by T. C. Edge
For a second, I wish I had my Hawk-vision, wish I could zoom here and there and explore the place from this lofty perch. But then I realise that I don’t need augmented eyes to appreciate this, to admire the sheer wonder of it all. I don’t need anything more than what nature intended, my natural form sufficient to gawp at the colours and lights and wondrous features.
In the end, being human is what I am. I am not defined by my ability to see far, or run fast, or turn a man to my will. Those are all unnatural embellishments that should never have been granted me.
No. I am just me, Brie Melrose, a girl of 18 who just wants to wander and explore. Who wants to see some more of the world and live in peace. Who wants to fall in love, and have a family one day, and laugh with my friends.
A simple girl, with simple desires, who has been drawn into a far-from-simple war.
10
Before the sun has fully risen, I hear the tapping of two sets of footsteps coming down the corridor. Their cadence makes it clear who they both are. The fact that they’re the only two who appear to have access to my cell is another strong indicator.
It’s Cromwell who enters first, with Burns flowing in behind. I look upon the men so differently now. Even after having spent so many hours trying to get my head around it, I find it difficult to see Burns as my ally.
But he is, and so I do look at him with a different eye. An eye of secret cooperation. An eye of conspiracy.
And as I look at him, I see him direct some stern words of warning straight into my head.
Don’t look at me like that, Brie. Look at Cromwell.
The words come from nowhere, and throw me off my stride. I immediately react with a slight jerk, before dropping my eyes to neither men, and instead choosing my lap as my current focal point.
My odd behaviour doesn’t seem to go unnoticed by the head of the Consortium.
“It looks as though this cell is taking its toll on you, Brie,” comes his voice. “Well, I wouldn’t worry so much about that. You won’t be here for too much longer.”
Yeah, I’ll be taken to the REEF…I’m well aware of that already, Cromwell.
Of course, perhaps Commander Burns wasn’t supposed to inform me of that. So, I act smart, and play dumb.
“Where are you taking me,” I ask, letting my words quiver.
I lift my eyes fearfully from my lap, peering through my lashes at him.
“You’re to be taken for reconditioning,” says Cromwell matter-of-factly. “Commander Burns has extracted what he can from you. Now, you’ll serve another purpose.”
Were I not already aware of this, I might just react as I did yesterday, with all manner of hysterics. As it is, I’ve heard this before.
However, a quick flash to Burns’ eyes allows him to once more project a few stern words into my head.
Don’t take it so lightly, Brie. Be natural, comes his voice.
With an ironically unnatural delay, I begin to offer some pleas against Cromwell’s plans for me.
“No…you can’t. Please…” I mutter.
My acting skills need further polishing, but it’s good enough. After all, this is Artemis Cromwell we’re talking about here. Hardly an expert in determining whether human emotion is real or feigned.
Then again, I’m not sure I’d ever know if he bought it or not, given how he doesn’t really react.
“You have plotted to commit treason against your rulers, and have made an attempt on my life. The punishment for that would ordinarily be torture and death, as your husband will soon discover…”
My heart skips a few beats. Terrible visions of Adryan being strung up and mutilated spread through my head.
“However,” continues Cromwell. “You have attributes that might prove useful to me. So, you will join our cause. I did say, did I not, that you might one day agree with my doctrines? Well, once my technicians at the REEF have seen to you, you’ll agree with just about anything I wish. I shall look forward to welcoming you to the team.”
A slimy smile oozes across his face, as if he wishes to make me feel particularly uncomfortable. I don’t give him the satisfaction, but merely stare at him with the same dead eyes he employs.
“You have spirit,” he says, inspecting my burning glare. “It will serve us well. Now, Commander Burns here is going to complete his work and perform one final extraction. Tomorrow, you shall be taken to the REEF. Alas, you will be one of many to join my ranks.”
His eyes wash over the city and then return to me.
“Many thousands have already begun to sign up willingly to my offer of reconditioning. You see, Brie, the people are only too happy to cast away their emotions. They consider them as a weakness, just as I do.”
I can’t help but bite. I just can’t listen to this crap.
“You think you’re so smart don’t you,” I growl. “You’ve made them like this. You’ve made them too frightened to leave their homes. Of course they’re going to sign up to have their fears suppressed! They just don’t know you’ll be wiping the rest of them clean too!”
“Oh, how wrong you are,” drips his voice. “They know just what they’re getting themselves into. These people…they long for subjugation really. They long to be led. Without me, without us, the whole of Outer Haven would have descended into chaos long ago. You people love nothing more than to destroy each other. My new world won’t be anything like that. It will be peaceful and ordered. How can you deny the attraction of such a thing?”
I can see no point in arguing with him. As Burns told me, he will never change his mind on this, he will never be swayed. His own programming and conditioning have made him steadfast in his beliefs, and no matter what I say, the man won’t turn.
And neither will I.
So instead of answering, I just stare into his translucent blue eyes for a moment with a fire in my own, before turning away and back out of the window.
Cromwell follows my gaze, and continues the conversation alone.
“You will deny it to your death, but I know you understand my reasoning, Brie. You are far too intelligent to refute the value in what I’m doing. Yes, you have strong emotions, that much is clear. But you also have a keen sense of logic too, and your rational side understands just what we’re doing here.”
My lack of response seems to be evidence that I subscribe to his directives. Oh how wrong he is.
Shaking my head, I simply whisper calmly: “No, Director Cromwell. I will never agree to what you’re doing. And shaping me to your own design won’t change that. No rational human, no real human, could ever condone this madness.”
A flicker of appreciation dances in his eyes. He, at least, seems to respect me for sticking to my beliefs.
“Well, we’ll speak again soon. And then we’ll see what tune you’re singing,” he purrs.
Swivelling on his pure white shoes, he turns once more to the door, gliding through it and leaving me in the mutinous hands of Commander Burns. For a few moments, no words are said, and Burns merely looks at the door in silence before, finally, turning to me.
“Is that really true?” I ask him quietly. “What he said about the people signing up for reconditioning?”
He looks to the window and back to me.
“Yes, it’s true.”
“And the water stores? What’s happening with that? Are the people getting emergency aid?”
There’s a frown cast across his eyes as he nods.
“Some aid is being offered,” he suggests.
“But not enough to stop the people from panicking, right? Not enough to stop them tearing each other apart? Is that his plan…to take them right to the edge, and see just where their emotions lead them? It will be anarchy out there, Commander. Is it all just to prove a point?”
“Perhaps, in part,” he admits. “The lack of clean water will lead to many signing up. Artemis’ directive states that aid will be prioritised to those who comply…”
“Comply?” cuts my voice, slicing through his like a razo
rblade. “You mean, you get help if you’re willing to become a slave?”
He nods silently.
“No wonder they’re signing up then!” I rage. “All this rubbish about wishing to lose their emotions, agreeing with his beliefs…it’s all lies. They’re just signing up to survive, and nothing more.”
“Yes. And those who don’t, or those who can’t, will fall into chaos,” whispers Burns. “However you look at it, Artemis has got the whole of Outer Haven in a corner. They’re too busy being frightened of the Fanatics, or scared they’ll die of thirst, or get sick from drinking toxic water, to expend any energy in battling back against his dogma. Truly, they have no choice.”
“But they do,” I grind. “They just need to be given one.”
“You’re right. They do…”
He steps closer to me, and from his pocket, draws out a tiny vial of clear liquid. Bending a single knee, he drops to my eye-level, and pulls away the cap. Then he reaches forward, ready to tip the contents down my throat.
“Hold on,” I say, leaning back. “What is it?”
My distrust remains intact.
An antidote, comes his voice in my head. Drink it, Brie, and your powers will return…
“An antidote,” I say, my words a little loud.
My eyes flash to the door, worried that I may have been heard. But this time, he appears to have few concerns.
“The guard on duty has no Bat powers,” he tells me. “I’ll check his mind to make sure before I leave.”
I wonder if he did the same with the guard yesterday. For a man like him, all it would take is a quick look to discover if the guard overheard anything. And, if he did, then another flash of his cool blues would serve to erase such memories.
“But…won’t they know? If my powers suddenly return…they’ll know it must have been you?”
“Let me worry about that. And your powers won’t suddenly return. The antidote will take effect over the course of the next 24 hours. Tomorrow morning, you’ll be transported to the REEF. Use the opportunity, Brie, to get away.”
I nod, and immediately he reaches out and pours the vial into my mouth. The droplets dance on my tongue, imbuing me with some new vigour, before sliding down my throat with a slight burning sensation.
And even though the effects won’t come into play for some time, I already feel stronger.
“Thank you for doing this,” I whisper, guiding my eyes back to his. “I don’t know how to repay you.”
“No need, Brie. I’m merely playing my part here. And…it’s your brother who requires your thanks.”
“Zander? Why?”
“Because, sweet girl, it was he who convinced me to help free you. He loves you dearly, that much is clear. And when you get out there, he’ll be waiting.”
A warm smile launches onto my face. Moisture begins gathering in my eyes. I look to the clear wall and out on the bright city, and feel a renewed strength within me.
I knew you wouldn’t let me down…
“And what about Adryan?” I ask, switching my eyes back.
His show some doubt. Their blue light darkens.
“I’m afraid that Mr Shaw was beyond our aid…”
Was.
My heart stops.
“You mean…”
He reads my thoughts, and shakes his head.
And my heart begins to beat again.
“No, he isn’t dead yet. But there’s nothing we can do for him now, Brie. He has been a great servant, but his role is done. I’m sorry…but you have to let him go.”
I can’t. I can’t let him go.
“Is he still here?”
I can’t shield my thoughts from him. He knows everything I’m thinking. I turn my eyes to block the connection, but he’s already seen enough.
“Don’t do anything rash,” he warns. “He isn’t here anymore.”
“Then where? Where is he?!”
He doesn’t answer. I’ve shown my hand too early, my emotions once more my weakness…
“The REEF,” I say, answering for him. “He’s been taken there already, hasn’t he…”
Now, it’s me who searches his eyes. And I don’t need my powers to see the truth. His ability to emote is sufficient for me to read him.
He knows that I know. So he nods.
“Yes. And by the time you leave this place tomorrow, his sentence might already have been carried out. Let him go, Brie. You must let him go.”
He lays an arm on my shoulder, before standing and stepping back.
“Good luck to you. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”
And with an almost natural smile, he disappears, leaving a single thought in my head.
I can’t let him go…
11
Burns doesn’t give me any more than the most basic of instructions and suggestions.
He doesn’t tell me of the exact time of my transportation to the REEF. He doesn’t tell me exactly how I’ll be transferred. He doesn’t tell me what security will be like, or anything that might help me in my escape.
All he tells me, rather cryptically, is that my brother ‘will be waiting’. I assume, from that remark, that Zander has designed some plot to help free me.
However, it’s not something I’m going to count on. Instead, I’ll utilise the many gifts that occupy my body, and will have to think up my own way out of this mess.
I have to rely on myself now, and only myself. I will not place all my faith in others, no matter who they are.
To my surprise, later that afternoon I get another visit. It’s not from Cromwell, and it’s not from Burns. Given the manner of their departures, I assume I’ve seen the last of them.
For now, at least.
Instead, it’s a medical technician of some kind who enters, accompanied by two black-clad Stalkers. The hybrid hunters enter first, standing either side of me, before a light grey-coated woman joins them.
In her hand, she holds a syringe. She might well be the same one who administered the suppressant drug the first time. I never did see their face before my eyes went blank.
With a flat expression, she comes straight towards me and, without even speaking, begins to roll up the dirty sleeve of my right arm. During my several day incarceration here, locked to this horrid metal chair, I haven’t had a chance to wash.
I can’t deny that I smell rotten, and thus her nose twitches as she goes to work.
I can’t help but ask what exactly she’s doing. I already know, but want confirmation. I’m just like that I guess.
“I’m administering a drug to make you compliant,” she drones. “Your body needs a top-up.”
A brief bout of concern hits me, one centred on whether or not Commander Burns knew this was going to take place. If he didn’t, the drug about to be sent through my vascular system might just counteract the antidote he poured down my throat.
“I don’t feel like I need a top up,” I counter. “My powers aren’t working at all.”
“Yes, well this isn’t just about your powers. This is about making sure you’re more docile for your transfer to the REEF.”
Docile? OK, now I’m getting worried.
The needle pricks my arm, and I feel the drug enter my body. The effect is quite immediate, my eyesight starting to blur and a blackness closing in from the sides.
When the woman speaks again, her voice is strange and distorted, as though she’s speaking in slow motion.
“Good,” she says. “Now just relax…you’ll be on your way before you know it…”
Through the blurring shroud before my eyes, she retracts the needle and stands. Her blurred figure starts moving to the door, followed quickly behind by the Stalkers.
“Wait…” I say, my own voice similarly odd and slow.
She doesn’t. All three of them leave, the door shuts, and then the lights go out in my head.
And a blackness swamps me.
It happens so fast that, when my eyes open again, I find that the following morning has ru
shed up upon me. Raising my eyelids, and with a new ache in my head, I see a muted sunrise creeping over the horizon, this time hidden behind a thick fog and the low bands of cloud that whip past the lofty reaches of the High Tower.
My mouth feels dry, my stomach grumbling with hunger. I’ve been given such sparse rations here that the feeling of wooziness in my brain could just as well be down to dehydration and malnutrition, as the drugs they’ve given me.
The mixture of all three, as well as a lack of proper sleep, has turned me into some sort of semi-comatose zombie, my state of health hardly in a position to fight my way free from the Stalkers who’ll no doubt see to my transition to the REEF.
I also hoped I’d have some more time to think, to mentally prepare to get myself ready for battle. I’ve been given no such benefit, my dizzy mind just waking as I hear the sound of heavy footsteps clattering down the corridor.
Turning to the door, I see it open suddenly, and several bodies pile in. My wrist and ankle restraints are quickly removed, my tired body lifted to its feet as fresh restraints are set to my wrists again, this time binding them together in front of me.
I can hardly keep up as the men rush, their bodies covered in black cloaks, their eyes keen and piercing and fingers working with the relentless efficiently that all Stalkers seem to share.
There are two of them, and two others, regular members of the City Guard if my weary eyes aren’t deceiving me. The City Guards stand to the side, armed to the teeth as they watch the Stalkers work, my body quickly aimed at the door and marched straight out into the corridor.
They move with such speed that my waking legs can’t keep up. I stumble and nearly fall, caught by the Stalkers to my side, who set about dragging me unceremoniously along towards a door ahead.
The City Guards open it, and through we go into a meeting space that looks familiar, the very room I entered into several days ago when I arrived here. The lift that transported me up here opens as we go, and we all step inside, my little, shivering, frame surrounded by four strong men.
A growl comes from behind me.
“Atrium,” rumbles the voice.