Coded

by Kayla Bainbridge

“This is simple Kennedy,” Ryan started. “Up on this screen we are going to have several words and phrases appear, all we need you to do is read them. We are going to be monitoring your vitals the entire time,” he said, placing something on her finger and walking away.

  Kennedy nodded as Ryan left her side.

  Jordan approached again, “Any questions? Are you going to be alright?”

  Kennedy nodded again, but he didn’t believe her. He took an extra moment before returning to the adjoining room. The lights dimmed a little further to enhance the visibility of the TV screen.

  Brandon spoke, “Kennedy, we are ready to go in here. Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” she replied, Jordan could hear the quiver in her voice.

  “So, we are going to put a sentence or two on the screen, and we just need you to read them,” Brandon clarified for the second time.

  Jordan carefully watched her vitals on Ryan’s screen, she was still good.

  Ryan put the first slide up for Kennedy to read. The slide said, “K4FEDP DBXRD 3PRSXEEEL YTREALWQPRO.”

  “Oakland at noon in the field,” Kennedy read back to the team.

  “Very interesting,” Brandon said, staring at the exact same answer on the computer screen.

  Several of the other team members nodded in agreement with Brandon, including James.

  “Perfect Kennedy,” Brandon said through the intercom.

  The next screen came up and Jordan saw, “#(##@@@!!* &^&&&*** $)$^^^^*%!% ~~#$%^”

  Not a moment passed before Kennedy responded, “Trevor switched briefcases at five.”

  “Amazing,” James started. “She has a wide range of coding ability.”

  Brandon continued to have Phil put up slides with the coded messages, and Kennedy continued to respond correctly on every single one. Each member of the team wrote down their thoughts, often nodded, and smiled with her responses. Ryan seemed astonished, just like Jordan had been the day before.

  After about a dozen codes, Jordan could see Kennedy needed a break. Sweat dripped down her forehead, and she looked beyond nervous, more frightened at this point. There had also been several spikes in her heart rate.

  “Ryan?” Jordan asked.

  “Yes, I think we have pushed her enough for today,” he agreed, before Jordan had even posed the question.

  “Why what is wrong?” Brandon asked.

  “Her heart rate has slowly been accelerating and her body temperature has gone up a few degrees.”

  “Is it from the decoding or nervous energy?” Brandon asked.

  “Does it matter?” Jordan interrupted.

  “Yes,” Brandon replied calmly.

  “It is impossible to tell with such a limited test. I would need more equipment, and time to know for sure,” Ryan inserted.

  “Well, I suppose there is always tomorrow,” Brandon conceded.

  “So, we are done for today?” Jordan confirmed.

  “Yes,” Brandon replied, as he turned away to talk to James, Phil, and the other scientist.

  “Kennedy?” Jordan asked as he left the small room and headed towards Kennedy.

  Ryan turned up the lights and walked out as Jordan reached Kennedy.

  “Kennedy?” Jordan repeated when Kennedy didn’t respond the first time.

  “Yes,” Kennedy replied.

  “Maybe that is enough for today?”

  “We don’t want to rush you Kennedy,” Ryan reassured her while taking the monitor off her finger.

  “Thank you,” Kennedy said, obviously relieved. She continued to lay there.

  Brandon walked over to Kennedy, “Very impressive young lady. I will be expecting much from you.”

  Kennedy remained silent for a while, as Jordan watched everyone but the three of them leave the two rooms. Ryan was packing up his equipment.

  “I would like to go back to my apartment now,” Kennedy finally said.

  “Of course,” Jordan agreed and held out his hand to help her off the bed.

  She grabbed his hand and sat up slowly. Then Kennedy slid off the bed and walked a couple of steps on her own, but then stopped.

  “I don’t,” Kennedy started.

  Jordan could see something was wrong. He stood only a few feet behind her and took a step forward. As he reached her side, he saw her start to fall. Bending down he barely caught her.

  “Kennedy!” Jordan said as he pulled her up in his arms. She was limp.

  Ryan also appeared at her side, “Put her back on the table Jordan.”

  Jordan gently put Kennedy on the table, “Are you alright?”

  “I’m...just...tired,” Kennedy moaned.

  “No,” Ryan argued. “Kennedy this isn’t normal.”

  “Just…” Kennedy couldn’t finish her sentence before closing her eyes.

  “Kennedy?” Jordan asked worriedly. “Ryan?”

  Ryan quickly checked her pulse, “She is only unconscious.”

  “What happened?”

  “I don't know, can you carry her to my lab?”

  Jordan nodded and carefully picked her up, avoiding her right shoulder and followed Ryan to his lab. Once there, he placed Kennedy on the hospital bed in the middle of the room. Ryan descended on her, doing all sorts of tests and checks.

  “I thought I was gaining her trust back,” Jordan said after over an hour.

  Ryan smiled, “And how is that working for you?”

  “Not very well,” Jordan admitted.

  “Nothing is wrong with her,” Ryan concluded. “I want to keep her here tonight to monitor her.”

  “No, she has spent enough time here. Let her at least wake up in her apartment.”

  “If you insist,” Ryan replied.

  “I do, it is the least I can do,” Jordan said, already picking her up.

  Jordan studied Kennedy for a couple seconds.

  “Ryan, the same sort of thing happened yesterday after reading the codes. Can reading the codes somehow drain her physical strength?”

  Ryan also took his turn glancing at Kennedy before he looked back at Jordan. “Actually yes, I do believe it is possible. It could be a form of mental fatigue. If Kennedy is subconsciously using a lot of her brain to read these codes it could cause confusion, short term memory loss, and physical exhaustion. This extra strain could deplete her strength at a more rapid rate. Since she has doubtfully ever decoded, she would have never learned how to cope with the sudden decrease in strength. Over time I think she could become stronger, but that would take time.”

  “Which would explain why she would also require more sleep, right?”

  “Yes, the equivalent would almost be like running a marathon without any training. The body needs time to replenish whatever was lost, and the best way to do so is while sleeping. That is all just a theory though.”

  Jordan thought for a moment, “Do you think this is what they wanted her for?”

  “How could they know?” Ryan said.

  “I have no idea. But do you realize how dangerous she would be in enemy hands?”

  Ryan and Jordan both turned to Kennedy as she slept. Not even she knew her capabilities.

  Jordan broke their moment of thought by announcing, “I should get her to the apartment.”

  “That is probably a good idea. Be extra careful with her shoulder. I will take some time to think about what has just happened. Surely she is one of a kind.”

  “Yes,” Jordan said, walking out.

  Once back at her apartment, Jordan put Kennedy down on her bed. He took off her shoes and draped a blanket over her. Taking one last look, he exited the apartment and went to his own. He worked late into the evening before also going to bed.

  ∆∆∆

  Chapter 7

  G 00111

  Kennedy woke up to darkness again. This time she was laying in her bed. How did she get there? Looking at the clock, it said 2:12 a.m.. What was happening to her? She rubbed her eyes.

  Today her shoulder felt worse than it had the last few days. Getting up,
she decided to wait to take any drugs, until after she showered. Maybe the shower would help shake off any last bits of drowsiness and help her shoulder.

  The shower had turned into her safe place. While in the shower, Kennedy reflected on the previous day and what she had done. They had figured out her ability and were going to use it for their benefit. Kennedy never completely pushed aside the idea of this organization helping the world, but why all the secrecy? They had never shared anything they had accomplished, and that felt wrong too.

  After what happened yesterday, she could only guess what today held. They hadn’t threatened her with anything, but what would happen if Kennedy refused to help them? These thoughts worried her, yet what could she do?

  As Kennedy stepped out of the shower and into her nice fluffy robe, she heard some rumbling at the front door. Slowly Kennedy walked down the short hallway and turned to face the front door.

  “Jordan? Is that you?” she asked, loud enough to be heard through the door.

  The rustling at the door stopped for a moment. Kennedy didn’t know what was going on. Maybe the door was jammed and not letting Jordan through. She strolled towards the door and almost put her hand on the handle, but then she pulled back. Jordan hadn’t responded. Whoever was at the door wasn’t Jordan. That sent Kennedy into a panic. There was no other way out of the apartment. The noise at the door continued again.

  “Who’s there?”

  No reply. Kennedy then ran to the bedroom and shut the door. Climbing onto the bed she dug her head into her knees, freaking out. Then, Kennedy remembered the radio that Jordan had mentioned for emergencies. Even though she didn’t trust Jordan and Ryan, she would rather take her chances rather than strangers. Too frightened to run to the front door, Kennedy quickly scanned for the alarm in her bedroom. He had never shown her that one, so it took a couple seconds before she could locate it. Sliding off the bed to reach the radio, she heard the front door open.

  Changing directions, Kennedy went back to her bedroom door and locked it. With two steps Kennedy now stood in front of the thermostat, but she had forgotten what to push. Instead of trying to remember, Kennedy immediately started pushing all of the buttons and screamed for help. Looking back towards the door, she saw the handle jiggling. They were going to get in.

  With only a few buttons pressed, the door to her bedroom busted open. She turned and saw three men entering the room. They were completely covered in black special tactic military attire, and black paint on their faces. She could only see their eyes. Each easily towered over six feet and looked very fit. Kennedy knew she stood no chance. The last couple of seconds before they reached her she remembered the panic button and quickly pushed it twice before a man grabbed her.

  The front man who seemed to be in charge had wrapped one of his arms over her biceps just above the elbows, pulling her to his chest. His other hand quickly followed and fell over her mouth. She screamed regardless. She could feel the muscles in the man’s body flex as he held her. Kennedy desperately tried to dig her heels into the man’s shins, but the man easily lifted her and started to drag her out of the room. Her shoulder began to throb and made her go dizzy, so she stopped fighting as desperately. The other two men followed closely behind, checking all the rooms and hallways. All of them silent.

  Although it felt like eternity, only a couple seconds had passed before the four of them were already back into the hallway. Both ends of the hallway were empty.

  No words passed between the three men, yet their movements and turns down the halls were synchronized. These men knew where they were going and knew how to evade everyone. Even the falling footsteps on the cement floors were light and caused little or no sound.

  A couple of turns later, the trio of intruders came to a dead end. Despite having her mouth covered, Kennedy smiled. This was the end of the line, and she was going to be safe. As if to add to her confidence, she heard running from behind. Here came her saviors. She was going to be alright. Quickly the man holding her turned and she saw over a dozen armed men running towards the dead end. Jordan was among them. He looked ready to kill. Kennedy had never seen this look on him, but it helped calm her previous sense of hopelessness.

  The attackers didn’t seem worried. Looking up at the ceiling, almost on cue, the roof exploded above them. The blast from the explosion knocked down the men coming to her rescue. Her attackers expected the explosion and were able to hold their ground.

  Three ladders fell to the floor. Kennedy looked up and saw a hovering helicopter. The two other men had grabbed onto their ladder and started climbing. Kennedy looked up at the man holding her, as he motioned for her to grab on. She shook her head. No way was she climbing that thing, let alone with him. The man shifted his arms and grabbed her around the waist with one hand and then the ladder with the other. Suddenly the ladder lifted off the ground. She was flying.

  “Jordan!” she screamed as the man held her now twenty feet high. Jordan stood beneath her, helpless.

  The ladders raised off the ground at tremendous speed. The man flung Kennedy from open air, back to the ladder. She managed to fit her feet in between his feet on the bottom rung of the ladder. Her hands clung to the rung at chest level as they continued to rise. The other two men were climbing up the ladder. She looked down and saw they were over a hundred feet high. Shuddering from fear and the freezing cold, she couldn’t have picked a worse thing to wear: a wet robe. Behind her, the man held the two of them steady. One hand was on the rung, and the other holding Kennedy to the ladder. Even though she had both arms on the rung, she was terrified.

  The man standing behind her decided they were far enough away and prompted her to start climbing up the ladder. He released her waist and grabbed her left hand. Pulling it from her death grip, he placed it one rung higher. Was he crazy? She was going to have to climb this thing. The man’s body secured her from falling, yet the terror was consuming. Tears streamed through her eyes and she felt like nothing could pry her from the ring of the ladder. Trying again, the man pulled her right arm free and placed it next to her left. The pain that exploded from her shoulder made her whimper. Again, she denied any attempt at climbing up

  Sensing the man leaning down, she grasped tighter to the rung.

  He spoke to her, “You will freeze if you stay down here. We have a long flight. and are in a hurry. I will be right behind you the whole way.”

  Kennedy was surprised by his gentle tone. She had expected a violent tongue, not his willingness to help. This stopped her tears for a moment. He was right, if she didn’t get some warmth soon, she was going to get sick.

  The man spoke again. “One rung at a time, are you ready? I won’t let you fall.”

  With dried tears over her face, Kennedy nodded very slightly. Unlocking her tight grip from the rung, she glanced up to the next rung. Slowly she brought her foot up, trying to rely on her leg strength. The pain from her shoulder intensified, but she pushed it aside. Grabbing the next rung with one hand, she sighed in relief. Then, carefully, and slowly, she raised one foot and then the other. With each step, the man behind her also stepped up onto the same rung, careful to not impede on her progress. The two of them very slowly began to rise. Kennedy began to be more confident as well, taking less and less time with each new rung. The whole time, the man never pressured her to go faster, and always stayed right behind her.

  About three quarters up the ladder Kennedy looked up to see how much father she had to travel. Counting five more rungs, she realized it was almost over. Grabbing for the next rung Kennedy’s hand slipped. She began to fall backwards. Screaming into the night, Kennedy could only think about the horrible death awaiting her. Suddenly a hand reached up and caught her arm, after falling only a couple inches. The man grabbed her hand and quickly set in on the rung she had aimed for, all without any words.

  Surprised and glad to still be alive, Kennedy looked behind her to try and see the man, but instead saw how far they flew above the ground. In panic again, Kennedy braced
her arms against her current rung, determined not to move again.

  Waiting a couple moments, the man spoke again, “You are almost there.”

  The underlying confidence of the stranger helped. Kennedy took a deep breath. Her shoulder was screaming in pain, and Kennedy wasn’t sure she would make it. Regardless, she pulled her feet up to the next rung. Matching her speed, the man climbed with her until the top rung. Once there, two men each grabbed an arm and lifted her onto the helicopter. The pressure on her shoulder made her scream out and she collapsed to the floor as soon as they released her. She trembled from the cold. The men left her for a second as they pulled the man behind her up. Then they pulled up the ladder. The man who had helped her up the ladder was instantly at her side. He quickly looked her over but didn’t touch her.

  A man approached, “What do you need?”

  “A blanket,” the man who had assisted Kennedy demanded.

  The second man left and returned in a few seconds.

  “You did great. Can you walk to a seat?” the man asked, indicating a seat a few feet away. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

  Kennedy’s pain was intolerable, and the trembling was intensifying. She focused her energy and tried to fulfill his request. Carefully she stood but felt dizzy and lost her balance. The man behind her grabbed her shoulders to help her balance. Kennedy screamed again as she fell into the seat.

  “What’s wrong?” the man questioned.

  At this point Kennedy was freezing from the cold and sweating from the pain, “My...shoulder,” she managed to say as another wave of pain took over. She bent over moaning.

  The man leaned her back and pulled the left side of the blanket and robe off. After not seeing anything he pulled on the right side. Kennedy had no energy to stop him. She felt like she was going to pass out. He found the large bandage and gently pulled it back. She screamed again.

  “Kyle,” the man yelled.

  Another man raced over and looked at Kennedy’s shoulder.

  “Stop,” Kennedy whispered as she wavered in her seat. The man held her up. She closed her eyes and then opened them quickly.