by Alice Reeds
“Do you really have to do this?” Ivy asked, tears in her eyes and her voice wet, breaking, convincing but really nothing but an act, playing for time. FBI daughter coming through. “There’s no need to do any of it, please.”
“Of course there is a need,” Gail said firmly, her attention shifting over to Ivy.
“Then what is it?” I demanded, expecting that Awful One would hurt me more for speaking, but he didn’t. I could barely feel my arm anymore.
“You’d be surprised just how much money is in experiments such as these, how willing rich people are to invest in them just so they have something to spend on and don’t have to pay taxes,” Gail explained. “I gladly take it all and turn it into something that could one day be useful, and if a few brats like you must die or be relocated for me to find the perfect formulas for all my plans, so be it. The value of the cures, modifications, and fixes we’re working on is far greater than your lives could ever be.”
She was so far down the rabbit hole she created that she actually believed that others putting their money into her pocket justified any of it. If I didn’t hate her, I’d pity her.
“Why us?” I asked, the one answer we still didn’t have. While Alessia hinted at Fiona’s involvement being nothing but an act of revenge from one sister to another, nothing explained why they’d targeted my family. Was there even a reason at all?
“Your mother.”
What could possibly connect Gail and my mother? This time when Awful One moved his hand, the angle of my arm forcing me forward, the ache turning into true pain.
“Her life was supposed to be mine, but she’d taken it from me. You and Leon could’ve been my sons, and you being part of this trial could’ve been avoided. Who’s laughing now? I’m alive and profiting off an idea Minsar called impossible. And she’s dead.”
“You’re pathetic,” Fiona said, disgust in her voice and face. “You think it’s okay to kill just because you couldn’t get the man you wanted?”
“Your aunt isn’t any better, though, is she, Fiona? She hated her sister so much she destroyed her life and gave her daughter to me. If anyone is pathetic it’s your father.”
My hatred toward Gail rose exponentially, every word she spoke viler than the one before. I thought Doc Bowie might’ve been the one who decided to attempt to murder my mother, but instead it’d been her. And for such a petty reason.
“Well, I don’t expect you to understand any of this,” she went on. “You weren’t designed for it, and in the end, all three of you were just a waste of time and money. Though, the story of star-crossed lovers, as cliché as it is, has a certain bittersweet taste to it. I’ll make sure you end up as far apart as possible, which could’ve been avoided if you’d only cooperated. That’s all.” She waved her hand dismissively. “You may leave.”
Awful One released my wrist and then grabbed my upper arm in his iron hold again before pulling me away. This was it. Ivy screamed something, though I wasn’t sure if it was a word or just a panicked sound. My eyes instinctively went to Fiona, and that was enough for my body and mind to kick into fight instead of flight.
I tried anything I could, push and pull, kick and twist, but Awful One was much stronger than I was, his grip only getting tighter, my injury and the pain it caused me soon turning stronger than my will to fight. And certainly greater than my skill. Fiona was somewhat more successful at her attempt to break free.
She pulled one of the guards—the woman—closer while moving her leg just right to make her trip, almost fall, while using the momentum in an attempt to throw the other one off as well. It worked for all of two seconds, the back of her head missing her second guard’s face by a long shot, as her elbow missed his stomach. The first one caught herself again, her hold growing only stronger, twisting Fiona’s arm at an unnatural angle that had to hurt.
And yet, Fiona tried again, used her legs and some momentum to somehow force them to let go of her, but it seemed like their strength simply exceeded hers. Gail knew what Fiona was capable of.
But suddenly the male guard let go in an attempt to catch himself before hitting the floor face-first, allowing Fiona to free one arm. Before the female guard could grab it, Fiona punched her square in the face and attempted to drop to the floor. The guard groaned, annoyed and clearly furious, while the other one picked himself off the floor and grabbed Fiona again. That didn’t necessarily deter her, and yet, ultimately, we remained captured, their hold on us even tighter than before. Gradually I couldn’t quite feel anything from my upper arms downward, my blood flow nearly cut off, and Ivy cried enough tears for the three of us.
When we reached the end of the hallway, Fiona was taken down to our right, and I was escorted to the left, my heart feeling like it was being ripped in two. “Fiona!” I screamed.
“Mi—” she started, but the lights flickered white and red, and an alarm began to blare, a siren wailing so loud it might rupture my eardrums.
It worked! Surprise, assholes.
As Awful One’s hold on me weakened for just a second as he looked up in surprise, I took my chance, the only one I’d get.
Plan B, don’t fail me.
Foot, nose, crotch, wasn’t that what they taught in self-defense classes? I wasn’t sure, but it worked. The guard released me with an equally angered and pained groan. I took off down the hallway toward Fiona but nearly collided with Leon as he ran into the hallway junction I was crossing. He grabbed my arm to keep me from falling and then said something about Ivy I didn’t understand over the alarm. The sound grew louder and louder, or maybe it was slowly turning me deaf.
I reached Fiona just as she punched her second guard in the face so hard that he fell against the wall, blood running out his nose and mouth. His buddy knelt on the floor, coughing.
“Are you okay?” I asked her, screaming the words over the noise.
“Yes,” she yelled back, “but we won’t be if we don’t get the fuck out!”
We ran.
Ivy and Leon caught up to us just as we reached the door leading to the staircase, someone yelling after us, our guards likely having recovered and were now getting ready to hunt us down. It was probably a futile attempt to flee, but we had to try.
They’d have to shoot me again to get me to stop.
“Go, go, go!” Leon yelled and opened the door, frantically waving his hand. We raced onto the stairs and up, my legs shaky. I had to try my hardest to keep from tripping over the metal steps. Halfway up, I heard people enter the staircase below us.
We made it back into the Villa and to the entrance hall, out the main door and onto the path leading toward the gate. More yelling, our names and words I didn’t understand. I forced myself not to look back and instead to run faster, Fiona’s grip on my hand that of steel, like she could somehow fuse our hands together and that would make us safer.
Then there was a shot, louder than the Villa alarm and the frantic beating of my heart in my ears. I felt no pain, checked Fiona, who didn’t seem injured, and neither did Ivy. The only person missing from my immediate line of sight was—
“Leon!” I yelled as I turned.
He lay in the grass behind us, his white shirt turning red.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Unknown
BREAKING NEWS:
U.S. TEENAGERS FREED FROM ILLEGAL HUMAN TRIAL OPERATION
POLAND – On Thursday night Polish special forces and local police were alerted and called on-site to a villa situated near Biała Góra, just east of Międzyzdroje in northern Poland about twenty kilometers from the German-Polish border. What locals described as “worrying police activity” was in reality a rescue mission and police raid saving nearly thirty U.S. teenagers (…)
The Villa, a former historical site that changed owners numerous times in the previous century and had, among others, been used as an experimentation site for chemical weapons, was rent
ed as a home for a family of three that existed only on paper, but in reality housed nearly fifty-five people, hostages as well as nurses, doctors, and other members of staff in a top-secret operation into human trials for illegal mind-altering drugs. (…)
As founder and leader of Briola Bio Tech, Gail Ford is facing a long list of charges including, but not limited to, false imprisonment in up to fifty-five cases, human trafficking of minors in at least nineteen cases, and attempted murder in six cases. One of the victims, a Briola Bio Tech employee of five years, was brought to the closest hospital with a non-fatal gunshot wound and will be facing potential charges for his involvement in the operation. Dr. Richard Bowie will face a similar list to Ford, but with the addition of nonconsensual and unlawful experimentation on minors as well psychological and physical abuse of minors in at least fifty-five cases. Numerous Briola Bio Tech employees will face charges as well, differing in severity depending on their type of involvement in the company.
“What’re you doing?”
I flinched at the question as though I was caught doing something I wasn’t allowed to, and the newspaper I’d been reading fell to the floor. My heart sped up, and for a moment I was too afraid to check who spoke to me. The question came so out of nowhere. I didn’t even pay attention to who it belonged to, a stranger or someone I knew.
“N-nothing,” I said, hesitantly, and looked up from the floor to find my mother standing just a few feet away, a concerned expression on her face. Slowly the other noises of the gas station came back to me, someone paying and another person opening one of the fridges.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She sounded apologetic, but I knew surprising me wasn’t her intention, and I didn’t know why I’d even reacted that way in the first place. Or perhaps I did know but refused to acknowledge it. Still frozen in place, I watched her pick up the newspaper, a random one I’d chosen simply because of the article advertised on the cover. “Oh, Miles…” she said. “We talked about reading these things.”
“I…I was just curious,” I admitted. Everything had happened in a blur, the fear and adrenaline only adding to it, and my memories of that night were fuzzy at best. The news helped me fill in the gaps.
We didn’t even see most of it happen, got pulled aside quickly by police and paramedics, and then driven away to a nearby hospital. I’d felt the need to try to run away, refused to cooperate with any of the staff and answer any questions, up until the very moment that our mothers showed up about twelve hours later.
There was a smile on her face now, sad yet understanding, and it helped me relax, that moment of tenseness finally fading. The doctors said we’d probably be skittish for a while, that it was normal. All I wanted was for it to subside immediately, but life didn’t work that way.
“Come on, the others are probably wondering what’s taking so long,” my mother said after putting the newspaper away. Wordlessly I followed her back outside to the car. Alessia and Fiona eyed us curiously just like my mother had predicted. Thankfully, though, neither asked what had taken us so long.
Pulling away from the gas station and reentering the highway somewhere in the middle of Germany on our way home, Fiona pressed play on the second Star Wars movie, the moment so peaceful, almost creating the illusion of the four of us coming back from a holiday trip instead of…
We’d be okay. I held on to that hope.
Epilogue
Champéry, Switzerland
I had promised Fiona a real date, and finally, months after we made our great escape from Briola, the day had finally come.
She’d teased me for wanting to do this the formal way, pick her up from her house—which was literally attached to mine as our mothers owned a two-family house—and doing everything like in the movies, but I had a feeling she secretly liked the idea. If she didn’t, there was no way she would’ve agreed.
Not even a second after ringing their doorbell the sound of Mana’s loud, high-pitched barking echoed through the house. Alessia adopted the small dog from a shelter, and gave her to Fiona about two weeks after our arrival in Switzerland as a way to bring some joy into her life, along with having a therapeutic effect. Mana wasn’t much bigger than a Yorkshire terrier and a mix of far too many breeds to pinpoint any one, but she did manage to make Fiona smile.
Somehow, though I still didn’t know exactly how, my mother managed to get Felix, my cat, from Florida so he was living with us now instead of with my father. We’d once tried to introduce our pets, but that resulted in Felix nearly scratching Mana’s eyes out in fear even though she probably just wanted to play with him. She had a habit of being a bit too excited, and Felix was certainly not a fan.
The door opened to reveal Alessia with a smile on her face.
Not even a minute later Fiona appeared next to her mother, her hair a rose-gold shade of blond, her clothes following a monochromatic color scheme matching my own. Though her appearance had changed, she was somehow even more beautiful, the change of style suiting her, though really, anything would.
“For you,” I said and offered Fiona a bouquet of flowers in blues, pinks, and purples, a subtle reference to her past hair colors. It seemed just a little less cliché and boring than showing up with red roses. Judging by the blush dusting her cheeks, she liked them.
“Thank you.”
Alessia set down Mana and then walked off to find a vase for the flowers. The little dog promptly sprinted over to me.
“Hello there, little one,” I said and bent down to pet Mana, her front paws against my leg and her tail wagging wildly. She loved me, or perhaps she just liked the smell of Felix on me.
“You two have fun,” Alessia said once she returned and pulled Mana aside so I could open the door without the possibility of her running outside. She wasn’t the best at listening to you if she didn’t feel like it. Fiona buttoned her coat and then smiled at her mother.
“Be safe,” Alessia said, and Fiona rolled her eyes.
After everything, being safe was number one on both our minds at all times, no need for reminders. It was exhausting, and I tried my best to loosen up a little, but it was hard to move on, let go, the scars too deep to perhaps ever do either.
“That was so awkward,” Fiona said and shook her head as we walked down the pathway from our house.
“It was supposed to be,” I said and took her hand. “At least it always seemed that way in movies and books.”
“You’re taking this whole ‘real first date’ thing way too seriously.”
“You said so before, and I still don’t think so. If I were taking it way too seriously, there’d be some kind of expensive car waiting for us, but I don’t have mine anymore, which means we have to walk.”
Fiona pulled a faux shocked expression, wide eyes and open mouth. “This isn’t going to work. No expensive car? And next you’ll say we won’t even have the place all to ourselves.”
“I’m afraid such privileges stayed along with my last name in Florida.” The fake apologetic tone was too much, Fiona breaking character and starting to laugh, a satisfied smile growing on my face. Neither of us was bad off moneywise, even if it was nothing compared to my father’s riches, but Champéry was so small we really didn’t need cars to get around.
“Did you hear from Ivy or Wakaba recently?” Fiona asked, switching topics.
“Wakaba posted some pictures this morning on Instagram,” I said, pulling out my phone and opening the app. “Seems like she and Ivy are on some kind of trip in L.A. with Joe.”
A series of pictures showed the two of them smiling while posing around different iconic locations, fangirling over different stars on the Walk of Fame, pretending to be rich girls with tiny purse dogs standing in front of expensive stores on Rodeo Drive, and smiling for a selfie with Joe on the beach. When the police and the real FBI cleared out the Villa, they’d found Joe locked away on one of the levels belowgroun
d along with other former agents and personnel, starved and dehydrated. Upon her return, Wakaba’s family cut ties with her grandmother and moved to another state.
The code word my mother had given us in the Villa—papillon—had become a reality. After we’d endured so much and held on to hope even at the darkest of times, we were lucky enough to be granted a second chance, a new beginning.
“They’re running around in hoodies and we have to bundle up to not freeze, where’s the fairness in this?” Fiona asked with a small chuckle.
“Is it weird that I don’t even miss the constant warmth of Florida?” I expected I would, having lived in that climate all my life, and yet, I actually really enjoyed the far cooler temperatures, having to wear layers and coats.
“I wish we had some snow at least. Switzerland always had some in pictures and shit, and yet, now that we’re here, nothing.”
Champéry was still gorgeous, even without a blanket of white, the mountains surrounding the town a beautiful sight to wake up to every morning, the air much cleaner than anything I remembered in the U.S., the streets quiet and the people friendly. Going to school and having to speak French for a good portion of my day took a week or two of getting used to, but now I truly loved it. Fiona struggled, but I very willingly offered my services to help her learn it. Then again, our teachers turned a blind eye more often than not. It was one of the perks of having a sob story all over the news.
“There’s still time,” I said with a shrug before pulling her closer and kissing her cheek.
While we spoke, a black SUV with tinted windows drove past us, far slower than the speed limit, too slowly for my liking. Memories of similar cars flashed through my mind, my heart rate quickening for just a moment until I recognized the stickers on the bumper, realization clicking into place. It was merely one of our neighbors on his way home. Nothing threatening, the nightmare long over, though I knew it would be a while until I’d truly be over it, if ever.