Human Nature (Book 4): Human Nature IV Borthwick, Finlay (great books for teens .txt) 📖

© Finlay Borthwick 2021

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or modified in any form, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

© Finlay Borthwick 2021

Human Nature IV

Contents

Chapter 1: Forgotten

Chapter 2: Memory Lane

Chapter 3: New Arrivals

Chapter 4: You’ll Find It

Chapter 5: Followers

Chapter 6: Going Back

Chapter 7: Reunion

Chapter 8: It’s Oh, So Quiet

Chapter 9: The Eye Of The Storm

Chapter 10: Natural Causes

Interlude

Chapter 11: Journey To The Centre Of The City

Chapter 12: Danny

Chapter 13: Every Nook And Cranny

Chapter 14: What’s What

Chapter 15: The Martyr

Chapter 16: Spoken Secrets

Chapter 17: Sitting Ducks

Chapter 18: Turf War

Chapter 19: Recrudescence

Chapter 20: One Bullet

Interlude

Chapter 21: Left Behind

Chapter 22: Another Time

Chapter 23: The Party

Chapter 24: The Zodiac

Chapter 25: Mayday

About the Author

Chapter 1: Forgotten

The bathroom of the terminal was disgusting. The sinks had been chipped away, the cubicle doors were all either scratched or hanging by a single hinge, and the wallpaper had large tears in it.

Naomi was chained up to the sink furthest away from the door, slouching against the dirty old wall.

She was still unconscious and had a million thoughts racing through her dreams.

‘Why this? Why me? Why this place?’

‘The boat…’

‘Forgive Worm, forgive yourself.’

‘Polaris?’

Then, her thoughts awoke her. She rubbed her eyes as she came around, and quickly realised she was in cuffs, and then traced the chain back to the sink.

“Tanika!” She yelled out desperately. “Let me go, Tanika!” She strained her vocal cords as she cried out, yanking forcefully at the chains. “Crap!” She mumbled to herself, realising that her efforts were in vain.

Thinking fast, she looked around the bathroom for any objects that could help free her; but the only useful thing in sight was a faucet on the floor which had broken from one of the sinks above. She reached over and gripped it firmly before pulling back and using the tap to bash her restraints.

Then, the restroom door creaked open.

For a very short second, Naomi had subconsciously dismissed the sound, before ceasing to try and escape. She looked up at the doorway, prompting her face to devolve into sheer horror.

A mysterious and significantly tall figure stood looming over her, dressed in black robes and wearing a masquerade mask to conceal their face.

Naomi glared back; she was too scared to break eye-contact.

The figure reached into one of its’ deep pockets and produced an energy bar, which was then thrown across the floor towards Naomi.

She looked down at the consumable, moving her expression from terrified to confused. “Who are you?” She asked, looking back up.

Naturally, her captor did not respond.

“What have you done with my friends?”

Still, he watched her in complete eerie silence.

Fed up with this one-sided exchange, Naomi grunted and threw the tap at the figure with strength, but her aim was slightly off.

Clearly, her captor was not fazed by her desperation; the throwing of the tap had only decreased her chances of escaping, if anything.

Giving in, Naomi sighed and reached for the energy bar with her cuffed hands. She unwrapped it and took a bite.

Satisfied, the figure stepped back out of the restroom and closed the door on her. Then, Naomi spat out what she had bitten off; for all she knew, the bar could have been poisoned.

THE NEXT DAY

‘Why this? Why me? Why this place?’

‘The robes… Who is it? Why the robes?’

‘Forgive Worm, forgive yourself’

‘Polaris?’

Once again, her thoughts awoke her. After already spending a day locked up in the dark and decaying room, her eyes had adjusted to the lack of light.

The door creaked open, followed by the robe figure stepping in once again.

They stared at each other; this time however, Naomi had a sterner expression rather than a terrified one.

Just as with the previous day, the figure then produced an energy bar and slid it across to her.

She took a bite and pretended to swallow it, prompting her captor to exit the room again.

Spitting what she had bitten off back out again, she then slid the bar across to the nearest cubicle, just as she had done with the first one.

She was absolutely starving, but she refused to give in. The thing that pained her the most however was that the sinks were just out of reach of her chains, preventing her from cupping water in her hands.

THE NEXT DAY

‘Why this? Why me? Why this place?’

‘The robes… Who is it? Why the robes?’

‘Just eat something. If they wanted you dead, you’d be dead.’

‘Polaris?’

Her eyes shot open as she woke up in the same bathroom for the third time. Her face was becoming rather pale now.

As with before, the door creaked open, and her captor stepped into the restroom once again.

This time however, he held a water bottle in his hand. Following their daily stare-off, he tossed the bottle over to her.

Slightly giving in, she unscrewed the lid and guzzled more than half of the liquid inside; it was cold, fresh, and mineral.

Satisfied once again, the figure stepped back out of the room.

“Oh, that’s it?” Naomi called out. “No breakfast today?”

THE NEXT DAY

‘Is this what it feels like to be tortured?’

‘The robes… Who is it? Why the robes?’

‘Just eat the next time you’re given something edible. If they wanted you dead, you’d be dead.’

‘What’s Tanika’s role in all of this?’

“Polaris!” She distressfully cried out as she woke up from bad thoughts intertwined with a nightmare.

Due to her malnourishment, it took her a few moments to remember where she was and what was going. She was looking very