by Mikael Aizen
Callie had a silent suffering look as she stared at him. Tim just looked angry like he always did. "Tim! You have to help!"
Tim let go of Callie's hand and came briskly forward. "What happened?"
"I was throwing away the trash and some guys had a needle and put it in Jess. I wanted to get her to Mom, but she was too heavy and I didn't want to leave her." Kyle looked for Callie, but she was gone. "Where'd Callie go?"
"I don't know, Kyle. We can't worry about that right now. I want you to get Del, I'm going to stay here with the girl. Tell Del to bring her bag."
"OK." Kyle turned.
"And Kyle."
"Yeah." He looked back but Tim wasn't looking at him.
"You did good," Tim said. "Now hurry."
Kyle nodded. He went running as fast as he'd ever run since Jeff had chased him.
Del was staring into Jess' eyes with a pen sized light. "What did they do to her?" Kyle asked.
"I don't know yet." Del kept moving, feeling Jess on the wrist and neck and then tapping on her knees. "Did you see what they injected her with?" Del asked him, not looking up from Jess who lay sleeping in the clinic bed.
"You mean the needle?"
"Yes. Did you see what they did with the needle?"
Kyle shook his head. "They took it with them I think." Del sighed just as Jess' eyes fluttered. "Hey, she's waking up!" Kyle said.
Jess moaned and her jaw worked a little. She opened her eyes.
"Kyle, would you stand outside for a bit, I'd like to talk to Jess alone, please."
Kyle nodded and went outside. He understood. He'd seen it plenty of times on computer shows. Whenever a doctor had to talk to a patient, he or she would send everyone out for "confidentiality". It was a long word for secret.
Kyle loved secrets.
He kept the door cracked open and put his ear to it. Tim had gone to contact the school authorities, Kyle hoped the guys got in BIG trouble.
"Jess, I'm Del, one of the school doctors. Tell me what happened."
"...I can't tell you much."
"I can help you."
"No, it's not that. He's my fiancé. And he has my parent's consent."
There was a long silence before Del spoke again. "It's the epigene isn't it? They're injecting you with experimental epigenetically altering drugs."
More silence. "I'm not supposed to say anything," Jess said.
"What are they trying to alter? Your height? Your personality?"
Her reply was hesitant. "...my height, yes. My breasts. The usual stuff."
"The bastards..." Kyle heard Del whisper. Pa had cussed from time to time, but Del, he'd never heard her cuss before, it was frightening. "That's why they're coming at you like that, to make you feel helpless. It activates your molecules of emotion, doesn't it? Your need to please." Del swore again, this time loudly. "And their killing your ovaries while they do it too, aren't they?"
"Ryant and my parents and I, we made the decision together. This way I can have a good career and provide for all of them."
Ryant. Kyle would remember that name.
"A good career and a good life for everyone but you," Del said.
"It will be a good life and I'll be committed. Employers like that. I'll be able to earn as much as a man, more as a woman."
"You can't know this, you're too young to be making these decision so young."
"I'm the second daughter. I can't have children anyway, unless my sister can't. And she definitely can."
"It's experimental, Jess."
"The AMA's approved it."
"The drug, yes, but no procedure has been approved yet. Tests like these need to be done in a controlled environment, not in the back of some school on a girl who hasn't given proper consent."
Jess didn't say anything.
"Plus, the AMA could care less about the emotional trauma involved. Just because they defined the molecules of emotion doesn't make their tests any less ethical. They'd legalize prostitution if they could, just to test if men ejaculate when stimulated."
Kyle screwed up his face at the word. He knew what that word was.
"How often do you go in Jess? What do they do to you?" Del was really angry now. Her voice was becoming high pitched and she was yelling in that way that made her voice even harder to hear.
"I..."
"It's horrible isn't it? It hurts and you can't understand why people who care about you would treat you this way."
Silence.
"I've a little experience in this myself, Jess. Get out while you can."
"You?"
"Yeah."
"I'm just a minor."
"Fuck that," Del whispered vehemently.
There was a long silence again, and Kyle pressed his ear closer to the crack and the door swung a little wider.
"Are you really a doctor? You aren't talking like any doctor I've met. Most are afraid of the AMA."
"I know. They don't like me much. But it's a wonder I've kept my mouth shut as long as I have."
"You could get in a lot of trouble."
"I wish I would. At least I could get a few words in the news before they ousted me. And you should be more worried about yourself. Even as a minor you can say something."
"I don't know...they're relying on me to be strong."
"Even if the AMA can't get their heads on straight, a child can tell when something isn't right. Kyle's worried about you. You can trust a child's innocence." Del's voice got real gentle. "If there's one thing I want my son to learn, is that he always has a choice. Nothing is written in stone and against any odds you can still choose."
"...I'm sorry," Jess said. "But I can't. You might think I have a choice, but I don't..." she hesitated. "Your son's a nice kid, Dr. Del."
"He is. But he's gone through a lot. I'm afraid that if he goes through much more, his epigenes are going to turn him into something none of us wants. If things like this keep happening to him, he won't become the brave and knightly defender of justice he's trying to become."
"Yeah," Kyle heard Jess say quietly.
"We've seen it before in the news. Kids like Kyle, a flip of the gene could mean the difference between a very good man and a very bad man." Del let out a sigh. "I shouldn't be putting this on you."
"No. It's OK. I'll keep away from Kyle. I understand, I don't want to get him involved in my mess."
What?
"Thank you," Del said. "I'm sorry. I know he seems like a bright light in your life right now."
"That's why you're right. He can't be in my life if I want...if my epigenes are going to...my emotions have to be the right emotions." She started crying again. Kyle didn't understand what had just happened. Why couldn't he see Jess anymore? Because she needed him? It didn't make any sense.
He heard movement toward him. Kyle cut to the opposite side of the hallway and quickly reclined on the floor, hands intertwined behind his head. "Kyle." Del walked through the door.
Kyle lifted his head with his hands. "What'd she say?"
"She's sleeping now. I can't help her, I'm sorry."
"Is it because you don't know what they injected into Jess? Because I can find out. Somehow. I can."
Del closed the door behind her softly. She didn't want Kyle to go back in. "No Kyle. It's because they weren't doing anything illegal."
"But...she was afraid like she didn't want them touching her. How can that be OK?"
"I know you can't understand, but I promise that she wants this and she isn't in any danger. Can you trust me?"
Kyle stared at her. She was lying to him. Lying. Del warned Jess that she shouldn't be doing whatever she was doing like it was dangerous. He felt like the floor had come crashing down from under him. "You're lying!" he said. How could she ask him to trust her like that, with such a straight face. Tim was one thing. Del, she had been real. If he hadn't known the truth, he would have never guessed she was lying. "Why are you lying to me?"
"Kyle, wait."
"I'm small and I'm young, but
I'm not stupid. I was listening at the door. Jess is in danger and you don't want us to be friends because you think she'll hurt me somehow." There was more to the story. The boy with the needle had hidden it behind his back when Kyle saw him, and the leader boy had told the other two to shut up when they were about to say something about getting Del "on board." There were secrets that the boys were keeping, secrets that could get them in trouble. Kyle was sure of this.
"You may not understand, but this isn't something that you can help. You have to trust me."
"I can't trust liars," Kyle yelled.
He ran away from Del, down the hallways. He'd figure out the boys' secrets without Del's help then. Del was the only one he'd trusted and she was lying to him. What else had she lied about?
Kyle went careening around the corner of the hallway, right into a pair of legs. He fell backward with an ooomph.
"Told you we'd be seeing each other soon," the leader boy said. There were the others with him. The one with the ring through his lip and the other one, too.
A scratchy bag went over his head that smelled like potatoes, and no matter how much Kyle kicked and screamed it did no good. He felt himself lifted and bumped and shook. And then he fell into something flat, cold, and hard as the sound of a van door closed behind him.
Then it was quiet. A second later, when the sound of his own heartbeat pumped in his ears and rumbling shook his skull, Kyle felt really, really scared.
And then, the bad memories began.
Chapter 13
A new drug is being tested. It is not released for clinical trials, but the company NeoGene claims to be on the cusp of altering DNA expression. The study is led by Dr. Andre Mollinda, founder of NeoGene and the Association of Genetic Determinism and head of research at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Andre has won several awards for his research including the NHI Developmental Research Grant Award in 2011 and the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2017 for his research in epigenetics.
-Arens, Caleb. NYOnline: Announcements for Jan 2018.
Jay didn't move. Much. Not yet at least. He sat at one of the highest points in Morir, staring at his target: Bitch. Jay's bells clanged slightly as he shifted, but he was too far away to hear. Right now, the scroungy member of Freckles' team was hiding behind a rock, clearly enjoying himself. A blue flag stuck up, clear as today's midday sun, tucked into his backside as he waved his ass back and forth high enough over a rock so that the ones hunting him could see it.
It'd been months since Jay had joined Esperanza. His leg had healed well and much was different. Morir was the same, the Enforcers were still after Jay, but Esperanza had changed--because Jay had changed it. He was in the hero business, now. Jay smirked to himself, around the bells--the symbolic bells that he kept on for "personal reasons."
Several Teams recently had allied against the Toothaches, teaming up against Freckles' growing dominance in Morir.
Of course, they were losing.
This time, Whisperer scouts were the ones searching for Bitch, a good dozen of them. Despite their numbers, Bitch was way ahead of the Whisperers. He taunted them as he popped from place to place, throwing rocks and dancing where they'd see him. Leading them into a trap. With Bitch, it never mattered how many people chased him. He was too slimy to catch and after weeks of watching him, Bitch still found ways to disappear from Jay's constant surveillance.
Team Whisperers had gotten the brunt of the punishment these last months, falling into traps much like this one. Bitch knew ways to lead any number of people anywhere. No matter how they tried to evade the trap, Bitch made it happen. He was a genius. He'd end up wherever he needed to be and whether they were in a mood to chase or evade, he'd hound them into a location where they'd all die. In a moment, the Whisperer scouts would be surrounded and slaughtered by Freckles' Beaters, just like hundreds of others had been. But, if Jay was right, Bitch would pop up right under Jay's legs in less than a minute.
The Whisperers turned a corner, not following Bitch's obvious ploy to follow. And walked right into the trap. Jay heard the yells and screams as the scouts were slaughtered. He began counting seconds to himself and when he hit thirty, he readied himself.
Jay dropped off the ledge and brought his knees right onto Bitch's back, smashing the kid to the ground. Bitch twisted as he fell, squashed onto his back. He kicked out and Jay dodged. Jay's Onyx suit glistened and Jay could see the second it took Bitch to lock on Jay's figure. The suit needed movement to distort lines and blur the points where your body began and ended. You were there, obviously and clearly, but the suit had a way of tricking the mind into believing there were no lines where you were, and thus, you couldn't be real. Issak had explained it to be like what a person with a stroke to the left brain sees. Lines look like colors and auras instead of solid divisions. Lines do not exist.
"Santa," Bitch said as he hopped up. He leaned forward and flicked one of the bells at Jay's throat. "Bout time you came for me. What took you so long?"
"You knew I was coming." Jay'd gotten good at speaking around the bar.
"Well duh." Bitch glanced behind him and hesitated, as if readying to run.
Jay stepped back and leaned against a rock. Danger signals flashed in his head but he smothered them. If Bitch had known Jay was chasing him, there was a good chance Jay was either standing in or walking into a trap. It was too late to do anything about that. He'd just think and move ass-fucking carefully in the next moments.
"So...are we going?" Bitch asked.
What?
"You're ARE Redeemer, aren't you?" Bitch stared at him, and went back to a neutral, non-running poise.
Redeemer was the name they'd given him when he started to bring people back to Esperanza. Xiaos had been grudging, wary that Jay would bring someone dangerous into the community. But Jay had argued that the survivors of Morir were the ones that needed hope the most and not just the new arrivals who hadn't been killed on their first day. Xiaos was a Protector, and he was naturally over cautious about who he took in. One bad egg could mean the end of Esperanza. Jay got that, but most the people in Morir were victims under a few villains. They deserved hope, too.
Thus, three months later, they now called him the Redeemer.
Dumb, really.
His name didn't tell the whole story. He was a Murderer-Survivor. He'd killed to keep himself and Esperanza safe. There were only four bells left intact on his bar.
Fate's Eyes' Gamer had come close to capturing him not long after Jay'd begun his rescue raids and infiltrated Fate's Eyes' headquarters, recruiting some of the team's best Beaters. That'd been one bell.
A cat had nine lives, Jay gave himself seven.
The other bell had been for a Baiter much like Bitch who'd walked into Esperanza and nearly escaped. If he'd told his team where Esperanza was, there would be no more hope for Morir. He'd been the other bell.
Bitch was supposed to be the next bell.
Except that Bitch... "You thinnk I'm taking you to Esperanza?"
"I need to get away, Jay. Sooner or later Gamer is going to push me too far, and I'll be caught. To be honest, the fun is running out."
Not pure Thrill-Survivalist then. More Survivalist. This was a surprise. "Why would I do that? You've been searching for Esperanza for months. What's to stop you from telling Gamer once you find out where it is? I'd be an idiot to risk Esperanza on your ass."
Freckles wanted Jay bad. So Jay'd already reserved a bell for him.
He was running out of spare bells.
"Because I already know where Esperanza is," Bitch answered. "I've known for weeks, but I've been waiting for an invitation in. You, buddy." Bitch walked right up to Jay and grinned up at him. When Jay looked at him, close, he realized Bitch couldn't be more than a few years older than Kyle. He was a child. A child who'd caused the death of hundreds of people.
Jay kept his expression neutral.
"Hey Redeemer, I don't have a bomb on me, there's no trap, and I need help. I'm practically beggin
g. Say something."
"It'd make more sense to kill you," Jay replied.
Bitch jutted his chin at Jay's. "And waste a bell on me? Yeah, that's right, we've heard the stories. Each time you kill, you use up one of your bells because that's all your fucking conscience will let you handle before you break down and commit suicide or something."
"Tell me where. Where is Esperanza if you already know?"
Bitch grinned again. Damn, he DOES know. "Under Haven is a series of tunnels, through Pope's hat and passed Clairvoyance, between the Two-bloody-Towers. I'm Morir's fucking Gollum, of course I know where Esperanza is. I also know you've been following me for weeks."
Damn. Damn damn damn. "Turn around and don't move," Jay said.
Bitch laughed. "Yeah, right. I turn around and you chuck me off the cliff. I get it."
"You're gonna have to trust me, because I can't trust you."
Bitch hesitated for about a whole minute be he turned around. Even when he did, his legs twitched like he was ready to bolt at any second.
"Fuck you." Jay said as he picked up a rock and smashed it over the back of Bitch's head.
Bitch weighed maybe sixty pounds if he was lucky. He was a small kid, but combined with the lifestyle of Morir, there was nothing on him. Carrying him was a more matter of maneuvering than strength, and the path to Esperanza had plenty to maneuver around.
Just in case Bitch woke up, Jay'd bound hands and feet and tied Bitch's shirt over the kid's face. Good thing, too, because over Jay's shoulders came a groan.
"Bastard," the boy said.
"You deserve it after what happened to me last time you were around.
"You're probably right, but you're still a bastard." Bitch coughed, and then a tiny hiccup came out. "Thanks for saving me, I owe you big."
Jay didn't reply. But he did feel a little better about his decision. "Morir does a number on all of us," he said after a while.
"Yeah."
Bitch didn't struggle as they walked, or complain. He just hung there loosely with his muscle relaxed. And then he was snoring. Jay smiled, the kid probably hadn't slept in months or years, depending on how long he'd been in Morir. Out there, you never slept. Not really. You'd close your eyes, but you never slept.
