by Natalie Grey
“We have to get all of them,” Jennifer protested. “Where are the others?”
>>Sixth floor. They can’t be rescued. Go.<<
“What do you mean they can’t be—”
>>There are stages to the experiment, and at the end, the Wechselbalg are controlled directly by Hugo. Those are the ones on Floor 6, and he knows the defensive systems have been shut down.<< There was definitely worry in ADAM’s voice now. >>I will try to figure out how to disrupt his signal, but don’t count on it! Get the rest and get out—Hugo’s Wechselbalg won’t be able to keep from attacking you. Leave the upload, I’ll do my best and I can’t guarantee there aren’t explosives planted at the moment.<<
Stephen and Jennifer exchanged one quick glance and took off, hurdling the prone figures outside of the server room and sprinting down the hallway to the stairs.
Protecting others would have to be the focus, at the moment.
—
Irina huddled in the corner of her cage, human arms wrapped around her bruised body. Tears leaked out of her eyes. Even transforming back into a human wasn’t enough to take the taste of blood out of her mouth, and nothing could stop her from remembering the whispers.
The memories wouldn’t leave her alone. She was still angry, still craving revenge—and if she hadn’t been able to resist the whispers before, how could she resist them now?
Around her, cages were filled with Wechselbalg in both human and wolf form, all locked in their own personal misery. There was a screech of machinery and Irina squeezed her eyes shut. They were taking someone away for an experiment and she couldn’t bear to watch.
She knew how that felt: the desperate hope that they had come for someone else, the horror when the scientist came to her cage, the stunned disbelief as she stumbled from the room.
The least she could do was give the other prisoner privacy, and not watch. But there was a rustle of activity, and no human voices ordering someone to come out of their cage.
Irina looked over her shoulder, frowning … and felt her eyes go wide. The door of her cage was standing open, and not just hers. Every lock had released. Around her, prisoners were pushing the doors open and crawling into the light.
“What if it’s a trap?” someone asked. “What if they’re just seeing if—”
Purpose and courage came back to Irina in a rush. She pushed her way out of her cage and stood.
“If it’s a trap, you know they’ll just find some excuse to punish us, anyway. And if it’s not a trap, then we have a chance to get free. I came here from the Sofia facility with one of the scientists. She may have done this.” Why Hsu would have moved so soon, Irina wasn’t sure—but she knew that this wasn’t an action Hsu would undertake lightly. “We need to get out of here. That means getting to the first floor, and out into the streets. Which way?”
They hesitated, but someone pointed, at last. “If you go right, you’ll get to the stairs. We’re on the second floor.”
“All right, then.” Irina squared her shoulders. She wished she had clothes, but she’d take being naked on the streets of Velingrad over being a prisoner here, any day. “I’ll go first. Let me go around corners, and I’ll try to give you warning so you can come back here if it’s a trap, okay?”
That seemed to calm them. The other prisoners nodded, and Irina motioned them to hide as she eased the door open and peered into the corridor. It was deserted, so she slipped out the door and along the corridor. By the time she heard the tramp of footsteps, she was too far to get back to the room. She pushed herself into a desperate sprint, trying to get to the stairs in time, and ran directly into—
“Stoyan?”
—
Hugo watched as the man went sprawling on the carpeted floor. Bruises patterned his back and he gave a low moan of protest before curling into a ball.
“Hello, Sergio.” Hugo sat back in his chair and studied the man.
There was no answer.
“Sergio, speak.”
There was a long pause, and then the man lifted his head to stare at Hugo. His black eyes were filled with despair … and hatred. “What do you want me to say?”
Hugo felt his eyes narrow. Nearly two years into the program, and this man was still dangerously close to rebellion. Where other Wechselbalg either sank into despair and died, or gave in to the training, or became slaves to the training, Sergio refused to do either.
Once the alpha of a pack Hugo had destroyed, Sergio was a man it seemed impossible to break—and Hugo could not allow that to continue.
“Tell me how your training has been going,” Hugo ordered.
“Your scientists do experiments on me.” Sergio seemed to draw courage from Hugo’s displeasure. “It is the same as always.”
Hugo forced himself to be patient. “Do the experiments work?”
Sergio shrugged.
Hugo nodded, and the administrator pressed a button on a small, handheld controller. Sergio fell to the ground, a cry bursting forth as agony coursed through his body.
“Full answers, Sergio.” Hugo watched the man coldly. “You know that I do not enjoy causing pain.”
“No,” Sergio gasped out. “That’s your second in command.”
Hugo gave a look at Gerard, who stared straight ahead. If he were being honest with himself, he often wondered if Gerard enjoyed pain a bit too much. There were stories, sometimes, of the excesses Gerard went to during interrogations.
Hugo told himself that the fear those stories inspired was useful, but they also made him wonder if he could really control the man. The moment of rebellion on the plane had added to that worry.
But Sergio was only trying to drive a wedge between Hugo and his other servants, and Hugo decided not to respond to the man’s comment at all.
“Sergio, God has made you as a gift to the world.” He stood, looking down at the man. “You were made to be a weapon—and like all weapons, you are best wielded by those God has ordained to lead.”
Sergio said nothing. He pushed himself up off the floor and sat back on his heels, glaring at Hugo with pure hatred. His breath was coming raw in his lungs, and he was clearly still in pain, but he was far from broken.
“I am a merciful leader,” Hugo told him. “I lead by God’s example. If you were my loyal servant, Sergio, I would be kind to you. I punish you only because, in your rebellion, you lead the world closer to chaos. Look around you.” He gestured widely. “War. Famine. Disease. Many call these God’s punishments on us, but it is not so. These are the horrors from which God attempts to save us. God gave us kings to rule over us, and nobles to serve kings. Those kings have fallen into weakness and cowardice, but I will not do the same. Where they abdicate responsibility, I will not. Where they accept the rule of the uneducated, I will not. Order must be restored, Sergio. It is not God’s wish for us to suffer. It is God’s wish for us to live in order and peace. You could help me do so.”
“You are insane,” Sergio whispered.
Hugo looked heavenward and prayed for patience. “I am the very opposite of insane. It is the world that is insane. Help me restore order, and you shall see the truth.”
Sergio looked at Gerard. “Is he serious with this shit?”
Gerard’s gun was in his hand a moment later, and Hugo threw an arm out to stop him.
“Gerard.”
Gerard shot him a blazing look, “If he will not submit, he is useless. He should not be allowed to speak to you that way.”
“Patience,” Hugo counseled. “Others have said worse, and they will continue to do so until we have won this battle. Such defiance is the last refuge of the rabble. Put your gun down. Sergio, you disappoint me. I would command you through love if you would let me. As it is … I will have to command you through strength.” He raised a hand to gesture to the administrator.
A switch was pressed, and Sergio gave a yell of pain. He scrabbled away from Hugo and pounded at the door, trying to escape.
“Accept my orders, Sergio, and the pain will go away.” Hugo strol
led around the edge of the desk, buttoning his suit jacket. “There is no need for this humiliation.”
“There is.” Sergio struggled to get the words out. “You’re a madman. You’re not ordained by God. You will always have to resort to methods like this to force people to do your bidding.”
“Then that is what I will do,” Hugo said simply. “Willing or not, the people of earth must be brought back to God.”
“You prove nothing by this! Nothing!” Sergio curled into a ball, fists clenched. “I will not turn, I will not be your weapon. I will resist until—”
“Sir.” Gerard’s voice cut through the screams. “Someone has just turned off the defensive systems.”
Hugo’s head whipped around. “What?”
“What?” the administrator echoed. He ran to the desk and began to type desperately at the controls. “I can’t … get them back on. There’s someone in the system.”
“Who turned them off?” Hugo snapped.
“The … guard captain.” The administrator shook his head. “Sir, I don’t understand. He would never—”
A gunshot echoed through the small room and the administrator slumped to the ground, blood spreading from his body. Hugo nodded to Gerard.
“Well done. Close off this floor, and….” He considered, and a smile spread across his face. “I think the time has come for a demonstration of our weaponry. Let the Queen Bitch see what she’s up against. Release floor 6, and have them change.”
“Sir, our scientists are still in the building. If we—”
“Have you forgotten already, Gerard? They have defied me. We can get their results from the mainframe. We don’t need them anymore.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Arisha ran through the corridors, trying to follow the sounds of the chaos. Gunfire was coming from somewhere, and the yelling on her stolen radio told her that the guards still hadn’t managed to get back in through the gates.
“Stoyan?” She tapped at her earpiece, but only fuzz was coming through. “Dammit, dammit.” She reached the stairs and wavered.
Did she go downstairs, to where most of the fighting seemed to be … or up, to where Hugo likely was?
Her hand went to her side, where she’d strapped the gun she’d taken from the guard captain. Her palm was sweaty, and the gun felt too big for her hand. She’d never shot someone before. She really didn’t know how. She squared her shoulders and chose to go up.
She had to do her best. She couldn’t let excuses and fear keep her from doing what was right. She had a chance to kill Hugo, and that was a chance she had to take advantage of. Any of a number of things could keep the rest of the teams from getting to him—she couldn’t just rely on other people to make the plan a success.
The stairs ended at Floor 6, and she was just reaching for the door when she heard the growls.
Arisha stopped. Something primal in her told her to run. She remembered abruptly that wolves had claws and sharp teeth, and that they could run fast. A Wechselbalg could easily kill her before she had the chance to explain herself.
Again, she told herself not to be a coward. The Wechselbalg here needed help escaping. If there were some above her, she had to show them that she was not an enemy, and explain that allies were here to help them get out. That was the whole reason they had come. She swallowed hard and pulled the door open.
A dozen wolves swung their heads to look at her. Arisha swallowed to calm herself, and put her hands out to show that she wasn’t carrying any weapons.
“I’m here to help you,” she said clearly. “You need to come with me. We will keep you safe.”
There was a long moment of silence, long enough for her to wonder if they could understand English. One or two sat back on their haunches, heads tilted as if confused.
And then it was as if a jolt of electricity hit them all at once. Every one of them spasmed with it.
“Are you alright?” Arisha asked, alarmed.
Every single one of them crouched down, staring at her.
And growled.
—
“Come on, come on, come on—move!” Irina threw her arm out, pointing down, as prisoners ran for the exits. “Stay in the stairwell until you’re cleared to go outside, the guards are all out there!” She pulled Stoyan’s jacket around herself and shivered.
Adrenaline was pumping through her, but even with that, she could feel the cold winter air seeping into the building. She gave another look to where Stoyan was directing the refugees as well, and she felt herself smile.
She and Stoyan had been as close as twins when they were growing up, and she had left the pack on her own so she wouldn’t get him into trouble. He looked over at her and smiled as well. She was just opening her mouth to speak when she saw a short figure emerge from a room down the hall.
“Hsu?” Irina pushed her way through the crowd and ran to Hsu’s side. “Did you open the cages?”
“No. I was going to start letting people out, but before I could, all the cages opened.” Hsu shook her head. “I don’t know who did it. If it wasn’t you….” She frowned at Stoyan. “Who is that?”
“My cousin,” Irina explained. “I don’t know how he found me here, he said he would explain later. Look, you have to get out. I’ll tell Stoyan he can trust you.”
Hsu hesitated, and then shook her head. She took a step back. “I’m going to see if I can kill Gerard.”
“What?” Irina shook her head. “Let us do that.”
“No. It’s too dangerous.” Hsu had tears in her eyes. “When the cages opened and the wolves came out, they almost killed me because I was one of the scientists. I think they would have been right to. You should all get out, get to safety. I will go upstairs and finish this. Thank you for saving my life in Sofia. I promise you, that act will not be wasted. I’ll tell the people upstairs to come here for safety. You get out, you and your family.”
A ghostly moan sounded from up the stairs, and Irina looked at Stoyan.
“What the hell was that?”
“Come on.” Nathan jerked his head up the stairs.
“One second. Hsu—”
But Hsu was gone, white lab coat disappearing around the switchback on the stairs. Irina wavered. Go after the scientist, or stay here? Another moan and a howl decided her. The prisoners were gathering here, and this stairwell was where an attack would do the most harm.
“Be safe,” she whispered in Hsu’s direction, and she took off after Nathan and Stoyan.
—
>>Turn right to get to the staircase,<< ADAM informed Jennifer. The words echoed in her aural implant, and a moment later, he switched to wide broadcast to include Stephen. >>Hugo’s office is on the 8th floor, but you’ll need to go into the 6th floor to get up there. That’s where the stairs end. Stephen, Jennifer will show you which way to go.<<
Thank you, ADAM.
“This way!” Jennifer grabbed Stephen’s hand and pulled him down the hallway. “You are going to have to teach me how to talk to ADAM without this implant.”
“That’s a great idea,” Stephen said conversationally, coming around the turn in the stairs with a snarl and ripping the arms off a security guard that was running down the stairs, “but don’t you think we should wait until we get back to the ship?”
“I mean, maybe.” Jennifer took a knee as she tracked three more guards one floor up and took out two of them. She swore as the last one scrambled away and began to go up the stairs again, and vaulted up over the railing to take him down with two shots to the back. “But I’m very good at multitasking.”
Stephen was still laughing when they heard a heavy metallic screech and a sudden moan from above them. The sound resonated in their bones, pain and anger and pure hatred distilled. The two of them exchanged a look and then Jennifer began to tear off her clothes as they both started running up the stairs. Guns and knives were fine for stray guards, but if it was going to turn into a real fight, she was going to transform.
“Take my guns.” She d
ropped her coat and passed the guns over.
“These are nice.”
“Steal them and you will pay, mister. ADAM, do you have any idea what that noise is?” Jennifer shivered as she looked around herself. “It’s freaking me out.”
>>Unfortunately, I don’t have all of the data yet, nor have I been able to cross-reference it to assess the exact nature of the experiments. These people did not keep very good records.<<
It is likely the other Wechselbalg, TOM broke in. And I agree with ADAM’s earlier assessment. I would not assume that they are friendly.
“But if they’re experiments—”