“The Kai built the Keep in the Forsyth where no one would ever find it and began to create synthetic gods water. We call it the serum. Of course the only way to know if it worked was to test it. First came the animals.”

The image of the deer that leaps into my mind is so potent, so real to me that I’d swear it is right in front of me. The bear comes behind it, roaring loudly in my mind. Pieces of the puzzle my brain refuses to connect. I can smell the burning flesh. Hear the angry growls. Feel those red eyes on me. See the pulse of that glowing blue vein. My hands begin to shake.

“Those experiments were mostly to see if the serum was too volatile,” Layla says. “The Kai killed hundreds of animals before finding a variation that was stable enough. Those that survived were transformed into ghastly beasts. They looked-”

“You don’t have to tell me,” I interrupt. “I’ve seen it before.”

“Then you know how grotesque they were. The Kai killed most of them that survived, but I heard that several were let go. He wanted to see if they could live in the wild. Eventually it’s death for all.”

“And what came after the animals?” My voice is a whisper, still loud in the tunnel.

“What else? He turned to humans. Children mostly. He sent soldiers into the Graveyard and took us in droves. But eventually even the above grounders would notice if the entire slum population disappeared overnight. So he turned-”

“To the Forsyth.”

Layla takes a step towards me, her face cast in darkness. Her eyes look like they are glowing. “The Forsyth and the flatlands in the west that border the forest. And anyone along the way that looked like they wouldn’t be missed.”

“What is he doing with them?” But I know the answer. I’ve felt it for days, unable to articulate what I’ve seen. Still I need her to say it.

“The first group that was taken, several years ago, died instantly upon injection. Well not instantly. They died after several minutes of agony. The next group died after a day. The Kai and his team of scientists finally managed to keep the subjects alive. Alive perhaps isn’t the right word. They were deformed. Skin so pale you could see muscle and bones. Limbs stopped working. They lost the ability to talk, to see, to hear. Every moment was agony. It was as if their blood was on fire. After several versions of the serum he was able to see some progress. His subjects started to show abilities somewhat similar to the origin story. The Kai wanted evolution and he only got a fraction of that. Yet he knew he was on the right track. And that’s where I come in.”

Layla takes another step towards me. Her body is practically against mine in the small tunnel. I can feel her breath on me as she talks and the smell of pine increases.

“Three years ago I was dragged from my home. I was blindfolded, gagged and thrown onto a cold metal floor. I’m sure you can relate. I knew it was a train when it started moving, but I had no idea where I was going. When we arrived I was thrown into a cell by myself, but I quickly learned that I wasn’t alone. That building, that place I was thrown into, housed hundreds of cells filled with people just like me. The Keep,” she venomously spits out the name. “There I was subjected to the serum. It’s lucky, I guess, that I wasn’t taken earlier, that I got a version of the serum that didn’t kill me or deform me to a point where death is preferable. Luck, of course, isn’t the right word. Luck if nothing. Luck has abandoned all of us.”

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The torch is on its last legs. The fire quivers, going out momentarily. Then, somehow, it grows stronger and begins to light up the dim tunnel.

“After I was injected with the serum,” Layla says, “I changed. Became something I didn’t have a way of describing. I overheard some of the scientists talking. The current version of the serum created almost supernatural abilities in the subjects. At least, that is how they would appear to an outsider. Really the serum was heightening a certain characteristic in each subject. This is what made the Kai so excited. It was close to what the myths described. They called us mutants.”

I want to leave. To run away from what she is telling me. I can’t even begin to comprehend what this means about Evan. Where is he at this moment? What has become of him? How could I have possibly let this happen to him?

“If, for example, you injected someone that was particularly good at moving around unnoticed, they might be able to adapt their appearance to their surroundings or send off some sort of signal that would cause people to not see them. Something that would only work if they stayed very still. If no one was looking at them in the first place.” She takes a steadying breath. It is a nervous gesture, something I’m not used to Layla making. She reaches towards me and touches my cheek with the tips of her fingers. Only a part of my brain realizes this is the first time a girl has ever touched my face. The other part is absorbed in Layla, in her words and the tips of her fingers. She turns me head to the side.

“Look down that way for a moment,” she asks and I do as she says. I stare down the rock cave, unblinking, until my eyes begin to blur.

“Layla?” I ask, turning back towards her. But she is gone. “Gods that girl,” I mutter.

“Is that what you think of me?” As soon as Layla speaks, she appears in front of me. In the exact spot she was a moment ago. Appears isn’t the right word. It is as if I had just overlooked her somehow and now have found her again. The realization of what I just witnessed hits me suddenly and hard. I bend down, my hands on my knees, my breathing sputtering.

“Are you alright?” Layla asks, sounding genuinely concerned.

I straighten up and look at her, her brow furrowed, her hand reaching towards me. It is finally too much. My mind can’t comprehend this anymore. I start to laugh. Loud and uncontrolled.

“Come on,” Layla says. “You need some real air.”

The climb out of the Graveyard doesn’t seem as long as the climb down. We race up the spiral staircase and emerge through the half boarded up arch. It’s night time which surprises me a bit. Since I entered the Graveyard during the day I half expect to see the sun, as if time stood still down there. Silly I guess. Although after today, nothing seems quite as ridiculous as it once did.

I follow Layla into the mountain and up the spiral road. We pass by the square where we first met and then the man’s house where I was almost shot.

“This way.” Layla ducks into an alley and, at a run, leaps up onto a wooden crate and flings herself onto the lowest balcony. I copy her, almost missing my grasp on the metal railing. This balcony is different than the others I’ve seen. Ladder like stairs lead up to the next balcony. Layla is almost half way up when I start to climb. When I reach the top Layla is waiting for me on the flat roof.

“Keep up,” Layla says and jumps from this roof to the next. They are pretty close together and I follow her without hesitation. It’s not a tough jump, just long enough for me to wonder if I’ll make it. It gets easier as we keep going. Higher and higher. My body starts to relax as I sail over the gaps. We move in a circle up the very last tiers of the mountain. As much as it pains me to admit, the coiled pattern of the city has a certain beauty to it. I concentrate on the great double helix in the very center of the city. It feels like we are following a spiral road to its doors. Is that where Layla is taking me?