by Keary Taylor
“Dr. Evans was not your father,” Dr. Beeson said quietly, though my brain barely processed what he had said.
“He isn’t my brother,” I said as I pressed a fist to my lips. “West isn’t my brother.”
I was confused at the sting behind my eyes at first. It took me a moment to realize that I was trying to cry. My body just didn’t know how.
Dr. Beeson eased me down into a chair. My eyes scanned the page again and again, processing nothing but the line that mattered.
“I assume this is good news to you,” he said quietly as he sat.
It took me a moment to nod. “Yes,” I whispered, my eyes still glued to the page. “Yes it is.”
We were both quiet for a moment, both processing the news.
“I’ve been thinking about something,” he said quietly as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “The way your emotions were blocked, it was just done wirelessly with the chip in your brain. I think I can remove the programming.”
“I’d feel things everyone else feels?” I asked, my eyes shooting to his face.
He nodded. “I think we would have to do it slowly. I’m afraid if I just erased it all at once it would overwhelm you. Your body and your brain couldn’t handle it. But I think if we do it bit by bit, over a length of time, you could be brought back to normal.
“You wouldn’t have blackouts anymore.”
My eyes dropped to the floor, my breathing coming in shallow swallows. I would finally understand what everyone else felt. I could allow myself to feel. There wouldn’t be any danger of me attacking anyone any longer.
“Would you like to give it a try, Eve?”
My eyes stung all the more as I nodded my head.
“I can start it right now,” he said as he glanced at his computer screens. “It won’t take very long. I will however, have to kind of shut you down for a while to do it. It will take a reboot, if you will, for everything to take effect.”
“Do it,” I said as I let the pages and envelope slip from my hand to the ground.
THIRTY-FIVE
I shifted the weapons that were strapped to me, counting again how many grenades were attached to my belt. I pulled at the vest strapped around me, feeling uncomfortable. It might have been bulletproof but it was torture to wear.
I glanced around at the four men that sat nestled in the tank with me. Their faces were set hard, no emotions present.
The noise from the track wheels died away and I knew we were there. It hadn’t taken long to get from the hospital to here. It was only a few blocks away.
One of the men opened the top hatch and we all climbed out. We were only one hundred yards away. I could see them even from here, rows and rows of Fallen, standing on and around the plant.
“We’ll take out as many of them with this as we can,” one of the men said as he patted the firing turret. “We have to be careful not to damage the plant though. The rest of us will pick them off one by one, as quickly as we can.”
I nodded, my eyes never leaving the gleaming bodies ahead of me.
Two of the men unhooked the mile long power supply line from the back of the tank. One end of it trailed behind us, going directly back to the Pulse. We unwound the rest of it, attaching the end of it to a hook on the back of my vest that I could easily release once I got inside. I shrugged my shoulders, testing its weight. It would have been too heavy for me to carry if I had been a normal girl. It had taken two of them to carry the entire line.
As one of Royce’s soldiers handed me my weapon, I couldn’t help but smile. I had to admit, the M4 assault rifle was beautiful.
“You ready?” one of the men asked, gripping the firing turret.
“Fire away,” I said as I trained my eyes ahead of me.
The blast from the tank shook the ground and nearly knocked me off my feet. Gleaming metal eyes jumped to life as they turned in our direction. I took off running toward them as the second blast was fired.
Gleaming parts exploded and flew through the air as dozens of them leapt at me. I fired, flashes of light illuminating the streets. Bodies dropped, metal frames shattered, wires sparked. Shots fired from behind me dropped more bodies. Still more and more of them woke to life, leaping to attack their intruder.
The line attached to me slowed my progress more than I would have expected. I put all of my weight into it, dragging it behind me as I fired. The plant suddenly seemed miles away, even though I was closing in on only a few dozen yards.
I pulled the pin of one of the grenades and tossed it at the chain-link fence that surrounded the plant. I almost couldn’t see it through all the Fallen that surrounded it. A few seconds later, metal flew through the air, raining down on me with deadly force.
A hand grabbed at my right arm, closing in with nearly crushing force. I jammed the butt of my firearm in its face, knocking it away for just long enough to blow its head off. Another leapt at me, its eyes gleaming through the dark. It was blasted apart before it even hit the ground.
I remembered the advice Dr. Beeson had given me and focused all my thoughts on pushing the Fallen away as my feet pounded the pavement. A few Fallen hesitated as they ran at me, their movements becoming jerky as they fought my wireless commands. I couldn’t transmit to them all and keep a very strong connection.
The plant was a mere twenty feet away. While plenty of them had woken, most of them stood there motionless, their eyes fixed on the source of electricity ahead of them. I had to push my way through mechanical bodies, firing as I went to take out as many of them as I could.
I was plowed into from the side, knocking me to my back. I rolled as I went down, the line wrapping around my midsection. A body leapt on top of me, its hands closing around my throat. Before it could even squeeze, its head burst open from a bullet coming from the tank. I jumped to my feet again, untangling myself as I sprinted.
Just as the transformer came in sight, I heard the additional gun shots. They were being fired in my direction. I didn’t look back as I pushed myself faster.
Bodies started dropping ahead of me as both me and Royce’s men fired. I mowed down the last row of Fallen who stood at the edge of the plant, clearing my way to the ladder that rose fifteen feet up to the transformer. The metal sang as I ascended, my boots striking each rung. The ladder vibrated as another body joined me in the climb.
The Fallen had climbed faster than I had and grabbed my ankle, threatening to pull me back over the edge. The sound of another shot filled my head and a fraction of a second later blood sprayed from my left arm as my flesh was torn open. Another shot was fired and the Fallen grabbing me dropped to the ground with the sound of electric death.
The blood started to spill from my arm as I heaved myself onto the platform and pulled the line to give me some slack. I hadn’t noticed the two Fallen who were surrounding the transformer until they tackled me to the cement.
One of them closed its hands around my throat as it held me pinned to the ground. The other pulled a hand gun, releasing the safety.
I narrowed my eyes at the armed one, focusing every thought I had towards it. The next second, the Fallen choking the life out of me dropped to the ground, killed by its fellow kind. It turned the gun on itself the next second.
I scrambled to my feet again, finally reaching the transformer. I could feel the currents of electricity emanating from it as I finally connected the line. It hummed to life instantly.
The sound of metal on concrete sounded as I turned to make my escape. Dozens of Fallen climbed onto the platform, their dead eyes fixed on me. Light flashed through the sky as shots were fired from both directions.
I sprinted forward without thinking, barreling through the bodies in front of me before they could react. I leapt off the platform, flying through the night sky for one freeing second before I slammed to the ground. Pain jumped through my legs as I landed but I kept running through the bodies.
Stay away, stay away, stay away, I thought as my boots slapped the pavement ba
ck toward the tank.
Just as I was clear of the ring of Fallen that surrounded the plant, I heard an explosion. The buildings and streets before me were illuminated as the fire billowed, racing towards me with unstoppable force. I screamed as the flames ate away the fabric of my pants, melted the rubber of my boots to my feet. I felt every cell of my skin as it singed and was burned up. I hit the ground just fifteen yards away from the tank as the flames of the Fallen’s explosive died away.
I couldn’t distinguish one scream from the next as I heard feet meeting the concrete and felt hands close around my arms and start pulling me back toward the tank. Every movement felt like tortured death as they hauled me up and into the tank. It roared to life as we crawled back to the hospital.
“Are they following us?” I heard a voice ask.
A few moments later a voice responded. “No, they’re flocking around the plant again. That’s incredible! They don’t even seem to care.”
I clenched my teeth together as I tried to force my vision to focus on the roof of the tank. My breathing game in labored gasps and I felt lightheaded. I’d made it out of the plant alive but would I make it back to the hospital alive as well?
Black spots swam in my vision as I was jostled again a few minutes later. One of my legs scraped against the lip of the hatch of the tank, sending a blood curdling scream ripping from my chest as I wished to die. I’d never known pain like this.
Maybe it was more than my emotional blockers that Dr. Beeson had removed.
Between each gasping breath, I couldn’t help but let out another agonizing scream.
Men in white jackets surrounded me as I was blinded by the lights on the ceiling of the white hallways. The only thing I could see was the pair of blue eyes above me, trying to speak words to me that I couldn’t hear.
My body exploded in blossoms of pain as I was moved again, a hard board beneath my body.
I heard only jumbles of words. My brain tried to sort everything out, trying to grasp onto something that made sense.
“…transfusions…”
“…skin grafts…”
“…cybernetic parts…”
“…accelerated regeneration…”
A strange thumping in my chest startled me. It didn’t come in even beats, it was erratic, painful. My breaths came in quick gasps. Even that hurt. It hurt to scream. It hurt to lie still, it hurt to move. It hurt to be.
Just as I slipped under, I felt two hands close around each of mine.
Beeping noises surrounded me as my eyes slid open. The ceiling tiles slowly came into focus, the sound of air blowing through a vent above me bringing me awake as I blinked slowly. A warm weight lay on top of me, a soft pillow beneath my head.
I slowly sat up, my head feeling like it was spinning. I was back in a hospital room, surrounded by the now familiar flashing screens, dripping bags, and tubes sticking out of my arms. The room was completely devoid of life other than myself.
I ripped the lines out of my arm, a small bubble of blood immediately forming on my skin. Shifting my weight, I slipped my legs out from under the heavy quilt and off the side of the bed.
I barely suppressed the scream as I took in my legs coming out from under my hospital gown. My right leg was a mass of crusted and wavy looking skin, small pieces of black rubber melted into the heel of my foot. Despite the intensity of the burn, it looked like it was already healing.
But my left leg scared me the most.
The skin twisted and deformed in disgusting ways, hardly identifiable as human flesh. But from mid-calf down, there was nothing left but a gleaming metal skeleton.
I crashed to the floor, my hands barely reaching out to catch myself before the ground came rushing up at me. I scrambled to my feet, not even noticing how I once again felt no pain in my injuries. The back of my eyes burned as I heard the sound of my metal foot clanking against the tile of the floor.
The hall was devoid of any life as I stumbled out. I blinked hard several times, making my vision refocus as it tried to fail me. I held to the rail along the wall as I drug myself down the hall. I didn’t make it more than ten feet before I collapsed to the ground, a mix of terror, unregistered pain, and shock bringing me down.
As my head fell back against the tile, a pair of boots came into view, followed by a cry of shock.
“Eve!” the shout said. The next moment I felt a pair of arms underneath me and the ceiling came a little closer. A few seconds later my bed was back underneath me.
Slowly, the sight of West’s brown eyes came into focus.
“Can you hear me?” he asked, his voice sounding so far away.
I gave a nod, blinking hard. When I opened my eyes again everything was clearer.
“You really shouldn’t be getting up right now,” West said, taking one of my hands in his. He sat in a seat next to my bed, pressing my knuckles to his lips.
I looked over at him, my thoughts running a million places all at once. “How long have I been out?” I started. It seemed like I was having to ask that question so often lately.
“Only about a day,” he breathed, his eyes intense on mine.
I glanced back down, catching the light as it gleamed off the skeleton of my foot. I lay back down, swallowing hard.
“It’s a lot better than it was last night,” he said quietly. “There was nothing from your knee down.”
“How can you still look at me?” I said quietly, laying my other arm across my eyes. “Seeing the what I really am? I’m not far from being one of them.”
I heard West stand, letting go of my hand, he sat on the edge of the bed. He moved my arm from my eyes, placing his hands on either side of my face. “You are nothing like the Fallen,” he said seriously, his eyes burning into mine. “You keep proving that, over and over again. You’re more human that a lot of the people I’ve known. You give no second thought to doing all these insane, suicidal things to save those around you. Everything you do is out of love. You just don’t realize that.”
“Please don’t say that word,” I said as I closed my eyes, my insides quivering. “I have no idea what it means.”
“You know what it feels like,” he said more coolly as he sat back, releasing my face. “You just don’t know how to recognize it.”
I heard another set of footsteps enter the room and opened my eyes to see Avian enter. His face was hard to read as he took in the sight of West and I, so close together. I felt myself hating everything I was again.
“You’re awake,” he said simply.
“I’ll let him catch you up on everything,” West said quietly to my surprise and left without another word.
As I watched Avian standing there, my eyes stung and my lower lip started to quiver. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
He crossed the room silently and gathered me up into his arms, his face buried in my mass of tangled hair. His entire frame shook as he held me tightly. My lip continued to tremble, my eyes burning. The sob that escaped my chest surprised me.
“How can you look at me?” I barely managed to get the words out. “My leg…”
Avian sat back a bit, taking my face between his hands. His blue eyes looked like there might be flames burning behind them as he stared at me. “You will forever be the most beautiful creature on this planet to me, no matter what happens. I don’t care what you’re skeletal frame is made of. You’re still Eve.”
“Avian, I want…” I dropped off, not even knowing how to finish that sentence. I was tempted to put my head in that gigantic ring on the roof, just to stop all the confusion I felt.
“Don’t,” he said, pressing a finger to my lips. “You can’t make any decisions right now. You just need to finish healing.”
I took a deep breath, finding some sense of my normal self, and nodded. Slowly, I felt the calm start to spread itself through my system again. “How bad was it?”
Avian sat back, close to the foot of the bed. “The skin on your left leg was totally burned away up to your knee,” he s
tarted. I saw the terror he had felt then in his eyes. “Traces of metal could be seen in your right leg, most of the skin was gone, and a lot of the muscle had been burned away as well. Your backside had been burned but not too horribly. It healed pretty fast. You lost a few inches of hair. You were bleeding profusely from the bullet wound in your arm and all your other injuries. You needed a blood transfusion. But within hours you were already healing. I would expect your left leg will look totally normal again within three days.”
“Guess you were right about being wary about letting me go to the plant,” I said.
He chuckled. “Like I could have stopped you.”
“You couldn’t have,” I said with a small smile. “Now find me some pants and boots so I don’t scare the town folk away.”
He just chuckled again and shook his head.
It took him a few minutes but Avian found me some clothes and we walked down the hall together.
“They haven’t set the Pulse off yet, have they?” I asked, a strange sense of missed anticipation filling me. My boots were too big without any flesh to fill them and the metal foot slid around inside it. I walked with a slight limp.
“No,” he answered, his always serious eyes forward. “Royce said it takes about two days to build up enough power to set it off. It’s charging now though.”
“Two days,” I breathed. “Do you really think it will work?”
Avian shrugged. “The technology seems right. They have the brains here to do it. It sounds like it is just a matter of building enough power to set it off.”
“I can’t even imagine what life is going to be like if it works. No Fallen. No more running, or scouting to do. Everything I’ve known will be changed.”
“It will be better,” Avian said quietly as we entered the main lobby area. “You’ll see how life should have been, in a post-apocalyptic way.”
I gave him a small smile, already feeling comforted, even after everything that had happened.
By now the lobby was emptying out, everyone preparing for sleep at mid-day. I suddenly missed my days of free scouting, of roaming through the woods, free without any walls barricading me in. Hopefully all that would end in just a few short days.