by JL Spelbring
It took every bit of self-control Ellyssa had not to flip the latch. The latch. Closing her eyes, she focused on the small contraption that led to freedom. Knowing it was there helped to ease her frantic mind. She inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly, over and over, until the beat of her heart slowed.
Times like these, Ellyssa understood and appreciated the need for suppression. She had to maintain control.
She felt the box lift and skid across the van bed as Tim positioned the container. A short while later, the engine fired up and they were moving.
The rocking of the van was lulling. On more than one occasion during the drive into town, the soft lure of sleep tempted her, but she couldn’t afford the luxury. She had to concentrate on the next leg of their journey.
To find Rein.
38
Rein wasn’t exactly sure where he was, but he assumed it was The Center. Detective Petersen had mentioned the place when she’d thought him asleep. She’d had also scared the hell out of him when she’d been tracing the outlines of his face with the gun. Definitely bat-shit crazy.
The Center felt like what Rein had heard about hospitals. Disinfectant lingered in the air, and everything was white. Shiny white walls and floors, no pictures, no inviting furniture, nothing with color. Even the man who sat at the desk had whitish-silver hair, cut short and neat, and wore a white coat over a white shirt.
The man busied himself with files. He appeared much younger than his actual age, if Rein were to judge by his silvery hair. The tendons of his neck stood out when he moved his arms, suggesting powerful muscles, and the sculpted features of his face were as smooth and flawless as that of someone in his early thirties.
For the most part, the man in the lab coat ignored him, occasionally glancing up as if to ensure Rein hadn’t moved. The only words he’d spoken to the detective had been in German, Rein assumed, after she had Rein seated and secured to the chair, one ankle tied to each leg and hands wrenched painfully behind his back.
Whatever the man said hadn’t made the detective happy. She’d stormed out of the room like a petulant child. Rein imagined she was upset about having the privilege of knocking him around revoked. Perhaps she was afraid the man in the lab coat would take his turn, stealing on her fun.
Rein snickered and the man looked up. His face showed no emotion at all, blank and unreadable. It was a look Rein recognized. The snicker died on his lips. The man resumed his previous job of ignoring the prisoner.
As an undetermined number of minutes ticked away, the muscles in Rein’s neck and shoulders began to cramp from staying in the same position for so long. He moved his head from side to side. His tendons pulsed under a spasm. Hissing, he stretched his neck by placing his chin on his chest, but that proved to be a mistake. The muscle seized, and he groaned as he attempted to raise his head.
Damn, it hurt.
The man stood and approached him. He was larger than he’d appeared behind the desk, and his face still held the same absence of expression. His eyes said something, though. They were the same color as Ellyssa’s, and hardness sizzled within their depths. Afraid the man in the lab coat had one of the secret talents Ellyssa had told them about, Rein sucked in a breath and held it.
“Nice to meet you, Rein. Please accept my apologies for the extreme treatment you had to endure. Detective Petersen can be quite…uncouth, at times. I hope your injuries are not too unbearable.”
The man spoke politely, his speech clear and sharp, and with a slight accent like Ellyssa’s. He reached in the pocket of his lab coat and extracted a bottle of pills.
“I am sure you can understand the need for precautions, though,” he said, offering three round tablets and a glass of water.
Eyeing the medication, Rein shook his head. “No, thank you.”
The man closed his fist and the pills disappeared. “Suit yourself.”
“Who are you?” he muttered, through gritted teeth, pain stabbing his neck.
“You do not know? I assumed, with my daughter’s mental breakdown, you would know.” The man smiled, but it wasn’t one that extended friendship. This smile was cold and calculating.
“Dr. Hirch?”
He nodded. “Now, of course, Rein, I am going to need some information from you.”
“I have none to give you.”
“I am ever so sorry to hear that.” The doctor returned to his desk and pushed a red button. “It is regrettable that Ellyssa is not here. If she were, we really would not have to go through all this unpleasantness. She would read your mind and tell me what I needed to know.”
“Maybe at one time.”
Anger flickered across Dr. Hirch’s face, shadowing the sharp contours of his cheekbones, but as soon as the emotion appeared it was gone. His features blanked as he regarded Rein.
“Yes. I understand from Micah that something has transpired between you two. Rather unfortunate. She is amongst my prized creations.”
“She’s a person.”
“By all accounts, she does fit the criteria. But she is so much more. You, brought up in your closed-minded environment, would be too blind to appreciate her talents. With her, the possibilities are endless.”
“What possibilities would that be? Murdering innocents?”
For a moment, Dr. Hirch looked as if Rein had slapped him. “Ahh, Ellyssa has informed you of things better left secret.” The doctor tsked disapprovingly. “But murder is incorrect. ‘Cleansing’ would be a more appropriate word. There is a difference.”
“You can call it what you want. But in my eyes, there is no difference.”
“You have no vision of perfection.”
“Perfection? People, in themselves, are perfect. Creativity, emotions, the innate quest to find the truth—these are things which evolved humans. All of them. Not just what you choose. Natural selection is what made our species unique and successful in nature.”
“The innate quest for truth is what brings us visionaries, like Hitler,” the doctor replied, his voice no longer matching his demeanor. “Crime is almost nonexistent, as are humans with physical or mental handicaps.”
He strolled back to his desk and picked up the file he had been previously studying, then waved it at Rein. “The transference of imperfect genetic code is what caused the maladies of humanity. People were too stupid to realize their mistakes. They kept reproducing genetic failures. Hospitals were full, causing financial hardships; prisons and asylums were filled with undesirables, and mortality rates were skyrocketing. Heart disease, cancer, deformities of the body and mind. They all took their toll.
“You speak of natural selection as if you understand the concept. Natural selection is how we gained the intelligence to select the appropriate DNA sequences. Because of our visionaries, of our intelligence…” Dr. Hirch paused for a moment. “Because of my intelligence. We were able to accelerate the process to the point human beings would eventually attain. We are smarter and physically stronger, and our life spans are longer.
“Look at me,” he continued, patting his chest. “I am an old man by yesterday’s standards. Most men of seventy would be past the age when they could contribute to society. But I…I function as a thirty-year-old. I am one of the first successes. Everyone will soon be like me.” A wild glimmer sparked in his eyes, and he paused to recompose himself. “Actually, better than me.”
Rein sneered, “And what you’ve done to me, to other Renegades, is what you call progress. You are no better than a common murderer. Life chose diversity for a reason. All of this will fail.”
“You are wrong. Society is flourishing, and will continue long after this ‘diversity’ of yours is a thing of the past,” Dr. Hirch said as he strolled behind Rein. His voice took on a compassionate tone. “The pain must be intense. Your arms have been in an unnatural position for some time. Maybe, after you answer some questions, we can make you a bit more comfortable.”
“Is lying part of your perfect society?”
The doctor chuckled. “You
are a bit more insightful than others I have captured, Rein. If only…”
“I’m sure my level of comfort is tearing you apart.”
“Nevertheless, you will give me the information I seek.”
The door behind Rein opened and soft steps approached the doctor. From the corner of Rein’s eye, a small girl, no more than thirteen, stepped into view. She walked like a robot, back straight, steps sure. Long platinum hair was pulled into a braid that hung between her shoulder blades, and her porcelain face held a void, flat emptiness that even surpassed Ellyssa’s when Rein had first found her.
As she passed, she regarded him with lifeless azure eyes. A chill crept down his spine.
“Der Vater,” she stated, without inflection.
“Aalexis, I am sorry for interupting your training, but I have use for you here.”
The young girl didn’t respond. She stood there as if bored.
“The reason I have summoned you is for an experiment. One that I think will test your unique capabilities.” Dr. Hirch held his arm toward Rein. “I would like to introduce you to Rein. Rein, this is Aalexis.” He placed his arm around her and gave her thin shoulders a squeeze. “He knows your sister.”
She glanced at Rein. “Is that so?”
“Yes. It seems Ellyssa has been staying in his hidden camp. Do not worry, though; he has treated your sister well.”
“I see.”
“We have a problem, though.”
“What is that, der Vater?”
“As you know, it is imperative Ellyssa be returned to us. Rein knows where she is, but he is refusing to cooperate. I was hoping you might persuade him.”
“What would you have me do?”
“Why not use your recent discovery? He would make an ideal test subject.”
Aalexis leveled her gaze on Rein, and right then he read what lay beneath her calm demeanor. The propensity to kill. With a calculated movement, like a predator stalking its prey, she took a step toward Rein.
Rein prepared himself. He shut his eyes, tucked his head to the side, and clenched his jaw, waiting for the beating. Nothing happened.
He peeked out from under his lids. Dr. Hirch and the young girl watched him. Humor gleamed within the doctor’s eyes; Aalexis had not moved, nor changed expression.
Confused, Rein’s eyebrow arched. “What?”
Dr. Hirch chuckled. “Aalexis is not going to touch you,” he said, as if Rein should have already realized this. “Unlike the detective, we are not barbaric.”
Aalexis’ smooth forehead crinkled.
A sharp pain shot through Rein’s stomach, as if he’d been stabbed with a hot poker, and his insides had been stirred. Fire seeped in and coursed upward into his chest. The intensity of the pain was like nothing he had ever experienced, like a boiler exploding within his skin. Scream after scream ripped from his mouth and echoed in the room, reverberating in his ears, but nothing drowned out the acute burning that consumed his every nerve.
“Enough, Aalexis.”
The pain instantly stopped, disappearing like it had never happened. The aftereffects still remained, though. Gasping, Rein slumped forward in the chair, the ropes holding his limp body in place. Sweat poured from his forehead and dripped into his eyes.
“I hope this little demonstration has changed your mind about helping us.”
Wearily, Rein lifted his head as high as he could. Through the pain-induced blur, he could barely make out the forms of the doctor and the girl. He tried to form words, but his mouth refused to work. He barely managed to shake his head before it fell forward.
“You leave me little choice. Aalexis, if you would.”
Pain flowed again. At first it was slow, a faint burn, like someone had touched his insides with a match, one organ after another. But as the intensity grew, it clouded his mind, until it dominated the core of his being. In retrospect, he wished he’d accepted the medication the doctor had offered earlier.
In the moment, Rein’s screams filled the air.
39
Ellyssa heard muffled voices as the crate was lifted from the train and loaded into a vehicle. She stayed perfectly still, her breaths shallow.
Whoever had moved her crate slid her into place onto another vehicle. The wood of her enclosure grated along metal. Silence followed, except for the hum of motors or the occasional mumblings from some passerby.
Ellyssa wondered to whom she and Woody were entrusting their lives. Was it a friend? A foe? Fingering the release, her brain screamed for her to lift the lid and peek, if for no other reason than to be prepared. The risk of exposure was too great. Pressing her lips together, Ellyssa forced her hand to let go of the lock. She had other means to seek information.
She blanked her mind, opened her gated barrier, and drifted into the closest person. A male, his thoughts teemed with anxiety, incoherent and hard to read. She slipped into another male, next to him. Jumbled images flickered through him, including a deep concern for their packages. He was looking at a female, who seemed calm. The female had blond hair and blue eyes, easily recognizable as a citizen.
Ellyssa concentrated on the female. She felt rushed to get their special cargo loaded. She directed the two males, both also citizens, to load the other crate. Ellyssa recognized the rectangular box as the one containing Woody. Relieved, she pulled away from the stranger’s mind.
After a few minutes, the vehicle tipped down slightly as Woody’s container slid into place next to hers. She floated into Woody’s head, just to be sure. No anxiety or fear plagued her friend. He was calm and relaxed. Darkness pooled around him.
The anonymous persons opened the truck’s doors and, once again, the truck dipped as three distinct people clambered inside the cab. The engine turned over, and the sensation of movement followed.
Ellyssa hadn’t the slightest idea where they were headed. The Renegades’ nameless cohorts’ minds said nothing of a location. She tried using the sounds of her surroundings to gather her bearings, but all she heard were engines of other cars as they stopped and accelerated along the street.
She wanted to call out to Woody, but the soldier side of her obeyed Tim’s instructions to stay silent. She hoped the contacts would stop soon and release her. Every instinct she had rallied to be freed.
The vehicle dipped and swayed to the left and right as the driver maneuvered around curves and corners. Then, there was a long straightaway that seemed to last forever. The truck gently rocked back and forth, and the soft hum of tread on the blacktop was hypnotic. Sleep pulled on Ellyssa’s lids and she caved. The next thing she knew, the truck skidded to a stop and its doors opened.
Wide-awake now, Ellyssa waited. People shouted and doors creaked. Her box was slid toward the back of the truck, and then lifted out. One of her carriers grunted as he adjusted to her weight, and then she bounced with each step they took. From what she could determine from the ruckus, Woody followed close behind.
“Tilt it to the right,” said a female.
Ellyssa was shifted to the side, moved forward, and righted again. A moment later, she was jostled as the contacts placed her on a hard surface. A thump sounded close by, she assumed from Woody’s box.
No one spoke, but there was plenty of noise as people—she counted fifteen—shuffled around. She also heard clicking, like ammunition being loaded.
Anxious, she touched the latch, the metal cool under her fingertips. No one had moved to let either of them out. With freedom no more than a flick away, the temptation grew. What if her sudden move surprised them? What if a jumpy citizen had a twitchy finger? What if the Gestapo stood waiting? She decided to be patient.
Footsteps approached. Metal scraped along metal and the lid swung open. White light flooded in. She flinched at the sudden brilliance and closed her eyes. False light flashed behind her lids as her pupils adjusted. She blinked a couple of times before opening her eyes on a face that mirrored her shock.
“Ellyssa?” Leland asked.
A trap!
&nb
sp; Why else would he be here?
Ellyssa’s instincts kicked in automatically. Before she could think, she reacted. Her fist snapped out and connected with Leland’s chin. His head whipped back, and he stumbled out of view. She pushed herself out onto her feet into a small audience of surprised faces, her back toward the table holding the crates.
“Easily disposed of,” Ellyssa thought, as she evaluated the five carrying guns.
Next would be Leland. He posed the most danger, after the armed people.
The doctor’s assistant leaned against the wall. His hand covered the lower part of his face, and he stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. She noted the blood on his shirt.
Surprisingly, no one had made a move toward her, and all the muzzles were pointed down, but Ellyssa had no intention of waiting for them to react. She kicked the gun out of the hands of the male directly in front of her. Before the weapon even hit the floor, she stepped forward, palm out, with the intent of striking his nose. The male flinched, face scrunched, waiting for impact.
“Ellyssa! No!”
Woody’s voice stopped Ellyssa from following through, her hand a fraction of a centimeter from her target. She glanced sideways.
Woody stumbled toward her with a piece of packing foam twisted around his legs. He waved his arms frantically. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”
Confused, she looked at the armed guards. The muzzles remained pointed toward the floor. She looked at Leland. He hadn’t moved at all, his hand still covering his mouth and chin, eyes still wide with shock.
Woody kicked off the foam and rushed to her side. He grabbed the hand threatening the stranger, pulling it to his chest. His warmth radiated within her, reminding her of Rein. Ellyssa paused.
“You’re safe,” he repeated.
As Woody slid his arm around her shoulders, Ellyssa glanced around at all the surprised faces. The male she’d almost struck bent over and picked up his weapon off the floor.
