The Fledge Effect

by R. J. Henry

  “Thank you, Boss.” Of course, she imagined the next time if he ever does decide to hit her again. She planned to pivot into an arm swing straight to his face, dropping him to the ground so her foot could reach the bridge of his nose.

  “Sir, if I may, how did you round up those Fledges so easily?”

  “Little girl, you are foolish to ask so many questions. Some things are best left to the imagination… Or are they?” He thought to himself, when you’ve been a vampire hunter for as long as I was, you’d be able to comprehend my turmoil.

  “I’m just not understanding something. Fledges are kind of like vampires, no?”

  “Well, maybe you are not as stupid as I thought. But, to answer you, yes, they are. Just a more evolved group.”

  “So, you just happened to come across this formula out of nowhere?”

  “I obtained it from the blood of a vampire. It was the only way to manipulate it into the magnitude it is now.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Where on Earth would you have found a real vampire?”

  “Don’t be naïve. You know of one.”

  “You,” she said, short of breath. Meant more to be a question, but the statement came out as the answer.

  He grunted in response. “Leave and do your damn job! Just remember one thing; there are secrets within this world your mind has yet to gain the capacity to fathom.”

  He wasn’t wrong, in her case. Learning what he is, at least what she thinks he is, threw her off. Now, she’s worried that this life debt was intended to last forever.

  Chapter 13

  Emily bit the inside of her cheek. Sitting in the driveway, while gaping deep into the garage door, became a greater distraction from facing her Mother, Trudy. Emily stared blankly at the white steel, unmoving. Almost frozen place.

  She turned her gaze up to her old bedroom window. Fond of the earlier memories, but saddened by the night she will always remember. She made the biggest decision, mistake, in her life. At sixteen, she decided to run away so her Mother would never learn the real reason she ran off. Too much guilt racked inside her heart to tell the truth. She just had always hoped her Mother would see her as some troubled teen at the time. The real truth would rip her heart out, Emily feared. The only other person she told her true reason to was Maddie.

  •••

  Eighteen years ago, something unexpected had turned up. Emily’s body had missed a vital week. The one week that ensures she would have never had the displeasure of knowing what it’s like to hold a pregnancy test.

  When it had shown a positive result, she was scared but happy, worried and excited all at once. Thoughts raced through her mind, what would my mom think? Or, worse, what would Nick do if he found out? Earlier that day he had been excited to announce his early acceptance into a prestigious college. She had refused to tell him, resulting in her fleeing moment of choice. She had left a note to Maddie, directing her to keep shut of the instance.

  Her intentions were to continue with her life as a single mother. But, living on her own, with only minimum wage to barely cover her expenses, she knew what she had to do.

  She pursued in getting her GED right before she had birthed a healthy baby girl. Violet would have been her name. But, the choice was not hers. Child services had no intentions on allowing a seventeen-year-old girl to raise a child on her own. Despite her loss, she aimed for college, to prove herself a worthy parent. But, it was too late. Her baby girl had already been placed for adoption.

  She went to college anyways, meeting Nick. She still had not told him, even though they had gotten back together.

  Yet, the struggle inside her had shown on her face. When Nick brought up having kids that was when their problems had risen. After fifteen years of marriage, he finally had had enough. The fights were no longer worth staying married.

  •••

  To this day, she regrets not being up front with him. She is, however, grateful that she had another chance with him. It’s just too painful for her tell him. She could just imagine the pain he would feel. It would be the same pain, if not similar, to how she felt the day she was told she wouldn’t be a mother. What was I supposed to do? Well, it’s probably best I forget this, and move on. No one has to know. Maybe Maddie forgot, like I should…

  Tears swelled up in her eyes, threatening their existence on her cheeks. A knock came upon her window.

  Maddie stood there, smiling through the window. “Come on, we came in time for lunch!” The excitement in her voice signaled Mom made her special Chicken Casserole. But, Maddie sensed something was wrong. “Are you okay?”

  The concern in her sisters’ voice made her smile. She got out of the car, slamming the door shut. “Uh, yeah. You know. It’s just been awhile and all,” Emily said, sarcastically giggling while hiding the fact that she was wiping away a shed tear.

  “Okay…” Maddie attempted a singsong voice, trying to assure her sister that she did care, and did not forget what she had went through after leaving home. Maddie smiled, rubbing Emily’s shoulder, before racing off to the house.

  Emily approached the porch, sensing a migraine making its way. She shrugged it off when her Mother opened the screen door. Emily shyly said, “Hi… Mom.” She stood with her arms awkwardly behind her back, attempting to stand her back straight.

  Her Mother ran out, quickly embracing her AWOL daughter. “Oh, Emily! I missed you so much!”

  “I missed you too, Mom,” Emily said, squeezing her tighter.

  Trudy’s face dropped from a serene smile to a severe scowl. “What were you thinking when you left?”

  She placed her hand over her heart, tilting her head forwards. She gasped for air. “No letter, no postcard, not even a phone call to let me know…,” her voice trailed off into sobs, and before continuing, her face turned beet red, and her jaw wobbled, “… to know if you were even still alive?”

  “I’m here now,” Emily contested.

  “Yes, but where were you all those times I stood out here waiting for you to return home?”

  Emily sighed into her shoulder. “I had to take care of something.” She knew a direct lie couldn’t help her now. “I’m sorry.”

  “Save it, and don’t speak to me unless you have the truth to say to me,” Trudy demanded.

  Emily peaked over at Maddie, who looked like a deer caught in headlights, and glanced down at her feet. Maddie tried to step away.

  Trudy intervened within her attempted escape. “Stop, right there!” Maddie turned back to her Mother. “Why do I get the feeling that I am the only one here not getting the full story?”

  Maddie coughed. “Technically, neither is Nick.”

  Emily shushed her, “Maddie Lynn Taylor, shut up!”

  With her full name announced, Maddie knew now that she had said too much at that moment.

  Trudy scrunched her nose, as if trying to remember who that was. The familiarity of the name rang a bell but it did not ding. She looked up in the corner of her eye. “Who? That little boy you used to rendezvous with all over the town?”

  “He’s not little anymore,” Emily, corrected.

  “I don’t care. Now, spill it,” Trudy commanded.

  “Okay…”

  •••

  The sound of Brinks’ heels tapped against the cement, with each step echoing against the brick lined walls. With each step, she attempted to dodge the spots of grit and grime, but failed to avoid it all. She grimaced in disgust. “Dammit.”

  Chains clinked inside barred prisons as captured Fledges ran towards her. The shackles, welded to the back wall of their prisons, seized their efforts. As she made her way through the dank space, she came to a descending flight of stairs. Below is a metal room originally designed to be used as a bomb shelter; reinforced with three-quarter ton steal, and alloy. Inside, she felt invincible once the door locked up tight behind her.

  She turned away from the steel door, and got startled by whom she saw. Beside the occupied table, stood her fi
rst partner that helped initiate the Project Fledge, a six-foottall, auburn haired, appealing man. He never failed to weaken her knees making them wobble in place.

  Straightening her back, she grinned at him. “Agent Myers. How was the trip?”

  “As expected,” he grunted.

  “I wasn’t expecting you back for a year.”

  “Hmmm.”

  Despite standing in a sixty-degree climate, his modulated tone warmed on the inside of her chest. A place where many would claim was consistent with nothing more than shear, bitter ice.

  After realizing her gaze sat lower than need be on him, she swept her eyes to the floor then up to his. They glowed like Emeralds, slowing her every breath. “Good,” she said, not knowing what else to say.

  She sidled up to the table. The metal slab chilled against her pressed fingertips. “How is my little trophy doing?” she cooed, brushing back the bangs of the little girl. She jumped at the lingering coolness of Brinks’ hand.

  The young girls’ pale face shook. “No… P-please. No more. Please!” she sobbed.

  “She’s feisty, this one. She has just received her last dose of Experiment Z,” Myers said.

  “Yes,” Agent Brinks said, sighing in relief. “She survived the shot. That means she will be one of our best fighters.”

  “Yes. Yes, she will.”

  The girl let out a shrill from the back of her throat. “You’re not going to get away with this! My Dad will find me, and kill you guys!”

  Brinks leaned inches from her face. “Heh,” she scoffed, continuing, “You’re a stupid little girl. Your Daddy thinks you are dead. I doubt anyone will be looking for you. Katie.”

  Katie flinched, wanting to chew her freckled face to pieces. But she noticed something out of the ordinary about Brinks. “Your scent…”

  “Yes,” she said, raising her face from Katie. She smiled, pulling her lips back to an enlarged smile. Her eyebrows raised. “I know. I’m different.”

  “No. No! Let me out of here!” Katie struggled with her restraints. She twisted her fists, tugging against the strapped leather.

  “Soon, Trophy. Heh.”

  Myers guided Brinks out of the room. “I think it’s time to let her have some rec time outside with the other Fledges that survived the Experiment Z shot.”

  “Agreed. Time to test how resilient she is to the sun.”

  Myers whistled between two fingers. “Here, now.”

  Like a pair of dogs, two guards rushed down. He directed those orders. “Katie can have time outside. Keep her close, as she is still under observation.”

  “Yes, sir. Oh, but sir? A couple of Fledges perished out on the field.”

  “Did you dispose of them?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, then.”

  After the guards went in to obtain Katie, Brinks and Myers exited the building. Despite its inward appearance, on the outside it looked like a normal facility. The lack of upkeep compared to the new roof and siding, made Brinks irate. However, she visits only once a week, so it only dwelled on her while visiting.

  The watched as Katie ran against the fenced wire. It was too tall to climb, and ran a mile long.

  Katie calculated that by the time she would reach the top, the guards holding guns would already have shot her down.

  Brinks knew a few laps of running back and forth would wear her down.

  Hundreds, if not thousands, of Fledges

  joined by her side. The race enticed

  them. Almost entertaining them in

  their grim demises.

  Camera clicks caught the attention of Myers. The man guarding the entrance kept taking pictures of himself with his phone on the far end of a black, metal stick.

  Without hesitation, Myers raised his gun towards the guard. BANG! BANG! Two bullets fired at him. One at his phone, the other in his shoulder. He screamed, making the Fledges run ramped in circles trying to locate the area his scent was coming from.

  Brinks burrowed her eyes into him. “Really?”

  He kept his eyes narrowed, dead ahead. “I hate selfie sticks, and the douchebags holding them. Pretentious bastards.”

  “Yet, you wonder why no one likes you.”

  He corrected her. “I don’t wonder, I just don’t care,” he grunted.

  “Well, I need you to check on my group of Hybrid-Creating Scientists. They call themselves ‘The Renegades’. Oh, and they like to wear ski masks,” she made a skewed face, “so— ”

  “Fix it? I will, don’t worry,” he finished for her.

  “Thank you. Just promise me something?”

  “I promise nothing. But, please, go on.”

  “Try not to shoot anyone.” Brinks refused to let anything happen to, what she thinks of them as, her top scientists. They never waver on the rules, and always follow commands. The dirt she has dug up them helps in their obedience. She chuckles, knowing they have no way out. Just as long as he doesn’t kill them.

  “Humph. We will see,” he said, walking off. He shook his head, mumbling under his breath, “Yes, we will definitely see.”

  “I’ll text you details about them,” she yelled.

  He waved, without looking back, and got into his car.

  The injured guard waited for him to drive off. “How can you tolerate such a dickhead?”

  She kept her gaze on Myers’ tail end that raced down the road. “Actually, that is him being nice to me.”

  The guard muffled a laugh. “Oh, okay.”

  “Besides, I’m the one you have to worry about.”

  Her smoky voice mesmerized the guard as she wiggled her way towards him. She bent down by his side, gingerly sweeping over his newly acquired wound. She dug her finger in it, and sniffed the blood. Her eyes glowed bright blue, resembling LED effects. She revealed her razor teeth, sinking them into his warm, throbbing neck.

  Chapter 14

  He switched off the seat warmer. Agent Myers placed his phone inside his blazer after receiving the expected message from Brinks.

  The Renegade. Their newly acquired name left him with an unsettling twist in the pit of his stomach. What he couldn’t get past was their need to wear masks. Let alone ski masks as a choice. The sight will cost them their lives. Of course, he didn’t intend on tolerating much from a delinquent bunch like them. I’m the only one who gives a damn about this project. Either way, his determination supersedes anyone’s lack of faith in the making of the New World.

  The lake passed him by. It glistened on the surface, reflecting the orange glow of the sun. He could hear the imaginary cur-plunk noises as the fish broke the surface of the water with their tail fins.

  He looked through his rearview mirror, examining his tight-lipped smile. A single dimple rested on his left cheek. He didn’t quite like to seem pleasant. He pressed his lips into a slight frown, to appease the look that gives him power over his victims’ eyes. The fear upon them drove him. Their soul evading their life somehow made him happy. Maybe it was the fading color in their complexion, or the fact that he could get away with it.

  He shrugged in his deep contemplation, focusing his attention on the situation at hand.

  He pulled into the driveway. Two out of the three black jeep’s sat beside him. To his right, the transport bus hummed. The driver tipped his hat. Behind the gated windows were the lab-grown Fledges, ready to be taken to Meriden. Myers nodded to the driver. He wore dark shades; Myers looked at the man, wondering what he could be hiding. The sun moved lower, to a point that made sunglasses irrelevant.

  He shook his head, and relieved his car from his weight, letting the inconspicuous man slide this time.

  He walked in, seeing Rachel and David standing beside the line of monitors. In her hands was a tiny notepad and pen. She scribbled furiously as David unsteadily named off the Fledge batch numbers off a clipboard. They kept to themselves, unaware of his presence.

  His husky voice broke the silence. “Where is George?”

  David jumped, dropping the cl
ipboard. His fingers fumbled to retrieve it from the ground. The color of his pupils took over the parts of his eyes that were once blue. Myers frowned at his appearance.

  Rachel, however, remained still. His presence didn’t startle her. She peered up from the brim of her glasses. “He’s out. David, here, decided to eat all of the food.”

  David laughed. “Ah, well… You know.” His body twitched with each word.

  Myers hummed. “Found a new addiction, eh? Got tired of loan sharks, decided to try your luck at drug lords now?”

  He scratched his nose. “Nah. Nope.”

  He stepped towards the squeamish man as he gulped air, shifting in place. “You know, David, I’m not particularly fond of being lied to.”

  David shifted his weight between his feet, laughing nervously. “No. I wouldn’t… I’m not lying to you. Ever. Promise.”

  Myers flared his nostrils, nodding. He turned on his heels, now facing away from him. With a tautness in his voice, he said, “Okay.”

  With wide eyes, Rachel glimpsed over at David who rested his ample chin inside his palm. She continued to stare at him, disbelieving he would lie the way he did.

  He leaned towards her. “What? He doesn’t have to know.”

  “Yes, yes he does.”

  Myers revealed his gun to himself. He whipped it around, aiming the barrel at David. It pointed straight between his eyes, freezing him like an ice sculpture.

  A bullet flung from its home, making its way to its new destination. David didn’t have time to react. The last thing he said was, “Oh sh—” Unable to finish the last word, he was cut off by the splat his forehead made.

  He placed his gun back into its holster. He laughed. “Heh. I guess that loan shark will be disappointed that I beat him to the punch.”

  Rachel’s face flushed, as her eyes darted at him.

  He ignored her eminent glare, examining the line of blue capsules on the wall. Beneath their oval shape were tiny, digitized, screens. Some were off; others led a series of numbers. “When will all of these be completed?”