by Leah Sanders
Aaron rubbed his eyes with his palms. He had been reading these articles for a couple hours now. As riveting as all this scientific rhetoric was, somehow the gnawing emptiness rumbling through his stomach distracted him. Time to find some dinner.
He saved his searches, powered down, and slid the laptop back into the black leather satchel. It would be easier to access information on site with his security clearance. This general public stuff told more in what it wasn’t saying than its actual text, naturally just raising more questions for a guy like Major Jennings.
Somehow he was going to find the connection between his family and EROMI. It was only a matter of time, and Aaron was both patient and persistent — his two deadliest traits.
He was also hungry. First things first.
****
Traveling always had this effect on Aaron. After ravenously devouring his meal, he leaned back in the booth seat and gazed absently out the window at the people rushing to and from their flights.
Normally, he didn’t enjoy people-watching unless it pertained directly to his job, but just now it seemed relaxing to see everyone else rushing while he sat contentedly full and with nowhere in particular to be.
Closing his eyes momentarily, Aaron heaved a satisfied sigh. In a minute he would make the short trek back to his gate to wait the last hour or so for his connecting flight, but for now he was happy to rest where he was.
When he opened his eyes again, a woman across the hall caught his attention. Her striking auburn hair lay in bold waves about her shoulders. She stood at an angle to him, so he could only view her profile.
Aaron could see she had stopped because of the phone call she was totally engrossed in. He watched her animated gestures as she spoke. There was something familiar about her. Her mannerism, the shine of her hair — he wasn’t sure exactly what it was. If she would just turn toward him, he could catch a glimpse of her face. Was she someone he knew?
His body tensed, and he sat forward slightly, squinting his eyes as if it would help to identify her. She spun on her heel slowly, turning her back on him as she switched the cell phone to her left ear and plugged her right ear with a finger. It was pretty noisy in the hallway; she was probably trying to drown out excess noise. Come on, turn this way, Aaron thought, becoming more anxious. She was so familiar. Who was she?
On the edge of his seat now, Aaron strained to make out her features. His muscles tightened; a slow paralyzing coldness drifted through him, starting at his feet and coursing steadily upward — the sensation of a nightmare. It made no sense. There was nothing threatening about the woman, but somehow seeing her was triggering a subconscious reaction in his body, and he couldn’t stop it.
She took the phone from her ear and ended the call. Aaron stared agonizingly at her painstaking movements — slipping her phone into her purse, reaching for the handle of her black rolling case, and turning… slowly… around. Looking back and forth down the long hallway. And then...
Aaron’s heart lurched into his throat, and his eyes widened with a start.
It was her.
“Gem,” he whispered. The word hung frozen on the air. “GEM!” The second time it jolted out forcefully, shattering the ice in his limbs and prodding him to action. He leaped from the booth and grasped his bag, frantically ripping a handful of bills from his pocket and tossing them at his table. He had no idea how much money he threw down. He only knew he had to catch that woman.
Everyone was in his way as he ran for the door. A slender, golden-haired woman pushed her chair back just as Aaron stepped behind her, narrowly missing his groin and sending him sprawling to the floor. Letting loose a string of obscenities, he scrambled up again and grabbed his satchel.
“Hey, take it easy,” the woman’s companion warned as he stood.
Ignoring him, Aaron dashed out, weaving a crooked trail around people and rolling carry-ons. Which way had she gone?
Feverishly, he looked up and down the hallway until he glimpsed her copper hair rounding the corner into the Gate 12 area. He wasn’t watching where he was going and bumped into a little girl dawdling a few steps behind her parents, sending her skidding face first along the marble floor.
The girl’s parents turned in response to her terrified screams just in time to see Aaron scooping her back onto her feet and saying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. So sorry, sweetie.” But he was moving away even as he tried to console her.
The father glared after him as her mother hurried to her and wrapped the child up in her arms, crooning, “That’s why I told you stay right with me, Jordyn. There’s too many people around… Are you hurt?”
The young mother’s words faded as Aaron pressed forward. Why were there so many stupid people in here? And why did it feel like he was going against the traffic, regardless of his direction?
His throat constricted around the lump there. An urgency surged through him that he knew was irrational, but here she was — the woman who had been haunting his dreams — and the only thing that mattered was finding her again. Beyond that he had no further plan.
Aaron’s mind raced frantically, his breathing ragged and shallow. This is crazy. What am I going to say to her? ‘Um, pardon me, ma’am, you don’t know me, but I see you in my dreams every night.’ What a line! Somehow though, he knew he had to speak her.
As he rounded the corner into Gate 12, he caught a last glimpse of the woman disappearing into the jetway. His heart, which had been up in his throat since first laying eyes on her, dropped into his stomach heavily, crushing his hope of solving at least one mystery. Now he would never know their connection — where he knew her from, and why she inhabited his every thought, waking and sleeping.
In one last effort, hoping perhaps it might draw her back out of the jetway, he called her name, the only name he knew to call her. “Gem!” he yelled down the ramp, but she didn’t so much as wince with recognition at the sound. Could he be mistaken?
“May I help you, sir?” the gate attendant interrupted his despair.
“No. I just thought—” Aaron cut off his own musing. “Can you tell me what gate the 6:30 flight to Salt Lake is leaving from?”
Chapter Fourteen
The paper was still crumpled in Gem’s pocket. She fingered the edge of it as she waited outside Aria’s door. Yes, she’d read it, but it made no sense to her anyway. Whatever Ms. Birger had written there was encrypted probably for just that reason.
The door slid open to reveal Aria regarding her through sleepy eyes. Gem watched the realization sweep over her, as her gaze transformed from semi-conscious confusion into maternal concern.
“Gem? What is it?”
“I’m having pain, Aria. Here.” Gem pointed to her abdomen and winced convincingly, doubling over and offering a low moan for evidence.
“Come in quickly!” Aria reached around Gem’s waist and pulled her inside the room, supporting Gem’s arm with her own shoulders. The door slid closed behind them. “Why didn’t you report this already from your room?” Aria scolded as she led Gem to the bed and helped her to lie down.
“I don’t know. I was afraid,” Gem confessed, and it was true. She was petrified. Ms. Birger had given her strict instructions to deliver the message to Aria at night. It could be the woman didn’t really know what life was like in the dormitories. Leaving her room after-hours was a serious infraction, something Gem had never done before. So the fact that her heart was beating all the way up in her ears and her palms were cold and clammy was understandable.
Striding to her monitor immediately, Aria opened a line and reported, “Aria-8936. Report code 802-13. Medical concern, abdominal pain per Gemini — Stem 6418C 0127. End report.”
The machine beeped to indicate the end of the transmission, and Aria returned to Gem directly. “How severe is the pain?”
“It comes and goes,” Gem confided. “Aria?”
“Yes?”
“Will you hold my hand?”
The unusual request seemed to take Aria by surpr
ise, but she reached out and slipped her fingers around Gem’s proffered hand. Her eyes widened as Gem crushed the paper into her palm.
When it seemed Aria might say something to give her away, Gem cut her off with a sudden moan.
Understanding spread across Aria’s face then. “Don’t worry, Gem. I’m sure it’s nothing. They’ll probably send a technician to be sure, considering your… um, situation.”
Gem nodded knowingly, her eyes wide with anxiety. Her apprehension was real enough. Any inconsistency could arouse suspicion, and they were constantly under the scrutiny of... whoever it was.
But why didn’t Aria falter? It was almost as if she instinctively knew the danger of what was happening, what it really meant for Gem to pass her the note. In one fluid motion, Aria had slipped the crumpled paper into her own pocket with one hand, while using her other hand to raise Gem into a sitting position.
“I think you should sit instead, Gemini.” The use of her formal name wasn’t lost on Gem. Aria rarely called her that. No one other than Endfield staff really used it.
A digital tone echoed abruptly from Aria’s wall monitor, signifying an incoming communication. Both Gem and Aria turned their eyes to the speaker. “ATTENTION: ARIA 8936 — DIAL 172 IMMEDIATELY, SUB-VOCAL REQUIRED.” The beep sounded again as Aria rose to comply.
“Excuse me, Gem,” she said, louder than necessary, then turned away and lifted a hand to her right ear.
Gem lay back once again. She hadn’t been lying about the pains, and they were quickly becoming unbearable. Clutching at her stomach, Gem groaned inwardly and rolled to her side, facing away from Aria. Both sides of the conversation were lost to Gem anyway. The searing plain blurred all her other senses, and she was rapidly descending into unconsciousness. A familiar haze wove its fingers around the circumferences of her field of vision. The pain was a new element though. Gem could concentrate on nothing else. She had never suffered like this. Always. Always there was medication. Sweet, soothing medicine delivering immediate relief.
What was taking the dispensary so long?
“Gem? Gem!” Aria’s voice sliced through her, reverberating with the stabbing pains. “Stay with me, Gem. They’re coming!”
As the frantic voice faded into the enclosing static, Gem heard, “You have to hurry! I’m losing her!” Then the dark silence engulfed her.
****
“What are you trying to do?”
“I needed to get your attention.”
“Does your communicator not work?”
“It wasn’t that kind of a message.”
“Then what was it? Surely you’re not testing where my loyalties lie. You do realize I am fully aware of the details of your job description.”
“Your loyalties are quite clear, Aria.”
“Is that so? Then why would you bother testing them? There is only one other possible reason for the note. And I think you, of all people, would know the danger you have put yourself in. None of them are worth it, you know.”
“I know what you’re trying to do, Aria. I know what I’m doing too. You’ve lived with them, and you know the truth. You know them better than I do. If you’re going to report me, do it. Otherwise, stop playing cat and mouse with me. I just want to help Gemini.”
“Fine. But your little stunt last night almost got her killed.”
“News flash, Aria. She’s already on that list. If she loses that baby—”
“Stop it! Stop it! They wouldn’t do that. It’s expensive to start over.”
“I heard it with my own ears. They’re done with her. She makes them nervous… she’s too—”
“Human?”
Chapter Fifteen
“You had a close call, Gemini,” Dr. Spurius oozed. “We’ve decided to have you stay here full-time for a while… for rest and observation.”
Gem lay staring up at his cold steel eyes. The pain was gone, and she was in an unfamiliar bed with no knowledge of how she had gotten there. She only remembered the pain… and then, the note.
The sudden remembrance caused her to look frantically around the room. Where was she? It didn’t look like the disciplinary clinic, but it was so hard to tell from her vantage point. The unexpected increase in heart rate registered on the monitor, and Dr. Spurius walked swiftly to the door, opened it, and stepped halfway into the corridor. “Ms. Birger? If you please…” His voice resonated through the clinic. Then he returned directly to Gem, and the door closed behind him.
“Ms. Birger will join us. I’m certain that will help you to relax. You’ve been through quite a trauma.”
The door slid open again, and Ms. Birger entered the room.
“Yes, doctor?” she inquired.
“Gemini might be more comfortable if you stay with us for a while. I recall your calming effect the last time we met together.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied and moved to stand near Gem’s head, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her warm smile set Gem’s fears to rest. The beep on the heart monitor slowly stabilized.
“There now. See how nicely she responds to your presence?” the doctor crooned, then addressed Gem. “Gemini, your assignment for the next few months is to sustain a pregnancy. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
“Last night there was a small complication, which explains the pain you experienced. Thankfully, we were able to find and remedy the issue; however, we’ll have to maintain a closer observation for a few weeks, in case of further problems. The expectation is for you to carry the pregnancy to term. To that end, you will remain here at the clinic under the watchful eye of Ms. Birger and myself.” He coughed lightly and scrutinized Gem’s face.
She knew he was looking for signs of anything out of the ordinary, so she made a conscious effort to maintain her deadpan expression. The standard expectation, she had learned from a lifetime of interaction with Endfield staff. Never a sign of inner turmoil. It was not tolerated, and certainly did not meet expectations.
****
“Welcome, Major Jennings, to Endfield,” crooned the doctor when Aaron entered the luxurious office. Before him, in a high-back brown suede swivel chair, sat an older man whom Aaron judged to be in his mid-fifties. His full head of chestnut hair with a shadow of distinguished gray running throughout, spoke of middle age. He smiled as he addressed the major, but Aaron noticed the warmth didn’t extend to his eyes, which were so dark they seemed to be bottomless chasms, sucking the light from the rest of his face.
“I am Dr. Joseph Admatha, the director of this project. This is my second, Dr. Haruki Izanagi.”
Aaron nodded in acknowledgement at the man standing by the window, who bowed his head slightly in response but didn’t speak. He appeared tense as he examined Aaron suspiciously. The muscles in his jaw flexed and relaxed in turn. Aaron felt as though he were being spread thin on a glass plate and placed under the searing light of a high-powered microscope.
Dr. Izanagi wore the stereotypical white lab coat over his small frame. He was younger than Dr. Admatha, Aaron assumed based on the lack of silver gracing his straight, black hair cropped close to his head. His eyes were black also, but unlike the older doctor, they still caught and reflected the light in small glints.
“What do you know of our operation here?” Dr. Admatha asked.
“Only what I could glean from a public Internet search,” Aaron answered. “Which, frankly, isn’t much, sir.”
Dr. Admatha grinned and smoothed his goatee with his fingers. “That’s the way we like it… ‘What the public doesn’t know’ and all that.” He leaned back in his chair and pressed his fingertips together beneath his chin. “You are an intelligent man, major. We requested you specifically for that reason. I’m sure you have already deduced there is more going on here than meets the eye.”
“Your need for military security and an intelligence officer is cause for suspicion, sir.”
“I knew we would not be disappointed in our choice,” Dr. Admatha observed. He stood abruptly and strode t
o the door.
“Dr. Izanagi, will you show Major Jennings to his quarters and introduce him to his men? We will schedule a full briefing and tour of the facility for later this evening. I’m certain you’ll want to rest after traveling all night, major.”
“Yes, sir.” Aaron followed him out of the office. Dr. Izanagi trailed silently behind them.
****
“It’s not safe for you here.” Her eyes were wide with concern. “They are already watching you closely.”
“Who?”
“Them. The watchers.”
She stood close to him now. Somehow he had made it past the impenetrable iron bars and had found his way to her. He followed her gaze to the shadows behind her. In the darkness the faint outline of a human figure stood facing them in silence.
“Is there somewhere we can go?” he heard himself ask.
“Nowhere. They see everything.” His throat tightened as the frustration surged through him. It was his dream. They had no rights here.
Suddenly he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. “Follow me!” They broke into a sprint in the direction away from the shadowy figure. The gravel crunched beneath their shoes as they ran.
He didn’t really know where they were going, only that he wanted to get them away from the watchful eyes, the penetrating gaze of the unknown observer. They ran blindly. Behind him he heard her labored breath. He glanced back over his shoulder at her, and her beauty took his breath away. It hurt him physically to be so close and yet feel she was out of his reach.
Facing forward again, he stopped abruptly. A cold, gray mason wall loomed before them, appearing out of nothing. He could hear his own heart beating furiously within him as he turned toward his companion. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks. He impulsively pulled her to himself in a protective embrace. His heart seemed to shatter within him as she whispered against his neck, “It’s no use — there is no escape.”
His stare drifted to the shadows behind her. The figure regarded them in silence, no further away than before.
