by Marita Smith
“This has to be the lab,” Kate said, confirming Catherine’s suspicion. “They’d need serious power for running machines and God knows what else.” The cursor drifted over to the wings. “Based on the ventilation and heating, this is probably accommodation and living space. A place this size needs staff.”
“And somewhere for research subjects,” Catherine added. Innocent kids. Catherine rubbed her eyes. If all went to plan, she’d be in the MRI compound within the hour. She didn’t know what would await her there, and if she dwelled on the uncertainty too long, it turned into a chokehold, strangling her.
Ma tutted under her breath as she carried an enormous pot of tea into the room. Catherine nodded at the shuffling, hunched figure and counted under her breath. One, two, three.
“Too many screens, you kids. It is not good for the eyes, or the head.” Ma shook hers as she poured small, steaming cups before leaning forward with the copper pot. Catherine reached out to support her hands and Ma smiled up at her as together they guided the pot to the table. It settled with a pleasant ting of metal, like a genie’s lamp. What would she wish for? That none of this had ever happened? Catherine stared at the screen, unseeing. The tea suffused into a jasmine cloud. No. If she can help these kids, then it’s all worth it. Even if the worst happens. Catherine sipped her tea and swallowed. The chokehold disappeared.
Kate waited until Ma shuffled out the door, looking thoughtful. “Our primary objective is to retrieve Eli and his animal guide. We don’t hang around. In and out.”
“So simple,” said Catherine. Kate stuck up her middle finger without turning away from the screen.
“That’s for the sarcasm.”
Eli faltered in the doorway, but his babysitter dug in between his shoulder blades and propelled him inside. The whole space was different – the chairs and IV drips gone, replaced with a bank of computers and a pair of treadmills. A girl sat on the edge of one, chugging water. Patches of sweat stained her shirt, like she’d been running hard.
A growl sounded from the back of the room. All sinew, the leopard stalked around the machine and dropped at the girl’s feet. She stroked its neck, her eyes never leaving Eli’s.
He couldn’t read her expression. No-one guarded her. Lab coats milled around the computers, talking amongst themselves. Is she free to come and go? Is she working with them willingly? Eli didn’t understand. He barely had time to gawk at the girl before he was pushed into the familiar office. Fang. Eli pressed his nose to the glass as the door shut behind him. He wondered if the girl heard the thrum of the cat’s thoughts, if she was ever swept up in the clamour of voices …
“One of our most promising subjects.”
Eli turned at Fang’s voice. “Is she …” Eli began. Fang had just said subjects. Was he a subject too?
“Like you?” Fang raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”
A voice cut through his thoughts, small but firm. Run. Flee the chip.
Eli raised his head, scanning for the source of the intrusion. Not Una. He couldn’t feel the familiar darting presence of a bird nearby. A bug climbed the other side of the glass window. Eli pressed a finger to the glass and watched its twitching antennae, wondering how it had gotten into the facility. A bee.
The chip is pain.
He closed his eyes, straining to latch on to the voice. It evaded him, floating outside his reach.
Fang opened the door and waved for him to follow. “Come.”
The girl on the treadmill rose, shook her hair over her shoulders and scrunched it into a ponytail. Eli drew in a breath at the sight of the metal box at the base of her skull. It blipped with a faint red light.
Flee the chip. The warning echoed in his mind and sweat beaded on Eli’s forehead. Was this the chip? Where did the voice come from? Eli swiped his sleeve across his temples.
At the sound of footsteps, he looked up. A knot of official-looking people moved down from the upper level. Fang headed toward them and Eli took the chance. It might be the only one he’d get.
“Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”
The girl glanced to the side and nodded faintly. “The treatments, then this.” She ran a hand across her neck, her voice firm even in the whisper.
“The others?” There had been so many of them.
Sara shook her head. “Only two of us.” She flicked a finger back toward Fang’s office, and Eli noticed the other rooms, no – cells – like his. A boy sat on the bed, observing them.
“Jacob,” Sara whispered. The boy raised a hand and Eli nodded, a shallow tip of his head.
“Directors. Meet Sara and Eli.” Eli straightened and let his gaze fall to the floor. Fang had returned with two men and a woman who smelled of mothballs. Another woman stood to one side, silvery-haired but straight-backed.
“Sara, if you please.”
Sara stepped back, the leopard moving with her, tail aloft and swaying from side to side like a hypnotist’s watch. Fang strode past the treadmills to a long bench covered in electronic equipment – squat boxes among sleek screens, humming in a cacophony. Lights flickered on and off along the bench in a menacing, disorienting dance. Whatever they were supposed to do, Eli knew it wasn’t good.
Something whirred beneath his feet and his first thought was earthquake. Stupid. He took a hasty step backward as an inlaid panel slid open, revealing a recess in the floor. None of the adults moved; their expressions remained unchanged, as if they’d been expecting the floor to disappear.
Metallic arms grated as they rose from the recess, lengthening to form a long passageway. It was like a tunnel, except there was something strange about the metal rods. Eli peered at the nearest ones and stumbled in shock, his ankle giving way beneath him. Some were tipped with sharp points, others had indented edges like some sort of saw. They jerked to a stop, hovering above the ground. A sawblade kept spinning, catching the harsh fluorescent light. Eli cursed under his breath as he nursed his leg.
It looked like a torture device.
Sara bounced from foot to foot, stretching her neck in front of the labyrinth. The leopard stayed still, a statue by her side. Fang tapped the monitor and lights flashed along the sides of the recess, illuminating it completely. Then arms buzzed to life like an orchestra of chainsaws. Not a torture device, but a strange, deadly obstacle course.
The directors murmured amongst themselves, their eyes wide. Eli had seen that expression before, when the cockerels slashed and tore at each other in the pits at home, men grasping bills in one hand and egging on their chosen bird with the other, faces filled with the sickening expectation of blood. It only heightened his uneasiness – he didn’t know if he could bear to be a spectator here, too. But where else could he go? The lab coats had retreated to the doorway and stood in ranks facing the whirring labyrinth in the centre of the room.
Only Sara seemed unfazed. How could she be so calm? Eli didn’t know if he could stare down his own fear like that. He was fast, but he didn’t possess the grace this thing required. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on the gauntlet, trying to ignore the writhing mass of deadly edges. The more he stared, the more it seemed to slow down, until he could hear the whoosh whoosh of the blades and see the individual teeth of the saw.
He blinked and everything rushed back to full speed.
There was no way Sara could make it through unharmed. There would be blood, and the directors would be satisfied. This wasn’t a fair fight. Maybe it isn’t supposed to be. Eli paled. Is this what they want? To kill Sara in front of me, set an example?
“When you’re ready.” Fang flicked a glance in the direction of the silver-haired woman. Eli felt a surge of anger; he clenched his fists to stop himself charging toward her. So the silver lady was important. Maybe even in charge, running the cockfighting ring.
Eli returned his gaze to Sara, wishing his attention would see her through safely. Sara took a deep breath a
nd stepped forward, centimetres away from the first mechanical arm.
Click click click.
She jumped, bringing her knees high and sailing over the horizontal slashing blade before dropping into a roll under the next. The blades didn’t let up, blurring past, obeying the computer algorithm Fang had set in motion. The big cat leapt after Sara as if it had launched itself from a trampoline, then slid forward on its belly. A snarl curled from the leopard’s mouth as it cleared the next bar.
Eli let out the breath he’d been holding. The blades sliced against empty air as Sara paused in a narrow strip, evaluating the next section. A set of thick, heavy bars protruded vertically from the sides. To Eli, it seemed to move in a random pattern. One bar sliced outward, then retracted; the next moment a whole wall of metal surged through the space.
Sara ducked and weaved, whizzing around in a figure of eight. The cat at her hip never broke stride, their movements synchronised. Eli stared, afraid to miss anything. He held his breath as she flipped onto her hands as two bars shaved past her. Eli couldn’t look away as they dropped, his eyes bugging out of his head. A hunk of blonde hair fell to the ground as Sara flipped upright. Eli began shaking. So close.
Somehow, Sara emerged on the other side, panting but otherwise unharmed. Eli’s own legs tensed, the veins on his arms popped out as if he’d been in the terrible labyrinth with her.
The cat wove between Sara’s legs, teeth bared in a silent growl toward the applauding group. The silver-haired lady nodded at Fang and the metallic arms jolted to a stop. Eli watched them retract into the floor, his relief at Sara’s survival trumping his simmering anger. He flicked his gaze back to the silver lady as she spoke.
“Excellent.” The silver-haired woman moved forward, parting the directors. “I’ve seen enough. I hope you’re impressed with our progress.”
A huge man in a suit nodded. “The increased agility and stamina is impressive. I’m interested to see what the boy is capable of.”
The silver lady nodded toward Eli. “Tag him and we’ll begin his training.”
Tag him? Hands clamped down on his shoulders and a needle plunged into his arm. His ears filled with a buzzing sound and Eli floated into blackness.
20
Jailbreak
Ariana hopped from one foot to the other as Catherine patted down her jacket. Phone, check. Keys, check. Now Catherine just had to face Bohai’s motorbike again. Her bladder constricted at the thought. One, two, three.
“Come on,” Ariana pleaded. Catherine took a deep breath. Right, she could do this.
The bike seemed to have a presence all of its own, the streetlight on the corner making the edges glow. Technically, she still had her licence, though the forest trails outside Montreal were a whole different ballgame to the super highway that was Beijing. Ariana climbed aboard and pulled on the neon helmet. It transformed her – made the walker look older.
“Catherine, come on. It’s now or never.”
Lights flashed as Catherine turned the key, and she narrowed her eyes against the garish blue backlight. She pulled the dark beanie tighter around her ears and studied the gauges. Ariana wrapped her arms around Catherine’s waist.
“Hold tight.” Catherine revved the engine. The back wheel spun out as they edged off the pavement.
Inside Ma’s tiny apartment, Kate turned back to the screen, watching the blue blip of Catherine’s phone GPS tracking system as the bike disappeared down the alleyway.
“Let’s hope this works,” she muttered.
Eli woke on his cot in the blinding white cell with a searing headache. Panicked, he reached for the back of his head. His fingers grazed the small metal box and a shiver ran down his spine. No. Eli gripped it firmly and tried to rip it off. His head exploded with pain, spasms ricocheting off his skull. Okay, dumb idea. Slowing his breathing, he concentrated on calming his mind as his father had taught him on the hunt.
A faint buzzing echoed from the ceiling. A bee landed on his shoulder and wiggled its abdomen. Eli stared at it.
Catherine crouched outside the west wing, Ariana by her side. Lights flooded the corridor even though it was well past midnight. Didn’t this place ever shut down? Catherine frowned, heart still thudding from the bike. She’d probably shaved three years off her life expectancy in only twenty minutes. She focused on the window. No movement, so no more reason to wait. Gritting her teeth, she punched through the glass, thick leather gloves protecting her arm.
“I’ve always wanted to do that,” she whispered to Ariana as she knocked the jagged edges out with her elbow. The fear made her voice sound slightly hysterical, and Ariana gave her a concerned look. Right, concentrate.
“Kate?” Catherine cocked her head, listening, but no wailing siren greeted her.
“You call that an alarm system? Please.” Kate’s voice was loud through the earbud. “You’re good to go.”
Catherine squeezed through the opening and secured the bud in her ear.
“Go straight ahead. There’s activity in the next wing, but you should be able to slip into the lab area,” Kate relayed.
Catherine wondered if she’d done this before. She shrugged the thought away as she jogged down the length of the hallway, hating how exposed they were. If someone opened a door, they’d be impossible to miss. It would only take one nosy scientist … Her heart pounded in her chest as she yanked off her gloves and stashed them in her jacket pocket. Voices rose behind the door when they reached the end of the wing. Catherine pressed herself up against one side; Ariana did the same on the other. They hunkered below the level of the glass. Catherine glanced at her hands and was surprised to find they were shaking.
“He’s awake. Fang says to bring him out immediately.”
“Can’t it wait until morning?”
“You know what she’s like. She says now, she means now.”
Catherine peered through the glass at the top of the door. Two men in lab coats disappeared into the other wing, doors swinging closed behind them. Catherine clenched her fingers into fists.
“Let’s go. Nice and quiet, okay?”
A blossoming sphere of blue light filled the corridor. Ariana rose from the floor surrounded by dazzling blue energy. Catherine stared, awestruck, as a silvery dragon emerged to orbit the body encased by light. She reached out toward Ariana but couldn’t penetrate the sphere. It crackled against her fingertips solid as a wall.
“Holy hell,” Catherine exhaled as Ariana burst forward, taking the door with her. Hinges ripped from the frame and the glass spider-webbed into millions of cracks. Catherine hit the wall, hard, sliding down in a crumpled heap. She jerked an arm upward to protect her head from the shattering glass. As she shook her shoulders to dislodge the sharp fragments, more pops sounded. Along the next wing, windows blew out in a glittering, deadly rain.
“Ariana?” Rising to her feet, Catherine willed her legs into a shaky jog. The dragon rose up, blue light expanding in volume as a whine split the air. Shit, that can’t be good. The sound echoed in her ears, had her mind screaming to duck for cover. As she dived for the floor, glass digging into her forearms, the surge of energy rushed over her. The two scientists weren’t so lucky. Catherine heard a pair of sickening thumps and the sound of twisting metal as the blue wave faded. When she raised her head, she saw a boy clutching his neck and scuttling away from their limp bodies, leaving a bloody smear in his wake. The crushed glass covering the floor could have been snow.
Catherine grimaced as she yanked a dagger of glass from her right arm, feeling light-headed. Ariana’s orb began dissipating as Catherine scrambled toward the boy, pressing her injured arm to her side. The dragon swirled above the walker, racing into Ariana’s forehead. The force of it drew Ariana to her knees; she was breathing hard. Catherine blinked. Just like that, Ariana was back. Blue light ebbed from her skin, like a child’s night light. The whole episode had tak
en less than thirty seconds.
“Eli.” Catherine reached out for the boy, trying not to look at the battered forms with their contorted limbs lying by his side. She swallowed and tasted iron.
Eli nodded, blank eyes staring past her. Catherine looked around, taking in the carnage. Ariana had ripped a hunk of the ceiling away and one wall was open to the air, wires sparking in loose arcs. Jesus. Catherine yanked Ariana up by her armpits, adrenaline coursing through her system; she ignored the gashes in her arms, though she knew they were deep. Catherine pushed Ariana toward the open air.
“Time to go.”
Eli put a hand on Catherine’s arm. “Wait, I have to find Una, my osprey.” His voice was thick and sluggish.
Catherine wondered if he’d been drugged – his eyes still had that vacant glaze. Nodding, she wrenched her gaze from the easy escape. “We’d better be quick.” She wasn’t about to rip the boy away from his partner animal. She knew what Eva and Jericho meant to Fletcher and Ariana. They were a part of each other.
Eli picked his way over the bodies as he ran back down the damaged corridor. Catherine followed through the huge door into an enormous laboratory, Ariana at her elbow. Thuds sounded at a row of windows to their left.
Eli ran toward the sound. “Sara?”
Eli rammed into the door with his shoulder, red light skimming his arm. The door burst open with a crunching sound and a girl stepped out.
Catherine’s knees buckled when the big cat wove through the girl’s legs. Holy shit.
“Una. Do you know where she is?” Eli said to the girl, his voice urgent. Sara, her name is Sara.
Sara lifted her gaze to the glass mezzanine of the upper level.
Eli raced to the stairs calling over his shoulder, “Get the other animals out of here. I’ll be right back.”
Sara jogged over to a bank of computers and yanked a plug from its socket. A monitor on wheels went blank and Sara heaved it toward Catherine, cord trailing.