I stared at that mouth. It was familiar somehow . . . something about the shape of the lips . . .
And then I realised.
92
Theo
I raced over to Rachel. She was trembling . . . staring at whatever was behind the screen.
I followed her gaze. At first I couldn’t work out exactly what I was looking at. I blinked, trying to make sense of it. A body . . . part of a body . . . distorted . . . deformed . . . I stared at the face . . . at the mouth . . .
It was my face . . . my mouth.
My head spun. What on earth was I looking at?
The truth hit me like a punch.
This was a clone of me. My legs threatened to give way. I grabbed the side of the screen. At the sound of my touch, the clone moved, turning towards us.
Rachel gripped my arm.
I was open-mouthed, unable to breath, choking with the horror of what I was seeing.
And then the clone’s eyes opened.
For a long and terrible second we stared at each other.
There was no recognition of who I was in the clone’s eyes. Just terror . . . and pain.
‘Oh, God,’ Rachel moaned beside me. Her voice carried with it everything I felt. The disgust, the pity, the horror.
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move.
I reached for Rachel’s hand and held it tight.
We stood there, numbly, staring at the clone.
How could he even be alive? What was Elijah doing torturing someone like this?
‘Who . . .?’ I said. ‘How . . .?’
The clone’s mouth twitched, his face contorting. It looked like he was trying to speak. I leaned closer. His lips formed a word . . . he mouthed it again.
Help. I was sure that was what he was saying. Hurts.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know what to do.’ My voice was a tiny whisper. I’d never felt so helpless in my life.
The clone closed his eyes. Sick to my stomach, I turned to Rachel.
‘I don’t understand,’ I said.
White-faced, Rachel pointed at the label on the screen concealing the clone. Ap 24.
‘If Art stands for Artemis, then Ap must stand for Apollo,’ she whispered.
I frowned. Apollo was the code name Elijah gave me, his first completely healthy, fully-functioning clone. I looked round at the jars and bottles on the other tables. They were all labelled with the same letters: Ap, but different, earlier numbers.
‘All this . . . these are left over from Elijah’s attempts to reproduce himself.’ I gazed back at Ap 24. ‘And this one . . . this is the twenty-fourth version.’
I swallowed down the nausea that swelled inside me. It had never occurred to me that when Elijah had worked to clone himself it would have taken so many attempts . . . caused such terrible deformities. All of a sudden I thought of Milo . . . he was another link in the chain – another of Elijah’s attempts to clone himself before succeeding in creating a totally healthy being with me.
I looked at Ap 24 again. The clone’s eyelids flickered. He moaned softly, then appeared to sink slightly against the table.
Was he asleep or unconscious?
My thoughts were running on so hard and so fast, that for a few moments I didn’t notice that Rachel hadn’t responded to what I’d said a moment earlier. I turned round.
‘Rach?’
‘I can’t look any more,’ she said.
93
Rachel
I limped across the room to a large, empty case that stood against the opposite wall. My breath was coming in short, shuddering gasps. I felt like crying, except I was beyond even that. Tears were too small a reaction to the horror in this room.
Theo followed me and put his hand on my arm.
‘I . . . I can’t believe even Elijah would do this . . . keep that poor creature down here . . .’ I stammered. ‘I mean he’s torturing him . . .’
‘I know.’Theo stared at the empty case in front of us. ‘We have to help him,’
‘The woman from RAGE . . . earlier, she said we should “kill it”. I didn’t know what she meant then but I think she must have been referring to . . . to that clone. And . . . and . . . maybe she was right . . . about killing it. I mean, like . . . killing as in putting him out of his misery . . .’
‘But how?’ Theo said. ‘How would we kill him? How would we know that we’d killed him without hurting him? That can’t be right either.’
‘And what would you two know about what is right?’ Elijah said from the doorway.
94
Theo
We spun round. My guts spasmed in fear. He had caught us. We had spent too long . . . become distracted . . . and now Elijah had us both.
His eyes flickered across our faces. Hard and mean. ‘Your tenacity and resourcefulness impress me, but you are way out of your depth here. The Eos protein is a miracle. Whatever it takes to develop it successfully is the right thing to do.’
I stared at him. Hate coursed through me. This man had brought me nothing but misery all my life: from his decision to let me grow up without having – or knowing – a father; to his attempt to keep Rachel and me apart; to this.
‘What do you mean?’ I said. ‘We can see that the clone is suffering. How can that be right?’
‘Yes, he . . . he asked us for help—’ Rachel started.
‘You don’t understand.’ Elijah’s forehead creased in a frown. ‘I am taking Experiment Apollo 24 away from suffering. In the end, it will be worth it.’
‘How?’ I said.
‘Why is he even here?’ Rachel added.
Elijah crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. ‘Very well,’ he said. ‘Experiment Apollo 24 was my last attempt to clone myself before Milo was born. I created Experiment 24 in a clinic near here . . . where I lived and worked a long time ago. He was born disabled and disfigured but he had healthy internal organs. I kept him hidden away in the clinic during my years working in London, and when I was in hiding in Germany and America and on Calla. When I arrived here a few days ago, I had the Experiment brought to the bunker in order to—’
‘He’s not an experiment,’ I snapped, unable to bear the cold scientific way Elijah was speaking. I glanced over at the clone. His eyes were closed, though I couldn’t tell if he was asleep or if he’d passed out from the pain he was feeling.
‘Experiment Apollo 24 is not a proper human being,’ Elijah hissed. ‘Plus he is my creation . . . mine. To do with as I please.’
I moved sideways so I could see through to the outer room, beyond Elijah, who was still standing in the doorway. The guard who had held me captive earlier had set a wheelchair on the floor and was helping Milo into it. He finished, then turned without looking in our direction and disappeared up the stairs.
My heart sank. If Elijah and Milo were both armed our chances of getting past them were slim. Still, it had to be worth a shot.
Beside me, Rachel took a deep breath. ‘When you said you wanted to continue your experiments, did you mean you were . . . are . . . giving the Apollo clone the Eos protein?’
‘Yes.’ Elijah looked at her. ‘I’ve been testing Eos on the Experiment for the past few days. I’d already noted some changes . . . increased haemoglobin levels, improvements in heart and liver function, even better muscular tone . . .’
‘And pain,’ I said.
Elijah shrugged. ‘It’s true that the introduction of the protein into the bloodstream does seemed to have caused some physical suffering but I’m sure eventually I will work that through.’
Unbelievable.
Rachel’s mouth fell open. ‘You mean the stuff that’s inside me is what’s making that . . . that poor clone . . . suffer?’ Her face paled. ‘He wasn’t in pain before?’
‘No.’ Elijah took his gun from his pocket and held it by his side.
I exchanged horrified looks with Rachel. I couldn’t work out which was worse – the casual way Elijah referred to the clone’s suffering or the arrogance of hi
s belief that his clones existed for his own benefit only.
‘So the Eos protein works?’ Rachel said slowly. ‘But it is also agonisingly painful?’
‘Exactly.’ Elijah nodded. ‘It’s quite possibly my most impressive discovery to date. Can you imagine how much the world will pay for such a compound – once I’ve worked out how to prevent it from causing pain to the user, of course? The only problem is that it’s fundamentally unstable. As you both know, Rachel carries the protein in her blood – but it loses its potency very fast and I can’t find a way of synthesising it. Which means I need Rachel herself.’
‘What does that mean?’ I snapped.
Milo appeared next to Elijah in the doorway.
‘You knew he was experimenting on this clone?’ Rachel glared at him.
Milo looked away.
‘What did you mean about needing Rachel?’ I persisted.
Elijah gazed at me with an expression of amused disdain. ‘Haven’t you worked it out yet, Theo?’ He glanced at the empty case by the wall.
Beside him, Milo stiffened in his wheelchair.
‘No,’ Rachel gasped, her eyes widening.
‘What?’ I said.
‘I can’t copy the Eos protein inside Rachel so I need access to fresh supplies of blood to stop it mutating,’ Elijah said, briskly. ‘Obviously, in order to do that I need to “preserve” her body in good working order and have easy access to it.’
‘No,’ Rachel breathed. ‘You can’t do that.’
‘Can’t do what?’ I said. ‘What’s he talking about?’
Elijah smoothed back his hair. ‘Tell him, Rachel.’
I turned to her. She was pointing at the empty tank.
‘That’s my coffin,’ she said. ‘My cage.’
With her final word it all fell into place. The world spun as I realised what Elijah was planning.
‘You’re going to put Rachel in that tank to preserve her body so you can keep taking the Eos protein from her blood?’
‘Yes,’ Elijah said with a sneer. ‘Caught up at last, Theo. Well done.’
95
Rachel
I felt numb. This couldn’t really be happening. I couldn’t get my head round what Elijah was suggesting.
‘You can’t kill her,’ Theo protested. But his voice sounded hoarse. We both knew Elijah was capable of doing just that.
‘She will, technically, still be alive,’ Elijah said. ‘Though all brain stem function will of course cease as soon as I inject her.’
Oh my God.
I glanced at Milo, shrunk into his wheelchair. He was gazing at me in total shock. I was sure that, although he’d known about the Apollo clone, he hadn’t known until now what Elijah was planning to do with me.
Our eyes met. Help me.
Milo stared back, terrified.
I turned back to Elijah, my brain working at a hundred miles an hour. I had to reason with him . . . find an argument that would convince him that all this was unthinkable . . . impossible . . . Thoughts shot like rockets through my head.
‘Please,’ I said. ‘Just listen to me, Elijah.’
He raised his eyebrows.
‘The Eos protein that I carry is amazing . . . a brilliant discovery . . . but you have to make it work without causing pain – or taking life. It’s just wrong otherwise. Why can’t you see that?’
‘The clones I have created are mine to control,’ Elijah said stubbornly.
‘But—’
‘Enough.’ Elijah sighed. For the first time since he’d arrived, he looked weary. ‘How can I do this any other way?’ he said. ‘I can’t risk you getting hurt, Rachel – I need access to your live blood. And I can’t work like other scientists do.’
‘Why not?’ Theo snapped. ‘What makes you so special?’
Elijah looked at him with wide, surprised eyes. ‘I am special, Theodore. I have special talents that can’t – mustn’t – be regulated or limited by ridiculous legal restrictions. That is wrong.’ He paused. ‘Anyway, there’s a more practical problem. I have no formal government support. If the full extent of my work was publically exposed and connected to me, then I’m certain much of my backing would melt away.’
‘Elijah, just listen,’ I pleaded. ‘Can’t you wait until—’
‘No, Rachel. No more waiting. RAGE knows where we are. I just killed the head of their organisation. They are probably already on their way and this is the safest place for me to keep you.’ Elijah picked up a syringe from the table by the wall. ‘I am going to give you an injection to sedate you. It won’t last long, just enough time to get you set up in the tank.’
‘But you said you were going to keep Rachel’s body alive,’ Theo said. ‘That tank is just an empty case. Where’s the life support machine?’
‘I don’t need a machine,’ Elijah said. He pointed to a tube that ran from the underside of the tank into the wall that separated the lab we were in from the outer room. ‘Did you not notice the carton of hydratoroxide beside the sink out there?’
Theo nodded. He looked totally dazed.
‘What’s hydratoroxide?’ I said.
‘A kind of liquid oxygen. It was developed by the US government as part of a secret project many years ago. I was given access to it while I was based in Washington D.C. You saw it in use in my lab in Calla . . . inside the artificial wombs.’
‘So I’m going to be breathing liquid?’ I said.
‘That’s a little simplistic but yes.’ Elijah paused. ‘It’s not such a strange idea. If you think about it, we all did exactly the same thing when we were in the womb. The technology really is amazing – hydratoroxide contains a blend of nutrients which are absorbed by the skin, plus oxygen to preserve the respiratory and cardiovascular functions, and tiny amounts of a special kind of acid. It even provides a resistance pulse that works the muscles, preventing atrophy.’
‘So you’re going to put me in that case and fill it up with hydrat . . . whatever it’s called?’
‘Yes. When you come round you will be “breathing” the liquid. Once I am certain the hydratoroxide is fully operational, I’ll attach a series of wire nodes to your skin. These will monitor all core functions, showing up on the machine over there.’ He pointed to a large computer in the corner. ‘Finally, I will give you another, simple, injection – and there will be nothing more to fear.’
‘Because I’ll be dead . . .’ My heart pounded.
‘Brain dead,’ Elijah corrected, walking towards me. ‘Your heart will still pump blood round your body, but you will have no brain stem activity . . . no thoughts or feelings.’
I shrank against Theo, who put his arm in front of me.
‘You can’t do this, Elijah,’ he said. ‘I won’t let you.’
Elijah laughed and moved even nearer. He held up his gun. ‘Big talk, Theo. Where’s your weapon?’
I glanced at Milo. He was still in the doorway, his face consumed with terror. He caught my eye.
Why didn’t he move? He had a gun, I’d seen it. Why didn’t he shoot Elijah?
I pleaded silently with him to act, but Milo just looked away.
Elijah had almost reached us. Theo and I were backed against the wall. There was nowhere to run. Even if we could somehow get past Elijah without getting shot, Paul was upstairs, guarding the bunker exit.
Elijah raised his arm. The hand holding the syringe came nearer.
Theo pushed me behind him. He lunged at Elijah.
Elijah struck back. His gun cracked against the side of Theo’s head.
Theo fell to the ground.
I stared down at him, shaking. It had happened so fast.
Keeping his gun pointed at me, Elijah shoved Theo out of the way with his foot, then turned back towards me, syringe raised.
‘No,’ I yelled. ‘NO!’ I hit out with my fists . . . my feet . . . lashing out. The calmness I’d felt just minutes ago had vanished. Now all I felt was fear, exploding in my head. ‘NO!’ I shouted. Elijah couldn’t do this. He couldn’
t.
His hands gripped my arm. So tightly that I screamed in pain. And then I felt a sharp prick just below my shoulder. The room around me spun. I felt myself being lowered to the floor. The last thing I saw before I slipped into unconsciousness was Theo’s body on the ground, eyes shut, hair falling over his face.
96
Theo
My head hurt badly – the back of my skull throbbed where Elijah had hit me. At least I hadn’t passed out, though it had been a close thing. The blow had knocked me over and, for a few moments, pain consumed me. When I’d opened my eyes at last, Rachel was on the ground beside me and Elijah had already bound my hands.
He dragged me back out to the main room and tied me to the leg of the table.
I sat on the cold stone floor as Elijah went back to his lab. From where I was sitting, I could see some of the tables with their obscene load, but not Rachel or Elijah himself. They must still be round the corner – by the empty, waiting case.
I shuddered.
Milo wheeled himself over and looked down at me. He was wearing a black beanie hat pulled low over his forehead, almost covering his eyes.
It was more like looking in a mirror than ever, except I knew my own eyes were flashing with anger and fear, while Milo’s gaze was wary . . . and ashamed.
‘What are they doing in there?’ My head pulsed with pain as I spoke.
‘Elijah’s getting Rachel ready for immersion,’ Milo said in a flat voice.
‘You knew all about this, didn’t you?’ I couldn’t keep the contempt out of my voice.
‘No.’ Milo shook his head for emphasis. ‘I didn’t know about the Eos protein causing pain and I didn’t know he was planning to do this to Rachel, I swear.’ He paused and looked down at his lap. ‘Elijah doesn’t exactly confide in me.’
Blood Ransom Page 25
