by Dean, Jane
LEVEL SIX
Copyright © 2014 by A J Dean
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
LEVEL SIX / A J Dean
ISBN 978-0-9938149-0-7
And there the children of dark Night have their dwellings, Sleep and Death, awful gods. The glowing Sun never looks upon them with his beams, neither as he goes up into heaven, nor as he comes down from heaven. And the former of them roams peacefully over the earth and the sea's broad back and is kindly to men; but the other has a heart of iron, and his spirit within him is pitiless as bronze: whomsoever of men he has once seized he holds fast: and he is hateful even to the deathless gods.
Hesiod
Prologue
The lab was cool and dark. Most of the animals had been asleep for hours as the hum of the ventilation system could be heard throughout the lab. Clean cages were lined against the grey painted cinder block. Ten cages high and ten across. Each tagged neatly with a white card. Soft canvas covers had been placed over each to cocoon each animal in their own small cage. As a clock clicked against the grey painted wall just about a cage in the corner a small rattling could be heard from the cage under its cover. Subject 274 was awake. Outside the adjacent window the moon shine filtered through and landed across the bars. The cover was slipping free as small hands clawed at the material trying to find comfort. The rattling stopped and the small hand slipped back inside the cage.
Small eyes peered out through the bars that bordered Subject 274. Little hands clasped and quiet. The canvas twitched to the side. A tiny finger pushed the fabric aside enough to let the moonlight fall across the eye that peered out. The forehead was larger than the rest. The eye too big for the tiny face. The fur had fallen away slightly to expose skin across the brow. The eye changed from brown to blue and the fabric fell back into place the animal slipped toward the back of the cage and settled down crossing his arms around his knees and staring out into the moonlight.
In another cage, the rattling began again. Subject 94 shivered uncontrollably. A low growl and whine came from the back of the cage. The animals around him opened their eyes again and waited quietly. The cage jumped up and banged against the wall. The animals all began to yell out against the commotion. Subject 274 sat alert, rigged as the moonlight moved across the floor. The growl continued low and guttural.
ONE
A cool clean mist came out of the trees from both sides and met in the middle of the walk in front of Ursa and Callum as they walked down a trail cut through the towering forest of Stanley Park. Ursa watched as a large truck rumble by them on its way to the North Shore.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Callum said. He could see her frown as she watched the tail of the truck disappear around a corner.
“They shouldn’t be expanding,” she said. “You’d think the Aquarium officials would have the best interest of the animals at heart but they don’t.”
“You can’t stop progress.” They had reached the main road that circled the park and Callum held a hand up to a driver who stopped to let them cross. The loud noise of a car occasionally drove behind them. She tried to ignore the emissions and revving of engines as she was drawn to the sound of seagulls hovering and dropping shells onto the rocks.
“It’s not progress. It’s exploitation. They’re using helpless animals to make money. It’s like the elephants at the circus. It’s cruel to make them jump for our amusement. They don’t belong here.”
“You could say that the expansion will help to rescue whales and dolphins to educate people to make better lifestyle choices thereby sustaining the ecosystem,” Callum said. He smiled knowing that his response would make her want to lunge at him. He’d always enjoyed inciting his sister’s rage when it came to speaking out about animal rights.
“You could say that, but you’d be wrong,” Ursa said. She crossed her arms across her chest and stared out across the water to the North Shore. “Ursa, people aren’t going to change overnight. They want entertainment. How do you think you’re going to change their minds?” She walked ahead of her brother to a bench at the seawall and kicked a stone over the edge while a large cruise ship drifted by making its way toward the Lions Gate Bridge. The dockside mounds of yellow sulfur on the North Shore faded slightly as the enormous shipped block them from view and swells of rose and fell. She could hear the sound of music and people laughing could be heard through the mist. She kicked at another stone, stubbing her toe on the lip of the wall.
Ursa held both hands out in front of her toward the ship. “There’s an example of excess right in front of us.”
Callum laughed as he sat down and waved back at someone waving from the deck. “People don’t want to stay home Ursa. You know something? You’re a hypocrite when you say things like that. You’re breaking your own rules every time you get on a plane.” They walked toward the little statue of the Girl in a Wetsuit sitting high on a rock looking out into the bay. Ursa shivered in the cool air and pulled her jacket closer. She took a deep breath, soothed of the smell on the seaweed exposed by the low tide. “They’re just keeping the animals for display. It’s torture. They should be free to swim and have families and live a lot longer than a few years for our amusement.”
“You could look at it a few ways Ursa. The Aquarium could be saving a lot of marine life by explaining how people can help save natural habitats. Maybe they could urge people to petition companies to stop interfering. No one’s going to want to visit an information booth. They want to see something exciting and whales and dolphins are cool.” Callum picked up a stick and threw it down onto the rocks below. A seagull swooped down at the movement and landed close by.
“So...?” Callum asked.
“So… what?” Ursa watched the bird walk in front of them balancing along the concrete lip of the wall.
“Did you get the position?” Callum stretched out his legs and rolled his eyes up to the low clouds.
“Yes.” The side of her mouth toward a smile. “You’re looking at the newest Research Assistant for the study of the harvest of kelp in the Pacific Northwest.”
“There you go.” Callum gave her a small punch in the shoulder.
“Ow,” Ursa said. She rubbed at her arm and pulled off the sleeve of her jacket.
“I didn’t hit you that hard. What’s wrong?” Callum said. He glanced down at the pavement to find another stick the throw toward the seagull who moved toward them looking for food.
“Dad vaccinated me before I left and I’m not reacting well to it.” She pulled up the sleeve of her t-shirt and looked at the swelling which had progressed down her shoulder toward her elbow.
“Ew. You should get that looked at.”
“I’ll call Dad tonight. Did he get to you too?” Ursa glanced at his shoulder.
“No way. He wanted to but ‘Dr. Feelgood’ did not get his hands on me. I told him we’re only travelling to Canada. It’s not like we’re in a third world country up here.”
“He likes to worry,” she said.
“Yeah I know, but I’m not a pincushion.” Callum found a pebble and tossed it at the bird. The large seagull flew up and hovered over the sand and rocks.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s head back to the hotel. I want to get ready for the race tomorrow and you’ve got to get ready to qualify for Boston.”
* * *
Ursa searched through her small case looking for the safety pins she thought she'd thrown in while in Washington. Her running shoes sat out on the carpeted hotel floor, a technical t-shirt lay on the bed with her shorts and socks. She continued to rustle through some makeup containers, extra pens and toiletries and sat
down heavily on the bed. “Shit,” she said.
"What’re you doing?" Callum lay on the bed closest to the window. He'd claimed it as soon as they'd entered the hotel room. Running and jumping on it and not moving since they'd arrived.
"I'm looking for some safety pins. I want to pin my bib on before going to bed," she said.
"They gave you some at the expo didn't they?"
"Yes. But I want to use the ones I packed and I can't find them." She continued to dig in the case, gave up and looked in the clear plastic bag she'd picked up earlier when she collected her race bib.
Callum glanced over. "I can see them from here. They're right at the bottom."
"Oh. Oh yeah. Thanks." She pulled them out and pinned her number to the front of her favorite running shirt.
"You’re just having some pre-race nerves,” Callum said. "Relax little sis. You're going to do fine."
"Easy for you to say. You've already qualified for Boston a dozen times. This is my one shot. I probably won't be able to train hard like this again for years.” One of the pins stuck through the fabric of the shirt and into the end of her finger. “Ouch!” She stuck her finger in her mouth and sat on the bed. “Once this job starts, running will be on the shelf for a couple years.”
"They aren't going to chain you to a desk or ship you to the other side of the world. You'll still be able to run."
"I'll run a little but I won't be able to spend too many mornings up early for my long runs. They want me to join the research outpost on Tuesday and I don't know yet how remote we'll be."
"I think they'll be able to let you leave the seaweed long enough to get some exercise."
"I don't want to count on it or risk losing my position. I beat out 300 candidates for this spot. I'm not going to do anything to mess it up." Callum rolled his eyes and started throwing a ball up in the air.
"It’s not just able seaweed. This is important,” she said. “Something's killing off marine life all down the Pacific coast from Alaska to California and maybe farther."
"Okay. I get it." Callum walked to the window to stare out at the mountain range that rose up behind the Lions Gate Bridge. "Take a break and look at the view."
"I'm just about done. Last check of my shoes and I'm ready for the morning." Ursa set her shoes by the door, put her luggage in the closest and joined Callum at the window.
“I haven’t told Dad yet but I'm going to ask Carey to marry me,” Callum said.
"What!?” Ursa said. Callum glanced at her. “I mean that's great news! You two are meant to be together making babies. I’m surprised you’re actually thinking about settling down."
"Yeah, well. I think Carey’s the one.”
“I think she is too. You two are great together.”
“What about you? Have you met Mr. Right?”
"No. Too busy for that. I've met a few guys but I don't think I'm meant to look after kids. I want to add value to the world. Do something with my life first."
"How’s your arm?" Callum asked motioning to the sleeve that covered her arm.
"What? Oh. I’d forgotten about it. It seems to be better but still tender. I’ll talk to Dad after the marathon. I don’t want to think about it right now. Hey, we should celebrate.”
“Let’s not celebrate yet. I haven’t asked her.” Ursa dropped her head into one hand for a moment.
“Are you okay?” Callum asked.
“Sorry. A shooting pain between my eyes. I’ll pop a Tylenol.”
"You're probably dehydrated and over excited," he said. "Make sure you drink plenty of water before going to bed. No partying tonight! Tomorrow's the big race and then, you've got to join the other weirdoes to save the world." Ursa punched Callum in the arm and jumped into bed.
* * *
Dr. Myers sat at his desk and pulled out a laptop from a brief case with shaking hands. He ran a hand through long greying hair that hung in his eyes and turned on the computer. The light from the monitor lit up the room behind him and he opened his mail to take a look at the email he’d received earlier. He’d glanced at the contents of the message on his commute home from the lab on the train. The ride usually gave him a chance to get through some paper work, but tonight was work was interrupted by a flashing red icon next to a message.
Safely at home, he clicked on the message read through it quickly and stopped to look again to make sure he hadn't misread anything. He closed the message and returned to the subject line.
URGENT!!! All Level Six Personnel to Report Immediately
It had been years since he'd been part of the Level Six project. He reached for the delete key with a shaking finger, pushed the button and closed the laptop. The room became completely dark. This was the message that confirmed the fear he’d had earlier that week. What have they done? He thought, as he stared out the window at the shadows cast by the street light.
TWO
Petals from a cherry blossom tree floated by Ursa's face. They were caught up by a warm breeze and taken away down the street behind her, over the heads of thousands of other runners. With only five minutes before the gun, Ursa lifted her foot from the pavement, caught her shoe behind her and began to stretch. The morning air was clean as she took a deep breath. She didn't have to struggle to get enough oxygen as she had in Washington with her father only weeks ago.
The pace bunny she was hoping to keep pace with during the race stood close to her left. His floppy pink ears hung long and askew, dangling down the sides of his white running cap. The numbers 3:30 were written with a sharpie pen down the sides of both ears. His face was lined and dark from the sun and an odd tan line ran half way up his thigh. He clapped his hands together loudly and began singing a cadence call. The group around her responded to his yells. Ursa didn’t join the calls but looked straight ahead and studied the backs of people. She let the noise fill her ears. Some were talking excitedly, others moved close to the sun-bronzed bunny and bumped into each other. No one minded being jostled. They all looked to him and then forward again down the small incline to the start line beneath the purplish mountains.
Ursa held her hand up to block out the hot rising sun. She looked behind her at the dark clouds moving slowly toward them and hoped they’d stay away for the next few hours.
Further ahead of the pack of runners, she could see the race director speaking to another official. He looked at his watch then down at a clipboard. A helicopter came into view almost directly above Ursa and hovered in place, she assumed, to focus a camera on the elites at the start line. Ursa was closer to the start line then last year and this realization that the race was going to begin soon caused her pulse to quicken. She'd been training and running marathons for five years and this time she was determined that it was her turn to qualify for Boston. She ran in place and rolled her head around a few times.
The loud squeal from a megaphone sounded at the start line. "Sorry about that folks." The race director called into the horn and then looked down at it to turn a dial before starting again. "There is that better? Can you all hear me?" A loud cry of yeses sounded around Ursa. "Runners check your laces!" He yelled back out at the mass of bodies. "That means you Cory! I see you there daydreaming." Ursa put her hand down to her shoes and pinched the double tied laces. A couple rows away from her a man knelt and tied his laces quickly causing his friend to chuckle and nudge him with his hip.
She looked over to the small grassy hill next to her. A woman sat with a child who waved at a man standing next to Ursa. Another little girl was pulling grass out of the ground slowly in single small pulls. Ursa pulled her eyes away from the small family and looked down at her wrist at the numbers printed on two white paper pace bands she’d taped together this morning. The small row of numbers listed the times to reach each kilometer marker. Callum had helped her with the calculations and she was sure her pacing strategy was solid. She would stay behind the tall pace bunny who continued to yelling in front of her.
"Don't go out too fast." Her brother told her this mor
ning. "Go out too fast and you'll pay for it later."
Her arm band vibrated as her phone rang. She pushed the button on the side and slid her finger across and glancing down at the screen. It was her father. She let it ring a few times and let it go to voice mail. A moment later the phone rang again. She swiped at the screen impatiently. "Dad? The race is about to start. I'll call you in a few hours."
"Honey. Thank god you're okay. You have to get to Yakima."
"What? I can’t go to Yakima. I’m in Vancouver. What are you talking about? I have to get to the marine outpost tomorrow morning. They offered me the job Dad. I’ll see you again next month.”
"No. No. Ursa. You don't understand. You have to find a way to get there now. This minute."
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yes. I'm fine but something's happening,” Dr. Myers said.
"Runner's ready?" A voice over a loud speaker muffled the sound of her father’s voice. "Five, four, three..." The runners around Ursa started to count down with the official. She couldn't hear her father’s voice now through her headphones.
"Dad!" she yelled into the phone. "I'll call when the race is over." Why now? she wondered. She slid a finger over the screen to hang up as the sharp crack of the gun sounded and she stood in place for a minute before watching the pace bunny start to walk and then jog with the group clustered around him. His pink ears flopped up and down against his face. She watched as a slight warm breeze blew them back against his hair.
"Okay stick with me," he yelled back. "It's a walk in the park." Ursa felt the pressure in her stomach lessen as the group moved in unison down the hill and over the pavement. She kept her eyes on his flaccid ears and reached her hand up to check that her hair band was still in place. They were moving at a good pace and she settled back to feel the rhythm of her feet moving easily. Looking up over the bouncing heads she could see her brother Callum running down the hill in front of her. She was envious of his smooth gait and watched as he pulled away from her slowly.