Wild-born

by Adrian Howell

Standing under the steaming hot shower, I looked at the P-47 tattoo on my arm and shuddered as I realized again how dangerous my situation really was at the research facility. Dr. Denman was right: Alia and I really were just lab animals here, and Dr. Kellogg couldn’t protect us.

  Chapter 16: Last-Minute Surprises

  That night, Derrick, taking the form of a talking crescent moon in a purple sky, haughtily demanded more precise information about the location of the remote guns mounted around the central elevator doors on Level 10. Shaken by Dr. Kellogg’s visit, however, I didn’t dare pass his question on to Mr. Koontz the following evening. I instead whispered a fairytale to Alia, deliberately keeping my voice just barely loud enough to be caught on the microphone.

  I hoped that my silence would tell the Guardians that I was no longer able to provide information, and that they’d have to go with what they already had, which was, after all, quite a lot by now. However, the very next day, I learned something that would test my resolve for caution.

  It was mid-June, and Alia’s day for her regular physical examination. Alia no longer needed me to hold the stethoscope to her chest or even draw her blood. She was quite used to the routine pokes and prods by now, and the doctors were hardly strangers to her anymore. Besides, my skill with a needle, though much improved over the months, was still inferior to an experienced doctor. I didn’t always get Alia’s vein on the first try, or even the second, so Alia understandably preferred the hand of a professional.

  I sat outside the examining room with Dr. Kellogg, who was chatting with one of the military guards. Even though I was no longer planning to contact Derrick, out of sheer habit I was listening in on their conversation while pretending to read a book. This was something that I had lots of practice at these last few weeks, though it produced very little useful information.

  That day, however, I struck pure gold.

  “So, Commander Wilkins is finally retiring,” said Dr. Kellogg, sighing. “Are you going to be at the party?”

  “Actually, I’m on duty then,” replied the guard. “It’s too bad really. I liked the commander a lot. Have you met his replacement?”

  If I were a dog, my ears would have perked up. When was this party? It would be the perfect opportunity for an attack on the facility!

  “I haven’t seen Commander Cross yet,” answered Dr. Kellogg. “I heard he was inspecting the upper floors since last month.”

  “Oh, he was down in Level 10 just yesterday,” said the guard. “He came in with Commander Wilkins and greeted Dr. Otis and a few others. You must have just missed him.”

  “He came down unannounced?” Dr. Kellogg asked in disbelief.

  “Apparently the new commander likes surprises. How about you, Doctor? Are you going to be at Commander Wilkins’s send off?”

  “I’ll try, but just in case I can’t make Wednesday evening, I’ll stop by his office sometime this weekend.”

  Thank you, Dr. Kellogg! Today was Thursday, so there was no mistaking it. I would have to get this to Ralph before next Wednesday, and the earlier the better, just in case the Guardians decided to attack sooner.

  But how could I contact them? I’d risk using Alia if I had to, but was there any other way? In the evening, I took Alia to see Mr. Koontz in the lounge. Alia hadn’t sent him any messages the night before, so no doubt he would have assumed something was wrong. It was a long shot, but I thought perhaps Mr. Koontz might find a way for us to talk privately.

  “Hey there, Adrian, Alia. How are you two?” Mr. Koontz greeted us without standing, and we sat at his table.

  “As good as things could be,” I answered dully, “under the circumstances.”

  We talked for several minutes, but nothing was coming of it. I felt that perhaps there was no way to get my message to him safely.

  “What’s getting you down, Adrian?” asked Mr. Koontz, peering into my face.

  “Oh, everything,” I said heavily. “There’s just so little to do here. And I’ve never gone so long without the sun. It’s been four months now. I’m starting to feel like a vampire.”

  Mr. Koontz laughed. “Well, perhaps we’ll have that early birthday party after all. It’ll cheer you up. You’re young enough to have two birthdays a year and get away with it!”

  I decided to throw caution to the winds. “I overheard Dr. Kellogg talking about a party next Wednesday night. Something about the commander retiring…”

  “Oh yes?” said Mr. Koontz, raising his eyebrows. “Well, I guess there’d be some kind of ceremony and party. I remember when Wilkins was put in charge nine years ago. He was promoted from the ranks here, so I knew him. I haven’t heard anything about his replacement, though.”

  I hadn’t heard much either. All I knew was that the new commander liked surprises. I smirked. Well, at least somebody was going to be amused.

  Two nights later, I found myself standing on a house-size cheese cake facing an enormous floating eyeball with batwings growing out of either side. The black leathery wings beat furiously around my head, and I knew instantly that I was dreaming. Derrick liked to assume a stranger guise with every dream.

  “You have done well, Adrian,” said the eye. “Ralph is very pleased, and Cindy thanks you too, though I once heard her say that she’ll teach you to behave if it’s the last thing she does. You are not to risk sending any more dreams to us. Barring any last-minute developments, our attack will take place at 7pm this coming Wednesday. This should allow us to take Mr. Koontz while Nightmare is still awake.”

  The floating eyeball blinked once and continued, “Cindy demands that you stay in your room until you are rescued. Ralph says so too, and advises you to stay out of our way. That is all.”

  I woke. The cake had disappeared, but the party was just beginning. I still had five days to go, and over those days I did my very best to stay focused on the tasks I was set to do. If there was going to be fighting, I wanted to be ready for it. I even put a slight mark on one of the heavy steel targets in Lab-C.

  Tuesday was a day off for us. Alia’s testing schedule would restart from Wednesday, though with any luck, it would be her last day in the lab. I spent the morning playing with Alia in our room, but my mind was all over the place. Suddenly, with our escape only a day and a half away, I couldn’t focus on anything.

  I had read many books at Cindy’s place and many more at the research facility. Far more words total than I would have had I remained in school. Some of those books were war stories about soldiers who spent sleepless nights waiting for combat. The stories described the waiting for a battle as being just as stressful, if not worse, than the actual fighting, but I didn’t believe a word of it until now. Waiting was really bad.

  Despite all the information we had sent to the Guardians, there were still many things left to chance. For one, I hadn’t been able to find out who, exactly, could deactivate the auto-destruct system, though I assumed that the military commander and Dr. Otis would definitely be on the list. Ralph’s Guardians were mostly destroyers, and Ralph was the only controller among them. If the auto-destruct got set during the attack, unless Ralph could capture the commander or Dr. Otis alive, there would be little chance of shutting it off. Derrick had once told me that as long as everything else went smoothly, fifteen minutes should be enough time for them to get in and rescue us, but I couldn’t be sure if he really meant that or if he was just trying to keep me calm. After all, fifteen minutes seemed like an awfully short time to get clear of a nuclear blast.

  This was going to be Mr. Koontz’s ticket to freedom too, and I didn’t want to let him down. We also wanted to take Janice, but, according to Dr. Otis, she was “uncooperative” and so she was kept under tighter security. If the auto-destruct didn’t get set or could be deactivated, the Guardians would try to rescue her as well, but Derrick made no promises.

  As for Alia and me, well, I should have been comforted by the fact that we were the main objective of the Guardians’ break-in plan, but I was anxious as to how the military gua
rds would react when the attack began. Would they go and defend the elevator, or would they try to take us hostage? Or perhaps they were under orders to shoot us before we got the chance to escape. I might be able to deflect an arrow, but not a bullet, and I already knew what it felt like to be shot. It was not an experience I wanted to repeat.

  When I couldn’t bear the tension any longer, I stood up and requested the door opened. Central Control made no objection, but asked me where I wanted to go. I told them that I wanted to take a walk and stretch my legs, which was true. Alia wanted to tag along, but I told her to stay in the room.

  I half-walked, half-jogged down the spotlessly white corridors of Level 10, not really looking where I was going, taking random turns and doubling back at dead ends. It didn’t matter to me where I went as long as I kept moving. The purposeful stride helped soothe my aching nerves.

  As I briskly turned yet another corner, I suddenly felt my body being pushed against the wall by a sturdy hand.

  “Feeling cooped up?” Dr. Denman asked sardonically.

  “I was fine until you showed your ugly face!” I spat back. The confrontation felt good after so much waiting, and I was possessed with a sudden desire to blast him hard. It was a desire I kept in check only with great difficulty.

  “I know what you were telling P-46 in bed all this time,” Dr. Denman hissed at me.

  “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves!”

  “Liar!” He pushed me down onto the floor, pinning me with one hand as he shouted, “I checked the video log! This all started after you said, and I quote, ‘I can’t hear her.’ Who couldn’t you hear, Psionic?!”

  “Get off me!”

  “Control, lock band 47!”

  I felt the metal rods extend from inside my control bands. As they pressed against my wrists, I was instantly plunged into the familiar numb dizziness that came with being drained. I still couldn’t separate my power from my body. If anything, I had even less balance than before, or perhaps it had simply been a long time since I was last drained. As I sat slumped down on the floor, I was dimly aware of the guards and doctors rushing up to me.

  There was some heated discussion, and then Dr. Denman said, “The new commander can deal with him after the ceremony. Put him in confinement until then. I will speak to Dr. Otis.”

  The guards picked me up and carried me for a while. I was too weak to see where they were taking me, but soon I heard the soft hissing of a door opening, and the soldiers pulled me through an airlock and put me down on the floor. My control rods retracted, and I carefully stood up and looked around. I was alone in a small, vault-like cell, much like the one I had been tortured in after being shot by the Wolves, though the walls here were smooth white concrete. There was a thin mat on the floor, a tiny toilet bowl in one corner, and nothing else.

  What would happen now? Would they torture me? Would they threaten Alia? Unlike the Wolves, the people here knew she could speak telepathically. If they wanted information from her, they would get it. And what would happen then? There was no way to warn Ralph that the military knew an attack was coming. The Guardians would be walking into a trap! I pounded my fists against the concrete wall. We had been so close! Now, it was only a matter of time before they…

  I felt the control rods extend again. Leaning weakly against a wall for support, I looked toward the door, but it didn’t open. I felt a touch of horror, believing that the doctors were planning to keep me drained constantly from now on just like Nightmare, but a moment later the metal rods retracted back into my control bands. I barely had time to wonder what that was about before the door slid open.

  Dr. Kellogg was standing in the airlock holding a lunch tray of fried chicken and steamed vegetables.

  “Sorry about that,” Dr. Kellogg said with a wink. “I was having a brief argument with Central Control over security protocols, but it turns out that I am still the master of my own safety.”

  I stared at him, not knowing what to say.

  “And I’m very sorry about this too, Adrian,” Dr. Kellogg continued unhappily as he stepped into my cell and looked around once. “Dr. Denman has a tendency to get carried away sometimes. Still, I’m also a bit curious as to what you meant by ‘I can’t hear her.’ Dr. Denman seems to think that you are receiving psionic messages and having Alia send them back. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, really, but perhaps you could explain?”

  “Dr. Kellogg, I don’t even remember saying those words!” I said frantically. I did remember, actually, since those first dreams were very mysterious and I had felt frustrated being unable to hear Cindy. But there was nothing I could make up on the spot to explain what I had said, so I pretended to have forgotten.

  Dr. Kellogg gave me a sympathetic grin and said, “Well, I suppose we can’t expect you to remember every conversation you have with Alia.”

  “She talks a lot more than you’d think,” I said, trying to smile as innocently as possible.

  “I understand,” said Dr. Kellogg. “However, Dr. Denman feels this is suspicious enough to keep you here and, in this matter, I have no real authority to overrule him. Dr. Otis will need to be present at your questioning, but he is currently at a higher level attending a rather long and important meeting. You see, the military commander of this facility is changing today. The new commander, Commander Cross, will begin his duties as of tomorrow, and he also wishes to be present at your questioning.”

  “Dr. Denman is making a mistake! Please, Dr. Kellogg,” I begged desperately. “Please don’t let him hurt Alia. She probably doesn’t remember that conversation either!”

  “Whoa there, Adrian!” said Dr. Kellogg, holding his hands up. “Just calm down. No one is going to question Alia until you have been questioned. Nor, do I think, considering your near-spotless record at this facility, are you in any danger of being disbelieved. My presence is required at your questioning as well, and I promise to put in a good word for you. When this is all over, we’ll both have a good laugh at Dr. Denman.”

  Dr. Kellogg laid the lunch tray on the floor next to my mat. “I’ll be back at dinnertime with some blankets. I’ll also see if we can’t get Central Control to let you talk to Alia through the intercom. I don’t know if her telepathy will reach you here, but you can at least tell her goodnight.”

  With that, Dr. Kellogg requested the door opened and left.

  I could barely eat anything. Total disaster had been averted, but for how long? Commander Cross and Dr. Otis would question me tomorrow, probably before Commander Wilkins’s retirement party. Would I really be able to prevent them from questioning Alia?

  There was no clock here so it was impossible to keep track of the time. For all I knew, time had stopped completely. I sat down on the mat with my arms folded around my knees, rocking myself back and forth like Alia had done back in Cindy’s house. I thought about my promise to protect her. Despite what Dr. Kellogg had said, I couldn’t put it past Dr. Denman to have Alia locked up too. Even tortured. Everything was starting to come apart, and our one chance at escape now hung by a hair.

  “Hey, Adrian.”

  I looked up and saw that Dr. Kellogg had entered the room, carrying my dinner tray in his right hand and a bundle of blankets under his left arm. I wasn’t hungry at all, and was surprised that dinnertime had already come. Dr. Kellogg placed everything on the floor and then sat down on the mat next to me.

  “Good news and bad news,” he said.

  “Bad news first, please,” I said.

  “Okay. The bad news is that I couldn’t convince Central Control to allow you to talk with Alia. Have you received any telepathy from her?”

  “No,” I replied honestly. If it was at all possible, I was certain she would have called to me, but I hadn’t heard a peep from her in hours. I hadn’t realized how much I had gotten used to hearing Alia’s voice in my head until now.

  “You are still on Level 10, but this room is considerably better shielded,” explained Dr. Kellogg. Then he grinned, saying, “Now for
the good news. Dr. Otis and Commander Cross have decided to question you first thing tomorrow morning, at 9am.”

  My heart sank. That was the good news?!

  Dr. Kellogg continued, “Also, I’ve delayed Alia’s testing schedule so that she won’t have to go to Lab-A alone tomorrow. Once you are cleared of all charges, you will be able to escort her in person, as you always do.”

  “Thank you,” I said faintly. “That is good news.”

  “You’re a good big brother, Adrian.”

  I remembered how Mark had once called me Alia’s “big brother” too, but that was the day we were caught. I frowned at the floor and shook my head.

  “You really are,” said Dr. Kellogg. “You brought Alia out of her shell. She would never have survived down here without you.”

  “She wouldn’t even be down here if it weren’t for me,” I said wretchedly. If I had been a good brother, I might have never even met Alia. I would have jumped out the window with Cat.

  “In all honesty,” Dr. Kellogg said slowly, “I think neither of you should be down here. This research center wasn’t designed with people like you in mind. Psionics, yes, but not children. You really don’t belong here.”

  I remained silent. Dr. Kellogg removed his wristwatch, which was a cheap digital with a black rubber watchband.

  “Take this,” he said, handing me the watch. “Nothing messes with your mind worse than not knowing the hour.”

  Having experienced berserking and peacemaking firsthand, I didn’t entirely agree with Dr. Kellogg’s opinion about not knowing the time, but I was grateful nevertheless. I looked at his watch, handling it carefully as not to touch the few metal parts on it, and thanked him.

  “I’ll be wanting that back,” said Dr. Kellogg.

  “Doctor?” I said, placing the watch next to my mat. “Why are you doing this for me?”

  “I just thought you could use a friend right about now,” he replied gently.

  I slowly shook my head. “You just said I don’t belong here, Doctor, but you’re the one who doesn’t belong.”