The sentient sat, 6’0”, blindfolded with dark brown hair, cropped unceremoniously close to his scalp. He was thinner than in the video, the hallows of his cheeks more pronounced. His skin was paler, too, and his legs and arms were tethered to the chair. Jai looked at him, puzzled. She sensed he'd made no attempt, had no desire, to flee since his capture. She reached into his mind and glimpsed his journey on the ship. She saw the guards blindfold him; witnessed how he’d closed his eyes, not straining, not even once, to discern his location. He seemed odd, as if he were waiting patiently. They flipped their suits to visible, and Jai ripped off the sentient’s blindfold.
The sentient squinted, his hazel eyes slow to adjust, even though the room was dimly lit. Two ceiling lights swung as the ship swayed from side to side. Borda grasped the sentient by the arms and examined him face-to-face. The sentient was gaunt, but not malnourished. His thin lips were cracked. His skin was dry, with a five o’clock shadow on his unshaven face. But, there was no bruising, no indication that he’d been hurt or mistreated in any way.
“What’s your name?” Borda demanded more than asked.
The sentient looked at Borda, then Jai, and noticed their wetsuits. Jai’s body grew stiff, just as the sentient jerked back in fear. They aren’t guards, he’d realized. “I did what you asked!” he yelled, his breath stale and spoiled. “I didn’t say a word! They haven’t a clue. Please, please don’t hurt my family!”
Borda’s eyes widened, as Jai’s mind flooded with images. The sentient’s father and mother, chicken farmers, were taken from their home in South Carolina. His mother screamed for help, trying to run away, down a grove of palmetto trees, but it was too late. Five men had already subdued her. His father was hauled away at gunpoint.
“Quiet!” Borda hissed. “We didn’t abduct anyone.” He shook the sentient, asking in quick succession, “What’s your name? Who took your family?”
The sentient looked down, puzzled. “We don’t have much time,” Jai explained. “And, we didn’t take you or your family,” she repeated. She raised her wrists, removing her gloves. “See? No tattooed blade. Now, tell us your name.”
He looked at Jai, surprised she knew about his captors’ tattoos. He’d never seen anyone with a tattooed blade before that fateful day, the day he was abducted. His eyes darted back, to Jai and Borda. How do they know? They must know something. He decided to answer. “I’m Keith. Keith Tyler.”
“Who are the people with the tattooed blades? Did they take your family?” Borda pressed.
“Yes, they did. My parents. Then, they kidnapped me.” Keith looked at Jai and Borda, wondering what they must think of him. To them, I’m a vicious murderer, he thought, and rushed to explain himself. “My kidnappers…they made me do it! I didn’t want to hurt that man, that man at Club O. But, they said if I didn’t, they’d kill my parents and go after the rest of my family.” He strained, a pained expression on his face. “Please, tell me, are my parents okay?”
“We don’t know.” Borda explained as fast as he could. “We’re trying to get to the bottom of this. We need your help. Tell us who your kidnappers, these tattooed blades, are. Do you know their names?”
“I don’t know. I just know, there’s a lot of them. They took me to a compound, a complex of buildings. I don’t even know if it was above ground or underground. It was a maze of rooms. Just white hallways, numbered doors, long corridors winding all over the place. I have no idea where it was. They knocked me out, sedated me with tranquilizers. When I woke up, I was caged. That’s where they showed me a video of my parents. I think my parents were somewhere on that compound.” He was crying. Jai struggled to stand still as the pain in his chest beat hard against hers, her mind flooded with images of his parents, bloodied and beaten. He struggled to speak. “I don’t know who they are. They always wore masks. I only saw the tattooed blades on their wrists. That’s all.”
“Were they human or sentient?” Borda asked.
“I don’t know, but I never saw them siphoning.”
“Well, how’d they hurt your parents?” Jai urged him to give as much information as he could.
“They used guns. They punched and kicked….” Saying it, she saw what he had remembered. His father bawling on the ground, as they stomped on him. Three of them pulling his mom down by her brown hair, blood streaming down a gash on her face. “They just punched and kicked…punched and kicked….”
“But, never you,” Jai said, examining his sunken, but otherwise untarnished, face.
“No, not me.” Keith shook his head, wishing that he’d driven his car instead of riding the train that day. Maybe then, they wouldn’t have discovered him…wouldn’t have spotted him at the train station…wouldn’t have targeted him and his family. “They didn’t raise a single hand against me.”
“They wanted you clean, unblemished,” Jai said. “You were their star and they wanted to film you in pristine condition…just a normal sentient, the perfect mark for their Club O production.”
Borda asked, “And, the man who recorded that video? Any idea who he is?”
“No, no,” Keith said, sobbing now. Can’t I tell them anything? Anything at all that might be helpful? Keith admonished himself. He felt lost, out of control. “I don’t know who that guy is either. He was there, directing, telling me what to do to the human, but he worked for someone else, a female leader at the compound.” Keith shook his head, trying to shake off the shame, the embarrassment, of what he’d done. “They forced me to siphon that man, to beat him, until he was dead.” Jai felt the horror, sensed the nausea welling up inside of him. He started to gag.
“And the old human, the victim?” Borda asked. “Was his family taken, too?”
“No. That human was in on it. It’s hard to believe, I know. It may not have looked like it at the time. But, that human met us outside of Club O. And, I knew straight away. That human was one of them. He didn’t have a tattooed blade, but he was no victim.”
“A sacrifice?” Jai asked.
“Yeah.” Keith chuckled with disgust. “That man was their hero. He was on a suicide mission…willing to die for their ‘cause.’ They think they’re saving the human race.”
Jai searched Keith’s mind as quickly as she could. This can’t be the only incident, she thought. It can’t be the only killing they’ve planned. “Did you see any other sentients?”
“Well, I thought there was only me, my family, and them, the Reapers.”
“The what?” Borda eyed Keith.
“The Reapers. That’s what the tattooed blades call themselves.”
“Seriously? How’d they come up with that?”
Jai looked up, envisioning the tattooed blades in her mind. “Their tattoos…they do look like shiny blades,” she said. She pictured how the blades curved along their skin, like a weapon sharp and steady, eager to sever and strike down their enemies.
Keith nodded his head. “That’s right, that’s what their tattoos are…they’re meant to be scythes.”
“And, the arm’s the long handle?” Jai asked.
“Yes,” said Keith. “I heard them talking…they even have a pledge, to harvest sentient souls.”
Borda laughed. “Looks more like a sickle to me. Just a small blade with a short handle. Their reach isn’t that far. It’s not like they can kill every sentient.”
Keith shrugged his shoulders. “Well, a scythe’s what the tattoo means to them, and eradicating our kind’s precisely what they want to do,” Keith said. “They even call their mission ‘Raze the Earth.’”
“Raze the Earth?” Jai asked. “Like, a shift, back to the way things were, when humans ruled the world and sentients didn’t exist?”
Keith nodded. “Precisely.”
Borda scoffed. “There’s no way they can destroy the sentient species.” Jai could taste the disdain in his voice.
But, Keith wasn’t so sure. “Don’t underestimate them. Just look at me. I’m sentient. But, I was captured. I became their prisoner. And
, the night I was let out, to kill that man, they made it perfectly clear. They had my parents, and I didn’t have a choice.”
“Did you see anything on your way out?” Borda asked.
“They walked me through the main hall. I never saw anyone else. Just the doors, those flat white doors. But, there had to be at least twenty, on that floor alone. All those rooms, the same as mine.”
Jai said, “They wanted you to see there might be others.”
“Yes. They wanted me to see…I would be, or already was, one of many.”
“Go with us, then,” Borda said. He crouched down to get a better look at the restraints on Keith’s wrists, trying to find a way to release him.
“No,” Keith shook his head, adamant. “Don’t.”
“What?” Borda looked surprised.
Jai warned Keith, “Now’s your chance. You may never get another opportunity to escape. Guantanamo, whatever they’re calling it, it’s right outside. Those guards, they’re going to take you in today. The news stations are here. Once you go in there, you may never come out. Everything’s about to change, permanently.”
“Everything already has,” Keith said, his voice flat. “The Reapers have my parents. I can’t go with you. If I don’t do what they say, if I don’t let myself be taken inside, they’re going to kill my parents. When it comes to me, they’ve already won.”
Borda didn’t know how to counter him. In Keith’s place, he would do precisely the same thing. He could never imagine doing anything to harm his parents. What I would give, Borda thought, to have another chance…to save them.
Adric signaled with a light knock on the door. Jai looked at Keith, who simply nodded, and she placed the blindfold back on his face. They rushed to the door, set their suits to invisible, and took off, into the water.
Moments later, they were back onboard the sub. Sean sped away as Jai ripped her wetsuit off. Borda didn’t bother. He hit the controls and displayed all the news channels. They switched from an aerial to ground view just as Adric and his men marched Keith off of the ship. Keith squinted and kept his head low, straining to see through the blinding sun. The wind blew dirt and grit into his eyes, making them water. His body hummed with fear. He marched, one foot in front of the other, letting Adric and the others lead him past the throng of reporters, screaming for comment. Keith barely heard them. All he could see was his mom and dad, uncertain where they were, or what would become of them. He only knew he would not be the cause of their undoing. He’d do anything to stop their suffering. “Just do this, and we’ll let your parents go,” the Reapers’ Leader had said. Keith had scrutinized her mask, with only holes for her eyes and lips. He searched her face, had tried to decipher if she was the type to lie or not; but, her eyes and lips looked stiff, the same as any other Reapers’ he had seen. She’ll say whatever she thinks I want to hear, he reminded himself. Either way, I have to do what she wants. That’s the only option my parents have.
Now, here Keith was, walking toward facility. They stopped him, beside a podium, for the press conference. Commanding Officer John Graves made the announcement. The facility was dubbed “The Conservatory,” the most sterile name the government could’ve chosen. It was too soon to tell what horrors lie inside. How far off the mark was that name? How cruel of a joke were they making? Graves hid the punch line if there was one. He described the facilities with the most sterile, innocuous words.
Then, the news stations cut away, to the White House. President Laura Rogers stepped into view, walking out of the Diplomatic Reception Room, through Cross Hall. She stopped precisely in the center of the screen. The camera panned in, closer. With piercing determination, she stared straight into the lens, her face wrinkled and stern. “Today is May 5, 2121. Today, the United States opens the Conservatory, the first facility in the world dedicated solely to the detention of sentients who have threatened the peace. It’s been about six months since December 31, 2120.” She repeated the date again, like an incantation. “December 31, 2120, the horrific night we rang in the New Year with a sentient, attacking and killing a human in South Carolina. That video is seared into our national memory, forever etched into our global consciousness. The incident changed our understanding of ourselves, and of the brothers and sisters, family and friends, and fellow citizens we’ve come to know as ‘sentient.’ One thing remains true, though: killing innocents will never be acceptable in America, whether the perpetrator is sentient or human.
“Today is our opportunity. Not yesterday’s, not our predecessor’s, not our ancestor’s. It’s ours. Our choice. We must not make the same mistakes as others have made in the past. We must remember what it means to have humanity. We need to protect and preserve that part of ourselves, that critical piece. Humanity is the most fundamental, elemental part of us, the part that elevates us all. We must strive to be better, do better, for the protection of both our species.
“That is why, immediately after the incident, I worked with the Director of the CIA to found the Conservatory, not only to confine sentient detainees, but to do so humanely.” She paused, the heels of her shoes digging into the ground. “Today, we unite, committed to advancing the security of our nation and the world. Together, we will uphold equality and justice for all.” And, just as abruptly, the President walked away.
Borda hit mute, to silence the news anchors now speaking over one another. Sean set the sub to auto-pilot, and the three of them watched as the cameras panned back to Keith. He was standing at the Conservatory entrance, flanked by Adric and his team.
Jai wondered if the Conservatory was meant to preserve the ultimate in American ideals, as the President had suggested, or if the cynic in her was right. The only thing it’ll preserve will be the sentients being tortured inside.
Suddenly, a rash of gunfire peppered the crowd. Shots rang through the air, and everyone screamed and scattered. Adric and his team huddled close to Keith, trying to determine the shots’ origins. Adric stared into the news pit. There, there! Adric saw them now. Three armed people, a man and two women, standing among the newscasters. Guns raised, they pushed past the barricade separating the media from the speaking platform. Adric aimed his gun and shot at them, but their bodies darted fast, in and out of the crowd. Their speed was a dead giveaway. The three were sentient, and now they were using other people as shields. They shot at the guards who hit back. No dice. The three survived unscathed, while human newscasters were bleeding out. Sentient newscasters were limping away from the platform, escaping toward the water.
“Shield him!” Adric screamed at the two other guards, Kelly and Michael. Though sentient, they were hit and weren’t healing fast enough to be of any immediate use. Kelly had taken a shot to the chest, her pulse barely hanging on; and, Michael had been hit in the leg. His femoral artery was bleeding out. “Come with me!” Adric shouted at Keith, pulling him by the collar. Keith tried to shuffle as fast as he could, but he was slow. Chains linked the cuffs on his hands to the cuffs on his feet. He tripped as the three sentients pushed through the crowd. The three were shooting, trying to disperse everyone out of their way. “Faster!” Adric yelled.
Borda unmuted the screen, filling the sub with the sound of everyone’s terror. “We can’t turn back,” Sean said. If they did, they’d risk being captured or worse.
“No,” Jai agreed, “the best thing we can do is head home and wait for Adric’s call.”
“Let’s hope he makes it,” Borda said. He searched every screen for a camera shot, any angle at all, that might capture what was happening. By now, all of the station’s cameras had toppled to the ground, or the cameramen had run off, leaving their cameras unattended, lopsided, aimed haphazardly, away from the action. The only pertinent shot was the helicopter footage. The cameraman had zoomed in close, to Adric hauling Keith past a security tower, toward the first gate they needed to enter the Conservatory.
“Damn it!” Adric screamed. The security tower wasn’t manned yet. “Where the hell are the guards?!” he yelled, exasp
erated. His pulse was racing as the three sentients continued shooting at them. Adric hauled Keith to the side of the tower and shot back. Keith flinched and took cover, crouching against the side of the building. Bullets peppered the wall, exploding around them. “Who are they?” Adric threw his voice back, tossing the cuff keys to Keith. He returned to shooting.
“I don’t know! I don’t recognize them,” Keith yelled. The gunfire was ringing in their ears.
“They’re gaining on us. Hurry up!” Adric screamed.
Keith’s hands were shaking as he struggled to unlock his feet, then his hands.
“We have to move!” Adric yelled. “Move!” The cuffs fell to the ground, and Keith threw the key aside.
Keith looked around, frantic. “There!” He screamed, pointing back, to another security post. It was more like a room than a building, and it was hundreds of yards away.
“Go!” Keith ran toward the security room, Adric covering him from behind. As the distance between Keith and Adric increased, it was obvious that the three sentients weren’t shooting at Keith. They were aiming only at Adric. Keith’s body slammed against the security room door; he jostled the doorknob. “It’s locked!” Keith yelled.
Adric ran to join him. He pulled them both past the door and behind a corner, bits and pieces of the building erupting around their faces. Adric leaned, shot, then turned his attention back to the door. “Move!” he commanded. Keith stepped aside. Adric shot the security pad, again and again until the door opened. They ran around the corner, rushed inside, and slammed the door shut.
The sentients continued their approach, shooting until the door was filled with holes. Adric scanned the room, but no one was there. No guards, no guns, just a few tables. How can this be empty, on opening day? There wasn’t enough time to be pissed. He flung a table onto its side. He and Keith took cover behind it. Where the hell is my backup?! He grabbed hold of his ammo, reloaded his gun, and prepared to take aim.
Obsidian: Birth to Venus (The Obsidian Chronicles Book 1) Page 26