CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE:
Vance led me down a flight of stairs toward the back of the high school. Not many of the old buildings managed to survive the wars, those that remained behind reminded people of a simpler time when life was precious and there was a meaning behind our existence. The old football trophies and student newsletter cuttings had long been destroyed; leaving the school equipped more like a war training facility.
“So, Frankie tells me Diesel has been cooperating. Why do I find that hard to believe?” I asked with a doubtful huff.
Vance gave me a one-shoulder shrug. “He’s been quiet if that’s what she meant.”
“Are you really going to let him go?”
“Yes. A life for a life, then I’m calling us even. It’ll be wise if he stays away. Can’t say we’ll extend the same mercy if he crosses us again.” He stopped by a lone, barricaded door and motioned with his head. “He’s in here.”
I opened the door to a low dim-lit room with a body stretched out across the bed. Diesel was handcuffed to the bed frame, forcing him to sleep on his side facing the door. His swollen face had calmed. The bruising was minimal and the cuts were freshly pink with clearing scabs. His hair was frayed over his face, but between the wispy, black strands, I caught his upwards gaze. He mumbled something and fluttered his eyes to a close.
“Now I understand why he isn’t fighting you. You’ve drugged him.”
Vance stepped up beside me. “Only enough to sedate him. He kept trying to bite anyone who got too close. A lot of the men around here wanted his head hung on the gates like an ornament.”
“Do you mind if I have a moment alone?” Vance nodded, walked out into the hall and closed the door.
I approached Diesel and knelt down by his bedside. Standing so close, Diesel felt like a black vacuum pulling me in. Darkness seemed to gather by him, and in a way, reflected the same darkness he carried inside his chest. Like a savaged beast, I could feel the heat intensify around him, even as he slept. I’m not sure how long I sat there watching him drop in and out of consciousness. He was coated with sweat, and aside from his initial wounds, appeared to be treated without violence.
“Diesel? Can you hear me?” Diesel’s eyebrow twitched and his lower lip trembled in his attempt to speak.
I sighed and dropped my chin. “Listen, you can’t get mad but I can’t go on with you anymore. Frankie and Vance said I can stay and work with the I.O.S. They want the same thing you want, to take the D400 out of the hands of the Elite. I don’t know if I trust them completely yet, but it’s worth a shot.” I took a deep breath in; the words trembled nervously out of me. “They don’t trust the Mad Dogs group; they call you guys extremists. They keep telling me not to trust you either. I think this is the best choice for the both of us. I’ll make sure they keep their end of the bargain and get you safely out of town but we won’t be seeing each other after that.”
Softly, I reached out and soothed Diesel’s black hair out of his face, tucking it behind his elf-like ears. I chuckled lightly. Even as he slept, Diesel still had that looked like a wild raccoon. There was a small scar on his lower lip; by the tilt of the cut, it appeared his own teeth had done it.
“Man, you’re one messed-up guy… but it’s thanks to you that I even made it this far. I owe you my life. I don’t think I can really ever thank you enough for what you’ve done for me. But it’s time that we go our separate ways. It’s not like you seriously thought we’ll last forever?” Even near unconsciousness, Diesel’s body tightened up in his revolt. I shook my head in my laugh. “Who am I kidding? You’ll hunt us down until your very last breath, and you’ll continue to hunt us down again in your next life. You’re not the type to just let something you want walk out. But I’m not yours to keep. I never was.”
The muscles in his face twitched and I pulled my hand away. Roman’s dark brown jacket was on the back of the chair, leaving Diesel in a large, plain grey shirt that smelt of mud and sweat. There were faded old tattoos marking his arms and the back of his neck that I hadn’t seen before. His boots had been removed, leaving him in dampened dark socks.
“Just… don’t do anything stupid, okay? And please forgive me for leaving you...” I pushed off the bed into a stand. As I turned, Diesel’s hand quickly snatched my pant leg. His grip was weak as I felt his knuckle skim my knee. I glanced down to catch his pupil peeking through the rim of his lashes. I could only imagine what he wanted to say to me, like ‘you can’t run from me’ or ‘I’ll find you’ but his head rolled back and exhaustion took him away.
When I left his room, it felt final. I staggered for a moment, silenced beneath this strange upwards surge from my chest. Suddenly, I was incredibly sad. A small piece of me, despite my denial, flared in agony. I was saddened to leave him, and it terrified me. Diesel was a mad man! I reasoned with myself. Diesel was dangerous! I understood this, yet couldn’t stamp out the buzz that kicked in whenever I heard his name. It was a different sting of longing, not like when I looked at Annie and wanted to pull her protectively into my side, this sting felt sickeningly primal. Since when did I start feeling this way? I squashed the emotions down. Now, more than ever, I knew I had to leave him behind.
I met up with Vance again outside the door and he led me back out into the main camp. As we walked, he received an incoming call on his two-way from Frankie. “Hey, Vance, is Nadia still with you?” We both slowed once stepping outside onto the streets. Vance brought the phone to his mouth.
“Hey, yeah, she is.”
I turned toward him, interested. Frankie continued, “Okay, just got a request from Walter. He wants to check something out with her. Can you send her to the lab?”
“Seriously?” I groaned.
Frankie’s static voice called up, “Sorry Nadia. I think they just want to check out the new contacts.”
“Roger that, I’ll take her there,” Vance confirmed before ushering me into a walk. “You don’t mind, do you?”
I shrugged. “I guess I have to get used to being Walter’s test subject.”
Vance grinned, “So you do plan on staying?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“That’ll be good; we can use someone like you around here. Knowing Carton, he’ll probably send you up to the main I.O.S headquarters.”
“I thought this was your headquarters?”
“No, this is just one section that belongs to the I.O.S operation; I would say only twenty or so men are stationed here. Headquarters is near the coastline. It’s really nice and warm up there. I think you’ll like it. When we’re not out on scouts, that’s where Frankie and I live.”
“Sounds nice,” I mumbled as we walked back through the quiet town and toward the labs. Walter was in his brown vest with his ridiculous half tie thrown over his shoulder. He was nose close to his computer screen, his thick-rimmed glasses glaring white as we let ourselves in. The first time I was led into Walter’s lab, I was worried I was going to be strapped to a surgical table or even worse, in one of those horrible technician’s chairs. Thankfully, none of that was necessary thanks to the paperwork Diesel stole from Doctor Fitzgerald. At our approach, Walter pushed away from the computer and scurried over to greet us at the door.
“Thank you for escorting her Vance but you’re not needed.” He grabbed Vance by the shoulders and steered him out of the room. As he turned to object, Walter slammed the door in his face and locked it. Walter then turned back to me. “Now that you’re here, Nadia, we have much to do.”
He excitedly yanked me forward as I pulled my hand back. “Let me guess, you’ve got the contacts worked out?” Around his office, he had drawn in all the blinds, sheltering him from the sunlight. On his desk and across the room were boxes of paperwork and books that looked centuries old. Walter went straight to an old leather bound textbook by his computer, licked his index and flipped through the pages.
“The contacts are the least of my concerns.”
“Err… what are you talking about?”
<
br /> He whipped his head up. “This is far, far more important. Sit.” Walter pulled his desk chair around for me to sit but I crossed my arms defiantly.
“If you’re not testing the contacts, then why am I here?”
“I must see it for myself. Sit, while I get the syringe.”
“Syringe?”
Walter turned away as he riffled through a rack of vials on his shelf. “Page 459, no page 594. Where did I leave that bloody thing?” he kept muttering.
“Hang on, I’m not letting you jab me with any type of syringe. This isn’t part of the deal!” I turned to leave but Walter rushed ahead of me and threw himself against the door, barring my exit. He clung to the panel like a lizard, which was a perfect image for him because he really was like a scrawny, slimy reptile. “Really? You think your twig-sized body can stop me?” I laughed when something in his palm caught my attention. In his hands, he gripped onto the familiar dark grey casing of my phone, the same one Frankie had said she had destroyed. Sticking out of the side, within the left USB port was the same microchip I stole from Doctor Fitzgerald’s computer. “That… is that mine?”
“Yes, I picked it up from the twins. It has crucial information. Without it, nothing would make sense. But, I must find out for myself.”
“Frankie said she had it destroyed.” I grit my teeth together and stepped up to him with my hand out. “Give it to me.”
Walter snatched it protectively to his chest. “No use trying to destroy it. I’ve made copies.”
“Then I’ll destroy those copies too.”
Walter merely laughed and turned away. “You have no idea what you are. Do you?”
I dropped my hand to my side. “What does that mean?” Walter skipped around his desk, heading toward the back of the room where he continued to mutter and fumble his way through the shelves.
“A-ha! Found it!” Behind a stack, he revealed a syringe with the needle easily reaching five centimetres long.
He turned to me as my hands curled into fists. “You come near me with that thing and I will take your virginity with it.”
“Relax. It won’t hurt.”
“Fine, then you can be stabbed first.”
“This is the only way to find out the truth.”
“What truth?”
Walter placed the injection down carefully and waved my phone around. “It will confirm if you are the prophecy.”
Suddenly, there were three urgent knocks against the door followed by the lock being forced back. Carton walked in accompanied by two others who stood guard at the doorway. Walter quickly hid my phone behind his back and slammed his mouth shut. I turned and looked at Carton. He stood tall with his hands behind him in military form.
“S-S-Sir?” Walter stuttered in his surprise. “You’re early. Didn’t I say to come later?”
Carton’s carved frown didn’t lift. “Being early is the only way to find out what’s really going on. What’s your important news?” He slowed as he looked toward me. “You’ve created the contacts?”
“Well… not exactly.”
“What do you mean not exactly?” Carton took two more steps in, eyeing me off as I stood off to the side from Walter’s desk. I turned my gaze down as Carton cleared his throat. “If you haven’t completed the contacts, why is she here?”
“Sir, I have this theory—”
“I don’t want to hear any more about your radical theories, Walter. You’re meant to be making those contacts! I will ask you again, have you replicated them yet?”
Walter lowered his chin further into his chest, pressing himself against the shelves and away from Carton. “No,” he answered softly.
“It’s been four days. Do you have anything to show me?”
“I… err… haven’t…”
Carton cracked his neck from left to right, a known tell of annoyance. “You see, Walter, this is why I locked you up in this piss of a little lab in the first place, so you will work on the crucial contacts.” He stepped forward, cracking his knuckles as Walter stumbled back. “Now you’re telling me haven’t got anything?”
“But, sir, this is…” Walter started to explain as Carton opened his jacket and pulled a glove out from his interior pocket. The black leather looked timeworn as the spikes on the knuckles glistened with old blood. Walter’s eyes widened. “No, sir, no don’t. I will finish the contacts. I will. I promise.” He cowered away. “Just hear me out, first.”
“Oh, Walter, if only I could believe you.” Carton turned to address me. “Go back to your room. You’re no longer required here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
I couldn’t shake Walter’s words from my head. “You have no idea what you are. Do you?” What did that even mean? Was there a reason to why I was born this way?
I sighed and tossed again in my sheets. Carton was desperate to get those contacts working, and even I was starting to feel exposed without them. They were my cover up, my golden ticket away from a life of constant apprehension. I hadn’t realised I had scratched them that badly. Shit, it must’ve happened at the Anton Lawyers firm. I did remember how irritated they felt from the smoke; maybe I had dislodged them then. In any case, if Walter was unable to copy the blue prints from Diesel’s lab work, then they’d have to keep Diesel on camp until he made them a replica. A part of me knew Diesel wouldn’t oblige. They’d be forced to torture him but he’d die before he lifts a finger to help the I.O.S. No contacts meant no plan and no rebellion. What will happen to me then?
The quiet chirping from the nightlife had become peaceful, when there was a sudden click of my door unlocking. I bolted upright as a slim silhouette eased the door back and slipped inside.
I kicked the sheets off my legs, quickly detangling myself, when Walter’s voice spoke up. “Oh, you’re awake. Good, come you must follow me.” He pulled the hood back revealing a swollen cheek and four cuts where the spikes had struck him.
“Follow you? Yikes, your face…”
Walter stepped closer, stepping into the moon light. The cuts were bad, four knuckle shaped wounds curved across his cheek bone and over his eye. His eye had swollen shut beneath the pink swell and the open sores wept with fresh blood. “Carton does not see; he does not understand. You must leave with me.”
I snarled as he attempted to grab my arm. “To hell I’m going anywhere with you.”
“We have to move before the gangs reach here. If my prognosis is correct, then they cannot find you. Under any circumstances, you must be kept safe.”
“What were you talking about before, with the whole prophecy thing?” I demanded as I circled the room, keeping careful attention to stay out of his reach.
Outside my barred window, a sudden crack of gunfire shattered the quiet. The noise startled the sleepy town and more voices rose, followed by more gunshots. I looked out the window just as an eruption of fire exploded across the building; the flash of orange momentarily started me as unknown figures threw Molotovs into the streets.
Walter gasped, “They’re here already.”
“What did you do?” I spun to him.
“If Carton will not listen then I will go to someone who will appreciate my brilliance. I’ve already relayed the information onto another contact and he is willing to pay. With everyone distracted by the ambush, we can sneak out.”
I turned back and looked out the window again; the fire had already jumped to three other buildings, quickly engulfing the streets into flame as pillows of smoke scorched the sky. With it, I felt my future shrivel up into coughs of ash. I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re a traitor. You’ve just condemned all these men and women to die-”
“For a good cause,” Walter reasoned.
“What makes you so sure they’ll let us out?”
“I have made a deal with the leader; they will let us pass through the underground passage at the old town hall.” His hands trembled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth and chloroform. “Stop wasting time. We have to leave. I will dra
g you out if I have to.”
I pushed off the wall and slapped the bottle from his hands. Walter jumped back, fumbling for his gun in his hip holster. As soon as he pulled the gun out I grabbed his wrist and shoved him against the wall. It was too easy, like I was beating up a child. How Walter survived this long being so weak and feeble was beyond me. With the pistol in my grip, I held the gun to his forehead, pinning him to the wall as he tried to cringe away. “You said you had someone willing to pay? What information did you tell this ass about me exactly?”
The lump in his throat shifted as he gulped. “I wouldn’t have put the connections together, but thanks to the data, it became clear. A real life prophecy. It’s all there, in your very blood.”
I stalled, confused by his answer. “What?”
“I can explain everything in more detail, but you have to take me with you. If you kill me, you’ll never know the truth.”
My chest tightened. I didn’t know what he meant and the expanding unease had me not wanting to know. My grip around the gun tightened. “Who is your contact?”
Walter sucked his lips in, expressing his silence. I jabbed him with the end of the barrel. “Who is your contact? Tell me, and I will make your death quick. Don’t tell me, and I’ll leave you here for the others to find.” Walter shook his head again. “Fine.”
I turned the gun down and fired into his kneecap, forcing a scream out of him. Once he dropped, I struck the gun against his head, knocking him unconscious. I took everything from his pockets, which included my phone and the disk. I glanced over it briefly, contemplating smashing it into pieces, but if this had the answers, then I needed it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
The streets were littered with bodies, both I.O.S and rebel. I heard the heavy crunch of the torrent unloading into the mass of rebels, but their numbers kept rushing into the streets from the darkness. Whatever men were left of the I.O.S took shelter inside the military-styled high school. There was no sign of Carton, Frankie or Vance. From the doorway, I quickly searched for the town hall. From over the rooftops, I saw the main clock tower sitting a safe distance from the flames. But to get there, I had to cross the streets first, cutting straight through the torrent and the wave of gang members. I looked back in the other direction to where the old high school was. Diesel was still locked up. The I.O.S agents wouldn’t be worried about his survival; I had to get him out. Using the shelter of the shadows and the blast from the torrent, I crept along the outer walls and made my way toward the old high school.
Soulless (The Immortal Gene Trilogy Book 1) Page 17