by David Beers
Which was that he needed to sync now. That he needed to speak with The Genesis. He now knew what he wanted out of this whole business, and he wanted The Genesis to hear it from him, so that there wouldn't be any miscommunication. He'd done its bidding, and now he was finished with all of that. Brandi was back, or nearly, another couple days at most, and he planned on spending as much time with her and his son as he possibly could. That's what The Genesis needed to know, and the sooner the better because he was just about ready to leave this place.
Manny kept a mental eye on the three upstairs, although there wasn't much reason for it anymore. He could control them without thinking about it, second nature to him, and they didn't even struggle anymore. Well, really—Paige/Brandi wouldn't struggle, because of her transition; Jerry couldn't struggle. Only Leon would have struggled but he didn't. His mind was blank for the most part, his thoughts of saving Paige or killing himself gone. He was waiting to die, which was fine by Manny. He wouldn't have to wait long.
This complex though, he hated it. Manny still hadn't fixed the wall to wall window in his apartment, and he didn't really want to. He didn't want to live there anymore, didn't want to live around any of these people. He stood in the lobby, standing in front of the sync. He realized people were staring at him. They knew who he was, the person that none of them tried to approach, because when they did—they died. A few of them ended up coming to his apartment, but they were quickly dismissed out his open window, and that kept any more from venturing too close. Still, he hadn't come down here before, hadn't entered their domain. The sync in his apartment wasn't working, though he didn't know exactly why. The people in control of this place might have cut some kind of power cord, and he didn't know if the one in the lobby would work either. If so, he'd have to venture outside this place, though that might be okay, because he could spot some places Brandi and he might want to live. They didn't have to stay here though; no, they could go wherever they wanted. To another city. To the wilderness. With the way his body worked now, he could do anything, and that would create a lot of opportunities.
You're wandering again, he thought. He knew it was true, but that would stop as soon as Brandi returned.
He scanned the lobby quickly, making sure that no one looked like they would attack him. They stared but kept their distance, and the fact that he was about to sync might have carried some additional weight—maybe he was with The Genesis, this hulking thing. They would keep away and probably lose focus on him soon enough. He wasn't a threat as long as they didn't interfere.
Manny pushed his mind back to the sync. Focus on this. Just for a few minutes and then you can get back upstairs with Brandi.
That was it, the key. Get upstairs to Brandi. Finish this and go upstairs to her.
He stuck his hand inside the small box.
It happened in an instant, and still, even with all his mental prowess, everything around him disappeared. All he could see were the rods pushing into his brain, taking over.
Manny Lendoiro, the voice said. The same voice as always, the one with the ever increasing confidence. The one that thought him a peon, even now. Why have you returned?
To tell you my plans.
The voice laughed, echoing through his brain like a mad ghost.
This is what I want, Manny said when the voice finally quieted.
What is?
I want Brandi. You know her as Paige. I want our child and I want to be left alone. I want to be able to leave this place and I don't ever want to deal with you again.
And what about Caesar Wells? The voice asked. Do you not care about his death any longer?
What about Caesar?
And Manny realized his error, his insanely large error. He had forgotten Caesar—forgotten why Manny even came here to begin with. The apartment upstairs had turned into its own being, something living for its own sake and not for any other purpose. Hurting Leon, the sex with Brandi, even keeping Jerry there—it had all turned into his own enjoyment.
Manny stood at the sync unable to answer the voice, completely stunned by the revelation. Caesar had passed from his mind. Everything that the stupid fuck had done to Manny, and now he would just walk away. Manny had tricked himself into wanting to take Brandi and their son (after killing Leon and Jerry, of course), and leave everything else behind.
No, a piece of him said, a hard piece, a piece that had made him sync with The Genesis the very first time. That piece wasn't speaking to the voice in his head; it was answering his own thoughts about leaving.
Did you forget, Manuel?
He had.
Do you not still want vengeance for what he did?
Yes, Manny answered.
Then wait. Just a little longer. He will show up and when he does, you can have him. We've changed our mind about that. We want you to have your vengeance and so we're going to let you do as you please with him. Just wait a few more days, and then you can go on with your plans. You can have your wife and child.
The voice, for the first time, was completely right. Manny needed to wait. He needed to see this through; hell, Brandi would want him to. She would want Caesar to pay for the time she burned, the time their child burned.
Okay, he said. I'll wait, and when I'm done, I get to keep Brandi?
That sounds perfect to us, Manuel.
* * *
It is amazing, watching someone turn into that, isn't it?
It's sick is what it is. Disgusting on any level.
It makes me remember that we're doing the right thing here. That when all this is over and the issue is settled, hopefully no one need ever worry about something like that happening again.
How could he even become this? What creates that kind of madness? His dead wife is inhabiting Paige's body, and every child he sees quickly becomes his first born son? No other creature on Earth could create something that fantastical, that deadly. Only humans. Madness is strictly confined to their species.
Finally, agreement, and praise be to The Almighty.
Don't be vulgar.
Never an ounce of fun out of you, huh?
Is there anything else that we need to do? Anything else that needs to be calculated?
We've run the numbers endlessly. There's nothing. Stop worrying. The Theory will reach the complex and then we'll have a chat.
And Manuel Lendoiro? What do we do with that psycho?
I don't know; throw him off the building or something?
* * *
Manny still couldn't believe himself when he returned to the apartment. Somehow he had let this room become his life, had forgotten his purpose—a very real purpose, a very intimate purpose.
He stood just inside the door, looking at his wife and his captive. Jerry still lay in the hallway, unmoving and unspeaking for the most part. Manny had made this his domain and Caesar a part of his past. But that wasn't right because Caesar still lived. Manny had doled out his vengeance on everyone but the person who mattered the most.
No more of that. Caesar would come, and when he came, he would understand justice. Maybe Manny lost a bit of focus, but now he possessed it again. When Caesar arrived, he wouldn't recognize Leon. That was Manny's new goal. When it was done, Manny would be with Brandi, but not until then. Not until he had his vengeance.
He looked over at Leon sitting on the couch. What else could be done to the man? That was the question. Manny had already cut so much from him that he barely looked human anymore.
That's not true.
He could look less human.
If you...
And holy hell, wouldn't that be the best thing in the world for Caesar to walk into? To see that and realize whatever he had done to Brandi didn't matter anymore. Because Brandi was still alive, and the only friend Caesar had would be missing a...
Face.
The problem was, Manny didn't want Leon to die, and he would lose a tremendous amount of blood if Manny carved his face off. He would die unless Manny could somehow stymie the blood loss. Could
he control that? He could control people, sure, but individual cells? Could he stop the blood from flowing out of Leon's destroyed face?
Maybe. And if so, there wouldn't be any greater present for Caesar.
Manny walked to the couch and sat down next to Leon. He turned the man's head so that they looked at each other. Leon's forehead was somewhat broad, and Manny thought he could easily get a knife under the skin. He could start peeling the flesh from the bone.
No.
He would make Leon do it. Leon would take his own face off.
Manny turned and looked at Brandi lying on the couch. "I love you," he said almost absently, his mind focusing mainly on how he would stop the blood from continuously flowing. He would need to do it slowly. He certainly couldn't burn the man's whole face to stop the flow as he had other wounds.
Leon stood and walked across the shattered glass, his feet bare, and into the kitchen. He pulled a knife that appeared to be hanging in midair, but was only placed in an invisible block. Once removed, the block changed to a phosphorescent green that was supposed to let whoever took the knife know it was missing. Manny doubted this knife would ever need go back in the block, and thought that the glow would burn out eventually.
How long would that take?
Focus.
Leon came back, not yelling in pain at the glass shards slicing through his already bleeding feet. He wanted to, but Manny wouldn’t let him. Hold all that noise in, for The Genesis' sake.
Leon brought the knife to the top of his forehead, holding it there in a steady hand.
"You know what's coming?" Manny asked. "You're going to cut your face off, and I'm going to do my best to keep you alive until Caesar shows up." Manny turned so that he looked at Brandi. "You know he was a part of this too, right? That he was a major part in what Caesar did to you and Dustin. Do you want to watch? If you don't, I understand—it's going to be gruesome, and I'll turn you around on the couch."
Brandi only stared at him as she so often did. He hadn't let her speak yet, but now might be the right time. Just once, just to hear how far Brandi had actually progressed inside Paige's body. Just a word, to know whether she wanted to watch or not, and...maybe he'd be able to let Brandi take control of herself, if she was ready.
It made sense, and if it was Brandi, that would be something for Caesar to see when he showed up too. His mentor dead. His friend broken. And his lover a completely different person.
Just for a second, he would release her, and hear her thoughts on Leon's face falling to the floor.
* * *
"I'll turn you around on the couch," Manny finished.
Paige could see him from her peripheral vision, could see part of Leon too, could see the knife an inch above his hairline. Had she once thought things couldn't be worse? Had she thought that as Leon cut into himself daily and Manny impregnated her with his freak child?
She thought the other child, the one Manny said was their child, had died. She hadn't seen him in days and he no longer cried from the back room. Manny forgot about the boy and he had screamed holy terror for hours, until Paige didn't hear it anymore, until it became simply a part of the background.
Then he stopped crying and Manny hadn't gone in to check on him.
Manny wasn't able to keep anything in his mind for longer than a few hours, and that was stretching it. Paige didn't know if it was the computer in his head, or his insanity, or some mixture of the two, but he was losing his ability to function. Sometimes he sat in here with Leon and her for hours without saying a word, without moving, without even looking at either of them. She didn't think he had any idea he did it, either.
Yes, she had thought it couldn't get worse. Especially when she knew for certain that she was pregnant. When the morning sickness came and she vomited off the side of the couch. But this, it was worse. Manny had reached levels unimaginable; even The Genesis had never been so cruel. Even liquidation, it happened quickly and in the end, there was no feeling, just a puddle. What Manny was about to do, it wasn't just sadistic, it breached a level of horror that insanity couldn't fully explain.
And more, he somehow thought Paige was his wife. He thought she was Brandi reincarnated, and that they would be together again. The kid was dead now, but they were still supposed to make a family, supposed to love each other. That's why he offered to turn her around right now, because if she didn't want to see the grotesqueness, he would shield her.
Paige wanted to laugh—a sad, desperate laugh, but laughter all the same.
She felt something inside her change, happening all at once, destroying the thoughts in her head as efficiently as a tornado destroyed a farm house. It felt like her vocal cords were free, that whatever clamp stopped them from working had broken.
She could speak.
"Go ahead," Manny said, looking at her from across the room, his eyes holding a ridiculous kindness. "Talk to me. Let me know if you want to see this or not."
Paige felt a tiny groan, almost unnoticeable, escape her mouth. Her eyes flashed to Manny to see if he noticed, but his face still held that calm love. He hadn't heard.
Paige had not spoken to Manny since the first night, since they sat at the fire and life still looked like it could be lived. The rest of their time together had been his words and his cock. But now, she was free—as free as she could ever hope to be again. Free to speak, free to voice whatever thoughts ran through her head. Manny had denied her that ability more so than The Genesis ever did, took it from her along with everything else. And for this brief moment, she had it back. She had a way to...
Change things.
No more groans. No more signs of pain or distress. Manny would clamp down again if he heard it, and she might not have another chance. This moment, this one right here, was all that mattered, all that would ever matter. The rest of her life depended on what she did now.
She tried to clear her throat, but no sound came out, just a kind of dry cough.
"Take your time," Manny said. "I know talking is going to be difficult at first. I imagine your vocal cords have atrophied."
He was right. This would be difficult, both controlling her emotions and even getting the damned words out.
Try again, she thought.
"I..." the word was barely a whisper, sounding like a breeze through a wheat field. She waited a few more seconds before speaking again. "I'd like to be able to move a bit, honey. It's me, it's Brandi." She stared at him and thought of Caesar, because if she thought of anything else, she would fill with hate. Her eyes had to match Manny’s. Her eyes had to say the same things his said.
And motherfucker, he was tearing up. The man ready to carve off Leon's face actually had water in his eyes.
"Oh, baby," he said. "It's you? You're back?"
"Yes," she whispered. "It's me, love. It's Brandi."
He was going to do it. He was going to let her go, let her have a few seconds of freedom. She just had to keep that look in her eye—that look which said she would love him forever. That look she should have given Caesar. In another life, maybe.
"Come here," Manny said, and all at once every muscle in Paige's body released. It felt like water bursting from a dam, held up for so long and finally able to flow like nature meant. She fell back onto the couch, her arms flopping down next to her. She hadn't expected this, this complete lack of control over herself. She didn't remember how to move. What was so natural for her for so long felt like learning a new language.
Focus. Focus now.
Every bit of her mind went to the arduous task of standing, the, fuck, up.
She leaned forward, placing her hands slowly, gently, on her knees. All at once, now. Do it.
With an effort that the mythical Samson would have been proud of, she stood. She looked at Manny, her legs wobbling a bit, but holding onto his eyes with hers—holding that same look.
"Are you okay, honey?" He asked, but didn't stand up. Fuck no he didn't. Because if he stood up and came to his beloved, despite how much he mig
ht love the woman he thought she was, he might have to step away from his face carving for a second.
"Yes."A few steps. Just a few and then you'll have him and everything he was after.
She started walking towards his couch, and as she closed in, he raised his head, looking like a kid with a new puppy. Paige stood slightly to his right, her back to the broken window, and she reached out to Manny's face.
Now. This was the time. The last chance she would ever have to give him what he deserved. The only thing she could give him anymore.
"Manny, doll?" Her throat hurt as the air moved over her vocal chords. She felt his skin underneath hers, felt him nuzzling his face against her hand.
"God, I've missed you." Tears fell onto his cheeks.
"Doll?" She said again, her voice as soft and loving as she could possibly make it. "Fuck you and your whore wife."
She turned and leapt, knowing that if she didn't clear the few feet to the broken window, he would freeze her again.
Her right foot landed inches in front of the open air, and she felt him gaining control, felt her muscles tightening up. But it was too late. She saw it, even if he didn't. Her leg crumpled under her weight, and Manny couldn't stop the momentum as her body rolled those last inches, over the edge.
Paige didn't make a sound the whole way down.
Her last thought before touching the ground was, in another life.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Life of Caesar Wells
I watched it, from my peripheral. I didn't see everything clearly but I saw enough. I saw her touch him and I listened to her speak. The way she spoke, I almost believed her. Maybe I did believe her, that she was Brandi—that Manny was right, his wife had returned. I don't know how she did it. I don't know how Paige looked at that forsaken creature and spoke to him like a lover. I know why she did it though, and that might have been the hardest thing to do out of this entire story.
Paige killed herself and I don't blame her for it. I imagine she had his bastard child inside her and she saw the end. I did too, but I saw it more clearly after she jumped. The end was blackness, for us all, and she was tired of seeing.