Daughters of Death (Postmortem Anomalies Book 2)

by Josiah Upton

  “Why did they all leave?” Ezra asks.

  “I told my former foundation members to stay away before we got here,” Rigg answers. “With what I did, being associated with me will only hurt them. And I bet they already spread the word while we were at the line with Ortega, which is why the others left too. You boys should wise up, and do the same.”

  “Ugly Ugger balls!” Walt exclaims, a look of awe on his face, and takes a seat next to the elderly Hybrid. “What the hell did you do out there?”

  Rigg grits his teeth, his eyes staring off at nothing in particular. “I killed my brother. My human brother. He was my business partner, my guardian, and my best friend for over sixty years. And I killed him.” He takes a deep breath. “I… consumed his flesh.”

  “Why?” I ask. “What did he do to you?”

  Rigg brings his empty gaze to me. The look in his eyes is familiar, one I’ve seen before in humans. It’s the one they make when they cry, but there are no tears coming out of his eyes. Our Hybrid bodies are incapable of making them.

  “Nothing. Thomas did absolutely nothing to me. I woke up and did my daily routine, just like every morning. But when I saw him at breakfast, I lost control. I couldn’t stop myself. The option of stopping wasn’t even in my mind. I had this Rage in me, that I had never felt before. And I’ll never forget the look on his face, when he realized something was wrong.” His lips form a tight grimace, and he shakes his head. “I remember it all, every moment. Ortega is busy trying to prove I was set up or framed. But that’s not possible, because I was there, and I did it. I remember it all.”

  Suddenly Rigg composes himself, and points to the congregation of new containees. “And now, they’re all in here because of me. Yip and Herb are dead, because of me. I promised to keep them safe, to make sure they never ended back in a facility. I ruined everything. So I suggest you stay away from me, before I ruin things for you too.”

  The speakers crackle, an officer’s voice coming through. “Rec hour will begin in fifteen minutes. Members of the Brains Club, approach the west yellow line immediately.” The voice cuts out, but returns a second later. “Along with Containee 1871.” 1871, the number on Rigg’s shirt.

  “An unscheduled Brains Club meeting during Rec Hour?” Ezra questions, his bald eyebrow raised. “Looks like you’re getting initiated early, Riggsy.”

  “Whatever you say,” Rigg grunts with a shrug of the shoulders. Ezra and the brothers start walking, but Benjamin places a hand on my shoulder. “Zaul. I’m not sure what my time in containment has in store for me, so I need to make amends with you before anything happens.”

  I look at his hand on my shoulder, slightly peeved by a stranger touching me, then to him. “What do you mean?”

  “My foundation was processing your welfare guardianship, before everything fell apart. If not for my actions, you might have been free of this place. I am sorry.”

  “My welfare guardianship?” I ask. “I don’t understand…”

  “That girl you mentioned to Ortega,” he says. “Geneva. She was going to sponsor you, together with the boy you shared that ordeal with in your school office. Dalton Harris.”

  He squeezes my shoulder, and leaves me to process the only three words my brain took notice of: Genny, Dalton, and together.

  Chapter 34

  Zaul

  “Hey, Zaul,” Ezra says as we walk in the bright fluorescent lighting of the hall.

  “Not now,” I say through clenched teeth.

  “Well I was just wondering, this way takes us to the Rec Room, and everyone else in the Common will be in the Rec Room soon, too…”

  “Shut it!” I bark, my voice echoing down the hall. The officer at the front glances over his shoulder, his hand grasping his belt remote. I can’t see but I’m sure the one at our rear is doing the same. I don’t really care. The only thing going through my mind is Genny and Dalton, Genny and Dalton, Genny and Dalton…

  What was she doing with him? That pathetic meat sack pushed her into a locker. He humiliated both of us in the cafeteria. He ruined my chance of turning in Jensen, using the reward money for Genny, and living (as I had read at the end of some children’s stories) happily ever after. When his face flashes into my mind, I want to bash it all over again, and keep bashing it until he’s no longer recognizable. But that won’t change what she’s done, which is pairing up with the enemy.

  They were trying to get my welfare guardianship, and get me out? Probably out of guilt, for abandoning and betraying me. Definitely not out of love, whatever that is. What Caesar read from the note was true, and it was her half-hearted way of saying that I’m nothing to her. Even if they did get me out, nothing would have changed.

  A dark voice whispers from within. Dalton was probably inside her while she wrote it.

  I roar and punch the wall, shattering several tiles. The officer at the front turns and shouts excitedly, grabbing his remote to enter my numbers. “Whoa!” Benjamin Rigg says with hands in the air. Ezra and the Brothers do the same, backing up against the wall. Rigg takes a step toward the officer. “Let’s just take a moment! No need to start zapping, alright?”

  “Back up, Ugger!” the officer shouts at him. “Before I put you down for good!”

  “Damn straight,” the one at the rear says. “I heard what you did to your brother. I ain’t letting you do that to me!”

  “I have no intentions of violence, I assure you,” he says, slowly lowering his arms. “I believe my friend here just missed his last dose, that’s all. Isn’t that right, 1822?”

  Still breathing heavily, still broiling from the visions and accusations in my mind, I nod once. “Yes.”

  The officer at the front considers our words, looking to his colleague. “You lash out like that again, you get a Shock ‘n’ Lock. And since the Lock is at max cap, I’ll keep buzzing you until a spot opens up. Is that clear, 1822?”

  I nod again. The officer surveys the broken shards of tile that lay at my feet. I can’t deny that destroying them felt good. “You’re gonna clean and fix that shit, too. I’m putting in the work order to Tran, first thing.” After a long moment of intense, authority-establishing staring, he turns and continues down the hall. Rigg looks to me, as if to speak, but only gives me an expression of warning.

  The rest of the walk is silent, and I do my best not to think about Genny, and about… Well, I just stop thinking altogether. We do arrive at the Rec Room, as Ezra tried to point out earlier. The door is already open, and Tran is inside with some assistants, a few officers, and the female Brains Club members. Once Opha lays eyes on me, she waves. I hardly notice her, however, because all of my attention is on something that wasn’t in the Rec Room the day before: a large wall that stretches across the entire floor, and a tall metal tower extending up from behind it.

  “Welcome!” Tran says, with possibly the cheeriest tone I’ve ever heard him produce. “Today will be a very special Brains Club meeting. I think everyone is going to enjoy themselves!”

  He eyes Rigg, and his enthusiasm diminishes. “Number 1871… You must be Mr. Rigg. Director Ortega informed me that you would be joining us today, despite your criminal classification.”

  “This is all news to me as well,” Rigg says. “If you wish, I can stay out of the way. Or if you want me to participate, I can do that too. I’m not looking to cause any trouble.”

  “Good,” Tran answers, looking Rigg up and down. “It’s a shame that you did what you did. You would make an excellent addition to our group.”

  Rigg smiles and nods, before his eyes start wandering around the room. One of the lab assistants whispers something in Tran’s ear, and the two step aside to discuss. Opha trots over to Rich and Walt, wrapping an arm around each of their waists. But the brothers ignore her, still too transfixed by the unfamiliar structure in the middle of the room, wondering – like the rest of us – what exactly that thing is. Opha mock-pouts, bares her teeth and hisses as she passes Ezra, then comes to me. Her fingers walk up my arm
slowly, like a tiny tip-toeing trespasser. “Hey, good lookin’!”

  Her scent and flirtatious behavior kickstarts my Lust, which reminds me of those thoughts I had about Genny and Dalton back in the hallway. I’m automatically agitated. “Back off, I can’t deal with that right now.”

  “Okay, okay! Fine!” she says, hands in the air. “Doc T has been saying how fun today is going to be, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be having any. What do you suppose is behind that wall, anyway?”

  “He didn’t tell you?” Ezra asks.

  “Nope. Maybe it’s just a bunch of beds, and we’ll all have to strip down, and…”

  Quinn approaches, with Alice a few silent steps behind her, and pinches the back of Opha’s neck, probably with enough pressure to crush a glass bottle. The older containee points up at the metal tower, which almost touches the ceiling. “Remember the last time we were up high? I’ll bet this is a continuation of that strategy game we did at HQ last week. And speaking of last week, I heard you attacked a Cure agent, then had an incident with Captain Ortega?”

  “You too?” I ask. “Nothing ever stays a secret in here, does it?”

  Quinn raises her bald eyebrows. “I wouldn’t say that.”

  I don’t know what she means, and I’m not sure if I want to. Something she said gets me thinking, though. “You know Caesar? I thought he was only on the male side.”

  “Unfortunately not. He’s Captain of the whole facility, females too. And the only male officer willing to walk around the Fem-Com. I remember his first day on the job. He hated us back then, and he’s only gotten worse. I have no idea how he’s Director Ortega’s son.”

  “I don’t mind him, though,” Opha says, rubbing the flesh where she was just pinched. “He’s got a strong scent. A real powerful man…”

  “He’s an ass,” Quinn interjects. “He’s always shouting at us, taunting us. Sometimes he’s even there during Bath Night. A lot of the girls…” She nods to Opha. “…try to show off. Scrub themselves down while they stare him dead in the eyes. But he’s not doing it sexually. He’s doing it for the humiliation.”

  I look to Alice for confirmation. She tenses her face and looks away. She doesn’t have to say anything because I can see the shame. No one deserves that, but especially not someone so quiet, someone who keeps to her books and doesn’t cause any trouble. I already hated Caesar, but this multiplies it.

  “You don’t have to worry about him anymore,” I say to the females. “He’s locked up, and he might not even come back.”

  Quinn acknowledges Rigg, who stands quietly behind me, hands clasped in front of him. “I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Quinn, and this is Ophelia and Alice.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Rigg says. “I’m Benjamin. But I wouldn’t get too well acquainted, I’m only here in a tag-along capacity. Once your ‘Lock’ area gets a free unit, I assume I’ll be transferred there immediately.” He pauses, his brows furrowing. “Did you recently experience an influx of female containees?”

  “We did,” Quinn answers. “Forty–two of them, and about half mentioned your name, advising to steer clear of you.” Her weathered mouth smiles. “I think I’ll be fine. You don’t scare me.”

  Opha giggles, clapping her hands over her mouth. “Oh my God, you two oldies are totally perfect for each other! You should date. And by ‘date’ I mean…”

  Quinn lifts a hand to pinch her again, but Tran interrupts with his return. “Alright guys, it’s showtime!”

  He leads us around the wall, revealing another that runs perpendicular to it, creating the corner of what looks like a large enclosure, nearly covering the entire Rec Room floor. We enter through a small doorway at the end, and weave through tight, winding hallways, ending at the center, just below the metal tower. Tran presses a button on his tablet and a false wall opens, granting access to a ladder that ascends.

  First an armed officer climbs, followed by the rest of us, with me at the front of the line. As I climb, Opha whistles from below me. “Yeah, look at that ass! Gimme some sugar!” I snarl and look down, and for the first time Quinn isn’t the one smacking her on the head. It’s the perpetually quiet Alice who does. Everyone eyes her with a stunned expression. She grins broadly, then covers her mouth with her hands. That was unexpected.

  Once at the top, I observe the entire square structure that has taken over the Rec room, made up of narrow hallways snaking in all directions. Some lead to an exit on the opposite side of where we entered, while others lead to dead-ends. A maze. I’m reminded of a book lost in a box of others in my basement, with page after page of mazes. Before I could even read, I would trace my gray finger through the corridors, relearning how to navigate space in my mind. The memory provides a small joy inside, reminding me of a simpler, quieter time. I just might enjoy myself after all today.

  After all he Brains Club members (and Rigg) climb through the hatch, Tran and one more officer emerge, then swing the door down and lock it. “Leadership skills, communication, and strategy. We exercised this at HQ, and to great success,” he says, then turns to me. “Zaul, you missed some incredible improvement after you left for your bloodwork. But I think today you’ll pick up right where you left off.”

  I put on a fake smile and nod. Like most humans, he just can’t get to the point quick enough.

  “We will continue to explore and develop those concepts, except instead of ordering around my technicians, you’ll be directing your fellow Hybrid Reanimates.”

  At that moment a low roar of voices begins to build from the door of the Rec room. The remaining occupants of the Common are on their way.

  “What?” Rich asks with a tone of annoyance. “Those idiots won’t listen to us. And Muck won’t even know we’re talking to him!”

  “You needn’t worry about that,” Tran says. “The most deficient of containees will be engaged in separate activities. As for those able to comprehend simple tasks, their cooperation will be rewarded with the Brains Club fare all of you enjoy during our meetings. If raw, whole meat isn’t incentive enough for them, then I don’t know what is.”

  “What about us?” Ezra asks. “What sort of prize can we expect?”

  Tran’s eyes glance briefly to the three mystery doors on the Rec room wall, then back to us. “I’ll see what I can talk Ortega into.”

  All the members’ eyes widen. Walt and Rich slap backs, Opha and Quinn look to each other with raised eyebrows, and even Alice grins. Ezra elbows my ribs, trying to get a reaction, but all I can think about is the first time Caesar tortured and nearly killed me, inside that junk room behind the first door. And with the way Opha mentioned Door Number 2 the other day, I have a few ideas what that could be. Rigg, who is slightly more in the dark than me, looks my way. I just shrug my shoulders. Since he’s technically not a member, he probably won’t even participate, let alone receive a reward.

  Tran raises his hands to calm everyone. “So this is the game. You and the containees will be split up into two teams – red and green – and those on the ground will enter on opposite ends of the maze. Your object is to direct them through to the other end, without getting penalized.”

  “Penalized?” Quinn asks.

  Tran points down at the maze, to four small sections at equal distances apart. These are the only areas we can’t see into, because of a small roof covering their tops. “Those are packed with all the surplus Officer Freddys left over from our Hybrid Assessment Chamber update. They are equipped with spring-loaded arms, and will travel on a track throughout the maze. Your team members are allowed to destroy any they run into, but if one gets them from behind, they are penalized: shocked, then escorted out of the maze while the game is reset. The team with the most containees through the maze wins.”

  “They get to tear up Officer Freddy, over and over again?” Walt asks, slightly dejected. “Kinda wish I was down there.”

  “It won’t be easy,” Tran says. “Your job will be to alert them of approaching Freddys. If they are too enra
ptured with the fleeting enjoyment of destruction, they won’t hear your alerts, and will be penalized when another Freddy surprises them.” Rich slowly raises his hand, and Tran sighs through his nose. “‘Enraptured’ means ‘really into’, Rich.” His hand stays up. “And ‘fleeting’ means ‘short’. Today we will conduct this exercise with containees from the Male Common, and tomorrow from the Fem-Com.”

  Down below, I see a well-guarded technician explaining the game to the mass of male Hybrids, some of them having only just walked into the Facility. I can guess the moment he mentions the reward, because they all start hollering with their fists in the air. Then they split up, gathering on opposite sides of the maze. One of the men whoops, and points up at us. “You, girl! I smell you!”

  Opha leans over the railing. “I smell you too, baby! Come on up!”

  “Ophelia,” Tran calls to her. “You need to focus.”

  “Oh, I’m focused.” She looks to the Lust Lounge, then to me. “I got my eye on the prize.”

  My blood starts pumping. Luckily there is a tray of Mortetine at the center of the tower. I take a few and retreat to the other end of the structure. Tran divides us, with Quinn, Opha, Ezra and Rich on the Green Team, and me, Walt, and Alice on the Red Team. Rigg won’t be playing, but he stands over on our side, since we have more room. We’re all given colored vests to wear, so the players down below will know who to listen to. While we wait for the teams to finish lining up, I stand next to Walt at the railing, pointing to the doors on the far wall. “What exactly are those?”

  “That’s the Rage Room,” Walt answers, nodding to the first one. “I guess you’ve already been in there. I’ve been in there, too, but when it was still open. A room full of stuff to break, and they lock you in, and you just let loose. You could turn on music if you wanted, or turn out the lights, or make them flash like crazy. It was awesome!”