"I want him to live long enough to tell me everything."
William cast a glance at Carl, who was staring back at him with a grave expression, clearly wrestling with various schemes to deal with him. Leaning in close to Carl's ear, William murmured, "Whatever you're plotting right now... it won't work."
Carl, startled by William's sudden proximity, instinctively lunged at him, but instead of inflicting any harm, he was met with a jolt of electricity. He screamed in agony.
"Ahhhhh!"
As the shock subsided, Carl's body slackened, though faint tendrils of smoke still rose from his clothes. William, smiling at the sight, said, "Are you really that foolish? I just told you I'd take every precaution necessary to safeguard myself from your hands and you still do this."
"So, are you done now, or is there still some idiocy rattling around in your head?" William taunted, jabbing Carl hard on the forehead. Carl winced in pain, the lingering effects of a prior injury still evident.
Carl remained silent, his breathing labored, so William continued, "Seeing that you've 'finally' calmed down, we can get down to business. Now, tell me, why did you betray me?"
William asked the most straightforward yet piercing question. Carl inhaled deeply, contemplating his dire predicament, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a way out. So, he spoke.
"I... I did it... for her." Carl stammered, his voice trembling as he glanced at Carly, who managed a faint smile despite their desperate situation.
"NONSENSE!" William's voice thundered, causing both Carl and Carly to flinch in terror.
William stood up, his voice seething with rage. "I don't for a f*cking second believe that you would betray me for something like that... definitely not for someone like her."
Carly felt a flicker of indignation at being belittled yet again but didn't dare speak out as William continued.
"I know you act the fool, and sometimes you really do foolish things," William said, moving closer and gripping Carl's head tightly in his hand, "but you're not foolish enough to do something like this for someone so... insignificant." Carl clenched his jaw, trying to endure the pain from William's iron grip.
Delmar's expression shifted to one of surprise before morphing into an even more sinister smile. "Didn't think you'd go that far, boss."
"Far?" William looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean? I didn't even mention her body, and you think this is going far?"
"Just didn't think you'd go to such lengths, that's all."
"You don't know much about me, Delmar. And it's in both of our interests that we don't find out more about each other than necessary."
"Quite right," Delmar agreed, as he moved towards Carly, unlocking the restraints on her chair and pulling her up. Adam watched anxiously and asked, "Wh- What are you going to do with her?"
"Something interesting... but for now, why don't you worry about yourself." Delmar replied, dragging the chair out as Carly began to scream.
"Wha- What are you doing? Where are you taking me? Plea- Please, whatever it is you're going to do, don't. I'll tell you everything I know." Carly pleaded, her eyes desperately seeking mercy from William, who only responded with a look of disappointment.
"If you say that now, you're just spoiling half the fun." an unfamiliar voice said as the door to the room opened. Carly turned to see a large man, dressed in tattered clothes with a few holes in his shirt and pants, and pink highlights in his hair.
She couldn't explain it, but something about his face filled her with dread as he smiled menacingly.
"Don't worry, dearie. When I'm done, you'll have a brand new transformation—one that's far beyond what you can imagine." he said dramatically, motioning to the men behind him. "Pick her up, boys."
They did as instructed, lifting Carly as she continued to scream and beg, her cries drowned out by the man's screeching laughter.
Carl looked at that and didn't know what to say. It seemed that he wasn't that lucky either as Delmar turned toward him and said, "For you... I have prepared someone very special." Delmar smiled as the door opened again for a different individual to come in.
Delmar patted the guy who looked like he was a scientist That worked with dead bodies and said, "I'll leave this to you then." Saying that the three of them got out of the room as the strange man came close to Adam.
"My name is Garil Highter and from this moment on, I am going to show how interesting a human's biology could really be."