We Shall Be Monsters

by Ryan Decaria

  Anika nodded and pulled Billie into a hug.

  “Sunshine is back in town and ready to go,” Billie said. “Are you sure you want to let him keep the drugs?”

  “Are you sure you want to give him the car?”

  Billie pulled away and pushed Anika’s shoulder. “Easy come, easy go, yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Anika was about to sling the backpack over her shoulder, but Billie took it from her.

  “You still have one more goodbye.” Billie led her to Ms. Bolton’s classroom. It was her lunch hour. “Not Blondie. You have to at least say goodbye to your rat.”

  Anika hadn’t planned that goodbye, and she felt it in the pit of her stomach.

  “Wait,” Anika said. “Why is Seven in Ms. Bolton’s room?”

  “I’ll give you a minute,” Billie said. “I don’t want to see you blubber.”

  “I’m not going to blubber.” Anika hesitated. Of course she was going to blubber.

  She pressed her lips between her teeth, breathed through her nose, and opened the door. In the center of the room, a woman with light blonde hair sat with her legs crossed. She turned her head, revealing a gash in her cheek, held together with four thick staples.

  “Mom!” Anika rushed to her side, falling on her knees, grabbing at her mother’s cheeks, careful not to touch her wound. “Mom, what did they do to you?”

  Her mother smiled. “It’s okay, love.”

  “Your face.” Anika could barely breathe. “Not your face.”

  Her chest hurt, the ache in her heart worse than anything she could have imagined. Tears fell onto her mother’s silky blue blouse.

  Her mother stroked her hair and spoke through teeth that had been wired shut. “I’m fine. Shh. I’m okay.”

  Anika stared up at her mom’s face. The gash wouldn’t heal without scarring. Maybe a plastic surgeon could help. She had other bruises and cuts. “Mom, you can’t be here. You’ve got to leave town.”

  “We’re leaving now. You and I.”

  “Mom, I have to…”

  “I know about your little plan.” She took a tissue from her waistband and wiped Anika’s eyes. “We made some adjustments. Your friends are going to do it for you.”

  “What?” Anika realized they weren’t alone in the room and straightened. Sasha and Ms. Bolton stood against the wall, arms folded, leaning precariously in close to the same pose, watching the scene play out. Sasha stepped in front of the door. “But what if they need help?” Anika said.

  “Linh will be a backup.” Her mother held up her hands before Anika could protest. “Only if they get into trouble.”

  Sasha took a breath. “They have your plan.”

  “You taught them well.” Anika’s mother took her chin and gently pulled her face up to hers. “Now you have to trust them.”

  Jackie was certainly capable, and that made sense why Sena was with them. What part was Sena supposed to play?

  “Wait, they’re doing it right now?” That’s why Billie kept the backpack. They were already headed to the lab. They had to get into the room with Wallace. Stealing a key card was the least dangerous part.

  Anika tried to breathe. Her friends were in danger, and she had to run away. “I have to help them.”

  “You did,” Ms. Bolton said. “You did help them. You taught them how to take care of themselves. You taught us that we have power over our lives. Anika, they can do this.”

  “You’ve done so much for us,” Sasha said. “Please let us do this one thing for you. You need to get to safety.”

  Was outside the city lines that much safer? As soon as her father used his machine on another person, perhaps. But how long did he have before needing it? A head start might be the best thing she could do.

  Anika nodded, pulling herself up. She sat at the nearby desk and peeked into the bag on top of it. Anika pulled out a hair dye and checked the color. “Purple?”

  Ms. Bolton snatched the dye out of her hands. “That one’s mine.”

  Sasha stared at her feet. Ms. Bolton examined the posters on the wall. Her mom smiled.

  “What?” Anika took a deep breath. What could be so bad? The last spare identity had been a copper-haired girl name Katherine, but that had been burned on her way to Moreau. She searched the bag. A new hair trimmer and a small portable vacuum. “Oh, no.”

  “We thought you would look great sheared.” Ms. Bolton said.

  Anika dug around until she found her new driver’s license in an envelope. Angela Meeks was bald, except for a tuft of hair right up front that stuck in the air. “No way.”

  “Relax.” Anika’s mother grinned.

  “No, this ain’t happening.” The picture sort of resembled her, and with a plethora of fake piercings and makeup, she’d pass easily as this Angela persona. But her hair.

  “It’s a few decades too late,” Sasha said. “But the Seattle punk scene won’t turn us away.”

  Anika had to admit they had a good plan, and the chance of needing a bikini dropped significantly, but as Anika tugged at her hair, her fingers tingled and her throat tightened. Her hair was the thing that set her apart. It was her crazy.

  Her hair was a part of her that came from her father.

  “This isn’t the worst thing…” Her mother didn’t finish the last of that sentence. That I’ve ever put you through.

  Ms. Bolton chewed on a fingernail. Sasha stood motionless.

  Anika had two futures: one with her mom, Sasha, and eventually Billie, where she was a punk teen and likely couldn’t touch a science Olympiad or fair with a ten-foot scalpel, and the other was protégé to a mad-man, with science at every intersection and a death sentence. Her hair belonged to the latter.

  “Fine.”

  Not fine! She had to come up with an alternative. Fast.

  Ms. Bolton opened the clipper case.

  “Wait.” Anika bolted out of her seat. “You mean right now?”

  “Yes, Angela.” Anika’s mom stood and brought her back to the seat. “We’re leaving right now.”

  Anika struggled for a breath. A dumb tear ran down her cheek. It was just hair, right? Anika ran her fingers through her wiry locks. “Can I have a minute?”

  “No.” Anika’s mom pointed to the mop on her head. “Chop it off.”

  Sasha stood guard in front of the door. Guarding the way in? Or the way out?

  Ms. Bolton plugged the clippers into an extension cord.

  Anika had enjoyed the freedom of Moreau. Dangerous, sure, but no one was ordering her around. Anika held her hands firm on her head, covering as much of her hair as she could.

  “It’s okay, Anika.” Ms. Bolton put a hand on her shoulder. “Your friends are going to tie up the loose ends while we cut off your split ones.”

  “What do you mean?” Anika tried to read the implications of her words, but the look her mom gave Ms. Bolton said everything. “What loose ends?”

  “Nothing.” Her mom gave Ms. Bolton the shut-the-flunk-up-or-I’ll-tear-your-face-off look.

  Ms. Bolton didn’t seem to notice. “At the lab. Rescuing that man—and stuff.”

  Anika studied her mother’s face, so damaged yet stone. But for one second, she betrayed everything as she fumed. Ms. Bolton had said the wrong thing, and her mom was furious. Even Sasha looked away. Ms. Bolton chewed another nail.

  Her mom was stone cold sober.

  It was guilt! Her mom didn’t have any left, but Sasha and Ms. Bolton felt guilty about something.

  Anika hopped out of the chair. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” her mom said. “Now sit down.”

  Loose ends? Wallace was being rescued. They were taking Ms. Bolton with them. Blake didn’t know anything that could betray them. That boy had to get better, but there wasn’t anything she could do to help. Claire was on her own. Anika had planted the device in the machine. The exit was strategized and about to be carried out.

  Ms. Bolton’s eye twitched. She held her hands firmly at her sides.

  Anik
a took an aggressive step toward her.

  “I was against it.” Ms. Bolton blurted out.

  Her mom grabbed Ms. Bolton’s shirt. “You wouldn’t last a week without us. Shut up!”

  It. A thing. Something people not in the room were doing. At the lab. One last loose end?

  It clicked all at once.

  “Macy! You’re going to finish her off!” Anika staggered back, pointing angrily at her mom. “Who did you send?”

  “Not our problem anymore.” Her mom stood resolute.

  Anika pointed at Sasha. “Who? Hayden?”

  Sasha nodded. “She can handle it.”

  “No. I can’t let her do this.” Anika paced toward the desk and back. “Jackie’s not a murderer.”

  “Hayden is.” Anika knew she wasn’t getting by Sasha. She wasn’t getting out that way.

  “No, she’s not.” Anika pulled at her hair. “She’s scared and hurt and wounded. She doesn’t know how to handle the attention she gets. She can’t murder anyone. You don’t understand. Hayden seems aggressive and perhaps a little maniacal, but she’s Jackie. Not Mr. Hyde. She’s not a monster!”

  No one could look at her. Not even her mother.

  “It’s the only way,” her mom said.

  Anika spun toward the front of the room, whipping her phone out of her pocket. The screen went haywire. Anika scowled at Sasha. “Stop it.”

  Sasha barred the exit. “I’m sorry.”

  Anika had to talk to Jackie before she turned into Hayden, which was in about eight hours. She had time. She could slip away at some point in their exodus and call her, plead with her not to do anything.

  Ms. Bolton set down the clippers. “It’s too late, anyway.”

  Anika’s heart raced. What did that mean?

  Now?

  Jackie would do it, not Hayden? And she was doing it right now? Anika swallowed, and her voice quivered. “You sent Jackie?”

  Her mom slapped Ms. Bolton across the face. “I said shut up.”

  Sasha was still guarding the door, still blocking the screen on her phone. The one thing Anika could do without a screen was text Boulsour. She’d practiced for an emergency, but she never imagined using it to escape from her mother.

  Anika backed up toward the wall in the front of the classroom. Ms. Bolton sat on the floor grabbing her face, crying.

  No one was protecting the other exit, the secret one behind the vent. Did no one tell Sasha? She’d been in the basement at the time, rescuing Esposito. Anika racked her brain. How had Misty gotten through the secret door? The vent opened when she pushed on it.

  Anika ran her thumb across her phone.

  “What’s she doing?” her mom asked.

  Sasha took a half step toward her, but stopped, keeping her post. “She’s texting.”

  “You said you blocked her phone.” Her mom got up.

  Anika darted to the vent and pushed on it like a cabinet door. The vent popped open, and she ducked inside. The corridor was thin and empty, and Anika ran as hard as she could until she found an exit, a strange door near a corner of the building.

  Tires squealed, and Anika sprinted toward the parking lot, sparing a glance behind her.

  Sasha sprinted through the door. “Anika, stop!”

  Anika rounded the corner of the building. Boulsour’s Mini peeled to a stop and Anika rushed inside. “To the lab.”

  Boulsour sped away, leaving Sasha staring after them, hands on her hips.

  Anika speed-dialed, but Jackie wasn’t answering her phone. Whatever plan they’d cooked up to get Jackie into Macy’s room might work. Anika had taught them well. Taught them confidence in their abilities. She had to stop Jackie. She couldn’t let her become a murderer.

  Anika raced into the lobby, slamming the purple plush dog on the desk. “For Gregory.”

  Tony smiled as he picked up the stuffed animal. “Why are you always in such a hurry?”

  “Have you seen Jackie?” Anika pressed her face to the sensor, and the door beeped open.

  “Yeah,” Tony said, “She came through about thirty minutes ago.”

  “Thanks.” Anika pushed through the door and headed for the stairwell.

  A half hour was more than enough time to…to do…oh, she had to hurry. Her gut rumbled. What could Jackie have done?

  The halls were bustling, labcoats filling the hallway. Anika dodged a few back slaps, weaving in between them. Apparently, they were still celebrating having families to ruin. She rounded Linh’s parents and slid between a tall red-bearded dude and a woman with a clipboard. Anika high-fived Sena’s dad—the only mensch brave enough to wear skinny women’s jeans to the office.

  She slid to a stop, grasping the stairwell door handle. Wrenching it open, Anika took the steps three at a time, rounding the bend, and froze.

  Jackie sat on the top step, her face quivering. “It’s a simple thing. A few drops into her IV. I was staring at her, and I…I couldn’t. Anika, I failed you.”

  “No.” Anika sat next to her. “No, you didn’t. Macy’s gone. No one needs to own any more guilt over her.”

  “She’s going to wake up.” Jackie took a dozen quick breaths. “They said they were hopeful, ya know. Someone’s gotta finish the job before she does.”

  “That’s not how we roll.” Anika put her arm around her. “We’re better than that.”

  Jackie rubbed her eye. “You need to get free of this place.”

  Anika handed her a tissue. “I’m not going to sacrifice everyone I care about to make that happen.” Not like mom. Not like dad. “I can’t.”

  Jackie leaned against her shoulder. “We don’t deserve you.”

  Anika put her arm around Jackie. “I feel the same way.”

  They sat, silent, for a few minutes. Jackie blew her nose. Anika pulled out her phone and checked the time. “You’re a cute crier.”

  Jackie broke into a wide grin. “You’re such a liar.”

  “I’m not,” Anika lied. “You’re beautiful.”

  Jackie grabbed the railing and pulled herself up. “What do we do now?”

  Anika skipped down a few stairs. “Now we save the meathead.”

  Jackie put her hands on her hips. “They went off script.”

  Anika had texted everyone but had gotten no replies. Her friends were risking their lives for a dumb drug dealer, and she was to blame. “What part?”

  “They’re going to try to steal Coralynn’s keycard.”

  Anika reached for the stairwell door, but hesitated. Think it through. No one would suspect they were up to anything nefarious, yet. They had time. “Call the girls. I got an idea.”

  Jackie pulled out her phone. “Anika. I don’t want to cry no more, okay?”

  “No crying.” Anika pictured the layout of the lab in her mind. Trying to sneak back the way she’d come was risky. Everyone would be prepping to head home for the night. The night crew would be heading to where they worked. Timing was crucial.

  Jackie tapped the railing. “Yoko isn’t answering.”

  “Have the others meet me by Coralynn’s office. I’ll need the supplies.”

  Jackie gave her a thumbs up. “Be cautious.”

  “Always.” Anika headed for Coralynn’s office. Coralynn spoke with Yoko and Sena in the hallway. Yoko fidgeted, wringing her fingers over and over again, shaking in her lavender chukka boots. Sena inched a little closer, her long arm snaking toward Coralynn’s waist.

  Anika swooshed in, sliding Sena farther away from the badge hanging off Coralynn’s waistband. “Howdy, everyone.”

  “Anika,” Coralynn said. “Just the person I wanted to talk to.”

  “Anika?” Yoko’s hand covered her quivering lips. “What are you…?”

  “I thought of a few things that could help a certain someone.” Anika smirked. Let them figure out who she meant.

  “Oh.” Yoko backed away. “Okay.”

  Coralynn spun and entered her office. “Come in, Anika.”

  Anika waved off her frie
nds and winked. She stepped inside and Coralynn closed the door behind them. “I think I know how to fix your friend.”

  “Claire’s not my friend.” Anika sat, thought about putting her feet on the desk, refrained. Play it cool.

  Coralynn sat behind the desk. “I properly threatened her parents in a ‘what does she actually know’ kind of way. You’d have been proud of me.”

  “They’re going to stop the treatments?”

  “I promised to drug test their whole family. I was properly frightening.”

  “I believe you.”

  “I don’t believe she’ll retain her intelligence.”

  “Better to be well.”

  “Is it?” Coralynn cleaned a clear polished fingernail. “Hmm.”

  Anika felt a chill down her spine. It was now or never. “I thought of something to save your husband.”

  “Oh, yeah?” She narrowed her eyes. “Enlighten me.”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Of course, you can’t.”

  “I need to see him for a few minutes, alone.”

  She shook her head. “You know I can’t let you.”

  “If I’m right, you could get him back, like Blake. It might be nothing, but it could help. You’ve got to trust me.”

  Hope crept into her bitter eyes. “Tell me what you’re going to do.”

  “I can’t.” Anika frowned.

  “Why not? Anika, I’m not going to play games with you.”

  Crap. Anika didn’t actually have that plan. Think. Anika kept her hands still in her lap. “It’s safer if you don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  “Safer for whom?”

  “You.” Anika stood. “Because it’s stupid.”

  Coralynn sighed. “I’ve been thinking about that possibility.”

  Anika wasn’t sure what possibility Corky was thinking about. Didn’t matter. “I need to know where he’s being held. I’ll find him.”

  Coralynn picked up a picture frame off her desk. “You’d do this for George?”

  Anika stared into her eyes. “For Blake.”

  “You barely know him.” Coralynn scoffed. “Do you think you’re actually in love?”

  “No.” Anika ran a finger on the edge of her desk. “I know it’s nearly impossible for us to be something more, but he’s still my friend. I would like to try.”