by Natalie Grey
It was common knowledge that if any two scientists contradicted one another, both of them got killed, and everyone else got punished as well. It had been a good guess that the scientists here would use the same methods, but it had been a guess, and she was grateful that it had worked.
Hsu looked over at the rows upon rows of Wechselbalg in cages. She knew she had to work fast, and unfortunately, the scientists had taken their keys with them. She searched through the desk nearby with a curse, and came up with a sewing kit. Could she pick a lock with a needle?
“I’m going to get you out of here,” she told the wolves. “Irina—if you’re here, tell them I’m going to get them out of here.”
She held up her hands in the universal gesture of surrender. “I came here from the facility in Sofia. I mean you no harm, I swear. Listen to me—when you get out, you will want to stay and kill the guards. Don’t. We were the only ones to get out of our facility, and that’s because we ran. Just run for the exits. If you see a woman named Irina, another Wechselbalg, follow her.”
One of the wolves lowered its head and growled.
Hsu didn’t understand the words behind that growl, but it was clear enough. They didn’t trust her. They wanted her dead. She took a step back, swallowing. Only now did she really understand Irina’s advice. To these Wechselbalg, Hsu was nothing more than another scientist. If she let them out, they would tear her limb from limb.
“Please trust me,” she whispered. “I was a prisoner, too. I didn’t ask to be here. I….” Her voice trailed away. She had hurt other prisoners. She had done so for years.
And she had sworn that she would atone. Now, it seemed, was the moment when she was going to pay for what she had done. She took one trembling step forward— the lights flickered, the screens on the desk went dark for a moment, and then a screech of machinery echoed around the room.
Every cage came open at once. Hsu looked around herself in confusion, still holding up the useless sewing kit. She hadn’t done anything, had she?
Then she saw the glint in every wolf’s eyes and she lost her breath in fear. Every one of them was advancing on her, lips pulled back in a snarl. The sewing kit clattered to the ground and Hsu fell to her knees, hands still up. She looked up to meet the eyes of one wolf, and summoned every drop of courage she had. “Do it,” she whispered. “I deserve it. But, please—when I’m dead, run.”
The wolf stopped, staring at her suspiciously. It was still staring at her when the screams started. There was the pop of distant gunfire and Hsu looked around in panic.
“The exit is to the right, down one level. Run!”
This time, they listened to her. They surged past her and out the door. Before they were all gone, however, one wolf pushed its snout into her face and growled, low and menacing.
Next time, its eyes said.
—
>>4, 8, 2, A, 7, G, enter. J, 7, 9, H, G, 4, enter.<< ADAM’s calm voice echoed in Jennifer’s ear as her fingers danced over the keyboard. >>Information uploading. One moment.<<
“We don’t have a moment!” Jennifer hissed back.
>>There appears to be someone else in the system.<< ADAM was quiet for a split second. >>All defensive mechanisms have been turned off from the guard captain’s offices.<<
“…What?” Stephen came to look at the computer. He gave Jennifer a confused look. “Did … you….?”
“No.” Jennifer looked at the keyboard, and then at Stephen. “Not unless that’s what ADAM had me do.”
>>One moment. Ah. It looks as if Arisha was able to gain access to that room.<<
“Clever girl,” Stephen murmured.
>>You need to get everyone out as quickly as you can. Go to Floor 2, help Stoyan, and get those people out. I’ll try to get through the rest of these systems from this server. Hopefully it has what we need. Don’t go upstairs.<<
“What is it?” Jennifer could have sworn she heard worry in ADAM’S voice. It was impossible, of course, but something about him seemed fearful.
>>The prisoners on Floor 2 are not the only prisoners here.<<
“We have to get all of them,” Jennifer protested. “Where are the others?”
>>Sixth floor. They can’t be rescued. Go.<<
“What do you mean they can’t be—”
>>There are stages to the experiment, and at the end, the Wechselbalg are controlled directly by Hugo. Those are the ones on Floor 6, and he knows the defensive systems have been shut down.<< There was definitely worry in ADAM’s voice now. >>I will try to figure out how to disrupt his signal, but don’t count on it! Get the rest and get out—Hugo’s Wechselbalg won’t be able to keep from attacking you. Leave the upload, I’ll do my best and I can’t guarantee there aren’t explosives planted at the moment.<<
Stephen and Jennifer exchanged one quick glance and took off, hurdling the prone figures outside of the server room and sprinting down the hallway to the stairs.
Protecting others would have to be the focus, at the moment.
—
Irina huddled in the corner of her cage, human arms wrapped around her bruised body. Tears leaked out of her eyes. Even transforming back into a human wasn’t enough to take the taste of blood out of her mouth, and nothing could stop her from remembering the whispers.
The memories wouldn’t leave her alone. She was still angry, still craving revenge—and if she hadn’t been able to resist the whispers before, how could she resist them now?
Around her, cages were filled with Wechselbalg in both human and wolf form, all locked in their own personal misery. There was a screech of machinery and Irina squeezed her eyes shut. They were taking someone away for an experiment and she couldn’t bear to watch.
She knew how that felt: the desperate hope that they had come for someone else, the horror when the scientist came to her cage, the stunned disbelief as she stumbled from the room.
The least she could do was give the other prisoner privacy, and not watch. But there was a rustle of activity, and no human voices ordering someone to come out of their cage.
Irina looked over her shoulder, frowning … and felt her eyes go wide. The door of her cage was standing open, and not just hers. Every lock had released. Around her, prisoners were pushing the doors open and crawling into the light.
“What if it’s a trap?” someone asked. “What if they’re just seeing if—”
Purpose and courage came back to Irina in a rush. She pushed her way out of her cage and stood.
“If it’s a trap, you know they’ll just find some excuse to punish us, anyway. And if it’s not a trap, then we have a chance to get free. I came here from the Sofia facility with one of the scientists. She may have done this.” Why Hsu would have moved so soon, Irina wasn’t sure—but she knew that this wasn’t an action Hsu would undertake lightly. “We need to get out of here. That means getting to the first floor, and out into the streets. Which way?”
They hesitated, but someone pointed, at last. “If you go right, you’ll get to the stairs. We’re on the second floor.”
“All right, then.” Irina squared her shoulders. She wished she had clothes, but she’d take being naked on the streets of Velingrad over being a prisoner here, any day. “I’ll go first. Let me go around corners, and I’ll try to give you warning so you can come back here if it’s a trap, okay?”
That seemed to calm them. The other prisoners nodded, and Irina motioned them to hide as she eased the door open and peered into the corridor. It was deserted, so she slipped out the door and along the corridor. By the time she heard the tramp of footsteps, she was too far to get back to the room. She pushed herself into a desperate sprint, trying to get to the stairs in time, and ran directly into—
“Stoyan?”
—
Hugo watched as the man went sprawling on the carpeted floor. Bruises patterned his back and he gave a low moan of protest before curling into a ball.
“Hello, Sergio.” Hugo sat back in his chair and studied the man.
There was no answer.
“Sergio, speak.”
There was a long pause, and then the man lifted his head to stare at Hugo. His black eyes were filled with despair … and hatred. “What do you want me to say?”
Hugo felt his eyes narrow. Nearly two years into the program, and this man was still dangerously close to rebellion. Where other Wechselbalg either sank into despair and died, or gave in to the training, or became slaves to the training, Sergio refused to do either.
Once the alpha of a pack Hugo had destroyed, Sergio was a man it seemed impossible to break—and Hugo could not allow that to continue.
“Tell me how your training has been going,” Hugo ordered.
“Your scientists do experiments on me.” Sergio seemed to draw courage from Hugo’s displeasure. “It is the same as always.”
Hugo forced himself to be patient. “Do the experiments work?”
Sergio shrugged.
Hugo nodded, and the administrator pressed a button on a small, handheld controller. Sergio fell to the ground, a cry bursting forth as agony coursed through his body.
“Full answers, Sergio.” Hugo watched the man coldly. “You know that I do not enjoy causing pain.”
“No,” Sergio gasped out. “That’s your second in command.”
Hugo gave a look at Gerard, who stared straight ahead. If he were being honest with himself, he often wondered if Gerard enjoyed pain a bit too much. There were stories, sometimes, of the excesses Gerard went to during interrogations.
Hugo told himself that the fear those stories inspired was useful, but they also made him wonder if he could really control the man. The moment of rebellion on the plane had added to that worry.
But Sergio was only trying to drive a wedge between Hugo and his other servants, and Hugo decided not to respond to the man’s comment at all.
“Sergio, God has made you as a gift to the world.” He stood, looking down at the man. “You were made to be a weapon—and like all weapons, you are best wielded by those God has ordained to lead.”
Sergio said nothing. He pushed himself up off the floor and sat back on his heels, glaring at Hugo with pure hatred. His breath was coming raw in his lungs, and he was clearly still in pain, but he was far from broken.
“I am a merciful leader,” Hugo told him. “I lead by God’s example. If you were my loyal servant, Sergio, I would be kind to you. I punish you only because, in your rebellion, you lead the world closer to chaos. Look around you.” He gestured widely. “War. Famine. Disease. Many call these God’s punishments on us, but it is not so. These are the horrors from which God attempts to save us. God gave us kings to rule over us, and nobles to serve kings. Those kings have fallen into weakness and cowardice, but I will not do the same. Where they abdicate responsibility, I will not. Where they accept the rule of the uneducated, I will not. Order must be restored, Sergio. It is not God’s wish for us to suffer. It is God’s wish for us to live in order and peace. You could help me do so.”
“You are insane,” Sergio whispered.
Hugo looked heavenward and prayed for patience. “I am the very opposite of insane. It is the world that is insane. Help me restore order, and you shall see the truth.”
Sergio looked at Gerard. “Is he serious with this shit?”
Gerard’s gun was in his hand a moment later, and Hugo threw an arm out to stop him.
“Gerard.”
Gerard shot him a blazing look, “If he will not submit, he is useless. He should not be allowed to speak to you that way.”
“Patience,” Hugo counseled. “Others have said worse, and they will continue to do so until we have won this battle. Such defiance is the last refuge of the rabble. Put your gun down. Sergio, you disappoint me. I would command you through love if you would let me. As it is … I will have to command you through strength.” He raised a hand to gesture to the administrator.
A switch was pressed, and Sergio gave a yell of pain. He scrabbled away from Hugo and pounded at the door, trying to escape.
“Accept my orders, Sergio, and the pain will go away.” Hugo strolled around the edge of the desk, buttoning his suit jacket. “There is no need for this humiliation.”
“There is.” Sergio struggled to get the words out. “You’re a madman. You’re not ordained by God. You will always have to resort to methods like this to force people to do your bidding.”
“Then that is what I will do,” Hugo said simply. “Willing or not, the people of earth must be brought back to God.”
“You prove nothing by this! Nothing!” Sergio curled into a ball, fists clenched. “I will not turn, I will not be your weapon. I will resist until—”
“Sir.” Gerard’s voice cut through the screams. “Someone has just turned off the defensive systems.”
Hugo’s head whipped around. “What?”
“What?” the administrator echoed. He ran to the desk and began to type desperately at the controls. “I can’t … get them back on. There’s someone in the system.”
“Who turned them off?” Hugo snapped.
“The … guard captain.” The administrator shook his head. “Sir, I don’t understand. He would never—”
A gunshot echoed through the small room and the administrator slumped to the ground, blood spreading from his body. Hugo nodded to Gerard.
“Well done. Close off this floor, and….” He considered, and a smile spread across his face. “I think the time has come for a demonstration of our weaponry. Let the Queen Bitch see what she’s up against. Release floor 6, and have them change.”
“Sir, our scientists are still in the building. If we—”
“Have you forgotten already, Gerard? They have defied me. We can get their results from the mainframe. We don’t need them anymore.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Arisha ran through the corridors, trying to follow the sounds of the chaos. Gunfire was coming from somewhere, and the yelling on her stolen radio told her that the guards still hadn’t managed to get back in through the gates.
“Stoyan?” She tapped at her earpiece, but only fuzz was coming through. “Dammit, dammit.” She reached the stairs and wavered.
Did she go downstairs, to where most of the fighting seemed to be … or up, to where Hugo likely was?
Her hand went to her side, where she’d strapped the gun she’d taken from the guard captain. Her palm was sweaty, and the gun felt too big for her hand. She’d never shot someone before. She really didn’t know how. She squared her shoulders and chose to go up.
She had to do her best. She couldn’t let excuses and fear keep her from doing what was right. She had a chance to kill Hugo, and that was a chance she had to take advantage of. Any of a number of things could keep the rest of the teams from getting to him—she couldn’t just rely on other people to make the plan a success.
The stairs ended at Floor 6, and she was just reaching for the door when she heard the growls.
Arisha stopped. Something primal in her told her to run. She remembered abruptly that wolves had claws and sharp teeth, and that they could run fast. A Wechselbalg could easily kill her before she had the chance to explain herself.
Again, she told herself not to be a coward. The Wechselbalg here needed help escaping. If there were some above her, she had to show them that she was not an enemy, and explain that allies were here to help them get out. That was the whole reason they had come. She swallowed hard and pulled the door open.
A dozen wolves swung their heads to look at her. Arisha swallowed to calm herself, and put her hands out to show that she wasn’t carrying any weapons.
“I’m here to help you,” she said clearly. “You need to come with me. We will keep you safe.”
There was a long moment of silence, long enough for her to wonder if they could understand English. One or two sat back on their haunches, heads tilted as if confused.
And then it was as if a jolt of electricity hit them all at once. Every one of them spasmed with it.
&n
bsp; “Are you alright?” Arisha asked, alarmed.
Every single one of them crouched down, staring at her.
And growled.
—
“Come on, come on, come on—move!” Irina threw her arm out, pointing down, as prisoners ran for the exits. “Stay in the stairwell until you’re cleared to go outside, the guards are all out there!” She pulled Stoyan’s jacket around herself and shivered.