Hadley couldn’t wait any longer. “Anna I found the pinpoint in my cerebral cortex that houses the activation information. I hid it, the activation information. They won’t find it. As long as you erase her memory.”
Anna stopped mid bite. She stared at Hadley dumbfounded. After a moment, she continued to chew and finally swallowed the apple piece. “And I thought I was smart. You always show me up.” She smiled.
“I need you to destroy it.” Hadley reached a hand forward and grabbed hers.
“That could kill you Hadley, or damage the rest of your memory.”
“I don’t care. Under no circumstances can anyone get it. You know what Hemmer is thinking about doing with it. That’s why we put the controls in place. That’s why I’m the only one who knows how to activate it.”
Anna took another bite of her apple slice and pondered what Hadley had just said. “This is crazy Hadley. We put the measures in place so that we wouldn’t have to resort to drastic measures like these.”
“Look at what he is doing with the memory serum!”
Anna studied her hands intently. Her eyebrows furrowed close together. She was thinking through every possibility. Exactly like Hadley knew her best friend would. “Fine.”
“Thank you.” Hadley squeezed her hand.
“Let’s just do it before I change my mind.” She stood up, leaving the majority of her apple untouched. Hadley just followed.
They walked to the biomed lab. Hadley followed her into one of the procedure rooms. They opened the biobot and Anna put her fingerprint onto the scanner. Hadley’s data came up immediately, just as she had saved it.
A little green dot was blinking in the left side of Hadley’s cerebral cortex. It was the size of a one-hundredth of a pinprick. The biobot started to talk. “We will insert a particle laser through your skull and laser away the few particles responsible for the particular memory you want to erase permanently. Hadley, are you sure you don’t just want to use your exemplary memory serum?”
“Biobot you know memory serums may have a cure eventually.”
“That is true Hadley. But I must inform you of the risks of this procedure.” her thoughts drifted to the man she loved as the biobot listed every tiny thing that could go wrong with the procedure. Hadley thought about his hair and his eyes. She had to give her head a shake.
“Ready?” Anna asked. She was holding a pen like instrument in her hand.
“Go ahead!”
Anna placed the end of the instrument just above Hadley’s left ear. Anna pressed a button and Hadley heard the laser start to cut through her skull. The pain was blinding but she didn’t move.
“Do you want local anesthetic?” She asked.
“You know I don’t believe in that.”
“Just checking.”
Hadley heard the laser stop cutting and the cord of the second laser unravel. The cord, like a snake, entered her brain. She could almost feel it squirming around inside her brain though that could have been her imagination. On second thought, it was definitely her imagination. Finally, everything was silent as the laser found its target.
The biobot spoke, “Anna you have to press the red button now.”
“Ok.” Anna whispered and she pressed it.
Hadley felt a tingle through her spine, but nothing more. Like that, the memory was gone and she smiled, relieved. The laser recoiled and she felt the instrument stitch up her head.
“Thanks Anna,” Hadley whispered feeling nauseous.
“Anything.”
She stood up her stomach in knots. She ran to the recycling basket and puked. Her throat burned. But relief came shortly after the dry heaving ended.
“Are you okay? Do we need to check for more neuro damage? Biobot scanned—but—”
“No,” Hadley managed a weak smile, “I just haven’t been feeling well the last few days—who knows.”
Hadley stood up from the ground and they walked out of the lab. The activation procedure was safe. No one knew anything anymore. Hadley was ecstatic.
Until that is, the news came the day after she had erased the activation information. Russia had released a deadly super virus in various places across the planet and already death tolls were in the thousands.
Anna and Hadley were watching the news when Hemmer burst in. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”
“Nothing!” She jumped away from him.
“I can’t activate your virus. I can’t fight back.”
“Maybe something went wrong?”
“No—you did something!” He motioned and three men emerged from the shadows behind him. Two of them grabbed Hadley and she was hauled out of the room while the other held Anna back.
Hadley was thrust into a chair and biobot started to scan her brain. “There appears to be a scar that wasn’t there before.”
“You erased the memory!? How!?”
“I’m not stupid you know Hemmer.”
“How do I get it?!” Hemmer was screaming in her face. His hot breath made her cheeks red.
“You will never get it!” Hadley spat in his face.
“Take her to cryosleep—we will wake her up when this is over. Then we can figure it out and get the Russians back for this.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
2446
Hadley was puzzled by what Hemmer wanted. Why he needed her so urgently. She walked into the lab and it took her a second to understand what was happening.
Hemmer was standing over Anna who was tied to a chair.
“Hadley. Nice of you to join us.”
“Hemmer what is going on?” Hadley asked before she saw that he was holding a gun with a silencer.
“I have word that the Asian United Nations plans to invade the Western United Nations in the next month. They are going to declare full-fledged nuclear war.”
“That’s not possible…” She said holding up a hand to calm him down.
“We don’t know what’s possible anymore.” He was shaking with rage. His eyes were like fires in his face.
“Hemmer you know that Asia stands no chance.” Hadley said calmly.
“They will really stand no chance if you give me the activation sequence.”
“I can’t do that, even if I knew it I couldn’t give it to you.”
“I will shoot Anna if you don’t!” He pointed the gun at Anna. There was sheer panic in her eyes.
“Hemmer, stop this!”
“She doesn’t know it,” Anna cried out.
“I’ll give you to the count of three. One…”
“STOP!” Hadley screamed, “You saw her brain scans!”
“Two.”
“Hemmer you can’t have it.” Anna whispered.
“Anna I’m sorry, you know I don’t have it. Hemmer STOP!”
“I know Hadley, it’s okay.”
“HEMMER STOP!” Hadley screamed.
“Three.”
It was as though the next few moments played in her head in slow motion. She watched as Hemmer pulled the trigger. The bullet travelled slowly into the back of Anna’s skull. The blood splattered forward as the bullet carried on into the wall. Hadley felt the warm blood hit her, soaking her face and t-shirt. She fell to her knees.
She couldn’t comprehend.
“Now you know how serious I am. Get me the information, or someone you care more about will be next.”
Hemmer wiped the barrel of his gun as he walked away, neither care nor consequences in store. Hadley cried for an eternity on the floor, clutching her best friend in her arms. She was hysterical until finally she wiped her face and went to find Saul. This was the last straw.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Paxton and Hadley sat behind a large mahogany desk in an enormous office. Most of the room was glass and it had a 270-degree view of a large area of the complex. It looked like a bird’s nest; you could see everyone’s movements.
Hadley studied a man typing furiously on a computer at a small desk in the corner. He was the oldest person she had seen since bei
ng here, and had to be in his mid 80’s. She wrapped the blanket she had been given around her shoulders, shivering since she was still soaked to her bones. Her hands were tingling as they regained feeling. She flexed her fingers looking at her white knuckles.
There was an antique tea set in front of them on the desk. One of the luxuries that Hemmer must have thought himself privy to. The thin porcelain had gold and blue flowers running over it. Hadley grabbed the teapot with shaking hands and poured the tea into one of the cups. She grabbed the saucer and cup and took a sip. The hot liquid poured down her throat and instantly warmed her.
“Want some?” She asked to Pax. He just shook his head barely able to open his mouth. His entire face had become a mess of dried blood.
They both jumped as Hemmer walked into the room, or more like exploded into the room. He slammed his fists onto the table. It made Hadley jump so high that the hot tea she was holding crashed onto her lap. The liquid ran down her legs. It burned but she hardly noticed. Her cup clinked to the ground and rolled across the floor until it hit the window and stopped with a thud.
“What do you think you were doing?” he yelled with an emphasis on every individual syllable.
“We—” Hadley couldn’t think. She had not formulated an excuse or a reason or any story to tell Hemmer. She didn’t want to have to have an excuse; she wanted freedom, though this egalitarian world seemed to lack that.
“You could have died, or worse been tortured until you told them something! Do you know the ramifications of that?!” He yelled into Hadley’s face, basically ignoring Pax.
“I didn’t know we couldn’t leave,” Hadley said raising an eyebrow, taking a different approach. She knew she was crossing a line but she couldn’t help but say it. The looked in his eyes was worth whatever came next.
“You dumb stupid little girl, I knew from the moment I saw you, you would be trouble.” Hadley heard the slap across her face before she felt it. Her cheek stung and got hot and she could feel her eyes start watering but she forbade herself from crying. This was the second time she had been slapped in a matter of hours.
“Stop it!” Paxton wheezed through his broken teeth, standing up. Two guards walked into the room and pushed him against the glass wall.
“You are under my command, do you understand,” Hemmer sneered inches away from Hadley’s face.
“I just want more answers—” she said throwing caution to the wind. He yanked one of her arms and pulled her to her feet. He twisted his hand into her hair and threw her face first against the desk. He brought his face close to her ear.
She could feel his angry breath through her hair. He had his arm pressed into her back. Her cheek pressed against the cold mahogany as her blood boiled.
“You can’t handle more answers! There is nothing else you need to know. Other than you are on the winning side and we are fighting a war against a militia revolution! The RFE’s are confused, delusional and reckless! We have the ability to save this planet. Do not hinder us! Kane believes in you, but I could kill you right here. I will destroy everything that gets in my way.” His words burned into Hadley like a hot brand. She felt him let go. Then he turned to Paxton, “Same goes for you. Now go see Dr. Emily before you die.”
Hemmer walked out of the room slamming the door so hard that it rattled the walls. Hadley ran into Paxton’s arms. He held her for a moment as she held in the tears. They were both shaking and confused.
The guards motioned them out of the office. As they did Hadley glanced at the man typing in the corner and he briefly looked at her with a smile. The wrinkles around his old eyes scrunched together and he immediately went back to typing. He was so small Hadley couldn’t help but keep studying him as they were led out.
Once back at the dorm she gave Pax a short hug and kissed him on the cheek. His scruff was rough against her lips. The warmth of his skin left them tingling.
Pax headed towards the doctor’s office.
Everything was unusually quiet in the complex since it was the wee hours of the morning.
They went our separate ways without talking and left each other with nothing more than one last meek smile. Hadley walked into her room and turned the shower on. She took her jacket off and went back to her bed. She pulled up the mattress and put the jacket underneath.
The bathroom mirror was foggy, and she wiped one spot off to see her reflection. Her hair was matted in blood and mud. She stopped looking and peeled off her layers. She stepped into the hot shower stream.
The red filled the bottom of the shower. She stood there until the water started to get colder and the digital temperature screen gave her a ‘you’ve used your daily hot water allowance’ warning.
She had a cut above her eye that wouldn’t stop bleeding, so after she dried off she headed out to the common area in search of a first aid kit.
Vanya was reading a book in the living room when she walked in. She looked at her in terror.
“What happened to you?” she said stunned. Hadley caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and saw a black eye and fat lip had formed. She had scratches all over her arms.
“Long story…” Hadley said exhausted as she sat down on the couch. “Do we have anything I could put on this cut?” Hadley took the cloth she was holding on the cut off and watched as the skin flapped open and blood streamed down her face.
Vanya looked at Hadley’s face for a moment and left the room. She came back holding a small box the size of a box of cards.
“First aid kit,” she said when she saw the puzzled look on Hadley’s face.
She opened the box and grabbed a thin spray can. She pressed the button and Had felt a cooling sensation. She grabbed a small bug like tool out and put it on the end of the gash. It was reminiscent of a beetle. It had six little legs and even two antennas. Hadley watched in her reflection as it turned green and skirted across her face stitching up the wound, whilst spraying it at the same time. The tiny sensors inside of it made the stitches a precise science. It turned red and stopped at the end. Vanya pulled it off and put it into the case.
“Good to go!” she said smiling. Hadley smiled back as fast as she could.
The RFE’s could have killed me tonight, what was I thinking? She thought with a shiver.
“Are you all right Hadley?” Vanya asked placing her hand over Hadley’s.
“Fine,” Hadley smiled meekly.
The noose lying on the ground was an image that would be burnt in her memory forever.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
They were back in the lecture hall a day later, everyone was murmuring about Hadley and Paxton’s adventures. Hadley was avoiding eye contact with most of the other pingers in the room who seemed to be staring at the back of her head.
Kane was talking, his voice was strained today. “In exactly two weeks we are going to start our main batch of fieldwork. We are working on teams as of now and will be sending you out to give information to the RFE’s. We want their leaders to contact us. As you all know the fate of the world lies in us forming a cooperative society. We have very limited time for this.”
This spiked Hadley’s attention, she was used to daydreaming during these meetings, because they seemed to have no relevance to her. Kane caught Hadley’s eye and hiccupped in what he was saying. She smirked at him. He looked away and kept talking.
Hadley sat up a little straighter in her seat, wanting to hear his plan for the people who had tried to kill her.
“Until now we have not talked about the RFE’s in depth. We wanted to make sure everyone was feeling normal and the same before we brought down the hard truth on you all.”
Hadley could sense the anticipation in the room, her own heart was pounding. Everyone’s heads bobbed up a little higher. Pax adjusted himself forward in his seat.
“The Revolutionaries for the Free Earth or RFE’s are a group of people that want freedom above all else on this planet. They will do anything to get what they want. This is unlike ourselves that want to unite t
he planet and make earth a sustainable and safe place. It is thought that the RFE’s had powerful people in government and they initialized the war to put the planet in a so-called “restart”. We have intelligence for some of their “Cells” and hope to go out in the field to make contact with them. At first it will not be dangerous, just giving some flash drives and other information. Persuade some of the lesser committed to change sides.”
Hadley stared at him shocked. She glanced around and saw similar expressions on everyone’s faces. The anger started in her chest and moved throughout her whole body.
They knew who destroyed the planet! They knew who started this war and killed everyone and we were just sitting here playing scientist?! Hadley could feel the anger boiling inside of her. She looked at Pax beside me and he wore the same face. She wanted to hurt them for what they did to us. They would pay one way or another.
This was WAR.
She walked in a daze to the lab. One of the lab offshoots was analyzing small samples of water from the oceans and Hadley decided to look at the results. She also wanted a place to be alone with her thoughts, so she set herself up in the back corner and watched the monitors pull water from their submerged computers and analyze it.
Vanya had decided to go back to the apartment for a while before coming to work and Kane had disappeared. It didn’t matter though; Hadley no longer felt the need to work on their Earth climate model. She knew that nuclear winter was coming but no longer cared about stopping it. She knew what was out there, she had seen it firsthand. The realization had set in. They were never going to save the planet with the RFE’s still out there, the people who resorted to violence and had started the war. They were against the govs and no matter what anyone did they would stand in the way!
Hadley decided to turn her attention to improving her skills in the field. The planet needed to restore itself and they needed to work together to make it a place for generations to come.
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