Embers & Ice (Rouge)

by Isabella Modra

  She shook her head.

  “Hmm. But you slept through the night – a whole fourteen hours, I see – without waking?”

  “Yes.”

  Dr. Wolfe nodded thoughtfully. “Right. Well we’ll keep an eye on that and see how we can improve it. For now, let’s begin the X-rays.”

  Hunter turned her eyes away from watching her jerking form in the dark room. She couldn’t decide what was worse as she was forced to lie down on a bright, cold table like an animal in a veterinary clinic: seeing the one she loved die over and over again in her dreams, or living a horrific reality in a mutant museum as a permanent lab rat.

  Hours later, she stumbled back upstairs to the breakfast hall, starving, light-headed and feeling as though every inch of her body had been poked, inspected and photographed for a file she’d never see again. Dr. Wolfe had taken every kind of sample of her DNA he could without removing any vital organs. Her fingerprints, skin cells, hair strands, bone construction, regular body temperature, heart rate and blood type were all in Dr. Wolfe’s system. But for now, she didn’t care. All she wanted was food.

  The breakfast hall was almost empty. She assumed it was the very beginning of lunch. A group of kids about half her age were chewing their food like cows; slowly and unenthusiastically. She hurried to the line-up and gathered whatever the women behind the glass could give. Then Hunter sat down at a table and started stuffing herself.

  She let her mind wander to escape her surroundings and the fact that her food tasted like vomit. Lost in the moment, Hunter didn’t realize she was being watched. She met and locked gazes with two brown eyes under thick-set eyebrows, glistening with pain and emptiness. They were the same eyes she remembered from her dreams last night.

  He sat a table-length away, not eating and staring at her intently. Something in his eyes sparked a strange feeling in her stomach. She couldn’t translate the look he was giving her.

  “That’s Will.”

  She jumped almost a mile in the air and started choking on her food. Fearne was gazing at her dreamily from right beside her on the bench. Hunter washed down her food with a swig of water.

  “Sorry,” she puffed, “you scared me.”

  “I didn’t mean to. I just noticed you sitting alone and thought you might like some company.”

  Hunter looked down at the young girl – who didn’t seem so crazy now – and smiled.

  “Thanks.”

  “That’s Will,” she said again. It seemed important to her that Hunter knew his name. “He always stares at people, so don’t take it personal.”

  Her southern accent was more definable now that she wasn’t living in the land of the fairies. Hunter wondered where she came from. Though, after hearing some of the other abysmally depressing stories, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

  “He looks quite sick.”

  “He always looks that way. That’s because Dr. Wolfe chops him up every day and then puts him back together.”

  Whatever was in Hunter’s mouth was immediately spat back out on her tray. Fearne giggled behind her hand and as Hunter wiped her mouth, she thought she caught the ghost of a smile on Will’s face before it vanished.

  “He chops him up? Why?”

  “To see how his bones and skin and stuff regenerate. That’s Wills power; he heals himself.”

  “Why does he have a scar then?”

  A light appeared in Fearne’s eyes. For some reason, this pleased her. “You noticed that?”

  “Well… yeah. A lot of you have scars.”

  “We do,” she said.

  “I’ve heard that not many here live past their twenties. How old is Will?”

  “Twenty,” she replied. “He’s very developed for his age because of his cell structure and rapid growth. He’s practically immortal.”

  “Practically?”

  Fearne’s face fell. “Well… no one’s immortal. But Will’s as close as anyone. It comes at a price though. They pump a ton of medicine into his veins, stuff that makes him really weak all the time from being under anesthetic. And they’ve tried a lot of things.”

  “That’s awful,” said Hunter for what felt like the billionth time. Note to self: expect many more horrible things and try not to get squeamish over them.

  “Uh-huh. He’s been here longer than all these kids. When I was little and afraid growing up in this place, Will helped me get through it. Sometimes I returned the favor. He’s like my big brother. He keeps to himself mostly and doesn’t like to get into trouble.”

  Suddenly Hunter remembered what Zac said yesterday and felt her heart shrink in fear for the poor doe-eyed boy across the room. There’s no adults because no one gets to live past their twenties. Their bodies start to die. Was that what was happening to Will?

  With her appetite suddenly missing, Hunter pushed away her plate and tried to look everywhere but at him. She focused on a grimy stain on the table and listened to Fearne.

  “…Eventually your body gets used to all the surgical procedures and what-not, sort of like someone who has cancer and has to battle through years in hospital, only… well we’re here for a lot longer. And the kids aren’t so bad. At least–”

  Fearne stopped speaking, her face forming a blank stare. The expression left Hunter speechless.

  “Even in death,” Fearne whispered hoarsely, “it never leaves you.”

  “What?”

  “It never leaves you.”

  Hunter glanced around to see if anyone – besides Will – was watching, and clicked her fingers in front of Fearne’s eyes. She didn’t blink.

  Back to crazy mode. Hunter released the girl’s wrist and pretended to eat her lunch, but the odd feeling in her stomach wouldn’t go away, and neither would those words that played over and over in her mind like a haunting melody.

  It never leaves you.

  FIFTEEN

  There was something very terrifying about the sounds coming from the room outside the lab. Jenny and Eli stood frozen in fear, listening to the thumps and the footsteps and the muffled voices and wondered what to do. Joshua had been gone only an hour, and there was no way to tell when he’d be back.

  “Jenny-”

  “Shh!” she hissed and Eli shut his mouth with a snap. Her eyes roamed the lab, praying they were safe and the room was protected. The door had a code, and she was sure there was something hiding it from plain sight. Whoever was out there must have no idea there was a laboratory behind the wall.

  Then suddenly, there came a familiar creak and the voices were louder.

  They found the entrance.

  “We have to hide!” she mouthed to Eli, whose face was paling quickly.

  “Who is it?” he replied, staring at the door. “Is it the Agents?”

  Jenny hoped to God it wasn’t, because Joshua said the Agents only hunted people with powers. What would they do if a couple of regular people got in their way?

  It wasn’t long before Jenny found out. Those behind the door had some sort of machine that roared to life, and in seconds Jenny and Eli were scrambling to the back of the laboratory and hiding under the desks; the only place they could find that would conceal them, if only a little. Jenny’s heart shivered in her chest as the door broke, scattering sawdust and stone across the floor.

  She closed her eyes and covered herself, hearing footsteps and male voices. A hand grabbed her elbow and dragged her out from under the desk. Eli shouted at them to let go. Dust was everywhere, clouding her vision, making her cough and splutter as she was hauled to her feet.

  “Find it,” someone directly in front of her ordered. His voice was low and calm. Jenny looked up into a face she would easily forget if she had passed him on the street. But the situation was different. His eyes were big and blue, brighter than the ocean. His hair was gelled back and his lips were abnormally large and red.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  “Where is Joshua Harrison?”

  Jenny glanced at Eli who struggled in the grip of two
other men of Asian origin. They all wore black suits. They looked like smart business men. How did they find them?

  “He’s not here,” said Eli.

  The man turned slowly to face him. “Thank you for pointing that out,” he spat and clicked his finger. “Keep looking.”

  One of the men standing by the glass tank where Joshua kept the Ravenadium made to open it. If the Agents got their hands on it, Joshua’s life would be over. Her life, too, might be over.

  “Wait!” she shouted and they turned to her. “I’ll tell you where he is.”

  The blue-eyed man smiled, showing perfect teeth. “Go on.”

  “He just left, I think he was going to the… store. But he mentioned something about stopping off at his apartment upstairs first.”

  Jenny thought she’d actually sounded quite confident in her lie, until the blue-eyed man smiled wider and stepped closer to her. She felt the need to hurl.

  “I have always been very good at picking out the liars,” he whispered. “But it’s okay, because the both of you are not my priority. Joshua is. You’re worthless until you provide me with the correct information. Since you failed on that part, this conversation is over, and so is your life.”

  It all happened so quickly. Two of the men drew their weapons. Jenny had never seen a gun before. It felt just like a James Bond movie as the men aimed the guns at her head and Eli started to panic. Jenny, however, found herself frozen. She didn’t understand why she had been given a second chance at life after the fire, only to die so soon. How was that fair?

  Just as she was sure her question would never be answered, there was a bang that did not come from a gun. One of the Agents collapsed, and Jenny looked down at her feet where a man lay on his back with a foot-long icicle stake sticking out of his chest, coated in blood.

  This time, Jenny screamed. There was a blur of action; shots were fired and she was released only to fall to the floor and pray it would be over soon. Amidst it all, she looked up and saw Joshua. Ice sprayed from his hands as he twirled and kicked and dodged every move the Agents threw at him. One of them tripped and fell a few feet from her. He locked gazes with her and an idea formed in his mind. Jenny scrambled backwards, but the Agent was already closing in on her, his hands reaching for her throat, dragging her to her feet. She screamed out Joshua’s name as he pulled her in front of him as a shield. Joshua stopped fighting.

  “I’ll snap her neck if you make one more move,” said the man against her ear. Jenny’s entire body seized up in fear. She gazed at Joshua.

  He slowly raised his hands. There were no men left conscious – or alive, she didn’t know – and Eli was still on the floor.

  “What do you want?” asked Joshua calmly. “You want me? Then let her go.”

  The Agent’s grip tightened. “Not likely. I want the formula.”

  “I don’t have it,” he replied.

  “I don’t believe you. You have ten seconds to give it to me, then you’re going to come with me quietly, or I will shoot her.”

  A cold metal barrel was placed against Jenny’s upper back and she sucked in a breath, clenching her fists and gazing at Joshua in fear. A part of her wanted to tell him to run, to not give in. And in a split second, she wondered why she was suddenly so willing to risk her life for a man she hardly knew. A man who once intended to kill her himself.

  “Ten,” said the Agent. “Nine.”

  Joshua moved swiftly to the glass tank and opened the compressor lid. Liquid nitrogen seeped out with a hiss.

  “Eight.”

  He reached in carefully and pulled out a spherical rock the color of charcoal, perfectly shaped. He held the rock out for the Agent.

  “Is this what you want?”

  “That’s the formula?”

  Jenny couldn’t see his face, but she could hear the confusion in his tone.

  “Yes. It’s a special stone containing a supernatural element that, when applied with the correct substance, creates a formula for my powers. But,” he took a step towards them and the Agent flinched. “It can be very temperamental. And if it breaks, this entire room will go up in flames.”

  “Put it in the briefcase,” ordered the Agent. His hand around her neck was becoming very clammy. “Now, or I will shoot her!”

  “Okay, okay,” said Joshua. He turned slowly towards the steel table where his briefcase lay. The tension in the room thickened.

  Then, quicker than the Agent could react, Joshua spun back, yelled “Catch!” and threw the stone at Jenny’s head.

  Any normal person would have reacted in the exact same way. It’s instinct. The Agent knew that his job was at stake if he did not catch the stone. His fellow Agents were all dead, and his life depended on safely securing the formula. He released Jenny, reached out and caught the rock as it soared towards them. The gun clattered on the ground.

  That was his mistake, and as soon as he knew it, there was an icicle through his heart too. He collapsed on the floor with a clang. The rock rolled out from his grip towards Joshua, but he wasn’t concerned for it. He was rushing to her side, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

  “Are you alright Jenny?” he asked.

  She couldn’t move.

  “Jenny?” His voice bordered on hysteria. “Answer me!”

  “I’m alright. I’m fine.”

  Joshua’s pale blue eyes were so full of fear that Jenny wished she could capture his expression and hold it forever. He released her, breathing heavily, glanced at Eli and then at the rock and got to his feet.

  “I can’t believe they found me.” He paced back and forth, going through things that weren’t damaged and stuffing them in a bag. “We need to leave, there could be more coming.”

  “Leave?” said Eli. “And go where?”

  “I’ll figure that out once we’re away from this building, but we don’t have a choice.”

  “But I can’t-”

  “You must,” Joshua snapped. “Jenny, could you help me with this?”

  Nodding, Jenny assisted him with removing the other rocks of Ravenadium and placing them very gently in an airtight container which then fit into a briefcase. She had no thoughts at all in her head, only buzzing, and was all too happy to follow Joshua wherever he wanted to go. She tried her hardest not to look at the bodies on the ground that were bleeding out across the floor.

  Oh God. Her breathing increased and her hands fumbled with the papers in her arms. Oh God, there’s death everywhere. So much death.

  “Jenny?” Joshua was snapping his fingers in front of her eyes. “Stay with me.”

  “Hmm? Oh, I’m f-fine,” she muttered. “Yes, completely fine.”

  Joshua didn’t look at all convinced. “Please just breathe. You can freak out later once we’re in the car.”

  “Okay.”

  “Uh, I’m fine too by the way,” said Eli as he stood idly by. “Almost got shot, but no biggy.”

  Joshua grabbed the last of his items and handed Eli a bag to carry. “Make yourself useful and take this bag.”

  “Sure,” said Eli lightly, nodding as though everything in the world was fine. “And uh, what do you propose we do about the five dead assassins?”

  “Leave them.”

  He handed Jenny a bag and ushered them out. She didn’t even think about the fact that this was the first time she’d be leaving the lab in what felt like forever. It was enough just to get away from the heavy smell of death and the cold.

  “Joshua, I-”

  He stopped at the door and turned back to her. “What?”

  “Thank you. For saving us.”

  Joshua looked at Eli, who shrugged, then back to her. There was just a little bit of light in his eyes as he turned the handle and gave her a nod. “Of course,” he said.

  Then they ran.

  SIXTEEN

  In the days that followed, Hunter climbed out of her grief and depression and fell deeper into the cold fear that swarmed the institution like angry bees. Though she eventually became
used to the routine and the testing and the morbid atmosphere, she still felt it clinging to her soul. At night, when the lights were off and silence danced around her and her blanket didn’t warm her enough, she felt it the most.

  The fire became like a dog deprived of taking walks: it grew lazy and hid away. Often she felt so empty of warmth that she feared the fire had diminished completely. She practiced circling the flames through her skin, from her toes right up to her scalp. After that, she felt better. And then she would become cold again.

  Things about the outside world she took for granted were now in her thoughts constantly. Things like sunlight. It would be coming into winter soon in New York, but even to see the sky would be glorious. She missed take-out, movies, even school. She missed her freedom.

  One other thing she felt ashamed to miss was Joshua. Yes, she hated him with every fiber of her being, and whenever her thoughts strayed to his despicable acts, the fire raged. Perhaps it was the familiarity of a guardian that she missed more than Joshua himself. But then she remembered the small things. Like his snow globe obsession, or checking to make sure he hadn’t left the ripped tissue on his face after he cut himself shaving. And despite all he did, Hunter regretted taking him for granted, disrespecting him at times, and especially not realizing just how much he sacrificed for her.

  And it took the death of a loved one and an abduction by scientists for her to grasp that.

  Every now and then, she wondered about Jack and if he was safe, or if Joshua had killed him too. But the one person she yearned for and would never see again was Eli. It didn’t pack quite a punch as it did the first few weeks after his death when he never left her thoughts, because now she was far more distracted. But the ache still remained and it would until she found something to be happy about. Sometimes, in spite of the awful and nauseating feeling in her stomach, Hunter tried to remember things about Eli. She remembered never feeling so happy than to be with him, a normal girl if only for a little while.

  Until Joshua ripped him away from her.

  Hunter tried not to let her anger cloud her mind and stop her from keeping focused on her present. Not much happened after her first couple of days in ICE, but she preferred to stay sane for as long as she could. And wallowing in either grief or anger didn’t help.