“So, you used the amnesia as a way to throw off those soldiers,” Raikidan said.
I nodded. “I don’t recognize that Zo character, which means there’s a greater likelihood he doesn’t know who I am, so it made it easier to get him to believe us. Now, with a general believing the story, the rest of the military will be more likely to believe the same. The only drawback is we have to be on top of our game to keep playing it up. A slip from anyone and the charade is all over.”
Raikidan rubbed his chin. “All of this to kill one man. Why not just kill the guy and get it over with?”
“It’s not as simple as it seems,” I stated. “The castle’s defense is great, and you have to expend a lot of energy just to get to him. If, by chance, you do manage to get to him, you are more than likely going to fail. He created us, so he knows every experiment’s weakness, or if they’re extremely unlucky, weaknesses. This makes our effort harder, so we try to cut the resistance until we can break through easily.”
“So why not kill him while you were still living in the fortress?” he asked.
I shrugged. “When you’re loyal to him, you don’t want to kill him, and when you break that loyalty, you have very little time to get out. Escape becomes your primary objective.”
“So, what’s your weakness?” he asked.
I snorted. “You’d think I’d tell you?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You don’t deny you have one?”
“I did say every experiment has one. I’m no different.”
“So, you don’t trust me with that secret?”
“I have never told anyone what it is.”
“Sounds like a serious weakness if you don’t tell.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need him knowing how crippling these weaknesses were.
“Tell me more about this experimenting stuff.”
I shrugged. “Not much to say. By the use of science, DNA is made from various donors and then changed for the need of the maker. Most experiments are kept in their tank until their age is roughly seventeen. On rare occasions they are removed sooner or later than this age, depending on the desired effect. Then they’re removed for training.”
“They wait seventeen years for each experiment?” he asked curiously.
I nodded. “Most of the time. They usually have a few experiments going at one time to speed up the process, but within the past few years, they’ve been trying out a new speed-up process that causes the body to mature faster in the tank.”
“Were you part of that process?”
I shook my head. “No. It took seventeen years for me. They didn’t start the trials ‘til after Ryoko, Rylan, and I were removed from our tanks.”
“How close was your release to the others?”
I thought for a moment. “We were all designed around the same time, but Rylan was removed first, then me a half year later, then Ryoko a year after that. We were placed on the same team to see how well our designs worked together.”
“Where do they get the donated DNA?” he asked.
“Depends. Past experiments came from humans who willingly gave it. Now that they’ve added in other species’ DNA, the gene pool is larger, so most of the time it comes from other experiments. But there are times it comes from outside sources, so the gene pools don’t mix too much.”
He tilted his head. “Why would someone on the outside willingly donate DNA?”
I shook my head. “With Zarda in control, these people don’t have a choice. If Zarda can’t convince the party to willingly give up a sample, he’ll take it by force.”
“Do experiments know what type of DNA they have?” he asked.
I thought about this for a moment. “Some do, some don’t. Half of our group is made with straight nu-human DNA, but some of us, like Ryoko, Rylan, and me, have a little extra. As I told you yesterday, Rylan has DNA of both wolves and dogs built into him. Ryoko has the DNA of the wogrons from the South.”
“What about you?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s carnivorous, making it easier for the geneticists to alter it to crave blood and death.”
“Have you ever wanted to find out?” he asked.
I shrugged. “It wouldn’t make a difference. I can’t change it.”
“If you could change it, would you?” he questioned. As I nodded slowly, he asked, “Why?”
I pulled my legs up tighter to my chest and stared down at the bed. “Do you know what it’s like to kill without regret? Do you know what it’s like to feel a deep emptiness when you have to guess how to act in situations where emotions are involved? Do you know what it’s like to feel as if your existence is meaningless? Do you know what it’s like to live in hell?” I looked at him, but he didn’t answer, and I sighed as I looked away. “Didn’t think so…”
He gets the choice whether to feel or not. He was born, like everyone should be. He gets the choice to choose. I sighed again and curled up on my bed. Raikidan took that as a hint that I didn’t want to talk anymore, and lay back down on the floor.
“You do a good job of acting normal. Maybe you feel more than you realize,” he said before he shifted to his dragon form.
I closed my eyes, emptiness creeping into my chest. No one ever understood. Raikidan, it seemed, was no different. They just thought I was broken and could be fixed, or that I was beyond repair.
I wished I could be fixed. I wished I could just experience emotions like a normal person. Just once I wished I could. Just once…
Chapter Fifteen
The wooden steps creaked under my feet as Raikidan and I jogged down the stairs of the basement. I had woken up close to midafternoon and waited for a few hours for Genesis to receive assignments I’d consider useful to our cause, but she had only been sent surveillance missions. They had their place, sure, but from what Ryoko had told me, they were still the majority of the assignments our team received unless we were sent to bail out another team.
Some things never change. I refrained from sighing. I just had to be patient and do this the right way. I wasn’t asking for a death wish.
That was why I had suggested I take Raikidan out into the city with a car while the others did the assignment Genesis had chosen. I was sure this was the best way to integrate him into our daily lives. With him not being human, he wasn’t going to be able to easily jump into the way we humans lived, and last’s night battle was not the best way to introduce him to everything.
The two of us went from the basement to the connected underground garage, and I headed straight for my second favorite car, my first being a preferred choice in the summer. This self-assigned mission wasn’t just good for Raikidan. I needed to reacquaint myself with the wheel of a car. Shouldn’t be too hard. It’s like riding a horse. That was easy for everyone as long as they had a saddle… right?
I stopped walking when I realized Raikidan was no longer with me. Turning on my heels, I found him gazing upon the vast selection of cars and motorcycles with awe and curiosity. The variety of models and makes would make any motor junkie have a heart attack, but I was sure Raikidan’s reaction was due to his lack of knowledge about this type of technology.
Leaning on the fender of one of the SUVs we had, I waited patiently. It wasn’t like we were under a time limit. Raikidan wandered around as he took interest in the cars. He appeared to have a preference to the sports cars over most, and I found myself smiling. I couldn’t help it. The look in his eyes told me he was impressed—no, delighted. Dragon, human, elf, it didn’t matter. Like most men, he was drawn to these toys.
“So, are you going to keep gawking, or can we get a move on?” I teased.
He looked at me only to look away as he grabbed the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
I chuckled. “It’s fine. Let’s get going.”
He looked at me funny for a moment before nodding and jogging over to me. I led him to my car. She was a spectacular red and black aerodynamic supercar with a convex hood, large lateral a
ir intakes in the front, streamlining zones to facilitate air flow, external wing mirrors, panoramic glass roof, low spoiler, twin exhaust system, and leather interior.
Lifting up the butterfly door, I slid into the driver’s side and situated myself after closing the door, placing my communicator in a small pocket where the dash and center console met. For a moment, I wondered if I should have chosen my third favorite sports car, as it had a canopy door, but as I watched Raikidan try to understand how the door worked, I decided to stick with my choice. His trouble was highly amusing, and his frustration only grew when he realized I was getting sick satisfaction out of his predicament.
“Are you going to help me?” he demanded.
I just smirked and dug into my back pocket to remove my identification card. I briefly looked at the thin, rectangular object with small buttons and glass dome in the center before stashing it into the glovebox. I sat upright in my seat after I closed the glovebox, and buckled myself up just as Raikidan was finally figuring out how to open the door. I couldn’t stop myself from snickering as he ducked his head in attempt to avoid the bizarre door and sat down.
“Not funny,” he muttered as he closed the door.
My snickering continued when he fumbled with figuring out the seatbelt. “Need help?”
His cheeks tinted. “No.”
I started up the car while he dealt with his problem, and chuckled when his seatbelt clicked and he sighed quietly with relief.
“Don’t make fun of me,” he said.
“It was far more amusing watching you do all that than I thought it would be,” I admitted. “Though I’m surprised you figured out the seatbelt so quick.”
“I watched you do it,” he said, his voice little more than a murmur. “Can we just go?”
I snickered and shifted the car into gear. Pulling the vehicle out of its spot, I sped through the garage to the ramp entrance.
Raikidan looked at me and then at the seemingly dead end. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving the garage, of course,” I said without looking at him.
“It’s a dead end! Are you crazy?”
I smirked and then pressed a button on the center dash. Within seconds, the roof above the ramp pulled away and we flew out of the mouth of the earth. Raikidan immediately began looking around frantically.
“Told you we were fine.”
“Where are we?” he asked. “I don’t see the house.”
“What? Did you really think the combination of the basement and garage was really that small? There is no way we could have that much stuff down there in a normal-sized basement.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” Raikidan said irritably.
I shook my head. “We’re four blocks away from the house.”
“All right, where are we going?”
“No destination,” I said. “We’re just going to cruise around and take things in that way. Just keep an eye out for suspicious activity.”
“How am I supposed to do that in here?” he asked. “I don’t even know what you mean by suspicious.”
“Trust me, you’ll know when you see it.”
He sighed and looked outside the car, but he wasn’t being inconspicuous enough.
I shook my head. “Raikidan, you need to stop looking around frantically.”
“How am I supposed to find the activity you’re looking for if I don’t?”
“Look, I’m not expecting much from you on this assignment—”
“Gee, thanks,” he muttered.
I laughed. “Let me finish. You’re still new to all this. I don’t expect you to master everything immediately, but I do expect you to work hard on perfecting the most important part first. This means looking like you belong in the city.
“A child looks around wildly as a car moves to take in as much as possible, even though their minds won’t be able to process everything. The same goes for outsiders. They try to take in more than they can handle. I understand this is a new experience for you, and you want to take it in as best as you can, but I’m going to have to ruin that experience by forcing you to act as if you know this city like the back of your hand. Sit calmly in your seat and just scan the city slowly. I’m not expecting anything else out of you.”
“So, you won’t get upset if I don’t catch anything… suspicious?” I could tell he was skeptical.
“That’s correct. I need you to learn to blend in more than accomplishing anything else right now. That’s why I made this assignment up.”
“Made it up? Is that why the others left without us?” Raikidan asked.
I nodded as I slowed the car down. “Precisely. You got thrown into things a little faster than I wanted last night, so I wanted to give you something a little easier to grasp. How are you feeling, by the way? Battles are hard for many to witness.”
“Fine,” he replied. “I’m no stranger to death.”
I nodded. I was tempted to press about that comment, but decided it wasn’t the best idea right now. “How’s your arm? I noticed by the time I had gotten home you had done your magic on it.”
He chuckled when I said magic. “Yes, when I retired for the night I took care of it. There’s no residual pain, a perk to my fire healing.”
“You barely have a mark from it, too.”
He nodded. “Had I tended to it sooner, I might not have one at all, but I don’t care.”
“Badge of honor.”
Raikidan was quiet for a moment. “Yes.”
“So, you were up and out of the room well before I was; anyone ask you questions when they noticed the healed area?” I asked.
“Just Ryoko.”
“What did you say?”
“I decided to mess with her and got her to think I had super healing powers because of my shapeshifting ability.”
I hit the wheel as I laughed. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact he had pulled such a trick on her or that he sounded so satisfied when saying it that made that so funny. Maybe both? Definitely both.
“After allowing her to think that way for a few minutes I told her it wasn’t the case. She whined at me for tricking her and then when I told her the real reason was a secret, she complained some more, telling me I was mean, and I acted too much like you.”
I continued to laugh. “You’re going to fit in just fine with the team.”
He watched me as I got myself under control.
“What?” I asked.
He shook his head and looked out the window. “Nothing.”
I raised my brow in question but focused on the road.
“Why are you stopping?” he asked.
I nodded my head at the multicolored light fixture above the road. “See that red light? It’s a traffic light. It controls the flow of traffic on the road. When it’s green, cars can move at the designated speed. When it’s yellow, they have to slow down. And when it’s red, they have to stop.”
“Instantly?”
I chuckled. “No, not instantly. That would be impossible, not to mention dangerous. They’re to stop before they reach a certain line on the road or before they run into the car in front of them.”
“Such a complicated system you humans create just to get around.”
“Don’t worry. If you’re here long enough, you’ll get the hang of it.”
My attention diverted to the sidewalk and Raikidan noticed immediately. “What is it?”
I reached for my communicator. “You know that suspicious activity I was talking about? Just found some.”
“Where?”
“See that group of soldiers?”
“Yeah, they look ordinary to me.”
“I figured you’d say that. Means they’re doing their job well. This is a good exercise for you. See how close they’re walking to each other? That formation is too tight for standard patrolling soldiers.”
Raikidan nodded. “I see what you mean.”
“Also, notice how tense their shoulders are. Their armor would normally hide much of their
uneasiness, so if you can see it, then they’re really on edge. Something is up.” I dialed out my signal until someone picked up the other end. “Seda, I have activity to report.”
“You are slow,” she teased. “I’ve already sent some members out to watch that group.”
“Damn psychic,” I muttered as I cut the connection and put my car in motion.
I weaved through the traffic almost effortlessly as I cruised down the street. It had been so easy to get back behind the wheel.
“You’re a good driver,” Raikidan complimented. I laughed and he looked at me as if he was insulted. “What’s so funny?”
I smiled. “You’re the first to think I’m a good driver.”
He blinked. “What, seriously? Why?”
I chuckled. “If you jumped into a car with the others of the house, you’d see. I’ve got some serious subpar driving skills compared to them. Well maybe not Rylan. He’s pretty insane.”
“Well, if nothing bad happens, I would say you’re a good driver,” he defended.
I smiled. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”
We passed under a large motorway that was suspended in the air and Raikidan took great interest in it. “What is that?”
“A freeway,” I said. “Well, I call it that. Most people in this city call it a motorway. Both terms work, though.”
“What’s a freeway?”
“It’s a road that provides an unhindered flow of traffic,” I explained. “There are no traffic signals, intersections, or property access. Dalatrend suspends its freeways above the city and limits the number of exits it has, making it ideal for those who need to get to one end of the city to the other quickly without any stops in between. Freeways also have a higher speed limit, making it that much more convenient for those people. One day I’ll bring you up there to see for yourself. Today isn’t a good day to do that.”
Destiny (Experimental Heart Book 1) Page 23