by Cass Kim
His blue eyes widened. “Jeez Lyss. You’re kind of scary now.”
“Good. There’s a lot of scary things going on, and if I’m the scariest you’ve seen, count yourself lucky. Let’s keep it that way. Get the fucking coolers. Now.”
“Okay.” He swallowed. “I’ll meet you at the checkout line.”
18
Renna
Every inch that Syd helped her sit up was agony. It didn’t matter. She was going to see Benjamin now. Her eyes remained cloudy, but the drops were absorbing incrementally, clearing her vision moment by moment.
“Okay, kid. I know you’re mad. Use that anger and stoke your fire. We’re going to get through this.” Syd’s voice was a low murmur in her ear. When Renna stood on wobbly knees, Syd wrapped a heavy blanket around her shoulders and pulled her tightly to her side, helping her stand and limp toward the tent flap.
“You have to get me out. I can’t take this. I’m going to die on that table.” The feeble voice trickling out of her throat couldn’t be her own.
“Girl, you think I can get you anywhere in this condition?”
“Why are you letting them do this?”
Syd squeezed her tighter. “I thought I was saving your life. I think we’re saving everybody’s life. You just need to hang in there. I have a plan.”
“A plan for what?” Her thoughts were molasses in wintertime, a thick sludge.
“Shh. He’s coming back now. If this goes well with your brother, we’ll be in a much better place.”
Stepping out of the tent and into the fresh snow, Renna flinched as the cold bit into her exposed legs. A shadowy figure approached, trailed by a bulkier shadow with the barrel of a gun ominously dancing over its shoulder. That must be Mr. Botox. The grip Syd had around her waist didn’t loosen, and Renna got the feeling even the fast-talking, bravado-filled older girl was afraid of him.
Renna forced her eyes open and closed three times, trying to clear the remaining film from the drops. Maybe it was the clouds, but the natural light wasn’t as painful. Maybe it was the drops. Where would she be meeting Benjamin? Would they be in a room? Out in an open field? Would he be restrained?
“Perhaps we should put some pants on her. It is a bit brisk at the moment.” Hearing his voice sent shivers down Renna’s spine that had nothing to do with the cold. He’d ordered people killed. Images of him standing, flanked by soldiers, over something, or someone surfaced. Her panicked flight through the woods, dodging humans, and running from gunshots, flashed through her mind as the gap between them closed.
“She has clothes in her cabin at the edge of the woods.” Recognizing the strain in Syd’s voice, Renna pushed into her feet, taking more of her own weight. She would be stronger. There was no choice.
“Hm. Well, perhaps after the initial meeting. I believe the other subject is prepped and the observation team is ready.” Her eyes clearing, Renna took in Botox’s face, lit with anticipation. “We’ll either have progress, or we’ll learn how strong they can be, even in a weakened state.” He leaned closer but remained just out of reach as he taunted, “Have you ever read about the Gladiator battles in Ancient Rome?” The smirk on his face gave strength to Renna’s fear. “They must have been madly entertaining. I’ve always wanted a champion of my own.”
Gritting her teeth, Renna picked her head up, meeting his gaze. She hoped her copper pupils sparked a little fear in him. He deserved to have just the slightest doubt that he would be safe, should she have her chance at him.
“Ah yes,” He looked pointedly at Syd, “I think it’s safe to say that the eyedrops are working. She’s not even squinting in this light.”
“Noted,” Syd grunted. “She’s heavy, let’s get this show on the road.” She wheeled Renna to the left and started down the path to the reinforced tents.
“I’ll be watching from a safe distance.”
Syd didn’t bother to respond.
Once they’d gotten partway down the path and Mr. Botox and his guard were no longer in sight, Renna spoke. “Syd. We can grab Benjamin and go before he gets back.”
“Fat chance. Keep your voice down. These woods are filled with hired guns. And we ain’t leaving here without my Mom. Not to mention Emers would kill me if we left his parents here.” She paused, huffing in a breath. “No. We never had a true chance for all of us to get out. But I’m working on a plan.”
“Why are they like this?”
“Good Lord, you’re heavy for a small thing.” Syd stopped walking and shifted to Renna’s other side. “Look, here’s what I know so far. These guys are—”
Heavy footsteps pounded down the trail.
A female soldier rounded the bend and roughly gripped Renna’s upper arm on the opposite side. “No talking. Let’s go.” Her voice was terse, her hair pulled tightly back, making her face severe.
“Ouch! You’re hurting me.” Renna squirmed at the pressure grinding into her sensitized muscles.
“Should have walked faster.” The woman dragged both girls forward, pace relentless. Renna scrambled to keep her feet moving.
“Whoa, hey, take it easy! She’s been intentionally tired out for days.” Syd shoved her shoulder under Renna’s armpit, taking more of her weight and keeping pace with the older woman.
“We are under strict orders to keep a close eye on both subjects. You were unaccounted for at the assigned time of arrival.” She did not slow her march.
Benjamin. Alyssa. Emerson. Renna repeated each name to herself as she forced her feet forward. Benjamin. Benjamin. I’m seeing Benjamin. They rounded the final bend. A semi-circle of heavily armed guards in black tactical gear stood in the open space before the reinforced tents.
In the middle of the circle, held between two burly men, was her brother.
Blinking hard, expecting tears that did not come, Renna gasped out his name. “Benjamin. Oh my God, Benjamin.” She took in his face, cheekbones protruding above hollowed out cheeks. Gaunt, and pale, with dark circles heavy under his eyes. His hair, always a little wild and curly, was longer and in complete disarray. Thick with grease, the unwashed sandy mop stuck straight up in places.
His head snapped up at his name. Nostrils flaring, he scented the air.
Renna braced for him to lunge at her, to wildly pound his fists into her, as he had tried to do through the tent sides so many times before.
His copper pupils reflected the watery gray sunlight, his lids clenching to slits.
“He can’t see me, can he?” She asked to anyone that would answer.
His head jerked again, and he strained his right ear forward, a pose she’d seen a million times as he tuned his guitar.
“Renna?” His voice was harsh, rusty.
19
Alyssa
The line at the checkout counter was ridiculous. Alyssa tapped her toes and re-checked her list. At least if she forgot something, she could send Jeremy to run for it while she stood forever in line. Every few moments she scanned the store. As far as she could see and hear, there were more arguments but no actual violence. Yet.
Studying the other shoppers with a new awareness, she saw people scrunching their eyes against the fluorescent lights when they looked for items higher on the shelves. Movements seemed whipped and uncoordinated. Alyssa had never hoped she was just being dramatic and paranoid more in her life. People got sweaty in stores all the time when they had layers on. With so many bodies packed in the big warehouse, the overall temperature was downright cozy. At least that’s what she kept telling herself, trapped in a line that moved forward in barely measurable increments.
Jeremy shoved his way through the throngs, dragging two medium coolers on wheels. Smart. He’d doubted her ability to carry two coolers. True. But she wouldn’t be the one carrying them. Either way, wheels would be easier for at least part of the journey.
“Here.” He was huffing in breaths. “I went as fast as I could. People are really at each other’s throats. I thought two old dudes were going to throw punches over the l
ast generator on the shelf.”
Alyssa nodded, peering behind them. “Yeah. We gotta get through this line and get the hell out of there.”
Jeremy ran a hand through his thick hair. “Look. Lyssie. I know I messed things up with all of us. I was a dirtbag. You don’t trust me.”
Alyssa coughed. Understatement of the year.
“That’s fair. But, I’m just a regular dude, not some perfect fairytale guy. I mean, I’m pretty good looking, but let’s be real. You didn’t truly think Renna and I would live happily ever after, get married and have kids, did you?”
Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “You have the worst timing of anybody I’ve ever met.” She paused, thinking about how his showing up at the store had been perfect timing. “Well, almost. Fine. You wanna talk about this right now? Let’s do it. You’re a scumbag. It’s not that you broke up with Renna. It’s how you did it.”
He shrugged, tousling his hair again. “I know. But it was like overnight all these other girls noticed me.”
“And what about Renna? Who noticed you when you were just a scrawny kid whose Mom was overprotective? The girl you lost your V-card to. That you promised marriage and a happy family to. What about her?”
“Man, come on, Lyssie. I was there when we were growing up too. I remember that it wasn’t Renna who always pretended to have seven kids and named each and every one of them something different every time we played house. It was never Renna that dreamed of a big family and the bright happy ending. Don’t put your dreams on her.”
Alyssa unfolded the list in her hands, checking the items in the cart for the third time to be sure she hadn’t missed any key items in her rush. And to avoid Jeremy’s point.
“Besides, you know how Renna is. She’s so—”
“I swear, if you say ‘boring’ again I will find whatever weirdo nude photos I’m one hundred percent sure you have on your phone and I will send them to every single person you’ve ever met.”
“That’s illegal.” His cheekbones had the faintest trace of pink. “I don’t have any of those anyhow. I was going to say she’s so by-the-book. She never takes chances. When she gets in trouble she just rolls over and takes it. She wouldn’t even argue with me when I tried to get a rise out of her. She was just...lifeless.”
“You shouldn’t be trying to make her mad anyhow.”
A sudden movement in her peripheral vision startled Alyssa out of their argument. Something was moving fast. Too fast.
Wilder fast.
Three aisles away a woman started screaming.
Jeremy whipped around, craning his neck to see over the heads of the crowd gathering. “Somebody’s hurt.” His voice cracked.
Other shoppers screamed. People were running.
Panicked, Alyssa whipped back around. They were stuck in the middle of the checkout aisle, a winding, display-filled path that herded shoppers between boxes of crackers and candies. They had two ways to get out: plow through people or plow through things. Jeremy wasn’t a scrawny kid anymore. He’d been playing football for a few years now.
“Fucking push that over and run to your car.” She pointed to the chest high display of Christmas ornaments between them and a straight shot to the double doors.
“What about you?” He started shoving the boxes off the display.
“I have to bring the cart.”
“Leave the cart, you idiot!” He put his shoulder into the metal shelving. Somewhere in Alyssa’s mind she noted that the metal didn’t seem to hurt his cheek where it pressed against it. He was safe.
She shoved up against the shelf, helping him topple it. “I can’t. I need everything in this cart.”
Next to them, a woman grabbed items from her own cart before clambering over the toppled shelf and sprinting to the door.
“You’re a psycho.” He heaved the coolers on top of the cart and got low to shove the shelf further, making a path.
Alyssa ran back to the handle of the cart and leaned into it, adrenaline pumping. The doors were turning into a seething mass of bodies and carts. Grunting, she shoved harder. If they didn’t get out soon, they’d never get out.
Behind her somebody started bellowing “Wilder! Wilders! Run!”
Somewhere else somebody must have pulled a fire alarm, because the overhead store lights dimmed, the flashing red lights and high-pitched squealing of the alarm adding to the chaos.
Bodies were slamming into her shoulders and dodging around her cart as people tried to shove through to the front of the line. People ahead tried to get out the other way. Clinging to the loaded cart, Alyssa struggled against the swirling currents and eddies of bodies.
Then Jeremy was there, grabbing the front of the basket and pulling. Bearing down harder, Alyssa shoved the cart forward, head down, not looking to see who or what she was struggling around, through, or over.
Shadows darted past, mere feet away, swift and terrible. Screams rent the air around them. A hand gripped into her jacket for a moment before being torn away. She kept shoving the basket. One foot in front of the other. If they could make it to the doors, out into the cold, they’d be safe. Then they’d only have to make it to the car. Once they were in the car, they could drive away from here. They could drive until they were somewhere safe.
She just didn’t know where that might be.
20
Renna
“Renna?” Benjamin’s voice grated out again.
Her heart stuttered. Throat closed, she nodded.
Syd nudged her. Of course. He couldn’t see her, his eyes were clenched against the daylight filtering through the gray skies.
“Yeah, Ben. It’s me.”
“Renna. Renna? I can’t see you.”
She stayed put, held in place by both fear and the hard grip of the female soldier.
“Yeah, Ben. It’s the sun. Your eyes are just really sensitive right now.” She hoped that was true, that he wasn’t completely blind.
“Did you…Did I….Are you hurt?” Each word was an effortful scrape of sound, his body shaking as the snowfall increased. Her eyes traveled down his exposed arms, taking in the ropey muscles, purpled from needle sticks, ending in bruised and bloodied knuckles. He was also in shorts and a tee shirt. His legs were skinny, the knees popping out, two knobs trapped between wasted muscle and bone.
She struggled to speak through her anger. “I’m okay, Benny.” Had they even been feeding him? What was wrong with these people?
“Bring them closer. I need to determine if proximity will impact the serum’s efficacy.” The order was called through a bullhorn. A safe distance indeed.
Renna stepped forward with the female solider, leaving Syd behind. Each step closer revealed a new injury to her brother’s body. A scrape here. A bruise there. With each tallied injury her anger burned hotter. He was not a monster to be caged, to be treated as less than human. They were not emotionless creatures to be treated like science experiments.
She would get stronger. She would find out Syd’s plan. And when she figured out how to escape, there would be no distance great enough for this Botox man to be safe.
Benjamin was marched forward as well, each step a faltering limp.
Her brother was here. He was alive. He was talking. He knew who she was. Renna forced herself to list the good things she was learning. She could work with this. If they could get closer, if he could tolerate her nearness, she would find a way to get him out of here. With or without Sydney.
His muscles stiffened as they approached touching distance.
“I can feel your anger.” His voice was hardly more than a whisper. “Renna. I could feel you before. When you came near.”
She swallowed, tempering her fury. Stamping it down into a little ember, tucking it carefully into a box. “You can, Benny?”
“It’s different now.”
“What’s different?”
“Everything.”
He wasn’t wrong. Renna searched for words. Something comforting. The soldier pulled he
r forward another step.
Benjamin jerked against the guards holding him, reaching toward her. His muscles clenched, stopping his forward progress before the guards could react.
His body convulsed, legs buckling, eyes rolling back into his head. Renna lunged toward him as he foamed and frothed at the mouth, body rigid and tremoring on the ground. The female soldier dragged her back and shoved her at Syd while people in lab coats rushed forward and surrounded her brother. Her view of him completely blocked, she shoved away from Syd.
“Ben! Benjamin!” Strong arms wrapped around her waist, dragging her back. Her body sagged, depleted, nothing left to fight with.
Defeat, Renna hung like dead weight. Let whoever had grabbed her struggle to move her.
“Take her back to lab tent five.”
“I’ll go. Don’t sedate her, I want to run a few tests.”
“Accompany them.”
Renna stared back toward the clearing as she was bodily carried away from her brother. When the large male guard heaved her onto the exam table in the lab tent, Renna refused to look at him, to acknowledge his existence. These people didn’t treat her like a human, so she would do the same.
“You can wait outside, thank you.” Syd’s voice cut through, dismissive and brisk.
“Royce said to—”
“Mr. Algin would not want to hear how my observations were fouled up by some uppity oaf who calls him by his first name, wouldn’t ya say, Harold?”
Feet clomped across the ground, and the zipper sung up, then back down. A new, warmer blanket was draped over her.
“You gotta get up for a minute, so I can put this one under you.”
“Whose side are you on?” Renna pulled the blanket closer, edging off the table inch by inch.
Syd frowned as she spread a thick layer of blankets over the table, then gestured for Renna to get back on. “What the heck do ya mean whose side am I on?”