Did he tell me he doesn't bite? For a millisecond, I pictured him biting my lip and instantly started to shake my head. He was not an evolved man. They wouldn't try to flirt, not like that... And why did I think he was trying to flirt with me if I saw him crying a few minutes ago? That didn't make much sense.

"Aha, sure." I sat on his bed, and he showed his half-smile again as moving the chair once more, so he'd face me.

"So, no more tests?"

"No, don't worry. I'll talk to them to get you out of here as soon as I can."

He didn't seem relieved as I expected. Instead, he frowned and looked at the floor.

"Nobody has come looking for me. That means I don't have anyone... nor somewhere to go. I don't know what happened; I can't remember anything about that. However, I do remember some other things... Everything is so confusing."

"Then that's why...?" I pointed to my cheek, trying to remind him of the tear. However, I quickly hid my hand, feeling repentant. That was not my business.

He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

"You saw me, didn't you?" He laid his face on his arms, resting on the back of the chair. He remained silent for a couple of seconds. "Yes, it was... not knowing where my family is..." His deep green eyes were full of helplessness.

"I understand. My parents are gone too."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it was... I already got over it. It..." It was difficult for me to articulate the words. All that tension had returned to me. "Evolved Humans did it... I hate them so much."

I looked up, and he was staring at me. He got up slowly, put the chair aside, and approached me. I realized a couple of tears had emerged from my eyes and threatened to fall down my cheeks. I wiped them, ashamed because I had revealed a side of me that I had never shown to anyone, and I barely knew him. But it was too late to step back. Also, I was sensible because of the loss of my house—so many memories.

"So... what happened?" He sat on the bed, keeping his distance.

"My parents were fascinated with those special humans. They didn't support the idea of trying to tie them up and do experiments on them. They believed they could appeal to their human side. They didn't think Evolved Humans had lost their compassion due to their nature or... well, as I said, they believed that but..." Again, the lump in my throat made it difficult to speak. "There was an attack, and the beings under their custody took advantage of the distraction to kill them... Anyway, the EH that attacked planned to rescue those who were prisoners." I took a deep breath; there were no more tears. I stood up, and he followed me. "Sorry, you didn't have to hear that..."

"No, it's fine. You should sometimes get that off your chest." He placed his hand on my shoulder, trying to cheer me up.

"I haven't told this to anybody... besides Marcus."

"Your possessive friend?"

I looked at him in surprise, and he smiled. The boy had a beautiful, attractive smile, and I couldn't help smiling at him too. Then, I shook my head in denial.

"He just worries about me. He's been my friend since college."

"Friendzone."

I laughed.

"No, I haven't thought about those things," I said but instantly cleared my throat. I shouldn't be laughing. "That will come by itself."

I had never thought like that. I didn't have time to think about love. Right now, I felt like a bitter, older woman.

"Sure," he patted me gently on my shoulder and walked away, watching me.

"Thank you." I could feel my face burn. "Well, I'll let you rest. There are enough clothes in the closet, and I will ensure that you are treated like one of us from now on."

"Thank you." He kept looking at me and offered that sincere smile again.

"Rest well."

"Good night, Miss."

I quickly turned around. Miss, that was an old-fashioned word. I went out and headed to my room. It had been a long day. That young man couldn't be an EH; he didn't even have fangs. But that wasn't why I couldn't get him out of my mind... There was something off with him, or maybe I was overthinking it.

The next day, I woke up early. While brushing my hair in front of the mirror, I kept looking at it. I hadn't cut it for a long time. The brown locks almost reached my waist. I tied it up in a ponytail so it wouldn't be all over my face.

We had a meeting to gather the information we had. We were sitting around a long rectangular table. Carlos, the doctor in charge of the research, was at the head.

"Well, about the suspicious individual..."

"We must keep him here. We don't know if he's a human yet," Marcus interrupted. The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. Please continue," my friend murmured, embarrassed.

"I agree that he should stay here, but given the circumstances... for now, he will receive the treatment of a human."

"Yes," I exclaimed to myself.

Marcus heard me and seemed to be offended. Rosy also smiled happily at the news.

"Anyway, he will be kept under close watch, so he won't be able to get out of here without someone escorting him... and since you trust him so much," he said as he looked at me.

Carlos kept in mind the conversation I previously had with him. I had asked him not to be so strict and told him that, according to the studies, he couldn't be an EH, so we should be more tolerant.

"I offer myself as a watchman," Marcus said as he raised his hand.

"Anyone can go with him. Now, without further delay, we can talk about the research. Dr. Ramos, please."

"Yes." I looked at my notes. "As we know, this botulinum toxin is an H type. Only one gram of it could kill two billion people. Evolved humans are stronger than us, but they won't be able to survive this. Since we were permitted to begin the research, we have made efforts to put this toxin in a cruise missile, but we are not allowed to test it yet, and the army is currently not interested in investing in it. Therefore, we will improve the dispersion mechanism so the toxin's effectiveness won't be compromised until we receive new instructions from the government."

"That's true," replied the doctor. "There's still too much controversy. It's evident that we must stop these savages, but many organizations seek to protect them."

The meeting ended a few minutes later. It was lunchtime, so we headed to the cafeteria. We served our food in trays and went to sit down. Marcus sat by my side, and Rosy was in front of me. She looked up and smiled. Then she gave me a sign so I would look at something.

"There is our little inmate," the girl said, holding back her excitement.

The young man looked slightly lost and went to an empty table in the cafeteria corner. I looked back at my food, wanting to call him, but ate silently. Rosy had a shy half-smile, and Marcus angrily glared at her.

"He's watching us," she said, slightly blushing.

"That's enough. You're acting like a teenager," Marcus exclaimed.

"Shut up," she replied, throwing a pea at his face.

I turned around, and he had his green eyes fixed on me. He softly smiled. Before I could do anything, Rosy shot off and went towards his table. They shared a few words, and then he stood up and pulled his tray.

"He's coming with her, isn't he?" Marcus asked, clearly upset.

"Yes."

They reached our table. Rosy took a seat, and he sat next to her. We smiled at each other.

"So... Jonathan or Anthony?" asked my friend.

"Anthony," he replied with that deep, gentle voice. "But I guess just Jon is easier."

Rosy grinned. She was going to say something cheesy or silly.

"Can I call you Tony?"

Anthony looked at her, baffled.

"Uh..."

"Great!" she exclaimed without letting him finish the sentence.

"What about your last name?" Marcus murmured. "Your ID says Ramos, like my friend here; what a coincidence. Are you a Hispanic descendant? You look white."

Oh, my goodness, this guy.

Anthony seemed confused while Rosy kept smiling at him. I had not seen her like this before; it was evident that she liked him. That made me feel slightly uneasy. I was not used to this, and it was awkward in every way because we were working, not on vacation.

"I think I should thank you," he said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

He looked at me sweetly. I smiled and nodded.

"It wasn't easy, but I made things better for you as promised."

"You did what?" Marcus claimed.

"Don't act like that, Marcus. Marien has done something particularly good," Rosy stood up for me.

Marcus sighed and continued eating. I felt ashamed. What would Anthony think? I looked at him, and he was softly smiling. His eyes quickly settled on me. Darn. He had caught me staring at him, but he curiously took a bottle close to my plate.

"Milk. Drink it if you want," I said.

He started trying to read the label, but he was apparently struggling.

"Are you shortsighted?" Rosy said out loud, just what I was thinking.

"No, no..." He opened the bottle.

Marcus dropped his fork.

"It's curious, you know. Some animals, like felines, for example, have vertical eye pupils. During the day, their pupils close into a mere slit to prevent the excess of light from damaging their vision, just like EH," he commented, seeming satisfied with his intervention.

I snorted.

"Marcus..."

"Just saying!" he muttered, briefly raising his hands in obviously fake innocence.

Anthony surprised us all when he softly laughed. His laugh was elegant, so manly; it made me tingle in my stomach.

"You guys know a lot about them. I'm surprised," he finally said.

"Oh yes. I have opened many of their bodies, too," Marcus replied.

I brought my palm to my forehead, embarrassed.

"I'm sure of that," Anthony said, completely calm, but something sinister was in his eyes. He took a sip of milk and stared at the bottle. "This is delicious," he murmured while still watching it.

"Haven't you tried milk? What planet are you from?" Marcus asked with an arrogant grin.

"N-no, I don't remember." He shook his head. "I mean... it probably is one of the many things I don't remember," he explained, putting the bottle back on the table.

"You're like a cat," Rosy said. "You have those attractive green eyes, and you like milk..."

He looked at her smiling, denied with his head, and retook the bottle. He didn't stop sipping until he finished it. I could see how he licked his upper lip, completely satisfied, while holding the bottle before his green gaze. I laughed to my insides and focused again on my food.

We could be facing a rare human specimen as he was unique, but it was still evident that he was not an Evolved man.

***

The news about another attack was on everyone's lips. This time, it had been in another city. People demanded action from the government to control those savages, but the governor asked for patience, claiming they were taking care of it. Of course, we were working with one of the possible solutions, that potent toxin from which now I held a drop inside a hypodermic.

"Ready?" I asked nervously.

"Give me a second," Marcus said as he settled a test tube with another substance. "Ready..."

I put the substance in a particular device that would dispense it perfectly rationed. The machine applied the millionth part in the test tube.

"Now to the mouse!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

"You do it," I said, raising my hands and withdrawing.

I hated having to apply that thing to those poor animals. We had to see how much it was required to dilute the toxin and its effect time. We wanted to have the option of stopping it with an antidote and thus save the victim in case of unwanted poisoning. Although, until now, the animals' death was still swift, it wouldn't give a chance to save them. The other problem was that no antidote could stop the toxin quickly yet.

Old humanity had studied it for centuries, but all information was lost after the natural disasters caused by global warming.

I saw the clock and smiled; the shift was finally over.

I went to my room first to change clothes, have dinner, and sleep peacefully, hoping not to dream of being chased. I wondered fleetingly how our poor prisoner would be. He hadn't appeared at lunch, and I wondered if he really wanted to be with us. I doubted it. Besides, he must be desperate to recover his memory.

I took off my lab coat and untied my hair after opening a big bottle of perfume; my head had gotten tangled up, so I tried to take the brush so awkwardly that I hit the perfume and spilled a bit on it.

I straightened the bottle right away, brushed my hair in a hurry, and went out; at least it would smell good, and perfume was not forbidden after work hours.

I calmly walked until I reached his room. It was closed, so I sighed.

What the hell was I doing? I barely knew him. I'd tell him he could go for dinner if he liked.

I knocked, but the door had not been locked as I thought, and it opened. The light was on, and I peeked out. The first thing I saw was the window open.

"Oh no! Did he run away?"

***