Embers & Ice (Rouge)

by Isabella Modra

  She stepped unsteadily over a pile of broken stone–

  And something grabbed hold of her ankle.

  Hunter shrieked. She groped for Will as she struggled to tear her foot from the grip of someone lying under the rubble.

  “Will-”

  The figure moaned. Hunter lit her palms on fire and pointed them at the debris. Her stomach turned over inside her at the sight of a woman coated in dust, trapped under heavy slabs of concrete with dirty blood dripping down her face. Her eyes were closed but her hand moved slowly, begging them for help.

  “Oh my Go-”

  “There’s nothing we can do,” said Will. “Hurry, before-”

  Something jumped out of the shadows and collided with Will. A high-pitched screech fell out of Hunter’s mouth as Will and the attacker – a man in torn clothes – tumbled over a pile of fallen rocks. Hunter swore she heard Will’s ribs crack and break. The man looked about to rip Will apart as he growled and raised dust in the struggle.

  Hunter didn’t waste a second. She grabbed the man’s neck and dragged him back. He kicked at her, and when his head whipped around and a light flashed over him, she saw a mutated face with black and malicious eyes. Hunter felt just as much shock when he raised his hand and slashed across her stomach with his fingers.

  Pain seared her. Blood began to seep through her white jumpsuit and she stumbled against the wall of a cell. The man had razor-sharp blades for fingers.

  “Go Hunter!” Will shouted, and the man jumped on him again. “Find – Alfie!”

  Hunter didn’t want to, but her choices were few: Stay and free Will who could heal himself anyway, or continue on her suicide mission that was becoming more and more impossible the deeper she dove into the caves.

  Leaving him tore her apart, but it was what Will wanted. She scrambled to her feet. No longer did she care about staying quiet. The corridor loomed before her, the possibility of more psycho mutants hiding behind the walls, ready to jump out at her, filled her mind with fear. So she thought of Jack, and that helped her run.

  Her fingers were slick with her own blood. She twisted her ankle on a loose slab of stone but she kept moving anyway. Her eyes were on Alfie’s cell, but her heart was taking her to Death Cave 1. She tried to ignore the grunts and screams of Will and the mutant and banished images of more of them piling onto him and tearing him to pieces like cannibals, because that slowed her down.

  She came to where Alfie’s cell once was. A gaping hole in the roof and torn-down walls where he had transformed lay before her. No Alfie.

  Why did Dr. Rosenthal choose to let Alfie run loose and kill half if not more of these innocent people just to set us free? Where is he? Where is Dr. Wolfe?

  Hunter buried her questions in the back of her mind and stepped back. Her heart thumped in her chest as she watched Will struggle. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl standing in a slash of light, her figure silhouetted by shadows. She watched Hunter for a moment, then raised a hand and waved slowly. Chills ran through her and all she wanted was to get away.

  So Hunter ran to Death Cave 1. If Dr. Wolfe was keeping Jack alive, he would be there. Hunter felt strangely responsible for the horrible things that had happened to Jack, and that only made her run harder. Her chest burned from the slices the mutant had made, but she didn’t care. She nearly tripped in her haste to get to the bottom of the stairs and threw open the door that led to hell.

  Everything had been repaired; the glass tank, the broken equipment, and even the blood stain from the guard that exploded. The room felt much bigger without all the scientists and Men in White crowded around Terminal 1. Hunter hurried forward without checking the shadows that bordered the room. If there was anyone hiding, she didn’t see them as she pushed her way around a machine to the front of the glass tank.

  There was a bed inside. On the bed was Jack. She was surprised to see him look exactly like he used to; no more black veins, no more Hulk-like exterior or complete anger radiating from every muscle in his body. He was asleep, hooked up to at least three different monitors. She found herself standing on the platform with her hands pressed to the cold glass and tears spilling from her eyes.

  “Jack,” she whimpered. “I’ve come for you, okay? I’m so s-sorry.”

  How do I get him out? Taking him away from the machines would kill him. Hunter searched the tank for a way inside but couldn’t find the button. She began to panic. She forgot about Will and the others and whether they’d escaped or not. All she cared about was getting Jack away from the institution and back to Clare and the real world where he only dreamed about superheroes and never thought he was one. Where there was no pain or torture and he could be normal again.

  But he was not normal. He never would be.

  “It’s no use trying,” said a voice from the shadows behind her and Hunter spun.

  “Who’s there?” she asked, even though she knew.

  Dr. Wolfe stepped into the light. He was covered in dust and blood and looked more physically exhausted than she’d ever seen him. But that didn’t stop his gaze from sending chills through her body.

  “If he leaves that tank, he dies.” Dr. Wolfe walked towards her and the Men in White started to bleed from the darkness with their tasers aimed at her. She felt sick and angry at her own stupidity that she’d let herself get caught for no reason but to see Jack. “You should have known better.”

  “He’s alive, right? Dr. Rosenthal didn’t kill him?”

  “Of course not. He will heal in time.”

  “Then what? You’re going to train him to become a killer? To destroy the world?”

  “No training needed, my dear.” Dr. Wolfe was only feet from her and it was all she could do not to burn the smirk off his filthy face. “Jack is already a killer all the way to his core.”

  “You don’t know him like I do,” she said confidently. “Jack is selfless and brave and he would never join you.”

  “Oh, it won’t take much. Just like your fire, Jack’s darkness and destruction eat away at his soul. He doesn’t have anyone to help him overpower it. I only want him to nourish that darkness. Jack will become one of the most powerful beings on the earth, and there’s nothing you can do to stop that.”

  A crash at the back of the room made all of them turn. One of the Men in White started dragging something from behind a desk. Hunter’s heart shattered at the sight of Will’s bloodied and bruised body.

  No.

  Why had he followed her? Why didn’t he run to get away from the mutants? Why did he have to get caught like she did?

  Because he said he wouldn’t let me do this alone.

  “Ah William,” said Dr. Wolfe. “I should have known you’d be here to save the day.”

  Will spat blood onto the floor and slouched in the grip of the guards. As usual, he said nothing.

  Hunter clenched her fists so hard, her bones throbbed and her fingernails pierced her skin. It was her fault they’d both been caught. But at that moment, it was easier to be angry at the doctor than feel guilt for her actions.

  “I must say; I’m not entirely surprised that you two found each other here. You had a very special bond when you were young. I suppose that bond has rekindled.” The doctor turned to her and smiled. “It’s a pity you will never get to see each other again.”

  Something exploded inside Hunter. She launched herself off the platform and set her hands on fire as she fell through the air. All she wanted was to rip him apart and wipe that sadistic smirk off his withered face. The doctor moved out of the way, but she managed to catch his arm mid-jump. She pulled him down with her and they went rolling on the floor. The Men in White hauled her to her feet, but they couldn’t stop the fire. It was out of control. Molten-lava oozed from every pore in her body. She raged and screamed and burned anything that tried to hold her back from revenge.

  Then a white-hot pain stabbed at her side and she felt her entire body jar from the electric shock of the taser. Her vision blurred. She jerked on the
floor in agony. It must have been set on a low dosage, for it didn’t knock her out.

  “Hunter!”

  Will called her name. It cut deeper than the slices the mutant had made in her stomach.

  Dr. Wolfe leered over her. She could hear Will struggling in the background. Her head flopped to the right and she saw the guards beating him mercilessly, each punch like a gunshot in her ear.

  “I know it was not you that initiated this escape Hunter,” said Dr. Wolfe, his breath blowing hot against her face. “But I will make you suffer for leading them out of here, of that you can be certain.”

  They got out. I did it, they’re free. Despite the throbbing aching of her body, she managed a small smile. But the smile – the thought, even – was not enough to wash away the fear that rose within her at the doctor’s next words.

  “You will never leave this place. You will never see another soul outside of my staff. And you will hear of Jack’s destruction as we work together to bring havoc to the world. I promise-” He grabbed her chin and forced her eyes to his. They were black with rage as he sneered down at her and spat out his words, “-That you and William will listen to each other scream in pain and misery every day and every night until you take your very last breath.”

  The taser jabbed into the side of her neck. This time there was enough power to send her into complete darkness where she prayed to God she’d never wake up again.

  FIFTY

  The barrier between reality and unconsciousness fell apart and Hunter broke through the surface. She wasn’t aware of the space she was in. She couldn’t feel anything, but she knew on some level that wherever she was, it was cold. Everywhere was dark and blurry, the shapes outlined in a thin glow as they bobbed around her. Suddenly, she was grateful not to feel pain.

  Through the numbness, Hunter started hearing voices.

  “Keep her under. Dr. Wolfe doesn’t want her gaining consciousness just yet.”

  The voice was not familiar to her.

  “I’m at fifty milligrams,” said another voice. This one sounded fuzzy.

  “Add another ten. The cuts are deep. She lost a lot of blood.”

  Help! Hunter begged in her mind for her tongue wouldn’t move. Help me… She was too sleepy and hazy to move at all. Even her mind started to drift again. What’s happening to me? What is Dr. Wolfe doing?

  Hysteria surfaced inside her. The faint beep of a heart rate monitor increased and the shadows around her moved quicker, waving at each other as they tried to make the beeping cease. The sound was suddenly a scream. Was it her own? Make it stop… please…

  She drifted, and then she woke again, and there was silence and darkness around her. She squirmed and felt her fingers clench.

  A shriek of pain from a room nearby filled her ears. It was Will, she knew it. Her chest heaved as she thrashed on the bed Dr. Wolfe had her strapped into. There were tubes sticking into her arms that doused the fire and made Hunter remember the chair Joshua kept her in, the chair that fed ice into her bloodstream. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t get away. Nor could she block the sound of Will yelling in agony.

  You and William will listen to each other scream in pain and misery every day and every night until you take your very last breath…

  Dr. Wolfe’s words were so loud in her mind that she suddenly believe he was standing right beside her, repeating them over and over. It had begun: The eternity of suffering he promised her.

  No. Please no.

  She tried to imagine the others reaching the outside world, finding their families and living their lives again. She searched her mind for their faces, but they no longer existed. Fear seized her in a grip so tight that at once, she was gasping for breath.

  I’m alone, she thought. Forever and ever.

  A faint light started to glow around her. Hunter opened her eyes wider, blinking. She saw the fire of her reflection standing over her, looking grim.

  You’re not alone, she said. Not while I’m here.

  Then, Hunter slept.

  Dr. Wolfe stood over her. Hunter had never been more afraid of a man in her entire existence. Even her nightmares about Joshua and his pale eyes as he cackled over Eli’s dead body did not compare to the terror that slithered under her skin.

  He said nothing – just watched her, just smiled with yellowed teeth. She wished she could get up and run or even close her eyes. But this time, she was wide awake.

  “I like this much better Hunter,” he finally muttered. “Now I have you and Will and Jack together, and I don’t ever have to leave. The only thing that would make this ideal would be if Fearne was still with us. Oh, and Joshua of course.”

  Hunter’s heart pounded like a drum. She was surprised at how much that thought pained her.

  “I will find him soon, I promise.

  “What will you do with me, with us?”

  “Well, since I now have less test subjects in my Death Caves as I began with, Hunter, I am in desperate need of your assistance. You see… I have studied Will for sixteen years. And I have studied you enough to know exactly how your body works. I no longer need your DNA – I have plenty of samples. And there are no more demonstrations either. My next project is much bigger, and much more complex.” He grinned down at her. “I need you and William to be my new mutants along with those that survived the cave-in.”

  For a moment, Hunter wasn’t afraid. Because in the doctor’s eyes she saw anger and disappointment, as if he had failed only himself. So much loss had occurred in his institution and he had no one else to blame.

  But the satisfaction was momentary, for now he had a real reason to cause her pain and no desire to keep her alive. He got what he wanted and now it was time for revenge.

  Perhaps she deserved it. She was stupid enough to separate herself from the group when she could have easily followed them out to safety. Instead, she had to play the hero and run blindly back to imprisonment.

  But Will did not deserve this. Furious guilt swarmed inside her. It was because of her that he would suffer, and that was worse than any pain the doctor could imagine.

  FIFTY-ONE

  Hunter regained consciousness not on an operating table, but in a cell. It was so dark she could hardly see her own hands. Her lungs were dry and itchy with sawdust and her body ached from lying so long on the damp, concrete floor.

  Everywhere was silent. It took her only a second to realize she was behind the bars of a Death Cave and again, she panicked. Her heart thumped in a tired beat. She picked herself up slowly, dizzy and sore, and hobbled to the door of the cell. Her stomach was patched up with bandages, but the movement made the wound throb. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she became aware of what was outside her cell.

  Rubble. So it hadn’t been repaired yet, meaning it could only be days – hours, even – after she and Will were captured. Either that, or Dr. Wolfe didn’t care for the architecture of the underground prison.

  Only days ago, Hunter voluntarily walked the halls of the Death Caves. Now she was locked inside one. Which number was it? How close was she to Jack?

  And the most pressing question of all: Where was Will imprisoned?

  She stood with her hands on the bars for a long time, listening to the silence and thankful that her thoughts, too, were silent. Sometime later, Hunter heard a female sobbing far away from her cell. The sound was like poison in her ears and she stumbled back until she hit the wall and slid down to the ground. She curled up in the fetal position, even though it hurt like hell.

  Then she, too, was crying. Heaving. She cried so much that her tears dried up and her chest ached. The fire tried to warm her, but it couldn’t reach her skin. Once again, a bracelet circled her wrist and she was back where she started.

  “Hunter?”

  His voice broke through the darkness, hoarse and wonderful. Hunter lurched upright and looked for him in her cell.

  “Will? Where are you?”

  “Next to you. There’s a crack in the wall.”

&n
bsp; Hunter scrambled to the left side of her cell where his voice was coming from. She pressed her body against it, desperate to be close to him. She scratched at the concrete with her fingers until they ached.

  “You’re the stupidest person I’ve ever met, do you know that?” he said from his cell. “Do you always go running off into danger without any concern for your safety?”

  Smiling, Hunter remembered saying those exact words to him when he lay on the floor of the breakfast hall after the dinosaur attack. “You came with me, you know.”

  “Yeah. I guess it’s my hero tendency again.”

  At that, Hunter found she couldn’t control herself anymore. The tears bubbled up in her throat as she muttered, “Will, I-I can’t – I’m so sorry – it’s my fault you’re–”

  “Stop it Hunter,” he snapped at her, but his tone was soft. “You’re being ridiculous. It’s not your fault.”

  “But it is. We should have just left with the others. Why did I have to run down here to save crazy people who only attacked us and Alfie, who could be dead too and Jack, who was-”

  “You went back for Jack? Why?”

  Hunter wished more than anything that she could see his face. She put her hand against the cold, crumbling wall and sighed. She owed him the truth.

  “Because it’s my fault Jack is here in the first place.”

  Will paused. “Hunter, you’re delusional. Not everything is your fault.”

  “You’re right. I am delusional. Delusional that I thought I could make everything right and save the world. That I could bring my friend home to his sister, to a life in New York where my guardian kidnapped him from his own home and studied him like Dr. Wolfe himself. I’m delusional for not making sure he left the warehouse safely.”

  “Okay, now you’re not making any sense at all. Tell me what you’re talking about and start from the beginning.”

  So Hunter told him. If not for his benefit, but at least to keep her mind occupied. It felt good to talk about things and to hear her own voice and not the dark thoughts. Occasionally Will mumbled a response, and that helped remind her that she wasn’t talking to herself alone in the cold.