by S.E. Smith
He didn’t know how long he cried. The wall that he had built around his heart over the last couple of years felt like it was crumbling.
“They’re gone,” he finally choked out. “They… they didn’t make it. Everything… I Changed… There was nothing…,” he gasped, taking shuddering breaths between trying to explain everything that had happened over the last two years. He took a deep breath and gazed at his uncle with red-rimmed eyes.
“Tell us what you can,” Dan quietly requested.
With a slow, jerky nod, Dust began at the very beginning. Minutes turned into hours as he shared every detail of what he had seen—and done. The doctor came in and placed a tray beside him. She gave Dan and Margery a fierce glare before she smiled at him and left again.
He ate, talked, ate some more, and talked until his voice was raw and hoarse. Finally, he grew quiet. There was nothing else to say. He looked down at his hands and wondered what new changes had occurred to his body. He could feel a difference inside himself, but feeling and understanding were two very different things.
“I have to find Sammy, Todd, and Daciana,” he said in a voice made rough from his emotional outburst. He looked up at his aunt and uncle. “I promised that I would protect them.”
Dan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It won’t be easy. We have a few spies inside Asylum. I can reach out to them. We have to be cautious. General Troyfield has a dangerous contempt for anyone who is different,” he said, picking up his aunt’s hand and lifting it to his lips.
“What will he do if he catches someone who is… different?” Dust asked, thinking of Daciana.
Margery’s eyes glittered with angry tears. “If they are lucky, he’ll just have them killed. If not….” She stood up and shook her head before turning on her heel and hurrying out of the room.
Dust watched his aunt leave. His stomach clenched at the expression of grief and anger on her face. He looked back at his uncle.
“What happens to them, Uncle Dan?” he asked.
His uncle ran his large hand over his face and deeply sighed. “The General has a team of doctors—and I use the term ‘doctors’ very loosely—working for him. Their entire focus is finding out what each person can do and trying to “heal” them. The process usually results in death or worse,” he explained.
Dust didn’t ask what the ‘or worse’ part was. He had a pretty good idea of what it was. He frowned. Sammy and Todd should be alright. They were normal, but Daciana—he wasn’t exactly sure how powerful the She-Devil was, but he knew from experience that angering her could prove fatal to any who opposed her.
“There were three soldiers on the helicopter with us when it crashed. Have they been found?” he asked.
“No, and it is best that they aren’t—by any of our people anyway. Most of the people here have been altered in some way or another. A few of us haven’t, but we have loved ones that have been, like your aunt and me. Those in the district have lost one or more loved ones to General Troyfield’s sadistic experiments. Any military personnel from Asylum are distrusted and held in the same contempt as the man they follow. It is the nature of the beast, I’m afraid,” he explained.
“I just don’t want to put anyone in danger,” he said with a sigh.
“These are dangerous times, Dust. We don’t leave friends and family behind. You—above anyone else—should recognize that,” Dan said, lifting his hand and resting it on Dust’s shoulder. “Enough of that for now. If you are feeling up to it, I’ll give you a tour of the city.”
“Thanks,” he replied, rising from the bed.
Understanding what was going on here would help him figure out what he would need to do next. He had promised to help Daciana. Hopefully, the She-Devil had kept her cool and this General Troyfield didn’t know that she was different. His gut was telling him that was wishful thinking. His biggest fear was that the General would harm Sammy and Todd.
Sliding his hands in his pockets, he curled his fingers into fists when he felt a strange and unexpected wave of rage at the thought. He glanced at his reflection in a glass case as they passed. A stranger’s eyes stared back at him with eyes that glowed with a bright green flame around intense brown irises.
Chapter Seventeen
Imprisoned:
Pain seared Daciana’s leg. She leaned back against the building where she had taken refuge. With a mental effort, she returned to her two-legged form and looked down at her thigh. She covered the wound with her hand and dug the metal from out of the hole that it had made.
Above her, one of the helicopters swept low over the building. Her sharp eyes could see the human positioned behind the large gun and scanning the area for her. A menacing smile curved her lips. She had reduced their numbers before she faded to invisibility. She would have inflicted more damage if the blood from her wound hadn’t given away her position.
Even now, she needed to move in case she had left a trail behind. She hissed when she ran her fingers over the wound again to close it. She would heal quickly.
She turned her head when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She sneered and faded out, passing through the building’s wall behind her. She turned around and walked through the inner area.
The building was used for storage. Stacks of large metal shipping containers were lined up in neat rows. Silently moving through the warehouse, she noticed that one metal container was open. She paused and looked at the boxes stored inside. A sniff told her what she wanted to know—there was food inside the boxes.
Just what I need, she thought.
Peering into an open box, she saw neatly stacked dark brown bags with the human’s lettering on it. A growl of frustration swept through her. She must learn to read their language. She solidified and picked up one of the bags. Slicing through it with a sharp fingernail, she emptied out the contents. There was an assortment of packages, but it was the largest one that held her attention. She ripped the top off and sniffed. She blanched at the smell but decided she couldn’t be picky.
Within minutes, she had eaten the contents of four packages and some of the small ones. She felt stronger. The sound of a door opening reminded her that they were still hunting her. Tossing the empty packaging further inside the container, she quietly pulled the door to the position she found it in. She stood at the opening and watched as two soldiers entered the building.
She narrowed her eyes when she heard their quiet conversation. It was obvious these humans were not part of the search team. They did not carry the long weapons that the others did.
“I heard McCullon sent one of the creatures here. General Troyfield is furious,” the short, slender soldier was saying.
The other man shrugged. “The General is always furious about something. What are we supposed to get again?” the soldier asked in a bored tone.
“Medical said they needed two cases of water and one case of nutrition bars,” the other man replied.
“I don’t know why they don’t just starve the creatures. These are supplies that could be saved for normal people. The docs are going to kill them anyway. Why not save our supplies?” the second soldier complained.
“It is amazing how humans have survived this long,” Daciana stated, startling the men when they opened the container where she was standing.
She gave each of the men a malicious smile before swiftly moving forward. The sound of their heads colliding was barely muted by the container walls. One body fell on top of the other. She touched her forehead. For a moment, she wondered if she might be ill.
“Peculiar,” she murmured, trying to understand why she had merely knocked the men out instead of killing them.
She shook her head, and for a moment she relived the taste of Dust’s blood. With a shrug of her delicate shoulders, she started to step over the men when another idea came to her.
Several minutes later, she sealed the container with the two men inside. She straightened her new cloth hat on her head before she picked up the two cartons. Now,
to find this ‘medical’ and the human who had worked with the gray-haired woman back at the compound where she was created.
“I want to know where my brother is,” Sammy demanded, folding her arms across her chest as she glared at the doctor.
“He is being evaluated,” the woman replied.
“He doesn’t need to be evaluated. We were already ‘evaluated’ at the other complex. We weren’t Changed,” Sammy snapped.
The woman ignored her. “My name is Dr. Hartley. You are Sammy…,” Dr. Hartley started to say.
“Yes, and my brother’s name is Todd. What is going on?” Sammy interrupted.
“General Troyfield requires that all new refugees entering Asylum be thoroughly tested to ensure that they have not been infected,” Dr. Hartley continued.
“What if we don’t want to be tested?” Sammy calmly questioned.
Dr. Hartley paused from where she was writing on a form connected to a clipboard, and looked up at Sammy. Her lips tightened and she adjusted her pearl framed glasses.
“I would not recommend resisting,” Dr. Hartley said.
“I’m not resisting. I’m refusing. If you want results, contact the doctor at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. She did loads of testing,” Sammy replied.
“Of course. I’ll be right back,” Dr. Hartley answered.
Sammy eyed the woman suspiciously. The smile didn’t quite reach the woman’s eyes. Sammy dropped her arms to her side and bit her lip. She forced her expression of unease to fade and gave the woman a rueful smile.
“Thank you. I really would like to see my brother. It’s just… everything that has happened since the comet hit has been very difficult for him. Then… well, we’ve lost several people that we… loved… and… I’ve promised to do everything I could to protect him,” she added, looking at Dr. Hartley with a pleading expression.
Dr. Hartley’s expression softened—slightly. “Your brother is in the room next door. You’ll be reunited—shortly,” she added.
“Thank you again,” Sammy said, wiping at the corner of her eye.
Dr. Hartley gave her a brief nod, then opened the door and stepped out. The moment she did, Sammy’s eyes hardened with determination.
“Lying bitch,” she muttered under her breath.
Glancing around, she looked for a weapon of some kind. She finally settled on a small metal container used to hold cotton balls. She dumped the cotton balls into the sink and quickly stood next to the door.
Her gut feeling that Hartley was lying proved to be correct when the door opened again, and the first thing she saw was a man with a syringe. She brought the metal canister down on his arm, knocking the syringe to the floor before ramming it into his face.
Sammy heard bone crunch as she connected with the technician’s nose. As a precaution, she aimed a swift kick at the man’s crotch.
His knees buckled, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Dr. Hartley, who had been standing behind him, released a curse. The woman reached out and grabbed Sammy by the arm. The two struggled, turning around and around as they both grappled to get a hold of the other. The canister flew out of Sammy’s hand and skidded across the floor.
“You deceitful little witch,” Dr. Hartley growled, grabbing Sammy by the hair and pushing her back against the wall. “You’ll regret this.”
Sammy struggled to break free from the older woman’s grasp. Over Hartley’s shoulder, she saw a soldier carrying a couple of boxes. The soldier dropped them and ran toward the two struggling women. Tears burned her eyes, and she kicked out in an effort to escape.
“I won’t let you hurt us,” Sammy choked.
Dr. Hartley’s mouth curled into a snarl. “If anything, you’ve sealed both your fates,” she said.
Sammy was about to reply when Dr. Hartley released a strangled scream. The soldier who had raced down the hallway was gripping Hartley by the back of the neck. Long, sharp nails curled around the woman’s throat.
“Daciana!” Sammy exclaimed in disbelief.
Daciana threw Hartley to the side. The older woman didn’t move from where she landed, she simply stared at Daciana with horrified fascination. Sammy’s eyes were also wide with shock as she stared at Daciana.
“Uh, your face… You kind-of look…,” Sammy muttered, waving her hand in a circle around her own face.
“Like the She-Devil that I am,” Daciana replied, shaking her head and shifting so that she looked her normal human form. She turned and looked down at the woman. “What is she called?”
Sammy frowned down at Dr. Hartley. The woman’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. She swore if Hartley had gills, they would be flapping.
“You… You… can’t exist! It… was a failed… experiment… There is no rational….” Hartley shook her head as she continued to mumble in disjointed bursts. “Dr. Zimmerman’s reports showed that the….”
“Where is Todd?” Daciana asked, not looking at Sammy.
“She said he was in the next room,” Sammy replied. “What’s wrong with her? What is she talking about?”
Daciana shook her head. “Find Todd. I will deal with this one,” she instructed. “Stay with him until I come to you.”
Sammy nodded, sliding against the wall and around Hartley. The woman looked as if she had seen a ghost. As she looked at Daciana once more before entering the examination room next door, a shiver ran through her. There was nothing human in the look the She-Devil was giving the woman.
Sammy opened the door to the next exam room. She inspected the interior. She was about to go back to Hartley to demand where her brother was when she heard a very faint sniff. Stepping into the room, she began to close the door, only to pause when she heard Hartley’s frantic pleas for help.
“Please… save me,” Hartley begged.
Sammy took a deep breath. Her gaze met the dark eyes of Daciana, and she knew there was nothing she could say or do to save the woman. Whatever ties she had to the She-Devil, the not-so-good doctor would have to answer for them. Closing the door, she turned away from the muffled scream and focused on finding her brother in the small room.
She looked behind the exam table—Nothing. Turning around in the ten-by-ten room, she frowned. She knew she hadn’t imagined the sniff. Tilting her head to the side, she listened. There was another soft, faint sniff—almost too quiet to be heard.
Walking over to the cabinets, she pulled open the one closest to the wall and knelt. Todd was inside, his knees up to his chin and his face buried against his arms. He refused to look up.
“Hey,” Sammy greeted.
Todd slowly lifted his head. Her heart broke at the sight of his pale, tear-stained cheeks. His eyes were bright red from crying.
“I don’t like it here, Sammy,” he choked out between shuddering breaths.
Sammy reached in the cabinet and brushed her thumb across his damp cheek. “I don’t like it here either,” she admitted.
“Can… can we go… find Dust and Josie?” he asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, I think that is a great idea. They are a bunch of Bozos here,” she murmured, reaching in and helping him out. “You did a good job of hiding.”
Todd sniffed again and gave her a watery smile before it faded. “I’m scared,” he whispered, looking up at her with huge eyes.
Sammy bent over and lifted him in her arms. He was almost too big and heavy to pick up. Still, she knew he needed that extra contact and support. She walked over to the exam table and sat him on the edge.
“We’re going to get out of here. In order for us to make it, I need you to be brave. We can’t trust anyone, and we’ve got to try to be like ghosts,” she instructed.
“Like Dust when he walks through walls?” Todd suggested.
She nodded. “Just like that,” she agreed.
“How are we going to do that? What about Daciana? We can’t leave her here. They… they don’t like people who are different here, Sammy. We’ve got to find her and help her,” Todd insisted.
“I have found a way out, but it will not be pleasant. I will carry Todd,” she informed them.
Sammy was about to protest but decided against it. Instead, she nodded and stepped to the side. Daciana walked over to the table and gazed down at Todd with a crooked smile.
“Daciana! You’re okay! I thought they hurt you,” Todd exclaimed, reaching over and wrapping his arms around a startled Daciana.
“Thank—you,” she said in a slow, measured voice.
Todd leaned back a little and blinked up at her. “For what?” he asked.
Daciana chuckled. “I will let you know when I discover the answer. For now, I want you to keep your eyes closed and your head down. Don’t open them until I tell you that it is safe,” she replied.
“Okay,” Todd replied.
Sammy watched Daciana pick Todd up in her arms. Her brother wrapped his arms around the She-Devil’s neck and buried his face against her shoulder—his eyes tightly closed. Daciana turned and looked at her. The other woman’s eyes were hard.
“We must go through the room of the dead,” she instructed.
Sammy frowned at first, unsure of what Daciana meant until they stepped into the hallway and began walking further down it toward a door marked ‘Morgue.’ Her hands trembled and her stomach clenched. She took a deep breath, hoping she could hold it together long enough to make it through the room and to the exit.
That hope died when they entered the long hanger. It was freezing inside. Even with the jacket she still wore, there was no escaping the icy interior. In horrid fascination, she followed Daciana. This wasn’t a morgue; it was a place where tortured specimens were stored.
“Why? Why would they do this to someone?” Sammy choked.
Daciana kept one hand on the back of Todd’s head, making sure he didn’t look up. Sammy didn’t miss that compassionate gesture—nor would she ever forget it. She was shaking uncontrollably and knew it wasn’t just from the cold. She was in the beginning stages of shock. The horror of what Dr. Hartley, General Troyfield, and others did to these people stunned her.
