On it was written:
Corridor 11E / 16:00 hours
Nothing else.
What’s this about?
There was something wrong here. Seriously wrong. When I’d first awoken in that room, Doctor Richards had told me to seek out The Agency. But what did he say?
Some…at The Agency…will help you.
Some.
That single word held a lot of meaning. Some people at The Agency were on our side, but others were our enemies. Who were they? Who could be trusted? Could I trust Doctor Sokolov? How do I know she’s not some sort of double agent?
My mind whirled in confusion. I stood in the cubicle and mulled over my options. In the end, I realized there was only one thing I could do. I had to meet with her. At least I had my powers, and I’d be on my guard the whole time. If it were a trap—
Well, I’d just stopped a nuclear missile. I thought I could handle a solitary scientist.
The next few hours passed slowly. Chad and Dan wanted me to join them above ground for a throw of a ball, but I told them I was busy. I moped around our dorm room until the time arrived. Then I made my way to the destination on the note. When I arrived, I realized the spot had been chosen for a specific reason; it was one of the few areas not monitored by security cameras.
No sooner had I arrived than a nearby door eased open. I could just make out Anna’s figure in the doorway.
‘Quickly,’ she urged. She pulled me in through the door, securing it behind me. We were in a narrow corridor, an access tunnel with pipes running along the roof. The silence closed in around us. ‘We must be fast. We’ll be missed if we take too long.’
‘What’s this about?’ I demanded. ‘I’m not going anywhere until you—’
She gripped my arm. ‘Listen!’ she said. ‘You and your friends are in terrible danger! If you want to survive, you must come with me!’
It was a hard argument to ignore. I followed Doctor Sokolov down the corridor. It quickly became apparent that this wasn’t a well-traveled service tunnel. Dust covered the floor, and the lighting was non-existent in places.
Where are we going?
Finally, Anna stopped at a manhole in the floor. Pulling it up, she reached into the gap and flicked a switch. A weak, electric light illuminated a ladder below.
‘We must go down here,’ she said.
I shook my head. ‘Not until I find out what is going on,’ I said. ‘I’ve followed you this far, but how do I know you’re not trying to kill me?’
‘You silly boy.’ Anna rolled her eyes. ‘I am trying to save your life. As did Doctor Richards and the other members of The Alpha Project.’
‘You mean when Typhoid attacked The Agency?’
Anna started down the ladder. ‘Typhoid did not attack The Agency.’ She stopped to look up at me. ‘He and the other scientists were trying to save you from it.’
Chapter Thirty-Five
I followed Anna down the ladder and into the corridor beyond. The tunnel was old, almost ancient, and the ground underfoot rough as it curved around in a sweeping bend. Before long, it felt like we’d walked miles. Every six feet, another feeble light was set into the ceiling.
‘This tunnel was originally built during the civil war,’ she said. ‘It was used to store ammunition and supplies. Later, The Agency constructed its base over it. Very few people even know it exists.’
‘I don’t care about your tunnels,’ I said. ‘What is going on? What does The Agency intend to do?’
‘It’s not what they intend to do.’ Anna turned off into another corridor where a feeble light illuminated a door at the far end. ‘It’s what they’ve already done.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Doctor Richards was the lead scientist involved in The Alpha Project. He was able to convince many of the others that what they were doing was wrong. They transported you out of here despite knowing it would probably cost them their lives.’ Anna unlocked an ancient iron door and pushed it wide open. ‘But he wasn’t able to get everyone out.’
My heart was pounding as I entered the room. It was barely six feet by eight feet. In it was a kid, maybe thirteen years old with thin black hair. He sat on a bunk located close to the floor. The kid wore a t-shirt and shorts and shoes too large for him. On his arms were the same needle marks that we’d had on our arms, but they were almost imperceptible. Hanging from the ceiling was a single light bulb suspended from a chain. To one side sat a small hand basin and toilet. On the other side of the chamber was another iron door with bars in the grate that looked onto blackness.
At first, I thought the paint on the walls was peeling, but then I realized the marks were writing. Words. Formula. Languages. Lines and lines of information covered every inch of the cell.
The kid looked up without seeing me. It was as if he were looking through me. My throat was dry. If I tried to speak, I knew it would come out as a whisper, and my legs were shaking so hard I could hardly stand.
I leaned against one of the walls for support.
How was this allowed to happen?
‘This is Ferdy,’ Anna said.
‘Mister Jones said they tried to make the procedure work with adults,’ I said. ‘He didn’t say—’
‘Modifications have been going on for a long time,’ Anna said. ‘There were others before you. There have been different processes. Some did not survive. Ferdy is the last one of the previous batch who—’
‘Batch?’ My voice rose. ‘You make him sound like an experiment.’
Tears filled the doctor’s eyes. ‘We did not know it would be like this. I swear it. We thought we would be experimenting with animals. It was only after we started that I realized we were using human subjects.’
‘You should have refused—’
‘Refused?’ Anna looked at me in disbelief. ‘It’s impossible to refuse Twelve. Other aliens within The Agency are not like him. But as far as Twelve is concerned, you are either with him or against him. He rules with an iron fist. Most people here have no idea as to what’s really going on.’
I turned to the figure sitting on the bed. ‘Ferdy,’ I said. ‘Are you all right?’
He remained silent.
‘Ferdy?’ I tried again. ‘Can you hear me?’
‘The area of a triangle.’ He stopped. ‘The area is calculated by multiplying half the base times the height.’
I didn’t know what to make of this. ‘Okay.’ I continued. ‘My name is Axel. I’m here to help you. We’re going to leave. Do you understand what I’m saying?’
He looked through me again. ‘The highest known mountain is Olympus Mons on Mars. It rises to a height of 69,459 feet. And yes, Ferdy understands you.’
I nodded in relief. ‘I am a friend.’
‘The most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen.’
‘He has a photographic memory,’ Anna explained. ‘In addition to a genius IQ.’
‘Was he always like this?’
She shook her head. ‘No. He was a perfectly healthy little boy when he arrived.’
‘Are these experiments still being carried out?’
‘Not now. Doctor Richards destroyed all the research before he ran away with you and the others. Twelve has been trying to get me to reproduce Richard’s work, but it’s impossible.’ Anna’s face was so yellow in the pale light that she looked unwell. ‘I swear I didn’t know it would be like this—’
‘But then,’ the voice said from behind us, ‘sacrifices must always be made for the greater good.’
We spun about to see Twelve with a gun pointed directly at Anna.
He pulled the trigger.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I wasn’t fast enough.
And because I wasn’t fast enough, the bullet slammed into her and sent her crashing against the wall. She tried to stay on her feet, but gravity pulled her to the floor as Twelve disappeared from sight. The sound of his footsteps echoed up the narrow corridor as he escaped. Kneeling beside Anna, I took her hand
. It was horribly reminiscent of when I awoke in the hotel room with Doctor Richards on the floor. History was repeating itself.
I tried to staunch the bleeding. ‘Anna,’ I said. ‘I’ll get help.’
Ferdy’s small hand touched Anna’s forehead as she struggled to speak.
‘The average resting pulse of a human is sixty to ninety beats per minute,’ he said softly. ‘Doctor Anna is a friend to Ferdy.’
A blast erupted down the passageway behind us. I instantly threw up a shield to protect us from the worst of it as dust exploded everywhere, and the walls cracked. The lights died, and for a long moment, I thought the ceiling was about to fall in.
Gradually, holding my breath, the echo of the blast subsided, and the darkness gathered around us. The situation slowly settled on me as effectively as the gloom. I may have been superpowered, but there was no way I could navigate us out of a black hole a hundred feet under the ground.
Mercifully, the feeble light bulb flickered back on. I stared at it, daring it to die out. It faded once, but returned to life, casting its faint yellow glow around the cell. My hand was still pressed against the wound in Anna’s chest. It was like trying to plug a hole in a dam. I peered into her face. She was pale and had lost a lot of blood. I’m not sure even a doctor could save her now.
‘You have to leave The Agency,’ she urged. ‘It’s…’
‘Just hold on. I’ll get us…’
‘It’s too late for me. Take Ferdy.’ She swallowed hard as a spasm of pain rippled through her body. ‘We didn’t know…the children…wrong, but I never realized…’
‘Anna…’
Her eyes opened wide. ‘You should know…you have…’
She struggled to speak.
‘…a brother…’
The silence closed in around us. Ferdy stroked her face, murmuring details about chemical compounds and how Anna was his friend. I fell back against the wall. This was how it all started. A small room. A dying person. Enigmatic words.
The same, but different.
I have a brother.
I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time. Peering about the small chamber, I wondered how much air we had left.
We’ve got to get out of here.
‘Ferdy?’ I looked at the other door. ‘Where does that lead?’
Ferdy was still holding Anna’s hand. ‘Rigor mortis sets in approximately three hours after death—’
‘Ferdy? Listen to me—’
‘—and lasts approximately twelve hours.’ He looked at the door. ‘Ferdy doesn’t know.’
Crossing to it, I pressed my face against the metal bars. I inhaled cold air, but there was no breeze. The way we’d just come had been reduced to fallen rock and debris. It was impassable. Focusing on this door, it gave a loud whine and broke free of its hinges. It disappeared into the darkness beyond with a crash.
Ferdy came to me and pressed his head against my shoulder.
‘Do you know where this leads?’ I asked.
‘We are only a hundred feet from the ocean,’ he said. ‘Jellyfish have no heart or brain.’
‘Okay. That’s handy to know.’
A light suddenly flickered on, illuminating the inky blackness. I let out a sigh of relief. Ferdy has a torch. I played it around the room beyond. At first, it looked like things had gone from bad to worse. We were at the edge of a naturally occurring cave. The ceiling sloped down to the floor at the back.
A pile of rocks and debris sat to our left. I examined the debris, not sure of what I expected to find. A secret tunnel? An elevator? There was nothing.
A ping interrupted the silence.
I looked back to the rear of the cave where the ceiling met the floor. The earth was as smooth as glass, except it wasn’t earth.
It’s water.
‘Ferdy,’ I said. ‘Is that a pool?’
‘The speed of light is two hundred and ninety-nine—’
‘Yeah, that’s great, but is—oh, never mind.’
The water was dead cold to the touch. Tasting it, my hopes rose when I tasted—
‘Salt,’ I said. ‘Ferdy, this is saltwater.’
‘We are only one hundred feet from the ocean,’ Ferdy said.
Okay. That’s what you’ve been trying to tell me.
‘Is this an underground river?’ I said. ‘Does it lead to the ocean?’
‘David Blane broke the world record when he held his breath for seventeen minutes and four seconds.’
‘Hopefully, we won’t have to break that record.’
I snapped off the torch. At first, all I could see was darkness, but after a few seconds, I slowly became aware of a faint glow coming from the rear of the underground pond. I turned the torch back on.
‘Ferdy?’ I said. ‘You understand what we have to do? We have to swim through the water to the other side. Can you swim?’
‘The world record for backstroke is—’
‘But can you swim?’
‘The deepest part of the earth’s oceans is the Marianas Trench—’
‘That’s great.’ I let out a long sigh. ‘Ferdy. We’ve got to get out of here. You hold onto my belt with one hand while I swim. With your other hand, I need you to light the way. Do you understand?’
‘The deepest part of the trench—’ He stopped. ‘Ferdy understands.’
I stared into his eyes. I hope he understood. The modification had left him with savant syndrome. It was a particular type of autism which gave him unlimited amounts of knowledge, but barely unable to function in the real world. He probably understood exactly how a car worked, but it was unlikely that he’d ever drive one.
I gripped his shoulder. ‘We’ll be okay.’
‘Okay.’
He couldn’t let go of me in the water. If he did, I’d never find him again. For that matter, if the torch failed, we’d drown in the dark. If I couldn’t hold my breath for long enough, we’d drown. A hundred things could go wrong. Latching his hand onto the back of my belt, I explained to him again what we were doing. He was still looking straight through me but occasionally nodded as I spoke. I stepped into the water, and he obediently followed me into the cold, clear fluid. We walked until it reached our waists.
‘We need to take deep breaths,’ I said. ‘Do you understand?’ He nodded. ‘We’re going to take three deep breaths, and then we’ll dive in. We’ll swim until we reach the ocean on the other side. Okay?’
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Pictichromis Diadema is a type of fish.’
‘I’ll keep that in mind.’ We took another step further into the water. And another. ‘Take a deep breath. That’s it. One. And two. And now…three!’
The black water closed in around us.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
We were instantly swallowed up by the endless black void. It was impossible to tell up from down. Only the trail of bubbles trickling from my mouth gave any direction as we moved through the freezing still water.
Diving downwards, I followed the roof of the cave as it angled deeper and deeper into the water, and we followed it all the way into the icy depths. The water flowed from the ocean into this small cave, but by what circuitous path? How many twists and turns before we reached the other end? How deep did we have to dive before we could rise again?
The rockface continued down.
That’s when it occurred to me that I should have used my powers to aid us. My ability is controlling air. I’m an idiot! But Mister Brown’s instructions didn’t include underwater activities. Using my powers in such a way could have been doubly dangerous.
Besides, it was too late to worry now. There was only one direction, and that was down. Ferdy hung onto my belt ever more tightly as my eyes began to bulge from the pressure. The rockface angled away from me. It was starting to flatten out. Maybe it was about to angle back up again.
No.
It continued down. My chest was beginning to feel the pressure. My brain and millions of years of evolution told me I should breathe. Yet I had to hol
d my breath. My body was being denied oxygen, the one element over which I had complete control.
Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.
I swam harder.
Abruptly, like the edge of a knife, the downward thrusting rock ended. I pulled us around, and we started to ascend. Yes! We went up ten feet. Twenty feet. Thirty feet. A seed of worry took root in my stomach. Something was wrong. I was so focused on going forward that I hadn’t realized that I was missing something vitally important: light.
Why can’t I see any light?
I was almost out of air. My lungs were pounding, and my heart raced like a steam train. Where is the light? Only by finding it could I discover the way out, so I reached down to the torch in Ferdy’s hand and snapped it off. I shut my eyes tightly and counted. One. Two. Three. Opening them again, I saw a single translucent column of light reaching out of the darkness.
I turned the torch back on. Our situation had moved to a place of desperation. Ferdy had to be feeling the need for air as keenly as me. It was probably only his autism that was stopping him from panicking. I swam as hard as I could towards the faint glow. A bubble of air involuntarily escaped from my mouth, and I snorted in a nose full of salty brine.
I pushed even harder now, and the water itself seemed to be pressing against my brain. We had to reach the air in the next few seconds.
Otherwise, we are both going to drown.
We swam up the column of light.
Yes!
There was a gap in the rock.
We’re going to make it—
The column of light cut through the water like sunlight carving a path through storm clouds. Like a lighthouse beacon, it drew me to the gap between the rocks. Beyond it lay the surface. My arm shot up through the gap, and the rest of me followed. My head banged against one of the rocks, and it was then, and only then, with one final stab of absolute horror that I realized what was wrong.
I was too large to fit through the gap; it was even too narrow for Ferdy.
NO! NO! NO!
I struggled to focus on using the air above to push the rocks aside, but I was too far gone for that. My lack of air was turning the world black around me. We were drowning, and there was nothing I could do. I had to draw the air down, create a wedge between the rocks, and expand the stones apart. With time and training, I would have been able to do it, but not now because black spots were filling my vision. I couldn’t abandon Ferdy, and even if I did, I doubted I’d ever make it back to the cave we’d left.
Teen Superheroes Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 14
