Chapter 6: The Grand Escapade
December 14, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Flora woke to the sound of humming.
Not the gentle hum of a hearth or the whisper of wind through leaves — this was sharper, metallic, vibrating through the air like a swarm of angry insects. She forced her eyes open.
Cold light flooded her vision.
She was no longer in the Victorian chamber. Instead, she sat strapped to a metal chair, her wrists bound by leather restraints, her ankles locked in place. The room around her was a decaying laboratory — cracked tiles, rusted pipes, mold creeping along the walls like dark veins. Flickering fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a sickly green glow.
A shadow moved behind her.
“Hello, young one.”
Flora flinched. She twisted her head just enough to see a tall, wiry man step into view. His nose was long and pointed, his metallic spectacles reflecting the harsh light. A crisp white lab coat hung from his thin frame, stained with soot and chemical burns.
“Who… who are you?” Flora whispered.
The man smiled — a thin, unsettling curve of the lips.
“I am Dr. Malum. And you must be the highly anticipated Flora.”
Her stomach dropped. “How do you know my name?”
“Oh, I know many things,” he said, adjusting his glasses. “Especially about those with… rare abilities.”
He reached for a nearby table and lifted a strange contraption — a crown of wires, sensors, and blinking lights. It looked like a torture device disguised as science.
Flora’s breath hitched. “Is that for me?”
“I’m afraid so,” Malum said softly, almost apologetically. “But don’t worry. It won’t hurt. Much.”
He lowered the device onto her head.
Flora braced for pain.
But instead — she felt euphoria.
A warm, dizzying rush flooded her senses. Colors sharpened. Sounds deepened. Her heartbeat echoed like a drum. A sweet, bitter scent filled her nose, nauseating and intoxicating all at once.
Then the fire came.
A burst of flames erupted from her body, violent and uncontrolled. Malum was thrown backward, slamming into the wall with a sickening crack. His face blistered instantly, skin bubbling and peeling as smoke curled from the burns.
He screamed — a raw, animal sound.
“No! What have you done to me, you monster?!”
Flora couldn’t answer. More flames surged from her, swirling around her like a living storm. They twisted upward, forming a shape — a throne of fire, elegant and terrifying, its edges flickering like wings.
The restraints melted away.
The throne hovered before her, waiting.
Flora hesitated only a moment before climbing onto it. The flames did not burn her. They embraced her.
With a roar, the fiery throne blasted upward, shattering the oculus window above. Glass rained down as Flora shot into the open sky, leaving the burning laboratory — and Dr. Malum’s screams — behind.
She was free.
For now.
