by Marina Epley
“I do realize that while assisting in this project your health is at considerable risk,” he says. “And I’m extremely grateful for your contribution to science. While I won’t force you to continue being subjects, I…”
“The hell you won’t,” I interject. “What do you think you’re doing right now?”
Holtzmann ignores my comment. He continues, “You must come to realize that the lives of thousands of individuals carry more value than the lives of two.”
I can’t believe my ears. Is he suggesting that our lives mean so little to him?
“Go to hell, Holtzmann,” I say. “You’ll have to find another Alpha subject. I agree to continue with your experiment, but you’ll have to replace Kitty.”
“She’s irreplaceable,” Holtzmann answers. “There’s no time to find perfectly matching Alpha and Beta replacements for this project.”
“Well, that’s just too bad,” I say. “But it isn’t my problem.”
Holtzmann attempts to argue further, but I quickly cut him off, “We agreed to stop everything on my say so. This is it, Holtzmann. We’re out.”
I exit the room, leaving the distressed professor behind.
I wonder whether I’m being too selfish in refusing to continue with Holtzmann’s experiment. He’s right in saying that the lives of thousands depend on the assassination of Guardian. But how can I care about the future of the human race, when Kitty’s life is being put directly in harm’s way? Nobody else loves or needs her as much as I do. Holtzmann simply can’t understand. Kitty is only an experimental subject and scientific curiosity for him.
I enter another examination room, approaching the gurney where Kitty lies. She’s not awake yet. I stand nearby, leaning against a wall, and watch her sleep. Wearing a patient’s gown makes her appear even more ill.
A few minutes later Kitty opens her eyes, and smiles broadly upon seeing me. I smile back. She sits up on the gurney, yawning.
“I feel fine, don’t worry,” she utters. “I’m sorry to have scared you.”
“That’s all right,” I say, giving her a careful hug. She seems very fragile.
“Rex, I know what you’re thinking,” Kitty suddenly says in a firm voice. She pushes me away, frowning angrily. “No!” she exclaims. “We can’t give up now! Not when we’re so close to the completion of this project!”
Darn, I think. She seems to be able to literally read my thoughts, although I always believed that to be impossible. Or perhaps she just knows me so well that she can easily guess what I’m thinking.
“We can’t continue the project,” I answer. “It’s becoming too dangerous for you.”
“Please! I’m sure Holtzmann told you that I’m perfectly fine!” Kitty groans. “So why do you continue insisting that I can’t hack it? Why can’t you just believe in me, Rex? You realize that it’s up to us to kill Guardian. It’s our destiny!”
“I don’t believe in destiny!” I say, becoming irritated.
“Well, I do!” Kitty argues, raising her voice. “And I want to achieve something really great in my life!”
“Poisoning yourself and needlessly risking your life isn’t so great!” I answer.
“Stop it! I can’t listen to any more of this! Why do you always have to try and control me?”
“How do you say I control you when you always wind up doing whatever you please anyway?”
“I said stop!” she yells.
The next moment a large window breaks behind our backs. We both flinch from the sound of crashing glass, turning to examine the damage we’ve caused.
“Oops,” Kitty says quietly, chuckling. “Was that you or me?”
“I’m not sure,” I answer. “Probably both of us.”
Kitty giggles, wrapping her arms around my neck.
“You see how strong we are together, darling?” she murmurs. “We’ve already achieved so much! We’ve almost learned how to harness the telekinesis. We just need to work on it a little more.” She pauses, smiling sweetly. “Please, believe in us,” she pleads. “I know we can kill Guardian together. We have to get revenge for everything he’s done.”
I become vaguely aware she’s trying to manipulate me.
“Kitty…,” I begin, but she quickly interrupts.
“Think about what Guardian’s soldiers did to Chelsey,” she whispers. “Remember Vogel and Dave. Don’t forget about all those people Guardian has ordered killed. And how many more people will he murder in the future, should we give up right now? What will happen to the world, if we allow it?”
I don’t answer. Kitty looks deeply into my eyes, her expression sad yet hopeful.
“Please,” she begs. “You know we can do it. We’re strong enough together. And my health isn’t in danger. You’re the one who’s really sick.”
I know this is going to be a mistake. I realize I’m going to regret my decision later. But what other choice do we truly have besides continuing the project? Guardian’s army will soon destroy the entire city, should we quit now. There are only a couple of weeks left before his army attacks. And I suddenly remember Guardian’s ominous promise to kill everybody I love or care about.
I guess, there’s no going back for us now. We have to continue.
“All right,” I concede. “Perhaps I’m overreacting.”
Kitty lets out a happy shriek, kissing me. She obviously doesn’t share any of my concerns.
***
Kitty and I spend the next several days in the hospital. Morning injections then follow up testing. They take blood samples, measure our body temperature and make us go through a multitude of head scans. Holtzmann carefully monitors the results. We soon begin feeling like guinea pigs serving scientific research.
Our health progressively worsens. We both now have to deal with painful sores in our mouths, frequent nose bleeding, coughing, dizziness and occasional blackouts. It’s exhausting. The mild cold I was trying to ignore transforms into a full blown flu. I suffer from a running nose, watering eyes and a constant fever. Kitty continues to lose more weight, becoming all skin and bones. I’m also getting noticeably thinner. Holtzmann orders additional meals for us, although the nausea makes eating really hard. We have to constantly swallow vitamins along with other pills, in attempt to support our weakening bodies. Medics also administer daily IV injections of glucose. Dark purple bruises soon cover our arms, and our veins begin to disappear. They now sometimes have to insert the needles into our hands.
After completing all the injections and tests, Kitty and I practice telekinesis. We are now able to move chairs and close doors, using only our minds. We sometimes compete whose chair can move quicker. Holtzmann scolds us for doing so. He insists that we shouldn’t compete with one another, but work together as a team. But we don’t really worry too much about his objections. I believe we’re entitled to have a little fun in our lives, considering everything else we have to suffer through.
In the evenings, we go for a short stroll around the hospital. We read books or just lie in bed, often not saying a word for hours. And I think that perhaps Kitty and I have never been so close before. It’s a miserable, yet somehow pleasurable time. We no longer have any real arguments or disagreements. We entertain ourselves by guessing each other’s thoughts. And despite my poor health, I somehow begin feeling almost happy. Because why should I care about being sick, when I can spend each waking minute with Kitty? As long as she’s safe and nearby, I don’t care much about anything else.
One day Chase drops in for a visit. He informs us that Elimination is planning to attack Guardian’s troops before they can strike the city.
“We’ve located a few other squads of resistant soldiers, currently fighting Guardian’s troops in different parts of the country,” he says. “They’re willing to join us in future battles.”
“Why is it taking Guardian so long to prepare for this attack?” I ask. “Why doesn’t he just go ahead and destroy the city before we can complete the project?”
“He simply
can’t,” Chase answers. “His army is in much worse condition than we had previously thought.”
He explains that according to Victor’s agents, Guardian currently has about four or five thousand recruits. His army lacks discipline and fighting skills. Many soldiers are ready to desert, no longer willing to risk their lives.
“I doubt they’ll be too eager to fight,” Chase concludes.
I ask him how he likes his new role as the leader of Elimination.
“Well, I guess I’m doing all right,” Chase sighs. “But I really hate being commander. I now have to think and worry about too many things at once. Being a regular officer suited me much better.”
“Well, maybe you should take a day off,” I advise.
“And who exactly would replace me during that glorious day?” he asks. “And what would I do with a day off anyway?”
“You could visit your family,” I suggest, causing Chase to frown. After a long pause, I carefully ask, “Is your family all right?”
“They’re fine,” he answers flatly. “They’re actually living here in the city.”
“And you never visit them?”
“Why would I? I told you once before they don’t really care about me. I’m not being paid and can’t help them. So I don’t think they would be overly excited upon seeing me.”
“What about your brothers and sisters?”
Chase shrugs.
“You should go see them before we attack the Death Camp,” I conclude.
Kitty and I receive a few more visitors. One day Marcus arrives to check on us. We discuss the project and preparations for the coming mission. Kitty keeps quiet during our conversation, intently watching Marcus. Then she suddenly covers her face and runs out of the room, sobbing. I realize that the officer must remind her of Dave.
After a few quiet moments Marcus says, “I still can’t understand why I allowed him to do that. Why couldn’t I have covered that darn grenade myself?”
He has an absent expression, as if thinking out loud. I remain silent.
“I promised our mother to take care of Dave,” Marcus adds. “She’d asked me to look after my brother right before she died.”
“I’m very sorry,” I say.
“Others say that I should be proud of the fact that my brother died a hero.” Marcus sighs. “But is there really any difference in how he died? How can his death make me proud? He was the only relative I had left.”
I don’t answer. We spend a couple of minutes in silence before returning to our discussion concerning the coming attack on the Death Camp.
Rebecca and Marian stop by for a short visit. My sister ignores me, heading straight for Kitty. She’s been cold and indifferent toward me since the night we went for our walk. She behaves as if nothing has changed, but I don’t worry over that stuff anymore.
Rebecca and I speak for a few minutes. She informs me how the northeastern refugee center is almost ready to receive new homeless.
“Marian and I will become volunteers again,” she says happily.
One late afternoon, Jessie pops in for a visit. Kitty becomes overly excited upon seeing her. We update Jessie about our progress in telekinesis and even manage to move a chair several inches to demonstrate our newly developed skills. Regardless of our best efforts, Jessie remains unimpressed.
“Are you really sure you will be able to take down Guardian with that?” she asks, grinning.
“Well, we don’t have much choice, now do we?” I answer.
“I’ll be part of your support group, by the way,” she adds.
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day,” I say.
“Perhaps I won’t be able to gun down Guardian,” Jessie continues. “But I’ll do my best to help somehow.”
I don’t doubt a bit that Jessie will be very helpful during our mission. I tell her as much.
“We’ll see,” Jessie mutters, turning away. She must be still disappointed by her inability to personally shoot down Guardian. We share a few minutes of silence before she leaves.
The days pass quickly, and I secretly wish for time to slow down a little. I want to enjoy this temporary reprieve as long as we can. Because a part of me realizes that this may very well be only an ominous silence right before a thunderstorm. Once again, I feel a strong premonition that something horrible will soon take place.
Unfortunately, the premonition proves correct.
An enemy aircraft strikes the hospital during the tenth night of our stay. We don’t get a chance to carry out the mission or complete Holtzmann’s project. All our plans and hopes are put to an early end.
Chapter 27
I have a strange dream the night of the airstrike. I’m inside an old apartment, one we used to live in many years ago. My mother is sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. She’s holding a little redheaded girl on her lap, brushing her long curly hair. I watch them for a few moments before Emily feels my presence and turns to face me.
“You can’t have her,” my mother says. “She’s mine.”
My sister outstretches her tiny arms toward me.
“Take me away!” she cries.
Her voice sounds desperate and while I feel sympathy for the child, I don’t do anything to help her. Because anytime I try to take her from Emily, she overpowers me and then something really nasty occurs. So I just continue standing there motionless, watching them, and then leave the room.
I next find myself trapped in a dark corridor. I guess this must be an Elimination prison. Still I’m not too worried about being here, because I somehow understand that everything is just a dream.
Somebody touches my arm. I turn to see Lena and Chelsey holding hands and smiling at me. I realize they’re both dead, although nothing indicates it in their appearance.
“Won’t you join us?” Lena asks. “We’re waiting for you.”
“I need to stay with Kitty,” I answer. “I can’t leave her alone.”
“She may join us soon too,” Chelsey offers.
Lena takes my hand, pulling me deeper into the darkness. She has a very strong grip for such a small girl. I somehow realize that there won’t be any returning, should I follow her.
I open my eyes and find myself half-sitting in a chair inside a hospital room. It’s dark and quiet here. An opened book lies across my lap, one I recently borrowed from Jessie.
Kitty sits up in bed.
“Gosh,” she groans. “That was a really weird dream. Did you accidentally doze off?”
“I guess so,” I say. “Sorry about that. Go back to sleep.”
“Wait a minute,” Kitty mutters, frowning. “What’s that noise?”
“What noise?”
Kitty doesn’t answer, just continues listening intently. Her expression becomes worried and her eyes widen in fear. A moment later I too hear the familiar roaring of aircraft engines.
“Could that just be an Elimination aircraft?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully, getting to my feet.
I approach the window to take a look outside. I can’t see anything. The street is empty and dark. The noise becomes louder. Kitty jumps off the bed and hurriedly pulls on her Elimination uniform and boots. I’m still standing by the window. I can’t decide what we should do. Should we remain inside the building or get outside?
A missile hits the hospital and the floor begins trembling under our feet. Kitty lets out a short startled scream. I realize what must be happening. Guardian’s telepaths must have learned that Kitty and I are inside this building. He’s sent his soldiers to take us out.
I grab Kitty’s arm, pulling her out into the corridor. It’s filled with panicked patients and doctors. People run blindly, attempting to get out of the building. We join the mass exodus, jogging along the corridor. We soon have to slow to a fast walk, and then stop along a wall. Weakened from the injections, we’re completely out of breath. My head spins, and I can’t understand what we need to do or where we should go. I get the eerie sensation
that I’m still stuck in a bad dream and can’t wake up.
I hear another explosion and the ceiling starts crumbling. Kitty grips my arm, pulling me forward. We walk slowly, heading toward a staircase. People run past, sobbing and screaming. Somebody falls. The lights flicker on and off several times, then the corridor becomes pitch dark.
We make it into the hall area and locate the exit doors. Outside, I see a large aircraft hovering above the hospital. It fires more missiles causing the remnants of the building to collapse. The surrounding space fills with clouds of dust and multiple explosions. People stagger along the street, crying and calling for help. I hear a burst of automatic rifle fire, and watch as several patients fall to the ground, blood staining their hospital gowns. I’m in a state of shock and can’t fully comprehend the situation yet. What’s happening? Where’s the gunfire coming from?
I notice a smaller aircraft with an open hatch on the opposite side of the street. Soldiers in camo move toward the crowd, raising their rifles and firing into the people. I understand they’re here to kill Kitty and I. We’re the primary targets, although they haven’t spotted us yet. So they kill the other patients, hoping that we’re mixed in with the crowd.
Kitty and I drop to our hands and knees, crawling back toward debris left from the destroyed hospital. The assassins continue gunning patients down. I hear the anguished pleading of those still alive.
Elimination troops arrive, and we find ourselves stuck in the middle of a violent shootout. Elimination trucks approach the aircraft. Several officers in black now exchange fire with the soldiers in camo. I attempt to project my thoughts toward our aggressors, but they’re too resistant. My hypnosis doesn’t affect them at all. Perhaps these breakers are on the same drug as Kitty and I.
I recall Guardian stopping bullets merely by the power of his mind. Damn it, I think, why can’t we do that? What’s the use of telekinesis if we can’t protect ourselves when we need to? Why is it taking us so long to develop our skill?
A soldier in camo approaches, bringing up his rifle. I tackle Kitty to the ground. Several bullets thud into debris close by, then blood suddenly sprays from the soldier’s head as he falls. A stray bullet must’ve hit him. I crawl toward the body and pick up his rifle. Taking cover behind debris, I fire into the direction of our attackers. I can’t see whether I hit anyone or not. My vision is blurry and I still can’t think clearly. Worse yet, I quickly run out of ammo.