Stuck

by Samantha Durante

  Joe groused a quick snort of understanding, and shrunk back behind the rock.

  “You be careful,” Alessa urged Joe. “Stay hidden. We’re going to find a way to help you next.” She didn’t know how, exactly, but she knew they had to try.

  Isaac nodded. “Let’s go.”

  But before they could hobble more than a few steps away from the hillside, Alessa was overcome with a petrifying ripple of crazed fury and hunger. She gasped for breath and doubled over, still supporting her sister as she cried out in warning. “Isaac!”

  But when she looked up, she saw it was already too late.

  They were surrounded.

  29. WONDER

  Isaac counted at least six sets of menacing eyes glaring at them from the trees. A collective snarl issued from the wood, seemingly from every direction, chilling Isaac to the bone.

  He reached for the rifle slung over his shoulder, but Jo’s sleeping form was draped across the strap, and he was afraid the sudden movement of shifting her might trigger the Stuck to pounce. He glanced over at Alessa, but she was still bent in half, fighting off the ferocious wave of emotion that had surely pummeled her with the creatures’ arrival. Janie was inching her way toward the handgun stored at Alessa’s waist, but Isaac knew that alone would be futile against this savage horde.

  His heart sank, a tight knot pulling at his stomach.

  They were trapped. And there was absolutely nothing Isaac could do about it.

  One of the monsters – all muscle and malevolence – took one hunched, loping stride in Isaac’s direction, and growled deep in its throat, as clear a threat as Isaac as had ever heard.

  His muscles tensed as he readied himself to toss Josephine in the cave when they pounced – maybe the rest of them would be enough to sate the beasts.

  The creature screamed a bloodcurdling cry and leapt in Isaac’s direction, but before Isaac could even react, a blurred mass flew in front of him from the side and knocked it to the ground.

  Everything froze, time moving in slow motion as a mound of limbs tussled on the forest floor, bones crunching under their weight. And then Joe rose up, pinning the other creature beneath him as he broadcast a spine-tingling roar.

  The other Stuck held their ground. One in particular, opposite the circle, clawed at the sky and snarled, defiant.

  Joe fixed it in a dominant glare and huffed, never dropping the challenger’s gaze.

  It was enough.

  Miraculously, one by one the creatures backed away and disappeared through the trees.

  When they were gone, Joe released the monster under his grasp and nipped aggressively towards its leg, urging it to go. The creature scampered away, its head hung low in submission.

  And Isaac could only stare at this beast that was once his brother in awe.

  After what felt like an eternity, Janie finally broke the silence. “How did you do that?” she exclaimed in admiration.

  Alessa finally stood up, recovered from the emotional onslaught. She gazed at Joe in wonder, an expression of esteem settling over her face. “You’ve been doing this all along, haven’t you?” she murmured.

  Isaac turned toward Joe as his brother executed just the subtlest approximation of a nod. For the first time, Isaac looked – really looked – at Joe, and noticed the exhaustion lining his face, the slack in his stance. For all the strength he’d just shown the other Stuck, Isaac could see that he was feeling drained. He wondered just how much radiation he’d been exposed to in the days he stood guard outside Janie and Josephine’s cave.

  Alessa’s voice cracked with emotion as she elucidated, “All those weeks in the woods… every training mission we’ve been on… now Janie and Jo after the blast… You were there for all of it. Protecting us, keeping the other Stuck at bay.”

  Joe puffed and turned his back, settling against a tree trunk to rest.

  But they wouldn’t let him shrug off their appreciation.

  Water pricked at Isaac’s eyes as he was flooded with an immense amount of gratitude – Joe was probably the only reason they’d made it this far. His big brother had never stopped looking out for him.

  Isaac stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on Joe’s rippling shoulder. This close, Isaac could see that Joe’s already-gnarled skin was splotched and peeling. He must be in an enormous amount of pain, Isaac realized.

  Joe looked up at Isaac, the familiar blue of his eyes clear and knowing. Isaac understood he didn’t have to say it, but he wanted to. “I don’t know how we can ever thank you.”

  He paused a moment, then added, “And you will always be my brother.”

  It was the first time he had addressed Joe directly, he realized. And, to his surprise, it felt right.

  Alessa looked from Isaac to Joe, and something settled over her then, something that brought a smile to her face.

  And then, suddenly, she lit up from within, the green gems of her eyes shining.

  “Isaac! I think I have an idea.”

  30. DISSOLUTION

  “And that about covers it,” he concluded cheerfully. “Do you have any questions?”

  Lizzie shook her head and returned the producer’s smile. “I think I’ve got the idea. Just need to get the hang of these controls.”

  He clicked open a folder on the server and loaded some video files into the software’s editing queue. “We’ve got a bunch of test footage from set construction here. Why don’t you spend a little time getting acquainted with the tools? You’ll pick it up in no time, I’m sure.”

  “Thanks,” Lizzie replied, turning to the large, shiny screen in front of her.

  “I’ll leave you to it.”

  He departed with another bright smile and a genial wave, and Lizzie found herself alone in the darkened room, with only her bewildered thoughts for company.

  It didn’t make any sense. How could that upbeat, friendly guy possibly be involved in something so sinister? She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it.

  She’d known from her mom’s friend – the producer who had originally recognized her from the first drama she was cast in, who had helped her escape to Regina – that most of the people involved in the dramas didn’t know the full extent of what was going on. Many didn’t realize the actors were stitched, and even those that did were led to believe it was necessary and a more humane (and useful) form of punishment than prison.

  But this was the first time she’d seen it for herself.

  There was no way the jovial, amicable young producer who had just trained her on video editing had any idea what he was involved in. And he most certainly did not know the clips of “rebels” he’d been working on were not staged, but real, live citizens of Paragon who had, very mysteriously – and conveniently for the Engineers – recently all found themselves dead.

  There was absolutely something suspicious going on, and she hoped that if she could exploit the Developer’s trust to get access to the other side of the dramas, she might be able to figure out what it was.

  But she couldn’t work on drama production without any skills. And that was why she was here.

  Sighing, she clicked play on the video clip. It was just an empty set, the military command room she’d seen on the episode that aired the other night. The camera panned the room, pausing at the big table in the center, and she heard someone behind the lens say, “Hey, can you come over here for a second? I want to check this lighting.”

  Butterflies wheeled in Lizzie’s stomach as a familiar face stepped into the shot: Alex. He was holding a large rolled up paper – one of his hand-drawn maps, she suspected – and calmly waiting beside the table.

  “Just one sec,” the cameraman requested. “Lighting?” the voice called out. “Can you tweak that angle to reduce the shadowing?”

  Lizzie watched as Alex gazed absently into the camera, the darker areas of his face suddenly illuminating as the adjustment was made. She smiled to herself, appreciating his chiseled features and the thoughtfulness of his eyes. She couldn’t admir
e him like this in person without being a little creepy – she was grateful to get the opportunity now.

  Well, Lizzie decided, this is as good a clip to practice on as any.

  She paused the playback and initiated the gesture to cut the beginning of the clip, before Alex entered the shot. Marking the timestamps where she wanted the zoom to begin and end, Lizzie spread her fingertips in front of the screen a few times to zoom in. She saved, then hit play to test out her handiwork.

  Not bad, she thought, enjoying the close-up of Alex’s handsome visage.

  She swiped ahead in the clip, looking for a good place to end it, maybe practice adding a fade-out transition or something.

  Playback resumed and Alex was gone, the editing still awkwardly zoomed on the now-unfocused spot where he’d been standing. But before she could swipe back to find a better clip, a familiar voice rasped from off-camera and an unexpected note of fear shot into Lizzie’s heart.

  “You call this a war room?” the voice disparaged. “Idiots,” it ranted quietly, with unnecessary malice. And then the speaker stepped in front of the camera, the still-zoomed shot fixing on the scar cutting across his lips as he spat, “Someone is going to pay for this.”

  For reasons she didn’t understand, Lizzie’s stomach dropped and her breath caught in her throat. And without further warning, a searing pain shot through her head as it finally became clear.

  “Ungrateful bitch!” he shouted, wiping at the blood dripping from his lips. “Someone is going to pay for this.” He glared at her with loathing, and it was clear who he was thinking of punishing.

  Not this time, Lizzie thought. She could feel the sting of the broken glass biting into her palm, but rather than hurting it emboldened her, even with her other wrist chained to the bed and the rest of her exposed in tasteless skimpy lingerie that she would never have chosen for herself.

  She groped across the comforter with her other hand to grasp another shard of the broken champagne flute. She matched his glare, daring him to come closer.

  Bright red blood trickled from his wrist and dribbled on the beige carpeting, his face so livid with fury that it was almost the same shade of crimson.

  “And to think, I was going to make you my wife,” he hissed. “You’re going to rot in a cell like the used-up whore you are.”

  And suddenly it all came flooding back, thousands of stabbing pinpricks riddling her brain, undoing the effects of the mind-altering stitch she didn’t know she’d been subjected to.

  The years held captive, her body abused by the General and his sick minions in the Ruling Class. Her rejection of his advances, the day she’d finally snapped and lashed out with violence in defense. The “stoning” that’d been implanted in her memory in place of the revenge beating the General had given her.

  Everything she’d believed was based on lies.

  The Engineers had convinced her that they told her everything, trusted her even with difficult truths because they needed her help to unite the compound. But all along, they’d been leaving out some of their most appalling deeds – and stripping her of her ability to reason for herself.

  She’d had no idea they’d manipulated her memory like this. And all for what? To gain access to Regina?

  Rubbing her aching temples, Lizzie sat back in her chair, her heart pounding with condemnation.

  She was done being used.

  31. CANDOR

  So it was settled. They had a plan. Now the question was just how they were going to get everyone else to go along with it.

  Alessa trudged down the forest path, shouldering as much of Janie’s weight as she could and mulling over what had just transpired between her and Isaac and his brother. She smiled to herself and shook her head – to think that the terrible nightmares she’d been having for months were the inspiration!

  As soon as she’d felt that wave of love emanating from Joe at Isaac’s words, something had clicked and suddenly she’d seen those dreams in a whole new light. She just wondered if they could actually pull this off.

  Joe seemed confident he could hold up his end of the plan – though Joe always seemed confident, Alessa reminded herself fondly, even when he probably shouldn’t.

  She wasn’t quite as certain that she and Isaac would be able to get Carlos and crew to cooperate. But then again, they didn’t really have any other options.

  They approached the turn in the trail which led back to the picnic clearing, and Isaac slowed and met Alessa’s eyes. “You ready?” he asked, shifting Jo’s half-sleeping form to the other shoulder.

  He looked so natural holding a child, she realized, a pang of longing lodging in her throat. Alessa savored the sight for a moment, then shrugged it off. Pipe dreams, she reminded herself. No sense in thinking about that until they survived this crazy scheme to take Paragon down. If they survived.

  She took a deep breath and nodded in response to Isaac’s question. It was time.

  They continued down the trail and rounded the bend to find everyone lounging around the makeshift camp.

  Carlos looked up from cleaning his weapon and a massive smile spread across his face as he registered Janie and Josephine. “Look what the cat dragged in,” he beamed.

  The rest of the squad dropped what they were doing and sprang into action, quickly setting up a comfortable place for Jo and Janie to rest and bringing food. Josephine perked up at all the attention, as Alicia gathered her medical supplies and set about cataloguing their condition and administering whatever help she could.

  “You two are a sight for sore eyes,” Alicia gushed, gently palming Jo’s face after checking her over. “I can’t even believe you both made it.”

  “Speaking of,” Alessa said, counting the number of soldiers around the camp, “did we find any other survivors?”

  Carlos crouched down beside them and placed a welcoming hand on Janie’s shoulder. “Nada. These are our two miracles.” A tear pricked his eye, but he quickly blinked it away and recovered before looking up at Alessa. “Only sign of the other mission was a trampled path leading back to Raptor. It was under the ash,” he explained, looking defeated.

  Alessa nodded her understanding solemnly. They must have already been back when it happened – they didn’t make it.

  “So tell me,” Carlos said eagerly, “where have you two been?”

  “It’s kind of a long story,” Janie began.

  “One of the Stuck saved us!” Josephine offered excitedly. “His name is Joe, too. We don’t know what happened to Lizzie, though, I lost her during our picnic. I –” Jo’s rambled story was interrupted by her own wide yawn.

  Carlos and Alicia looked up at Alessa, wearing the same perplexed expression.

  Before she could answer, Isaac stepped in and scooped his sister up in his arms. “I think you could use another nap, no?”

  Still finishing her yawn as Isaac carried her towards a tent, Josephine nodded. “But tell them about the cave and all the bones, and how you found us, and how Joe protected us from the other monsters, and the pact –”

  “The pact?” Carlos questioned, turning from Isaac’s back to Alessa.

  Alessa took a deep breath. It was time to come clean. “There’s a lot we have to tell you. Alicia, Janie, maybe you can help.”

  With Jo out of earshot, Isaac returned and they all sat down at one of the picnic tables. Alessa started from the beginning, from before Paragon, with what Isaac and Lizzie had learned from the Engineers during her rescue from the hospital.

  “So there’s no virus?” one of the soldiers asked, his expression flitting between anger and relief.

  “Oh there’s definitely a virus,” Alicia chimed in.

  “But we’re all vaccinated,” Isaac explained. “We were chosen by some algorithm and protected from it before it was released.”

  “And the leaders of Paragon – these Engineers – they’re the ones who released it? Not our enemies in the east?” It was a lot to take in, Alessa knew, and Carlos was still piecing everything toget
her. Though she could see the rage beginning to bubble up beneath his usually cool countenance.

  “And they’ve been lying to us about it this whole time?” another soldier sputtered, dismayed.

  “Yes,” Isaac confirmed. “And there’s one big problem…” He looked to Alicia.

  She nodded, finally understanding why they all seemed immune but the babies kept getting sick. “The immunity acquired from the vaccine doesn’t pass to our children, and it’s too strong to use on an infant.”

  “You knew about this? Did Regina?” Carlos accused.

  Alicia looked down, chastened. “Only bits and pieces,” she explained. “We suspected the immunity. But we didn’t know why, or how to replicate it. We didn’t want everyone to panic,” she pressed.

  Carlos and the squad sat in stunned silence for a few moments, digesting the fact that – no matter how things went with the rebellion – at this point, there was no guarantee of a future for the entire human race.

  Isaac inhaled and exhaled slowly before he broke the heavy silence. “There might be one solution.” He nodded towards Josephine’s tent. “Jo. She was too young to have received the vaccine. She’s somehow naturally immune.”

  Alicia sat up straighter, her words infused with hope. “So we might be able to derive an antiserum after all?”

  “What’s an ‘antiserum?’” someone mumbled, voicing the thought that was going through many of their heads.

  “Something we can use to help the babies,” Isaac clarified.

  A collective sigh of relief settled over the group.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Alicia asked, seeming more confused than angry.

  Isaac shrugged. “I didn’t know what would happen to Jo…”

  “And then there was Lizzie,” Janie added with lingering vexation.

  Janie detailed how Lizzie had been sowing distrust between Isaac and Regina, essentially blackmailing Isaac to keep quiet. “Until, the day of the blast, I guess she decided to take matters into her own hands.” She explained how she had overheard the conversation between Lizzie and Josephine, and followed them outside the complex.