by J D Jacobs
The only sound I hear are the shouts for joy coming from the twelfth room of the thirteenth floor.
“Yeah!? You like that?” I yell out to the crowd. I see guards coming out from the base of the elevator shaft to take me off the floor. “Of course you do! You’ll do anything Ricardo says because Avvil is a city of cowards!” The guards grab my arms and snatch me off my feet quickly and forcibly. “Quit being scared and stand up for yourselves before it’s too late!”
As I’m dragged under the bleachers and led into the elevator cab, I hear a loud round of applause.
34.
I’m thrown back in my room on the thirteenth floor. The two guards that led me to the elevator reluctantly hold my shoulders to the ground, afraid to even touch me. Ricardo hovers over all of us, his face boiling in anger.
“How the hell did you do that!?” Ricardo shouts at me. He squats down to meet my face and gets angrier when I don’t answer. “HUH!? You just pointed at them and they died? How did you do that, you freak!? ANSWER ME!”
“Jaden!” Sabrina calls out from the room over. I turn to see her face through the hole in the wall. I smile at her beauty, but that’s interrupted as Ricardo grabs my hair and pulls my head back into the carpet.
“Answer me, dammit!” Ricardo yells, his angered breath filling my nostrils. The longer I remain silent, the harder he tugs back on my hair and the further my forehead gets buried in the floor. I let out a low laugh, which only seems to enrage Ricardo even more. “What’s so funny to you, kid?”
“You,” I say, my laugh growing and turning high-pitched. He pulls back harder on my hair at a neck-breaking angle.
“What’s so funny about me?” he snidely asks.
“You’re scared of me!” I’m able to utter through my delirious laughing and stretched neck. “You’re afraid there might finally be someone under this amber glass that has more power than you do! Last time that happened, you shot him. But now? You can’t seem to kill him!” I look down my nose with a smirk and lock eyes with him. “Am I under your skin yet?”
“You’re nothing special!” he tries to convince everybody within earshot. “You cut your way out of the ropes! You didn’t think we would find the razor? You cheated your way out!”
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with, Ricky,” I warn him. “Get your filthy hands off of me and get me out of this room.”
Ricardo glares at me, then throws my head into the carpet as he stands back up. “Throw him in a cell in the research lab,” he tells his guards. “Reggie will find what’s wrong with this creep. Put a hoodie on him so people won’t notice him.”
He may still be acting like the leader, but he did exactly what I just told him to. I’m not only under his skin, I’m tattooed there. The smirk stays etched on my face as the guards pick me up.
“Jaden!” I hear Sabrina cry out one more time as I’m escorted out of the room.
“Don’t worry about me, Sabrina. I’ll be back.” I wink at Ricardo as I pass by him. “I promise.”
The two guards and I lead a quiet stroll down the hallway until we reach the corridor at the halfway point. One of the guards walks in Ricardo’s office and comes out shortly after with a hoodie, sunglasses, and a pair of handcuffs in his hands. They throw the hoodie over me and cuff my wrists together inside the front pocket of the hoodie.
We take the elevator to the first floor of the Grandsmont and head outside. There’s still a large crowd coming out of the Arena, so me eventually being recognized through my ineffective disguise is unavoidable. I expect to overhear the crowd talking about my Atonement, but the crowd’s focus is instead glued to the amber glass above them. I look up to the glass sky to see what’s causing such a bustle.
It’s an eagle flying in circles outside of the amber glass.
The Avvil citizens gawk at Abbi. Most of them are excited to see a living animal for the first time in nearly a year. Some aren’t sure what to make of it. I hear someone ask aloud if Abbi is “another one of those machines.” We pass by two gazers, and I hear one ask the other if she thinks “that magic kid in the Arena” somehow caused the flying eagle to suddenly appear.
The guards have to yank my arms to keep me moving. Abbi is here, but now what? How’s she going to get in Avvil? And what about Grant? Is he with her? I want to break free from these two dimwits and run to the city’s elevator shaft, but their grip on me is too strong. The earlier fear they had of me has subsided.
We make it to the research lab without me being noticed, surprisingly. The lab is nearly empty; there are a few people in lab coats working at different stations in the separate rooms that we walk by, but they all work in isolation from each other.
The guards lead me to an office. In the office I see Reggie, who is looking out of a window at the people outside who are still watching Abbi. Reggie hears us enter the office but doesn’t turn away from the window.
“Mr. Ricardo told us to bring you the kid,” one of the guards tells Reggie. “He trusts that you’ll find what’s wrong with him.”
“Okay.” The energy that seemed to overflow from his voice the first day I met him is nowhere to be found. “Leave him with me.” The guards take the handcuffs off of me and walk out of the room.
I remain standing and wait for Reggie to do something, but he doesn’t move from his spot at the window. I can tell from his demeanor that he’s devastated, and I think I know why.
“He made me do it,” I tell him, regarding the elephant in the room that I killed Lucas. “I had no choice.”
“Mr. Ricardo killed Lucas, not you,” Reggie corrects me. He looks away from the window and walks across the room to me. “And now Mr. Ricardo wants me to kill you. Simple as that.”
I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. “Are you?” I nervously ask.
“Follow me,” he tells me as he leaves the office. His non-answer isn’t very convincing, but I cautiously follow him anyway.
We make our way to the main room and then head toward the locked doors that lead to the imprisoned victims we saw earlier. “Polly says her back hurts,” Reggie dismally recites to the speaker box. The doors then slide open.
“The name of the song is ‘Polly’ by Nirvana,” Reggie morosely tells me. He gives a reminiscent smile before he walks in the room. “Lucas and I were juniors in high school when Nirvana came out with that album. He and I saw Nirvana in concert our Senior year. Damn, we had a good time. Lucas learned to play guitar just so he could play that song. It’s crazy how long ago that was, but it seems like it was only yesterday…”
The room is even darker as it was the last time I was here. There is only one light shining over a single glass cube, as the other two that housed Thomas and the old man are now empty. Jeanette is still in the exact cell she was in a week ago. She wears a few extra bruises since the last time I’ve seen her and looks like she hasn’t slept since then.
“Why are we here?” I ask him, starting to get worried that he’ll follow through with Ricardo’s orders.
“Look.” Reggie points to Jeanette, who’s sitting on her mattress, unaware of our presence. “See that bracelet on her wrist?”
I nod my head at the magenta bracelet that glows under the dim light. “I’ve noticed that it’s a bright blue color on the egotoned people in the Arena. What’s so important about the bracelet?”
“The bracelet was the first domino that fell.” Regret sweeps over his face. Before I have time to hear him explain, my vision spirals out of focus.
I hear a voice before the sepia hits my eyes.
“Camila, Isaac, why don’t you two catch up with them?” I hear Ricardo’s voice speak out. Tiny footsteps echo across the room as they push a wheelchair out the lab.
“I apologize for their outburst,” Jenkins’s voice rings out. “I was afraid they wouldn’t react well with this.”
“Don’t worry,” Ricardo reassures him. “Mr. Foxx and Mr. Goodwin are simply curious teenagers. One day they will hopefully understand.”
>
“You knew about this, Harrison?” Stewart discreetly asks Jenkins as my vision finally comes to me. I see Stewart’s finger pointing against one of the glass cubes. Jenkins stands behind him, his arms crossed behind his back. Lucas and Reggie stand on the opposite side close to Ricardo.
Jenkins approaches Stewart and answers low enough to where only he can hear. “I only knew about the studies. I didn’t know this was the result.” Jenkins then turns to the other three in the room, who are also watching the cube that houses the old, Asian man. “What is that magenta bracelet he’s wearing?”
“Ahh, yes!” Reggie begins as he takes a step closer to the cell. “Those are our products we created: Fuging Bracelets! Here, let me show it to you up-close.” Reggie digs in his coat’s pocket and pulls out a thick, uncolored bracelet. The one he’s holding is unhinged and has a thick needle that protrudes on the inside of the bracelet. “This needle is injected into the patient’s cephalic vein in their wrist. The bracelet has a small latch where we can re-enter the patient’s clean blood that we retrieved from the centrifuge back into the body. Once the clean blood makes its way back into the patient’s system, it will then continuously be purified as it circulates throughout the patient’s body!”
Jenkins grabs the bracelet from Reggie, studying it in his hands. “So the bracelet prevents them from egotoning by inserting clean blood into the patient and making sure it’s circulating?”
“Exactly! It’s truly a magnificent invention, it really is! Our Fuging Bracelets are the closest thing we have to overcoming the egotoning process and, thus, overcoming the Cozmin in itself.”
“And this only happens after someone has begun to egotone?” Stewart asks.
“We can also do the opposite: put Cozmin-infected blood into a healthy patient,” Lucas answers. “This, again, will not cause the person to egotone, and is actually a lot less painful than if we were to reinsert clean blood into an egotoned patient. However, we don’t do this often. We’ve used that option when sending people out above the glass, hoping their bodies build somewhat of an immunity to the Cozmin, much like how flu vaccinations work. Unfortunately, the people we’ve done it to have all ended up egotoning once they reach the surface.”
“I can’t seem to understand,” Jenkins thinks out loud. “These bracelets seem to cause more pain than relief. How can you call them magnificent?”
“Like we said, these people in these cells are already gone,” Lucas answers him. “The egotoning process causes pain, and they’re still in the egotoning process. The Fuging Bracelets don’t save, they just prevent.”
“Why even make the bracelets then? If you can’t save them, you’re wasting their time, as well as yours.” Jenkins doesn’t seem thrilled about the bracelets, but also, for some reason, doesn’t seem surprised. “This isn’t preventing; this is prolonging.”
“That’s an incorrect assessment, Mayor Jenkins,” Reggie begins as he opens the door to the old man’s cell and heads inside. “We make them because we can control when they egotone, it makes the entire process more controlled and less arbitrary.”
“Why would you need to control when they egotone?” Stewart asks.
“We do it for… recreational purposes,” Ricardo states. Ricardo nods over to Reggie, who’s in the cell holding the old man’s bracelet as he cowers in agony. Reggie then twists the old man’s bracelet, changing the band’s color from magenta to the cyan color that is bright enough to distinguish through my sepia filter. As soon as the bracelet changes colors, the old man falls motionless. Reggie then quickly tiptoes out of the cell and closes the door shut. Seconds later, the old man twitches and wakes up, jumping up from the ground and ramming into the glass cell in rage.
“For fun!?” Stewart exclaims, watching in horror as the man bashes his face into the glass wall. “What kind of madness is this?”
“We like to have the egotoned compete,” Ricardo begins. “The egotoned aren’t the people we knew and loved: they are our enemy. With a simple flick of the bracelet, we’re able to stop the preventive process altogether and allow them to egotone on demand. With that ability at our disposal, we allow the egotoned to compete against the living in our Atoning Arena. People love seeing the egotoned die; it’s today’s new sport.”
“Sport? You have the egotoned compete the living for sport!?” Stewart continues, completely stunned. “Is this what you monsters have hidden on the thirteenth floor of that hotel? A floor full of waiting, egotoned competitors?”
Ricardo’s face suddenly falls wary. “Thirteenth floor? What are you talking about?”
“You had your men shoot at our kids because they got too close,” Stewart angrily tells him, seeing through his façade. “You’re hiding something on that floor, and it has something to do with this, doesn’t it? You’re all monsters!”
“The two boys know about it, huh?” Ricardo says to himself. “There’s not even a thirteenth floor, so I’m not sure what you’re referring to.” Ricardo is now stalling, but Jenkins and Stewart don’t catch on to it. Lucas has casually snuck his way behind Jenkins and Stewart as they look at Ricardo in disgust. Lucas then throws Stewart to the ground, forcing Stewart on his stomach and his arms behind his back as Lucas handcuffs him. “Hey! What’s your problem!? Get off of me!”
“What the hell is going on?” Jenkins agitatedly asks, his eyes now turned to the only two men in the room that are on their feet. Reggie takes a step closer to Jenkins and lunges at him. Jenkins tries to defend himself, but the plump man doesn’t stand a chance of breaking away. Ricardo stands still, smiling at his two visitors who are now held captive by his men. “What is this, Miguel?” Jenkins now shouts at Ricardo. “I thought we had a deal!”
“Yeah, we did,” Ricardo replies. “But, you see, we need egotoned people. This city thrives on them. However, people aren’t too willing to volunteer themselves up for the role. That’s why I’m so glad to have you two with us this fine evening!”
The old, Asian man in the cube continues pounding his head against the glass, his tortuous yells becoming more muffled. Jenkins violently scowls Ricardo from across the room. “It was you! You were the one who killed Britt all along! I shouldn’t have believed you when you told me you had the murderer exiled.”
“Ahh, Britt Solomon. I’m glad you brought him up; I knew you’d mention your brother-in-law sooner or later.” Ricardo steps over Lucas and Stewart to get closer to Jenkins. “You see, that pile of filth deserved what he got. He locked his refuge and let people die at his gates. If I would’ve had it over to do, I would’ve given him a more painful death.”
“I knew the type of scum you were when you helped build this place. You’ve always been a degenerate,” Jenkins hisses at Ricardo.
“Name-calling won’t get you out of here any sooner.” Ricardo turns and heads out the door. “Get some Cozmin-infested blood for these two, Fuge ‘em up, and throw ‘em in a cell.”
Both Stewart and Jenkins wrench at the command, knowing what it’s going to lead to. Lucas is able to hold Stewart’s hands behind his back as he injects a separate needle into Stewart’s neck. The substance knocks Stewart out, and he’s then dragged away into a separate room.
“Don’t listen to him,” Jenkins tries to desperately convince Reggie. “Miguel Ricardo is a murderous lowlife. He’ll turn your own bracelet against you if he ever needed to.”
“I apologize, Mayor Jenkins, but if I don’t follow his orders, then that’s a certainty. If I do follow them, then it’s only probable.” As Jenkins tries to fight off Reggie, the entire scene spirals out of my sight, sending my vision into darkness.
I awake to my head being leaned up against the same glass cell that the old man was egotoning in. Reggie still has the same look of regret in his eyes that he had moments before my flashback. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“Those bracelets… They’re like an on/off switch: magenta turns the Cozmin off, cyan turns it on and sends the person into a full egotone.”
�
�Y-yeah, basically,” he confirms. “How did you know this? Did you just put this together?”
I ignore his question. “You feel guilty about creating the Fuging Bracelets, don’t you?”
His head drops to the floor, the same spot where Lucas held Stewart down before knocking him out. “I don’t feel guilty for helping create them. Lucas and I, we put in a lot of time and studies into those bracelets. It’s the way that the bracelets were used: to cause harm and suffering on others. It didn’t solve any problems, it created them. They should’ve been used as a breakthrough, not as weapons. Mr. Ricardo just wanted egotoned bodies to use in his Arena. We used them on people who didn’t even have the Cozmin in their system, they were just people who simply said something against Mr. Ricardo. What were we supposed to do, disobey him? By the time Lucas and I hated ourselves for what we had done, it was too late. Lucas got your Tryton people out of their cells and out of Avvil, but at what cost? He finally listened to his conscious and it got him killed. And here I am, still alive and miserable.”
“Reggie, it’s not too late,” I tell him.
“Yes, it is. Mayor Jenkins is still hooked up to a Fuging Bracelet, and Lucas is dead. It’s far too late.”
“No, it’s not too late for you. I can get you out of this city. Everything that you were ever forced to do under this amber glass will be a thing of the past once you get to Tryton, but I’m going to need your help.”
He looks at me with a strange combination of doubt and optimism. “Anything. Please.”
I look over at Jeanette, who’s intently staring at the floor in her cell. “She’s been in here long enough. Can we take her with us?”