Synthetic: Dark Beginning

by Shonna Wright

  “Please don't give that bag to Randall. I need it.”

  That stopped Alex in her tracks. She held up the bag and looked at it again. “This is important to you? Why?”

  Kora took a few deep breaths to steady herself. “I'm sorry for how I've treated you over the years. I was cruel and horrible. But right now I need you to give me that bag and let us go.”

  Alex stared at her in amazement. “Did you just apologize? I don't believe it. The great Kora Lazar apologizes to no one. You're full of shit.”

  “I'll unchip you if you give it to me and let us go.”

  For a moment Alex seemed torn. She looked at the bag and then back over at Kora. “It's a tempting offer but I don't trust you, Doctor. You don't seem like the type to keep your word.”

  When they entered the lab, Alex heaped Vaughn’s unconscious body onto the couch and tossed the bag to Randall who gazed at it with mild interest. “Very naughty of you to try and escape, Kora, and right before our wedding. Who is that handsome man passed out on the couch? Is that Ruby's vampire?” He shook a finger at her. “Kora, I'm shocked that you of all people would fall for such a loathsome creature.”

  Alex pointed at the bag in his hand. “This seems really important to her. I think we should check it out.”

  Randall yawned. “I'll destroy it when we get back to Mirafield.”

  “Why can't we look at it now?” pressed Alex, her expression shifting from triumph to disappointment.

  “Because I'm more important than you, little warrior.” Ruby swept into the lab from the direction of her office dressed in a black silk surgical gown trimmed in lace. “Kora’s here? Good. Let’s get started. Gustavo—we don’t have all day.”

  Gus mouthed something at Kora when he emerged from the hall behind Ruby. She knew he was asking if they'd found anything, but she didn't want to draw attention to the drive. His cheek was red as if he’d just been slapped and he was holding his camera. “You’re back?” he finally asked aloud.

  “Unfortunately,” replied Kora.

  Ruby clapped her hands as if calling a dog. “Kora, come here.”

  Kora crossed over to where the synthetic lay on one of two gurneys that now dominated the center of the lab. “How many times do I have to tell you, I can't do this? I know nothing about brain transplants and if you force me, I’ll end up killing you.”

  “Yes, yes. I've heard that too many times, now.” Ruby tilted her head, her voice full of syrup as she poked Kora in the belly. “I know you got into that new body of yours somehow, sweetheart, and I intend to find out.”

  “How could I have performed an operation on myself?”

  Ruby brushed the toe of her black ballet slipper in a semi-circle on the floor in front of her. “I guess you have a little dilemma: do the operation and kill me or don’t do the operation and kill Vaughn. And Caleb and Gus, but they don't really matter. I went back and forth on Ivan last night, but now that he refuses to do the housework I really can’t be bothered with him.”

  “Didn’t you go back and forth on me?” asked Gus.

  “Not a bit,” said Ruby. “I look forward to peace and quiet when you’re gone, Gustavo. But then there’s you, Kora.” Ruby pursed her lips into a perfect cherry; she’d spent extra time on her makeup this morning. “Out of everyone, I want you to suffer the most. I'm still deliberating on the best method of torture—”

  A whirring sound filled the air and Kora turned to see the only thing that could make this situation worse: Ishmael had picked this moment to emerge from his container. She ran up to him waving her arms. “Not now, Ishmael!” But it was too late. The steel plates folded down to reveal his tall, cylindrical body glistening from a shower. His spiral of thick arms spilled off the base and he writhed over to the cupboards as if in search of his afternoon snack, oblivious that a crowd was gaping at him.

  Ruby gasped. “That’s what you’ve hidden all this time? A kraken! He reminds me of the robotic squid from one of my film favorites, The Beast Who Lurks Below, I lost years ago, but more beautiful.” She ran her fingers over Ishmael’s arm, lifted it off the floor, and wrapped it around her waist.

  Kora couldn't believe that Ishmael let her do this. Whenever anyone, aside from Kora, touched his arms he’d sucker them to the floor so they were impossible to move.

  Ishmael bounced Ruby in one arm as if she was a child on a ride at the fair, while his seven others poked through cupboards and drawers, occasionally drawing out something sharp and setting it on a surgical tray.

  “What the hell are you doing?” demanded Kora.

  Ishmael gently batted Kora away as he turned to face Ruby, a surgical laser gripped in each arm. He lowered Ruby onto the gurney beside the synthetic body and spread her out like a salmon he was about to fillet. He covered her face with the anesthetic mask and her eyes flamed open for a moment before they drooped closed.

  Randall bustled over to Kora, his face twitching as he watched Ishmael burn a straight seem across Ruby’s forehead, filling the room with the smell of roasting skin. “What the hell is that squid doing? Can’t you stop him?”

  With unnatural quickness that only comes with having eight arms, Ishmael peeled Ruby’s flesh away from her brain and spine like meat from an overripe banana. He then deposited her glistening nervous system into the synthetic that already lay open like a bare husk. After he’d neatly lasered all the incisions closed, Ishmael squiggled over to the sink where he used a little brush to get the gore out from between his suckers.

  “Those canned krakens really are handy,” said Gus, pocketing his camera when Ishmael disappeared into his container for a shower.

  “So it was the squid all this time, not you?” asked Randall.

  Kora wished she could strip the last ten minutes from his memory. What did this mean for Ishmael? The entire surgery, the most complex in history, took the squid about the length of time it takes most people to brush their teeth. Kora had taught him everything she knew, years ago, so he could transfer her brain into her new body. She’d created him and he, in turn, had remade her.

  “It’s over then?” asked Vaughn from behind her. He weaved on his feet, his eyes unfocused.

  She reached out to steady him and he leaned on her. “You should be lying down.”

  “I want to see.”

  They moved cautiously over to Ruby who was already stirring on her gurney, her head moving from side to side as Randall shouted her name into her ear as if she was a bottomless well.

  “What should we do?” asked Kora.

  “Take Joshua's advice and kill her while we still have the chance,” said Vaughn.

  They both jumped when Ruby’s eyes popped open, the pupils focusing on Vaughn as she tilted her head back to stare at him upside down. “I remember you.” She sat up and dangled her long legs over the side of the gurney. “Was I attacked by a giant squid?” Her voice was no longer strangled by infected lungs, but smooth and melodic.

  Kora had forgotten how beautiful this synthetic was, even with ears that stuck out. She had a long, pale neck, and a tumble of shiny dark hair. Before this whole thing with Ruby, Kora had looked forward to waking the girl. But now that Ruby's eyes gazed out of that perfect face, Kora felt a deep pit widening inside of her. A demon possessed her masterpiece.

  Ruby slipped off the gurney and strutted up to Vaughn, the shreds of her surgical gown barely covering her willowy body. “I’m a marvel. A glorious wonder to behold.” She raised an arm like a dancer. “Definitely too good for you.”

  “You should sit down and rest, my dear,” said Randall, trailing behind Ruby holding a silk robe. “It will take you some time to adjust to this new body.”

  Ruby ignored him as he draped the silk over her shoulders. She ran her hands up her slender waist and cupped her breasts. “Miraculous aren’t they, Vaughn? So firm and round. They could have belonged to you, my dark prince, but not anymore. I’ve suffered so many disappointments, but allowing Kora to ruin you just pushed me over the edge.” She wh
ipped around to face Kora, making her flinch. “Remember what I said during our chat last night? He dies along with everyone else unless you change him back.”

  “That wasn't the deal,” said Kora. “You said that he could live if I went back to the catacomb.”

  “I've changed my mind.” Ruby slipped a finger under Kora’s chin. Her nails were already painted black. “You might survive getting your head ripped off, but would he?”

  “That’s what you threatened ten years ago,” said Kora. “You told me you’d kill Vaughn unless I turned him into a vampire.”

  Ruby smiled and Kora noticed the sharp fangs. She must have added those herself. “This has been a refreshing visit for you, hasn’t it?” said Ruby. “Brought back old memories.”

  “I’m not changing back,” said Vaughn.

  “You have no say in this,” hollered Ruby, her voice shaking the dome so hard a dozen panes of glass crashed to the floor. She looked around with a delighted smile on her face. “I have a nice set of pipes, too.”

  “Now Ruby,” said Randall with a trembling smile. “It’s time we all returned to Mirafield. We’ve fulfilled our side of the bargain, now it’s time for you to fulfill yours.”

  “Oh Randall.” Ruby’s voice simmered as she raised her arms above her head and spun around on her tiptoes. “You expect me to think about marketing at time like this? I don’t want to be your little company mascot anymore.”

  “You signed a contract.”

  “Send your lawyers and I’ll do this.” She swung her fist at Vaughn’s chest and launched him with such speed, Kora thought he’d simply dissolved into thin air. Then an explosion rocked the floor and she watched him burst through the castle wall and disappear over the cliff.

  “This body just gets better and better,” said Ruby.

  Kora screamed and clawed her way through the rubble until she could peer through the hole in the thick wall. On the beach far below, Vaughn lay motionless.

  “Watch out.” Gus hollered and Kora ducked a mere second before Ruby jumped over the edge, fully intending to take Kora with her.

  Randall staggered up to Kora, his normally smooth hair sticking out in all directions. “We’re leaving.”

  “No—I’m going down to help Vaughn,” said Kora, stumbling back to her feet. “I’m not going anywhere without him.”

  Randall drew back his fist and smashed her in the jaw, sending her sprawling back to the ground. “Alex, grab her,” was the last thing she heard before she blacked out.

  Kora regained consciousness in the back of a limo, alone with Randall. He had his eyes fixed on her like a wrinkle that required smoothing. “I’m meeting with clients when we get back. It’s unfortunate that Ruby won’t be joining us, but I refuse to let that destroy our wedding or the future of our new enterprise.”

  “I won't marry you,” said Kora.

  “How unfortunate.” Randall smiled coldly and swirled his drink. “When we drove from this miserable castle ten years ago, in much the same manner, I explained that we were the only ones who could save your life. And we did. We gave you everything you needed to build your new body. You were terrified of dying and told us you could make something that would last forever. We were interested, of course. Who wouldn’t be? And after burning through billions of dollars, there you were: our little blue-haired immortal. But as luck would have it, you suffered brain damage during the surgery that wiped out your memory. And so we’ve waited patiently, all these years, for you to remember your craft.” Randall let out a long sigh. “If only we’d known about the squid.”

  Kora stared out the window, too angry to meet Randall's gaze. “Ishmael won’t work for anyone but me.”

  Randall relaxed back into his plush seat. “As demonstrated by Ruby's threats, we can get the squid to do what we want by torturing you. And how convenient that you’re indestructible: Ishmael will labor to the sound of your screams.”

  Kora shook her head. “I won’t let that happen. I won’t let you control him.”

  “And how will you do that?”

  “I’m not afraid to die anymore.”

  “It’s a little late for that.” Randall leaned into the sunlight streaming through the window and Kora saw the faint surgical seams lining his face. “Once you defeat death, my dear, it doesn’t come back. We’ve got you for as long as we want.”

  Chapter 30

  Vaughn lay in a wide crater made when he impacted with the sand. The ocean seemed to have gone silent, and he wondered if something had happened to his ears. Then he heard a loud thud only a few yards away from his head.

  “Are you trying to play dead?” Ruby rubbed her bare toe in his hair.

  Vaughn arched his neck up to look at her. “You jumped down after me? How thoughtful.”

  “I want blood. I’m starving and since I got rid of the Food, that leaves me very few options.”

  Vaughn turned on his side to look up at her. “What do you mean?”

  Ruby squatted down, her surgical gown spilling in shreds around her shapely legs. “I packed them off. When was that? Yesterday morning. Sold them for nothing. I thought for sure you’d turn up and make a scene, but I guess you and Kora were busy.”

  Vaughn dragged himself up onto his feet and scanned the distant Food compound for signs of life.

  “You don’t drink blood anymore so you obviously don’t need them,” continued Ruby. “And I plan to hunt and kill my food. None of your lazy bullshit for me.”

  He was barely listening as he stared at the quiet houses. By this time of day, he could always see people milling around on the decks or Ramon up on the roof banging away at something. “What about the children? And Iris?” His voice cracked.

  “Gone too. Nothing you can do at this point. I’m sure they’ve been sorted by now and shipped off somewhere.” Ruby stood up. She tried to slip her hands around his waist, but Vaughn pulled away from her. “Your girlfriend's gone, too. Randall took her back to Mirafield, so that just leaves you and me.”

  “Let him go!” Gus ran down the beach but his feet, unaccustomed to quick travel, hit a rock and he collapsed to the sand.

  “I spoke too soon.” Ruby burst into giggles and slapped her knee as she watched him floundering on the ground. “What shall I do with the hunchback? Maybe when I’m done with you, I’ll snap his neck if I can find it in that twisted mess of a hump.”

  Vaughn lunged at Ruby, but she jumped up and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying backward into the water.

  “I had no idea you were this wimpy. Kora has definitely improved her techniques over the years. I wish I could have fought that Alex. Now there’s a little warrior.” She watched, amused, as Vaughn struggled to pull himself out of the waves, coughing as they crashed into his face and filled his mouth with sand. “You’d rather come back up here on land and let me bash you to a pulp than go for a little swim?”

  Ruby trailed her foot down Vaughn’s spine as he lay panting after reaching the sand beyond the water’s reach. She kicked him in his side and he curled into a ball. “You know, my dark one, we’ve put it off long enough. I think it’s time you finally learned to swim.”

  Vaughn groaned and dug his fingers into the wet sand.

  “Consider this your first and final lesson.” Ruby picked Vaughn up, held him high over her head, and threw him with all of her strength. He rocketed out to sea, the water passing below him in a white blur. He landed with a deafening splash and sank like a stone to the rocky bottom where he settled into a bed of seaweed between an old kitchen stove and a rusty shopping cart. He closed his eyes and waited, doing his best not to move while his body slowly healed. He hoped it would take Ruby a long time to find him among all the barnacle-encrusted junk, and did his best to blend into the murky floor. Only the fish seemed to know he didn’t belong there, and gathered in curious groups to stare at him.

  An hour later, Vaughn was fully recovered and wondered if he’d lost Ruby for good. He felt a stab of panic when he remembered Gus was alone on
shore, but then a pale object sliced through the water directly overhead. It dove with such agility that at first he thought it was a dolphin swimming toward him, but as it drew closer he saw Ruby’s pale, slender limbs. She hovered before him, her long hair fanned out around her head. Vaughn stared ahead with unmoving eyes. He could see her face cinch up with anger that radiated through the water like electricity: Ruby thought he was either unconscious or dead. She grabbed his arms and tried to hoist him to the surface, but he flopped lifelessly against her. Then, with the laziness of a lover, he wrapped his arms around her hips. Ruby seemed unalarmed by this move and probably thought his actions the involuntary spasms of a drowned man. It was only when she was unable to pry his clamped hands apart that Vaughn raised his head to smile at her.

  Ruby stiffened in his arms and opened her jaws wide. Vaughn braced himself as she tore into the flesh on his neck. He felt her pull his blood into her mouth and knew he had only a matter of seconds before she tapped a major artery and drained him dry. Then she reeled back and blood clouded the water between them. Ruby coughed and gasped in agony as she vomited up all of Vaughn's blood. Something had gone wrong and this was his chance. Unlike him, Ruby needed air and if he could hold her under long enough, she would pass out. But in her desperation to get free, she delivered a blow that propelled him into a pile of rocks. Vaughn watched, helplessly locked to the bottom, as she jetted up to freedom and air.

  She’d nearly reached the glimmering surface, when a shadow shot through the water at a blinding speed. It tackled Ruby with such power that Vaughn could feel the water vibrate as if a bomb had gone off. Ruby threw out her arms like a lost soul as the figure dragged her deeper and deeper, until Vaughn recognized a pair of bright, globular eyes above flapping jowls. Humphrey streaked over Vaughn's head and switched on a light attached to his leather tool belt.

  Vaughn howled with joy and ran to catch up with his brother, hacking a path through a vast, swaying kelp forests that stroked the surface like delicate fingers. He paid no attention as his bare feet cut against the sharp rocks, never taking his eyes from the light still visible through the murky water. He paused when he reached a large, encrusted sailboat with an octopus stuck to the side in a spiral of legs. The boat tipped into nothingness and Vaughn spotted Humphrey’s light circling far below as he waited for him to catch up.