by M. D. Massey
“Pull yourself together, Elaina. This is not who you are,” I whispered. I forced myself up off the floor, then stripped out of Henry’s bloodstained, sweaty clothes. I shuddered, hating the blood and sweat.
I stepped into the hot shower, knowing it could very well be the last one I may take for the rest of my life. It was so hot, but I didn’t give a shit. I was using up the hot water like a selfish adolescent, but I didn’t care.
I picked up a bottle of body wash, opened it, and inhaled. The spicy scent filled my nose. “Henry,” I whispered. It smelled like the Henry I knew. I washed my body, aching for him. I felt like he had died along with everyone else. I was so torn. I loved the Henry I knew, but wondered if that Henry was gone forever.
I finished my shower, wrapped up my hair, and wrapped another towel around my body. I kicked Henry’s dirty clothes off to the side—picking them up was not an option for me—and headed out of the bathroom.
“Shower’s free!” I yelled down the hall.
“All right!” Claire yelled back. As she headed down the hall, I waited for her. She gave me a small smile.
“Be careful in there. The bathroom is some sort of vortex. It sucks out all your emotions.” I touched her arm. She stared at me with her big blue eyes. “Claire…”
“Please, Elaina.” I felt guilty that I used up all the hot water. I could see she just wanted to collapse. Streaks of dried tears and taut lips, her emotional state had exhausted her, the day’s events showing on her face.
I pulled my hand back and whispered, “I’m so sorry, Claire. I wish I could—”
She put her hand up to stop me from saying something that would set her off. “Stop. Just don’t.” Her voice shook. “I can’t handle it right now.”
She walked into the bathroom, the door closing with a quiet click. I stood there for a moment, listening. Her cries were soft, but strong. I had to walk away before it sucked me back in again. I went into Henry’s…I mean, Liam’s…or was it our bedroom? I heard him raging on the phone again.
“Liam! So glad you called. I wanted to congratulate you on your wedding day. How did it go? I hope it wasn’t too…eventful.” Roger’s malevolent laughter tore through Henry’s body. He wished he could wrap his cold hands around his throat and watch the life drain from his face.
Someday, he thought.
“I refuse to take part in this!”
“Liam, Liam, Liam… You are to get on that plane and get your useless arse back here and pay for your rogue behavior.” Roger stayed calm, but Henry was close to snapping.
“If you think I’m going to bow down to you ever again, you have another thing coming to you!”
“You are getting back on that plane. Sophie is coming to drag you back to me. I already have your punishment planned.” He chuckled. “You remember your old mate, Brass Knuckles, yeah?”
“Fuck off, Roger. I told you I was done with the program ages ago.”
“You know you cannot leave the program. You’re in it for life.”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
“Liam, my boy. Come on now. You know you want to come back. I have a special place all ready for you.” A sadistic laugh burst from Roger’s throat.
“Fuck you.”
Roger got pissed with Henry’s insolence. “If you don’t come back, I will personally hunt you down and torture your woman in front of you until you give in. I may even have a little fun with her in front of you. Show her what a real man can do for her.”
Red rage tore through Henry. “I will never allow you to lay a hand on her! Ever! I will slit your throat and watch you bleed out before you could ever think about touching her! Do you hear what I’m saying?!”
“Are you threatening me? You know where threats get you.”
“I don’t make threats. I make promises. I swear, I will kill you and enjoy every second of it! I’m calling the shots now!” Henry paced wildly, wearing a path in the plush carpet.
“Liam, I advise you to get on that plane, or you will pay the consequences!”
From the doorway, I watched Henry pace like a wild man, yanking at his hair as he raged on the phone. I wondered who would make him so full of anger and hatred.
“No. I refuse!” Henry paused. “Piss off! I’m not taking orders from you anymore! I told you that months ago! I am through with your program, and I’m not returning. I’m going to do what I see fit. If that means taking out half of the goddamned world, then so be it. You’re a sick son of a bitch, and I hope…I hope you become undead because you can count on me to put a bullet in your motherfucking head!”
He hit the END CALL button and threw his phone up against the wall. It shattered, like everything else around us.
“ARRRG!” he growled, which paralyzed me with fear. I had never seen him like that. I had seen him angry, but he usually stayed in check. This Henry was unhinged, scaring the shit out of me.
He realized I witnessed his rage. “Elaina.” He walked to me and took my hand, guiding me into the room. “I’m sorry you saw and heard all that.” Shaking his head, he looked ashamed, dropping his gaze, after he noticed I was frightened.
“What was that about?”
“Uh, shit. Let’s get you dressed and get clothes for the others first. Then we’ll sit and chat in private before we talk with them. I owe you that much.” I nodded, feeling the same.
I pulled out a couple tees and found a few pairs of workout pants. Thankfully, Henry went to the gym a lot; otherwise, Claire and I wouldn’t have pants. At least we could roll the waistband down to take up the length and tighten it up a bit. It was a far cry from Claire’s usual feminine attire, but it was better than the nasty clothes she had already borrowed.
“Henry, I’m not sure what to do about panties.” My cheeks heated, blushing. I wasn’t sure why. I had never really been shy in front of him before. He’d seen me naked on more occasions than I could count.
“You can wear my boxers,” he said with a smirk.
“Uh, no thanks.” I wasn’t in the mood to get that personal with him.
He shrugged. “Suit yourself. Go commando.”
I set Claire’s outfit outside the bathroom door, then walked back into the bedroom, shutting the door. Henry walked up behind me, pulling the towel off of my head. “Hmm, my black-haired beauty,” he whispered. I blushed again. He tugged at the towel wrapped around my body, but I stopped him. Confusion flashed across his face.
“It’s just not the right time.” He had an odd way of shutting out what had happened. It was a bit bizarre.
“I understand. But I still think you look beautiful.” He smiled at me. I couldn’t help but smile back, even though I still pulled away.
“I need to get dressed.” My words were barely audible.
“Go ahead.” I frowned, then understanding flashed in his eyes. He held his hands up. “I’m sorry. I can imagine you are uncomfortable around me at the moment. I’ll leave and take the others these clothes.” Before I could change my mind, he headed out of the bedroom. He stopped at the doorway before he closed it. “I’ll come back in a minute so we can have a chat.”
“Okay,” I said.
I sat on the bed for a moment and dried my hair with the towel. I quickly dressed, worrying that Henry would come back sooner than I expected. I wished I had a different bra because the strapless one was killing me. As for panties, I wasn’t a commando kind of girl, but I was out of options, unless I wore Henry’s boxers. Not happening.
I wasn’t happy wearing his big clunky boots, either, but they were better than those heels I had on earlier. I had to stop thinking about the wedding. When I saw part of my dress sticking out of Henry’s closet, I paused.
There was a quiet knock on the door. Slowly, I opened it. Henry held out a bowl of fresh fruit and a bottle of ginger ale. “Room service.” He smirked and I smiled at him. I stepped away from the door and allowed him to come in. After all, it was his room.
“Thanks. I haven’t eaten at all today.” Although,
I wasn’t so sure my stomach could handle it right now.
“I figured as much. I thought you would like the ginger ale to help settle that belly of yours.”
“Yes. Thank you.” I smiled at his thoughtfulness, heading back to the bed. That was the Henry I knew and was supposed to marry earlier in the day.
He sat beside me and let out a great sigh. “All right. Where do I begin…?” He trailed off and rubbed his perfect, stubbled chin, lost in thought. I nibbled on a strawberry, waiting. “Uh, well… I was just talking to my former boss, Roger.”
“Wait. Who were you talking to before?”
“That was Kellan.”
“Who is he?”
“I’ll get to that eventually. Anyway, Roger recruited me for the program when I was fourteen.”
“Fourteen? Isn’t that a bit young? Weren’t you in school?” My mouth was full as I spoke. As usual, Henry looked past my lack of proper etiquette.
“Not really. I was a troublemaker in school and lived in an orphanage. Roger would take in troubled boys and girls at around the age of fourteen.”
“And he works for the government?”
“Yes. He’s in charge of all this madness. Later, he decided his job would entail combat training us, which he has used against the government, but we will get to that in a minute.”
“Did you know what was going on?”
“No. He said we no longer fit into society. That we were throwaways. He was going to turn us into the men and women that we desired to be.”
I felt sad for him. A throwaway? It broke my heart to hear him say that. And knowing that he believed it made it ache even more.
“Is this what you desired to be?”
It took him a moment to answer my question. “Well, not exactly, but I liked being able to get my anger out on a punching bag. It hurt my hands a lot less than punching a foul prat in the face. We would train day and night. It was a bit like a military academy, except at a higher intensity. We had a few instructors: a weapon specialist, hand-to-hand combat specialist, explosives training. You name it, we learned it.”
“Did you learn how to crochet?” He laughed and I giggled. I had to say it. I couldn’t help myself. As angry as I was at everything, I still felt like I needed to mask it and be the dependable Elaina everyone knew and adored.
“Very funny. Anyway, we trained for a solid two years. No scheduled days off, no holidays. It was relentless. I know now they were trying to break us mentally and rebuild us. They wanted to shape us into fearless, emotionless machines.”
“Do you feel you reached that?”
“For the most part, but I did question a lot of things. Roger wasn’t fond of my curiosity, so I got a few beatings. Well, more than a few.”
“Wow.” I hurt for him and could feel his sadness.
He smiled sadly at me, then continued. “When the group of us turned sixteen, we were accepted into the program.”
“So they moved you out of the orphanage?”
“Yeah, the complex was my home after that, but it was more like a facility than a home. There were labs, scientists, guards, weapons, and a room full of caged animals. It was a cold and sterile environment.”
I sat quietly, listening to Henry pour his heart out. It was overwhelming. I could only imagine how all of this must have made him feel.
“We spent hours rehearsing a new identity, learning the American accent and slang, and training. That went on for a few more years.”
“Wait, rehearsing a new identity? So Liam isn’t your real name, either?”
“No,” he whispered.
“You lied to me again,” I growled. Pissed, I turned away from him, not knowing if I could handle any more of his lies.
“I know I did, but I had to get you to trust me. The only way I could was to lie to you. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but we didn’t have enough time to dig into all of this.” When reached out to me, I pulled away. “Please, Elaina. You have to believe me.”
“How can I believe an ounce of what you tell me?”
“I swear what I’m telling you is true.” I glanced back at him, his eyes welling with tears. I had to turn away again. I couldn’t stand to see him like that.
He swallowed hard, trying not to cry. He was in so much pain emotionally, he pled with me while the tears fell. “Please. I’m begging you. I know it’s a lot to take in. I know it’s difficult to understand, but I need to know you trust me. I need to know we are all right.”
I finally looked deep into those fading green eyes. “I don’t know who you are. I invited you into my home, shared my bed with you, and was going to marry you this morning, for fuck’s sake.” I stood in haste. He grabbed my arms.
“Please, Elaina. You have got to believe me. My love for you is real. I’m telling you the truth.” He wouldn’t let go of my arms, no matter how I tried to shake him off.
“How do I know?”
“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t risk my life telling you all this!” There was a very pregnant pause, and I stopped struggling against him. He let go of my arms, and I sat back down on the bed.
“All right. Go on,” I whispered. “But I want to know your real name before you go any further.”
“Luke. Luke Richards.”
I hesitated, then held out my hand. “Pleased to meet you, Luke Richards.”
He eyed me carefully, trying to figure out if I was being my sarcastic, smartass self.
“The pleasure is all mine, my love.” He took my hand and kissed it. I tried to fight it, but I blushed like a schoolgirl. I hated that he could still do that to me. I felt like such a fucking loser falling for all his flirtations. That was the way it had been since the first moment.
“Go on…” My voice was shaky, obvious still overcome with giddiness.
“Remodeled from an abandoned warehouse, the front of the building looked like a proper office building, just in case someone entered by accident. Harold and Margaret were also part of the program, in a sense. Essentially, they were handsomely paid actors to carry on the façade that I was their son, but they didn’t know the truth. Hence the American accent.”
“So there are more of you here?”
“In this country? Yes. We have coverage in all regions. I’m supposed to work the northern part of the East Coast. So that’s why I’m in New York. I have connections throughout the country to help keep tabs on everything.”
“Do you know where the others are?”
“I used to, but since I busted my phone minutes ago, I won’t have contact with them anymore. Plus, with all that has occurred today, who knows what’s happened to them. And I assume the network will go down soon anyway…if it hasn’t already.”
“Right,” I snipped. I wanted to know more about what was happening than with whom Henry worked. “So where does the undead virus come in?”
“Well, part of our training was on animals.” I looked at him in disgust. “A team came in from the States who knew how to produce the virus, and our scientists would make it and inject the lab animals. They would monitor and study them, then we were forced to take care of matters.”
“What kind of animals?” I was pretty sure I didn’t want to know. My stomach got queasy again. One of my few soft spots was for animals, so the thought of animals doing what I saw today saddened me.
“Everything from rats to chimps.”
I held up my hands, trying to shield myself from his words. “Wow.”
“It breaks my heart to think about it now, but I had been beaten into submission on a consistent basis. I had to have a lack of emotion and be able to remove myself from the situation.”
“Why did you allow it to happen?” I asked, angry with him again.
“I didn’t have a choice! I told you, if I questioned anything, I would get beaten. If I looked at them the wrong way, I was beaten. I was subjected to regular beatings and tasings to make me tougher and obedient. I was on the brink of death on a few occasions, along with a few hospitalizations.”
He looked down at his feet, tears forming in his eyes again. Our range of emotions were off the charts. I felt sorry for him. His memories were obviously painful.
“I’m so sorry, Henry… I mean, Luke.” When I reached for him, he looked at me.
“Please, call me Henry. I can’t have you calling me by my given name. That person does not exist anymore. He’s…” He cleared his throat, “considered dead on paper.”
“Yes, sorry. Were the two countries working together to make this virus?”
“In a way. The States didn’t want their secret program to be discovered on their own soil so, when the opportunity came about, they moved the program to England.”
“Why did England allow that to happen?”
“The States funded England to run the facility. The money helped refuel our economy. Not that it was doing well, but it would have been a lot worse.”
“So they don’t know about you? Who pays your salary?”
“The States, but they don’t know that a portion of the funding goes to pay us. If they knew, they would cut out the funds…possibly the whole program. Not that it would be a bad thing, but I felt obligated to stay faithful to my country. If they knew what England was doing with us, they would pull the program and fund it elsewhere.”
I nodded, sickened about the involvement of the country I loved. It seemed like this program would have happened no matter what.
“Wait. They are paying you, and you’re spying on them? That’s rich.”
“Yeah, you can look at it that way, I suppose. Roger had them convinced we were at the complex to deal with the lab and security. He was convinced the States would try to release the virus behind our backs at any moment. All they had to do was inject one person with a full dose, and boom. It would be like a nuclear bomb going off.
“The States idea was that they would release the virus in a country, contain it at the borders, and it would wipe out the people of that country. A weapon of mass destruction of sorts, without the big boom. I believe it was Roger who wanted the power. He wanted to release it so he would have control and call all the shots. He wanted us to protect his agenda at any cost.”