“The female?” Caledonia echoed his choice of words, appalled at his detached tone.
“Layla,” he pointed out, unaware of her rising horror. “Her heterochromia, the way she could alter her mother’s mood– even as a toddler I knew she was possessed of a remarkable gift! The three of you were conceived while your mothers were taking the Athena compound, and your unique talents are a mutation brought on by it!”
“A mutation?” Caledonia asked.
“Of the X chromosome… A rare gift created by my Athena compound. A gift bestowed on you and Layla alone.”
“How did you end up raising the twins?” she asked, remembering the tragic story of their parent’s deaths.
“Their mother made me their guardian shortly before she took her own life.” He smiled triumphantly, “Just as your aunt has given you to me.”
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she shrank back in her chair, “I don’t belong to you. I won’t stay here. Let me go now and you can forget that I even exist.”
He shook his head with false sympathy, “I could never forget about you– You’re part of my research whether you like it or not. I’m getting older, and I’m running out of time. I need to study you now… To understand precisely how my Athena compound has altered your DNA.”
“I’m not one of your subjects.”
“You have no choice in the matter. You must understand, I’ve devoted my entire life to this research… If I could only go back in time, I’d give the Athena compound exclusively to pregnant women and devote years of study to second generation subjects.”
Caledonia was horrified, “You’d give it to pregnant women… at the cost of their sanity? No one would agree to that! The university was right to stop your research!”
He leaned forward, “I fund myself now… And no one can stop me! The Athena project will succeed! I will be remembered for improving all of mankind. You…” He pointed a bony finger at her, “should consider the greater good!”
She could see his fervor, and feel his burning desire for vindication. Like an obsessive captain Ahab, he was driven, unable to admit defeat, and pushing forward against all codes of ethics and human decency.
“You’re insane,” she said quietly.
Again, he chose to ignore her, lamenting, “It’s a shame that I didn’t discover your existence earlier. There’s a certain amount of brain… plasticity… that is lost with age. If only I had raised you as my own. With both of your parent’s exposure your gift must be strong indeed. I look forward to learning exactly what you’re capable of.”
He smiled to himself at the prospect, and Caledonia shuddered. She remembered how afraid her parents were of him, and silently thanked them for hiding her away as long as they did. The magnitude of their sacrifice was just beginning to dawn upon her.
“David and Jenny must have developed a method to cope with the hallucinations.” He shook his head in admiration, “They really were the cleverest of subjects… Did they have some kind of system? How did they manage it?”
“Love,” she said quietly, remembering their tenderness with each other, “It’s called love.”
He cocked an eyebrow, “Whatever it was, it’s fascinating to know that they were able to survive as long as they did.” He spoke to himself like he forgot she was in the room, “Perhaps I should start pairing up test subjects from now on.”
Her eyes flew open, and she looked at her teacup in horror.
He laughed, “Not you, silly! The latest manifestation of the Athena compound is currently being administered to primates under highly controlled conditions in my private laboratory. Once I perfect the formula I’ll show everyone how wrong they were!” He leaned forward, “I’m on the verge of a real breakthrough!”
“That’s what you said eighteen years ago.”
He flashed a tight smile, “Dinner will be served in exactly two hours. The twins can tell you all about our house rules. I’m sure you’ll be very happy here.”
“You can’t keep me here,” she said.
He nodded towards Max, “Take her to her room.”
She stood, and with a final look at Professor Reed she walked out, pausing to listen when he called after her.
“Oh and, Caledonia… Your attire today is entirely unacceptable. Now that you’re living with us, you’ll be expected to take care with your appearance. If you refuse to change into some proper clothes for dinner, I’m afraid I’ll have to send Max in to dress you.”
She turned back to see that he meant what he said. Max was smirking at her, and she wondered if he was the one who’d put her into the nightgown. Her stomach twisted as she was escorted back down the hallway to her opulent little prison cell.
Max pushed her back into the room more roughly than necessary.
“Be ready for dinner at eight,” he said, slamming the door.
~
Chapter Twenty One – DEFIANCE
~
By the time eight o’clock drew near Caledonia had gone through a rainbow of emotions, switching from dark blue despair to red hot anger. Cold white fear changed to stubborn green defiance and back again; she finally understood exactly what her parents had been so terrified of.
Professor Reed was a true sociopath. Judging by the lengths he went to capture and hold her, she got the distinct impression that even after she turned eighteen she would not be free to go. She was only certain of one thing; she would get out of here one way or the other.
She looked into the wardrobe in her room, digging through dozens of outfits that were very much like the ones that she’d seen the red haired girl wearing in her aunt’s kitchen. She sorted through a variety of cashmere cardigans, lace trimmed blouses and long, full skirts. She bit her lip with determination, pulling out a red sweater and skirt set, but finally deciding on a pale blue one, slipping it on just as the door to her gilded cage swung open.
This time, Max and his silent co-hort led her to a pair of double doors that opened onto a statue-lined foyer. She looked inside, surprised to be walking into a luxurious apartment. A panoramic view of a waterfront with city lights beyond it was visible through a broad expanse of windows on the farthest wall. Judging by the height, they looked to be on the third or fourth floor. Caledonia scanned the horizon, desperately searching for a landmark by which she could get her bearings.
“Where are we?” she asked.
A sharp jerk on her arm directed her to the right, through an archway where they entered into an elaborate dining room. Three heads snapped to attention.
“Welcome home,” Professor Reed said, standing up. The twins rose from their seats at the table with matching false smiles. An eerie nervous energy hung in the air, a sour smelling cloud of yellow curiosity ringed with cold blue and acid green.
The professor gestured to a chair, and Max steered her over to it, “Sit.”
She settled down with a defiant air, taking note of the anxious twins. She was surprised to see that the girl’s curiosity was tempered by a healthy dose of fear.
“Wait in the parlor,” Reed told Max, settling into his chair and gesturing for the twins to do the same. Caledonia looked all around the opulent room, her eyes zooming in on the knives lying on the table. She looked up to see three pairs of eyes watching her. The boy’s mouth was hanging open.
The professor cleared his throat, “Layla, Michael, Why don’t you tell Caledonia all about our routine, and the privileges she can earn with good behavior.”
They started talking, taking turns telling her about how much they liked their tutors, describing field trips they took to various museums and the zoo. She looked back and forth between their eyes while they spoke, noticing how Layla kept trying to send her a mesmerizing blast of soft lavender. She batted the color away easily, sending her back a sharp rebuke of orange annoyance.
Caledonia scowled at her, “Stop it. I know what you did to my aunt.” She turned to look at the old man with contempt, “And you paid off her boyfriend.”
Pro
fessor Reed seemed surprised, “You should be thanking me for removing you from that poor excuse for a home. You’ll find the education I provide to be superior to anything you could have gotten in that dreadful enviornment… Now just listen to Layla and Michael.”
The twins continued their sales pitch, and Professor Reed watched with a clinical, detached air, obviously expecting the girl to succeed in pacifying Caledonia. The two teens took turns speaking, and Layla grew alarmed as her redoubled efforts were easily rebuffed. Her glances toward the professor became increasingly anxious, and Caledonia realized that the fear she’d sensed was because of him; she was afraid of displeasing him.
Layla finally complained, “It won’t work. She knows how to block.”
“Fascinating,” noted the professor, ringing a bell. “Do you like vichyssoise?” he asked Caledonia.
A small nervous woman wearing a black dress with a white apron appeared, bearing a tureen of soup. She carefully set it down on the elaborately carved sideboard, ladling out four bowls meticulously. Caledonia tried to catch her eye, but she would not look up, and her serious face betrayed none of the anxiety she felt. She served each one of them, her attention completely focused on the task at hand.
“That will be all,” Reed said, dismissing her.
The professor pantomimed opening his napkin and placing it in his lap, nodding at Caledonia to follow suit, “Judging by the tattooed hooligans that Max found you keeping company with, I didn’t fetch you a moment too soon. You’ll soon come to see that I did you an enormous favor by removing you from that crowd.”
“You mean kidnapping me?”
“Now dear, I’d hardly call it kidnapping. I’m your legal guardian.”
Michael jumped in, “You’ll like it here… If we follow the rules we get to do whatever we want.”
“Really? All I want to do is leave,” she snapped.
She ignored the boy’s wounded face, her eyes scanning the room from top to bottom. A pair of sparkling chandeliers hung from the high ceiling like diamond earrings, and the marble paneled walls were covered with framed art that looked like it belonged in a museum. She had never seen a place so richly decorated, or a dining table so extravagantly set.
A long, low flower arrangement divided the tabletop, and there was a bewildering array of polished silverware surrounding each place setting. Caledonia studied the gilded china, remembering the article that described Reed’s dismissal from the university.
“Who pays for all of this?” she asked.
The twins both looked to the professor to answer, but he dodged the question with a faint whiff of annoyance, “It’s not polite to discuss money at the dinner table.”
“Didn’t you get fired from the university?” She pressed him, pleased to see his colors betray his rising irritation, “Because of your failed experiments?”
“Professor Reed is a brilliant scientist,” Layla came to his defense. “His research is groundbreaking.”
“His research only broke ground to put graves into it!” Caledonia spat out bitterly. “He’s the reason that our parents are dead!”
Once again, the twins seemed surprised, looking to Professor Reed for an answer. They were obviously not used to his authority being challenged, and they looked back and forth between him and Caledonia; their colors blending into a bewildered shade of blue.
Caledonia addressed the two of them, “Did you know that he’s still doing it?”
“Doing what?” Michael asked, staring at her with pure fascination.
Caledonia was indignant, “He’s still experimenting with his Athena drug– giving it to helpless animals! Don’t you realize that it was his research that drove your mother to commit suicide?”
“That’s enough of that!” Reed exclaimed. “One more outburst and you’ll be taking your meals alone in your room.”
Caledonia looked up to see Max appear in the archway, ready to take her away. She slumped in her chair with her mouth shut, glowering menacingly at the professor. She knew he felt her malice, because he reached for his mirrored lenses, surprising the twins.
“That’s better. Now, let’s all try to enjoy a nice meal together.”
There was an uncomfortable silence, and Layla rushed to fill it with small talk. “That’s a really pretty sweater,” she told Caledonia.
The professor nodded with approval, “Yes, the blue is much more becoming on you than the red.”
Layla jolted in her chair as if she’d just been shocked by an electric current, because the violent reaction was transmitted from across the table even before the words were spoken.
“You watched me GETTING DRESSED?!” Caledonia bolted to her feet, knocking over her chair behind her with a thump that brought Max running.
“You’re under surveillance as part of a scientific study,” Professor Reed explained calmly. “It’s purely clinical. There’s really no reason to get so upset about it.”
“You bastard! How dare you!”
“Max,” the professor called over his shoulder, I’m going to need you to remove her from the table.”
Max entered the room and advanced on her, holding out his hand, “Nice try.” He smiled grimly, “Now give me the knife.”
Caledonia reached slowly behind her back for the steak knife she’d slipped into the waistband of her skirt. Before anyone could move, she drew her arm back and threw it hard. It stuck in the table directly in front of Professor Reed with a dull thud, vibrating like a tuning fork.
Three pairs of shocked eyes watched as she straightened herself and went with Max, turning back once to spew a burning red cloud of volcanic anger into the room. The twins gasped simultaneously.
Caledonia was roughly deposited back into her room, and once she was alone the reality of her situation came crashing down upon her all at once. Everything her parents had feared had come to pass; she was at the mercy of the madman who had ruined their lives.
She thought about Calvin with a sharp stab of pain, and threw herself onto the bed, burying her face in the pillow with a sob. It was hard to believe that it had only been a day since they swam in the river, splashing and playing like a couple of otters until they finally wound up in a passionate embrace.
She remembered how the water ran off his body as he rose from the river, and the way he pulled her down on top of him and made love to her right there on the riverbank. They held each other close afterwards, lying in the dappled sunlight and letting the warm summer breeze dry their bodies.
Life could not possibly be so cruel as to give her a taste of love only to snatch it right back again. What if he forgot all about her before she could get back to him? She looked through a veil of tears at the childish artificial room she was trapped in, overcome by despair.
Then she got mad.
Calvin had awakened something within her, and she didn’t want it to go back to sleep. She went from grieving her loss to being enraged, and it was the powerful rage of a woman in love, a blaze of angry red that darkened to nearly black. Caledonia got up and paced, the anger swelling within her, making it impossible for her to sit still. She thought about the hidden camera somewhere in the room and got even angrier.
If he was going to watch her, she might as well put on a show.
She picked up the perfume bottles, hurling them at the wall one by one, filling the room with a sickeningly sweet stench that only served to inflame her more. She tore apart the armoire, smashing the drawers and ripping the clothes inside them to pieces.
Professor Reed watched the monitor in his office, turning to Max, “Do you think she might hurt herself?”
Max shook his head with disgust, “I knew this was a mistake. We should have waited.”
“It’s only a childish tantrum,” the professor said, watching as the violence on the screen escalated. “I couldn’t simply sit back and allow an innocent girl to be compromised by lowlife scum.”
Max looked down at the monitor, thinking she looked more like a vicious beast than a girl. “We�
�re going to have to move her.”
They watched as Caledonia rocked one of the bedposts until it snapped, sending the canopy crashing down onto the mattress. She used the post as a club, swinging at the dresser, shattering the glass in the picture frames and the mirror, and finally punching great holes in the walls.
By the time Max flung open the door she stood heaving and panting in the wreckage. There wasn’t a thing left to break, and she was spent. The second guard lifted his glasses to stare in disbelief; it looked like a bomb had gone off in the room.
“Put ‘em back on,” Max barked at him.
The two men took Caledonia by the arms, leading the shaking girl out of the room and into the hall. She used her last ounce of energy to kick at their legs as she was lifted off her feet, half dragged and half carried down the corridor to an elevator. Max pressed a button and Caledonia could feel her stomach drop as they went down three floors to the basement.
Max was fuming.
All of his worst predictions were coming true, and here he was, spending his precious time putting out fires instead of taking care of business. The stupid old man wouldn’t listen to reason, and now they had a huge problem on their hands, a problem that threatened all of his plans.
He’d just put a down payment on a sweet little beach house in Aruba, and he didn’t get to see his expensive girlfriend nearly enough. Now he was going to have to spend even more time here, riding herd on this little hellcat and taking orders from a crazy old man. Max gripped Caledonia’s thin arm even tighter with irritation.
The elevator door opened to a sterile white hallway lined with doors, and the men dragged her increasingly less resistant body down to one of them, opening it to reveal a small cell. The two men picked her up and heaved her in like a sack of potatoes, standing back to rub their bruised shins.
The door slammed behind her with a resounding thud, and Caledonia found herself alone in a room completely unlike the one she had just trashed. It held only a metal sink and toilet, with a thin mattress set on the floor in the corner. She looked up to see a camera trained down on her, and crouched on the floor with her head between her knees, hands trembling from hunger and fatigue.
The Athena Effect Page 21