No Light by Devi Mara

before he turned away. She thought she heard a quiet growl. He did not look around, immediately heading for the door to Corridor One. Sarah paused, watching his tense shoulders as he walked. A shiver ran down her spine, but she forced herself to follow him.
                  As soon as she opened the door, his long strides carried him down the hallway. He ignored her presence. He waited at the far end of the hallway and continued to stare at the door, as she approached. His lack of attention made her skin prickle. He did not so much as glance at her, as she pressed her palm to the scanner and the door slid open. She watched him silently walk through the doorway ahead of her.
                  For a moment, she paused, her feet refusing to let her step forward. A horrible clenching in her stomach made her swallow hard. She took a deep breath and moved closer. The silent closing of the door behind her made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.
                  The second the door shut fully, the Dem turned to face her. Sarah took a step back from the cold blackness of his gaze.
                  "I-" Unsure how to finish the thought without making him angry, she fell silent.
                  He cocked his head to the side. The lack of emotion in his face made her lean away from him slightly. Her eyes dropped to look at his fisted hands. When she looked up, he seemed closer. She watched shadows move in the darkness of his eyes.
                  "I didn’t mean — I'm sorry," she whispered.
                  The reaction was instantaneous. He lunged for her, his hands clamping down on her arms. She cut off her sharp cry of pain, clenching her jaw as he slammed her against the wall. Her skull hit the stone with a subdued thud, as bright light erupted behind her eyes. She blinked hard.
                  His face was less than an inch from hers, low, angry words pouring from his mouth. She squinted at him, trying to make sense of the stream of sounds. His narrowed gaze was fastened on her face, fury sparking in his eyes like shots of electricity. Sarah tried to focus on his face, but darkness began to creep in on the edge of her vision.
                  He shook her hard, and her eyes snapped open. Her arms ached where he gripped her. The fingers on her right hand tingled, as if he had compressed a nerve. Her vision shifted, and she realized her head had lolled to the side. She opened her mouth, but only a quiet gasp escaped.
                  He suddenly froze. His eyes looked over her face, before boring into her eyes. He scowled. Sarah blinked at him slowly, vaguely aware that he was asking her something. She watched his lips move, trying to focus on his face past the fog that surrounded her. She blinked. When she opened her eyes again, she was laying on the bench in the center of the corridor.
                  "You are a stupid human," Farran's voice growled from nearby.
                  Sarah stared at the ceiling above her. She slowly turned her head to find Farran's eyes mere inches from hers. She blinked in confusion, taking in his annoyed expression and their proximity. She shifted and felt warmth instead of cold stone. Her eyes widened. Jerking herself into a sitting position, she ignored the spots that danced across her vision.
                  "What —" she started to ask, her gaze quickly moving over the Dem and her position in his lap. "Why —" her eyes widened further when she realized his arms around her waist. "What?" She thought she saw amusement shine through the irritation, for a moment.
                  "Your weak, pathetic, human body is easily broken."
                  At the Dem's words, Sarah looked down at herself. Everything appeared to be intact. She frowned in confusion.
                  "Your skull nearly fractured when it