by J. D. Cavan
Charlie went deep below the surface of the water and felt the rip of the current immediately. He struggled to get to the top for air, and by the time he did he noticed that the bridge they had jumped off was yards in the distance. He was being dragged out, and down the shoreline by the powerful tide caused by the raging storm. Charlie frantically searched for Samantha and Luca, and saw what he thought was a head, or an arm, but he was only disappointed when it turned out to be junk. There was so much debris floating in the water it became impossible to tell what was what as he struggled to stay afloat, swim, and make it inland.
Charlie let the current take his body and it carried him in closer to the shore. As he found a calmer waterway, he gazed up at the fallen city. He thought about what his father had done and what other destruction he might cause in the future. He thought of the 7 House and wondered when his father would unlock the horrid secrets of what happened there in his mind.
Then he thought about what he had to do now. Who he was, and what he was becoming. This gave him strength, and it pushed him to swim. He slid out of his cloak and hood, opened his strokes and swam harder. He could see the shoreline within distance now, and soon he’d reach it.
Epilogue
JACK WAS ON his knees gasping for air. He was in the large stone room in the castle, with Blacksmith standing above him.
“I’m sorry I called you back before your mission was over, but Jack was down in the laboratories trying to talk to the Thirds, maybe free them. I couldn’t be sure,” Blacksmith told Mr. Scott.
Mr. Scott removed his hood and then released Jack from his mind-grip choke. Jack breathed in violently and started hacking, remaining on his knees.
“I excused the fact that you tried to warn Charlie about the Serial Seven,” Mr. Scott scolded him. Jack shook his head as if trying to deny the truth. “Did you think I wouldn’t find out that you entered his dream state when he was freezing to death in the Yukon?”
“He entered my state,” Jack started to say.
“I don’t care. I let it go because of your history together, because you are brothers. But I can’t let this go. You were protecting your brother again, having Blacksmith call me back this way. Very tricky of you.”
Jack got back to his feet. “Not all of them change into those monsters, and Charlie hasn’t turned,” he said. Mr. Scott remained silent and glared at him. “I was just trying to understand them, that’s what I was doing in lab,” Jack said, pleading.
“There’s nothing to understand!” Mr. Scott shouted before taking a seat at the end of a long wooden table in the middle of the room. Captain Blacksmith had taken a seat at the table as well, and periodically got up to feed the fire that was burning in the fireplace. Other guards lined the walls of the circular room and started to bring soup and bread to the table. “The Thirds are organized, and well positioned across the country, with leaders. Have you not been fighting the same fight as I?”
“Of course, Father,” Jack replied.
“I never wanted you to be a mindless follower of mine. You’re my son and I had greater hopes for you. But you simply can’t be trusted, just like your brother.” He casually raised his arm and opened his hand toward Jack.
“Father, no,” Jack begged. But then he fell completely silent. Jack walked over and sat next to his father, a blank stare covering his face.
Mr. Scott started to tap his fingers on the table. He sighed loudly and said, “What report do you have on the clones, Captain? I’m losing my patience with Sheldracky, and with you for that matter.”
Blacksmith motioned to Jack. “The clone manipulations are working much better than things are with your son—”
“Get to the point,” Mr. Scott interrupted. “He’s being punished.” Jack sat expressionless, gazing off in the distance. “I’m sorry I had to take your mind, but I’m going to rebuild you and make you stronger, now that I’m dealing with a clean slate,” he said to Jack.
“The clones, they’re getting better and better with each round. And they are showing more discipline, which was sorely lacking before.” Blacksmith glanced over at Jack and poured himself a glass of wine. “Professor Sheldracky is screening them now for any inclination toward telepathy. He guarantees they will have increased powers—”
“Is that so, he guarantees?” Mr. Scott folded his hands on the table.
Blacksmith got up and stood behind his chair. “Not to worry. These new soldiers, they’ll find them. They’ll track down every last one of them. Trust me, they’ll get every Third walking the earth, including your son.”
* * *
THE LONG DARK hallway wound down below the stone castle. Only thin fluorescents clinging to the ceiling of the old stone passageway cast out light for them to see. Some flickered here and there, and tiny droplets of water fell from the walls, creating echoes throughout. The passage ran deep below the castle, under many dungeons and cells. It was damp and cold.
Large Plexiglas windows and white swinging doors appeared at the end of the hallway. It was a laboratory, and a very large, brightly lit room was visible through the windows.
Inside the room Professor Sheldracky sat at a small wooden desk with three decks of playing cards stacked in front of him. The young female and male clone recruits stood stiff and expressionless, lining the back wall of the room dressed in black pants and shirts. Each one appeared of similar stature, tall and in top physical shape. All the females were identical to each other in appearance, as were the males, and they all eerily resembled each other. Captain Blacksmith opened the two white swinging doors and walked in with Mr. Scott and Jack behind him.
“We are measuring them,” Professor Sheldracky announced without looking away from the female clone recruit who was sitting on the opposite side of the desk in a small wooden chair. Sheldracky picked up a playing card from one of the desks and held it up in front of her.
“It’s the Queen of Spades,” the female clone uttered mechanically.
“Correct.” Sheldracky took another card from a different deck and held it up.
She paused for moment and then said, “The Three of Hearts.”
“Correct again.” She got up from the chair and walked past them over to a door on the other side of the room. The white padded door had a red light above it and was next to a similar door with a blue light above it. She walked out the door with the red light. A male recruit started to walk over and sit down in the chair to take her place, but stopped when Sheldracky put his hand up.
“This is all part of the multilayer screening process,” the professor said. “First, we find the ones that have some psychic abilities. Then if they can pass the two-card test, we can proceed with developing them.”
Mr. Scott listened and watched the other recruit sit down in front of Sheldracky. He did the same thing with the cards, but this time the recruit wasn’t able to pick the second card. The clone got up quickly and walked toward the door with the blue light above it while another recruit, a female candidate stepped forward and sat down in front of Sheldracky.
Captain Blacksmith said, “They are perfect physical specimens, highly trained fighting machines, and now they’ll have the best mental capacities—”
Blacksmith stopped talking and watched Mr. Scott walk over toward Sheldracky, then in front of the long line of clones. He gazed at them as he walked past. None of them returned the look, all just staring blankly off into the distance.
Sheldracky said, “We are going to need a geneticist. Cloning is not my area of expertise—”
“When will they be ready to go?” Mr. Scott cut Sheldracky off, ignoring his request. There was a pause.
“That depends. How many will you need for Thought Changer missions and how many for Third missions?”
Mr. Scott snapped at Sheldracky. “I thought I made it clear, we aren’t in the Thought Changer business anymore. So I’ll ask you again. How soon?”
“We have to make sure they can handle the Thirds, that they’re ready,” Sheldracky replied. H
e held the second card up in front of the female clone.
“The Ace of Spades,” she reported.
“Correct,” Sheldracky replied.
“Handle them?” Mr. Scott glared at Blacksmith disapprovingly. “I thought we had superior fighting machines here.” He waved his arms out over toward the clones.
Blacksmith tried to defend himself but Sheldracky interrupted him. “Some of them haven’t exactly been stable. I told you I’m not a cloning expert. I’m a paranormal expert and—” He stopped himself and noticed the female clone remained sitting in the chair in front of him. She hadn’t moved toward the door with the red light.
“You can move on dear, you were correct with both cards.” Sheldracky motioned to the door. Mr. Scott glanced at Blacksmith curiously. Blacksmith took two steps closer to the clone as she sat, expressionless, refusing to move.
Then the second playing card suddenly lifted out of Sheldracky’s hand and floated in place. Sheldracky looked stunned. Everyone watched as she moved the card with her mind, turning it over in the air slowly, spinning it before whipping it across the room. It hit the wall, slicing into and sticking out of it as if she’d just used a throwing star.
Mr. Scott walked over toward her and leaned down, craning his neck to see her face. It looked like he was studying her features. Captain Blacksmith stepped closer to him, protectively.
“Please sir, be careful—” Sheldracky started to say before Mr. Scott put his hand up to shush him.
“What are you trying to say, my child?” Mr. Scott asked her.
She turned her head and looked at him. “I want to show you, Father, that I am ready.”
Mr. Scott hesitated for a moment before a smile came to his face. “What number are you?” he asked her.
“Number?” she replied. Sheldracky began to fumble with a journal pad he had in front of him. He put his glasses on to read the fine print.
“She’s—she’s number 426,” he told Mr. Scott.
“No, she is not.” Mr. Scott shook his head as he continued to stare into her eyes. “She is number one. Number one to me. Her name is Daughter One.” He straightened up and looked back at the line of clones standing motionless in silence. He stepped in front of them.
“I don’t need this two-card test.” He waved his hand dismissively at Sheldracky before opening his arms widely toward his clones. Suddenly, many of the clones dropped to the floor writhing in pain, gasping for air, while a smaller number remained standing. “I can feel them; I can feel their power. It is enhancing my power.” Mr. Scott’s eyes were shut, his head tilted up toward the heavens.
Professor Sheldracky stood up from his chair and began to back away appearing frightened.
Mr. Scott lowered his arms and placed a hand gently on Daughter One’s shoulder. “It’s time for me to reveal my most special creations!” He motioned to a closed door on the far side of the room. “I’ve been keeping them secret for a reason, because you’re simply not going to believe who you think you’re seeing. But it’s time that you see them,” he said with a devious grin.
Mr. Scott then opened the mysterious door with his mind and they began pouring into the room. Sheldracky’s mouth dropped wide open, and Blacksmith appeared utterly stunned as well. Mr. Scott was right. They couldn’t believe their eyes. Mr. Scott’s special clones stood before them, unveiled.
“These are my children. This is my new army of telepaths,” Mr. Scott declared.
END OF BOOK TWO
Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read my book, The Serial Seven. I hope you had fun reading it. I so appreciate you joining me on this ride and hope you stay on for book 3 in The Final Form Series, The 7 House, soon to be released on Amazon.
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Thank you,
J.D. Cavan