"Unity wouldn't work," said Andy. "Think about it: Kenny hacked through the system and Holly commanded a horde of moths. Cormair will review the tapes and know that their powers have started, too. They'll end up in here doing whatever it is they're doing to Posey. The rest of us will never see daylight again."
Indigo and Sarah exchanged looks. "What's our alternative?"
Andy bit his lip. "There is no alternative. We either break her out of there or we don't. If we go in, we go all the way. There's no backing out. If we can't break her out, we're going to be pinned to the wall by Cormair---loss of privileges, no movies, no books, no talking to each other. We will become lab rats, pure and simple. This is it: Gut-check time. We either back out like cowards or we get Posey and blow this place."
Indigo didn't hesitate. "Let's do it."
Andy looked at Sarah. "There's a bigger world with plenty of better caves."
Sarah gave him a half-smile. "If you go, I'll go."
"I'm in," said Holly. "I've been meaning to leave for years."
John scratched his head. His mop of dreadlocks bounced. "I'll go if you all go; no point in me staying here all alone."
"What about Kenny?" said Holly. "He's unconscious."
"Kenny would be the first one out the door," said Andy. "In ten years, he's never, ever even been here."
"Then we do this," said Indigo. She reached out her finger and keyed in the four digit passkey. Andy held his breath.
"Holy...wow."
John felt like someone punched him in the gut. There before him, in some sort of glass tank filled with an orange-amber fluid bubbling like a champagne glass, was Posey...only, she wasn't Posey anymore.
"What happened to her?" Indigo could hardly spit out the words.
Andy knelt down and laid Kenny's unconscious body on the floor. "I don't know, but it can't be good."
Holly looked even smaller than normal. She moved behind John and put a hand on his arm. "Is...is she alive?"
His tongue felt thick and he felt a little dizzy, but John whispered, "I...I don't know." The testing had never been this rigid. They had never submerged them in some sort of tank. What was worse was what had happened to Posey's body. She was grotesque, but strangely beautiful. There were large, fleshy mounds on her back, long and pointed; a framework of bone and skin jutted from them in lengthy arcs. A thin membrane of skin hung between the bones like mesh webbing.
"Wings," said Holly, barely above a whisper. "She's growing wings. Like an angel."
"They gave her wings," said Andy. "What were they trying to prove? She looks like she's dead." He punched the wall next to the doorway in the hall and cracked the plaster. John saw a vein standing out in Andy's face that he had never seen before, a thick, obtuse blue vein that ran into his neck.
John put a hand on Andy's shoulder and stepped into the lab. Nurse Hathcock was asleep on a cot in the corner. "Sarah?"
Sarah's face turned to John, her blue eyes were wide and confused.
"Get Hathcock."
"Oh, yeah," Sarah mumbled. She started to walk toward the nurse, but her eyes never left Posey's limp form.
Indigo strode forward boldly and pressed her hands to the glass on the tank. "Let's get her out of there."
John shook his head. "What are you thinking?"
"She doesn't belong in there. It's like she's a specimen in a jar of formaldehyde. Get her out."
"She's in there for a reason, Indigo," said John. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back from the tank. "Look at her! She's hurt! She's changing! How do you know that taking her out of that fluid won't kill her?"
"How do you know it isn't killing her right now?"
"Stop it, both of you!" said Holly. Fat tears were crawling out of the corners of her eyes.
Nurse Hathcock chose that moment to wake up. The portly, fifty-something woman sat up suddenly and looked over at Posey, seeing the teens in the lab. She scrabbled to her feet, struggling to get her girth out of the cot, her chunky fingers grasping at the eyeglasses that hung from her neck on a chain. "What are you all doing here? You should be in your rooms! Leave now!"
"We came to get Posey," said Holly. "What are you doing to her?"
"Posey's sick, Holly. Indigio! John! Get away from that tank!"
"Get her out, first!" said Indigo. "She doesn't deserve this!"
"This is ridiculous." The nurse made a move toward the wall alarm. "I'm getting Dr. Cormair in here." Hathcock moved unimpeded by Sarah, whose eyes were so focused on Posey in the tank that she completely forgot about her duties to the plan.
"Sarah!" John shouted. She didn't snap out of her trance. Hathcock hit the alarm and a hollow, metallic klaxon began sounding.
"This is not good." John ran over to the series of keyboards and control panels that Dr. Cormair usually sat behind while he was being tested. "One of these has to get her out of there!"
"We could really use Kenny right now," Holly said. She rushed over and began to push buttons and flip switches.
John swatted her hands away. "What are you doing? You don't know what those things do! One of them might electrocute Posey or something." Holly yanked her hands away.
The door to the lab suddenly slid open. Dr. Cormair walked in and looked about with unflappable calm. "What is Kenneth doing in the hallway and why are the rest of you in this room?" His voice was low and measured.
"Get Posey out of the tank!" shouted Holly.
Dr. Cormair walked over to the control panels and adjusted a few of the controls that Holly had messed with. "I am afraid that it will not be possible to release Posey right now, Holly."
"Why not?" Indigo said, drawing herself up to her full height, which wasn't imposing.
"As you can plainly see, Posey is undergoing massive physical change. Releasing her from the hyper-womb would be extremely detrimental to her development, and not to mention fatal at this stage."
"Why? What are you doing? Tell us what's going on, Doc." It was time for them to stop being jerked around. John had enough of the secrets and the half-truths and the tests and the condescension. He was tired of being a team player.
"When you need to know, you will be told," said Cormair. "Please understand."
"I don't think this is your call, Doc," said Andy. "How many years have you been keeping us in the dark and treating us like trained monkeys?"
"Yeah!" Indigo chimed in, "Ten years of being your pets is enough, Doctor! We want to know what all this is about right now."
"No," Dr. Cormair replied coldly. "It is not the time."
"No!" shouted Holly. It was the loudest she had ever yelled. "You don't think we've figured out what you're doing to us? You think we're so stupid that we can't figure out that you're trying to make us into some sort of government weapons project?"
"What?" Cormair's eyes narrowed. "Holly, I am attempting to achieve the next elevation of human development, not weapons."
Holly mirrored Cormair's cold look. "I know there is a hive of wasps in the other room. How about I bring them in here and you can tell me how controlling animals isn't a weapon."
Cormair's face registered slight surprise. "I knew you were lying to me. You have had control for some time, haven't you?"
"Long enough to know how to use this so-called 'ability' I have!"
"What about the rest of you? Have you all manifested your abilities, yet?"
Doctor Sebbins' voice crackled over the intercom. "Dr. Cormair? The passkeys have been changed. I can't get into the lab areas."
The barest hint of a smile tickled at the corner of Cormair's mouth. "Kenneth. I knew his powers were in full use. That is why I kept bringing in specialists to challenge him. I did not know he would be able to reroute physical security systems, though. This is a lovely development."
"Stop changing the subject, Doc! We want to know," Indigo said. "If you know what I can do then I think you'd best cooperate."
"Prove it," said Cormair. "If you truly have telekinesis, Indigo, then please demonstrate it for me."
/> "What?"
"You heard me," Cormair sat down at his desk. "Make something fly across the room. Here---" he flipped a pen to Indigo's feet, "---use your powers to imbed this pen into my skull like a dart. If you have control, this should not be a challenge."
Indigo glanced at John, her mouth hanging open like a guppy. John shrugged and nodded at her.
"You wouldn't really do it, would you Indigo?" said Sarah. Her voice was wavering.
Indigo looked at the pen, then at Cormair. Her shoulders slumped a little and her head tipped forward, her bangs hiding her eyes. She was defeated.
"Indigo, your power is controlled by your brain. That is, perhaps, the easiest thing for us to monitor. You were hooked to a scanning machine yesterday. I know that your power hasn't manifested itself. Your power was the most implausible. If it manifested at all, I would be surprised. Telekinesis might just be beyond our capabilities. I was actually going to write you off as a failure."
The klaxon continued to go off in the background. Cormair motioned to the speaker where the sound was emanating. "That is bringing the military down here as we speak. I would recommend that you all return to your rooms and we will pretend that this...incident was a mistake."
"Military?" John's mind was racing. The plan had fallen apart. Cormair still controlled them. "What is the military doing here?"
"Protecting you," said Cormair. "They are here to protect the interests of the investors who have financed your education."
"Our education? More like your research," spat Andy. The veins in his arms seemed to be bulging. "We've been your pets, not students. We're tired of it, Doc. We're leaving tonight. And Posey is coming with us."
"Again, that will be bad, Andrew. If you remove her from the hyper-womb, the sensation of the unpurified air on her flesh will cause her levels of pain that she has never experienced before. She will be in intense agony. The shock of it will most likely kill her."
Holly stepped backward. "It's over, then. We're screwed."
"He's bluffing," Andy puffed out his chest. He seemed to get bigger, thicker.
"What if he's not?" shouted Holly. "What if Posey is in pain? What if that tank is helping her?"
"Look at her, Holly! She's barely alive!"
"That medicated coma is for her best interests," said Cormair. "Being submerged in the serum without a breathing apparatus is not something most people adjust to well."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Andy said. "You've lied and told us half-truths all our lives! If you're lying, you know we're leaving tonight and your money dries up."
"That wouldn't be a problem," said Cormair. "This research was never about the money."
"It was about being God, wasn't it?" John's voice was low. "The next evolution in mankind...the powers, the abilities...you were playing God."
"This research is bigger than God!" shouted Cormair. He was suddenly angry. He had never raised his voice in ten years. He had never looked angry or frustrated. His face had been an unreadable mask for a decade---and suddenly he was screaming. "This research was about the next step of human life! It was my life!"
"Well, now it's about our lives, Doctor," John's said calmly. "We deserve to live our own lives now. A decade is more than enough time to make us your lab rats. It's time to let us go."
"The work is not over yet," said Cormair. "I will not permit it to end!"
"It's not your choice anymore."
"John..." Kenny's voice was low and crackling with wheezes. "I have control of the tank. I can get Posey out." No one had noticed him crawling to the banks of hard-drives and servers along the wall. He was slumped back against the rack, his hand on one of the processors; a thin line of blood trickled from his left nostril from the stress and strain.
"Get her out, then," said John. He backed away from Cormair and headed toward the tank.
"No!" Cormair shouted. He reached into a drawer and produced a small handgun. "John! Back away from the tanks. Kenny, relinquish control of the computers. You are jeopardizing Posey's life!" He leveled the handgun at Kenny. "Now, Kenneth. I will wound you if I must."
"You'd shoot your precious research?" Holly looked incredulous. "You're insane. You'd shoot one of us? How many billions of dollars would you waste?"
"It doesn't matter," said Cormair. "Only the end results matter. My life's work matters! You are just a part of that! I must see this project through to completion. Shooting Kenneth in the leg or the arm---that won't kill him. It will stop him, though. Kenneth, you must not empty the tank."
"Too late, Doc," Kenny smiled.
Doctor Cormair whirled around and saw the level of fluid in the tank rapidly decreasing. As the fluids drained, Posey's body sunk to the floor of the tank. "No! You fool! You utter fool!" Cormair raised the gun at Kenny.
The pen at Indigo's feet suddenly lifted up from the ground and flew through the air, piercing the doctor's forearm between the radius and the ulna causing him to drop the gun. It clattered to the ground loudly. Indigo smiled triumphantly. "Telekinesis, Doctor. I'm no failure."
Cormair clutched at his forearm, his hand was curled into a ball, the Bic pen sticking out of both sides of his wrist, the end covered in blood. "Very good, Indigo," the doctor's voice was low and precise again. "I will very much enjoy studying your brain now. This is a delightful development."
Indigo suddenly twisted and extended her fist. A brief flash of silvery-white light generated from the end of her fist and blasted forward, smashing hard into Cormair's chest. The thin, elderly man flew backwards as if he had been hit by a truck.
"Holy cow!" Andy breathed. "Indigo, that was amazing!"
"Let's get out of here," said Indigo. She winced and closed her eyes, bringing her hands up to rub her temples. John could see her gritting her teeth. "He's done. Andy, please get Kenny."
The fluid had drained completely out of the tank. Posey was motionless, slumped against the glass, a dead seabird washed on the shore.
"Posey?" Holly said. She was crying. "Posey, please wake up."
"She can't hear you," said Indigo. "We need to get the lid off of the tank."
"Leave it to me," said Andy. He crawled up the ladder on the side and put his hands on the sides of the metal lid. There were tubes and mechanisms all over the top. Andy slipped his fingers under the metal and began to pull. He braced his legs on the ladder and began curling his arms up. The lid trembled. The veins in Andy's arms jumped out and his neck muscles bulged and seemed to double in size. A low, guttural scream drew out from Andy's stomach, and broke into voice in his throat. Glass began to crack and splinter down the sides of the tank. Suddenly, the entire tank shattered and rained down in razor shards of glass. Andy fell backwards off the ladder, landing on the ground with a brutal thump that made the floor shake.
"Andy! What's going on?" John fell to his friend's side and put a hand on his arm. It felt like a bag of snakes was twisting beneath the skin. "Look at him!"
Andy's arms seemed to be heaving, doubling in size and mass. His chest was bubbling with muscles. He seemed to be becoming something twice his already impressive size. He wasn't getting taller, only increasing in muscle and girth. His chest expanded, his stomach became broader, his neck thicker.
"Something finally happened," said Sarah. "He's changing, too."
Andy's eyes blinked open and he began to scream. His eyes were wide and scared and his scream sent chills through John's bones. It was a scream of absolute agony.
"Nurse Hathcock! Do something!" Holly shouted.
The nurse bustled over and tried to hold Andy's head. He reached over his head and grabbed her by the shoulder. With the flick of his wrist, Nurse Hathcock was sent flying across the room and smashed into the rack of servers. She fell to the floor motionless. Sarah was at her side in an instant. "She's still breathing!"
Inside the tank, Posey stirred for a moment.
"She's alive!" Holly pointed.
Posey's eyes snapped open wide. Her dark brown eyes were gone
, replaced with brilliant, reflective, golden eyes---the sclera and iris had turned a dark, molten gold color, with only the tiniest pinpoint of black where the pupil should be. Even from across the room, John knew she was in pain. And then Posey opened her mouth and screamed.
All the glass in the room exploded. John collapsed in agony; his eardrums felt punctured. Holly crumpled to the floor, clutching at her ears. Indigo and Sarah both grabbed their heads and fell to the ground. The scream clawed and punched their brains. John could only writhe in pain and pray for the pain to end.
Posey felt like she was on fire. Every nerve in her body crackled with a thousand sensations and the only thing registering in her brain was pain. Pain at the end of her limbs, pain in her chest, pain in her back, pain in her head---it wouldn't stop. It couldn't stop. The only thing she was able to do was scream, and that caused more pain. Her throat felt like a thousand pins were being dragged down the back of her esophagus, and when the noise blasted from her throat, all hell broke loose.
She couldn't stop screaming, though. She knew she was hurting people. She could see Holly, doubled over in pain. Every detail in Holly's face was crystal-clear and sharp. Every minute dollop of agony that was heaped on Holly registered in Posey's eyes. She knew she was hurting her, maybe killing her, and she couldn't stop. The scream seemed to have a life of its own, turning over and over in her throat and her chest, and destroying everyone she loved.
The pain kept intensifying and burning in her. She struggled to raise her arms, causing more pain; malicious waves of flames seemed to be licking at every inch of her flesh. She clapped her hands over her mouth and tried to muffle the sound. She could feel the pressure of the noise against her hands. Her scream had physical presence, it had body and weight. It was a beam of destruction.
In the muffled din, John somehow got to his feet. He was hurt, she knew, but John was tough. He never got tired, he never gave up. He staggered toward the med-kit on the wall by the hyper-womb tank. Posey watched him, wide-eyed with fear, the scream still blasting from her throat. She didn't know what had happened to her. She didn't even remember being brought to the lab. She remembered the spines, and the bones jutting out of her back. She kept one hand over her mouth and reached back with the other hand, feeling a large appendage. It hurt to touch, like prodding an open wound. She flinched when her fingers contacted the flesh, and the appendage moved. Posey discovered a new sensation in her brain---she could move that appendage. It was like suddenly discovering you had an arm you never bothered to use. Posey mentally checked her other shoulder and found another appendage that she could move independently.
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