“Begin,” Dr. Wolfe commanded.
Four men in lab coats approached the corners of the cage. They turned valves on the oxygen tanks and Hunter heard a very faint, high pitched whistle. Then suddenly, fire burst from the ceiling.
It was warm and wonderful, like walking into a heated restaurant after spending so long in the cold. The fire burned through her jumpsuit almost immediately and Hunter felt sick again, knowing that the guards – Jamison in particular – would be up in the theatre room watching. Don’t forget Zac and Jet and Marcus. Hunter groaned.
She soon lost sight of the scientists as the fire swarmed around her, which made it easier to imagine she was completely alone and no one was watching. Just to piss them off, Hunter put her hand to her mouth and yawned. She imagined Dr. Wolfe sneering. The heat began to build.
Joshua had never done anything like this with her in the lab back in New York, so in a way she was curious to see how much heat she really could take. After so much research on the stone – which came from a volcano – she was pretty sure she could withstand anything, especially something created by chemicals and some stupid gas tanks. What she couldn’t determine was the strength of her skin after living in darkness and near-starvation for so long.
Hunter looked down at her hands. They were slowly turning as bright as the flames around her. Her veins glowed a luminescent orange again. Her hair whipped around her face and the roaring of the fire increased, but still she didn’t burn.
Hunter would have given anything to see Dr. Wolfe’s face.
After a few more minutes, the fire ceased and she stood completely naked in the glass tank. She covered herself as best she could, thinking, he can’t get me a towel or something?
“Subject has withstood a temperature of 2000ºC. Impressive, Miss Harrison,” he added.
She took a bow just for the hell of it and waited for the ‘but’ she knew was coming.
“But-” There it is. “-You must know the three elements of the fire tetrahedron. Fuel, heat and oxygen. You need oxygen to produce your fire.”
Hunter’s heart stopped. Don’t you do it, you bastard.
“Judging from your pale complexion, I think you know where I’m going with this Hunter.”
Is anyone listening to him? She stared around at the scientists who were scribbling notes, oblivious to her torture. So it’s true. He’s brainwashing them.
“Subject will now be tested in the same way, but without oxygen. I will start with a very low temperature, just to be safe. Are you ready?”
She stuck her finger up at him.
“Very well,” he chuckled.
Hunter looked up at the valves, waiting, her heart about to leap from her chest.
“Begin,” he said.
This time, no flames appeared. The floor quivered and Hunter looked down to see the ground beneath her feet start to split. Vents were opening and something was hissing. Hunter wobbled unsteadily on the uneven floor, praying for courage and strength as a feeling as if someone were pushing down on her lungs hit her hard.
He’s taking away my oxygen.
Immediately, she forced her breathing to slow. There wouldn’t be much left in a matter of seconds, and it was already burning her lungs. Through blurry vision, she saw the scientists approach the silver tanks, turn the valves and fire burst from the roof.
The heat was immense, and it scared her to death.
I could try breaking the glass cage, she thought desperately, but then that would put everyone outside at risk. As much as these scientists deserve some pain, they don’t deserve to die. And then what would Dr. Wolfe do with me? Put me in a Death Cave? I’d never get to help the others escape.
I don’t have a choice. She grit her teeth and thought harder.
A technique she’d taught herself in a hotel room a long time ago came to mind. Using her hands, she pushed the fire away from herself, trapping the chemicals of the flame and forming a protective shield. But the oxygen in the air was slowly fading. She fell to her knees, gravity caving in on her. Her eyes were watering and it blinded her. She could no longer see anything but bright light. The fire inside her roared, protective of her, but it could do nothing. And for the first time, it felt real fear. The fire was afraid of itself.
Hunter couldn’t hold the flames back anymore. She never thought she’d see the day when fire would take her life, but it was only seconds away from happening. She didn’t get to see the others escape, didn’t get to save them, didn’t get to tell Will she-
Blackness came for her, but it wasn’t quick enough. Just as her lungs collapsed, the fire dove on her and she released the shield.
Then, Hunter burned.
FORTY-ONE
Dr. Albert Rosenthal was a gentle man. He had lived through some unspeakable horrors during his childhood, and after the war he decided to dedicate his life to becoming a scientist of the mind and the body, a biologist and a doctor. In his lifetime he studied hard, moved from the very bottom to the top of his classes and was even offered a job in one of the most prestigious hospitals in England.
But Dr. Rosenthal wanted more. He believed he was destined for greater things, for more challenges, and that was when he met Winston Wolfe.
They studied the same course for a number of years, and became close friends, both with a dream to explore human genetics. Dr. Rosenthal often thought Dr. Wolfe was a little too eccentric – he would join many groups and socialize with a lot of the professors, whilst Albert stayed in his dorm to study and could often be found in the library. They were like chalk and cheese, and still they became good friends.
Then one day, Winston came to him with an idea, a dream to move to America and start a revolutionary company that studied human genetics. At the time, Albert was considering a profession in a similar area, and though he was not very adventurous, Winston’s enthusiasm had him hooked. He followed the doctor all the way to Seattle, and that was when it all began.
Dr. Rosenthal remembered the first few years. It was messy, and he saw another side to Winston that had never come out. A manic side. He saw his friend go to great and dangerous lengths to get what he wanted. He often sent Albert to locations around the world to find people with special genetic gifts. Albert went only to get away from Winston’s craziness.
He should have seen the signs earlier, should have backed away before it became impossible. But the more humans he found with special gifts, the more he wanted to learn, and working for Winston was just a sacrifice he had to make.
It wasn’t until thirty or so years ago that Winston started to mistreat the subjects. It was done behind his back, but of course, Albert knew. He always knew what was going on. Call it a special gift of his own. He pretended to be blind to it, and that was his biggest mistake. When his back was turned, it was easier to ignore it, and that was how it remained.
Until Joshua arrived. Albert saw in that man a love stronger than anything he’d ever come across. It was a tortured love, a desperation to keep young Hunter safe, a disappointment in his failure and a grief for Hunter’s mother whom he cared about so deeply. Albert knew this would be his chance to turn things around. To change. To start doing good. And so he helped Joshua escape.
Fortunately, Winston never suspected him. They were still friends, much to Albert’s reluctance, but he could not leave the institution or more horrors would unfold and Winston would fall off the deep end. The institution needed someone who was not completely crazy to run things behind the scenes. Albert continued doing good; finding people with gifts, enhancing their powers, encouraging them. Will was one of his proudest experiments, and though the child grew up in a terrible place, he would have died at the hands of his father. Now, he had a chance to live.
But enough was enough. Winston never informed him of these demonstrations, and putting them through such unspeakable torture simply to gain attention from other scientists – most of which were not at all horrified – was the last straw. Something needed to be done.
“Hello
Albert,” said Dr. Wolfe as he knocked on his office door only hours after Hunter’s demonstration. He was so shaken up that the doctor frowned at is appearance. “Is something wrong?”
“I cannot believe what this has come to Winston,” he grumbled. Normally, he could keep his anger better controlled, but suddenly Dr. Rosenthal was seeing his long-time friend in a different light. “Do you realize what a terrible man you’ve become? What evil lies in your heart?”
“I don’t understand, I thought this was our dream Albert.” The doctor shook his head and sighed, tidying his papers. “I was afraid this day would come, when we would reach a crossroads and each go our separate ways.”
“Oh we’ve been on separate paths for a very long time, Winston. And you can no longer use the excuse ‘for science’. Science has ethics, and what you are doing is no better than the experiments performed on the Jews.”
At that, Dr. Wolfe leapt to his feet and slammed his fists down on the desk, his eyes so menacing that they nearly burned holes in to Albert’s. But he was not afraid of the doctor. He stood his ground, mirroring his hard, fiery gaze, ready for what he knew was coming.
“How dare you be so hypocritical, Albert,” he growled in that low, slippery tone. “If I recall, you have been by my side from the very day this company existed. So why, now, are you suddenly pretending to be so moral? So righteous?”
“I have always been there for you,” he replied, equally fierce but not nearly as cruel. “I left the country when you requested, I protected your secrets and your identity. But this has gone too far. I cannot let you treat them any less than what they are; people. Children. Don’t even get me started on those poor people you’ve imprisoned in the Death Caves.”
“And what are you going to do about it, Albert? Help them escape, like you helped Joshua Harrison escape all those years ago?”
For a moment, Albert was stunned, and that was not something that happened often. He had no idea Dr. Wolfe knew about that.
“Yes, I know about your little midnight getaway. You do realize what the punishment might have been if you were caught, don’t you?” the doctor sneered at him. “And shooting Jack Hollaway in the back with a shotgun certainly did not help our operations.”
“He was going to kill you,” said Dr. Rosenthal.
“He wouldn’t have killed me, he doesn’t know how to kill. He’s a child.”
“It doesn’t matter, some powers outweigh a person’s humanity. Especially someone as weak as Jack.”
“That’s not the POINT!” Dr. Wolfe roared and he slammed his hand down on the desk again. He raised his bony white fingers, wrinkly just like his own, and pointed it at Dr. Rosenthal’s face. “I kept my mouth shut for you. I went against my every rule, I protected you. I gave up everything. And now here you are, acting like you’re the better person. It makes me sick.”
Dr. Rosenthal felt his heart sink in sadness. It was true that things could have gone a completely different way, but the demonstrations were under his control. And he was too drunk on power to notice.
“You need to stop this, Winston. Please, for the sake of this institution and our dream, stop this. I don’t want to see you go down the path of destruction.”
Dr. Wolfe turned his back on him and his shoulders sunk in a tired sigh. “It may already be too late for that, old friend.” In his tone, there was a hint of a smile, a smile of old memories and a lifelong journey together. “But I will not back down until my dream is fulfilled. And you are either with me, or against me.”
Dr. Rosenthal’s heart broke. This was the moment he had been dreading. He had faith in his friend, and now that faith was shattered.
“I’m sorry it has to end like this,” he said softly and walked to the door.
As he left the office, he was sure he heard his friend mutter a broken, “I’m sorry too, Albert,” before he turned away.
FORTY-TWO
She dreamed it was raining. The water was crystal clean and perfectly cooled and it hammered down upon her hard and heavy. But, like everything good in life, it never lasted. As soon as the rain was done and the blackness cleared and Hunter woke up in a dimly lit room, she felt the pain as though she was being burnt all over again.
Hunter didn’t know where she was. It was white and cold like the institution, but she wasn’t in a cell or a surgery room. Then suddenly, she remembered: This was the infirmary where she visited Will a day ago. Her bed had a plastic mattress and metal bars on the side. Thin curtains were pulled across both ends and directly opposite her was an identical empty bed. She could hear soft voices from somewhere in the room, and they echoed.
As soon as she tried to move, she let out a shriek of pain. Her entire body was heavy and thickly coated in bandages. Someone heard her cries and a moment later, a nurse was fussing over her, telling her to relax and take deep breaths and try not to move. Hunter was so confused and she tried to speak, but the woman inserted a tube into her mouth and trickled cold water down her throat. Hunter swallowed it greedily and almost choked.
“There there dear,” said the woman. Her face was becoming clearer now. She was old with saggy skin and frizzy gray hair twisted in a bun on top of her head. Her eyes were kind but blank, like a ghost. Perhaps she is a ghost, Hunter thought. “Everything will be alright. You’ve been unconscious for a day and a half now, but your skin is patching up quite nicely. I’m pleased to tell you that it won’t be a matter of days until you’re up and healthy again.”
Hunter didn’t care about that; all she wanted was more water. “Please…” she breathed.
The nurse smiled and fed her more. As she did, she kept talking, telling her it would be alright and the world was all sunshine and lollypops. The whole charade was far too forced for Hunter to believe. She expected Dr. Wolfe to arrive any second now to gloat of his successes.
But it wasn’t Dr. Wolfe who arrived. It was Dr. Rosenthal.
That night, he came to visit her. She was drifting in and out of sleep. The infirmary had grown darker and someone down the way was snoring. She heard his footsteps and saw him appear at the end of the bed. He looked almost as worse as she imagined herself to be.
After a moment in which he leaned on the post at the end of her bed and stared in the dim light from the back of the room, Dr. Rosenthal shook his head and wiped a finger under his eye.
“Joshua would kill me… if he saw I’d let this happen to you,” he muttered. She could have sworn his old voice broke in a sob.
Hunter wished she could see him clearer, even sit up and comfort him if that’s what he needed, but she literally could not move on the bed.
“Dr. Rosenthal, it’s not your fault,” she croaked. “It’s that bastard Dr. Wolfe who did this.”
“I know,” he replied. “I’ve tried to put an end to it, but it’s like provoking a serpent; I’ve only made him angrier and more reckless. These demonstrations, they’re not for our benefit. They’re for his. He wants to feel in control, to show off. And those new scientists, they’re… they’re afraid of him.”
“So the recruitment isn’t going so well then?”
Dr. Rosenthal removed his glasses and wiped them on his coat as he took a seat in the chair beside her bed. Painfully, Hunter turned her head to face him.
“Not at all. That scare in Death Cave 1 had most of them running for the hills.”
Hunter’s heart started pounding. “Wh… what scare?”
He fixed her with a knowing look. “You’re not as sneaky as you think, you and William. I know you were there when Jack broke free. I know William was listening in on mine and Dr. Wolfe’s conversation about destroying him.”
“How-”
“It doesn’t matter. What’s important right now is getting you away from here. Things are becoming far too dangerous. I should never have let him go this far. When you are well, Hunter, I need you to lead the others out of this place.”
Hunter sighed. “Dr. Rosenthal, I’m with you one hundred percent on the escaping part, bu
t… I just don’t see how.”
“That’s where I’m going to help you,” he whispered. “The nurse has given you a lotion I made with some of William’s DNA in it. You should be completely healed within a matter of days. And then the demonstrations will be over, Dr. Wolfe will be busy with the new recruitments – or what’s left of them – and I will provide a suitable distraction for you and the others to scurry out of here. You have the map, you have the key to your restraints should you run into any trouble. I need you to step up and get them out of here, all of them, before it’s too late.”
Her mind was throbbing from so many ‘but’s and ‘how’s. Dr. Rosenthal didn’t seem to be in the arguing mood, however, because he reached out and gently ran his finger down her cheek. The touch made her flinch, but she felt no pain. It was just a memory, and it faded quicker than the tingling sensation that ran through her.
“I want to tell you Hunter,” he said and again his voice was wavering. Seeing this wonderfully gentle old man on the brink of tears was enough to bring them to her own eyes. The salt ran into her burns and it stung. “I’m proud of the woman you’ve become. We don’t know each other as well as I wish, but the day I said goodbye to you all those years ago was the day I realized that I had made too many mistakes in my life. I couldn’t change the past, but I could work towards a better future. And when you returned here, I knew this madness with Dr. Wolfe had to stop. Even if…” he took a shaky deep breath, “even if it’s the last thing I do, Hunter, I will set you free. But you need to be a hero. For the others, understand me? You will start a revolution. And with revolution comes war. But you are already prepared, my dear. You are strong and you have courage, I have seen it numerous times already. You are prepared to fight the evil in this world, because you have love flowing in your veins. Not an evil flame, Hunter, but love.” Ever so gently, Dr. Rosenthal rested a hand over her heart and dropped tears on her bandages.
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