by S. S. Segran
“Totally!” Ren measured his head until she found the center, then marked it and went to grab one of the electrode caps that had been soaking in the soapy solution. “Hey, your ego hasn’t inflated enough to increase the size of your head since last week, right?”
“You’re hilarious, squirrel-face. A regular Kathy Griffin.”
She made sure the EEG amplifier and data acquisition computer were running smoothly before connecting the cap to the recording equipment and fitting it over Kenzo’s head.
“Alrighty,” she said. “We’re good to go. Gonna hit record now.”
Kenzo closed his eyes and relaxed. Through the next sixty minutes, Ren observed the electroencephalogram, occasionally having him open his eyes to read a paragraph from a book or inhale and exhale quickly, among other small tasks. They switched off at the top of the hour and she donned the cap while he monitored the experiment.
By the time they’d finished, Logan returned, looking apologetic. “Hey, guys. It’s past eleven. I need to lock up.”
“We’re done,” Kenzo told him. “Just need to clean up.”
Ren blasted her pop playlist on her phone and the cousins danced around the lab, singing at the tops of their lungs while tidying the place before bounding out the door. Logan chuckled and locked up before the three of them made their way to the parking lot outside. Thick snowflakes fell lazily around them.
Kenzo pulled up his scarf, tucking his nose in the warm fabric. “I. Hate. The. Cold.”
Logan muttered in agreement. He pressed his attaché case against his chest to shield himself against a sudden gust of wind. Ren rolled her eyes at them and leapt into a small snowbank, her boots creating knee-deep hollows. “You two are a couple of wet blankets.”
Logan cocked an eyebrow at Kenzo, to which Kenzo grimaced. As the trio trudged through the piling snow, they undertook their usual walk-across-the-lot repartees.
“Hey, Logan,” Ren asked, “you know any good sodium jokes?”
The technician adopted a thoughtful look, then grinned. “Na.”
Kenzo scoffed. “Wow.”
Ren poked his cheek. “Hey, you know chemistry jokes are sodium funny. Get it? Sodium funny, so damn funny?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
As they neared the edge of the small parking lot, Logan suddenly halted. Kenzo and Ren turned to look at him quizzically. The technician pushed his glasses up so he could rub his eyes with his free hand, then sighed. “Man, I’m really sorry, guys.”
“About what?” Kenzo asked.
Logan remained where he was, eyes shut tight
Kenzo regarded him worriedly. “Logan, what’s wrong?”
With another sigh, the technician pushed his glasses back into place and straightened his shoulders. “You guys are great kids. But this is my job.”
Kenzo swapped confused glances with his cousin. As he opened his mouth in question, something pulled down his scarf and he felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck. His eyes widened. Seconds later his vision distorted, like a yo-yo bouncing up and down. He fell back, expecting to hit the ground, but was caught by strong arms. Sluggishly, he inclined his head to the side. He could just make out Ren across from him, her limp form tossed over the shoulder of a masked assailant in black.
The last thing he saw before being dragged into unconsciousness was Logan removing his glasses and gazing sadly at the teenagers.
Two distant voices forced Kenzo to peel his eyelids halfway open. His eyes burned as if someone had rubbed sand in them and his lashes stuck together. He took a few moments to mentally inspect himself, ensuring that every part of him was intact.
The voices eventually sharpened into focus. A woman spoke, high and crisp. “… and what we need to do now is get these kids into the infirmary. Come on.”
“Yes, ma’am,” a man joined in, voice deep but just as well-enunciated as the woman.
“Oh, you hush up. Don’t call me that.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
The woman tittered. “Are you flirting, Colin?”
“What? Of course not! I’m just… just teasing.”
Kenzo wanted to lift his head and tell the man that he was a terrible liar, but couldn’t find the energy to move even a muscle. The whisper of rolling rubber tires on a smooth floor ebbed and flowed for a while until Kenzo felt himself being wheeled away. Gurney, he deduced. I’m on a hospital gurney.
His body was too heavy, refusing to cooperate with him and leaving him helpless, but his gut warned him to keep his eyes closed. The slightly chilly environment, humming with various quiet machinery, was refreshingly cool against his skin.
The gurney came to a sudden stop. There was a soft click, like something locking into place, then a gentle hand swept through his hair. A faint whiff of flowery perfume floated into Kenzo’s nose and then the woman from earlier was beside his ear.
“Hey, little phoenix,” she whispered. “I know you’ll be asleep for a while, but I still feel like I should welcome everyone who comes in. When you get out of here a few days from now, you’re gonna be one of us. I read your file, you know. I’m so sorry about the hand you were dealt. But you’re so strong. You saved your cousin and yourself and forged a better life. We’re beyond proud to have you with us. Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”
Kenzo waited until he felt a light brush of wind indicating she’d left, followed by the sound of a door lightly clicking shut, then swallowed. He could remember everything now—the biolab, his cousin, the parking lot… and Logan. The technician.
Fury tightened Kenzo’s chest. He understood that he’d been betrayed, but betrayed for what? And why?
What the hell is going on?
He opened his eyes again, this time all the way, and searched for security cameras. Finding none, he sat up and took in the circular gray infirmary. Nine other teenagers, all clothed in white sweatpants and t-shirts, lay on gurneys with their feet pointed toward the center of the room. He located Ren almost directly across from him. Behind her stood an elongated desk fitted with various medical devices and notepads.
“Psst!”
Kenzo’s head whipped around. Immediately to his right, a boy with long blond hair was pushing himself up from his gurney. He winced. “Ah, this is nuts, dude.”
“Do you know what’s going on?” Kenzo asked. His eyes darted around the room again, but everyone else was still asleep. He slid off his gurney and padded on socked feet toward Ren.
“Nah,” the boy said. “Pretty sure you and I are the only ones who came to. I’m Lance, by the way.”
“Kenzo.”
“Howdy. Where you from?”
“Eugene.”
“Eugene?”
“You now. Oregon.”
“Huh. See, I’m from Texas. Lemme guess, you were nabbed too?”
“Yeah.” Kenzo examined his cousin, satisfying himself that she wasn’t hurt. “How long have we been here?”
Lance got off his gurney and went straight for the door. “Not a clue.” He tried the lever handle but the exit remained firmly closed. “Rats! And no windows to climb out, either.”
Kenzo went around the room, examining the rest of the abductees. Some were around his age, while others looked barely out of their preteens. He jammed his fists into the pockets of his sweatpants, brow crumpling. Lance appeared at his side, standing a full head taller than Kenzo. He leaned over one of the unconscious youths, fair hair falling over his face, then turned anxious green eyes on Kenzo.
“What do they want with us?” he murmured.
Kenzo shrugged a shoulder, hoping he didn’t come across as fearful as he felt. “Did you hear what they were talking about earlier?”
“Something about repurposing? Yeah. Buddy, they’re screwing with our heads.”
“What do you mean?”
“Reckon I came ’round before you did. They’d just taken this clunky helmet off of that kid”—Lance pointed with his chin at a small brown boy a few gurneys over—“and the lady
was tellin’ her assistant that it makes our brains more pliable. But that was just the first round. We’re supposed to be out cold for the next forty-eight hours or so. And when we come to, it’s round two. During the days, they’ll be feedin’ us somethin’ through a tube three times a day. Can’t remember what they called it. And apparently we’re supposed to be, and I’m extrapolating here, half zombies once we wake up.”
Kenzo nodded absently. Then his mind caught up with him and he registered what he’d heard. “Repurposing?”
“Mmhm.” Lance slid on his socks toward the elongated desk, poking this and that before settling his seemingly restless fingers on a small yellow notepad. “From the looks of it, their helmet didn’t work on us. I don’t feel at all like a zombie, and you sure don’t look like a drooling braindead mess. Cool ’do, by the way.”
Kenzo subconsciously ran his hand through his silver hair. “Thanks. Uh, you too?”
Lance cracked a grin. “Appreciate it, Kenny-boy. Was tryin’ to grow it out for a Thor cosplay.”
“I—okay, first of all, Mr. Texas, it’s Kenzo. Second, you’re built like a twig compared to Thor. Don’t think that cosplay would pan out.”
Lance’s grin grew. “Nice! I’ve got a partner in crime with some fire in his belly!”
Kenzo blanched. “Partner in crime?”
“C’mon. You didn’t think we’d actually just sit around here and keep lettin’ ’em have their way with us, did you?”
“Please, for the love of everything that is holy, never say that again. And anyway, maybe we could try talking to those two if they come back. They seemed kind of… nice, for lack of a better word.”
Lance shot him a look of stunned disbelief. “Absolutely not. Don’t you watch any TV? Where are your survival instincts?”
Before Kenzo could retort, a beep sounded from the other side of the door. The boys beelined for their gurneys. Barely a breath later, two pairs of footsteps entered the room, followed by a quiet conversation; Kenzo recognized the voices as the man and woman from earlier.
The man made a gagging sound. “I hate this stuff. It’s wrapped in bags and it still reeks.”
The woman chuckled. “Yeah, well, we had to take this when we were being repurposed. Take comfort in the fact that literally no one is spared.”
Kenzo risked a peek. The pair, both redheads in medical lab coats, worked their way around the circle of gurneys, mounting stands from which thick bags hung and inserting needles into the arms of each abductee. Kenzo’s heart pounded in his ears.
It had to be needles.
When the man reached him, he feigned sleep. Though he tried to keep his breathing even, the nervous anticipation made his pulse race faster. Shh, he pleaded with himself. Oh, man, you need to calm down.
Miraculously, he didn’t flinch when the needle was inserted and taped into place. Right above him, the man called out, “I’m done here.”
“Great,” the woman said. “Let’s grab lunch. The drips should be done by the time we get back.”
Once they were gone and the door clicked shut again, Lance stage-whispered, “Kenny-boy, you still with me?”
Stifling the impulse to raise his eyes heavenward, Kenzo inspected the labels on the IV bag. “I’m good, Lance. Looks like these IVs are parenteral nutrition.”
“PPN. Yeah, that’s what I figured. I recognize most of the nutrients and minerals, but there are some others I don’t think are natural.”
Kenzo lifted his head to stare at the other teenager. “Excuse me?”
Lance smirked. “What, you thought you were the only smart fella ’round here?”
“Okay then, Texas. You got a plan?”
Lance’s smirk grew predatory. He fished out a small, crumpled sheet of yellow notepad paper he’d stuffed into his pocket. “You up for a little exploring?”
* * *
The man and the woman returned sometime later and detached the IVs from the teenagers. Then they gathered their things and left. Kenzo watched as Lance, light and nimble on his feet, leapt off of his gurney and slid toward the door. Just before it shut, he slipped the sheet of notepad paper between the latch and strike plate, then threw a thumb’s-up over his shoulder.
Kenzo joined him. They waited until they felt the coast was clear, then Lance tugged on the handle and the door swung open easily. They swapped cautious smirks. Kenzo led the way out and once Lance had put the paper back into place, the pair slunk down the wide corridor.
“No cameras, lots of doors,” Lance observed. “But I’ll bet the way out is up those stairs.”
Kenzo agreed. Polished tile floors shone under fluorescent lights and stretched a hundred feet ahead of them. Moving cautiously but swiftly, they stole up the stairs before stopping at a door on their immediate right.
“You ready, Kenny-boy?” Lance asked.
“We’re just looking around, right?” Kenzo pressed. “Because my cousin’s down there and I’m not leaving without her.”
“Just looking around,” Lance repeated by way of affirmation.
Kenzo opened the door. The boys gasped in unison. A massive cavern yawned before them, teeming with construction workers and lit by bright floodlights. The cacophony of heavy machinery and drills rang off the dark stone walls. Men and women shouted over the din, calling out orders and barking requests. Skeletons of several buildings were in place but only one windowless steel structure, just left of the cavern’s center, was fully built. Something about it gave Kenzo goosebumps, but he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly it was.
“What is this place?” he muttered.
“And why are we here?” Lance added under his breath.
Kenzo slipped past him but was grabbed by the arm before he could step past the doorway. “Wait!” Lance hissed.
“What?”
Lance pulled off his socks. “Can’t get these dirty, or Twiddledee and Twiddledum’ll know we slipped out when they check on us.”
“Oh. Nice catch.” Kenzo tucked his socks into the corner of the landing, but not before Lance snatched one of them and used it to prop the door slightly ajar.
Here’s hoping no one comes this way and notices it, Kenzo thought.
Lance led the way out into the cavern and away from the mass of floodlights, opting instead to go around the square steel building where activity was nonexistent. As they pressed their backs to the cold metal of the structure and shuffled by, a noise like the rolling of distant thunder emanated from within. The boys froze.
The sound reverberated a second time, like a warning. Not daring to utter a word, the teenagers hurried past the boxy structure and clung to the shadows of the cavern’s walls. Lance puffed out a breath. “Were those guard dogs?”
“As scary as guard dogs can be, I don’t think any of them sound like that.” Kenzo placed a hand over his chest, frowning.
“You’re not having a heart attack or anything, right?” Lance asked as they continued on. Kenzo supposed it was said in jest, but the other boy did seem concerned.
“No,” he said. “I just expected some kind of adrenaline rush being out here, but my heart’s not beating nearly as fast as when they’d stuck the needle into my arm.”
“Ah.” Lance nodded sagely and hopped over a small pile of jagged scrap metal. “It’s the curiosity. We have absolutely no idea what’s going on or why we’re involved. But I promise you, once we figure out the sinister things going on in here—and it has to be sinister, this is like textbook bad guy stuff—we’ll be scared straight.”
“That’s nice, Lance. You are a model for motivational speeches.”
Though he’d never admit it out loud, Kenzo had an inkling that his blond acquaintance had something to do with his relative calmness. If he’d been by himself, he was almost certain he would have ended up cowering in the shadows. He may have been an academic who hit the gym every now and then, but he most definitely wasn’t some swashbuckling explorer. He was very much out of his depth.
A line of trucks rum
bled out from a tunnel just ahead. The boys ducked behind a stack of plywood. “Escape!” Lance breathed. His eyes glinted as he ogled the gaping exit. When Kenzo grasped what was going through the taller boy’s head, he clamped a firm hand around Lance’s forearm. “We’re not leaving yet,” he growled.
“Why not?” Lance demanded.
“My cousin!”
Realization washed over Lance’s face and the glint in his eyes ebbed. “Oh. Right.” He looked back at the tunnel, like a dog longing for freedom. Then he shook himself and nodded. “We’ve probably got enough to go on. We can wing it once we get out of the tunnel.”
The idea of making it up as they went along made Kenzo want to hurl. He kept silent as he followed Lance back toward the door they’d emerged from. Belatedly, he searched around for cameras but couldn’t see any on their side of the cavern.
“Security’s a little lax down here, huh?” Lance said as they shut the door behind them and dusted off their feet.
Kenzo yanked his socks on and jogged down the stairs, hurrying toward the infirmary. He was worried about people in lab coats suddenly popping out from one of the many closed doors lining the hallway. “There’s a lot of construction going on. Doubt they’d have everything set up yet.”
“That’s another question. Who exactly is they?”
“No idea, and at this point, I don’t care.”
They slipped back into the infirmary and Kenzo sidled up to Ren, patting her cheeks. “Hey, squirrel-face. You need to get up.”
She didn’t stir, and her breathing remained deep and even. He tapped her face more urgently. “Ren.”
Lance stood as his shoulder. “Kenny-boy, I told you. We’re all supposed to be knocked out for two days. You and I got lucky.”
“I’m not leaving without her.”
Lance reached out to him but Kenzo slapped his hand away, attention focused on his cousin. “Ren. Ren! Wake up!”
Just then, a beep sounded at the door. The boys shot back to their gurneys. The redheads returned, marching around the circle and inspecting the ten teenagers. Ken gulped. Too close. That was too close.
“Look at how sweet and peaceful they are,” the woman cooed. “Oh, they’re so precious. I already love them.”
