I let myself sink down until I heard the second splash that was Theo. Finally I opened my eyes, and saw him swimming towards me. He grabbed my arm and guided me down.
We swam, and I was breathing without struggling against the ocean water. He tugged my arm, and I swam with him. My vision was heightened, but I couldn’t understand what was before me. Through the water, I could see a building appearing in my vision. Then I realized that we were here.
Here.
Here being a control room right in the middle of the ocean. Under the island. Theo wasn’t kidding when he said there was a control room. But controlling what?
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing but Theo urged me to swim on until we were walking on the ground. How was any of this possible? I looked behind me to see the water, stopped by an imaginary glass. The water was beating gently in waves against that imaginary glass.
“What is this?” I said quietly, wringing the water out my shirt. The room was filled with blank computer screens. I was instantly transformed back in time. My father’s lab looked just like this.
“This is the control room. This is pretty much Gabe’s baby. Everything is waterproof in case something goes wrong and the water was to pile into this area. Look.” He said simply, as he clicked on one of the computers. And on those computers, there were images of brains, lined with dots along each brain. Now it made sense, this was how Gabe could control each person. I reached another computer that opened the image of another brain.
“Is there a computer for each person?” I gasped.
“No. There would be a lot more computers.” He said simply. “There is a computer for each region of the world. This computer holds all memories of the controlled humans, and goes right into Gabe’s head. He sees everything. He knows absolutely everything. He knows every flaw you have, every memory you have. Gabe could destroy you by just knowing enough about you. Gabe is the real dangerous one, Lena. Dr. Ravana is the mastermind behind the plan, but Gabe executed every plan. Look at him now, he is the ruler of the robots, not Dr. Ravana.”
I was at a loss for words, but Theo continued. “Gabe had the computers set up to keep control. The weird thing is that Dr. Ravana knows he will die soon, he keeps repeating this to Gabe. Dr. Ravana is the one who told Gabe to just transfer all the technology and control to himself.”
“So, Gabe is the main enemy now.” Theo just nodded at my words. “Why is no one guarding this place?” I looked around the dark room.
“No one knows it is here but Gabe and Dr. Ravana.” He shrugged.
“Then how do you know?” I said quickly and a little frightened.
“I overheard them talking about the transfer many weeks ago. I was under their control, but I could still hear. Gabe had me follow him down here last week. I wasn’t allowed to enter in the room. I was just made to keep guard in the water that no one followed him down here. He made a mistake thinking he would never lose control of me. He made a mistake, thinking that he could control so many people.” He shrugged.
“Still. Why wouldn’t he have someone guarding this place?” I asked.
“Beats me.” He didn’t elaborate further, and I let it go.
“How do you have control, by the way?” I asked, distracted.
“I have no idea. One minute, I was under Gabe’s control. The next minute, I remembered everything.”
“This could mean others are out of his grasp too, doesn’t it?”
“I wish I knew.” He sighed.
“I guess there are many flaws in the cure. Aren’t there?” I asked Theo. He was deep in thought.
“It’s a flawed idea, because too many people have will. Free will.” He answered back and I stared at him. “Too many people don’t want to lose their control. Too many people are sick of being treated as nothing. Too many people are fighting back. They are going to lose everything, mark my words.” His voice was severe, but he was right. Humanity would win over evil, every time.
“So why did you bring me here?” I asked.
“We have lives to save. And you’re the antidote. You know that, don’t you?” I froze at his words.
“Do you really believe that?” I asked simply. “If I were the antidote, then the world would have been saved a long time ago. But as you see, we are worse off than where we started.”
“Yes, we are worse off. We are at rock bottom, and the only way from rock bottom is up.” I smiled at his words.
“But back to you being the antidote, I know it. So do you, so does Dr. Ravana and Gabe. That’s why they want to capture your mind so badly. You’d screw up their whole world domination thing. Don’t you think?” he laughed and I felt a giggle bubbling up but I didn’t let it spill over. This wasn’t the time or place for laughs.
“Now what?” I asked seriously.
“We infiltrate the system. We transfer all the information to you.” I was wide eyed at the thought, but he just looked at me with a serious look on his face.
That’s when I was laughing. “And what the hell would I do with this stuff? I don’t even know what I’m looking at right now. I am not a super genius like Gabe. I don’t know what to do if it were transferred to me.”
“You would know exactly what to do.” I shook my head in disbelief. “When it transfers to you, everything goes to you. All the knowledge. All of it.” he said like it was the most simple thing in the world.
“How the hell would we do that?” I asked.
“Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? I have no idea.” I rolled my eyes.
“Then how do you know it would all transfer to me? The knowledge and all?” I asked sarcastically.
“I just know.” He said simply, and he turned his back on me. I threw my hands up in confusion. This was going to be a long night.
***
After what felt like an hour of arguing and investigating, we felt hopeless. My clothes were finally drying, and I felt relief at that.
Out of nowhere, the lights died. Theo and I were in pitch black. I could see with my intensified eyesight normally, but I couldn’t see a thing in here.
“Theo?” I said nervously, while searching with my hands in the dark.
“Over here.” He shouted. And to my relief, he turned on a flashlight, revealing his face. I didn’t know where he found the flashlight, but I was grateful. “Here.” He said as he tossed the other flashlight to me.
We went back to our search. It felt like it was never ending. Nothing was jumping out at me. Nothing seemed significant to me, but it might have been the fact that I knew nothing of technology or science.
That was when the screen began speaking to us out of nowhere. We jumped at the sound simultaneously. We caught each other’s eyes in fear. We had been busy searching on each computer for the “brain,” as Theo called it.
“Theo. Lena.” It spoke again, and we both jolted from our trances as every computer lit up once more.
“Should I answer?” I whispered to Theo, but he was busy staring at the computer screen in front of him as if he were being hypnotized.
“Hello?” I snapped in front of Theo’s face, but he stayed frozen. That was when I felt panic running through my body. Chills ran over my skin and I felt like I wasn’t alone. I felt like someone was behind me, watching my every move. I flashed the light behind me and to my relief, there was no one.
“Lena.” The computer spoke again to me. I flashed the light back to the screen, illuminating it.
“Hello.” I said quietly, brushing past Theo, who was as still a statue. “What do you want?” I felt like an idiot. Here I was, savior of the world or so they say, talking to a computer.
Silence followed. My mouth was dry and I felt like the air in the room was getting warmer. “Hello?” I said one more time. That was when the lights went blank. All of the computers shut down at once, accompanied by the sound of a zap.
I gasped and then I was running through the aisles, checking each computer. Every screen was blank and I felt like I could cry. Would Theo wak
e up? Or would I be alone in this once more?
That was when the alarm sounded. “Intruder alert. Intruder.” It blasted.
“No.” I screamed. I started slamming my hands on the keyboard in front of me, willing it to turn back on. “Come on. Come back on now.” I shouted over the blare of the alarm.
And then by some magic, one did. In the corner of the room. I went dashing over to the computer light. “Theo.” I shouted to see if he would follow. He was still unmoving. It was comical, and yet freaky. I turned away from him because I couldn’t stand to see him that way. I stuffed the flashlight in my back pocket.
The light intensified as I placed my hands on the keyboard of the computer. Then a new light appeared. It was green, and it seemed to scan my entire body with its beam. As soon as the beam was gone, I found out that I was frozen, just as Theo was.
This was a feeling I was so accustomed to now. Dr. Ravana, Gabe, Aiden, had all trapped me within my own body countless times. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t move. I didn’t feel panic. I waited for the feeling to subside. I didn’t even worry that someone would come to get me in my petrified state. That was what they had done to me. Fear had strengthened me. My enemies had toughened me.
A second passed before I could feel myself blinking once more. As soon as I had the power to move, the computer dinged. Dinner’s ready? I backed away from the computer as it spoke once more. “Welcome Lena.” It said loudly. “We have been waiting for you.”
We? I felt myself backing up before I could stop myself. That was when I felt something hit my back. I lunged forward, ready to fight whomever it was, but then he spoke. “Lena?” Theo asked curiously.
“Oh, Theo. Thank god. Are you okay? I thought I lost you there.” He was looking at me thoughtfully when the alarm sounded again. I hadn’t noticed that it had even stopped.
I saw just in time that the computer in the corner was shutting down now. “Why did it scan me? And why did it say they were waiting for me if it was just going to shut down again?” I asked peculiarly. Theo looked at me as if he were confused.
That was when red lights started flickering and a second alarm started blaring in the distance. “We? Let’s not wait to find out who we is. Let’s get the hell out of here.” Theo shouted, grabbing my hand, but I stopped him.
“But we didn’t accomplish anything. We are still four steps behind.”
“We have to go.” He screamed over the roar of the alarm.
I looked back at the computers. He was right. They were all shut down. The answers would remain within them. Failure should just come in a form that looked exactly like me.
He tugged my hands once more, and then we were running. I saw the wall ahead of me and I could see the water within in. It was amazing to see the technology used by Gabe to keep the ocean separate from the room with computers. His talents were used for evil though, so it was hardly worth admiring.
When we hit the water, it was freezing, I felt my throat constrict from the chill. I began to swim but before I could take my first stroke, I was grabbed around the ankle. There was a tug on my leg, but then there was a jerk. A sharp, harsh pull that didn’t come from Theo. Panicking, I turned and punched whatever was behind me. Theo was there in an instant, taking the gun from his waistband and shooting whatever or whomever it was that I couldn’t see. I paddled back to the room, and fell against the floor.
Theo landed beside me, gasping for air. “Stairs. Go up the stairs.” He shouted to me.
I stumbled forward, my clothes clinging to my body again. I looked frantically for the stairs. Where were the stairs even at? Theo shoved me towards the backside of the room, and what appeared to be a dark room, held stairs.
“Where the hell does this lead?” I screamed as I climbed the steps.
“No idea.” Theo shouted to me. That was when we both were found motionless at the sound we heard. Screeching was coming from the bottom of the stairs. We looked at each other, wide eyed.
“Theo, what do we do?” I whispered quickly, and he kept his wide-eyed gaze, ignoring my words.
He looked so frightened. One of us had to take charge, and it looked like it had to be me. “We’re strong. We can do this. Don’t be afraid.” He swallowed deeply, and I urged him by pulling his hand the way he pulled me on just moments before. The screeching didn’t stop. We ran full speed up the stairs, into the darkness. The staircase felt never ending. When we finally reached the door at the top, I almost sighed with relief. I jerked the knob. Locked. It was locked. I pulled, and thrashed about frantically. This was our only way out. Below was something unknown. Something dark and terrifying.
The screeching was closer than ever now, and I turned to face it. Theo jerked away from the sound, accidentally knocking his head into the wall. I grabbed his hand and jerked him up off the ground, rubbing his cheek to comfort him.
“Are you with me?” I asked. He nodded and I sighed. “We got this. Face this with me.” I said. “Together?” he didn’t have time to nod, the screeching was right in our faces now.
Chapter Fifteen: There’s Nowhere to Run
Jared
By some grace of God, I was hanging on still. Aiden’s foot was pressed into my knuckles, my bloody knuckles that had just beaten his face in, but I didn’t let go. He was shouting obscenities to me, but I couldn’t hear them any longer. The pain seemed to drown out everything but my thoughts. I was deep in thought of a plan to escape. I had a will to live. I had to save Lena from whatever Theo was doing to her.
As he shouted, blood rolled down his face and splashed onto mine. I was a bloody mess already, but I didn’t want to add his tainted blood on me either.
He lifted his foot of mine, and that precious second of relief was perfect, but then he slammed his foot right back down on my knuckles. I groaned out. I longed for a time when I wouldn’t know this pain anymore. By the end of this night would I even be able to feel pain, or would I be immune to it all?
“Jared.” Aiden said through clenched teeth. “Either I am going to kill you, or someone else will. No one wants you alive. You do realize that, don’t you?” I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to. It was a fact that everyone wanted me dead, but the truth was that I wanted everyone dead in return.
It would be so simple to forget the world but there was too much to do. It didn’t need saving. It needed retribution. I would be that vengeance. I would be the one to serve justice. I was the only one left who could.
I was trying as hard as I could to keep myself up. I felt weak and empty inside. I didn’t know where Lena could be. Did Gabe or Holland finally catch up to her? Gabe. Of course. Gabe had given me so many gadgets to use before I left to find Lena. I could use one. Right now.
“I’m doing you a favor.” Aiden screamed at the top of his lungs. “I’m showing mercy. Everyone else has worse plans than I do for you. I would give you a quick death, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he asked.
I didn’t answer. I kept my head down so he couldn’t see my expression. He couldn’t see an idea growing in my head. I didn’t meet his eyes, a sign of defeat to him, but I was ready.
I watched the waves below me. I could not fall to the death trap below. The waves slammed against the building. If I were to fall right now, the waves would slam me against the building. I wouldn’t be able to swim against the current.
“Answer me.” he demanded. “Say something.” He pressed his foot deeper on my wounded hand, I felt the bite of pain but I didn’t look up still.
“Look, I can do this the easy way, and let you fall to your death. Or I can pull you up, fight you like a man, and then throw you over the edge. You decide.”
That was when I finally looked up. I had one chance to do this right. My good hand was on the trigger. “I think I’d like to fight you like a man.” I took Gabe’s extender out. The gadget was used to extend and reach things in high places. It looked exactly like a tiny pencil when held in my hand, but when I pushed it open, it became a long pole. It nailed Aiden right
in the face, causing him to stumble back, holding his nose in shock. His foot released my hand, and I hoisted myself up with the little strength I had.
Aiden was on me in an instant. I was still close to the edge, so I jumped over to the side. “You can’t use your little toys forever. What will you do when they run out?” Aiden cried while holding his nose.
“I don’t need those toys to kick your ass.” I said though I felt weaker than I ever had. The beatings, the holding on to the edge were catching up to me.
His hand was heading right for my face, but I gripped his hand with all my might, forcing him away. I took my foot and pushed against his gut, until he fell to the ground. I was on him immediately. For the second time tonight, I punched with everything I had, all the hate I carried inside me, I unleashed it on his face. Blood spluttered from his nose, his mouth, even his ears. Then I stopped.
That was when I heard it. Sirens.
“What is that?” I shouted to Aiden. He didn’t move an inch. It was as if he couldn’t hear the blares.
“Alarm.” He whispered finally.
“No shit, alarm. Why the hell are they going off?” I shouted.
He shifted his head slightly, and whispered, “Infiltrated.” And then he was out. Let’s hope he would stay out this time.
I got off him quickly, what the hell was happening? I went to stand on the edge to overlook the building. Inside, red lights were flickering on and off.
Where was Lena? Was this her doing? Theo?
I looked back to Aiden. He wasn’t there. Damn it. I turned my back for a second. Rule number one, never let your guard down. Ever. And I had done it twice in the same night. Why was I so stupid?
I looked to my right. He was slumped over, but he had my extender in his hand. “You choose the hard way. Here it is.” Before I could speak, or even think, he pressed the go button.
I felt the hit before I could comprehend it. Then I was flying through the air. Off the building. I could swim, but the waves pounded below me. It would swallow me up, until there was nothing left of me.
Antidote Trilogy: The Complete Box Set Page 40