Alex cleared his throat and sat up a bit taller. I could tell he was desperately trying to remain calm and show no fear, but the color had already drained from his face and his fingers were busy dancing around each other nervously. He stared hard across the table at President Madison as he gathered the will to speak.
“Right. Thank you again for meeting with us. Have you had a chance to look over the email we sent Governor Barrett that detailed our list of demands?” Alex asked as calmly as one could expect.
Madison laughed abruptly. “I have indeed. I’ll admit that you making outright demands of the government after slaughtering my men was definitely a bold choice. I haven’t a clue where you found the audacity,” he replied, the end of his sentence sounded cold and threatening.
Alex was silent for a moment. Madison had made it perfectly clear that he was in complete control, his tone made his words sound more like a lecture than a discussion. He continued on more carefully, “To be perfectly honest sir- Mr. President rather, we had assumed this project was being run by some shady organization, not by you. That would be why we found it appropriate to make demands. In light of the truth of the situation we could instead consider them negotiation points?”
Madison crossed his arms and leaned back without breaking the intense eye contact he held with Alex, “I see. Fine then, I suppose we could consider some of your requests. To be frank with you, Barrett was an idiot. He was akin to a dog in a park pulling at his leash if you catch my meaning. I don’t completely stand by all of the actions he’s taken, and I’d have preferred my citizens didn’t become part of the experiment in the first place. As I’m sure you’re well aware, that was a mistake on his part. One he was tasked with fixing, and he didn’t take the wisest path towards fixing it as we can see. All that to say, I find it regrettable that you’ve been put in this position, and I can extend my apologies to you personally, but I’m afraid a public apology is out of the question, as is any admission of guilt or the Oddity program.”
“But sir, our families-” Alex started, sounding desperate.
“Be reasonable now,” Madison cut him off with a booming authoritative voice. “You must understand that now that we’re in this mess, this is bigger than just you. It may sound harsh but I have national security to consider at this point. You’ve hindered the lab's progress, we have no government controlled Oddities, and it would only be a matter of time before other countries figured out the science behind your mutations if I were to go public. Then it would be another cold war. I will not be compromising on that front.”
Alex looked down at his lap, seemingly trying to gather his thoughts, “What can you compromise on then?”
“The way I see it, you’ve very limited options available to you. Ideally, all accidental Oddities would be wiped clean now that the leak is contained and there’s no risk of more developing. Then we would start over on the research and trial. We’ve gleaned much from your development, and the trials would be faster this time. Things could continue as planned. You’d be nothing more than a hiccup. However, I can be a reasonable man. I could be persuaded to let you live out your lives in isolation, provided I get to keep one of you as a willing test subject,” Madison replied, the slight smile creeping back on to his face.
“Sir please. I could convince the others to agree to sign NDA’s if you’d agree to let us go back to our lives,” Alex begged.
Madison sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “It seems like you aren’t listening to me. I cannot allow you to just go out in society without risking national security. We’re passed that point. Someone would eventually talk, foreign intelligence agencies would learn about you. It doesn’t matter in the slightest what paperwork you sign. Be serious here. Besides, your families have already accepted your death to the ‘outbreak’ so letting you go home now would raise too many questions. Your bodies had to be cremated after you passed. Far too dangerous to send them back for funerals. Our dearly departed governor will go down in history as a hero who worked closely with the CDC to contain a deadly outbreak to just a small zone, and eradicate it before it could spread. Sadly, he was exposed to the virus when he was working with the quarantine hospital. You see? It’s all nice and tidy. No one suspects anything, and I don’t intend to change that.”
“So, we either die like we’re supposed to, or you let us live in isolation in exchange for a willing lab rat to make more of us?” Alex said grimly, his voice barely a whisper.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Madison’s smile grew, “Exactly! I’m so glad you understand the circumstances. Don’t be so glum though, it’s not as if I’d lock you in a cellar. You’d live out your days on an island that’s been developed for just such circumstances. Monthly supply deliveries, whatever you need to survive and live with some sense of normalcy. It’s remote and will ensure your secret is kept. Think of it as a beach paradise without technology. Like a reset to simpler times. All of your little friends waiting at the lab can go. Hell I’ll even let you name the island. All I need from you is your willingness to cooperate, and one Oddity that will be a willing participant in experiments. You see, you get to live, I get to speed up my research, it’s a win win.”
Alex was silent for a while. The three of us glanced at each other, unsure of what to do, but Alex would not raise his head to meet our gaze. “Fine. I accept your offer. I will be your lab rat. The rest of the Oddities will go live on the island as free people, correct?” Alex asked.
“No!” I yelled, choking back tears. Alex and Madison both shot me a look, silently ordering me to be quiet until negotiations were finished.
Madison cleared his throat and continued, “With the exception of technology being forbidden, as well as monitoring to ensure no one leaves the island. Other than that they will be totally free to live out their lives in peace on the island. You will have to pick a new leader. They will be in charge of convincing the others to cooperate with us during transportation, as well as the monthly delivery requests. Then just name the island, sign some paperwork, and we’ll be in business.”
Alex looked at me with sorrow in his eyes, as if he was begging me to cooperate and understand. “Angel will be in charge from this point forward. The island will be named Heaven’s Gate, and I hereby agree to give up my rights to freedom in exchange for their guaranteed freedom.” Alex said with a sorrowful determination about him.
Madison smiled, looking pleased. “Excellent choice. I’m so glad you came around. I’ll step out for a few minutes and give you a chance to say goodbye to your friends, then I’ll escort them back to the base to collect the others and bring them to the island. I will of course send proof of life once they are settled on the island for your peace of mind, but there will be no further contact with the outside world once they leave this room. So make your peace with it now.”
Madison stood up and left the room with the last security guard, leaving the four of us alone. Tears were already freely flowing down my face, but I didn’t make a sound or move. I was in shock.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” Lucas asked Alex gently, “I can take your place. You’re the leader here, they need you.”
Alex shook his head and gave a weak smile, “The leader is responsible for shouldering this burden. I’m the one who failed to get us a better deal, the least I can do is ensure you all get to live the best possible life from this point forward. Besides you have Isa to take care of, and Angel has Jake to look after. It’s only right that it’s me.”
Lucas nodded, a pained expression across his face as he was forced to accept the deal for the good of everyone else. He stood up and gave Alex a hug, patting his back at the same time. “You’re a good man. Don’t forget that,” Lucas said glumly.
Isabelle rose from her seat and hugged Alex, “Thank you,” she whispered sadly before returning to Lucas’s side.
The two of them tapped at the door, and were let out of the room, before the door shut once more. Alex and I were alone in the room, but I was completely frozen, and trying to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t see him again. I couldn’t bear it. Alex stood in front of me and gently wiped some tears from my cheek that I hadn’t noticed were there, but they were quickly replaced with new ones.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said softly. “I know you’ll make a good leader. You have been this whole time. You’ll be alright without me. I have to do this. I want you to live a good life without me okay? You have to promise.”
I nodded, but couldn’t find the strength to speak. His words only made me cry harder. I stood up and let him wrap me in a hug, not wanting to waste the precious time we had left. He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back until I stopped crying.
“That’s better,” he said with a soft smile as he pulled back to look me in the eyes. “I love you, Angel, I’m so sorry it has to end like this.”
“I love you too. I promise I’ll try my best to be okay,” I replied without breaking eye contact.
“Not just okay. Happy. Please be happy even if it takes a while,” He pleaded with me.
“I promise I’ll try to be happy,” I corrected myself. “Will you be okay?”
“I will. Don’t worry about me. I’m doing this for you and everyone else and that’s all I need to make peace with this,” he replied sincerely.
A knock at the door broke our quiet moment. He kissed me softly, letting his lips linger for a moment, before hugging me once more and turning me to face the door.
“Goodbye Angel,” he said softly.
“Goodbye Alex,” I replied, mustering every bit of strength I had not to cry again as the door opened and I was escorted outside to join the others, numb from the pain of leaving him behind.