Program 13 (The Emile Reed Chronicles)

by Nicole Sobon

  “What happened?”

  “They were looking for you. They checked the Pod and the bedrooms, which is where they found me.” His voice cracked as he closed his eyes. “They dragged me out into the living room and threatened to kill me if I didn’t tell them where you were.”

  I looked at Colton, waiting for him to continue. Obviously he was still alive, but what about the men? “One of the men, who was wearing a White Coat, lunged at me with a knife in his right hand. He was going for my throat, so I reached up and grabbed the knife and plunged it as deep as I could into his chest. Then the other two came after me, so I had to pull the knife from the White Coat’s body and go after them.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. “They’re all dead.”

  Colton opened his eyes, his shaking body looking for comfort. I leaned forward and placed my hand on the side of his face, lifting his head so that his eyes met mine. “Where are they now, Colton?”

  “I got rid of the bodies. I threw them in the water surrounding the trail.”

  He pointed down the trail, the black water illuminated slightly by the moon.

  “You dumped their bodies earlier, which would be why you had no problem disposing of Todd’s corpse.”

  He nodded. “I couldn’t leave them at the house. I knew you’d come back, one way or another, and the last thing I wanted you to see was that we were being targeted.”

  “Douglas Todd was alone,” I whispered. “That means this was a separate attack. These men were sent by McVeigh.”

  “How can you be sure Todd wasn’t sent with them?”

  “He told me.”

  Colton stared at me as if I was crazy.

  “And you believed him?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but Todd is a lot like McVeigh. They both want me, well Thirteen, and they will do whatever is needed to find me.” I placed my hand on Colton’s shoulder. “He wasn’t working with McVeigh, this I can promise you. He made it clear that he was here to fetch me for himself.”

  Colton sighed before turning towards me and laughing. No matter how hard we tried to run, to fully disassociate ourselves with the outside world, there was no escaping the danger surrounding us. Part of me wanted to give up, and I was sure Colton felt the same, but I couldn’t. If either of us gave up we’d be letting them win, and I wouldn’t allow that.

  When we approached the house, the front door was still wide open. I looked around to make sure that nobody was lurking in the shadows waiting to attack. From what I could tell, we were alone. We were safe for the time being.

  “Is it bad inside?” I asked, unsure of what I’d find when I stepped through the open doorway.

  He shook his head no. “I cleaned up most of it.”

  He laughed, pulling us both inside. The living room was a bit disheveled, but it wasn't anything too extreme. The knife, still covered in blood, was sitting on the floor near the Pod.

  “It looks as though you’ve forgotten something.” I pointed at the knife. Colton’s eyes lit up in horror.

  “Oh, crap! I’ll get rid of it now.”

  “No, no.” Colton appeared puzzled, clearly wondering why I’d want him to keep the item around. “You’re going to need some sort of weapon in case they come back.”

  He nodded his head and pulled off his shirt to use as a blood rag, wiping all of the blood off the blade with ease. “Can you hand me a clean shirt?” he called out.

  “From where?” I asked. Colton hadn’t brought much of anything with him when I’d found him, especially clothes.

  “Go check the hallway closet. Hayden left us some items there before he left.”

  He looked back at me knowing the sound of his name would cause me pain. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. But there was no need for him to be sorry. None of this was his fault.

  I opened the hallway closet and found two backpacks with a note attached to them, and a stack of clean clothes for Colton sitting beside them. I grabbed the backpacks, curious as to what was inside them, along with the clothes, and returned to the living room.

  “What’s with the backpacks?” I asked, tossing them onto the couch.

  Colton reached out for the clean stack of clothes, yanking a t-shirt over his head.

  “Oh, those…” He looked up at me, and grabbed one of the bags from the couch. “Well, Hayden left these in case of an emergency, although I suppose now would be a good time to pull them out.”

  In case of an emergency? Weren’t we in a constant state of emergency? How long did Colton plan on leaving the bags in the closet?

  “Well, open them. I want to know what he left for us.”

  He pulled the note from the bag and handed it to me before unzipping the bag, glancing up as he did to see my reaction. He pulled out a cell phone, a NetBook, a digital camera, and an envelope. What were these items for?

  “The note’s for you, Emile.” Colton’s eyes were locked on mine, full of urgency.

  I slid my finger under the flap, gently breaking the seal as I went along. I pulled the note from inside the envelope and unfolded it.

  Dear Emile,

  If you’re reading this, it means that you are in danger – greater danger than you were. Attached to this note, you’ll find two backpacks full of supplies you’ll be able to use while you’re on the run. However, might I suggest that you wait to flee town until running is your only option? Do not take off unless you’re left with no other choice.

  In each bag, you should have the following:

  • Cell Phone

  • Digital Camera

  • NetBook

  • Envelope (containing a fake ID, social security card, and birth certificate)

  You’re probably wondering what purpose these items serve. The phones are so that you can keep in touch with me. I need to make sure the two of you are safe. As for the cameras, anything you sense may be abnormal – snap a photo and e-mail it to me. If you see McVeigh’s men hanging around or mysterious accidents happening around you, gather as many photos as possible.

  As for the NetBooks, I managed to hack into Vesta Corp’s system so you should have full access to their entire program. Readings, hard drive data, and bodies should be available to you whenever needed. Although, I should warn you, some of the information you’ll find is graphic and rather disturbing. Emile, your files are on there, too.

  The envelopes will contain everything you need to start a new life outside of here. I know you may feel threatened, but it’s incredibly vital that you hold off on running.

  Love,

  Hayden

  Colton placed his hand on my arm, checking to make sure that I was alright.

  “I don’t get it. Why does he want us to wait it out?” I asked, puzzled as to why he’d think running away should be our last option.

  “He’s trying to protect us, Emile, you know that. The second we step out into the city, back into society, we’re dead. They know where we are. They’ll continue tracking our every move, so why not wait it out here?”

  He had a point, no matter how much I hated to admit it.

  “But how will we know when it’s time to run?”

  “We’ll need to trust ourselves,” he replied matter-of-factly. “Now isn’t the time to run, but when it is, our survival instincts will let us know.”

  “I guess we’ll be staying here, then.” I sighed, plopping down onto the couch.

  “Emile,” Colton whispered. “Aren’t you due for the Pod now?”

  I was, but I didn’t want to leave Colton to fend for himself. “No, I’m okay for now.”

  “Stop worrying about me and worry about yourself, please.” He laughed. “You can be so hard headed sometimes, you do know this, right?”

  I could feel myself beginning to slip, the energy in my body slowly finding its way out. I knew I wouldn’t last much longer, but I needed to keep pushing. I needed to be awake in case they came back. But I couldn’t win against my body.

  I was lying on a medical table with a white
sheet draped over my naked body. McVeigh and a White Coat stood fifteen feet away looking over a table of surgery equipment. “Sir, she’s a lot younger than most of our shells. I think the procedure may be a bit risky.” The White Coat was trying to reason with McVeigh, but I knew very well that reasoning with him wasn’t possible.

  “I don’t care about her age.” He turned and glanced at me. “She’s perfect for our program. I’ve been studying her for weeks. She’s exactly what we desire in a Program.”

  McVeigh pulled on a pair of medical gloves and then lifted a scalpel off the table and made his way over to me. “Sir, this is wrong. She’s a child for crying out loud!”

  The White Coat’s concerns fell on deaf ears. I wanted to reach out and grab hold of his hands, to let him know I was thankful he’d put up a fight for me, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t move. McVeigh sighed and then proceeded to drag the scalpel from my throat down past my navel. The pain of the knife tearing open my flesh was excruciating, but no matter how hard I tried to scream the sound would get stuck in my throat, never fully completing its journey through my mouth.

  Blood began to fill the table and I could feel the life slowly draining from within me.

  “Now, what were you saying?” McVeigh looked up at the White Coat and smiled. “I believe you have a Program to complete.” He pulled off his gloves, throwing the scalpel back onto the table, not even bothering to clean it, and stormed out of the room.

  I watched as McVeigh took my life, again, a life one man tried so desperately to save. It made me think that no matter how hard I tried, I’d never be able to truly save Colton and that scared me.

  Something was pulling on my back. I opened my eyes to see what it was, shocked to find that I was inside the Pod. How did Colton manage to get me in here by himself? I looked out the Pod’s window to see his worried eyes zeroing in on me. A slight smile eased its way across his lips as he realized that I was okay.

  I tried to tell him ‘thank you’ but I couldn’t open my mouth to speak. Colton leaned forward, placing his palm on the window, and whispered, “There’s no need to thank me. Just relax for now.”

  My eyes fell closed, unable to fight my body’s desire for rest any longer.

  24 SAVIOR

  The face of the man who tried so desperately to save me started to flash in my mind. I could never fully see his face, but I had a feeling I’d known him during my time at Vesta Corp. But this man, the one who tried to help me, reminded me of a man who tried to end me before I escaped. There was no possible way it could be the same person, could it?

  I tried to think back to the face of the White Coat. He was an older man, looked to be around his early thirties. The light cast a shadow over his face, revealing his hazel eyes and olive skin, still refusing to expose the identity of my ventured savior; allowing mystery, as opposed to answers.

  There was a clicking noise as the latch on the Pod opened. Colton was still asleep, propped up against the side of the Pod, not even flinching at the sudden movement of the opening door. I crawled out carefully, keeping my eyes fixed on him. He looked so peaceful, almost childlike, that I couldn’t bear to wake him.

  Moving slowly, I made my way to the couch. He’d kept the news on throughout the night, although muted. Everything seemed to be back to normal, something I was pleased with. The last thing I needed was to hear that someone else from my past got hurt because of me.

  But I knew that even though there was nothing on the news, there was no way of knowing how many people McVeigh had ‘accidentally’ killed over night. No one was actually safe from him. He could be stalking people on the streets right now without them knowing. I never had a clue I was being followed, not until he told me. Those poor people, I thought. They had no clue what was roaming the streets – something far more dangerous than the average criminal. These were lives he was stealing, lives that were in no way near finished living.

  Annoyed, I shut the television off with the remote and leaned back on the couch. The house was still in order. Nothing looked incredibly out of place, which meant there was no attempted attack overnight.

  “Good,” I whispered.

  The last thing we needed was another attack.

  I could hear Colton starting to wake up, his bones cracking as he stretched his arms.

  “Oh, crap! How long was I out?” He looked over at me, springing to his feet.

  “Well, good morning to you, too,” I teased. His eyes searched the living room, looking for any sign of an attack but found none. “No one tried to attack us last night, don’t worry.”

  “I shouldn’t have slept so long,” he replied, almost ignoring what I had just said.

  “Colton, you needed the rest.”

  Deciding to avoid an argument, he nodded and took a seat beside me on the couch. I closed my eyes, listening as the sound of his beating heart filled the room like music. Before I could open them, before I could find my way back out, I was back on the cold medical table, my body still and pale. There was no heart-beat. There was nothing left but a shell.

  “No, no, no,” I cried out, forcing myself to look away. I couldn’t watch this again. I couldn’t watch my lifeless body being used for one man’s personal gain. Everything he made me, everything I’d become, it was all for McVeigh’s sake. He didn’t give a damn about human life.

  “Emile?” Colton’s hands pressed against my shoulders.

  “I can’t do this, not again,” I whispered. I wanted to cry out in pain, but I couldn’t. I was the corpse I saw in my mind.

  “What’s wrong?” He was pleading now. “I need you to tell me what’s wrong, what is it that you’re seeing?”

  I wanted to tell him, but I wasn’t sure what was wrong. Thirteen was temporarily gone. We were not fusing together anymore, so shouldn’t these memories and flashbacks be stopping? Why were they still occurring?

  I watched as everything around me began to fade.

  Everything but me – my body never left, it stayed there taunting me.

  Then there was a man.

  He was standing over my corpse, a medical mask covering his face. He was holding onto my hand. The man stared into my eyes like a father staring into the face of his child, but he wasn’t my father. This man was a stranger, the same stranger who tried so desperately to save me.

  But who was he? Why did he want to save me when he didn’t even know me? I thought about Colton, how I hadn’t known him long yet I felt protective of him. I saw life in him when he was ready to give up. What had this man seen in me?

  “Emile.” His voice was full of worry. “Please, I need you to snap out of this.”

  And then I did.

  Colton was standing over me, his hand wrapped firmly around my wrists. “What was going on? Your entire body was shaking.” His eyes were on the brink of tears as he tried to pry an answer from me.

  He released his hold on my wrists. “Colton, I think you should sit down.” I gestured to the couch cushion beside me. He looked worried, and I couldn’t blame him, I’d be worried, too. My actions had been abnormal, to say the least, the way I zoned out – the images that flooded my mind – I knew he had every reason to be worried about me, though I wished he wasn’t.

  “What’s going on?” he demanded.

  “I don’t know, Colton,” I answered honestly, unsure of what was triggering these images. “I saw myself. I was lying on a surgical table, and McVeigh and one of his White Coats were standing over me.” I froze to take in his expression. “I watched as he slid a scalpel down my throat to my navel, as he cut open my flesh. The man that was with him wanted to save me. He even tried pleading with McVeigh, but it didn’t work. There’s no changing McVeigh’s mind once it’s been made up.”

  Colton sunk back into the couch, his face void of any emotion. It was like watching myself all over again, as if the life had been drained from inside of Colton. After sitting in silence for what seemed like hours, though only minutes, he finally turned to me and let out a whopping breath. “Yo
u know,” he began. “I promised your brother I’d take care of you. That no matter what, I wouldn’t let a thing happen to you. But the zoning out and these visions? I can’t do a thing about them.”

  The reality was neither of us could. These images, images from my past, were haunting me for a reason. I knew McVeigh was involved, and because of that, I knew it’d be nearly impossible to disrupt them. He knew Thirteen was gone. He had to know. These memories were purely mine. They weren’t splicing together our memories anymore. He knew and he was going to use it to his advantage.

  But the man that I kept seeing, the man that continued to remain a mystery, why did he keep appearing? Everything that McVeigh had done had been for a reason. This man was involved somehow in what I had become. He tried to help me and failed. What happened to him after that? Did McVeigh turn him into a Program, too? Was that what he was trying to tell me? That no matter how hard I tried to protect everyone, I would never be able to. After all, this was his game. We were all just pieces in it. That couldn’t be it, though. He’d made that clear when they took Tommy. This man served some other purpose, one that I wasn’t yet aware of and that, quite frankly, scared me.

  I needed to find out.

  I needed to know who this man was.

  I needed to go back in my mind to find answers.

  “Colton.” I was gripping his hands in mine. “I’m going to go back in for a few minutes. If after ten minutes I don’t open my eyes, do whatever you need to do to wake me.”

  He nodded, choosing not to argue with me.

  As soon as I closed my eyes, I saw him. He was watching over the construction process, when my lifeless shell was made into a fully functioning human computer, or a Program as we were called at Vesta Corp. Standing behind him, of course, was McVeigh.