“My parents and grandfather are trapped in here. We’re trying to help them escape so they can stop the abductions.”
He doesn’t look convinced. “Why are they trapped? Are they in on it?”
“No! You know Dad’s a scientist and Mom’s an author. They were against the abductions, so the company kidnapped them. Come on, man. Tell us what the hell you’re doing here.”
Shifting awkwardly, Maddox blinks rapidly, like smoke is caught in his eyes. “Robyn was carrying on about you breaking her doll. Out of curiosity, I asked to see the damage. When the doll told me her name was Chelsea and when she looked and sounded just like her… I knew it was my sister. I just… I’ve never been so mad. So I ransacked my uncle’s house. He’s a hunter, I knew he had a lot of guns and wouldn’t immediately notice one missing. I tried to find the company’s address online, but they’re really secretive about their location. I guess that’s why there are no signs outside. My psychologist’s son is a hacker, so I called him and asked for the address. I took Mom’s car and came straight here. One way or another, I’m getting my sister back. Her body has to be here!”
“So we’re on the same side!” Gabby concludes. “Please, let me unlock this door. If my family are in here, they’ll know what to do.”
Maddox raises his chin, his lack of response good enough for Gabby. She bends to pick up the remote and twists the knobs until the door unlatches. Sticking the remote in her back pocket, Gabby twirls the knife in her hand, as Maddox aims the gun at the door.
It’s dark. It’s silent. On Gabby’s push, the door gently swings open. Inside is a locked window overlooking the city. There are two beds with gray blankets and large jugs of water on the side. A stained drain in the corner and a frayed tennis ball round up the décor.
Sitting on the bed furthest from the drain are Jason, Pam, and the professor.
Pam rises, her knees trembling and her lips quivering. “Gabby? Gabby, is that really you?”
“Mom?” Gabby asks tremulously. They rush toward one another, hugging in the middle of the room. Tears stream down Pam’s cheeks. “Mom, I’m so sorry for everything I said!”
“Me too, Gabby. Oh God, me too. I’m so glad you’re okay!” Pam kisses Gabby’s head repeatedly, unable to let her go.
“Professor!” I cry, my feet smacking against the tiles. Laughing, he picks me up and swings me in the air before bringing me close to his chest. Boy, I’ve missed his cuddles. Maybe I was wrong about no man being perfect.
Jason wraps his arms around Pam and Gabby, joining the embrace. There’s turmoil written all over his face, but his eyes twinkle with happiness.
Snapping out of it, Gabby pulls away. “We have to get you out of here. Now.”
“I told you not to come after me!” the professor says. “They’ll keep you hostage! Where’s Sianne?”
“Hiding underneath the bridge at Central Park. We don’t care, we’re saving you. Follow us!”
“They won’t just let us leave.” Jason croaks. He sounds like he hasn’t slept for days.
Gabby smiles broadly. “How do you know unless we try? I’m not leaving you here!”
We start to pile out of the cell when Maddox blocks the entrance, his trigger finger quivering.
“Maddox, move,” Gabby demands. “We haven’t got time for this. You can come with us and help, okay?”
Maddox shakes his head, his bloodshot eyes drowning in tears. “Nah-uh. You know why? You know why?!”
Spit flies from his mouth as he yells, so Pam and Jason raise their hands above their heads. Gabby and the professor stand still.
“That man there!” He aims the gun at the professor. “That man is a monster!”
“That man is a hero,” I correct. “If it weren’t for him, Gabby would be dead.”
“I’m not an idiot. I know this jerk! He bullied me at the hospital when I was just a kid. He was wild for those dolls. A crazed animal wanting to get his paws on them. Don’t lie to me. He’s the one behind the abductions!”
“He’s not, Maddox. Trust me, he’s the good guy here. Just put the gun down.” Gabby says, stepping closer to the professor. “He turned Ella and me into dolls temporarily to cure us. He released his findings in the hope of ridding the world of illness, but they went and co-opted his invention.”
“It’s true.” The professor nods, stroking my hair. He only does that when he’s feeling uneasy.
“SHUT UP! Who asked you?!” Maddox shrieks.
We don’t speak. The professor swallows heavily, glancing at Gabby, who ever so slowly tiptoes closer.
“You’re behind this. You’re the reason my baby sis was abducted! Tell me where she is!”
“I can honestly say I don’t know,” he replies coolly. Talk about holding your own while in the line of fire. “They don’t tell us where they keep the bodies. They don’t tell me much at all, especially after I tried to escape. All I know is they’re not in this building. That’s why we have to leave before someone finds out we’re here.”
That’s when it hits me. “Maddox, how did you get in here?”
He sneers. “I broke a window. Easy-peasy.”
Gabby gulps. “Ever heard of a silent alarm, genius? They’ll be here any second! Probably already are. Stop messing around and put that gun down!”
“No! He has to pay!”
“I’ve had enough of this.” Gabby strides forward, wrestling Maddox for the gun. “Put it down, you twit!”
“Don’t make me shoot you, Gabby!”
“Stop it!” I scream as Gabby loses her grip on the gun. “Gabby, don’t!”
It happens before I have time to process. A high-pitched ring fills the room as Gabby’s parents cover their ears and shield one another.
Maddox stares in horror as Gabby stumbles backwards, a gaping hole in her abdomen. I reach out, forgetting my size, thinking that maybe I can catch her.
Before any of us can run to her aid, she backs into the window, shattering the glass. Arms flailing and eyes wide, she loses her balance and falls three flights down and into the street.
I can’t hear anything but the ringing. Reality is blurred, fractured, shattered.
When sound returns, all I can hear is my shrill voice. “GABBY!”
ou bastard!” I cry, wriggling from the professor’s grip. Ignoring Pam’s hysterical sobs, I push the spikes through my body and ram into Maddox’s foot. He instantly drops to the floor to nurse his ankle swollen. I don’t even care that I cursed. It flew out of my mouth so naturally, so easily.
“I didn’t mean to shoot her! My finger slipped!”
“You’re a monster!” I jump up and land on his stomach, sending the potent spikes through his shirt. He wails as oozing welts appear when I deliberately move about. “You like this feeling? I hope you do, because I’m not stopping until every inch of you is covered in blisters.”
“Ella, stop,” the professor says calmly. He stands by the broken window, staring down into the street. “Come here.”
“No! I don’t want to see her like that!”
“Trust me, Ella,” he whispers softly. “Please come here. You forget how nasty those spikes are. You’ve done enough to the boy. Pam, Jason, you need to see this, too.”
Reluctantly, I snarl at Maddox and retract my spikes. I walk towards the professor who picks me up and places me on the windowsill.
I have to mentally prepare to look down. Who knows what kind of mess there will be? It’s only when Jason starts laughing and kissing Pam that I can bring myself to look.
“Are you okay, baby?” Pam cries, mascara smeared across her face.
“Nine lives, Mamma Bear!” Gabby says, followed by a cheeky chuckle.
On the pavement is Gabby, standing and waving at us. I stare in disbelief. There’s a huge hole in her stomach— but no blood. There’s nothing wrong with her. No bruise, no graze, no cut.
“How is this possible?” I breathe.
“Remember how I came to you in a large doll version
?” The professor crosses his arms, beaming at Gabby. “My sister has been working on several things. I’m shocked she managed to transfer consciousness like this, though. She always struggled with that part. Did she have help?”
“Shiitake fried mushrooms,” I say. “Lisa. Lisa came to our house and… and… that’s what she was doing! So that’s why Gabby didn’t want to eat. Oh, and she’s been weirdly sullen and fearless… and… kinda taller, I think. So, her real body must be safe at home.”
“Lisa?” the professor loses his cool. “But that scheming troublemaker worked for…”
“Yes. Except I think she’s good now?” I say. “Maybe? I mean, she turned Gabby into a big doll to protect her, right? That’s gotta count for something!”
“Lisa always does what she does in her own best interests.”
I glance down at my left foot, tempted to hit the switch to turn me back into a human just to escape the interrogation. “She said that she’d help us rescue you if I grabbed the company’s data. That’s not a bad thing, is it? Well, I mean, a little underhanded, but…”
The professor’s cheeks flush, but he doesn’t have a chance to yell, though I can tell how he very much wants to.
“Guys! They’re coming!” Gabby shouts from below. She bolts from the pavement, out of sight.
“It’s time to move!” Jason gestures at the door. Pam steps over Maddox, sneering, before she rushes down the hall. The professor picks up the gun and follows, pretending Maddox doesn’t exist. Then, it’s Jason’s turn. He stops and spears Maddox with an angry stare. “You know, if we hadn’t taken precautions, you would’ve killed my daughter tonight. You just think about that, boy.”
Maddox only whines in response. Sighing, Jason offers his hand to help him up. Maddox takes it, and limps down the corridor, leaning on Jason for support.
Jason is a bigger person than I am. I would’ve left Maddox to his grim fate.
Which we all may be sharing.
Bringing up the rear, I stumble, blinded by the flashlights shining at us from the end of the hall.
“Police! Freeze!”
Like rabbits caught in headlights, we scurry in separate directions. I hide in the shadows, screaming helplessly when a police officer captures Pam. She stomps on his foot, so he grunts and hurls her to the ground.
Maddox and Jason are nowhere to be seen. The professor is across from Pam, cocking the shotgun.
“I’m armed!” he warns. “Stay back!”
I close my eyes when he fires, too afraid to look. Is he nuts? Suddenly, I’m lifted into the air. I thrash around violently when I realize it’s a woman officer, baring her teeth.
“How on earth did you get caught up in this? They’ll have to erase your memory and resell you.”
Without hesitation, the spikes spring from my body. She yelps and drops me, so I flee down the hall in the opposite direction.
She careens after me, her footsteps loud and heavy. “Back up! We have a loose doll with dangerous upgrades!”
I pump my arms and run as fast as I can, my legs squeaking with each stride, then skid to a stop when a young, tall police officer appears up ahead, wielding his flashlight.
There’s a bark of another gunshot in the distance.
“Revert, Ella!” the professor cries. “Now!”
I look over my shoulder, the woman only meters behind. Barely containing the hysteria, I rip off my left foot. The male officer charges towards me as I fumble with the switch. He dives, his moon-like face inches from mine.
As he crashes into me with his arms outstretched, everything goes black.
or what felt like weeks, I was convinced I was a flower. I’m not sure why. All I knew was I was motionless and mute. Clearly, that led me to believe I was a plant. Then, I grew tired of the monotony. My mind screamed for someone to “pick me, just pick me”; I didn’t want to live like that anymore. I was beautiful, though. I had long, sharp blue petals with a purple stem. No other flowers surrounded me. I was on my own.
The mind does weird things.
My eyes spring open, and I gasp for air. In the surrounding haze, dozens of wires dig into my arms, legs, and head. I smack my hands against the glass in front of me, and a door hisses open. I cough repeatedly, struggling to catch my breath as my memories snap back into place.
My human form. The one I used to hate. My plump, crippled form, well into its fifties. But right now, I’m not bothered by my age or weight. There are too many other things to worry about.
There’s something in my hand. Slowly, I fumble with a piece of paper and squint my eyes to read the chicken scrawl.
Ella. I brought you back from the dead. Welcome to your new legs. I wish I could use my invention to help the entire world… but look what happened to Daniel when he tried to do the same, and I’m no hero. This is a gift. Don’t waste it. Sianne.
Hold up. Is Sianne saying I can walk? She cured me? That’s why she kept mumbling about bringing people back from the dead and cooping herself up in the lab? I would cry with joy if I had the time. She’s an absolute angel. A nut, but an angel.
When my heart slows and I regain control of my breath, I take in my surroundings. I’m in a tube unlike the one Daniel put me in. Instead of a murky, green fluid, I’m placed in what I can only describe as a fridge. I’m in a large…it’s… yes, it’s a warehouse. There are hundreds upon hundreds of other fridge like tubes with sleeping humans plugged in.
“This is so weird.” I cough. It’s going to take a while for my body to get used to everything again; even talking.
I rip off the wires and attempt to walk. I put one foot outside of the tube, and onto the concrete floor, then heave the other leg in front and stand.
My heart flutters. It’s not a great feeling, but it’s nice to feel blood pumping around again.
I’m actually standing. How is that possible? I’ve been paralyzed for decades!
I take another step, the concrete floor cold against my bare feet. Another unpleasant sensation. I take another step… and another… and another…
I can walk. I CAN WALK!
I squeal and spin in between the rows of fridge things, relieved that Sianne thought to dress me in black pants and a purple tee. It helps me feel young and trendy.
I narrow my eyes at an exit sign in the distance that glows green. I make a beeline for it, unused to the fresh air. Exhausted already, I pause for breath by a case holding a young girl. She looks so much like Farah. The hair. The pursed lips. Everything.
“God no.” I can’t leave her in here. Hell, I can’t leave any of them. If I’m vamoosing, then so are they. Without thinking, I open the door and quickly pluck the wires from the girl’s arms and head as water pours out and drenches me… again. I wait for her to wake up, but nothing happens. “Come on,” I whisper. “Come on!”
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was dead. She’s pale, motionless…
“Enjoying your legs, Ella?”
I spin around and face a man my age dressed in a wrinkled collared shirt and faded jeans. He keeps his hands behind his back and smiles slyly.
“Who are you?”
“The name’s Tom. You can’t wake them up that way. Just FYI,” Tom says, one hand still behind his back and another on the fridge-thing he leans on for support. “Goddammit, my back.” He winces. “A transmission is sent to the dolls if we want them to wake up. Can’t have any mishaps, can we? Hey, do you know any good osteopaths? Because, ah damn, this ain’t good news. I think I’m done in.”
“What do you do here?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m responsible for choosing who gets picked up.”
Short and to the point. Okay. “Why did you bring my body here?”
“Hmm? Oh, I didn’t. Don’t know who authorized it, if you want to know. The boss called to let me know there’s been a mistake. Your appearance is a bit of a mystery.”
“Of course,” I say sarcastically. “Do you know why I can walk?”
“And you couldn’t?
In any case, not my department. Time probably. I doubt it had anything to do with us. Regardless, I have to ask that you return to your case.”
“My case? You mean that fridge-thing?”
Tom chuckles. “Yes, your fridge-thing. You weren’t supposed to wake up. There’s a huge problem back at headquarters. Please return while we fix this issue.”
I clench my fists, my throat tightening. “No.”
“No? I really must insist. The cases are fueled by the occupant’s heart rate, so if you don’t return to yours, it will render your case useless. Pretty cool, hey?”
“You couldn’t use that technology for cars or something? Instead of wasting valuable resources?”
“Again, not my department. We’re technically saving the planet and its resources. We feed you cattle once a week via a drip. Well, supposed to, anyway. It doesn’t seem to be working out too well. We’ve found we have to feed you more often. It’s once a day, at this rate. We’re not saving that many resources at all. First, the epidemic failed, and now this. At least, we aren’t murdering anyone this time around. The dolls still get to live, don’t they? We’re just making the world smaller, cleaner. Plus, we make money on the side, which is the end game.”
“I don’t need to hear your villainous monologue justifying your actions. Look, I get it. I get what you’re trying to do. You’re going all Illumi-nutty on us. A very, very small part of me sympathizes and almost agrees with you. But you’re going about it the wrong way. You’re tearing families apart and taking away our rights. I chose to become a doll, but these people?”
Tom sighs, shakes his head, and reveals his other hand that has a hook in its place. With his flesh-and-blood hand, he whips a pistol from his back pocket. “See this hook? I used to be a police officer.”
I blink. “Why didn’t you get a normal prosthetic hand? You look like a pirate.”
“Because I don’t want to fit in. I want people to know what happened. I lost my blasted hand in a drug bust gone wrong. Not that any of them go right, not with the scum you deal with. Can you imagine a world without prisons, without criminals? We all deserve a peaceful life. To achieve that, we have to eliminate the troublemakers, the freeloaders. Please, don’t be a troublemaker, Ella.”
Shattered Girls (Broken Dolls Book 2) Page 12