Flawed (Perfection)

by J. L. Spelbring

  “I had to know,” he simply answered.

  The familiar feed of anger decided the war going inside her. Aalexis’ hand dropped from her mouth at the same time Xaver dropped to the floor, his face scrunched in torture. Less than a second later, he pushed himself to his feet, his shield in place. She’d never used her gift against her brother, and a finger of guilt tapped in her chest. She brushed it away as easily as she’d brushed annoying flies away.

  Expecting him to come at her, Aalexis braced herself, but Xaver didn’t make a move. He just stared at her, his hands nonthreatening at his side, and instead of anger cutting across his chiseled features, he looked…sad.

  “Did you not like it?” Xaver asked.

  Aalexis didn’t know what to say. The truth was she did like it. Liked it a lot. Even now, the faint trace of tingles pricked her lips. But the act seemed wrong. A lingering lesson her father had taught? She clinched her fists in defiance. “It is not allowed.”

  “By whom?”

  “Der Vater taught us that physical outlets of intimacy weaken the mind. Is it not enough that we touch without taking it further?”

  “He also said bonds weaken. I do not feel weak. Every time I feel your warmth, your touch, strength fills my whole being. Do you feel weak?”

  “Of course not.”

  Xaver stepped toward her and didn’t stop until they were close once again. The anger Aalexis had felt sizzled out as the warmth from his body that she was all too aware of caressed her. Tentatively, as Xaver studied her, his hand moved back to her cheek, and Aalexis let him touch her.

  “Although der Vater was a genius in his own right, created us as a step toward the ultimate goal, he had his faults. Many things he was wrong about. He was inferior.”

  Drowning in the intensity of his eyes and in the confusion of his words, Aalexis stood still. Despite his intellectual visions her father had contributed toward a perfect world, he really had been inferior. He’d been mistaken about so much.

  “The bond we share is not wrong. Ellyssa has proven that, though her insight is misguided. The touching we alone share strengthens us.” Xavier bent his head closer. “We can do what we want, Aalexis. We are gods.”

  Dr. Loki led the group to the site right under the spot where the former American people had built bombs, Pantex. The area they passed through was a lot darker than the rest of the facility, and colder. If the temperature served as a gauge of what awaited them in the night, Ellyssa was glad that she, like the rest of them, had dressed in their snowsuits. She adjusted the straps of her backpack, then shifted the rifle snugly against her back. From behind, hollow steps echoed from Ann and Loreley, who had visited the artillery room to gather a few more supplies.

  “The builders were originally going to put the elevator here. It’s a good thing they didn’t. It definitely would’ve been found when the State tore down the building,” the doctor said, as he moved through and down a narrow passage way. “The builders built this hall so that, if they were invaded, only one soldier could come through at a time. Easier to pick off until ammunition was depleted. You have to remember, at one time, this was the only way to enter and exit. When they descended into the Pit, they barricaded the door. No one opened it for years.”

  The doctor stepped through an entrance and off to the side. Ellyssa, Rein, Trista, Woody and Dyllon spilled from the tight passageway behind him into a cramped room. Right in the center, taking up the majority of space, was what was essentially an elevator without walls resting on a hydraulic system of cogs and gears. The top part covered the opening in the ceiling. A motor connected to a generator sat against the wall on the right, and right above it was a panel with a green button, a yellow button and a red button.

  Woody examined the simple mechanism. “Are you sure it still works?” he said doubtfully. His snowsuit was unzipped to his waist.

  “It hasn’t been opened for a while, but we keep it maintained. The real problem is the snow and ice that is covering it.”

  Tapping his finger against his lips, Woody looked up toward the opening. “What I would do is break the ice by moving it up and down, like jiggling it.”

  “Sounds good,” Dr. Loki agreed.

  As Woody and the doctor checked over the mechanics, Loreley and Ann came in, carrying two large duffle bags that clinked and jingled. Ann dropped her load onto the ground and unzipped it.

  “Come and look,” Ann said, yanking out a crossbow.

  “Oh,” Trista said, kneeling next to Ann.

  “Do you know how to shoot one of these?” When Trista shook her head, Ann said, “It’s relatively easy.”

  “More importantly, it’s quiet. May I?” Dyllon held his hand out, and Ann slipped the weapon into his grip. “I haven’t used one of these for years,” he said, weighing it in his hands. He brought the bow up and looked through the power scope. “How far? Seventy meters?”

  “At least,” Ann answered.

  “We’re bringing four crossbows. One for me, one for Ann, and one for each group,” Loreley said. Binoculars swung from her neck as she reached into her bag and withdrew a smoke bomb. “And a couple of these.”

  Interest piqued Rein’s expression as he took the cylinder-shaped container from Loreley. “These are great.”

  “Never hurts to have a little chaos,” Ellyssa said. “They won’t be expecting us with all of this.”

  “Nope.” Ann pulled out a magazine with bolts preloaded in the slots. She took the bow away from Dyllon to show Trista. “All you do is slide this here, lock the string behind this point, aim, and pull the trigger,” she said, as she demonstrated the procedure. “After the initial loading, it will load itself. Just like a rifle.”

  Just as Ann finished unloading the weapons, the generator cranked to life. Woody flipped on the motor. It chugged with age.

  “Looks like we’re in business,” Woody said, with a satisfied smile.

  Woody pushed the green button. The hydraulics moaned and a crack sounded. He released and pushed the yellow, repeating the process until Mother Nature’s elements loosened. Freezing air fell into the room along with a dusting of snow.

  “That’s it,” Woody said. He turned and met Ellyssa’s gaze. Worry mixed with fear settled along the grey of his eyes. But there was a lot more there, too. All the things he had told her or hadn’t. Ellyssa could read it on his face without intruding into his thoughts. He grasped her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You ready?”

  Ever since they had discovered the macabre scene back at the cavern, Ellyssa had been ready, and the prospect of finally going to free their family fed excitement into her veins. Beneath the excitement, anger slithered, lying in wait for her to release it. With a small, reassuring smile, Ellyssa nodded.

  Dr. Loki went over to Ann and Loreley, and hugged them both. “Come back,” he said.

  Ann gave him a kiss on the cheek. “No worries there,” she said. “After all, you trained us.”

  “Okay,” Dr. Loki said, rubbing his hands together as if trying to rub away his fear, “hop on board.”

  Armed with their weapons, backpacks, and binoculars, and clad in white snowsuits, the team of seven stepped onto the platform. Holding hands, Ellyssa stood between Rein and Woody. Both she loved desperately, although differently. The thought of losing either of them struck a chord in her heart, and an undertone of apprehension coiled around the excitement she’d felt earlier. With all that was at stake, Ellyssa couldn’t afford for the opposing emotion to take root and interfere with her judgment. She smothered it.

  Dr. Loki pushed the button, and the lift jerked. “Good luck.”

  As the platform rose toward the dark sky, and icy air and snow whipped down through the opening, Ellyssa looked down at the retreating doctor. His teal eyes moved with the ascent, and his thin lips tightened behind the trepidation his expression held. Slowly, he disappeared from view, and the elevator clanked to a stop.

  A moonless sky greeted Ellyssa as she stepped off the platform; stars flicke
red against the black backdrop. Wind gripped hold of Ellyssa, pushing and pulling, trying to claw its way inside her snowsuit. Leftover snow from the blizzard swirled in the moving air and pecked at her exposed face. Cold was an understatement. Ellyssa finally grasped the full meaning of the phrase “When Hell freezes over”.

  Ellyssa moved against the blustery weather that seemed to be determined to make the trek as hard as possible. At least the doctor wouldn’t have to worry about prints leading back to The Pit that evening.

  43

  The sun had started to dip in the western horizon over what Ellyssa had started to think of as the Small Squad. Rein had laughed when she’d mentioned it, and countered that they were the Small Squad of Doom. Woody had agreed, and shortened the term to Squad Doom. Then everyone laughed. Tension’s death grip on them had loosened, but only a little.

  “Have a look,” Rein said, handing her the binoculars.

  Lying on her stomach, her suit keeping her warm against the elements, Ellyssa took the binoculars and gazed through them. Through the snow, barely visible, she could make out the black dots moving around the perimeter.

  “Every fifteen minutes,” Rein confirmed. “From what I can tell, there are three sets of patrols. Maybe four.”

  Woody took the binoculars from Ellyssa as she moved to her knees. “That’s not going to leave us much time.”

  “I still don’t like the plan,” Trista said.

  “We have to. One group needs to free the women, the other the men,” Woody said.

  “It will work out fine,” Dyllon said as he wrapped his arm around Trista. “You and I will do the women’s side. Okay?”

  Biting on her lower lip, Trista considered the options. Her eyes darted away, a sure sign of fear taking hold.

  Shuffling over to Trista, Ellyssa placed her hand on her shoulder. As Ellyssa thought about calming images, like the feel of Rein’s arms around her when they’d lain in bed, her own mind quieted. She wanted to transfer that feeling to Trista. “It really will be fine. I promise. We need you.”

  Inhaling deeply, Trista said in a gush, “I guess.” Then, under her breath, she continued with, “Don’t think I don’t know what you did.” She paused for a moment. “Thank you. It helped.”

  “Ellyssa’s right. It will be fine,” Dyllon reassured, casting a knowing look over at Ellyssa. “All we’re going to do is go through the fence, get your family, and hightail it out of there.”

  Trista gave Dyllon a dubious look. “Do you really think it will be that easy?”

  “Hey. Since everything that has happened since…you know”—Dyllon referenced the massacre in the cave—“you’ve been through so much. If it wasn’t for your persistence, your strength, we would’ve never found Woody, Rein or Ellyssa.” Dyllon cupped Trista’s cheek. “We are going to get your family back. It might not be that easy, but we’re going to do it.”

  “Always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst,” Woody said. “We have everything we need, and they aren’t expecting us. Here. Take a look.” He handed Trista the binoculars, and she used them. “Their security is a lot lighter than I thought it would be. Thanks to Ann and Loreley, we have extra help and extra supplies. We have things that we didn’t have before. All we have to do is wait for night.”

  A halfhearted grin appeared on Trista’s face as she nodded. “Okay. We can do this,” she said. “We really can.”

  Dyllon reached over and pulled Trista into his arms, placing a kiss on her temple. “Of course we can.”

  “So, to go over the plans again,” Ann said, as she started to draw a picture of the compound in the snow. “Loreley and I will set up here and here.” She drew Xs. “We will cut a hole in the fence here on the female’s side, and here,” she continued, looking over at Ellyssa. “We’ll help you over the wall, but that is as far as Loreley and I go.” She stopped and looked up to make sure that was understood. When everyone nodded, she continued. “The male barracks is on the left. Take out the guards posted there. And for you, Trista, the female barracks is also on the left. Same thing, take out the guards. Get your friends and get the hell out.”

  The unfurling of excitement fueled Ellyssa’s drive as they went over the rest of the plans.

  44

  Aalexis’ reflection looked back at her in the darkened windowpane as she absentmindedly touched her bottom lip. Xaver’s kisses lingered there from the night before, and the swollen flesh served as a constant reminder. Still, she couldn’t believe she had taken the step into the taboo land. Even more, she didn’t really care. The fire Xaver had elicited in her had burned through her veins in a relentless desire of wanting more of him. Of wanting him closer. Aalexis remembered how she’d clung to him as he pressed his mouth against hers. In a way, it had almost been magical, if she believed in such illusions.

  She didn’t.

  Bringing her hand down, Aalexis glanced at her brother over her shoulder. He must have felt her eyes on him, because he looked up, a grin on his face.

  “It will be tonight,” she said. “I can…feel it.”

  “I agree.”

  “The conditions are perfect.”

  “Are you ready?”

  “I have waited a long time for this.”

  “As have I.”

  “Things should go smoothly. Ellyssa has already proven that she will risk her life for the inferior beings.”

  “As I would for you.” Xaver moved behind her. Aalexis could feel his breath brushing against her hair.

  “I still will not for you.”

  “I know, my beloved sister.”

  Aalexis closed her eyes at the term of endearment. She did love her brother, there was no doubt. Her heart inflated whenever she thought about him; she assumed the physiological reaction was due to love, but her life was still more important.

  She knew it, as did Xaver.

  “Are the guards ready?” she asked.

  “The sergeant-at-arms has been informed. I have no doubt he will be efficient. His love for power is equal to that of the colonel and the general. The delusions of substandard humans.”

  “Yes. His willingness to subject himself to our experiment proves that. He will make a good soldier for the facility until our work is complete. Then we dispose of him.”

  45

  Clouds blew in with the unyielding wind, and the plains were blanketed in a deep ebony night. The conditions worked for and against Squad Doom. The darkness provided a great cover, but it also forced Loreley and Ann to move closer than had originally been planned.

  Through the binoculars, Ellyssa watched two hunched white forms move behind two black forms. She swiveled the view over to where Trista and Dyllon had gone. It took her a while to distinguish their white lumps through the wintery camouflage.

  “We got to get closer,” Woody whispered, as if afraid his words would be heard over the bluster of the wind.

  “Let’s do it,” Rein said, pushing up on his hands and knees.

  After the sweep of the spotlight passed, he scrambled off. Ellyssa and Woody followed. They moved in a few meters, until Loreley and Ann could be somewhat seen without the aid of the binoculars.

  Ellyssa’s excitement mounted as Ann made some sort of waving gesture to Loreley. The two black forms had moved to where the wall divided the two camps. The time for action had arrived, and Ellyssa blanked, letting loose the training that had taught her to move swiftly…deadly.

  Ann and Loreley brought up the crossbows at one moment, and within the next, the two black forms staggered then dropped. Their skill was just as cold and efficient as Ellyssa’s, and she couldn’t help but be a little impressed. Dr. Loki’s program had trained them well.

  “Let’s go,” Rein said, excitement and a tinge of fear coating his voice. He twitched in anticipation.

  Clear of the revolving light, they took off before the other patrol rounded the corner. Ellyssa glanced to the side, hoping Dyllon and Trista were on the move, too. She couldn’t see anything except Loreley b
olting toward where her two friends were supposed to be, over at the female side.

  Ann’s white form was at the designated spot. She already had most of the links clipped by the time they arrived. After making a few more snips, Ann pulled part of the fence back and slipped inside where she cut through the three rows of razor wire. As expected, the coils sprang back, leaving the way clear.

  “You have to move quick,” the redhead said. “If worst comes to worst, we can probably take out the next patrol, buying a little more time, but I wouldn’t count on it.” She handed the wire cutters to Ellyssa. “Go.”

  With the help of Rein and Woody, Ellyssa climbed onto their shoulders. Reaching up with the cutters, she snipped through the razor wire, then dropped the tool on the ground, careful to avoid everyone beneath her. Positioning her hands, Ellyssa easily hefted herself up and over the wall and landed on the other side with barely a sound.

  While she waited for Rein and Woody, Ellyssa squatted. The whole area was eerily quiet. No movement, no nothing. She couldn’t even see guards posted at the barracks. They were there, though, a conglomeration of voices, too many to single out anything decipherable.

  Rein dropped down next to her, and a little bit later, she heard the crunch of Woody’s feet hitting the snow.

  “Where is everyone?” Rein asked, his voice low.

  “I do not know,” Ellyssa answered, the robotic tone unsurprising.

  “I don’t like this,” Rein said.

  “Neither do I.”

  Woody shuffled between them. “Can you get a read on anyone?”

  “I can get a read on everyone. One second.” Ellyssa swiveled her mental wall around and pegged a soldier standing on one side of the doorway leading to the prisoners’ barracks.

  The soldier was bored and very cold, and more than just a little annoyed. He looked over at the male he’d been assigned with, who was wearing a black snowsuit. Besides his eyes, his face was hidden behind a thick scarf.