BETH

As Beth turned into the corridor she saw him. He turned another junction. She needed to catch up to him now or she might lose him in this maze. Legs carried her forward in a strengthened rush. Muscles strained hard. Revenge.

She arrived at the junction and turned the way Jacob had. Jacob entered through a door which slid shut behind him. She tackled the door, shattering it. Jacob faced her. He looked exactly the same age, if not even younger, as he had been in their last encounter, thirty years ago. Broad, strong shoulders. A stance which radiated confidence and a smirk on his face. Arms at his hips, but the gun in his holster not even drawn. His weapon could not hurt her. Maybe he already knew the only possible outcome. But that smirk.

“Finally. You will tell me where I can find him. Where is Saif?” Beth asked.

Jacob smiled. “I have not seen him for thirty years. I have no clue.”

Beth growled and stepped forward, preparing to punch. “Every time. I need to beat out the information I want from each of you. You never learn. Why are you smiling?!”

“Well, you know. Behind you,” Jacob said.

Beth turned.

An older man entered the room. A long white beard covered the withered man’s face. There was no mistake, even through age and thick facial hair. A chill crept up her spine. Saif.

“You do not need to hurt him,” Saif said. Goosebumps prickled in her neck. This was it.

Beth leapt at Saif and pushed him down and backwards. Into the wall. She grabbed his feeble arms and twisted. The sockets popped and the arms hung limp. It felt sweet. Tears trickled down her face. Finally, his time to suffer.

“I am sorry,” Saif cried. The agony twisted his face.

Beth raised a closed fist, but hesitated. “Sorry? You are sorry?” she yelled. Drops of saliva landed on his face. “Do you think saying ‘I am sorry’ will have any effect on me? You lunatic. Did your power finally leave you with old age? Is that why you are not controlling my mind?”

“I. It is okay. But please do not hurt Jacob, I made him do all those terrible things. Hurt me instead. It is okay,” Saif said.

“Okay? It is not okay. You suffer!” Beth roared.

Release. All the pain and suffering which had accumulated over the years came forward. Tears trickled down her face. Relief. Finally. For her family. Beth raised a straining, trembling fist.

“No! NO! NOOO!” someone yelled.

Crackles of thunder and sparkling blue behind her. Beth turned. The electrical man stood in the door frame with a raised palm and lightning coiling across and around his body. His other hand he held against his stomach. He was hurt, but defiant.

“Leave my Dad alone,” the man said, brandishing his palm.

Beth straightened, her metal skin gleaming in the light. “This man has done terrible things. To me. To my family! Tortures! He will suffer. You should have stayed down.”

“You stupid bitch! You are the one doing the terrible things! Fuck you!” The man yelled.

The lightning bolt thundered right into her face, almost blinding her. Its force was not enough to knock her back this time either. The coils raced along her body, but she only felt a slight warmth. No pain.

“Die bitch! DIE!” the man yelled.

“Milo, please don’t,” Saif whispered behind her.

Jolts upon jolts of lightning crashed into her. Something tingled, but still no pain. Beth stepped forward, working against the pulsating force. One step at a time. Right. Left. She leaned her shoulder into the crackling bombardment. Beth roared and launched herself forward across the last distance. The lightning ceased as Milo crashed into the floor. Beth raised a fist, panting.

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“Please. Do not hurt him,” Saif whispered, coughing. “Please.”

Beth grabbed Milo by his throat and slowly lifted him. Coils of lightning struck her, but she didn’t feel them.

“Please. Leave my son alone. Take me instead. I know the pain I have caused you,” Saif said. “Milo has done you nothing wrong.”

Beth let go. Milo hit the floor, he was still alive. She walked over to Saif. The old and frail man who had destroyed her family, her life.

“I am tired of your voice. This is for father!” Beth yelled.

Knuckles connected with Saif’s ugly face. Blood splattered, bones shattered, the face cracked.

“For mother!” Beth yelled as loud as she could.

Her fist connected again. The head collapsed inwards, the brain squashed.

“And my brother!” Beth roared.

Fist connected with rage. All the pent up anger flowed into her rage. Blood, brains and pieces of cranium stuck to her. But she didn’t care. She hit again. A sticky, bloody mess of flesh was everything left of Saif. Numb. Exhaustion crept into her. She fell. Knees absorbed the impact. So tired. It was done. Finally finished. Sweet, sweet relief.

Someone laughed. There was a tug in her mind. She realized too late.

Jacob laughed. Jacob’s body and face morphed into a different person. It was not Jacob, it had never been. Saif! A Saif who looked younger than the last time he had visited her cell so long ago.

Saif laughed. “Your strength is mighty.”

What? But who was the man she had killed? The messy corpse before her transformed into a different person. The scar on his jaw, the name tag and medals on the worn Navy fatigues. The old Jacob. She had hammered him to death. Oh no. The seeds in her mind sprouted into giant vines. Not again. Her sweet power retreated by the command of Saif’s control.

“What is this?” Beth asked. “What is happening?”

“You met them. You fought them. You conquered them. You came back. Alive,” Saif said. “As a fellow person of science you should be inclined to understand my reasoning. I had to conduct an experiment. Not just for testing out the manifestees, but also so that I would stay sane. I needed to know that all my struggles to create you, to nurture you were not in vain or else I would need a new plan. I have known about the aliens ever since Jacob was stationed at the facility. When I manifested... The things I saw in his mind. I feared for humanity. So, thirty years ago I sent you along with a group of others like you deep into space. Deeper than man has ever gone before,” Saif said as he walked up to her.

Beth licked her lips, trying to command the sweetness back. Nothing happened even with her rage at a boiling point. She could not even get up on her feet. Saif bent forward and slowly caressed her cheek. She wanted to puke.

“What are you saying?” Milo mumbled.

“I underestimated your strength. You will come with me to the new world. Far away from humanity. We will build a new home. As Earth and its barbarians die before the aliens might, we shall thrive and prepare for war,” Saif said. “Your brother will come with us.”

Brother? Jonathan is not dead?

“I don’t understand,” Beth said.

“Him,” Saif said pointing towards Milo. Milo sat up, leaning against the wall with his head in his hands. Tears welled out between his fingers. “I made everybody believe that Jacob was me and I Jacob. I put your brother into his care. As an experiment. To see how his manifestation would evolve without my guidance.”

Beth shook her head. “No. This cannot be true. You are playing with my mind again.”

Saif laughed. “Little one. When I saw the aliens in Jacob’s mind, I saw a threat, a threat that might end all of mankind. Do not look at me like that. I am saving humanity from destruction. I am the only one who is equipped to save us. I manifested in the facility, grabbed control and pushed the experiments forward. I am the hero. Without me humanity will not survive.”

Beth frowned. “Bullshit.”

“My Dad is not dead?” Milo asked.

Beth stared at Milo. Was this man really Jonathan, her long lost brother?

“Elizabeth, in time you will see it. Understand it. Embrace it. You two will spend eternity together. With me and all the other manifestees,” Saif said. “Jonathan, Milo, whatever you want to be called. I am sorry to inform you, your and Elizabeth’s Dad has been dead for many years.”

“Die!” Milo yelled, raising a palm.

No thunder. Beth understood. Saif’s perverted mind control. It was the same reason she could not hurt him. She looked at Milo. He seemed so in disbelief about everything. His power not working, his dad… Could Milo really be Jonathan?

“Playtime is over,” Saif said.

Combat suits entered the room with one woman and a man without any weapons or gadgets. Powered people.

“Take them to the cells and prepare the fleet for launch. Time is due. We are finally leaving,” Saif said.

Saif turned to her. “Sleep.”