Naked

by Alexandra Christian

  Phoe’s head was cloudy as she woke up again. This time she couldn’t feel that distinct sensation of movement. Evidently they’d arrived at their destination. She was still strapped to the bed where they’d left her on the ship. She pulled at the cuffs around her wrists, but to no avail.

  “Help,” she shouted, but it was no use. It was obvious that no one was coming to her rescue. Perhaps Eve was right, and everything had been a game for Cage. A means to an end.

  It was typical, really. Phoe had never had any sort of a relationship with anyone that didn’t turn into a disaster. Except, of course, with her sister. Once their parents were gone, all they’d had was each other. She knew that Jessica had always been the strong one, the brave one who never backed down from a challenge. And Phoe knew that she was a disappointment. That’s why going on this journey to save her had been so important. Not just to save Jess’s life, but to prove Phoe could do it. That she could stand on her own two feet.

  Of course, her adventure had not quite turned out the way she’d hoped. The first sexy, dangerous, and intelligent man who paid her any attention whatsoever and she’d melted like a springtime snowman.

  It was obvious that her hero wasn’t coming to save her, so she thought about what Scarlett O’Hara might do if she were in the same situation. Her strength and Southern belle savvy had taught Phoe a lot about how to deal with a crisis. She wouldn’t shrink like some ninny and wait to die. Scarlett would come out swinging.

  Phoe stared at her surroundings, looking for any possible weakness. The cuffs around her wrists and ankles sparkled with the antiseptic glow of freshly sterilized metal. It was obviously a gurney on which she lay, and the rolling contraption beside her with clear tubing wrapped around it like dead tentacles led her to believe that this place was a lab. A place for medical testing perhaps? Was she to be dissected? Cut into pieces? Or merely injected with some kind of poison that would kill her slowly while she spat damning secrets of all that had happened since she left St. Francisville?

  After a few more tests of her bonds, Phoe decided she didn’t have a chance of breaking free. The only thing to do would be to try to slip her wrists from the clasps that held her.

  “Okay, mind over matter, Phoe.”

  She tried to make her hands as small as possible so that she might pull them through the hoops. She whimpered as the edge of the metal cuff cut into the heel of her hand. Good, she thought. Maybe if she bled it would lubricate the skin so that she could slide through. She pulled harder, closing her eyes, as if not seeing might block out the pain. Finally she gave up with a frustrated scream, dropping her arm back to the table.

  “Please, don’t do that, miss.” Phoe looked up to see a thin man in a lab coat coming toward her. He was slight of build with glasses and a nervous smile. He didn’t look like an assassin coming to kill her. Unless of course they were breeding assassins in a high school chemistry lab. “I’m afraid those cuffs will merely adjust to the amount of force placed upon them. So really, the harder you struggle, the tighter they’ll become.” He smiled shyly and loosened the cuffs so that they were comfortable again. As comfortable as metal handcuffs could be.

  “Who are you?” she said.

  “I’m Dr. Oliver Manning,” he began, the lilt of his Irish brogue having a calming effect. “And I’m guessing that you’re Phoebe Addison.”

  Phoe sighed with relief. “You’re Cage’s friend. The geneticist.”

  “I am.”

  “So you’re here to help me?” Her heart pounded in her chest, praying that this person was going to be the savior she so badly needed at the moment. “Is Cage here?”

  “I’m going to do what I can to help you, Miss Addison, but you must understand. My position is precarious at best. And please, just lie still. There are cameras everywhere.”

  Phoe nodded and watched as he busied himself around the room, turning on all of the lights. Suddenly she could see the expanse of the room in which she was being held. Rising all around along the walls were what appeared to be glass display cases. They were dimly lit, and Phoe could see shadowed figures in each chamber. She shook her head, trying to focus. As her eyes adjusted to the light, she gasped at seeing what lurked behind the glass.

  “Oh my God.”

  “Easy,” Oliver soothed. “They’re in stasis. They can’t hurt you.”

  Inside each of the glass enclosures was a different monster you might see in a Saturday night creature feature: a werewolf, a fully shifted vampire, a small dragon, an enormous black bird with skeletal wings and bloodstained teeth, and a creature that could only be described as something from the depths of the earth with its hulking body and tentacles. All of them seemed to float there behind the glass in some sort of viscous material.

  “What is this place?” she whispered.

  “A research laboratory in the cellar of Derek Machine’s home on New London.”

  Phoe’s hand clenched in a tight fist. If she were free from these bonds, she would punch Oliver Manning right in the face. “You’re working for him, aren’t you? For Machine?”

  “Please understand, Phoebe. The IU cut my funding. When Machine recruited me, I thought he meant to find a way to stop those things. Once I found out what he really had in mind, I tried to get out, but my sister Eve…”

  At the mere mention of her name, Phoe’s stomach turned and she looked away. Apparently she’d been betrayed at every turn. “Let me guess. Machine threatened to kill her?”

  “No.” He chuckled to himself. “That would be embarrassing for everyone involved. No, he wanted Eve for the same reason that he wants Macijah. His ultimate goal is to use those things.” He gestured to the creatures behind him. “That key, the one that you’re going to trade for your sister, it opens the floodgate that will let these things into our world.”

  “Why would he want to do that?” Phoe asked. “That’s like suicide. Hasn’t he seen what those things have already done? And now he wants to bring more?”

  Manning nodded, glancing sideways at the camera mounted in the corner of the lab. It blinked with its single electronic eye and adjusted its angle with an audible hiss. He moved closer to Phoe and began cleaning the inside of her arm with an alcohol swab.

  “I have to look like I’m preparing you to get the splicing sequence. Just lie still.” He turned to the tray behind them and took a tourniquet to wrap around her arm. Phoe watched closely. The thought crossed her mind that he was lying. That this whole thing was just a ploy to make her more pliable.

  “For many years we’ve been trying to figure out why an entire population would evacuate a perfectly viable planet. We’ve all heard the stories of the little green men. Theories about who they were and what happened to them are as much a part of Earthly mythology as the Ten Commandments and the Olympians. Well, it turns out that some of those stories weren’t far off. The Sin’khari are those little green men. They were scientists from Mars that found their way to Earth sometime before the first intelligent Hominina. Your sister found the first hard evidence of their existence here on Earth under the Zagros mountain range.”

  “What kind of evidence?”

  “Glyphs, cave drawings, and the gate to an underground city that was vaster than anything anyone had ever seen. A gate that was locked up tighter than a drum.”

  “Did they open the gate?”

  “They tried, of course, but nothing worked. And believe me, they tried everything. Dynamite, C4, a hammer and chisel, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge. Nothing would open that door except a key.”

  “The amulet.”

  Oliver nodded. “The amulet would not only give us the ability to open the gates to the Sin’khari city, but allow us to read their writings. Unlock their secrets.”

  Phoe saw a look in Manning’s eyes then. It was almost crazed. His hunger for more knowledge was an obsession. He might claim he was working for Machine only to save Eve, but he was almost as desperate to know what lay beyond that gate as Machine.

  “What
does any of this have to do with my sister or Cage or why we’re here?” Phoe couldn’t hide the impatience in her voice. She had to get out of here and get to Jess.

  “Like me, Machine lured your sister in with funding when the IU decided she was getting too close. When she published that article about the things she had dug up in Iran, the IU realized that she was about to find something that they didn’t think ought to be found. They jerked her funding, and Machine was waiting. He told her that he wanted her to come to New London on a dig to find some mineral that was thought to cure any number of diseases. She didn’t find any mineral, but she did find that amulet. That amulet that’s the key to the underground Sin’khari city. The symbols matched the ones on the door itself and all of the writings that were found at the other Zagros sites.”

  “So you think there was never any mineral. That he was just looking for the key the whole time.”

  “Yes I do. I believe that the gate your sister stumbled upon was sealed for a reason and those creatures.” He gestured to the walls behind them. “Those creatures are the reason.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “The amulet isn’t just a key. Do you know the story of the Rosetta Stone?”

  Phoe nodded. “Of course. I’m a librarian. The regiment from Napoleon’s army found a stone tablet on an expedition through Egypt. The text was transcribed in three different languages on the stone: ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, ancient Greek, and Demotic script. Since we had a working knowledge of Greek by then, we were able to decipher the other two. It acted as a cypher.”

  “Exactly. The amulet isn’t just a key to the underground city but also a cypher that decodes the glyphs Jess found. The writing on the gates and on all those stone tablets she found at Zagros were basically notes left to any future peoples. All of the Sin’khari technology, their social structures, their culture—everything was there. The writings on the gates told what happened to their civilization on Mars.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Those creatures happened. Whether through science or some devastating force of nature, those creatures entered their world and began systematically decimating the planet. No one survived. The Sin’khari, realizing what was happening, fled to Earth with what was left of their population and technology. DNA samples of the creatures and their people are contained within the walls of that city. Imagine the libraries and labs that must be there. They were so advanced, Miss Addison. We can’t even imagine.”

  Phoe watched as he moved about the room, pulling instruments and tools from the drawers around them. She wasn’t so sure that he could be trusted. The possibilities of what lay in the sealed cave had made him insane with wonder.

  “You know, my mama always said that some big pots belong on the backburner. Maybe the Sin’khari had the right idea hiding all those things from the world.”

  “You can’t be serious. We’re scientists, Miss Addison. It is in our nature to learn.”

  “Yeah, it’s also in our nature to blow shit up now and ask questions later,” she grumbled.

  Manning ignored her and continued. “Now, someone has already been showing those things the way into our world, but only a few at a time.”

  “What do you mean? Who would do a thing like that?”

  Manning grinned and pulled what looked like an IV stand beside them before sitting on a stool next to the gurney. “That is indeed the million-dollar question.”

  Phoe watched as he unrolled a length of plastic tubing and attached it to a large teardrop-shaped glass bubble that hung from the IV stand.

  “If Machine manages to unlock the gate, he could unleash more of those creatures, forcing the human race to flee to his Martian utopia. He could bring about the end of the world.”

  Phoe shook her head. “That’s insane. Why would anyone want to do that?”

  “Money and power is an intense motivator, Miss Addison. Machine is using me, and presumably hopes to use Cage, to control these creatures. If he succeeds, he’ll have the most formidable army in the known universe. Enough firepower to make nuclear weapons seem like child’s play. Imagine an army of were-creatures backed up by a horde of dragons. Anyplace Machine chose could be decimated in a matter of days.”

  “He could build the most powerful weapons in the world and sell them to the highest bidder.”

  “Exactly.”

  Phoe closed her eyes, trying to let what Manning had told her sink in. The entire race would be a slave to Machine and his army of darkness.

  “What does he want with Cage?”

  “Cage survived the full splicing sequence. He’s stronger, faster, and smarter than any soldier could ever be. Machine wants a champion. A general, for lack of a better term. Not to mention that by studying Cage, Machine has this idea that he can create more like him.”

  “Isn’t Eve like him?”

  “No. The full Splice nearly drove Cage insane. He was uncontrollable. His rage and enhanced strength nearly destroyed him and half of London. Eve was given only a single form, the white dragon you and Cage met before.”

  “But you knew what it did to Cage. Why would you do that to your own sister?”

  “I didn’t. The trouble with having a private patron is that all the research belongs to said patron. Machine gave Eve the Splice in return for bringing Cage. She’s been a double agent for the IU and Machine for quite some time. But I think they’re on to her and Machine offers protection. I came here to try to persuade her to leave, but she’s foolhardy and reckless. She always has been.”

  “Is Cage here? Eve told me that he was working for Machine.”

  Manning snorted. “Cage St. John? Working for Derek Machine? Cage works for no one. Even MI six would tell you that.”

  “Well, where is he? We have to help him.”

  “Cage is here, but…”

  “But what? I thought he was your friend,” Phoe shouted.

  “He is.” He hung his head. “He’s like my brother, but you don’t understand. If I betray Machine, I’m dead and so is Eve.” Phoe started to speak but he cut her off. “And despite everything, she is my sister. I can’t just turn my back on her.”

  “So you’re just going to abandon Cage to be some fucking Frankenstein’s monster?”

  Manning hesitated, his eyes darting around the room as if he were afraid that someone would jump out at them any second. Finally, he nodded and pulled the rolling contraption closer.

  “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. Which is why I’m down here right now.” He pulled a tourniquet from the cart at his side and began tying it around her arm.

  “What are you doing?” Phoe asked, wincing as he pulled the rubber band tighter.

  “Helping you save Macijah. I can’t set him free, but you can.”

  “What?”

  Manning pulled a small packet from his lab coat and ripped it open. A bit of glistening silver caught her eye. It appeared to be an elongated mechanical needle that he fit into the end of the tubing.

  “Look, Miss Addison. This place is crawling with all sorts of strange hybrids of those creatures and humans, and worse. Cage will never make it out of here alive without help. I had to give him a serum that would control his shift. It was something I was working on for the IU. I had hoped to use it to fix the mess I made with Cage, but right now he needs the beast.”

  Phoe winced as Manning stabbed the needle into her arm. “Ow. What the hell are you doing?”

  “Just relax. You aren’t an ideal candidate, but Cage trusts you. Machine thinks I brought you down here to coax you into telling us where the amulet is hidden.” He chuckled. “Stupid bastard has searched everything and still can’t find it.”

  “What?” Phoe gasped, trying to sit up and pulling at the bonds.

  “The splicing sequence won’t take long.”

  “Stop. I don’t want to be a monster.” She thrashed around, trying to shake the needle from her arm. “You can’t do this to me. I thought you were helping me.”

 
Manning put a firm hand on her shoulder and pressed her back into the table. He held her still until she stopped struggling. He gestured with a nod toward the camera and whispered, “If you keep struggling, the guards will come down here and see what I’m doing. They’ll most likely kill me, you, and your sister if you don’t calm down. Now, do you want to help Cage and your sister?”

  “Of course I do.”

  “Then you’d better listen carefully. Where is the amulet?”

  “What makes you think I’d tell you?” Phoe snarled.

  “This isn’t the time for games. Is it here?”

  Phoe searched his face for some sign that he wasn’t trying to dupe her. Perhaps this was just one more mindfuck that Machine had engineered to get what he wanted. “I’m not sure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I hid the amulet in Cage’s knapsack. I don’t know if they grabbed it when they kidnapped me from the hotel.” She thought back to how she had so carefully hidden the amulet inside the book.

  “They obviously think you have it if you’re still alive,” Manning sighed. “The only way you’re going to save their lives is to let me help. Please, Phoe.”

  Phoe thought about what Manning was offering. The strength to save her sister’s life. Wasn’t that what she had wanted all this time? She thought back to how many times Cage had risked his life to save hers in the last several days. The two people she cared about and loved most in the world were in terrible danger, and Phoe knew deep down she was the only one who could save them.

  But she was just Phoe. Mousey little Phoebe Addison who couldn’t even bring herself to tell a group of teenagers to quiet down in the library. Would she even be strong enough to accept this gift? “All right. Do it. Quickly, before I change my mind.”

  Manning smiled and went to the refrigerator in the corner of the room. At least, she thought it was a refrigerator. When he opened it, Phoe could see that there were several small vials fitted in racks inside. Quickly, he hooked the tubing that had already been attached to her arm into the glass teardrop. The vial in his hand looked like blood. He shook it and held it up to the light.