by Kory Shen
This is war. Even the ones who win still lose something.
My thoughts drifted back to my last family. My last foster family, that is. Frank. Georgia. And that bitch Rachel. I hadn't thought of them in weeks.
No, I didn't know what I was getting into, but what I had now, with Zoe and the others, was still miles better than what I had supposedly lost.
I picked up my chair and slid it into the desk. That's when I noticed that my computer monitor was turned on. I reached over to turn it off, but a series of blocky, digital letters scrolled across the screen.
HI DUSTIN! WANT TO END THIS WAR?
CHAPTER 7
"What the hell?" Zoe, are you seeing this?
Zoe didn't move from her position in front of the door. Yes. Strange…
How do I even reply? Should I?
I tapped on my keyboard, but nothing happened. My computer wasn't even supposed to be on.
"Uh, who are you?" I said out loud.
The words on the screen disappeared. New words replaced them.
A FRIEND. OR A FOE. YOUR CHOICE.
Zoe suddenly got up, her back arched, hackles raised. No, it can't be! Here?
What? I sat down in the chair, facing the screen.
SHE LOOKS FEISTY.
"Huh?" I spun around, searching the ceiling. The military definitely watched us everywhere, although I had never found any of their cameras. Was this some kind of prank by them? Or some kind of mind game by Dr. Hill? A training exercise?
Zoe, what is it?
A whiff of fear reached me through our mental bond. Only one thing truly scared Zoe.
Mekanics. Here? Were they somehow hacking the military network?
It's possible. Chimerics can't grasp their level of technology. Neither do humans.
If they can just hack us at their pleasure, why haven't they overrun us yet?
We don't know their full capabilities and limitations. But transporting an army across the galaxy takes time, to be fair.
I stood and moved towards the door. "I'm calling security." I glanced at the screen one last time before leaving.
A video was playing. I paused, squinting. There was a figure, someone familiar. I took a step back towards the monitor.
Dustin! It could be a trap.
My curiosity got the better of me. I took another step back towards my computer. It's a video. What harm could a video do?
You know what they say about cats and curiosity. Zoe moved in front of me to block my path.
Ha. That's rich, coming from you.
I stepped over Zoe and returned to my desk. In the video, someone was stretched out on an operating table. No, he was tied down, as if under torture. There was no sound, but he was struggling and flailing. Arcs of electricity ripped through his body.
They were torturing him. Electrocuting him, from the looks of it.
Wait a minute. I recognize that figure.
Dustin! Don't trust anyone!
The face whipped from one side to the other, but it froze for a moment while facing the camera.
It was Cody.
Dustin! Careful!
Was this a real video? When was it from? "What is this?" I asked out loud.
I turned my eyes away from the video in disgust. Even if Cody and I hated each other, there was something wrong, something unholy about what they were doing to him.
It could be a trick. You know how easy it is to fabricate video.
I hoped Zoe was right, but I had a sinking feeling that the video wasn't fake.
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. I HAVE ANSWERS. DO YOU TRUST ME?
Zoe yowled loudly. No! This is a Mekanic trap. It has to be! She jumped towards my desk, leaping over me to tackle the computer monitor. It crashed into the wall. The screen had an ugly crack down the middle, but the last words still glowed there for another second.
DO YOU TRUST ME?
The letters faded away.
Dustin. Dustin!
Zoe, what was that for?
I'm trying to protect us. We need to report this to Dr. Hill right away. The network's compromised.
I didn't care about that at the moment. What were they doing to Cody? Was that us? Our side?
See! It's already working. The Mekanics are insidious. They'll do anything to win!
What about us? Besides, aren't we already compromised? Staccato proved that.
Zoe tackled me, throwing me to the ground. She stood over me and lowered her face to mine.
Dustin.
There was too much going on. I needed space. Room to breathe and think. I scrambled out from underneath Zoe.
The room's door slid open with a hiss. Loud shouts filled the room as soldiers entered my quarters, weapons drawn.
Rapid clacking, the sound of someone running in heels, came from outside my room. Dr. Hill rushed inside.
"Hold your fire!" she shouted.
I looked at Dr. Hill, then the soldiers who were now lining up around my small room, the barrels of their blasters all pointed at me.
"Uh, Dr. Hill?" I asked.
"We detected a security breach," she said. "A network attack centered on your room." She motioned for the soldiers to lower their weapons as she stepped forward to me. Her eyes went past me to the broken monitor lying on the ground. "What happened here?"
The image of Cody thrashing about as his body rippled with electrical arcs flashed through my mind. It was my own memory, not Zoe's.
Dustin!
"I'm not sure," I said, trying to buy myself time to think.
Okay, I got it. The Mekanics are the enemy. But can we trust whoever is listening right now? Preston somehow knows you're a higher Chimeric. Even with all the precautions Dr. Hill took.
Zoe moved to my side, nudging me gently with her head. Fine.
"Well, what do you remember?" Dr. Hill prompted.
"The…the computer started talking to me."
"What was the voice like?"
"No, I mean, there were words on the screen with my name."
"What were the exact words?"
I paused. I didn't have to tell them everything. "Hi Dustin. Would you like to end this war?"
"Then what?"
I shook my head. "Zoe attacked the screen. She thought it was a trap of some kind."
"A trap?" Dr. Hill glanced at the soldiers in the room. "I asked you to stop by to see me." She beckoned me. "Back to my office. Now." She turned to one of the soldiers. "Run a security sweep. Take his computer and see if you can find anything."
The soldier saluted. "Yes, ma'am."
Dr. Hill stepped to the door. "Hunter?" She glanced at Zoe. "Zoe?"
I scrambled to my feet. I started to talk, but Dr. Hill raised a finger to silence me. "In my office."
We continued in silence until the three of us arrived in Dr. Hill's office. She sat down at her desk, while I sat opposite her. Zoe sat at my feet.
Dr. Hill held up her finger again while she reached into her pocket and pulled out the small oval device that blocked the ever-present surveillance.
"Okay," she said after tapping the device several times. "We can talk now. What happened?"
"Zoe thinks it's the Mekanics," I said.
Dr. Hill looked down at Zoe, then back at me. Her lips pressed together tightly. "I see. Did it say anything else?"
I hesitated. "No."
Dr. Hill strummed her fingers on her desk, crossing and uncrossing her legs.
She can tell you're lying.
Even without her glasses? I thought you could mask my biorhythms.
I can't mask your voice, fidgeting, and obviously bad poker face.
"Well, it said one more thing," I said. "'Do you trust me?' That's when Zoe attacked the monitor."
"Trust?" Dr. Hill asked.
I sat up straighter. "Can I ask something?" I pressed on, not waiting for her to give me permission. "Where's Cody? What's happening to him?"
"He's recovering with Dr. Preston."
"Recovering? How? He wasn't injured,
was he?"
"Not physically. But he's likely undergoing reprogramming. Behavioral modification. Dr. Preston is in charge of Cody. He doesn't fill me in on all the details."
"Do you trust Dr. Preston?"
Dr. Hill frowned. "He has his methods. I have mine. We disagree at times, but we share a common goal. Winning the War."
Do you want to end the War? The messenger's words echoed in my memory.
Ending a war isn't the same as winning it.
Thanks, Plato.
"Is this about our earlier talk?" Dr. Hill asked. "You have a choice, Hunter. Listen, if Dr. Preston has his way, he'll run the cloning program however he wants. If we go my route, I can make guarantees. That certain boundaries won't be crossed, for example." Dr. Hill rubbed the bridge of her nose. "There's more to this than what you see on the surface."
Sounds like a power struggle. Politics. You know which route I would choose.
Yeah, yeah.
"What about the potential traitors within headquarters? Or here at the Academy?" I asked. "After Staccato's betrayal, you told me you couldn't trust anyone else."
"Which is even more reason why you should listen to me! Who do you want to be in charge? My way is more humane." Dr. Hill leaned forward. "It can even be pleasurable."
Dr. Hill opened her mouth slightly. The tip of her pink tongue peeked out and swept across her full, red lips.
She's right, you know.
I didn't reply to either as I leaned away. Dr. Hill moved even closer, her entire upper body entirely over the desk, stalking me.
She continued. "It's perfectly natural. You. One of the girls. Just one to start. Don't lie to me or yourself. It's exactly what you want."
I turned my head to the side. "Not like this," I whispered.
Dr. Hill retreated, got up and circled around to stand behind me. She placed her hands on either shoulder. "I understand. Relationships are messy, aren't they? We can make it simpler, then. Your choice. We can surgically extract the meiotic tissue from your gonads—"
"What?" I yelped. I shifted in shock, but Dr. Hill pressed down hard on my shoulders, keeping me in place.
Zoe opened her mouth wide, then closed them sharply with a click of her teeth.
Hey!
Zoe looked up at me innocently. It was a yawn.
Dr. Hill slid her hands down the front of my chest. "But I think we would both prefer a more natural approach. A renewable approach." Her hands massaged my chest briefly, then slid further down. She pressed hard into my stomach as if she was giving me a checkup. My stomach muscles stiffened in response. Something else started to stiffen.
Dr. Hill whispered into my ear, her breath hot and heavy. "A hands-on approach." Her hands crept lower and lower, her fingers finding the contour of my groin and sliding further down.
Zoe was standing up on all fours, eagerly watching. I wonder what techniques she has? You seem to favor a very basic five-finger stroke—
There was no escape. I couldn't bring myself to move. My own body was betraying me.
So I melded.
Dr. Hill cried out. Papers went flying as I arranged my giant golden body on top of her desk. Something hard was pressing into my belly. Her computer. I shifted and swiveled to face her. She had fallen backwards in an awkward pose. I caught a flash of silky purple between her legs as she smoothed her skirt down. I closed my eyes briefly.
Dustin. I'm speechless.
I don't think you understand the meaning of speechless.
When I opened my eyes again, Dr. Hill was standing face to face with me, her arms crossed. She shook her head. "Really, Hunter? Get off my desk."
I unmelded and slipped off her desk. I looked down to check. Nothing was stiff anymore.
Dr. Hill bent over to pick up the fallen papers, while I shuffled my feet awkwardly in the corner of the room.
"Hunter, what is it? God knows you've wasted enough of your precious fluids down the shower drain. Why not donate some for the War effort?"
I would have been embarrassed in another situation, but the whole business was too unsettling. I turned to face her. Dr. Hill had cleaned up her desk and was back sitting behind it.
"What happened to Staccato?" I asked, meeting Dr. Hill's eyes. She didn't flinch.
"That's classified, but I can tell you that was all Preston. This is me."
We stared at each other for another ten seconds.
"What if they turn out like Cody? Is he the best you have? Because there's no way in hell I help you make more of him."
"I'll be honest. We don't have an optimal programming protocol yet. That's why we need you. We need more subjects. More trials. This is an experimental project." Dr. Hill's voice softened. "And for the record, no, Cody's not the best we have."
I waited, but Dr. Hill didn't say anything else.
There are more? Who else? Can you tell?
No. I couldn't even be sure that Cody was different.
"I need time to think about it," I said.
"Fine. But don't take too long. Time isn't on our side." Dr. Hill pursed her lips. "I shouldn't tell you this, but we all have to be on our toes. Even more now, with your hacking incident."
"Oh?"
"Cody…Cody's gone."
I stared in shock. "Like dead?"
"No!" Dr. Hill shook her head violently. "That would make things simpler. He disappeared a day ago. Escaped. Kidnapped. We don't know."
I couldn't believe it. It seemed like the Mekanics, the Second Strain, whatever we were fighting—they had our number. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Like Drake had said…
"We're losing badly, aren't we?" I asked.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Dr. Hill said. "One more squad of overpowered kids isn't going to make a difference in the War. We need something more. A seed for the future. A change of direction. Think about that."
I left Dr. Hill with her sobering thought. Zoe didn't say anything on the way back to my room. When I arrived, it was crawling with a bunch of nerdy-looking snoops. I left and headed to the mess hall instead.
Just a short while ago, Zoe had been excited at uncovering a link between the Second Strain and the Mekanics. But now, pursuing that link seemed distant, maybe even impossible, and new issues had taken a front-row seat. Everyone was distracted, with too many holes to plug and not enough hands. Like Dr. Hill had said. The air was heavy with desperation.
I admit I've been distracted, Dustin. But we can't give up. We have to keep trying.
Damn it. This isn't what I had in mind when I signed up. That I would be joining the losing side.
CHAPTER 8
At the mess hall, I wasn't hungry, but I grabbed an apple for myself and a cup of milk for Zoe. I needed something to take my mind off the talk with Dr. Hill. We settled down on the far end of the mess hall, away from the entrance where it was mostly empty. The lone soldier there left when he spotted me. Geez.
Was I being overly sensitive about this? Maybe the others were right. This was a chance to sow my wild oats—wasn't that every young guy's dream? And it might help us win the War.
If it took a thousand tortured Cody's to win the War, wasn't it worth it? For humanity's sake?
Zoe had sensed my mood and kept quiet. I reached over to scratch the heavy folds of her neck.
What do you think, Zoe? Seriously.
Zoe lapped up the last of her milk before replying.
I believe one of you humans said it best: war is hell. But…
But?
You had an interesting point. For humanity's sake. If you sacrifice your humanity, are you really saving it?
I couldn't help myself. I chuckled. That was my cat, pervert and philosopher.
Aw, that's sweet of you.
I sighed. I knew so little about the War. The recent Mekanic incursions. What were they looking for? And Cody missing? What was that about? When would the Second Strain strike next?
The military didn't know much, either, and what little they kn
ew, they were keeping to themselves.
Dustin…I saw something just now. Staccato's file.
What do you mean?
After you unmelded, while Hill was cleaning up her desk. Staccato's file was open on her computer screen. Look.
Zoe sent the image she had nabbed. I scanned the words. It was only one screen worth of information, but what I could make out was terrifying.
Preston had been experimenting on Staccato and his Avatar. At some point, Staccato had suffered a mental breakdown and his Avatar had died. That much I had already guessed, but the details of some of the notes were beyond horrifying. They had taken him apart and put him back together, literally.
Vivisection. I had seen that word before, in school. Zoe…
A living dissection. Zoe's disgust flowed through our bond. For him and his Avatar.
I forced myself to read further. There was something about failed attempts to bond him to a new Avatar after his first died. As one of the best Beastmasters, they had tried to bond him with another Chimeric, and when that didn't work, they had tried to bond him with some kind of modified Chimeric. The page of notes cut off at that point.
I put my arm around Zoe, pulling her closer in a tight hug. I wouldn't let anyone touch Zoe, not if this is what they had in mind. And Dr. Hill had known all of this!
Damn, how the hell had Staccato survived so long afterwards? How had he not turned on us sooner?
And that video with Cody earlier. Shit! Dr. Preston hadn't changed his methods. They hadn't learned anything from their so-called biggest failures.
I almost didn't blame Cody for who he was. Almost. He was still the biggest douche I had ever met.
There's more. In the upper corner, Dustin.
There was a brief note. Last sighted. I checked the date. One day ago.
"Fuck, he's alive," I whispered. Cody's disappearance. It had to be related. Or was it all too convenient?
Zoe, what if it's a trick? From the Mekanic that contacted us?
That's what I thought at first, too. We should be skeptical, but…
Deep down, like Zoe, I suspected that the file was true. Just like the video from earlier.
"Dustin. Am I interrupting?" I whipped my head around. It was Mia. She gave me a shy smile.