked at Charles’s perfect face and cringed apologetically, “I’m just embracing my punishment. It’s been difficult, but I want to atone for what I did.”

  Charles stared at Merrin for a long time before setting the spoon down, leaning over and kissing her forehead softly.

  That kiss was everything to Merrin. Like a filter being washed off, that single kiss was able to wash away the increasing buildup of stagnant emotions that had troubled her in this bed. It gave her clarity and reminded her of her purpose. Whatever she was becoming, it was for Charles.

  “It makes me so happy that you are embracing your punishment. Just know that I forgive you.” Charles said, staring deeply into Merrin’s eyes.

  “Then?” Merrin said with hope bubbling to the surface.

  Charles shook his head, “Not yet, but soon. I have good news, Merrin.”

  Merrin’s hope of freedom shattered, but she kept it inside. Soon would have to be good enough for now. She wanted to be free, but not before Charles forgave her. “What is it? Is one of the CX batch showing progress?”

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  Charles shook his head and waived his hand dismissively, “No, they were all disappointments. They were sadly only good enough to become Gilberts, so I had them integrated and they are all being conditioned currently. The good news is so much better.” Charles leaned forward and grinned in an irresistibly gorgeous way.

  “What is it?” Merrin perked up. She couldn’t help, but mirror Charles’s excitement.

  “CX21’s daughter is a success. Her blood sample awakened the hypnosite in the same way as her father, but even more amazing, she was able to resonate with it the same day.” Charles said.

  “Really?” Merrin blinked a few times and kept her expression happy. Below the surface, at the mention of a new success, an inferno of raging jealousy appeared and demanded to be set free. It was that damn CX21 that was always coming between them and now his daughter was getting in the way too? That was unacceptable, “That’s amazing, Charles.”

  Charles stood in excitement, “Isn’t it? Now we have two chances.”

  “Two?” Merrin squeezed as much hope out of the words as she dared. Maybe she was the second hope.

  “That’s right,” Charles said, standing in excitement. He picked up the tray of soup and activated the hydraulics to lower Merrin back down to a laying position. “I found out CX21 keeps returning to his old house. It’s only a matter of time before I find him too.”

  Merrin was seeing red. She was being forgotten, cast aside. She was supposed to be Charles’s good news. Not anything or anyone else. Now there were two of them? Through clenched teeth, she managed to say, “Wow.”

  “I know,” Charles said while opening the door to leave. “It’s early days, but given the speed of resonance, the daughter is showing even greater potential than CX21. I think all our efforts with the water supply are finally paying off.”

  “Amazing,” Merrin said.

  “I’ll let you know how she progresses. Good night, Merrin.” Charles said as he flicked the lights off and closed the door.

  Merrin lay there in the dark incapable of moving. Her face contorted with rage, but she didn’t cry out for fear of being overheard. There was no way she would do anything to risk hurting Charles. She would let him revel in his discovery as she wailed internally for the same reason. She tried to remind herself that it was for the best. If Charles could recover, then they could be together without worry. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to, no, NEEDED to be his cure; But she wasn’t. Not unless something changed.

  Stillness was a prison enough, but when it barred her from escaping her own thoughts and feelings, it spiraled into something far worse.

  Merrin stared into the darkness at the clock she knew was just above her and listened to it ticking each second of agony by. Raging in stillness and silence, Merrin resolved to do everything she could to once again become Charles’s one and only cure.