The Prometheus Effect

by David Fleming

  With a yawn, Mykl crawled into his bunk, hoping this time to get a few hours of sleep.

  CHAPTER 13

  “Myyykll?” James prodded him. “Myyykll?”

  Mykl groaned. “What time is it?”

  “Lunches times. Dawn no comes down yet.”

  Mykl stretched. “Well, if she won’t come to food, then we will have to get the food to her.”

  “James helps!”

  “The fake and shake routine.”

  James’s eyes went wide.

  “Are you up to it?” Mykl asked.

  James nodded vigorously.

  “Do you remember how to make it believable?”

  “James do good. No worry. Mykl takes care of Dawn.”

  Mykl dressed while James rocked and fidgeted impatiently. “Let’s go. I’ll get the food, then when I give the signal, you do your thing.”

  Mykl had taught James how to fake a seizure; it was an easy way to distract the staff and even the other kids. It came in handy for things like stealing office supplies, avoiding punishments… and sneaking food into the dorms.

  ***

  Mykl pushed his pre-nap worries to the back of his mind as they walked through the hall to the dayroom. He and James had grabbed a couple of sandwiches and desserts they knew Dawn liked; now they just had to get them to her.

  James swung his muscular arms, his lips pursed together in firm determination. He would do anything to see Dawn happy again. She was his obsession, and he showed his love for her not through words, but through his devotion to her needs. Mykl loved her too, as a big sister who never ceased to inspire him. He hoped that seeing Dawn might grant him a chance to begin atonement. At the very least, he could apologize for his role in Teeka’s death.

  James positioned himself in front of the television among a group of younger kids watching cartoons. Almost immediately, he rolled his eyes into the back of his head and fell over with his body rigid. Then he began to convulse.

  The kids around him fled, screaming, while others came running in to see the cause of the ruckus. Lori let out a stream of curses and left her desk to investigate the latest interruption of her day. And Mykl skipped up the stairs unnoticed. Behind him, he heard Lori yelling for someone to bring her a towel, because James had wet his pants—the coup de grace of successfully faking a seizure.

  If James could perfect a fake seizure so well, Mykl wondered, why couldn’t he learn not to mess with his damn shoelaces?

  He found Dawn sitting alone in a plastic chair, her head bowed toward the window, the sun beaming down on her. Slow-running tears crusted her cheeks. Mykl knew the warm sunlight on her lap reminded her of Teeka.

  He hesitantly stepped into her room.

  “Hello, Mykl. I’m not hungry,” she said without turning, her voice barely above a whisper.

  Even in her grief she was sharp enough to realize that the sound of crinkling paper from a sandwich bag could only mean that he had come with food.

  “I… I’ll just leave it on your desk then.” He set down the food, then rushed to Dawn’s side and hugged her. “I’m sorry, Dawn. It was my fault. I saw Teeka there last night and gave her my socks to keep her warm. She wouldn’t have been there for them to hurt her if I hadn’t…”

  With a hand on his arm, Dawn leaned into his hug and moved her head from side to side. “No, Mykl. Never apologize for an act of kindness. I certainly don’t blame you. I blame those who indiscriminately kill the innocent just for being innocent. If it wasn’t Donzer, then it surely would have been someone else, eventually. And you know, as much as life in here seems horrible, it’s getting much worse out in the real world. Teeka may have been the lucky one.”

  She sniffed. “James told me you have an interview this evening. You’re a smart boy, Mykl, smarter than anyone I’ve ever known. You’re also a good judge of character, so I know you won’t end up with bad parents. If you do find someone you like, go. Don’t stay here and let your life go to waste. Don’t let that brilliant mind go to waste.”

  Talking seemed to be doing her some good. At least she’d stopped crying.

  Mykl thought a bit of privileged information might make her feel even better. “I have a feeling that the Angel will be caught soon,” he said. “And don’t worry about my interview; I’m more than happy to stay here with you and James.”

  Dawn turned back to the window. Mykl took that as a sign he should leave.

  “Well. I should get back downstairs,” he said.

  “Wait. Please? Read to me?”

  Mykl smiled. “Sure. Same book?”

  Dawn nodded.

  A box of fantasy novels had been donated to the asylum some months ago, and Dawn had taken one as her own after the first day Mykl read it to her. Its pages told an inspiring tale about handsome heroes, beautiful heroines, ferocious dragons, and good conquering evil. She kept it in her bottom drawer, next to a box of pictures of her family. Pictures she couldn’t even look at.

  That was one of the things Mykl found inspiring about Dawn: she never gave up. She kept those pictures because she believed that one day, she would see again. And when she did, she would want to look once more on the family she’d lost.

  Dawn didn’t talk about her family often, but she had told Mykl the story of their death. Her parents and her older sister were all killed in a terrorist car bombing at a hospital. Her mom and dad had both been doctors, and her sister was at the hospital for Take Your Child to Work Day. Dawn would have been there too, but she was too young. No organization ever even bothered to claim responsibility for the attack. It was as if terrorists no longer even had a message to send, demands to make. They just killed.

  Mykl retrieved the book and sat on Dawn’s bunk. He liked this book too. Opening the cover, he began to read: “Michael stood proudly at the top of a gleaming white palace…”

  CHAPTER 14

  Mykl read to Dawn until it was time for him to get ready for his interview. Along the way, he finally coaxed Dawn into eating by telling her of James’s extra efforts to make the delivery possible.

  Just as Mykl rose to leave, she grabbed his arm. “Lori’s coming up the stairs. You better hide.”

  Mykl set the book on her lap and crawled under the bed. Two roaches of the extra-large variety were waiting to keep him company, antennae waving ominously at this intruder in their realm.

  The telltale sound of Lori’s heel-pounding stride stopped at the doorway. “What are you doing?” she asked in an accusatory tone.

  “Reading,” Dawn replied, stretching out the word as if the fact should have been obvious.

  “Very funny, missy.” Lori snatched up the remnants of food and brandished them without eliciting a reaction. “Listen up, you prissy bitch. How many times do I have to tell you? No food in the dorms! If you think I won’t punish your pathetic ass because you’re blind, then you’re in for a real treat.”

  Mykl watched Dawn’s feet as she stood to face Lori. “Do you think because I’m blind, I can be cowed by your threats? I would rather live in darkness than watch a pitiful woman with so little self-worth lash out at innocent children. You make me sick. Touch me or any of my friends, and I will own you!”

  Dawn lunged at Lori, and Mykl was certain she’d taken a swing at the evil woman. He wanted to cheer as Lori’s feet turned to leave without a word.

  ***

  When they were alone again, Dawn led Mykl to the stairs, her keen ears listening to make sure Lori wouldn’t catch him sneaking from the girls’ dorm.

  “Did you take a swing at Lori?” Mykl asked.

  “Bitch deserved it.”

  James ran to meet them, stumbled, and fell at their feet, saying that Lori was in the cafeteria. Dawn endured his bear hug before declaring that her head was pounding and she needed to return to her room. “Thanks for the company, Mykl. Good luck on your interview.”

  “James waits here. You go gets readies,” James said, gently shoving Mykl down the hall.

  As Mykl headed toward his ro
om, he heard a huge pop from the direction of the dayroom, followed by Lori launching into a tirade at James. James had adopted Mykl’s habit of jumping onto the beanbag, and it sounded as if the old stitching had finally succumbed to the rigors of life in the Box. Mykl was sorely tempted to go back and survey the Styrofoam carnage, but that surely meant tasting more of Lori’s vitriol. So reluctantly, he continued to his room.

  Dawn’s forgiving words had helped lift the burden of guilt from his chest concerning Teeka, but he still had a lot on his mind. The message in that cipher, for one. And the motivations of whoever was behind that test he’d been tricked into taking.

  And now, this interview.

  Mykl inspected the interview clothes that Lori had left on his bunk. They were nothing special, just a sampling of the better clothes donated every year. He could keep them if someone adopted him, otherwise he had to return them for someone else to use.

  He dressed quickly, ran his fingers through his hair, and stretched on his tiptoes to give himself a cursory glance in the dusty mirror. Dark hair and a pair of inquisitive copper eyes stared back at him. He wondered if he was going to have to sleep in a strange home with new parents tonight.

  A cockroach skittered across the scuffed linoleum in attempt to escape through the open door. Mykl stomped it on his way out.

  ***

  James ambushed him with a hug as soon as he entered the dayroom. “Maybe this times you be lucky! James still be your friend if you blows it again.”

  Mykl slugged him in the stomach as hard as he could, but didn’t elicit so much as a flinch from his large friend. He then returned the hug with a huge grin on his face. He would miss James terribly if he had to leave, and he still worried about Dawn.

  James reached down to fix Mykl’s collar with a flip of his fingers. “You better goes before…”

  “Mykl!”

  Carried on a banshee’s wail, his name careened throughout the Box. Lori was calling for him, and it was best not to make her wait, lest she be antagonized into even greater feats of bitchiness. Then again, why should Mykl care? She never offered an ounce of affection to her charges—ever. There wasn’t a child inside she hadn’t threatened, and the only time she ever betrayed any semblance of a good mood was when kids talked about the Angel. She would have to work for it if she wanted his obedience.

  He looked up at James, touched a finger to his lips, and scampered behind the couch.

  “Mykl! Where is that worthless child?” she demanded of James, who shrugged and began picking his nose with his middle finger like Mykl had taught him. She shook a threatening claw-like finger at him. “Your days are numbered too, retard! Six more months, and you’ll be eighteen and out of my hair for good.”

  She turned to leave the room, and James stuck his tongue out behind her.

  “Mykl!”

  “Yes?” Mykl answered. He stepped in front of the couch and stood there in wide-eyed innocence as if he’d been there all along.

  Lori grabbed him roughly by the arm and began drag-walking him back to the office. “You little shit.” She shoved him ahead of her. “Get your ass into that interview lounge. Your new dad is waiting. He seems to be the perfect person to put you in your place.”

  Mykl’s arm stung, and a red welt rose where she grabbed him. He couldn’t help but chuckle. Perhaps she was venomous after all.

  CHAPTER 15

  The interview lounge had doors on opposite sides: one granted access to the dangerous external world, the other back to the Box, via the office. Its décor consisted of a worn brown couch, a fake plant, and an uncomfortable wooden chair for the hopeful adoptee. In the corner, a ceiling-mounted security camera adorned with spider webs watched passively through a dusty lens.

  Electronic locks, controlled from the office, secured both doors. This not only prevented anyone from kidnapping a child, but also thwarted the children from running away—either to the outside or, more commonly, back into the Box. Each door had its own “request” button. When someone pressed the request button for the door opening to the outside, it meant a successful adoption. An asylum representative would step in to collect a signature and make sure the child was not being coerced, and then the adoptee would be free to leave with their new parents. A request signal from the door opening into the office usually meant an unsuccessful match, and the child would be returned to the Box.

  Lori pressed a button on her desk to buzz Mykl in. “Good luck,” she said, her voice thick with insincerity. The door thumped closed behind him with the finality of a coffin slamming shut.

  A pale, fat slubberdegullion with a receding hairline slouched on the couch. His face melted into stubbly chins that jiggled gelatinously above a shabby shirt, unbuttoned down to the first greasy stain above his navel. The remaining buttons strained to contain his belly, and looked prepared to fail catastrophically at any second. His dark slacks and slip-on shoes were equally stained. He burped, and noxious vapors spewed through wet fleshy lips. Even from across the lounge, Mykl breathed in the odor of beer and cigarettes. The man’s eyes were unfocused, but still Mykl felt his appraising gaze.

  Mykl slowly took a seat. His feet dangled several inches above the ground, and he gripped the armrests in a conscious effort to anchor himself. He had made up his mind about this man the moment he’d entered the room, but he thought it might be entertaining to give him an opportunity to speak before breaking the bad news.

  The man didn’t bother to sit up straight before slurring, “You’re kinda…”

  “Are you going to hit me?” Mykl interrupted.

  “Now wha’ kinda question is that? You need to learn ya some manners, little boy. I’m jus’ the person to teach ya, too. Gonna put ya to work, tha’s wha’ I’m gonna do. You jus’ mind yer tongue an’ we be gettin’ along fine. Learn ya to not in’errupt…”

  “Are you going to hit me?” Mykl asked again, louder.

  The man wheezed and impatiently rotated himself more upright. All I have to do is twist a bit more, and this loose screw will bolt, Mykl thought.

  “The nice lady in that there office told me I’s gonna be able to leave here wi’ ya, so ya may’s well git used to the idea of me bein’ your pa. Saves ya from the Angel. So how’s ’bout it? Ya ready ta go?”

  “Are you going to hit me?” Mykl spoke slowly and enunciated clearly, as if speaking to someone who didn’t understand English.

  “If ya don’ listen ta me when we git home, yer gonna get the belt!” His face glistened red from the effort of speaking.

  “Will I be able to go to school?” Mykl arched an eyebrow. I may as well have some fun with this before I go back inside.

  The man leaned back at the change of subject. “No.” He waved a hand dismissively. “School is too ’spensive. I got me a bar and need someone to see to dishes and cleanin’. Ya won’ be allowed to serve no drinks ’til ya turn twenty-one, o’ course.” He winked at Mykl.

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Ya really got no choice. The lady done said so.”

  “The stove in your home, is it gas or electric?” Mykl asked with a spark in his voice.

  The man blinked at the unexpected question. “Gas—Why’s ya ask?”

  Mykl released the arms of his chair to calmly lean forward and stare into the man’s eyes. “I know how gas stoves work. Do you know what happens when someone disables the igniter, blows out the pilot light, and then turns on the gas? I do not want to be your boy.” His heated stare grew in intensity.

  Puzzled bewilderment blossomed on the man’s face, then gave way to an explosion of clarity. Mykl understood. The fragile, dark-haired boy politely sitting in front of him had transformed into a flesh-searing demon before his eyes.

  “Ya sick bastard!”

  A button rocketed off the man’s shirt like a bullet as he tumbled off the couch. He fled through the outside door, leaving Mykl alone with the man’s lingering odor.

  Mykl stared in surprise at the natural light streaming through the door
as it closed on its own. The man hadn’t even pushed the request button; the door had been unlocked. That could mean only one thing: Lori wanted him out of her life even if it meant breaking adoption rules. That harpy wasn’t even going to bother with stepping in to make sure everything was okay. She would be rid of me and could write whatever she wanted in the adoption documentation.

  Mykl shook his head and grinned. She’s going to have to try harder if she wants to outsmart me.

  He hopped off the chair, reached up to the office request button, and stopped. He glanced back at the other door. Freedom was only a few steps away. Where would I go? The world beyond that door filled him with fear. With his size, he was no match for bullies and creepers on the streets. And smarts would only carry him so far. As much as he dreaded it, he had to return to the Box.

  He reluctantly pushed the office request button and waited.

  Lori would not be happy at his return. He decided that playing meek and dejected was his best ploy. He gazed at his feet and counted the seconds before a slight change of light told him that someone was looking through the narrow window in the door. An expletive filtered through the door, followed by a brief pause, then it opened.

  Lori struck a belligerent pose and blocked his path. “What happened? Why did he leave without you?”

  “He said I didn’t look healthy enough. Probably had something to do with bad genes on my father’s side of the family.” Mykl shrugged and moved to get past her before she could interrogate him further.

  With a gleeful look in her eyes, Lori thrust her knee viciously into his sternum, knocking the air from his lungs and sending him flailing backward onto the floor. Stunned and struggling to breathe, Mykl curled into a ball and willed himself not to cry in front of her. A fiery pain radiated from his chest to his limbs.

  “I’m going to save your life if it kills you,” Lori said before turning away and slamming the door.