“Alright. Thank you very much,” Caledonia said politely.
Grandma Costa started to leave the room, pausing at the threshold, “It’s good to have a girl in the house for a change.”
She left the room and Caledonia slipped out of her clothes, unstrapping her knife and putting it under the pillow. She put on the dress, twisting and turning to see how she looked in the big oval mirror that was propped up on a stand in the corner of the room. She ran her hand through her unruly hair, trying to smooth it into submission.
After a while, Calvin ducked his head into the room. Caledonia smiled up at him from where she sat perched in the window seat with a book, “This is a really pretty room.” she pointed out, “And your mother had very good taste in books.”
Her hair was backlit by the last long rays of the sun streaming into the window, creating a soft golden glow all around her head and shoulders. Calvin sat down beside her, looking at her in awe.
“You look really pretty,” he said.
She smoothed the dress, explaining, “Your grandmother gave me this to wear while she washes my things.” Her face was serious, “She’s really being very nice to me.”
She made him smile, and he leaned in to look over her shoulder, “What are you reading?”
She held up the book, “Hatchet.”
“Have you read that before too?” he asked.
She smiled sheepishly, “Yes. It was one of my favorites when I was little.”
“What’s it about?” he turned to nuzzle her ear.
She giggled, squirming in her seat, “It’s about a boy who gets into a plane crash… and how….”
He started kissing her neck, making her lose her train of thought.
“And how he survives… all alone… in the wild.”
The sound of a throat clearing made them both look up to see Calvin’s grandfather standing in the doorframe. He looked in at them disapprovingly, “Time to wash up for supper.”
“Hi Grandpa,” Calvin said, sitting up straight.
Caledonia stood up, embarrassed. Her face was burning hot, but when she looked into the old man’s eyes, all she saw was kindness. Once more, she was surprised at the steady, mellow aura the older people exuded. He extended his hand in a no-nonsense greeting, “Nice to see you again young lady.”
“Thank you for letting us stay,” she said, shaking it firmly.
He turned to look at Calvin, “Son, you’ll be bunking in the guest room upstairs.”
When he walked out of the room Calvin groaned dramatically, “They have the squeakiest stairs in the world!”
Caledonia didn’t understand, “Is that bad?’
“He doesn’t want me to sneak into your room tonight,” he said, stepping closer to wrap himself around her tightly. “You’d better kiss me now while you have the chance.”
So she did.
~
Chapter Twenty – CAPTURE
~
She woke up with a start, opening her eyes to see a dark figure looming over her bed.
“Calvin?” she whispered, just before a hand clamped down over her mouth.
The dead weight of a large man fell upon her, pinning her onto the mattress. Another figure materialized at her side, and she felt a pinprick on her shoulder. She sank her teeth into the hand on her face, kicking her legs and trying her hardest to scream as the whole scene slowed and blurred.
She could feel her body being lifted as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Weightless, suspended, she felt like she was floating, lying on her back in the river. She remembered Calvin’s face when he leaned in to kiss her. It was the last thought that crossed her mind before everything went black.
~
Max unwrapped the handkerchief that was tied around his palm, cursing under his breath. He scowled, turning to look at the heavily sedated girl sprawled out in the back of the van. She looked sweet and innocent, lying there with golden curls framing an angelic face, but he suspected that she might just be the devil in disguise.
He had serious doubts about the wisdom of taking her so soon, and a gut feeling that they were making a huge mistake. They had a good thing going with the twins, and everybody was making plenty of money… So why rock the boat?
He’d tried to convince the professor to wait, to fully assess the situation before bringing her into the building, but Reed was adamant. From the moment the professor had learned of her existence she’d become his singular obsession, and he’d been preparing for her arrival with a frenzied rush of energy. The maniacal gleam in his eye was troubling; when it came to this girl, the old man would not listen to reason.
Once he got a close-up look at her it got even worse; the old fool couldn’t stop crowing about how all his years of work had been vindicated. Now Max was even expected to supply women for his freaky experiments… Like the chimps hadn’t been hard enough to come by!
The girl was trouble alright, and nowhere near as delicate as she looked. Max had personally witnessed her disable a battle hardened veteran, delivering a crippling blow with no hesitation. She’d left him a man short of a full security detail, and now he had her to deal with on top of everything else. He rubbed his temples, and the throbbing in his bitten hand only served to reinforce his misgivings.
“Headache?” the driver asked.
“Yeah,” Max replied, “A huge one.”
~
Caledonia woke up in a strange room, blinking at a lacy canopy looming over her pounding head. She struggled to sit up, disoriented, groggy and nauseous. She looked down at the ruffled sleeves on her wrists and came fully awake with a burst of adrenalin.
She sprang up, wobbly on her feet, looking around in a panic as she tried to get her bearings. It was a bizarre room she found herself in, all light pink walls and floral prints, plush white carpeting soft beneath her feet. There was an elaborately carved armoire, a mirrored vanity and a bureau that was painted with delicate pink roses. The walls were decorated with pictures of ballerinas in tutus, mounted in ornate rococo frames.
It was as if she had fallen down a rabbit hole into some kind of alternate universe.
There was a golden clawfoot tub set on a raised platform on one side of the room, its waterspout shaped like a swan. The vanity held a silver brush and comb set, alongside dozens of bottles of perfume displayed on a mirrored tray.
She turned back to see the bed she had risen from was even more ornate than the tub, its gilded headboard populated with carved cupids and cherubs, tumbling and swirling in a scrolled rococo sky. Four tall bedposts held up a lacy canopy that looked like a wedding dress. When Caledonia lifted her eyes her head began to pound.
She looked down at the ruffled white robe she was wearing, seeing that it covered a white satin nightgown. When she peeked down the top she found a lacy camisole and underwear beneath it. She turned to the mirror over the vanity, looking back at herself with a horrified face.
Someone had dressed her.
The shock jolted her into action, and she scanned the room for a way out, realizing that there were no windows; only a locked door. She yanked on the knob, unable to budge it; the hinges were on the opposite side. A clock on the wall told her it was nearly twelve o’clock, but noon or midnight, she couldn’t say.
She looked around again, taking in all of the details. Although luxurious, the room was artificial and affected, and it stood in stark contrast to the charm of Calvin’s mother’s room. The place felt like an elaborate set– it was an old man’s idea of a little girl’s room, and everything about it was wrong.
She felt trapped, and she paced like a zoo animal, growing more and more agitated as she shook off the lingering effects of whatever they had knocked her out with. There was a ringing sound, and she startled, following the noise to a pink princess-style phone that sat on the white dresser. She picked it up cautiously.
“I hope that you find the room to your liking,” the professor’s voice said.
“Let me go,” she said with a shaking voice. “I
don’t want to be here.”
“We need to talk. I’ve arranged for tea in my office.”
“No! I want to leave now!”
He ignored her demand, “Go ahead and look in your new wardrobe. I’ve taken the liberty of picking out a few things… You’ll find I’ve spared no expense for you.”
“I won’t stay here,” she said defiantly.
“There’s so much that you simply don’t understand. I can tell you all about Jenny and David.”
“My parents?” her voice cracked.
“I’ll see you in fifteen minutes.”
She frantically pushed the buttons on the phone, hoping to reach someone for help, but the line was dead. She squatted down, wrapping her arms around her legs in a futile attempt to self soothe. She thought of Calvin, and her vision blurred with tears, wondering what he would think when he woke up to find her missing.
“I’ll get out of here,” she whispered, “I swear it.”
She started pacing again, anxiously checking the clock every few minutes. She peered inside the wardrobe to find it stocked full of clothes with the tags still on them. She curled her lips in
disgust at the thought of dressing to please him, pulling the robe tighter around her body. A few more minutes passed and the door barged open, revealing two big men, both wearing mirrored glasses. Caledonia recognized them from Calvin’s house, and backed herself into a corner defensively.
“We’re here to take you to Doctor Reed,” Max announced. The other one said nothing, his face expressionless.
They advanced on her with a wary and determined mindset; she knew that she’d lose against them in a physical fight. Caledonia stared hard into the mirrors of their lenses, doing her best to frighten them. She got no reaction whatsoever, and she realized that they knew to avoid looking directly into her eyes.
She exhaled, holding up her hands, “Alright, alright… I’m coming.”
Caledonia was escorted out of the room and into a hallway with one man on either side of her. They led her down the corridor and into a wood paneled office that was filled from top to bottom with leather bound books and framed diplomas. The professor smiled up from behind an imposing desk, gesturing to a chair.
She looked around nervously at the ostentatious room, finally taking a seat.
“Welcome,” Professor Reed inspected her from his desk, smiling warmly. He nodded to Max, “That will be all.”
“She’s dangerous,” Max replied. “You shouldn’t be alone with her.”
Professor Reed took note of the big man’s bandaged hand and nodded, “Why don’t you wait just outside?”
The professor watched him leave the room, straightening himself at his desk and smiling again, “Max tells me you’re quite the athlete. I understand you put up a vigorous fight.”
She stared at him, sending him a stupefying blast of confusion.
“My goodness! I could certainly feel that.” He reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of mirrored sunglasses. “You’ll have to forgive the lenses, but it’s only a safety precaution until I can assess your skill level. You’ll discover I’ve trained myself to be quite resistant to the Athena effect.”
“The Athena effect?”
“That’s what I call the second generation synesthesia… And the ability to project an emotional state onto others.”
If she had any doubts at all that he knew what she could do, he had just dispelled them once and for all. Her parent’s warnings echoed in her mind.
“What do you want with me?”
“Why, to welcome you to our little family,” he smiled paternally. “You belong to quite an exclusive group– Michael and Layla are so excited about your arrival. We’ve gone to a great deal of trouble to plan a welcome home dinner for you.”
“This isn’t my home.”
He leaned back in his chair, his fingertips together. Even without being able to look into his eyes she could see his eager excitement, and feel the weight of his expectations. “Let me explain to you how special you are… how very rare. There are only two of you in existence.”
“Two of who?”
“Female offspring of the original test subjects. I’d always suspected that it was the Athena compound that caused the Layla to be born with her extraordinary talents, but now you’ve come along and absolutely confirmed it! I’m responsible for your creation, so in a way, you’re like my own daughter, and I expect you’ll grow to see me as a father figure eventually.”
She recoiled with distaste, leaping to her feet, “You’re nothing like my father!”
Max darted back into the room, glowering at her, and Caledonia slowly sat back down. The big brute was right, she was dangerous. At the moment she was fighting the overwhelming urge to lunge across the table, grab Professor Reed by the throat and squeeze. Hard.
He flinched, and she realized he must have glanced into her eyes from behind his mirrored lenses. She redoubled her efforts, sending a cloud of fear his way. He shifted in his seat, clearing his throat.
“Perhaps I should begin at the beginning.”
He reached across the desk for a teapot that rested on a tray along with two flowery cups on saucers. He poured tea into both of them, putting cream and sugar into each one without asking. He stirred them methodically while he spoke.
“I met your parents when I interviewed them for Project Athena… In fact, I was the one who introduced them. They were both so young, so eager to take part in the research, so very, very brilliant. Ah… I can still remember when they first laid eyes on each other– the sparks really flew!”
He paused, studying her for a minute, “You certainly do take after both of them… And you have such extraordinary eyes. Heterochromia is definitely linked to your synesthesia.”
“My synesthesia?” she asked.
“The neural cross wiring… The blending of sensory perception. You and Layla have a most unique variety of the phenomenon.”
He slid a cup across the desk, cautiously watching to see what she would do. She took it, pushing aside the impulse to hurl it in his face. Despite her anger, she had a terribly dry throat. She took a sip, her shaking hands betraying her fear and loathing.
“What kinds of research did my parents do?” she asked.
His voice crackled with excitement as he described his work in the area of human intelligence. He spoke broadly about his efforts to improve the human mind, explaining that his goal was a noble one. Caledonia watched him gesture wildly, and she could feel the maniacal zeal he exuded. She didn’t need to see his shielded eyes to know that they were on fire when he claimed that he could speed up evolution, and improve all of mankind forever.
“You didn’t tell me what my parents did,” she pointed out.
He ignored her, going on to explain the many exciting advances in brain research, describing how large portions of the brain that were under-utilized.
“I realized that if I could open up previously dormant areas of the brain to higher functionality there would be virtually no limit on human intelligence. I alone discovered how to increase the brain’s connectivity– to increase neurogenesis– to actually spur the growth of new synapses!”
He leaned forward in his chair, “Imagine a mind that learns faster, is more creative… a mind capable of storing and recalling virtually unlimited amounts of information.”
She just stared at him.
“I began by looking at various psychotropic drugs like LSD. They can induce a temporary synesthesia… I found a way to increase these neural pathways.”
She leaned forward, “So you gave them drugs?”
“Not just any drugs,” he said pompously. “My proprietary creation. The Athena Compound.”
He explained how years of trial and error had led to him synthesize a drug that enhanced brain function. He claimed that it increased the intelligence of animals from lab rats to chimps, and was considered so promising that he was provided with an entire wing of the science building in which to conduct human tr
ials.
“I named it Athena,” he said proudly, “After the goddess of wisdom.”
“What did it do to them?” she asked, thinking that there was nothing wise about the man who sat before her.
He shifted in his chair, and she could see him grow uncomfortable, “At first it worked brilliantly. It made them all more intelligent… better. They scored higher on recall, cognition. We were just beginning to see some signs of induced synesthesia when the side effects started to appear.”
“Side effects?”
He sighed with disappointment, remembering, “At first it was only headaches, but after a few weeks they started to experience increasing anxiety. It gradually turned into full blown panic attacks, escalating into extreme paranoid delusions… After the suicides I did my best to tweak the formula and recruit new subjects, but the university was concerned about lawsuits–”
Caledonia gasped, “You mean, you just kept going? After people died?”
He looked at her like she was hopelessly naive, “If I quit, their sacrifices would be for nothing.” He was indignant, and his color turned an ugly shade of yellow green, “Those short sighted fools at the university cut off my funding just when I was on the verge of a breakthrough! They forced my resignation, and locked me out of my own laboratory!”
“You chose my parents because they had no family… didn’t you?”
He seemed surprised, “Why, Yes. Yes I did. It was the best way to avoid any possible legal complications. The students that agreed to participate had their debt forgiven and were provided free tuition and housing for graduate school… But I believe that most subjects participated out of sheer intellectual curiosity.”
“Subjects,” she repeated, taking note of the clinical, detached way she spoke about them. It was a far cry from the way he’d gushed about his “family” in the newspaper article she’d read. “You knew it was dangerous and you still gave it to them.”
He took a deep breath, and she could see how intensely bitter he was. “Despite being cut off from my lab and my funding, I kept in contact with the survivors, continuing my observations. When the twins were born I monitored them… Right away I knew the female was special.”
The Athena Effect Page 20