The Forever Ones (The Iduna Project)

by DeLuca, Marjorie

  He’s absolutely right. Edelia’s like putty in our hands now we’ve shown her who’s in charge.

  “Why is everyone leaving Realtown?” I ask as Carl hands her a wet cloth to mop her lips.

  “When the Crime Lords come here there’ll be all out war with the ARPs and their security forces,” she mumbles.

  “Why are they fighting?” asks Chale.

  She shakes her head. “You really don’t know anything do you.”

  “We’ve been locked underground our whole lives.?” I say, fighting the urge to slap her. “How could we?”

  “They all want the Forever serum Whoever controls it rules everything,” she says, slumping against the chair back.

  “Are there Forevers beyond the mountains?” I ask.

  Edelia shakes her head. “I don’t know anything about that,” she says. “I’ve lived all my life in Realtown – and in the compound. I went to the mountains once when I was a kid.”

  “Then why don’t the Realtown people take the serum?” asks Sileas.

  Edelia throws her head back and laughs. “You guys are unbelievable but I guess that’s what happens when you’ve been pampered and protected your whole life. Forever serum costs big money which the ARP’s have had for years. They love their money so much they don’t wanna die and leave it to someone else. That’s why Realtown people are dirt poor! Things haven’t changed in Realtown for decades. It’s like a time warp. We’ve recycled everything we can lay our hands on but most of it was made over seventy years ago and we don’t have the resources to make anything new. All that stopped when the Iduna project came along. Things went crazy here. I wasn’t around then. I just hear stories about it.”

  My curiosity burns like that laser. “So you have no idea what’s past the mountains?”

  “None,” she says. “We all call it “the Country” but nobody’s ever got past the mountains alive.

  Sileas motions me aside. “I think we’re getting off track Paige,” he whispers. “We need to find Junius and she has to help us.”

  “Sorry,” I say, realizing how far my imagination has taken me away from what really matters right now. I turn back to her, an idea forming in my head. “When’s the next shipment coming in?”

  She shuffles her feet and her eyes won’t meet mine. “Probably tonight,” she says. “They have to bring in extra in case they have to make a payoff to the Crime Lords. It was Jake’s deal.”

  Chale steps forward. “So that’s all we are,” he hisses. “Just objects to be traded. Buy us – sell us. What the hell – we don’t care.”

  She turns away again, tears trickling down her cheeks. “I never thought of it like that,” she sniffles. “I just wanted to help my family.”

  I push Chale aside. Now isn’t the time to let emotions interfere. “Is Jake the guy who came to your house this morning?” I ask. She nods.

  “OK - what’s the procedure when the limo’s dropped off?” I ask, my mind working overtime..

  She glances over at Carl whose eyes look like they could burn a hole through her cheek. “The oldies drop off the limo at the warehouse then go wait somewhere. Then the clients show up. After their ID is verified by central control the dealer meets them at the limo and looks over the goods – I mean the shipment to check the quality and suitability - then the dealer drives the limo to the feeder pod nearest the clients’ house. Security automatically lets limos through. Documents are signed and the deal’s done. Dealer takes the limo back. Old Charlie here picks up the limo and goes underground again.”

  “What about the masked shooters at the warehouse?”

  Edelia looks suddenly scared. “How do you know about them?”

  “We saw them in action,” says Chale. “They didn’t waste any time blowing out the brains of two clients.”

  She hangs her head down. “They’re security robots. They only shoot if there’s a problem with ID and Central Control orders it.”

  “I have one more question,” I say, though I really have thousands. “Why didn’t anyone come and look for us after we escaped.”

  “The truth is they don’t care. There’s plenty more where you came from. They just send us back in to find new ones. Basically they think you won’t last long out here. Everybody wants what you have and it’s tough for you to hide it for long. Those Crime Lords have a way of sniffing you out.”

  “But who are they – I mean the people running this whole thing?” I say.

  “I have no idea,” she says, looking straight at me. “I meet with the dealers and that’s as far up the chain as I go. But I keep telling you there’s not much time - you’ll all be running for the mountains when you see what’s coming this way and you don’t want to get caught up in it.”

  “Gag her again,” I tell Sileas.

  Once she’s silent again we huddle in the corner. “We’re going to intercept the delivery tonight,” I say. “I have a black tee shirt and the necklace. I’m gonna pose as the dealer. That way we get a look at the feeder pods and infiltrate the ARP’s - and maybe we can find Junius.”

  “You’re not going alone,” says Chale. “I won’t let you.”

  “No, I’m coming with you,” says Sileas. “I’m pretty handy with this laser knife.”

  “Sileas is right, Chale – I want to ditch the limo so I need you and Ida to meet us in the woods near the Sanctuary with the scooters so we can make a quick getaway and I also want you to meet Toby instead of me. Find out what he’s up to.”

  My heart’s thudding as I pull the black tee-shirt over my head and when I feel the cold chill of the necklace settling round my neck I wonder what lies ahead in those hills above the city. I’ve never seen real feeders before. Only pictures. How will I keep myself together when I finally face the horror?

  20

  The weather must be on our side tonight because clouds are swimming across the moon, casting deep shadows on the street. Sileas and I sneak alongside the buildings and melt into the darkness. With every breathless step I take I know I’m about to face my worst fears but I’m prepared to do it for Junius. Without him I’d still be mixing smoothies and wasting the endless hours until someone decided it was time to ship me out to some lab up in Golden Heights.

  The Iduna warehouse is quiet and we can just make out the grating across the end of the tunnel a bit further along the street. I’ll drive and Sileas will hide in the back of the car but I hope and pray he’s quick with the laser if we need it.

  We press our backs against the cold brick wall just as the glare of headlights floods the tunnel opening. I feel my heart leap as the metal grating slides aside and the long black limo eases out. That car is carrying some terrified forevers who have no idea what’s ahead of them. We look in the other direction but there’s no sign of any clients yet. I know I’ll have a hard time looking them in the eye when I meet them. I can only think of them as bloodsucking parasites. These people aren’t happy just getting the serum – they want to suck a real human body dry.

  The limo pulls into the alley beside the warehouse. We can’t see anyone yet but we soon hear a door open then slam shut and the sound of small footsteps as the driver runs off down the street to make himself scarce for an hour or two. That’s our cue. We walk towards the Iduna warehouse where the car’s still running. Sileas quickly opens the back door and we see two forevers in the back seat. They’re tied up and their heads covered with hoods. Their bodies are rigid with fear. Sileas slams into the seat beside them and whispers, “I’m a friend. Don’t be scared and keep your mouth shut. We’re here to help you.”

  They’re both still trembling and I can’t blame them for it. I’m just about to offer a word of encouragement when I hear the sound of another car. I look around and see one of those silver bullet vehicles crawling down the street. The clients are here. I jump to attention and shut the back door. Keep calm and look like you belong here I tell myself as I stand in the roadway to greet them. Their car pulls up and I see the pale reflection of their faces through the
windshield. They’re not very old – just a bit lined around the eyes and mouth. Probably what Lynette used to call middle-aged. When they step out of the car I see the woman has bright blonde hair and is wearing heavy eye makeup. She wears a thick fur coat and high leather boots and her mouth is a scarlet slash against her pale skin. The man looks older. His thinning hair is long and stringy and he’s tanned. His black leather jacket is open at the neck revealing many heavy gold chains.

  “Please stand in front of the door and identify yourself to Central Control,” I say as mechanically as possible. The woman looks confused but the man pushes her by the elbow in front of the screen that suddenly lights up blue and glowing in the darkness. I stand back as the CEO’s familiar voice asks for visual identification. A light scans their faces as they stand frozen in its glare and the screen snaps into blackness again. I breathe a sigh of relief that the masked shooters aren’t making an appearance tonight. Now it’s up to me. I step towards the car.

  “You can get into your car and lead the way to your feeder pod,” I say, trying to stop my voice from trembling.

  The woman looks at her husband. “Why is she using that word, Jerry? I don’t like to think about it.”

  He fumbles for his keys. “You’d better get used to it Lisa. I paid a shitload of money for this. Anyway – before we go,” he says turning to me, “I want to check the merchandise.”

  I have to think of a way to explain Sileas. I don’t want any trouble. “Of course,” I say, opening the door. Sileas is curled up in a corner shielded by the legs of one of the feeder candidates. Jerry looks annoyed.

  “I only asked for one. Why the hell do we have two?”

  “Insurance against the Crime Lords,” I say. “Do you wanna look or not?” I say, ripping the hood of the first guy. He’s deathly white with huge blue eyes. I feel sorry for him but I’ll do anything to distract them from Sileas.

  Lisa gasps and clings to Jerry’s arm. “He looks so – so young,” she whispers.

  “Of course he is,” Jerry says. “That’s why we bought him. He looks healthy and strong. He’ll last a good long time.”

  When I look at Lisa she has tears in her eyes. She reaches a hand out to touch the boy and whispers, “I’m sorry – really sorry – we’ll look after you.”

  “Stop wasting time,” says Jerry. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  When their car starts off along the street I get in behind the wheel and realize I’ve never driven anything this big before so I’m gonna have to concentrate otherwise I’ll smash the snout of this big brute into walls and windows and everything in my path.

  As we turn the corner away from the warehouse we have to slow down to a crawl. People are on the move – trickling out of alleyways, trooping across the street, bags slung across their backs. Some push bikes or ride beat up scooters but they’re all headed in one direction. Now I wonder how deadly this big showdown is gonna be if everyone’s clearing out the way to avoid fallout from the fighting.

  “Don’t look,” whispers Sileas, climbing back up on the seat and bringing me back to the pressing reality of now. “We can handle ourselves and we don’t back down.”

  I grip the steering so tightly my knuckles stand out white in the glow of the dashboard and I wonder when Sileas suddenly changed from this quiet scientific nerd to a cool, ruthless fighter. And after Ida’s scissor legs trick with the dealer I realize that Kumaresh picked the right people to come along with Junius and I. They’ve been trained to deal with any kind of danger. Suddenly the confidence floods back inside me as the silver bullet car in front takes a sharp right turn and starts to climb upwards along a winding road lined with beat up little houses. One more turn and a large gate appears. A blinking camera rotates above it and floodlights suddenly illuminate the limo.

  “It’s a checkpoint,” says Sileas. “Just hold it together, Paige and we’ll get through.”

  Two bulky security guards appear in their red and black uniforms. They talk to Jimmy and Lisa, check some ID, look back at us then as my heart pounds in my ear, they wave us on. I try not to look as they peer down through the windows when we pass by. The gate shuts behind us and I can finally breathe. We’re through. I can’t believe it. We enter ARP territory. I see a sign that says Golden Heights and it isn’t lying. Huge gold plated gates glint in the car headlights and beyond them lie sprawling mansions, their windows lit up like glowing squares.

  “This is incredible,” says Sileas as we pass lush gardens ornate with fountains and sculptures. “No wonder they want to hold onto this.”

  The silver bullet winds further upwards and as I look to one side I see the faint lights of Realtown down below. I wonder if the people there even dream of the massive wealth up here. The houses seem to get bigger and more elaborate as we climb higher. Some are giant white cubes illuminated in blues and purples, some nestle in the trees, their ivy- covered walls towering above the glint of a swimming pool and others are simply walls of windows with enormous crystal chandeliers sparkling inside.

  Suddenly there’s a dark stretch of road and then a large white building looms up in front of us. I catch my breath as the limo headlights illuminate the unmistakable golden apples and sweeping initials of the Iduna Corp.

  “Is this central control?” I whisper.

  “Not sure,” says Sileas. “It could be just a feeder pod.”

  “Now we’re here,” I say, craning my head around to look at Sileas, “You need to disappear before you become Lisa and Jimmy’s next meal.”

  “I’ll hide in the bushes while you wrap things up,” he says. “Then we’re out of here.”

  “What about them?” I say, looking at the two masked figures, lying silent and rigid with terror.

  “They’ll have to stay here for now,” says Sileas. “We need them so there’s no fuss when the car’s checked in.

  Right now the blue-eyed guy is looking at us with wide terror-filled eyes. He’s gagged so speech is impossible. I feel a hard lump in my throat. “We’ll come back for you. I promise. We’ll find a way.” I can tell he doesn’t believe me and what’s worse I see a fat tear trickle down his cheek.

  “My name’s Evaine this is my friend Jillian,” he says pointing to the other masked figure. “She passed out when they gagged her – you gotta promise to get us out.”

  Sileas takes one look at him and grabs the mask, shoving it back down onto his head. “No time for sentiment, Paige. If we get caught there’s no hope for anyone. Pull yourself together.”

  I realize he’s right and as the silver bullet car comes to a halt, Sileas pushes the back door open and rolls over onto the ground before Jimmy and Lisa even turn around. “Hand over the feeders then come back to the car,” he whispers.

  Jimmy stands by the large glass doors and waves his hand across a blinking red light. Immediately two husky white-coated attendants march out and approach the car. With pounding heart I open the back door and they reach in to grab the struggling figures. I try with all my might to hold in the anger that wells up inside me. So this is what it’s like to be taken from captivity and brought to a worse kind of imprisonment. Forever.

  “Wanna coffee,” says one of the attendants, a square shouldered guy with a blonde buzz cut.

  I glance over at Sileas whose pale face looms out of the bushes. He nods his head.

  “Er- sure – I could use something hot,” I say, following them in. The doors swish shut behind me. Jimmy and Lisa are already there, waiting, their eyes big and greedy at what lies ahead of them.

  “It’s in the usual place,” says buzz-cut motioning to his left. The usual place? Where the hell is that? I feel my face starting to grow hot. If I don’t know they’ll be onto me in no time. I take a deep breath and turn in the direction he’s indicating. He shakes his head and I freeze. “Just testing you,” he says. “And you fail.”

  21

  My whole body feels light. It’s over. My cover’s totally blown and I’m about to turn and make a break for the door
s when his buddy, a black-haired giant, nudges him in the ribs. “Quit teasing her Bren. She’s new.”

  The hand that’s squeezing my throat suddenly lets go. “Asshole,” I blurt without thinking and black hair bursts out laughing.

  “Bren, I think she likes you,” he says.

  “Good on you, Blondie, I like a girl with guts,” says Bren. “Coffee’s two doors down on the right.” Next thing I know they’re heading off down a hallway with Jimmy, Lisa and the two poor forevers whose feet drag with every step. I vow right then I won’t rest until I free every last one of them.

  I decide I might as well hang on for a while. Have a coffee. Root around a bit. The staff room is a bare white walled place with the familiar Iduna Corp logo lit up in gold on the wall. Luckily the place is deserted so I help myself from a wall dispenser and take a long slug of it. It’s warm and muddy but I need it. I tell myself to focus. I know Sileas will wait for me while I snoop around for Junius. But where to start?

  The hallways are quiet here. I suspect most of the action happens during the day when the ARP’s come to drain the serum from their personal feeders. The thought of it turns my body cold and I gulp the last of the coffee glad of its bitter kick. I scan the ceilings for cameras but it’s dark and I don’t see any. They must be really confident about their security guys. Instinctively I flatten myself against the wall so I can stay out of view and I creep towards a low humming noise that seems to be coming from the end of the corridor. Round the corner a soft bluish light spills out through a wall of windows. I press my nose to the glass and look through. My heart freezes. I see row upon row of beds covered by transparent domes. Each bed houses a sleeping body. I look closely at the body nearest the window. It’s a young guy with sandy coloured hair and feathery lashes that flutter on his cheek. Long tubes lead like twisted spider legs from his temple, his wrist, neck and thigh and as he sleeps the blood slowly drains into a machine bright with blinking lights and monitors. I guess that’s where the serum is extracted. His young face is pale, bloodless and has the transparency of boiled onions and the shadows under his eyes are greenish grey. There are at least a hundred more like him in that one room. How many more rooms are there? Pressing my hands on the glass I move further down and read the label on his bed: Property of Tricia and Braydon Howe.