Doctor Deveraux all morning, if I could call it morning, was distant. When I had managed to observe her from a distance, she was near the anathema observatory with a datapad in her hand. It wasn’t her datapad, that was for certain. Whatever she was reviewing, when she made eye contact with me, there was hesitation in her body language.
She still didn’t trust me.
Yet, she’d be foolish to trust these District Three scientists as well. Perhaps the sign of a decaying society was distrust. Governments, politics, economic policy all liked to make us distrust each other. Some systems were deserving of such distrust. But people? On an individual level like this, I truly believed she and I couldn’t succeed together without unyielding trust.
Saving her life wasn’t enough. I know that now. In order for her to understand me, I had to give her a piece of myself. A piece of history, my knowledge, my expertise, and mostly my pain. That was also why she was so hesitant because she knew she’d have to do the same. I was willing to give that to her, knowing I might not get many answers in return.
Maybe she thought I knew them already.
Of course, none of this could happen until we got out of here. Our gear was just sitting in a storage room, packed and ready to go. Our electronics were deemed useless to them, and I think they were worried playing around with it too much would set off some alarms back at the main base. The only thing they had apparent access to was Jacqueline’s photographic camera, which they more than happily scanned through. I didn’t think there would be anything confidential there.
It felt so strange in a military sense, that sharing knowledge was seen as a security risk. Sabbath and Milithreat alike were very against joint task forces and kept all operations within. Scientists, on the other hand, were almost willing to give out information without a price. Colony Negative was different, though. Everything about this wretched, glorious place was different. Glory. That’s what people wanted here, even scientists alike.
I could feel a lot of eyes on me as I finally left the tent area of our humble abode. Emotions varied on a lot of the stares, but the greatest feeling was wariness. I was a bomb with no fuse, an object of volatility that had no starting point but could end at any second. I had all the right materials to cripple this establishment, all that was missing was the spark. They had to be as cautious as I was.
Doctor Iso Wueh caught my eye, standing at a table with all my weaponry displayed. What a biologist would care for my little armory is what provoked me to approach, with ease. I made sure to keep my hands at parade rest behind my back, showing no signs of intimidation or ill-will. Oh, I had chaotic intentions, but at this moment that bat-shit crazy idea I had lingering in my mind still felt out of reach. I could be wrong. Maybe they’d return our stuff and let us return to District Five territory.
“Ah, Agent Rok,” Iso smiled softly, a glint of mischievousness in his eyes, “you have an exorbitant amount of weaponry. The finest in all the galaxies, of course.”
“Milithreat only pays for the best,” I replied, seeing his gaze linger on the modifiable rifle, “are you curious how it works? I can offer a demonstration.”
He laughed softly at that, not falling into that trap at all, “No, not at all. I merely want to know how effective your 2210-MDR could be against these…creatures.”
The fact he knew it was called a 2210-MDR was concerning. What would a biologist truly know about the weapon industry? It could be a hobby. Firearm enthusiasts usually fell into two categories: individuals looking for discipline, or individuals who already had discipline seeking compensation for suppressed bloodlust. While the initial report on Wueh was minimal, I knew he was dangerous. He was on a minimal list, meaning they hadn’t gathered much intel…yet. No need, of course, since I was already here.
Anyone on that list was a danger to District Five, no exceptions.
“When can we leave?” I asked assertively, looking into his withered, slightly bloodshot eyes. He was tired, but not in an exhaustive way. It was an odd, maddening way, as if sleep couldn’t control all the sadistic thoughts keeping him awake.
“Tonight. If you answer my question and the next,” he smiled with fake politeness.
“The 2210-MDR on standard mode seems to slow the anathemas down. Effectiveness is probably more determined on caliber size and accuracy,” I answered immediately, “It’s more intended for its initial design: humans. Now caliber doesn’t exactly matter with humans. I’ve killed someone with a caliber so microscopic, I added a fifth ventricle into that weak heart of his. On standard size, I could remove the heart entirely if I so chose.”
I was beginning to see a resemblance in his eyes. The shape and color of them, not to mention the shape of his nose and lips. It was possible the similarity was just age. But the chances were too great to ignore, especially someone so keenly interested in me and my firearms.
“Now, what was your other question?” I asked.
“What is your relationship with Doctor Deveraux?” he asked, his eyes glancing what I presumed was her way, somewhere behind my left shoulder. I didn’t even bother to turn and glance her way as well, irked somewhat by her lack of communication this morning. I also didn’t want my eyes to soften if I had gotten a glance.
“Strictly professional, borderline at each other's throats,” I shrugged, “You know how it can be, we are from two different worlds with different ideas on how to better it.”
“Interesting,” he hummed, “then why were you comforting her this morning? I saw you run your fingers through her hair.”
My head tilted slightly with protectiveness, wondering what this had to do with anything. What I had done early this morning hadn’t changed anything about the horrible dynamic between us, especially because Jack was far too asleep to notice. Yet, Wueh did, and questioned it greatly.
“She was having a nightmare,” I clarified, “I was doing what I could to get her to stop mumbling in her sleep, just so I could get a few hours myself. I don’t like sleeping with unnecessary noise in the background.”
That’s how I selfishly worded it, anyways. Perhaps it was far from the truth.
“And you? How do you think she feels about you?”
“Barely tolerable,” I smiled at that, “and I prefer it that way.”
“Interesting,” Wueh hummed, “then why are you in a lot of her photographs?”
I blinked in slight confusion, surprised if that was true. Yet, he seemed more than willing to reach for the camera ten feet away and show me, if I wished. I believed him, though.
“In all honesty, I probably got in the way of a lot of her shots,” I shrugged, avoiding the odd itch on the back of my neck, “I didn’t pay much mind to whatever she was collecting for evidence purposes.”
“Yet you are in the center of a lot of them,” he smiled at my discomfort, pausing briefly, “have you read any of her work?”
“No,” I shook my head, “It’s not my cup of tea.”
“What a shame. You should. I think of my favorite excerpt of hers from Measurements of Evil, one of her finest works: ‘There is the belief that without evil, morality itself is non-existent. Situational evil, as some might call it, is the excuse of those faced with two immoral decisions and deciding which is the lesser of such evil. There is no situational evil that goes without collateral damage. It is a pestilential cough. You’ll find yourself coughing more after you force that choked exhale the first time, over and over again until the sickness is cured. If you refuse the cough, you can convince yourself you’re not sick’.”
I heard those words in my head with Jack’s filtered, masked, voice, despite Wueh’s accent. It definitely sounded like her kind of writing, to the point, yet open for interpretation. Still, it sounded like a bunch of nonsense to me. It would make more sense if I read her dissertation as a whole, but I had no interest in doing so.
“She sure has an extensive vocabulary,” I smiled weakly.
“You don’t see it, do you?” he asked incredulously, like a teacher mocking a student after refusing to elaborate on such a subject matter so out of his league.
I didn’t answer, merely shrugging slightly with a roll of the shoulders. It sounded like an interesting read, in all honesty, but I’m not quite sure what those words and photographs of me had to do with anything.
“She is studying you. You are her experiment,” he clarified.
I clenched my jaw in response, trying to not let any prior trauma filter in with that news. No. Wueh was lying, trying to get under my skin. Most of all, he was trying to get me to betray Jacqueline, to distrust her completely. Despite it already being frayed and withered, I couldn’t let him damage it entirely. If we were going to escape this unscathed, it had to be together.
There was a truth to his words that I couldn’t deny, though. If the subject of her pictures were true, then it was possible she was documenting evolutionary change through photographs. She was also adamant about studying biological and psychological differences after each rotation on this Colony. Yet, her entire study was about change, about this evolutionary process nobody really cared about because it was so miniscule. Nobody cared except her.
Change was always seen as drastic. But it was the little things of no significance that could alter with the greatest amount of force.
“It’s not the first time you’ve been someone’s experiment,” Wueh added. My fingers gently curled into the edge of the table, tensing with a visible vein on my hand in distress.
“I passed all of those. If what you say is true, I’ll pass her tests as well,” I gritted my teeth.
“Experiments are not meant to be ‘passed’, Agent Rok. A failed experiment, in my mind, is far more telling than a successful one. Experiments are meant to be answered. How will you answer her hypothesis about you?”
I remained silent, looking directly into those familiar eyes. I didn’t know in the beginning why he was such a threat. I know why now.
“Here, in show of my good faith that I am on your side, pick a weapon. It is a sign by the end of the day you will have the rest of them. Consider it a sign of trust that I will allow you to spend the rest of the day waiting. I am finishing what Doctor Deveraux asked of me, and when that is done, you both are free to leave.”
So, that’s what we were waiting for? If she was getting something from them, most certainly Wueh asked something of her. Funny. Ironic, even. She would not be able to offer them anything if it hadn’t been for me.
If I had to pick one weapon from my arsenal, it had to be the laser sword. After all, it was proven to kill both humans and anathemas. But, I wondered if that was Wueh’s intention at this exchange of agreement. Would the selection of a weapon determine something for him? He was well familiar with my rifle, a very powerful one at that. The sword was even more powerful but maybe I didn’t want him to know that.
If he wanted to provoke me, then I would do the same to him.
“Funny you mention that line in Jack’s wonderful work, the one about the cough,” I hummed, my hand gently running over the weapons before resting on my pistol, “I had said something similar to your son…right before I executed him with this very same pistol.”
His eyes widened with dismay, a twitch forming on his lips of pure anger. Yeah, Wueh was Crowe’s father. I didn’t think much about the different last names until now. Crowe probably took another name when he joined the service to differentiate himself from his scientific father. Either that, or he wanted to make a different name for himself, something better.
“M-my son is not dead,” he hissed.
“Crowe, right?” I inquired, seeing his denial wither and decay right before me, “Electric blue hair…cocky smile. Yeah, I can see where his arrogance stemmed from. He’s dead. Very dead. Now, I suggest you finish whatever paperwork you have for Jacqueline, and we will be on our way.”
Telling him I was the reason his son was dead assured that there was no way in hell that he’d let us leave. But I truly believed he wasn’t going to let us leave in the first place. I knew that from the very start, but I might as well have fun with my food…as long as Jacqueline didn’t get hurt.
“Take your pistol and leave my sight, Rok. You are nothing more than Sabbath’s machine, a line of violent code that can’t be erased or modified, even by Milithreat. I don’t need to study you to know what you are. That little algorithm of theirs has already determined your path, and I hope yours ends as brutal, cruel, and inhumane as you are.”
I holstered the pistol, offering him a warm smile, “Thank you, Doctor Wueh. You’ve been very kind.”
I turned and left at that, not feeling so naked anymore with at least the downward weight of a barrel against my thigh. I tried to shake his words away, all of them: my attempts to coax her nightmare, her attempts to study me, and most of all, that stupid fucking algorithm. He seemed to know about it, which made me wonder how connected with Sabbath he could be. He knew more than Jack, that was for sure. Too bad he’d die before I could get any further answers.
I didn’t have the energy to interrogate him further, and I didn’t think I’d get the chance.
I thought for a moment I should take further interest in science, glancing up as I walked past his makeshift lab. Engineers surrounded this cylindrical object about the size of my bicep. I had seen it before, the design actually, not the product. Yet I couldn’t quite put my mind to the exact intelligence report it was. Whatever it was, they seemed invested into it greater than any weapon. Weapons were what this place really needed if they wanted to destroy some anathemas.
When I got back to my bunk, I could feel the sting of pain in my ribs. It was right where that stunned lazer struck hours prior, despite my armor. A powerful enough stun shocked more than just a nerve or two. I removed the top layer of my armor and shirt, feeling the cool breeze hit my bare torso as I gazed down at the wound. It certainly hit a nerve, the left side of my hip had a piercing dark vein that was throbbing with pain.
Pain. I knew I shouldn’t have looked at it with my own eyes. It was Sabbath psychology that taught us to never look at a wound because it only made it worse. Removing pain sensitivity was always impossible, despite their attempts at making every Sabbath individual a numb and soulless machine. Yet there were methods to easing pain without medicine, and I’d have to do just that.
My attempts at such meditation faltered as Jacqueline walked in, her eyes widening softly, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”
She paused at seeing my injury, and then at the tattoo across my chest. The Sabbath snake was a common tattoo of any soldier, typically stretching from one shoulder to the opposite hip. I made sure mine went over my heart, from my left shoulder down to my right hip. Sabbath had their own version of dog tags ingrained in the form of tattoos, but not many knew the secrets behind the tattoos themselves.
Yet Jacqueline looked at it with slight familiarity.
“That looks painful, do you want me to ask the medic for any pain cream?” she asked, her voice soft as if she hadn’t been ignoring me all morning.
“No,” I shook my head, “I’m fine.”
“If it won’t bruise your ego, I can just tell them it’s for me,” she scoffed slightly, wondering if that had anything to do with it.
“Pain is nothing I am not already used to,” I replied, using the very words she had said last night.
She stood awkwardly nearby, a sigh leaving her mask. She was hesitating about this entire situation, not knowing who to trust. The simple answer was she couldn’t trust anyone, but that wouldn’t get her whatever she wanted.
“What did you say that pissed Iso off?” she asked me.
“Oh, you know, the unfortunate ‘accident’ of killing his son. The son that tried to kill you. Ironic, isn’t it? I don’t think Wueh has any clue his son was trying to kill the scientist his own father admires,” I chuckled softly.
Just as I saw Wueh’s denial wither, I also witnessed Jacqueline’s hesitance begin to fray. She hadn’t caught onto the relationship and I couldn’t fault her for that. She had a lot going on and well, Wueh wasn’t on a list for her to glance at. She only knew him from his own dissertations. Sometimes they didn’t tell the whole picture, same as my own intel work. Together? We might have a good story to tell.
“And you still don’t know why…?” she began to ask, but she couldn’t even finish the question. No. I didn’t know exactly why they wanted her dead. But I had a slight understanding as to a possibility.
“If anyone is going to figure out what happened here, what these things are, what this all means…it’s you. They know that, and if they want the glory for themselves they need to remove their competition. Crowe may have not believed in the District Three cause, mostly because half his team died to these anathemas, but I think he believed there was redemption for him and his father if it meant ending you.”
That answer didn’t satisfy her, but not because it wasn't good speculation. It was a great speculation. She just didn’t want to accept it. No, she refused to accept her own importance. Whatever hesitation she had remaining, she swallowed down. Within a blink she was inches away from me, her cold hand resting just by that wound as if she was inspecting it. It was then I realized she was getting this close for a reason, and it wasn’t to put her hands on me.
“What did they ask for?” I asked quietly.
“You,” she whispered, her entire gaze lifted towards me. I didn’t really think about being nearly a foot taller than her would make such a difference this close.
“Information? Surely you told them you don’t know much,” I scoffed slightly, keeping my own eyes on her.
She remained silent, as if that answered my question. It was true, she didn’t know much unless she was with Sabbath. But, she couldn’t be, right?
“If you trust me…I need you to sound like you’re in pain,” she lowered her voice even more. I felt her fingers dwindle down closer to the wound, only giving me a few seconds to make up my mind. My ego really didn’t want me to release any sound of pain, but she knew that.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
This wasn’t about ego, or what was right or wrong. Evil or moral. This was about us working together, forgetting the outside opinions and only focusing on our survival. Not just that for each other, but as a unit. The second her index spread across the elevated vein, I felt the nerve spark with a flame…but maybe not that of pain.
“Ow!” I shouted, practically seething at her before grabbing her wrist. Her emerald eyes held a slight surprise at my reaction, almost wondering if it was genuine. But if she wanted to play games, then I would play them too.
“Sorry, but you’re going to need that to be looked at,” she spoke loudly, as if she wanted others nearby to hear. Yet that one exclamatory yelp was all she needed to know I did trust her.
And she trusted me.
“I’m fine,” I grunted.
“In exchange for their research, Wueh wants to conduct an experiment with me,” she whispered, before signing with one hand, the one I wasn’t still holding at the wrist, throw you in with….monster.
Meaning the anathema. So, she was using me. She agreed to this notion only to get more information and data, risking my life with this. However, she was telling me now, swallowing her hesitation to do so. I couldn’t fault her for that.
I knew now just how much this data meant to her, having to use deceit and lies to get what she wanted. But did she truly know the cost, especially if I was the thing to be bargained?
“And you agreed to this?” I asked lowly, my grip on her growing firm as I stepped closer. I could see slight fear in her eyes at my anger, wanting to shrivel back. It mimicked back to the time right before our capture, where I had lied to her once more. I almost hated how even feigned anger seemed more truthful than an actual, genuine smile from my lips. That was nobody’s fault but my own.
She nodded her head, not wanting to say the words herself.
“I wouldn’t tell you if I didn’t care for you,” she stated, before immediately taking back her words, “I mean, you know, care for your safety. Your safety is as equal to my own. I won’t be able to make it back to our territory in one piece without you.”
“Uh huh, yeah,” I couldn’t help but smirk, loosening my grip on her wrist before letting go entirely.
“Oh shut up,” she rolled her eyes, taking a step back before signing again, Don’t eat anything they offer you.
Cowards. Fucking cowards they were. They were really going to try and medicate any food to lessen my attempts at leaving. To be fair, it wasn’t a bad idea, I just thought it was cowardly. Then again, truly there was nobody here who probably could rival me. Crowe, maybe, but he wasn’t alive.
What made you hesitate? I signed.
She shook her head, meaning she didn’t want to tell me right now. That was probably a good thing, given we talked too much already.
“Well if you aren’t going to need any medicine, put a fucking shirt on,” she feigned annoyance, “I’m going to do more behavior observations on the anathema. You do…well, I don’t care what you do. We’ll talk more when it gets ‘dark’.”
With the way she emphasized dark, I knew she didn’t mean it so literally as in the evening. Her plan was to cause a distraction. With the many generators keeping this space up and running, it wouldn’t take much effort to sabotage them. Enough to make the place dark, even if temporarily..
“Of course, Doctor. Thanks for looking out for me,” I teased, seeing her want to roll her eyes again. I slipped my shirt back on, seeing her take one last glance at the tattoo before it was permanently covered, and she walked away, almost relieved. Relieved I wasn’t angry.
There was a lot right now to be frustrated about. Her getting bitten, my team leaving us instead of fighting…and now she is using me as scientific leverage. Yet she was playing a game of her own with a very unique strategy.
I worried what she’d think about my next move. Why take out only a few key players when I could just obliterate the entire board?
-
Resting comfortably in the cot, legs crossed and my hands behind my head, I spent the last few hours thinking of Sabbath, the least comforting of thoughts. My life would have been so different if none of it happened. I don’t know where I would exist, or who I would be. Would I have autonomy over myself, or was it foolish to think anyone did? Even Jacqueline, a woman born of privilege, wealth, and prosperity didn’t have autonomy growing up.
Religions always talked about predestined timelines, that our lives were written before we were even born. That was just the excuse they used when they created a system where barely a few had an actual say. That’s why, despite this horror and chaotic predicament presiding in Colony Negative…it also compelled me to stay.
Here, there was no system. Here, Jacqueline could be both an anthropologist and photographer. Me? Maybe I could have a choice to do something different. Here, I could have a choice. I think that’s what frightened me. I had gone over thirty years with some structured autonomy, I wasn’t sure what I’d do without it. Structure and freedom were often seen as polarizing to each other, but I believed there needed to be a balance.
That’s what life was: balance. Yet my scales were far too heavy on one side, it was like glaring up the steepest mountain top. Even if I reached the peak, I doubt it could ever balance the scales and weight of my sins.
A guard walked in, his gun almost leveled with me before he eased himself at seeing my relaxed state, “Out. Now.”
“Oh, finally!” I sighed, a smile on his lips. I could almost see a scoffed laugh on the verge of his tongue, as if he thought I truly was this stupid or oblivious. Playing stupid was a bit of a speciality of mine, even better when standing side by side with a scientific genius.
They had offered me food earlier, but per Jack’s wisdom, I faked drinking the broth. I knew lack of food was waning my strength, but this broth was clearly not meant for nutrition. It was meant to sedate me, in another word or less.
When I walked out, Jack already had her gear secured. Her upper armor was still thrown in the bin, along with the helmet since it was rather useless. To be fair, she looked good in leather and not a labcoat. Her own eyes gave off slight obliviousness to the entire situation.
All my supplies were across the way, right next to the trapped anathema who still paced and paced around in circles. That thing never tired, at least not in front of us. It was forever hungry, forever desiring to hunt especially with prey so near. These District Three nonces thought I would be the perfect bait, when in reality I was the sharp lure that would prick their skin until they bled.
“Thank you for the hospitality, Doctor Wueh,” I grinned, immediately letting my helmet connect with my datapad within my supplies, letting it slip over my head.
“Of course, anyone who is a friend of Doctor Deveraux is a friend of ours,” he forced a smile, his words ringing true. Except he believed Jack wasn’t my friend, in truth she wasn’t. But they didn’t think we could trust each other in a situation like this, given all the arguments they saw, the lack of respect for one another…half truths mixed in reality.
Jack slowly lingered in the back, a slight crowd forming and she found it easier to slip away. There was initial fear that she would leave me. After all, she could easily slip out now while these men would fight to throw me into that trap. Yet I saw one laser sword at her hip and another in her hand. My laser sword to be exact. She tilted it forward, as if offering it to me from a very great distance.
South-east, she signed, very quickly and urgently.
That’s the tunnel she wanted to use, and I’d have to trust her. Just as she trusted me.
Yet, in a blink, multiple barrels were all pointed towards me, safeties off and ready to fire.
“You didn’t think we would actually let you go, did you?” Iso laughed, as if he had won this little game, “Oh no. You’re a chip to be bargained, Damien Rok. A cheap chip at that. This is what’s wrong with District Five. Your people are so inherently selfish. When it comes to survival and saving your own skin, you’d give up anything. Isn’t that right, Doctor Deveraux?”
Some eyes turned to her, seeing an awkwardness in her composure. They wanted to think this was some dramatic betrayal, and that actually worked in my favor. I could easily get their concentration off her, it just took a little bit of acting.
“You fucking bitch,” I spat, wanting to move my hand towards my pistol but knew that could be a death sentence. Instead, I had to do what they expected, and that was to surrender with my hands up.
“Oh don’t be so harsh on her. You think she could ever learn to trust your kind? The same kind that let her get bit, that then left her…? You mean nothing to her, Rok. All your accolades, your death count, it means nothing now. But at least you won’t be worthless to all of us. You’re going to provide us with very important data,” Wueh hummed.
“Data?!” I laughed, “Is that all I am to you? Numerical values to be thrown into an impossible equation that can’t be solved?”
“That’s all you’ve ever been,” Iso scowled, soon barking commands in Oceanica and the guards moved closer. I backed up against the barrier, practically feeling the gentle pressure behind me of the anathema clawing at the wall between us. It had grown from its more anxious pacing state into rabid madness. Its aggression fed off the very energy stemming in this room.
The smell of violence to it was like a drug, and like any addict, it would never be satisfied.
I regained slight composure with my breath, watching the guards approach closer and closer, awaiting the signal. Yet, Jacqueline was nowhere to be found. What if she had truly left? She got what she wanted, supposedly, and now she disappeared as quickly as she had entered my life.
No, I had to believe.
Come’on Jack, don’t leave me alone, I thought to myself, my worst fear coming true.
And then the lights went black with a loud sizzle of burning electrons and static. The caves flickered like a wild strobe, between light and dark, the other generators trying to establish more stability. But that was enough for everyone to begin panicking, shouts of Oceanica in the dark. It opened up just a small gap in the crowd, enough to jump through and begin my escape.
But what if I could create an even bigger hole to escape with?
The second it went permanently black, my hand slammed against the button on the wall, hearing faint sirens over that high buzzing sound in my ear. Oh. I wasn’t killing anyone yet, but that sound was a sure sound that plenty of people here would die. All because of me.
The banshee screech of the anathema was now heard by everybody, clawing its way against the dark walls. Its claws clamped into the dirt ground before feeling the breeze of an opening door nearby. The same door they’d try to throw me in was now wide open and an invitation for freedom. But the anathema didn’t want freedom. It wanted blood, and it couldn’t have both at the same time.
The anathema caused an even greater distraction than I could ever hope. Any guns that were once pointed at me were now pointed to the even greater threat. With no lights to really shine the way, lasers were the only thing lighting up the space. I took the opportunity to begin my sprint, running away from the sounds of the anathema tearing apart a scientist's neck, indulging in the flesh and blood.
South east. South east.
I adjusted my helmet to night vision, immediately finding the tunnel and a very frightened Jacqueline. I knew she hadn’t expected the anathema to be let loose. In fact, it was probably her greatest fear, letting it run rampant in such a controlled space such as this.
With the sound of my movements, she was quick to light her laser sword, pointing it towards me.
“It’s me,” I clarified, seeing her relax, “Good call on the darkness. It’s pitch black in here.”
“Yeah, I can’t see shit,” she sighed, handing me my laser sword, “What the fuck is happening?”
“Did you get what you needed?” I asked, seeing her nod as I ignored her earlier question.
My laser sword felt warm at the hilt, which meant she had used it to jam the generator. Good thinking, the next time I wanted to start some electronic annoyance. Being of the Deveraux family, she probably knew the extent and capabilities of this sword greater than even myself.
“Follow my lead,” I ordered, taking her hand with my left one, letting my laser sword ignite the way in my right hand. Her fingers were bony and cold against mine. Maybe it was just the sweat from my own palms that made me worried the temperature difference would cause a hurricane between our own fingers. Enough for her to pull away. Yet, she didn’t pull away. In fact her fingers interlaced even tighter for the moment.
The tunnel led to another chamber, this one with a high ceiling and another door, almost like a mantrap in any secured building. Yet this door was covered, and not by some scientific panel or veil. A fucking large panel of bronze was welded against the door.
“Shit,” I let go of her hand, trying to touch the barrier to our freedom to determine its thickness, “they welded this door.”
“Fuck,” she cursed, hearing her breathing accelerate, “We could go back, find another-”
“Half of those men are already probably infected and soon to turn. Not an option,” I shook my head, “I’ll have to see if I can cut through it with the sword. If not, well…”
“All those people are going to die…” she whispered, coming to the truth, “Fuck, it was just supposed to be a distraction. You don’t think the generator helped it escape?”
She was blaming herself. She was fucking blaming herself for something that was my deliberate doing. How could I tell her? How could I tell her out of my anger, my bloodlust, I doomed every single soul in that area, and maybe even possibly ourselves?
“It’s not your fault,” I said harshly.
“It was just supposed to be an escape attempt, not a fucking bloodbath-”
“Jack, listen to me right now,” I reached over to her wrist, pulling her to me, “They are not our problem right now. You know they weren’t going to let you leave. This wasn’t placed here as a barricade to prevent bad people from entering. It was a trap for you, knowing you’d go this route. They were never going to let you leave. You know this.”
“I…I okay, you’re right,” she nodded in acceptance, “What can I do to help?”
“I need you to use your sword on one side, and I’ll use mine here. We will try to meet in the middle and melt the shit out of this. Got it?” I asked.
“Yes,” she nodded in the darkness, lighting the beautiful green sword in her possession. It clashed well with the black of the room, and her mask.
“If we start to notice it’s damaging the sword, I need you to stop. Your sword is the better model. And we will need to keep one still functioning for its intended purpose,” I ordered, “now push.”
We both grunted with frustration as we pierced the metal, watching the metal light up in a bright orange spark. Jack was starting near the top, finding it easier to pull and push downward simultaneously while I forced the blade up by the handle. I was making better progress than her, but that was probably due to the sheer strength needed to penetrate this fucking hunk of metal. Despite the sounds of searing, melting metal, we could still hear the screams and shouts from the tunnel.
They never stopped. My spine tingled with a shiver, but it wasn’t from the terror behind. The sound of my sword gently sawing into the metal gave off a screeching squeal that didn’t satisfy my ears. Yet it was a sound that was reverberating like an echo, out of this chamber and towards a creature that loved sounds.
Jack took a break, her breathing labored and heavy. I almost liked the sound of it. But the echo of a low growl was enough to throw me out of that delusion. With both our swords jammed into the metal, I knew I had to meet this anathema’s attack. The night vision helped of course, seeing the freshly borne infected ready to pounce our way.
A shot in its direction was enough to divert its full attention towards me, yet when I went to grip my sword’s handle, it was firmly stuck in the metal. Fuck. Okay. “Keep at it darling, I’ll handle this.”
It didn’t give her enough time to respond as it lept towards me. That, or I just didn’t hear it. I dropped my pistol, letting my hands meet its upside down jaw, holding its bite back as I kept it forced open. I could feel it overpowering me, my boots sliding with minimal traction beneath me. It clawed at my armor viciously, loosening my grip. Shit. This one was somehow stronger than the other ones I had faced. I let it build momentum before quickly stepping to the side. It slammed into the wall behind me, giving me a moment of peace.
Yet I didn’t see the one approaching my blindspot. A flash of bright green and a loud dying screech alerted me to its presence. Jack pulled the sword out from it’s torso, giving one good swipe before dismembering its fucking ugly head. The lights began to strobe again as the generators kicked back on, causing the live anathema in the corner to scream with almost pain. We knew it already had bad vision, but this definitely worsened that capability.
With those lights, I could see Jack briefly make sure I was alright with a worried glance, “Your helmet is fucked up.”
I hadn’t even noticed the red warnings across my screen, alerting my helmet was practically useless. My fingers pried it off completely, feeling indents of anathema claws as it had tried to dig its way into the armor. What was top notch armor in the entire military complex was almost useless against these things. Almost.
I immediately threw my helmet at the anathema still blindly losing its sanity in the corner, letting the noise and impact as a distraction before Jack immediately handed me her sword. It felt much more comfortable than my own, light, durable, and I almost liked the green color in my own hands. It didn’t feel as heavy as the red was, as if the green overpowered the black anathema blood.
The anathema fought but not quick enough before the first strike removed one limb, causing it to stumble. While I knew it would regenerate, it was enough to knock its balance. One good strike to that disgusting head seared the brain, if there was any brain left in these things. It melted into the neck, killing it with a mutilated scream.
“Ugly fucks,” I spat, yanking her blade out, feeling my entire armor drenched in sweat.
The brief respite was ruined as the lights came on completely, restoring power to everything around us. Looking at the impeded door near us, we were close to breaching. Now we could only hope to open the actual door behind it, but I’d leave that to Jack.
I smiled softly as I looked at her, “We make a pretty good team, don’t-”
My thoughts immediately became frazzled, discombobulated by electrical currents. Thousands of volts struck my cells, paralyzing my muscles as I shook violently on the floor. I could hear the sizzling of a shocking bullet in my right thigh, shot by a stun gun.
“Damien?!” Jack shouted, immediately moving to approach but she was worried about touching me in fear of shocking herself.
“We just had to do this the hard way, didn’t we, Doctor?” Iso’s voice was blood-chalked, wet, and sounding on the verge of death.
The bullet had stunned me into submission, my brain feeling like it finally stopped bouncing in my skull as I could hardly keep my eyes open. Splayed on the floor, I looked up and saw that Sabbath cylinder object on the ceiling. The inner mechanisms began to spin as the power had come back to it. And that’s when I realized what it was, yet I was too stunned and shocked to literally speak. Jack needed to get the fuck out of here.
“You could have fucking let us go. We were no threat to you,” Jack spat with venom laced in her voice that I hadn't heard before. Her eyes constantly darted from Iso to me, and back to him. Worry in one glance, anger in the other.
“You know the rule of two: Jacqueline,” Iso hummed, pulling a small looking detonator in his pocket, “Our studies both confirm that light and darkness can coexist, in fact they are dependent on each other. When inside human souls…they don't coexist. Evil and darkness always triumph. I never would have thought in my earlier days that I would throw a man into a cage all for science. But that’s what this place calls for.
“You know the agent at your feet is not innocent. He deserved what the plan was for him, but yet you still see something in him, don’t you? I won’t let that happen. Had the roles been reversed, Doctor, he would have easily left you. But, you still somehow see hope,” he sighed, showing Jacqueline the bite on his hip, “I am done for. So is he once I flip this switch. That’s the price for liars. You betray a kin of science for that of evil-”
“Regardless of Damien’s past, you had no right to think about using him as some scientific tool!” Jack shouted, “Your life is forfeit, Iso. This isn’t about the Districts now. This isn’t about who is going to leave here with knowledge only a few will ever know, or a power only little will possess. This is about survival. And we could have fucking done it together had you not offered me what you did.”
“His life means nothing-”
“His life means everything! Same as yours. Same as mine. Let us go, and we can promise you a merciful death. You don’t have to become one of those things,” she pleaded.
“What if I want to transform? I know now I have no choice. Sometimes, we must embrace change,” Iso laughed, spitting out blood. I watched the redness of it slowly turn dark with black speckles as it coagulated on the floor.
But then I heard a sound above me I didn’t expect. Jack held my pistol in her hand, leveling it with Iso. She had pre-heated the laser, having the firearm ready to fire a powerful punch. All she needed to do was pull the trigger. And I don’t know why, but there was something quite beautiful in seeing her holding a gun, even if her arms shook against her will. She didn’t want to pull the trigger, but maybe she felt she had no choice.
“Oh, darling…don’t make this more satisfying,” Iso wheezed, “Don’t betray your thesis, your life’s work, for this man.”
“You’re giving me no choice,” her voice was firm despite the shakiness everywhere else, “Drop it. Now!”
Iso refused, still holding a delightful smile.
Jack pulled the trigger, the laser shooting out furiously…but whizzed by Iso’s leg.
“A warning shot…how cute,” Iso laughed, before Jack pulled the trigger again.
“It wasn’t a fucking warning shot, I missed,” Jack clarified, heaving heavily. This time, she was prepared for the kick back and recoil, aiming and adjusting higher. The laser ripped through Iso’s chest, causing the scientist to look down as Jacqueline had given him the death she never wanted to give any soul.
When Iso collapsed to the ground, I could see her shoulders slump with depressed relief. She had saved me, but at a cost of her own virtue, her own belief. She didn’t leave much time to think or ponder, reaching for her sword near my side to finish Iso’s death permanently. Yet the body spasmed in its transformation, fingers altering before pressing that switch.
“No. No no no, fuck,” I heard her curse as she swung the sword like an executioner’s axe. She ended his life, but still had to save another: mine.
My eyes glanced up at the bright purple light shining on the ceiling. My muscles slowly contorted as I tried to roll to my side, yet I was fighting my own body. I remember what it was now. I knew exactly what it was and I hated the fact it took me so long to remember.
Sabbath’s experiment at taking out an entire room of politicians without firing a single trigger, without an explosive or use of gas. Those District Two bodies displayed, suffocated as per Garcia’s words…that was meant as a warning sign. This was District Three’s power, its main threat of a weapon. And I was powerless against it.
Humans all needed one vital thing to survive, something very hard to calculate a precise removal of it. Food and water were one thing. Oxygen…well, nobody could combat that. Except maybe a woman wearing a mask.
“Are you alright?” Jack ran back over to me, placing me back on my backside. It was hard to focus on her face, her hair draping over her eyes with that purple light in the back.
I pointed up at it, looking at her, “It…fuck, you need to…leave…me”
I barely had the strength to get my words out. Yet Jack seemed to understand the scenario as her datapad alerted with extreme readings. Her own mask was telling her what I wanted all along. Oxygen levels were dropping, and not just at a slow rate.
She glanced up at the ceiling, eyes glancing at the cracks in the walls, a faint sense of hope in her eyes. She knew very well she’d be fine. Her mask had more than enough oxygen to get out of here, pierce through that wall and be okay. I was merely dead weight.
Yet, she wasn’t leaving.
“Jack, did you hear me…?” I mumbled, seeing her very quick to place her supplies down. She was running out of time, but that wasn’t going to stop her. I could hear her taking very dynamic, long breaths before exhaling them quickly. She was conserving her own oxygen, while trying to slow her own heart rate.
The second I saw her hands move to her mask, I knew what she was doing. My body was screaming at me to get to my feet, to prevent her from making this horrendous mistake but I couldn’t. All I could do was be a witness. I could feel my own brain lapsing at the lack of oxygen, a faint ringing in my ears of possibly my own death.
Jack took one last inhale before removing her mask, firmly forcing it against my mouth until it suctioned gently against my jaw. A soft beep was enough to confirm the transfer.
Amidst blurry, tired eyes, I saw a scarred angel above me. Scars that ran deeper than skin could allow, a beauty that most humans would never witness…all consequences of life’s most alluring and rare creature: the indomitable human spirit.
All in the form of my rival, who I thought to be my worst enemy was now a bewitching savior. Doctor Jacqueline Deveraux.