by E S Richards
“I can certainly look into it,” Professor Welbeck nodded. “Why don’t you give me her details later? Now, keep your arm straight, and slightly elevated too please.”
Zahyra followed the professor’s instructions. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought to ask about her mother sooner, but with the disappearance of Asher and Cain and all the weird things she’d already experienced in the safe haven it had managed to be pushed to the back of her mind. That gave her a glimmer of hope for the day and she smiled slightly. Then a sharp point stabbed at her skin just below the inside bend of her elbow and Zahyra let out a small yelp.
“That’s the worst of it don’t worry,” Professor Welbeck assured her. “Now just lean back and try to relax. Most people prefer not to look at it.”
Naturally Zahyra hadn’t really thought to look at what was happening until the professor said that, but now she was overcome with a natural sense of curiosity. She shifted in the bed slightly, doing her best not to move her arm and glanced down at the weird contraption attached to her.
A long translucent tube was attached to her arm with a bag hanging from the other end. Professor Welbeck was holding onto the bag, but from what Zahyra could see nothing was happening. Then, all of a sudden, the tube began to fill with blood. Steaming out of Zahyra’s arm and into the bag on the other end.
Zahyra let out a small gasp. How could something manage to make her blood move like that? Surely it went against all natural aspects of human physiology. She didn’t know very much on the matter, but her mother had taught her some basic facts and from everything she knew blood was definitely supposed to remain inside the body.
“Now,” the professor started speaking again. “You might feel a little dizzy after this is done, so that’s why I need you to keep lying down. I expect you ate a big breakfast this morning?”
Zahyra nodded slowly.
“Good, that should help with the nausea.”
Zahyra didn’t understand what that word meant but didn’t like the sound of it. Having seen enough of her blood moving into the bag she leant back, focusing her gaze on the lights in the ceiling instead.
That was another thing she didn’t understand. How did the facility manage to install lights everywhere, of all different colours? And how did they work? The one in her room seemed to turn off and on with her movement. Zahyra had discovered that the afternoon before when the room plummeted into darkness as she had laid on her bed. She hadn’t appreciated being trapped in her room for the majority of the day and hoped that at least through this T128 trial she would be allowed a bit more freedom.
Yesterday she’d been forced to read the book that had been left in her room to save her from boredom. Although she had only made it a few pages in before being disgusted by the sheer lies she believed to be reading. It made everything sound so perfect and wonderful. But how could a place that would throw two innocent men – one of them technically only a boy – out into the world be deemed as perfect. In her eyes it was all a lie.
She’d thought a lot about Cain and Asher as well. She hoped they had been ‘removed’ at the same time, so they would at least have each other. Cain would be fine she knew that, but the thought of Asher being out there alone made her want to cry. She still worried desperately about what had happened to him at the mutant work camp but she worried even more about what would happen if the same mutants found him again. Now that he was branded a Zero – even despite what the safe haven had said about his ranking – he was effectively walking around with a target on his back.
Zahyra had considered whether the safe haven would have changed his branding to a six. But if all they were indeed doing was throwing him out she didn’t see the point. She hadn’t seen the point in the mutant camp branding him either, but suspected they did that more as a punishment rather than to serve any practical purpose.
There was a tug on her arm then and Zahyra looked down. Professor Welbeck had removed the bag. It was full of her blood and Zahyra gaped at how much they’d taken from her. The bright red liquid sloshed around – weird to think that was inside of her just a few moments ago.
“Just hold this here,” the professor said to her, pressing a piece of cloth over the hole in her arm where the tube had been. She then turned around and started writing things down on some almost translucent paper, which she attached to Zahyra’s blood bag.
“I’ll be back in a moment,” she smiled, heading out of the door with the bag in tow.
Zahyra peeled the cloth away from her arm as soon as the door swung shut and inspected the damage. There was hardly even a mark where it had happened, just a tiny spot of blood from the tube being removed. She wiped it clean and leant back down on the bed, wondering what else she would have to do for this trial.
Professor Welbeck returned ten minutes later, Zahyra had monitored the time through her new timekeep. Already it was the best thing that had come out of her short time at the safe haven. A younger man, also wearing a black armband, accompanied the professor this time. Zahyra was certain this colour represented the scientific team in some regard.
“This is Damon,” Professor Welbeck said matter-of-factly. “He’ll be helping me with the next stage of your trials. You feeling well enough to come with us?”
Zahyra nodded and climbed down from the bed. Her arm felt a bit heavy as it hung by her side and she hoped the feeling would pass quickly. It made her arm feel more useless than she would like and she hated to be incapacitated in any way in case something happened.
She followed the professor and Damon out of the room and a little further down the corridor. Then they turned left and walked through a gap in the glass wall on the other side of the corridor. Inside the room they had entered there were countless pieces of equipment that Zahyra didn’t understand. Nothing looked familiar to her apart from a few black screens she recognised from a building in the city her and Cain had travelled through on the way to the mutant camp. That seemed like a lifetime ago to her now and she shook her head to herself when she realised it couldn’t have been much more than over a week ago. So much had happened in such a short time. So much had changed.
Professor Welbeck led her over to a strange machine in the corner of the room. It was made of two parts, one just above the ground and the other attached to one end, pointing up towards the ceiling. The vertical part was covered in buttons and a small dark screen. Damon reached over and pressed a few of the buttons, illuminating the screen. It consisted of strange charts and flashing numbers, none of which Zahyra understood.
“Could you hook her up please?” Professor Welbeck asked Damon, who nodded in response and moved over to a cabinet attached to the wall. He started withdrawing a collection of wires, each attached to a round… thing. Zahyra couldn’t think of a name for it. She hated not knowing what everything was, but had come to accept that would likely be the response she had to most things until she got used to the safe haven. Not that she particularly wanted to get used to it.
Damon walked towards her and then stood awkwardly holding the wires. He looked over to Professor Welbeck who shot him an irritated glance.
“Zahyra, could you raise your top please. Damon just needs to attach the wires to your chest.”
What was it with these people and wanting to undress her, Zahyra thought petulantly, but obliged and lifted her top. Damon stuck the round things to her chest, the wires snaking out below her top as she pulled it down. He then fastened something to the other end of them and took a step back, nodding to Professor Welbeck that he was finished.
She had been fiddling with the larger machine and took a moment longer with that before turning to face Zahyra.
“This machine,” she indicated it to Zahyra, “stimulates walking. It’s very straightforward. I just want you to step on, it will start moving and then you walk on the spot with it. We’ll start slowly for now, but then pick up the pace if you’re feeling up to it, okay?”
Zahyra nodded, not completely understanding what was about to happen but
following the professor’s instructions anyway. She stepped onto the machine and gave the professor another nod. Then in an instant the floor of the machine started to move backwards, dragging her with it. She jumped with a start and haphazardly put one foot in front of the other, starting to walk.
“That’s it,” Professor Welbeck spoke, “just walk normally.”
After a moment Zahyra got the hang of it and began to walk casually on the machine. There was a sort of conveyor belt beneath her, disappearing underneath the machine and then reappearing, going around in a cycle. The sensation felt strange at first, as if she was trying to get somewhere but never quite making it. After a while however it became more natural and Zahyra felt comfortable enough to ask questions.
“What is this doing?”
“Ah yes,” the professor smiled, “the wires Damon attached to you are monitoring your heart rate and other internal matters. That graph you can see on the screen is the rate your heart is beating at, see?”
Zahyra stared at the screen. She still didn’t understand it but could see a flashing light which she realised flashed whenever her heart beated. It was incredible. How this technology was available she didn’t know. Before coming here the most advanced things she’d ever experienced were the Identifiers for the Turning Age Ceremony and rare motor vehicles.
“If you’re feeling comfortable we’ll increase the speed?”
Zahyra nodded in response to Damon’s question and he leaned over and pressed a few buttons on the panel in front of her. In response the belt beneath her feet started to move faster and she changed her pace so she was running at a slight jog. The flashing light of her heart rate increased on the screen in response and she watched it carefully.
“Very good!” Professor Welbeck cooed, receiving a smile from Zahyra in response. Damon increased the speed a little bit more and she started to run, the feeling of which making her feel alive inside.
It had been a long time since she’d run for any reason other than fear. It felt freeing to be able to open up her muscles and pump her legs. It was weird that she wasn’t going anywhere, but Zahyra adjusted to that quickly and let her body relax into the familiar motions. She used to run all the time at her old camp and doing so now brought back memories of that place. She didn’t dwell on them for long however, as with those memories came the faces of Asher and her mother. As well as all the other people she had left behind.
Instead Zahyra thought of nothing but running. She focused on her heart rate, trying to control it to a steady beat. She listened to her boots hitting the machine’s conveyor belt beneath her and her breathing as it came out hard and heavy. After a while Damon stopped the machine. Zahyra was unsure how long she’d been running for as she had forgotten to look at her timekeep, but as she slowed to a halt she bent forward and placed her hands on her knees breathing deeply.
“Brilliant first session Zahyra, well done.”
Zahyra couldn’t help but smile at the praise from the professor. She was exhausted, but she had enjoyed being able to run just for the fun of it. Damon stepped over to her and carefully removed the wires from her chest then handed her a bottle of water, indicating towards a chair for her to sit. She accepted the drink graciously and sat down.
“Heather should be coming down to collect you for lunch in a few minutes,” Professor Welbeck began. Zahyra made a face in response, displeased by the thought of having to spend more time with Heather.
“She’ll bring you back here afterwards,” the professor continued, “then we’ll carry on with the tests this afternoon, okay?”
Zahyra nodded. She was curious about what the other tests would involve and much preferred to do that than spend time with Heather.
Lunch was a simple bread and stew again. Zahyra had realised the two main meals of the day were breakfast and supper, with many less people being present in the mess hall for lunch. She figured it was because people were out performing whatever tasks went on in the rest of the safe haven.
She was still curious about where people went during the day. Although she had seen other people downstairs during her T128 trial and several people were always milling around the main atrium she still never saw as many people as there were at the two main mealtimes. There was so much of the facility she hadn’t seen of course and she hoped she’d be able to discover what else went on around there very soon.
When Heather dropped Zahyra off downstairs again after lunch Professor Welbeck was already waiting for her. Damon had disappeared but Zahyra didn’t mind that, he hadn’t been a particularly friendly man. The professor attached Zahyra back up to certain machines and set her about doing random tasks for the rest of the afternoon.
She walked on a machine that stimulated a staircase, did breathing exercises, mental tasks and a whole other ream of activities Zahyra didn’t understand. When the day was almost over and Heather was due to come back to collect her Zahyra excused herself to use the toilet. As she was walking back into the glass room she overheard Heather talking to Professor Welbeck and hung back around the side of the door, hidden from view.
“Does she suspect anything?” Heather’s voice carried through the now almost empty room.
“Not as far as I can tell,” the professor replied. “And we’re getting really good results. She’s much better than any of the previous candidates.”
“Probably because she’s a walker, it’s made her stronger than those we’ve bred in the facility.”
“I agree. Once these preliminary tests are completed we should be able to move ahead with the more serious extractions.”
Professor Welbeck had a sinister note in her voice when she spoke and Zahyra was quickly taken aback. The woman had always seemed so genuine when she’d spoken to her, but now there was something off about the tone of her voice. Zahyra shook her head and zoned back in to hear the last of their conversation.
“…be able to weaponize it by the end of the month.”
“Brilliant. Keep it up prof.”
Zahyra’s mouth dropped open at the end of their conversation. Weaponize? What were they trying to weaponize? She suddenly felt sick and leaned back against the wall a little more, taking a moment to compose herself before walking around the corner to face the two women.
Neither of them looked like they suspected Zahyra had heard them talking. Professor Welbeck gave her a polite smile and a nod of the head before turning to one of the large screens in the room. Heather merely gestured for Zahyra to follow her. She obliged, anxious to get back to her room so she could process what she had just heard.
Why would the safe haven be trying to weaponize something? And what did her blood and test results have to do with it? All the calmness Zahyra had felt during her day of the T128 trial quickly evaporated from her thoughts and she was overcome once more with a dreadful fear of what was going on inside the safe haven. In that moment she decided she couldn’t escape soon enough.
Chapter 5
As soon as Heather closed the door of Zahyra’s room after their evening meal she sprang into action. She’d managed to pilfer a fork from the mess hall and hide it in the waistband of her pants and with that she could implement stage one of her plan. Throughout supper she’d done her best to listen into the conversations going on around her to glean as much information about the safe haven as possible. She still knew very little, but hoped this evening would enlighten her as to what was really going on inside the mountain.
Zahyra dragged the chair in her room away from the table and into the adjoining bathroom. Positioning it to the side of the toilet she put one foot on the chair and one on the back of the toilet. Then with her stolen fork she reached up and began working away at the tiny screws holding the cover of the ventilation shaft against the wall.
It was tiresome work, the fork slipping from her grasp several times but eventually the cover came loose and the lowered it gently to the ground. Gazing into the ventilation shaft she considered what she was about to do. It was pitch black inside and she ha
d no light save for the one that flashed up on her timekeep whenever she looked for the time. Unfortunately that was going to have to do. Climbing down from the chair she grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil from the table. She needed to have a way of mapping her movements through the vents and this was the best solution she had come up with.
Climbing into the vent proved to be more difficult than she had thought as well. The hole was just about wide enough to fit her body through and she struggled to get inside. Eventually she kicked off the chair, causing it to clatter to the bathroom floor beneath her – but she was inside. She tucked the fork, pencil and paper back into her waistband and began crawling slowly along. She didn’t have much of a plan; she just knew she needed to find some answers.
The first turning she came to in the vent went both left and right. From her knowledge the route to the left consisted of more bedrooms so she edged right, taking the pencil and paper out of her pants for a moment to make note of her direction. It was difficult manoeuvring her body to gain access to her waistband, the ventilation shaft feeling tight and constricting around her.
Zahyra hadn’t had much experience with small spaces but she was quickly learning she didn’t like them. It also didn’t take long for her body to be drenched in sweat and she was glad she’d opted for a vest rather than a full-sleeved top. In the darkness of the vents there was certainly no one around to judge her branding.
After a while the vent began to curve round, indicating to Zahyra that she had made it to the main atrium of the facility. She paused, thinking back to what she knew of the place on the ground to decide where to move next. From her position she believed the route down to where her T128 trials took place was the third turning on the right. Slowly she began to crawl towards it.
Just as she was passing the second turning she heard voices coming from the room below and froze. She had no idea how much noise she was making or if anyone was aware of where she was. After a minute of stillness she collected her thoughts and began to move towards the voices. A flash of light from the end of the ventilation shaft came into view as she turned a sharp corner and she dropped as low as she could. Wriggling on her stomach she pressed herself as close to the vent opening as she dared and held her breath, listening.
