FALSE SECURITY
When Sasha didn’t return from the hotel Taylor began to panic. He had fallen asleep after his display of power that was slowly coming all the way back to him. He started remembering different lifetimes and though the memories were scattered and incomplete he knew that they were real. He woke up around two in the morning and jumped out of bed. Sasha should have been there hours ago and he could only imagine the worst of scenarios. Something awful must have happened to her for that could be the only reason she never showed up without a single call. He knew that she felt the same way toward him and there was no longer any need to pretend any different. When she came to Orleans to rescue him he knew there was something very special about her. Now that his memories were returning to him he knew that this wasn’t the first time that they had met and there was a definite reason why she was so familiar to him. He took a quick shower and got into a fresh white shirt and the same jeans from yesterday. It was Europe, no one cared about such silly things here plus he had way too much on his mind to even think about such things. He ran down the stairs and checked with a weary desk clerk if there were any messages. There were none. He asked the sleepy man to call a taxi for him and as the barely conscious man begrudgingly did as he asked he stared at Taylor as though he were insane. Once the taxi arrived he paid the man an enormous amount of money to take him to the country. The roads were relatively quiet in the city and even more so as they got closer to Orleans. The night air was cold but Taylor kept his window open to stay awake and aware. The air felt good to him and it helped him keep his mind off of his growing terror that Celine had done something terrible to the woman he loved. He allowed himself to smile at such a thought. He knew now that he loved her and there was no use in pretending otherwise. Once he found her they could figure out what to do next. He wondered if she remembered anything at all. She seemed to find him familiar as well but never mentioned anything about past lives and now they were both enmeshed in something far stranger than any story he could ever make up. After a short time without end the cab pulled off the highway and entered the heavily wooded area of the little village. He asked the driver to let him out about half a mile from the lab. He did not want to be detected. He was beginning to remember all of his skills as an Indian long ago. He could travel without being seen or heard and become quite invisible if he wished. He had a plan. He entered the woods and began the trek through the frigid and hilly terrain which did not bother him but rather invigorated all of his senses. He was beginning to feel as if he had just come to life after being frozen in time and lost in space for an eternity. Even the animals took no notice of him as he passed by elk and deer as if he were one of them. He was getting close when he sensed movement off to his right. He stopped an became one with a large old tree and waited. He lifted his nose in the air and smelled. It was baffling to him. There was the slight scent of a human but it was mixed with something else. For a little while he thought he could smell a large wild cat but that wasn’t quite right either and then he heard the snapping of twigs and craned his neck around the trunk to get a glimpse of what was out there. First he saw a shadow and then the shadow moved. It was a human but there was something wrong with this person skulking around in the night. Taylor couldn’t quite put it together but there was something wrong with the movements and somehow the person seemed out of proportion. Whoever it was stood about six feet five inches and there was an odd profile as the stranger turned his head into the wind. He was sniffing the air much as Taylor had done earlier. Taylor was certain that the person couldn’t know that he was there as he was downwind from the man who now became alert and frozen. Then the person crouched down and waited. A small deer ambled into the area quite unafraid and calm. Whoever it was waited until the deer was relatively close and without warning sprang into action. He leaped from the ground high into the air and descended upon the startled animal. Taylor let out a gasp as he saw the man’s hands. They were too large and too much like a paw and there were claws and the claws had already begun to do their work as they tore into the deer with skill and precision. Without waiting for the poor creature to die the person, or whatever he was sank it’s teeth into the animal and began mauling. Taylor couldn’t watch. His mind quickly recovered from the shock and he started putting the pieces together. Chimera. Celine wasn’t searching for a superior protein, she was searching for a superior being. She was playing God with genetics and creating her own brand of human animal hybrid. She was breaking a multitude of international laws by doing such a thing. But why? Why would she want to do such a thing? What could possibly be her motive? Taylor decided to get out of the woods before the creature finished eating. The last thing he needed was to get into a rumble with this thing. He quietly stole away from the sight of carnage and as he went he felt a twinge of pity for this creature who had no say in his creation. What would the world do to such an abomination? It was Frankenstein’s monster come to life made from pieces and parts of the genetic code of God knows how many animals. More than likely if it were discovered it would be destroyed in the name of humanity and decency. This hybrid was everything that humanity had feared as science began to push back the frontiers of creation. This was what all the warnings had been about as scientists and their investors began to tinker with the building blocks of life. All this had come to be because of one insane and terrifying woman. Celine was playing with fire and must have known how dangerous this all was. He couldn’t stop thinking and formulating ideas as to why Celine would do this. For every act there was always motivation. Humans never did anything without getting something out of it, but Celine was no longer just human. She was something else entirely. Her humanity had died long ago even though she carried on throughout the ages. What would motivate her to create a new species? The answer would be at the lab. He was very close now and could see the building’s silhouette in the dark. From this angle in the early morning hours the house looked very much like a medieval residence of some land baron from medieval times. It was hard to believe that behind those walls of luxury lay secrets so horrible and terrible that if the world found out it would absolutely be the end of Celine and her reign of horror. Taylor was going to be the one to expose these secrets. In this lifetime this was his game and he practically invented it and once Sasha was safe he would expose this ancient monster to the world. He prayed and prayed that she was still alive and hoped that Celine hadn’t done anything to her. He knew he would kill her if she so much as lay a hand on her. He moved up to the back of the building making no sound on the gravel stones and avoided all of the motion sensors effortlessly. He was glad for these newly found abilities. He was going to need them.
He snaked his way under brilliantly lit window revealing all of the seductive warm beauty inside and made his way to the front. There were two guards walking the grounds but he figured and he figured out their routine within a few seconds and worked around them. They had no idea there was an intruder on the property and he got to the front door while the guards turned to sweep the back of the house. He punched in the number that he memorized earlier and prayed for a second that the combination hadn’t been changed in the last few days. It had not and the door clicked much too loudly for his liking but he had no time to be afraid. He was inside and slipping past the camera over the black and white stone squares without even casting a shadow. He could make himself invisible just by thinking about it and he realized his abilities were growing by the minute. So far so good. He ran to the spiral staircase and seemed to float down the twisted steel. He needed a hiding place and the lab was his best bet. He also needed to blend in and remembered the scientists with their masks and lab coats. He could truly remain invisible long enough to find out what he needed to know. The place was quiet and he saw no one. He walked into the room with the cryogenic vats. Now that he knew what was in those containers he shuddered. He would have cut off the power and pulled all the alien tubes connected to the machinery if he knew he could get away with it but he knew how foolish that would b
e. First things first. He could hear someone coming and remained as still as possible and saw some sort of technician who had no idea he was not alone. The chubby man with black greasy hair and a sweaty face that matched peered through his thick glasses and for a second Taylor thought he had been discovered for it looked like the myopic man was staring right at him but then the man moved slowly to pick up a mask on the steel table before him along with a pair of gloves. Taylor noticed the man looked extremely bored and he wondered just how much the people who worked here were involved. They must know what was going on here or at least some of them had to. Celine could not have done this herself. The greasy man left and Taylor moved out to follow him. He walked into a room that looked for all the world like a normal hospital room with a metal bed and equipment for monitoring body functions like heart beat and such. For the first time Taylor realized that someone had to give birth to that creature he saw in the woods. Science may have come a long way but was still far from creating an artificial womb that could carry a human to full term. Taylor saw the straps on the table and a fresh sense of horror filled his heart. How many victims were on Celine’s roster? He thought of Sasha and his sense of urgency almost caused him to blow his cover. He had to find her before Celine did something unspeakable. The technician moved to a panel in the door and ran his hand over a small red laser light and the unseen glass slid open quietly like a door from the future. Taylor had to act. He jumped behind the man and pushed him through the door. They both got into the room before the door shut them in. The man fell on his face and Taylor put his foot on the back of the man’s head.
“If you make one little sound I will kill you. Comprenez Vouz?” The man was shaking. No doubt he was a scientist and such violent behavior had no place in his world of test tubes and formulas. Taylor removed his foot and pulled the man to his feet. He took his tie from yesterday out of his breast pocket and quickly fastened it around the fat sweaty neck. “If you try anything stupid it will give me the greatest pleasure to kill you. I’ve never strangled anyone to death before….could be fun.” The man nodded his head rapidly. He was definitely afraid. Taylor took a swift and efficient look around the room. He stopped breathing for a second when he saw what he had walked into. It was a small bedroom with all sorts of electrical equipment and monitors surrounding a bed. In the middle of the bed lay an unconscious woman who was tied by her hands and feet. She was obviously pregnant and from the looks of it she was about to have a baby any minute now. Taylor was shaken by the sight of this woman. Who was she? Did she have any idea what was happening to her? He had to think quickly. For the first time the terrified technician spoke in a heavy Spanish accent.
“Please. I don’t know who you are or what you want but if I don’t help this woman immediately she will die.” Tears cascaded down his cheeks. “Please!” Now he was beginning to really cry. “I am telling you the truth..es la veridad!” Taylor knew the man was telling the truth. He suddenly wished he had brought a weapon of some kind like a gun or a knife but deep down he really wanted a good old fashioned tomahawk. He searched and within a few seconds found what he was looking for. There were long shiny scalpels on a little tray. He grabbed one of them and let the man go.
“I am not here to hurt you or her for that matter. But if you try anything funny or set off some silent alarm or try to communicate with anyone in this building I will slice you into a thousand little pieces. Go and help her.” The man was gasping for air and clutching his throat.
“Gracias…thank you, thank you.” He said with a trembling voice. “I need to administer some fluids to the patient and check on her vital signs. He moved swiftly out of Taylor’s reach.
“What kind of fluids are you giving her?” Taylor’s curiosity had never died down even in his frantic search for Sasha.
“I don’t know if you would understand.” The man was checking the woman’s heart rate and blood pressure.
“Try me. Oh and there’s no use lying to me. I know she’s about to give birth to some monster so cut the crap.” Taylor smiled cynically as he waved the scalpel back and forth in the air.
“A monster? Oh no not that! A miracle!” The man’s eyes lit up from behind the impossibly thick glasses. “I am giving her some drugs to help her body adapt to the rapid acceleration rate of the pregnancy. Otherwise she would die from such physical distress.” He looked down at the woman almost reverently.
“Does she know what’s happening to her? Taylor asked quietly.
“I was told that all subjects are willing.” The man took a needle and plunged it into one of the tubes that were connected to her left arm. He had placed the bed between himself and the intruder and realized he did not like the logistics of such positioning. He moved in right next the man and was breathing down his neck.
“Don’t think of trying anything. You’re not the type and you have to ask yourself if it’s really worth dying over because I have no problem with killing you. I might actually enjoy it.” The man was visibly shaken by this. Taylor grabbed his arm when he was finished giving the woman the drug. He made him sit in a chair while he tied his feet together with a multitude of wires that were abundant in the lab. He then began to tie the man’s hands behind his back and locked him into the chair. Finally, he took his tie and began to gag the scientist.
“Wait!” The fearful man shouted. “They’re expecting my report any minute now. If I don’t go back up they will come down here and they will find you. Also, you can’t leave this room without me, The scanner won’t let you.” Taylor shoved the tie into the man’s mouth.
“What makes you think I want to leave this room?” He finished gagging the man and said to his prisoner. “If you want to remain alive, you will tell them I went upstairs looking for Celine and that I plan to kill her. “Got that?” The man shook his head furiously. Taylor hid himself away and waited, grabbing all the scalpels and tools from the little tray before making himself imperceptible to the naked eye.
He didn’t have to wait too long. After about five minutes three more people in lab coats came into the room followed by the two guards from outside. They ran to the man tied to the chair and quickly began to free him.
“What happened?” One of them was a small woman and Taylor wondered for a moment if he would be able to kill her if he needed to. He wasn’t sure and thought that he would attack the others and leave her helpless. They removed the gag and the man was crying out of fear.
“I was attacked. Someone knows about the Chimera’s. He said he was going to kill Ms. D’Aumont!” He was all nerves and chaos.
Immortal Beauty (The Immortals) Page 30