That night, E1 hadn't slept. Instead, she sat vigil at the vent. A2 hadn't felt like talking, she only cried. E1 wanted her to know she was there regardless. Each sob echoed through the vent like a punch in the chest.
E1 dug her fingernails into the soft flesh of her wrist and pulled. Just as the bloody gash would form, she would clot it immediately after. She picked at the edges of the scab and pried it away. Fresh blood oozed up, and she stopped it. The scab reformed. Rinse. Repeat. All night long.
When the guards came for her, she quietly went with them.
"I wouldn't want to be you," said one with a grin. "Smith was in a tizzy this morning."
His partner chimed in. "Well, why wouldn't he be? Did you see it?"
"See what?"
"The body. Poor bugger's brains were everywhere. One side of his head looked normal but the other side was like a busted watermelon."
The guard made a face. "Yuck." He nudged E1. "Do you have anything to say for yourself? Any last words?" he chuckled.
"I wouldn't push her, Gary," said the other one, his tone now much more serious. "The guy was a doctor for God sake. If she's willing to risk that, lord knows what she could do to us."
E1 kept her head forward. It was easier to pretend not to hear them. Anxiety twirled her intestines like spaghetti on a fork. She closed her eyes, let her feet do the moving, and breathed deeply.
He'll understand. I was doing what was best for the project. He'll have to believe me. I have to find a way to undo this. She wanted to believe Smith would see her side, but she had never killed a doctor before.
The guards unlocked a set of double doors and followed her into the room. It was one of many gymnasiums usually reserved for training and obstacle courses but now stood empty. Somehow she found that more intimidating. She had never been here before, but it was similar to the other test chambers they had put her in previously. Like the rest of the laboratory basement, the walls, ceiling and floor were all concrete. The only break in the bleak space was an observation window fixed in the wall across from her. Smith sat on the other side behind a microphone and switchboard.
The doors locked themselves with an audible thunk.
E1 stood at attention. Plenty of words wanted to rush from her all at once, but her tongue felt dry and thick. The roof of her mouth became sticky, and her throat pinched.
Smith leaned toward the tiny microphone. "E1, do you know why you're here?"
She struggled to remain composed. "Yes. I killed Sean MacGuire. He was..."
Smith waved his hand. "I didn't ask for you to elaborate. James has already told me what transpired."
The wind knocked out of her, and she sighed with relief.
"You have displayed an egregious act of disobedience. After all we've done for you, we've fed you, clothed you and given you the finest education and training, you still insist on stepping out of line."
E1 stiffened and readied herself to hear whatever punishment Smith deemed fit to dole out.
I still killed a doctor. I deserve whatever is coming.
"I spent a great deal of thought on what punishment could teach you a lesson in loyalty and compliance. Then I thought, what a better way than to have you dispose of A2 yourself."
E1 blinked in shock as though slapped. In fact, an actual slap would have been preferable.
"Sir please, I'll literally do anything else you ask, anything but this..."
Smith's face turned an alarming shade of purple, skipping several stages of red altogether. "You dare to stand there and negotiate with me after what you've done? This only serves to show me you have no respect for me or this institution. You will do as you're told."
Or what?
A chill rippled from the top of her head to her toes. If it was from excitement or fear she couldn't tell.
You're already asking me to do the worst thing imaginable. There's nothing left to take from me.
The double doors pushed open and two guards entered with A2 restrained between them. Her wings drooped behind her, her shoulders rounded forward. Already, purple, blue and red bruises began to pepper the visible parts of her arms and legs.
A2's sobs echoed off the cement walls to fill the silence.
E1 struggled not to look at her. She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Darkness crept along the edges of her vision. The sting of her finger nails against the tender fresh scabs in the center of her palm distracted her from the rising heat searing in her chest.
"E1, I am not going to ask you again. Kill her," Smith commanded.
"Sir please, I don't think you understand what happened. Doctor Sean attempted to perform an unauthorised examination on A2. I - I - " she closed her eyes as she struggled to find the words to describe what she saw. Her fingernails bit into the scab. When she opened her honey brown eyes again, she thought she could explain. "I saw them both restrain A2 and they touched her, and attempted to restrain her in a way that I've never seen before. I know it was a bad thing they were doing. I reminded them this interaction was not authorised....."
"How dare you try to tell me what I do or do not understand. James has already informed me of the situation, and the matter is settled. I should have A2's tongue cut out to pay for your lies. Even if you're correct, a doctor was murdered and you are responsible. An eye for an eye. Now I'm not going to ask you again. Kill A2." He smashed his fist down on the control panel. "Now!"
"I'm sorry sir, I can't. A2 has done nothing wrong. I swear I will never question you again, or step one toe out of line if you allow me to spare her life." Her chest grew hot and tears stung her eyes. She struggled to push them back for fear of appearing weak.
"Don't beg E1. It's disgusting. I told you, I wasn't going to ask again. Guard, break its finger."
"No!"
One of the guards took A2's hand and snapped her right index finger back at a terrible angle. Her hollow bones cracked with a sickening pop, and she shrieked.
The pounding in E1's temples grew into a continuous ringing in her ears.
Until this moment, A2 had managed to stay still and silent, but now she struggled against them. She spread her wings and flapped hard enough to get away from their grip. A2 ran as fast as she could towards E1. Not fast enough. The guards snatched her up and slammed her to the floor.
E1 winced. Everything in her wanted to go to A2, but her feet remained firmly planted in place. Her heart thundered while her mind ran a mile.
Smith leaned in towards the microphone. His gelled hair had come undone from its normally slick position and dangled in loose strands in front of his wild eyes. "We're going to break every one of its joints until you agree to put it out of its misery. Everything that happens to A2 from this point forward is entirely on you. You decide how long it has to suffer."
The pressure in her temples grew. Her eyes felt like they would burst. Her vision shrunk to a slim tunnel. Even the sensation of clothing on her skin grew too much. Hot pins and needles pricked every inch of her flesh.
Her body knew the decision before her mind had settled on it.
E1 raised her hand.
Blood carved a path of searing heat as it coursed through her arteries and fired, ripping through the scab in her palm. Pain flared through her arm as the pressure released.
The droplet entered the guard's skull.
E1 shifted aim and quickly disposed of the other. Her vision swam. If she was lightheaded from blood loss or exhilaration, she didn't care.
A2 scrambled out from under the guards' bodies and ran to E1's side.
Smith recovered from his shock and locked himself inside the gallery with the push of a button. The brilliant white fluorescent lights turned a deep shade of red and a loud whirring alarm blasted through the room. Both girls covered their ears with their hands.
E1 struggled to concentrate with the shrieking sound system blaring overhead.
There's no going back now. I have to finish this.
Part of her wanted to back down and plead for forgiveness, but there would be no mercy for her, and especially not for A2.
"Stand down E1," Smith commanded. She detected a slight tremor in his voice.
Don't beg. It's disgusting.
She ran with A2 to the double doors only to find they were locked. E1 backed up and rammed her shoulder into the metal as hard as she could. It dented but didn't buckle.
"Stop, E1, I order you to stop!" Smith spat into the microphone. By now, panic had fully entered his voice.
E1 paused for a moment to think. She knew she couldn't keep up ramming the door long enough for the metal to bend, and recalled her infiltration training. She darted back to one of the guards and retrieved his baton and knife. While she was at it, she snatched the pass card off the lanyard from around his neck.
A2 pressed her hands firmly over her ears as Smith screamed commands over the wailing alarm.
E1 jammed the knife blade between the door frame and the hinge. She smashed the baton against the knife handle over and over until the hinges bent and then finally broke. She progressed through the other two hinges until the door finally let go and popped open. E1 tried to pry the knife back out of the hinge, but the blade had become bent and broken from the repeated abuse and was stuck.
She left the knife jammed in the door and rushed into the hall with A2 straggling behind her. Her wide and wild blue eyes blazed with terror. They ran down the corridor, unsure which direction would lead them out. The alarm clicked off along with the red lights. The silence was somehow louder inside the complete darkness. E1's heart pounded in the base of her throat so fiercely, she wondered if anyone had ever choked on their own heartbeat before. Then the emergency lights came on. The power was off.
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"Clay, what's happening?" A2 whispered.
"I don't know."
"What are we going to do?"
"We're getting out of here."
A2 made a noise like a startled chirp. "How? What will we do out there? Where will we go?" She wrapped her arms around herself and started to curl up.
E1 knew she needed to get to her before she fully disappeared into herself. She reached out and softly touched her arm.
"Please Annie, you can't give up. We can't go back. They wanted me to kill you, you know that? What do you think they're going to do after this? We have no choice, we have to leave. Whatever is out there is better than what they'll do to us in here."
A2 trembled but nodded.
They continued forward through the labyrinthine hallways of the laboratory basement. The darkness unsettled E1. The locking mechanisms on every door they encountered were disabled, and she opened them easily. It appeared whatever had tripped the power had also initiated the fire system. All cells would be locked, but other doors would allow access to ensure scientists and other staff members would be able to escape while all test subjects and evidence would be left behind to burn.
The sound of heavy boots on the ground stopped E1 in her tracks and A2 nearly bumped into her. A squadron of guards rounded the corner.
They must have been alerted before the power cut.
E1 squared up. Her jaw set. Her teeth ground together. The group of five guards blocked their path with tranquilliser rifles at the ready.
"Stand down," the one in the centre ordered.
She didn't wait for a second request and launched herself toward them.
They were momentarily taken off guard, surprised by her disobedience. E1 kicked the rifle from his hands and dove for the gun. Before the other guards could stop her, she wrenched it from his grasp and wielded it like a club, smashing the two on either side of him, cracking their skulls.
The centre guard regained his composure while the two in the back rushed forward. She used the close quarters of the hallway to her advantage. They could not take her on all at once.
The tranquilliser rifle clattered to the floor so she could free up her hands.
"Come on E1, it doesn't have to be like this," said the previous centre guard.
In the dark, she hadn't recognised him, but now she knew him to be one of the guards that escorted her often. He hadn't been unkind to her. She stopped. The other two guards stood behind him, rifles ready.
"Let me take you and A2 back to your cells and it can be like none of this ever happened. I'm sure it's just some kind of mix-up." He extended his hand. "Come on. I know you're good. We'll get it sorted out."
"You know I can't."
"Sir, what are you doing?" one of the others muttered. "Disengage."
He shook his head and kept his eyes locked on E1, his hand still extended.
E1 felt frozen in place. It's too good to be true. Either he's intentionally tricking me or he's just that naïve. This can't be undone. There's no way Smith will let me get away with this and Anpiel will surely be destroyed.
"Let me pass. I don't want to hurt you, but I will."
"You know I can't let you do that."
She narrowed her eyes. "Then I have to kill you."
A loud crack sounded and a dart whizzed past, barely missing her. The centre guard jumped and looked over his shoulder at his colleague who had fired his gun.
"What are you doing I -"
I allowed myself to drop my guard. If that had hit me, it would have been over for both of us. Never again.
Rage erupted like an undammed river and consumed every inch of her body. She seized her opportunity and gripped her hand over his face. Heat ripped through her arm as blood exited through her palm. The guard's face burst under her fingers in a sticky mess of blood, soft tissue and bone.
A fist caught her in the side of the jaw and she stumbled back with the iron taste of blood in her mouth. She quickly composed herself. The remaining two guards rounded on her.
E1 had become accustomed to the dark over the years of training and knew how to orient herself in space without overly relying on her eyes.
The guard had also regrouped and brandished his knife. He swiped at her. For a second, she thought she had managed to avoid it, then a blazing heat erupted in her side. E1 looked down to see the handle jutting out of her hip.
There was no time to tend to it now. Every movement shot pain through her body when she manoeuvred. The guard took a swing and she ducked. On her way back up, she gripped the guard's elbow to use his force against him and hurtled him to the floor. His skull cracked against the concrete.
The last guard had circled behind her and pulled her arms back. She struggled against his grip. The knife dug deeper into her side.
He pulled her in tighter. His fingers dug into her flesh. She looked desperately towards A2 who had curled herself into a tight ball on the floor. Her hands still pressed tightly over her ears and eyes squeezed shut.
I have to get her out of here.
E1 kicked her feet out furiously. The guard grunted with the effort of holding her in place. She squirmed and struggled against his arms with all her might. One of her boots finally got some purchase on the opposite wall. E1 pushed off against it and pressed all of her weight up against him for leverage. She climbed up the wall with her feet until she could perch herself in a handstand on his shoulders.
E1 pushed down and heard a loud snap as his knees buckled under him. She used her momentum to push off him and landed back on her feet. The force of her lift-off had caused the guard to lose his balance and he fell to the floor. Before he could regain his bearings, she swiftly crushed his windpipe with a stomp of her boot.
E1 took a moment and gripped the protruding knife handle. She grit her teeth and pulled. Blood poured from the open wound. She steeled herself and forced it to clot over into a thick, hardened scab. The searing pain faded out into tenderness.
The carnage was over. A2 remained in her ball, unmoving.
"We have to get going before they send more," E1 said.
A2 didn't move and trembled instead. E1 took hold of her arms. She tried to keep her grip gentle but firm. A2's delicate bones were easily palpable beneath her fragile skin. E1 pried her apart, surprised by the strength of her resistance and got her back on her feet.
"We can't afford to give up now, we have to keep going." She kept hold of A2's arm. A2 came along easily enough, but E1 knew if she stopped even for a second, A2 would freeze up again.
As they progressed through the maze of hallways, E1 began to doubt if this was a good idea. 'Outside' was almost like a mythological location, only known to them through Rachael's stories. If it wasn't for her distant memories of brief, covert outings with Rachael, she wasn't sure if she would have the nerve to leave at all. That felt so long ago now, she couldn't guarantee she hadn't dreamt it.
Though the doors had been opening for them thus far, she feared the elevator would malfunction. She held out hope for the fire escape. Finally, they rounded the corner and E1 saw the exit at the end of the hall. She reached for the handle and hesitated.
It can't be this easy. Where are the rest of the guards? Why have we not run into a single locked door? Could this be a test?
She swallowed. Her throat was parched and swollen. The blood on her hands made the knob slick under her fingers. She exhaled in a gush of relief when she opened the door to find nothing but an empty staircase.
E1 and A2 ascended the stairs. With each step, blood pounded harder in her ears.
We're so close now. It's only a matter of time before more guards come to stop us...
None came, and they finally reached the top.
"This is it," said E1.
"Are you sure? Maybe we can go back."
E1 shook her head. Her blonde hair, now matted with blood and sweat, fell into her eyes and she pushed it away. The blood on her hand smeared a streak across her face. "Do you know what just happened back there? Do you understand what they wanted me to do?"
A2 blinked at her, looking so much like an owl that E1 may have found her expression comical at any other moment.
"They wanted you to kill me," she whispered.
E1 nodded. "If we don't leave now, we'll never get another chance like this again. They're going to ship me off to the SunSetTechnology facility..."
"That's what you wanted, isn't it?"
"I thought I did, but not anymore."
Without further discussion, E1 opened the door and the two girls stepped out into the afternoon sun.
"Before we go any further, we have to get the trackers out. I can't reach mine, you'll have to do it. I'll do yours," said E1.
A2 paled. "I don't think I can."
"You have to. Come here, we don't have a lot of time. I'll do yours first."
A2 did as E1 asked and turned her back to her. She lifted her long hair out of the way to expose the back of her neck.
"This is going to pinch, ok?" E1 located the tracking chip implanted just above her seventh cervical vertebrae, and the second RFID chip meant to contain their information. She took the knife out of her belt loop and touched the tip to A2's delicate skin. Suddenly, she felt overcome with nausea. It felt impossible to cut her, even just a little.
This has to be done, and it's gotta be fast.
In one movement she opened the superficial layer of skin and used the tip of the blade to pry out the tracking chip. E1 crushed it between her fingers like a tick.
A2 cried out in pain. "That was more than a pinch, you lied!"
"I'm sorry," E1 handed her the knife. "Your turn."
"I can't..."
"You have to. Please." E1 turned her back to A2. She lifted her hair up and out of the way. "Just do it fast. You know where it is."
E1 could feel the cold metal on the back of her neck. The blade trembled, scrapping some of her skin.
"You're going to fuck it up if you hesitate like that, here, just give it to me. I have a better idea."
"Sorry." A2 handed the knife back.
"You guide me. Put your finger over it or something."
A2 did as she asked.
E1 reached back with the knife. A2 moved her finger away and watched, mouth open, as E1 dug the chip out of herself. Once the chip was in her hand, E1 crushed it.
"That was messier than it had to be."
"Sorry."
The parking lot sprawled out before them. Both took a moment to take in their new surroundings. E1 hadn't seen the sky in nine years. Not since Rachael had taken her out for the last time. She doubted if A2 had ever seen it at all.
Once she regained her bearings, E1 sprinted across the pavement towards the tree-line, only looking back to see if A2 was behind her. A2 ran as fast as she could but was not capable of keeping up.
Instead, she spread her wings.
E1 caught her breath. From wing tip to wing tip, they must have spanned three metres. The wind caught under her feathers and lifted her into the air as she ran. A few powerful flaps allowed her to ascend higher. Soon she soared over E1.
The wind itself lifted and moved in response to the movement of her wings. E1 felt the rush of air blow her hair back as she stared up at A2, enraptured. She regained her composure and raced to keep up with her.
A2 disappeared into the forest canopy. E1 was not long behind her. The branches of the trees and bracken tore at her exposed flesh and jogging suit, but she hardly felt it. A loud snap alerted her to movement in the trees above. E1 looked up to see A2 perched in a large oak. She dropped down onto the forest floor with a flourish of feathers. Together, they continued to push through the foliage.
"Can we rest?" A2 asked.
E1 shook her head. "We have to keep going. They'll be right behind us." Though as she said it, she noticed the silence and found it unsettling.
Where are they?
Only a solitary crow cried out in the distance to answer her thoughts. The sound of its wings as it took off rippled through the empty forest.
Eventually, the trees made way for a chain-link fence. Barbed wire coiled across the top in painful loops. E1 gripped the metal links and hoisted herself upwards. A2 took to the air again and flew over the fence. She struggled to hover as she watched E1 climb. Her wings kept getting obstructed by the nearby branches and leaves.
E1 carefully swung her leg over the wire and found purchase on the other side. A2 helped to guide her by stabilising her body while she gingerly brought over the other leg. The barbs snagged on her clothing and bit at the tender skin of her inner thigh. She scaled down the other side.
A part of her had almost expected something dramatic to happen when she touched down on the grass. She had anticipated a blaring siren and the howling of dogs, but nothing. She slowly took a few steps forward, wincing each time.
Any minute now they're going to step out of the trees and tell me this has all been part of the test.
They continued to move with no interruptions. The sun grew brighter as the trees grew thinner. E1 thought she heard static, something similar to the white noise the lab would sometimes play during relaxation hour. The noise became louder until they finally stepped out of the woods and onto a rocky shore. An ocean sprawled out in front of them. It was now the only thing that stood between them and the freedom of the forest that lined the opposite shore. E1 knew a small city existed beyond the tree line and rural farmsteads. Rachael had taken her there on the final day.
E1 led A2 along the edge of the beach. She recalled the day Rachael took her off the island, and the long covered bridge they had driven across. The sunlight had come through the wooden slats in speckles across the roof of the car like the stars she had yet to ever see.
"You can fly to the other side," E1 said to A2. "Go on, I'll catch up."
A2 stared out at the vast body of water. She shook her head, then groped for E1's hand. E1 moved before A2 could intertwine her fingers.
"I can't go without you. I don't know... I've never been out here." The breeze rustled through her pin feathers and twisted her knotted black hair around her bare shoulders. It was early spring, so much of the weather still felt like winter. A2's skin prickled with gooseflesh and she shivered. "I don't know what to do."
"Follow me, but if they come after us, I want you to fly out of here as fast as you can. Promise?"
A2 extended the pinkie of her uninjured hand. "Promise."
E1 shook it with her own pinkie as they touched thumbs. They walked along the shore in search of the bridge. E1 was prepared to scour the whole perimeter of the island if it came to that.
Then she saw it on the horizon and picked up the pace. The rocks beneath her shifted and rolled under her feet. A2 stumbled, but E1 managed to catch her elbow in time and stopped her from going down.
The entrance to the bridge opened like a wide mouth. The forest waited for them on the other side.