It was time. I preoccupied my anxious mind by fidgeting with the buttons on my jacket. I slouched in the cold metal chair and looked around the lab. The fridge full of old blood samples held my attention for a moment and I thought back to Jake’s story of how the prisoners were treated before we arrived. After what felt like an eternity Alex and Lucas finally entered with Governor Barrett sandwiched between them. They each had a firm grip on one of his arms and he strained against the handcuffs in agitation. Lucas was clearly serious when he said he wanted to treat him as much like the prisoners as possible. While I understood the want for revenge, it still felt like too much.

I sat up a bit as they set Barrett down in a chair to my right and remained standing behind him. Isabelle sat comfortably in her chair behind the desk like usual. She glanced at him briefly but largely ignored his entrance. No one spoke for a moment, we all just sat in the tension and let Barrett squirm. It was an unplanned moment, but it felt staged to pressure him further. Finally Alex broke the silence by clearing his throat and walking in front of Barrett. He stood over him, eyeing him suspiciously for a second before producing a key from his pocket. He swiftly unlocked the handcuffs and tucked the cuffs and the key back in his pocket. Barrett let out a sigh of relief and rubbed at his wrists where the cuffs had been digging into his skin.

“Isabelle?” Alex asked calmly.

Isabelle quickly produced the phone we’d confiscated from Barrett and slid it across the desk in response. Alex scooped up the phone and held it in front of Barrett, just out of his reach.

“Are you ready? No tricks. You know who’s standing behind you ready to put you down if you try anything funny,” Alex said in a low voice, clearly threatening Barrett.

Barrett turned to look behind him on instinct and was met with Lucas’s signature cold smile. The smile spoke loudly without uttering a word. It dared the governor to make a move, beckoning him to tempt Lucas into action. Barrett gulped, clearly out of his depth and nervous. He likely wasn’t used to being involved directly in his dealings, much less being in danger like this. The stress on his pale face was clear.

Barrett turned back to Alex and nodded solemnly, “No tricks. I swear.”

Seemingly content Alex handed the locked phone to the governor and crossed his arms, waiting to see how it played out. There was so much riding on this phone call, and we could all feel its pressure weighing down the room. I held my breath as Barrett swiftly unlocked the phone and entered a phone number he seemingly didn’t have saved to his contacts. The phone started to ring and I shifted in my seat nervously.

“Speakerphone,” Alex commanded impatiently.

Barrett nodded and quickly put the phone on speaker, dropping it so we could see the screen right as a voice came through the speaker, “Title?” a professional woman’s voice asked.

“Texas Mockingbird,” Barrett responded clearly, with no hint of emotion.

“Hello Texas Mockingbird, enter your passcode now and your call will be routed,” the voice responded.

Barrett quickly typed a sequence of eight numbers and waited. The line clicked, and was silent for a moment, before ringing again.

“Why are you calling?” the deep voice of an agitated man said as the line picked up. “I specifically asked for an email with your update. You’re late with that too. You’re really pushing it lately, what do you have to say?”

“Sir,” Barrett started shakily before being cut off abruptly.

“You’ll address me properly,” the voice snapped.

Barrett sighed and glanced around the room before continuing. “President Madison, I failed to take back the Oddity testing facility. The Oddities currently in charge are present and would like to speak with you.”

President. The word echoed around the room. Shock and horror filled my mind as I reeled from the bombshell. The president authorized this? I couldn’t believe it. I shared a worried look with Alex. I wondered if we were out of our depth. The line was silent for a moment, adding to the fear inside of me.

A cold laugh came from the speaker, breaking the silence and nearly making me jump out of my skin from the abruptness of it. “Useless,” Madison laughed. “Useless and pathetic. You really can’t handle any minor issues can you?”

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“No Mr. President. I apparently cannot. I sincerely apologize for my inexcusable failures,” Barrett said quietly.

“Right then. I’m so pleased you agree. To business then, hand over the phone to them,” Madison responded sharply.

“Mr. President, This is Alex Hall. I am in charge of the Oddities we’ve freed from the facility. I’d like to request a meeting with you in regards to our freedom. I believe we’ve proven that we are a threat. Governor Barrett’s unit has been wiped out, and we’d appreciate it if we could talk without any more unnecessary deaths. We will only act aggressively if we are pushed to do so, you have my word on that. We only want to talk,” Alex replied formally. He was sweating, but his voice didn’t betray it.

Madison laughed again, startling me once again. “Straight to business are you Alex? At Least that I can appreciate. Your boldness intrigues me. I’ll agree to a meeting, but it won’t be at the lab. I’m not as stupid as Governor Barrett. Will that work for you?” Madison asked, sounding entertained more than threatened.

Alex looked around at us and we nodded, agreeing. It was better than nothing. “That will work,” he replied calmly.

“How delightful. I have a bunker near the area. You’ll meet me there. It’s a secure location, underground of course. I will send the time and location to Barrett’s phone, and the lab’s email. I assume you have access to both?” Madison asked.

“Correct. Thank you sir,” Alex replied.

“You may not want to thank me just yet. Depends on how the talks go, does it not?” Madison replied in a devious tone.

“I just thank you for the opportunity to talk, Mr. President. I’d like to bring three people with me. It is the main group in charge. Would that be alright?” Alex asked.

“Of course. Bring my useless pawn with you too if you don’t mind. But no one else,” Madison answered firmly.

“Understood sir. Thank you again,” Alex said with a deep sigh of relief.

“I greatly look forward to it. Until then,” Madison said in an eerily cheery voice before the line went dead.

Alex set the phone back on the desk, his hands shook violently as the nerves caught up with him. It was too calm, too casual. He sounded dangerous, but we had no other choice. Meeting the president was the last thing I expected. I’d assumed it was some shadowy group in charge, one that we could easily deal with. Not someone backed by the power of the entire US military.

All we could do now was have hope that he’d hear us out, and meet us on some of our demands. Backing down would only ensure our deaths at this point. We’d already been stripped from our families and we’d claimed too many lives to escape unharmed without some type of deal ensuring our safety. After talking it out we all agreed on that much. We would go through with this, dangerous as it was, for the sake of everyone here. We were their last hope at normalcy.

Lucas paced the room, dragging his hands through his hair. He looked beyond stressed about whatever the president was planning. He’d always had a deep distrust for the government, unlike the rest of us that had to learn not to trust them. It seemed to completely overwhelm him that he was right. He wasn’t happy about it either. No “I told you so” or anything. Just the pacing.

Alex and Isabelle were more reserved with their feelings. They both sat there solemnly discussing the matter without letting on to their feelings, but their faces said it all. Isabelle had one of those rare moments where she actually looked like a kid, scared and wishing to go home. Alex on the other hand just looked angry at the world. It was as if someone had slapped him in the face, but he wasn’t allowed to talk back. I was more numb than anything else. I didn’t know how to process the sheer panic and sadness I was feeling. I rarely did. I just imagined having to tell Jake about the lion's den I had to walk into, and that he wasn’t allowed to join us. I knew it would upset him and I almost couldn’t bear the mere thought of the face he’d make.

While we all sat together talking about the ordeal and trying to process the mess of emotions, the governor sat still in the chair he’d been led to. He seemed afraid to talk, or even move. We’d made it clear that we wouldn’t hurt him unnecessarily now that the president had specifically requested his presence, but he still seemed frightened of us. I think he believed the nonsense he’d told whatever military contacts he had about us. It was ironic that the man tasked with overseeing our creation was so deeply afraid of us. He truly saw us as monsters.

“You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourselves into,” Barrett mumbled, just barely loud enough for me to hear him.

“What are you saying over there?” Lucas grumbled as he swiftly walked back to this half of the room.

Barrett cleared his throat and spoke louder, “You don’t know what you’ve gotten yourselves into. Look I shouldn’t be saying anything but I’m already finished. The man’s mad. You think there weren’t meetings? Concern? I mean the whole idea of these biological abominations was ridiculous to begin with but he pushed and pushed and threatened until everyone just went along with it. He just wants power to do with as he pleases. He doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process, least of all what happens to you or me. He only cares about power and his public image. Mark my words, the man you’ve seen on TV is not the man you’re about to meet. If you ask me you’re better off just running and hiding in a hole. I’d like to.”

Lucas spit in his direction, “We aren’t cowards like you, and you’re coming with us. Presidential orders I'm afraid. You’ve got no choice.”

Barrett's phone dinged loudly, alerting him of a new message and saving him from having to reply. Alex hastily grabbed the phone and relayed the message to us. Two days. We had two days before we’d be face to face with the man who started this whole ordeal, the man who ran the country. Two days to decide our new fate in this world.