Forgotten

by Jessica Carbine

  Kyler. Where are you? He was the only one who knew the truth about what had happened to her. She was pinning all her hopes on him being free. Not that she hoped to be rescued; it seemed abundantly clear that there was no getting out of this place, and even without seeing past her prison door, she sincerely doubted someone could get in and get her out without being discovered. Not to mention if she didn’t even know where she was, it was doubtful anyone else did. You don’t think I just left, do you?

  Cassie spent much of her time wondering what could be worth so much effort and expense. Surely it couldn’t be money or something valuable. What would the U.S. military want with money? While everyone wanted money, it seemed unlikely that a branch of the U.S. government would put this many resources into retrieving it, especially if it didn’t belong to them. And if it did, then why wouldn’t Kyler be a public enemy? No, it was too secret for that to make sense.

  But what did make sense? It has to be valuable, if not in a conventional way. Several days into her capture, Cassie decided on the only thing that would possibly make sense. “Information!” She said aloud. She wanted to talk out loud to avoid the silence, but she wasn’t sure who could hear her. Not that she had anything important to say, but it unnerved her to think of someone watching and listening to her. Yes, that makes sense. Perhaps they have some sort of important document.

  Thinking about the past, she realized that there were things the government would have killed people over. She chuckled, like the Rosenbergs. Maybe Kyler’s parents were spies.

  She suddenly felt like it was obvious. Of course! It’s technology! Probably a weapon.

  The Rosenbergs had been after the atom bomb, and they found it. What if Kyler’s parents had discovered a new weapon and stolen the plans for it! And the government had found out, but too late. She thought to herself, but... why wouldn’t Kyler just give it back? Unless his family really were the bad guys? But Kyler still has it, meaning he and Halle haven’t sold it, whatever it is. Maybe it is like the atomic bomb and no one should have it.

  Her musings were interrupted by someone at her door. She jumped up in alarm, and backed away to the far wall. The door opened and a distinctly unimpressive woman appeared. She was as dull as the food and the room, with limp brown hair, average height, and impassive features. She wore a nametag that read “Lt. Berg”.

  “Come with me,” She said as blankly as she looked, and then she turned and walked out of the room.

  Though she was afraid, Cassie was happy to obey. Anything to get out of her prison. As she walked down the hall she was keen to pay attention to everything around her. She was on the right side of the hall, and there were three more doors past hers. There were four doors on the opposite side of the hall, in-between the doors on her side. She got the feeling this really was the prison area of the building. Or compound, she thought. But it didn’t seem like the whole place was a prison, which was encouraging.

  “Excuse me, but where are we going?” Cassie asked tentatively. The woman didn’t even look at her, which gave Cassie the instinctive and very annoyed feeling that she was the same person who delivered her meals. Oh well, I suppose I need to concentrate anyway. And she went back to counting doors and hallways.

  They came to an elevator, and Cassie noted that she was being kept on the second basement floor, and even better, there was a map next to the elevator. She tried to inconspicuously study it while they waited for the elevator which was on the tenth floor. Fortunately, she could have been copying the map into a notebook, for all the attention Lt. Berg was paying her.

  After inserting a key next to the elevator call button, Lt. Berg pressed it. They boarded the elevator and smoothly sailed to the second floor. Cassie noted that there were four basements, and the bottom three required keys to be accessed. Or to leave, Cassie thought. The walk on this floor was twice as long, and Cassie was sure she would forget the order of corridors up here. But she did see, for one glorious moment, a distant window down a hallway. It was too brief of a glance for her even to tell which way the sun was shining, what time of day it was or what the landscape looked like. At last, they came to a room and the woman without a personality rapped on the door. Cassie couldn’t help glaring at her: either everyone here was trained in the art of nondescript knocking, or Lt. Berg’s was the mealtime knock she was so used to.

  “Come in!”

  They entered, and Cassie looked around with surprise. Though she hadn’t known what to expect, this wasn’t it. They’d walked into an office; an office that belonged to one General Ramford, if his desk tag was to be believed.

  “Welcome, Cassie! I am sorry about the wait, I never expected him to take this long. And yet, still, we haven’t heard from him,” The portly, gray-haired man informed her.

  “Excuse me?” Cassie asked, sounding confident and determined to be polite. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Nor do I understand why I am here.”

  Lieutenant Berg snorted, she’d remained standing just inside the door. General Ramford chuckled. “Of course you don’t.” Cassie could tell he didn’t believe her in the slightest. Rather, he sounded like a jailor agreeing with his guilty prisoner. But he momentarily turned his attention to the Lieutenant. “You may leave us, now Diana.”

  “But—“ Diana began.

  “Now,” He said authoritatively.

  She retreated, glaring at Cassie as she went.

  Huh, maybe she has a glimmer of personality after all.

  Being locked alone in a room for several days had left her indignant, and a glare from a perfect stranger pushed her over the edge. In her most polite tone, Cassie demanded answers. “What is going on here? Why have you kidnapped me?”

  The general merely raised his eyebrows sardonically. So Cassie continued, “You leave me locked in a cell without any explanation!? I am an American citizen, I know my rights!”

  “Ah, yes. Unfortunately, Cassandra, you are incorrect. You did have rights. Before you began aiding and abetting a military deserter, a traitor and a known terrorist.” He leaned back in his chair, watching her face closely as his words set in. Cassie tried to keep emotion off her face as she involuntarily thought of Kyler. She had carefully avoided him in her tirade. But now—no! She told herself, I won’t even consider this man to be honest. He’ll say whatever he needs to get me on his side.

  “I have no idea what, or even who, you are referring to; but even if what you say is true, which—trust me—is impossible, how would that have forfeited my constitutional rights? And more importantly, if I had no idea someone was a... a traitor, then there would be no crime in associating with them.”

  “No one knows you’re here. You have no rights, Miss Larsen.” He smiled pleasantly. “But let us stop this nonsense. You were with Kyler. You were on the run with him; do not embarrass yourself by pretending you don’t know why.” Cassie refused to give anything away, but waited for more information about what he knew. When she didn’t answer, he stood and began pacing behind his desk. “What we want from you is simple. Answer our questions, help us reacquire our property and we will consider releasing you. Where was Kyler going? What was his next move going to be?”

  His questions gave her hope. Either they couldn’t get the location of what they wanted from Kyler, or they didn’t have him.

  Despite her repeated silent affirmations that Kyler was innocent, and this man the enemy, Cassie was unable to keep herself from doubting Kyler a little bit. Maybe he really had done something.

  When she didn’t answer he continued, “Was Halle with him? Where is she?”

  Feeling a strange sense of protectiveness for Halle, the question made her bristle. Halle would never do something immoral. You, on the other hand? You seem like a questionable person, General.

  “You will tell me what I need to know,” He told her. “Let’s hope we can keep things civil.”

  Yeah, this guy is definitely not the good guy. Cassie felt immense relief at this discovery, and with that relief she f
ound courage.

  “I don’t know where he was going. Why don’t you ask him?” She tried not to say it with attitude, but some seeped in.

  “Obviously we would like nothing better. But it seems he deserted you at the hotel. He was gone by the time we arrived in your rooms,” The General said bitterly.

  Wild relief swept through her. Not captured! Cassie breathed in and out slowly. She realized that this didn’t help her in the slightest. What could he do from the outside of this prison? Strangely this didn’t matter to her. At least he was safe.

  “He’s not here?” Cassie asked quietly to herself. But then…. Why hadn’t they talked to her sooner?

  “Ah, you’re surprised,” He observed with a smile. “So were we. He hasn’t traveled with a young woman for over six years. Other than his sister. We assumed you would be important to him and that he would come for you. It seems we are both disappointed in him.” He smiled wider, goading her.

  Cassie, seeing the path he was trying to take, decided to squelch it before he really got started. She did not want him to see any rift between them.

  “On the contrary,” she said saucily, “I’m relieved to see he hasn’t foolishly gotten himself captured. He’s no idiot. What could he possibly do against an army base?”

  He looked at her intently, deciding if her question was sincere. Then he surprised her again by laughing. “I see you don’t have as high an opinion of his abilities as he does. I admit, were this a normal base, he could have been in and out of here with you by the first day. However, we’re ready for him. My only hope is that he does come. And that he involves Halle.” He chuckled again, smiling at her like she was his winning chess piece.

  Cassie wondered what sort of training he had that would give him the ability to infiltrate a “normal” army base. Had he been in special ops and deserted? “Clearly we are not as close as you thought, if you think he would do something so foolish for me.” Oh, I hope I’m wrong. Still, better to downplay our relationship as much as possible.

  “Sure you’re not.” His joking manner faded from his face. “Enough of this! You were traveling with him. Where were you going?”

  Cassie thought quickly, and made up a story. “Honestly, I don’t know. We were going to get something.” Let them think he doesn’t have what they want on him. “I think it was somewhere in the Midwest. But he wouldn’t tell me where we were going exactly. I think it was Illinois, but really, I’m not sure.”

  “Illinois? Getting something? What….” His question trailed off and he started again, looking at her intently. “So he was staying in the country?”

  Again, Cassie tried to keep her face blank. “Yes. At least at first. I didn’t have my passport.” Cassie didn’t want him checking people crossing the border. Obviously Kyler’s smartest move would be to get out of the country as soon as possible.

  “Thank you. When we catch him, we’ll let you go. However, if you give us false information, we won’t.”

  “And what if you don’t catch him at all? It’s not like you can keep me here forever.”

  He smirked. “I can’t think why not? No one is looking for you here. All your friends think you are with Kyler. They have a very good description. It certainly wouldn’t hurt us to have the local and federal police looking for him due to your kidnapping.” His smile dropped from his face, and again his frustration showed. “Besides, we haven’t had a lead on him in nearly two years, you’re worth too much to lose. Sorry.”

  Cassie’s pulse sped up. Is he bluffing? I don’t think he’s bluffing. And why would he? He was in complete control. Her frustration and anger at Kyler and the government boiled over. “I don’t understand!” She burst out. “Why? Why have you even been looking for him for so long? If he was a deserter or a traitor, surely whatever he took is no longer valuable! And even if he was a terrorist, that doesn’t excuse the indefinite kidnapping of his all-American girlfriend!” She glared furiously across the desk at him.

  “Do you mean,” He stopped, looking at her curiously, then started again. “Are you serious?”

  “Completely! You people are either crazy or….” She trailed off, trying again to show solidarity with Kyler.

  “Or Kyler did not tell you!” He finished for her, appearing delighted. “But this is fantastic! You were with him for months and you never noticed? That is why we’ve had no leads on him. And he took you with him! You think I want him and his sister because they took something from me? From the base? Is that what he told you?”

  “Well, yeah,” Cassie said uncertainly, thinking back to the limited explanation he’d given her.

  “General Ramford, your lunch is here.” Lt. Berg’s nasally voice came through his phone, making Cassie jump.

  He pushed the answering button, “Excellent, Diana. Bring it in, with enough for the girl.” He smiled pleasantly at her while his secretary came in with a tray of sandwiches and fruit. “Well this changes everything. I’m sorry about your previous treatment, but I assumed you knew! And of course that you were on his side. Which you might still be, but I think after you know what we did for them, and how they betrayed the American government and its people, you will agree.”

  He gestured benevolently toward the food, and Cassie hungrily reached for a sandwich despite her annoyance with him.

  “I think it’s time you know the truth about us here and more importantly, about your boyfriend.”

  Chapter 11: Discoveries

  General Ramford followed his secretary to the door, which he locked after she left. He turned off his phone, and then sat back comfortably in his chair, seized a sandwich and began talking. He smiled at her, without the biting edge behind it. His entire demeanor became friendly.

  “First, and most importantly, you need to understand this: we are not the ‘bad guys.’ I do not know what Kyler has told you about us, but we represent the United States government. By all accounts you are an upstanding citizen, so it puzzled us how you got mixed up with individuals committing treason.”

  “But—”

  “No, let me finish. This story is absolutely confidential; it is never to leave this office. Do you understand?” He looked at her sternly, but still not unkindly.

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Then let me begin with when I first met Kyler and Halle. 16 years ago, when Kyler was 12 and Halle was 10, they moved here to the base with their parents. Their father, Tom Priest, headed up our science department, while Marie, their mother, taught middle school here.

  “Tom was sent here to begin testing for a serum he was working on. We worked hard for three years, trying to prove to Congress and others that the serum was safe. We did hundreds of tests, but still... they were reluctant. However, they assigned a small committee of Senators to review the situation, and this committee agreed to let us begin testing. But they still chose to keep it all confidential, not wanting to involve the rest of Congress and have it contested for years.

  “We were thrilled, and immediately began injecting several of our top agents with this serum. It contained a drug intended to enhance their mental abilities.”

  Cassie almost interrupted here, and it seemed he was waiting for her to. But instead, she shook her head and selected another sandwich, deciding to not point out his digression.

  “What I didn’t realize was that Tom was keeping a secret of his own.” The general shook his head angrily. “He was privately injecting his two children with the drug as well. The treatments took a full year, but we started getting results just six months into them. The effects were astounding, more than we’d bargained for. The ten subjects didn’t change in obvious ways: their intelligence test scores stayed the same, their physical appearance didn’t alter, but something else did! And the side effects! We had been closely monitoring the side effects, because despite the tests, we were concerned. But they were magnificent! Perhaps more so than the intended effect,” He spoke longingly, with a fanatical gleam in his eyes.

  “And what were those effects?” Ca
ssie asked very quietly.

  “Their brains were enhanced approximately nine times normal usage. Our scans showed constant activity in ninety percent of the brain! It turns out our brains can do more than we ever suspected. They were able to move objects around them, without coming physically close to them.”

  Cassie raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Okay, he’s lost it.

  “Really? You never noticed anything?” Ramford asked her.

  Cassie automatically shook her head, but while her body disagreed, something in her mind clicked. Rock climbing… mudslinging… and safely jumping from her window…. It all made sense now.

  But it can’t make sense that way, she thought.

  He continued, “We expected that result, and it was perfect! Think of the possibilities during combat! But there was more. At the end of the treatments new abilities developed. They started to influence more than just the objects around them. They could also influence people. It was astonishing. They could change what people saw around them. They could change people’s very thoughts. Not permanently, mind you, just when they were close enough. But it was incredible, and very, very surprising.”

  “Sir, when you say change people’s thoughts, what do you mean exactly?” Cassie asked, undecided as to his sanity.

  “They could make a person see their own friends as enemies. They can completely change a person’s self-image. He could have me thinking I was fourteen year old girl, ready to braid your hair for a slumber party. Or a terrorist believe he was an American soldier…. You see the possibilities?” He said in response to the horrified look on her face.

  “And changing what they saw?”

  “Yes. Kyler could be in this room and neither one of us would be able to see him if he didn’t want us to.”