by Skye Knizley
“Not such an easy target, Jaz, and we’re running out of time. Those sirens aren’t a fire drill,” Cadence said.
Jaz hissed and charged again, running on all fours, digging her claws into the metal floor. Cadence ran toward her, shield at full power. When Jaz went to jump over her, Cadence dropped to her knees and slid across the floor with her shield over her head. In the split-second that Jaz was above her, Cadence shoved with her shield and screamed at the same time. Jaz was thrown full force into the ceiling, keening in pain. The wave of sonic energy might not have done much to her armored skin, but her ears were sensitive to the vibrations just like any other lizard.
Cadence rose to one knee and kept her shield between herself and Jaz. “Had enough? I can keep this up all day.”
The pain in her head and the aches she felt all over her body made the statement a lie, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that to a talking lizard trying to kill her.
Jaz was clawing at her earholes, obviously trying to make the pain stop. Blood was running from her eyes and nose, and she looked dazed. Cadence felt a pang of guilt, but didn’t have time to take care of the bad guys, she wasn’t a nurse. She gave Jaz a wide birth and ran down the corridor. Her danger sense told her that the elevator ahead was guarded, but she didn’t slow. She brought up her shield and charged straight into them.
The fight was over almost before it began. The first two men were knocked aside by the impact with her shield, she kicked the second one in the crotch, then punched the last one with her shield hand, almost knocking his head off in the process.
As the guard’s helmet spun to a stop, Cadence punched the elevator button and leaned against the cool metal, breathing hard. “Sorry guys, I’m in a hurry.”
The doors opened and she stepped inside, hoping that, at last, she would make it to the surface.
***
The ride to the main floor seemed to take forever, but she knew that was because she was scared and feeling claustrophobic. It was no slower than it had been on the way down, though there was no tinny elevator music this time, they’d been replaced by a calm voice warning everyone to evacuate to a minimum safe distance.
The elevator slowed, and Cadence glanced at the control panel. They were only at level one, not the main floor.
“Shit,” she muttered.
It was a big elevator, but it wasn’t that big, and she only had seconds before the doors opened twenty feet below ground. She was bleeding, she was tired, and she just wanted a bubble bath, not another fight.
With a sigh, she leaned against the corner of the elevator and studied her nails. Either anyone getting on the elevator would ignore her, or it would be another fight. It wasn’t like she could disappear out of the elevator.
An eternity of seconds later, the doors slid aside on the first subfloor, what she thought must be the real heart of the facility. In the corridor were neat groups of people in white uniforms, all nervously waiting for their turn in the elevator. The guard, in a stroke of luck, was facing the other way. He motioned for the next group to board and never turned around.
Six people in white crowded into the elevator with her, and she shuffled until she was in front. The doors closed and she waited, taking shallow breaths.
“I’m glad to be out of there, I was getting tired of evacuating the lower levels,” a voice said behind her.
“No offense,” he said, touching her elbow. “It looks like you’ve had a tough time of it.”
Cadence only half-turned. “None taken, it’s getting ugly down there.”
She faced forward again, rocking one foot back and forth, watching the other riders in the door’s reflection.
“What happened, do you know?” Another voice asked.
Cadence shrugged. “Catastrophic failure of some kind in the generator room. Everything malfunctioned at once.”
“This is what happens when we use Russian technology,” a third voice said. He was a taller man at the back.
“Mm, we should have bought the thermal turbines from Japan. That stuff never fails,” the first speaker said.
“Here, young lady, you’re bleeding,” voice number two said.
Cadence nodded. “I know, it isn’t bad. Once we’re all out of here I’ll find a medic and get it seen to. Have to get everyone to a safe distance, first.”
“I have to say, I admire your work ethic, young lady,” voice number one said. “I can’t get my boy to mow the lawn if he’s got a hangnail.”
This was disturbing. These sounded like ordinary people, the kind you might find on any elevator in the country, not nutjobs working for a splinter cell bent on world domination. Did they even know what was going on here?
“Sorry to hear that, sir,” she said.
The doors opened on the main floor, and she stepped out, opposite a guard who was waiting to direct evacuees.
“Which way?” Cadence asked, holding the doors open as if she was part of the evacuation effort.
The guard barely glanced in her direction. “N-class personnel out and to the left, up the ramp. Everyone else, right and up the ramp. Keep it orderly, plenty of time to get everyone to safety.”
“Get going,” Cadence said to the others.
The first speaker squeezed her shoulder. “Thank you for your help.”
He hurried away with the others close behind. The last person out, a woman, paused and said, “a word, please miss?”
Cadence’s heart sank, but she smiled and nodded at the guard. “I have to help with the evacuation−”
“This will just take a second, I need your assistance,” the woman said.
Inwardly, Cadence felt panic. She knew this woman had clocked her, the question was, what was she going to do? If she was going to blow the whistle, she would have done it by now.
The woman stopped near one of the central columns in the lobby and took Cadence’s hand.
“You’re the young lady they’re looking for, aren’t you, Miss Phoenix?”
The woman’s steady gaze and confident manner told Cadence there was no point in arguing.
“Yes, ma’am.”
The woman, who was older with greying hair and glasses, nodded and patted her hand.
“Good… good. I know what happens here. Kidnapping, torture, experiments, this is not what we signed up for,” she said.
She turned to walk away, then looked back. “I’m glad it’s going away. Give them hell, Miss Phoenix.”
Cadence watched her for a moment, then turned and ran for the exit. She didn’t bother with Ethan’s spell, with any luck he’d already used it and was well out of danger. Instead, she joined the employees walking out the door in single-file lines. It was the most orderly evacuation she’d ever seen, though the closest thing she’d ever experienced to this was a fire drill back at school.
The sun was up and casting shadows across the parking lot, which contained perhaps a dozen refurbished military-issue buses, which meant they were essentially school buses painted green with the windows blacked out. The employees were splitting into groups to board the buses, and Cadence guessed that none of them actually knew where they were. They parked off site somewhere and were bused in. Smart move, if you want to hide that you’re kidnapping children and turning them into metahumans behind the walls of your secret KGB-funded base.
Using the crowd and noises from the buses as cover, Cadence crossed the lot to a row of late-model SUV’s and climbed inside the nearest one. She found the keys behind the visor. A hat resting on the passenger seat covered her now pink and blue spattered hair, and she pulled out as if she was just another evacuating employee.
As the little SUV was climbing out of the crater, a horrifying thought hit her. The busses couldn’t help but see her car parked in the bushes, had he been caught? The idea made her blood go cold.
Not only was he her friend, he was the only person besides Nikki who was ever going to believe any of this.
She slowed as she reached the area where she’d left her car, and was surprised to see that it wasn’t there. The little clearing where she’d left it was empty.
“Gaia, I hope you’re alright, old man,” Cadence muttered.
The drive back to town was going to be a long one.
CHAPTER TWELVE
It was raining when Cadence parked the SUV in the used car lot a half-mile from the motel. She’d wanted to drive straight there, but she knew that the vehicle would be traced and found. It was bad enough she had to park this close, but she would catch up with Ethan and head out of town at first light.
She’d heard on the radio about the explosion near the ruins of Telegraph. So far the official word was a warhead left behind by the military in the 1960’s. They were saying that it had gone critical and exploded somehow, which anyone with a basic understanding of physics knew was nonsense. Even so, the area was being evacuated. The confusion would provide cover from any pursuit. She hoped.
The cool rain felt good, and it washed most of the blood from her skin as she walked. She was still sore, but the worst of her injuries were already healing. Being a freak had its advantages. Not many, but some.
Her car was parked outside their room, and the sight of the old blue muscle car made her heart leap. Even better, Ethan was standing outside under the awning, smoking a cigarette and looking worried. When he spotted her, he ran across the lot and scooped her up in his arms in a tight hug.
“Ceej! I been worried sick about you, girl!”
He kissed her cheek and Cadence hugged him tight before he set her back down on her feet.
“Worried about you too, old man. I’m happy to see you,” she said. “You made it out okay?”
Ethan grinned and opened his jacket; two floppy disks stuck out of the pocket, safe and secure. “With everything that was on that fiddly machine. You were turning up such a ruckus, nobody even noticed me sneaking my way out.”
“Awesome…”
Exhaustion overcame her and she collapsed. Ethan caught her just in time and gathered her into his arms.
“I’m sorry, darlin’, I’m jawing about my adventure and you must be exhausted. I’ll get you tucked in, then grab you some grub,” he said.
Cadence allowed herself to be carried into the room and didn’t flinch when Ethan undressed her with the clinical air of a doctor doing his job. When she was toweled dry, he put a tee shirt over her head and pulled the cover up to her chin.
“Thank you,” she said. Her voice sounded a million miles away.
“Going to grab you some food. You rest up, kiddo,” Ethan said.
“Mm hmm.”
She was asleep before he left the room.
***
The smell of cheeseburgers and fried chicken cut through the fog in her brain and she sat up to find Ethan gnawing on a burrito and watching her, sitting ass-backward on a chair. She ran a hand through her hair and pulled her knees up to her chest, feeling self-conscious.
“That’s not creepy at all,” she said.
Ethan tossed the burrito wrapper at the trash can. “What?”
“You watching me sleep.”
He laughed and swiveled to pick up the cloth-covered tray sitting on the dresser behind him. “Nothing but paternal feelings here, darlin’,” he said. “You ain’t my type.”
He set the tray down and whipped the cloth off the top. “If I know you, and I’m sure I do, two cheeseburgers with extra mustard, fries, a side of chicken and a soda.”
The food, even for diner grub from a roadside eatery, it smelled amazing. Her stomach sat up and begged and she started drooling. Without another word she grabbed the first burger and wolfed down half of it before sitting back to eat at a normal pace.
“Why am I so hungry?” she asked around a French fry.
“You’re healing. It takes energy to regrow those cells,” Ethan said. “See, using your abilities kills cells and burns calories even if you don’t feel it. You’ll always be tired after an extended mission like this one. Its best if you carry something to eat with you, just in case.”
“Great, so I’m going to be an overweight superhero? What’s my codename, Ms. Cellulite?”
Ethan laughed and snatched a pickle off her plate. “’Course not. You’ll be lucky if you don’t lose weight if we keep up this pace.”
He turned away and opened a portable computer sitting on his bed. “I picked this up while you were out and opened those disks we copied. Still can’t make heads or tails of most of it, but I did find some interesting files.”
Cadence finished her first burger and started on the second. “Whatcha got? Find the secret of my crazy hair?”
“Not exactly. I did learn that the tank is supposed to facilitate meta-genesis, which is different from but similar to something called a meta-web,” he said.
“I think the meta-web is what we saw Rachel going through, that pulsing cocoon thing that left her a monster,” Cadence said.
“Pleasant,” Ethan said.
Cadence made a face. “Not so much. I met a metahuman named Jaz who I guess went through the same thing. She came out a sort of lizardman straight out of D and D.”
“Then we will thank our lucky stars that it wasn’t something you went through. In any case, this device is intended to make the MK-Delta serum more effective and less random,” Ethan said.
“Let me guess, they found a way to change kids that don’t have psychic abilities,” Cadence said.
She took another big bite of the burger and washed it down with a long swallow of soda. She knew on any other day she wouldn’t be eating this much greasy food, but now she not only was enjoying the food, she still felt hungry. Even soggy fries appealed.
“Exactly right,” Ethan said. “The pictures of the failures, well, they’ll put you off your feed.”
Suddenly, Cadence wasn’t hungry anymore and she set the burger aside. She’d seen two or three of the failures and couldn’t imagine what those girls had gone through.
“Gross. So what now?”
“I have no clue. The base is gone, the staff is scattered to the four winds, we’re probably being hunted by every Specter agent in the northern hemisphere and the US Army is moving into the area by morning. Your guess is as good as mine, Sweetheart,” Ethan said.
He looked back at the computer. “Why don’t you get some more shut-eye and I’ll keep poking a stick at this stuff.”
Cadence slid out of bed and started rummaging in her pack. She didn’t question that Ethan had brought it in for her, it seemed normal.
“I can’t sleep after that. I’m going to go call Nikki and let her know we’re okay.”
She pulled on a clean pair of undies, jeans and her boots, not bothering with socks, she was just going across the street.
Ethan frowned but didn’t turn. “You really think that’s a good idea?”
Cadence opened the door and looked out at the rain. It was coming down hard, and there was a low rumble of thunder in the distance. It was the kind of storm the Goddess sent to wash away vanquished evil, and she relished its presence.
She looked back over her shoulder and shook her head. “No. But I miss her and need to talk to her, it’s important.”
She pulled her jacket off the chair by the door and shrugged into it, then walked into the rain. The base being gone made her feel better, like she’d destroyed the enemy space station and was ready to be given her medal by a pretty princess. There were still agents out there, though, probably more hidden bases and Goddess knew how many agents, maybe some of which she could find a way to save. There had to be a way to reverse the meta-web and undo the damage done to those kids. There had to be, or the univers
e just wasn’t working right.
Right now, though, all she wanted was to hear Nikki’s voice, to know there was something worth doing all this for, a place to call home. It mattered as much as knowing where she’d come from, maybe more, considering she still didn’t know what or where that was and didn’t think she ever would. Not really.
The phone booth was empty and she stepped inside, feeling excited about the call. She wanted to go home, maybe that was their next move. It’s not like there was anything else to do here.
She fed change into the machine and dialed the number, then sat on the tiny fold-out seat to wait. Nikki picked up on the third ring.
“Ceej?”
Cadence smiled. “Yeah, it’s me, Niks. How’s you?”
“Oh my god, tell me you aren’t in Utah?” Nikki said.
Cadence blinked in surprise. “Why?”
“Because it’s all over the news, there was an explosion at some old facility outside Salt Lake City,” Nikki replied. “My gut said it had something to do with you.”
“It’s complicated, Niks,” Cadence said. “I’m okay and the building belonged to some very bad men. They won’t be hurting anyone for a while.”
“I don’t care about that, babycakes, I just want you to be safe,” Nikki said.
Cadence looked at her healing wounds. “I got a little banged up but I’m alright. I think the worst thing is my hair.”
Nikki gasped. “Oh my god, what happened to your hair? Did it get burned or something?”
“It’s um… different. A side effect of using my abilities makes my hair change colors.”
“Talking to ghosts makes your hair change colors?” Nikki asked.
“That’s not a power, its why I have powers. I’ve learned some new tricks,” Cadence said. “I’ll show you when I get home.”
Nikki whistled through her teeth. “Damn, my girl’s full on superhero! Sexy!”