by L. S. O'Dea
“Why aren’t you in your quarters with your brother?” McBrid continued to study the two of them.
She raised her head. She couldn’t let Charlie get into trouble. “I asked him to come back just like I asked you to stay. I don’t like being here alone with Jocko so sick.”
“Ah...I see.” McBrid looked at Charlie. “And you’re okay with being here?”
Charlie nodded.
“Is Louis okay with you being here?”
“H-he doesn’t know.”
“I see.” McBrid stood.
“Please, don’t be mad at him.” She grabbed his hand and then quickly let it go. “He was only being nice. Be mad at me.”
He took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m not mad at either of you.”
“You’re not?” She glanced at Charlie and he seemed as confused as she was. “Then why are you leaving.”
“Because you already have plans and I have work to do at home.”
“You don’t care if I stay?” asked Charlie.
“Of course, I don’t.” McBrid squeezed her hand one more time before letting go. “Actually, I’m going to assign you to stay here during the evenings with her.” He stepped out of the cage and locked it. “However, you can’t be in the enclosure.”
“I wasn’t going to ask him to open the cage. I wouldn’t do that.” She knew her place and for whatever reason the Almighty wanted her in a cage. She wouldn’t risk her new friend getting into trouble over something so silly.
“Good.” McBrid headed for the door. This was perfect. It wasn’t uncommon for a scientist to assign a Guard to watch a host during transformation. “I’ll change the schedule. Charlie, you’re now working nights and you’re to keep Fersia company.”
“Thank you,” she and Charlie said at the same time and laughed.
CHAPTER 21: McBrid
MCBRID HEADED FOR THE lab with breakfast. It’d been almost a week since Jocko had fallen ill. He’d never had one remain in the first phase for so long but according to the blood sample, the young male would be entering the cocoon stage soon.
Fersia hadn’t changed at all and he was beginning to suspect that she were somehow immune to the parasitic DNA. He’d spent yesterday looking for differences between hers and Jocko’s original blood sample but so far nothing had jumped out at him.
“Good morning. How is he today?” McBrid opened the door and headed toward the enclosure with their breakfast. He’d gotten into the habit of eating every meal with her.
“About the same, maybe a little worse.” She moved to the table.
“What’s worse?” He stepped into the cage.
Her eyes darted to the door. She was getting more and more frightened every day, but he didn’t think she’d bolt. She was fast and might get past him, but if she did she had nowhere to go. She was trapped in the building and she knew there were dangerous things in here. He closed the door, locked it and put the food on the table. However, the real reason he didn’t think she’d try to escape was because she wasn’t stupid. She had to know that he’d stop playing cards with her and stop letting Charlie sit with her every night.
“He’s not throwing up as much but he isn’t eating or drinking anything.”
Phase two has begun. “I’ll hook up an IV.” He put the tray on the table.
“What’s that?” She took a bite of toast and sausage.
“It stands for intravenous. Basically, I’ll put a needle in his arm to give him fluids.” He sat down across from her. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him die from lack of fluids.”
“Is he going to die from something else?”
“I don’t think so.” The male she knew was already gone, dead in a way. He looked over her shoulder, unable to meet her eyes. “Yesterday, his blood showed he was at a turning point.”
“He’ll be getting better?” She ate the rest of her sausage.
“I think so.” Better in that he won’t be sick, but he will be something else, unlike her. “You on the other hand are amazing. I have never,”—he touched her chin, bringing her eyes to his –“ever seen anyone take the medication and not show symptoms.”
“I almost never get sick.”
He chuckled. She was adorable. This went beyond sick. This was mutation, transformation. “I have an appointment that I can’t miss but I’ll be back for dinner. I can teach you how to play poker if you’d like.” The three of them played cards every evening and then he left her and Charlie alone so she could continue teaching the Guard how to read. They didn’t think he knew but he’d seen her notes. He could tell them he didn’t care, but it was good that they had their little secret. It made things more exciting for them. He grabbed his breakfast plate.
“I’d love that.” She offered him her tray. She hadn’t eaten much.
“Keep it. You should eat. Charlie will pick it up when he brings your lunch.” She needed to stay strong to continue resisting the serum.
CHAPTER 22: McBrid
AFTER A GRUELING DAY with the Phasmatodeas, McBrid still had his appointment with Professor Conguise to attend. These meetings were never enjoyable, but they were inevitable. He knocked on the door to the professor’s office.
“Enter,” called out Conguise.
He stepped inside, closing the door behind him and taking the seat across from the professor.
“How is the Aranea project proceeding?”
“I’ve had some interesting results.” At the professor’s raised brow he continued. “I modified the serum, trying to make it less painful for the Servants.”
“In hopes that more will survive.”
It wasn’t a question but he said, “Yes. We lose too many to the process.”
“Good idea.”
“Thank you.” He squashed the small surge of pride. He hadn’t needed his grandfather’s praise and he didn’t need Conguise’s.
“Is it working?”
“Perhaps. The first few days, I saw no outward change in either host.”
“Really? Usually this process makes them ill right away.”
“I know but not this time. The male succumbed to illness on day five, but the female has still shown no symptoms.”
“None at all?”
He shook his head.
“Th-that’s not possible. They’re changing at a cellular level. Those types of transformations cause illness, pain and sometimes death.”
“I know, and yet, she remains well.” She was amazing. If she continued to show no symptoms he could let her return to her mother. “It’s possible that she’s immune.”
“Immune to cellular modification?” Conguise’s brows lowered. “That’s impossible.”
“Science is always proving the impossible possible.” He couldn’t help a smirk. It was one of Conguise’s favorite lines to use when pushing his agenda. “Her blood will be invaluable to our studies.”
“If she’s immune.” Conguise’s long fingers tapped the desk. “Keep me posted on any change, no matter how small.”
“Of course. I’ll finish the series of shots, gather samples of her blood and return her to her mother. I’m sure the older female is missing her deeply.” McBrid wanted to cram the words back into his mouth. He knew Conguise’s prejudices.
“She’ll forget about her offspring in time, if she hasn’t already.”
“Of course.” The mother would never forget.
“But it doesn’t matter because the host can never return. She could change at any time.”
“Not if her blood proves she’s immune.” Fersia deserved to go back to her mother.
Conguise’s fingers tapped in thought.
“I’d keep her for several weeks, perhaps more. It’d depend on how her blood looks but if it’s clear, she should be allowed to return to her life.”
“No.” Conguise’s fingers stilled. “We don’t know enough about any type of immunity or resistance. We’ve never encountered it before and we can’t take the chance of something triggering the transformation.”
&
nbsp; “If she’s immune there’d be no trigger. No transformation.” He wasn’t going to make her stay and watch her mate change into a monster.
“It could be resistance and not immunity. Anything could weaken her ability to fight the change—a cold, an injury. Anything. We can’t risk it.” Conguise shook his head as he opened another folder. “How are the experiments on the Phasmatodeas coming along?”
He wasn’t ready to move off topic. “I disagree about Fersia...the female Servant.”
“You’d risk sending an Aranea into our society?”
“Of course not. Only a madman or a fool would do that, but if she’s unchanged she should be allowed to leave. She hasn’t seen anything. I’ve made sure of that.” He’d done it to keep her from being frightened but it worked for her freedom too.
“Except the transformation of the male.”
“I’ll move her when the time is necessary. Right now, all she’s seen is his sickness.”
“And that they’ve both been given shots.”
“To advance arthritis research.”
Conguise chuckled. “It does eliminate arthritis.”
He tipped his head in acknowledgement of the accuracy of his lie.
“Still. She can’t be released. I understand you may have developed a fondness for her since she’s unique, but once you’re done studying her blood, she must be destroyed. If you can’t do it, I’ll get someone who can.”
“No. I’ll do it.” McBrid showed no emotion. He’d mastered the art of hiding his fury at a young age.
“Good. You may make it by injection or some other non-painful means.” The professor smiled as if bestowing a gift.
“Thank you.” It was the proper response to a gift, even a vile one.
CHAPTER 23: McBrid
MCBRID WALKED DOWN THE hallway, his stride not showing even a hint of the rage that burned through his blood. He wouldn’t do it. He’d figure out some way to set Fersia free. She didn’t deserve to die. She was a brave, bright, young female.
He stopped by the cafeteria and picked up their dinner. When he entered the lab she was sitting on the bed next to Jocko, reading the book on architecture.
“Hey. How’s Jocko?” Eventually, he’d have to separate them but not yet.
“Sleeping a lot. He doesn’t seem to be in as much pain, since you put in the IV.” She scooted off the bed, careful not to bump the male and moved to the table.
He opened the cage door, his stomach knotting at the sight of her mostly uneaten lunch. “Are you feeling okay?” He nodded at her tray.
“Yeah. Why?” She followed his gaze. “Oh. The bread was dry and tasteless. I ate the meat though.”
“Good.” But it wasn’t. That was one of the signs – the lack of appetite for anything but meat and the rawer the better. He closed the door behind him and moved to the table. He sat down, pushing her dinner plate toward her. “Are you enjoying the book?” He took a bite of his burger.
“Yes. It’s fascinating. I love the history in it. I had no idea that so many of our current buildings were built on the structures that existed before the Great Death.” She sniffed at her burger and took a small bite.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
She pulled the food from her mouth.
“Is something wrong?” He put his burger back on his plate to hide the trembling in his hand.
“The bread is moldy.”
He knew it’d be fine, but he took the food from her and looked it over. “No, it’s not.” The cafeteria served Conguise’s recipes and the professor would fire anyone who messed up his dishes.
“Well, it tastes horrible.” She pulled the meat from between the bun and ate that, wrinkling her nose.
“Is the meat bad too?” He wanted to leave. He couldn’t watch this, but soon she’d be in too much pain to talk. He’d miss their conversations. He liked Louis and Charlie and some of the other Guards but they weren’t intelligent. No, that wasn’t fair. They weren’t stupid; they just weren’t educated. Fersia had educated herself and she was smart, possibly even smarter than him.
“Over cooked, but edible.” She shoved the rest in her mouth.
“I’ll ask them to cook it less next time.” They were well used to that request around here.
“Thanks.” Her eyes dropped to his plate. “Is your food bad too?”
“Same as yours, I’m sure.”
“Are you going to eat it?” Her cheeks heated but she couldn’t take her eyes off his plate.
“No. Help yourself.” He pushed his dish across the table, hoping that if nothing else she’d be spared the sickness and some of the pain. There was no way she’d be spared all the pain. Having bones and tissue morph into something else always hurt.
CHAPTER 24: McBrid
AS SOON AS MCBRID left the lab, he went to the barracks to find Charlie. The young Guard was stretched out on a cot, sleeping. “Charlie.” The Guard only snuffled in his sleep. Guards should never sleep this soundly. It wasn’t safe. He shook the kid’s shoulder. “Charlie, wake up.”
The Guard groaned and opened his eyes. As soon as he realized who was there, he sat up. “McBrid, what’s wrong? Is Louis okay?”
“Yeah.” He patted Charlie’s shoulder. “Your brother is fine, but I’m changing your schedule.”
“What? No.” He glanced away. “Sorry. Whatever you say, sir.”
McBrid’s jaw clenched. The kid should be allowed to say what was on his mind but Guards were expected to have no opinion—just blind obedience. “You can’t be around Fersia anymore, not alone.”
Charlie looked down at his feet, his shoulders sagging but he nodded.
“She’s changing, Charlie. It isn’t safe.”
The Guard’s head snapped up. “Are you sure? You said...You thought she was immune.”
“I did think that.” Hoped was more accurate. “But when we had dinner...well, she’s changing.”
“She’ll be extra scared.” Charlie’s big, brown eyes pleaded with him. “Can’t I stay with her while she’s sick?”
“It’s too risky.” He sat on the empty cot across from the Guard. “She isn’t following the usual process, at least she hasn’t been. It isn’t safe for you to be alone with her until we know how she’s going to change.” He stood. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
It didn’t matter what he wanted though because eventually bad things happened to all the Guards on Level Five. He needed to figure out a way to get the kid and his brother away from here.
CHAPTER 25: Fersia
FERSIA WAS RESTLESS. CHARLIE had come to the lab last night to tell her he couldn’t stop by anymore. She’d spent the evening alone and she was tired of reading, tired of sitting while Jocko got sicker and sicker. She was glad he’d stopped puking but now he slept, still as the dead. She placed her ear by his mouth and a faint whisper of breath caressed her cheek. She buried her head on the bed next to him and sobbed.
“I’m so sorry, Jocko.” She kissed his cheek and he whimpered slightly. She wanted to go back in time and never come to this place.
The door opened and McBrid came in carrying their breakfast. Her eyes darted to the cage door as he unlocked it. She could get past McBrid, but she wouldn’t get out of the building.
“How is he today?” McBrid closed the door and put the tray on the table.
“Sleeping. He hasn’t woken up at all.” She touched Jocko’s face and he moaned as if her gentle caress caused him pain.
“That’s normal.” McBrid sat down. “Come eat.”
She moved to the table, her eyes darting to the door again. She could ask Charlie to help her escape. They could get his brother and the three of them could run away. Jocko groaned as if sensing her thoughts. She sat down, staring at her plate of sausages and toast. She couldn’t leave Jocko. It was her fault he was here.
“Are you feeling okay?” McBrid watched her closely.
“Yeah.” She picked up a piece of sausage and bit into it. It was dry and t
asteless.
“Are you sure? You don’t seem okay.”
“Just sad about Jocko.” And the fact that she was stuck here.
“He’ll be better soon. I promise.” He put his sausages on her plate and took her toast.
“Thanks.” It was nice of him, but the sausage was gross too.
“I brought you a couple of new books.” He picked up his satchel.
“Thank you,” she mumbled. Even books weren’t enough to brighten her mood today.
“There’s one on ancient legends and myths.”
“Oh.”
“I know fiction isn’t your favorite but this book explains the history behind the legends.”
“I’m sure it’s great.” She forced a smile. “But I’m tired.”
“Then you should rest.” He finished his toast and stood. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
She nodded and crawled into bed with Jocko. She’d never been so sad and tired in her life. She wanted to see her mom. She couldn’t stay here. She’d find a moment when they were alone and she’d ask Charlie to help her escape. She buried her head in the pillow next to Jocko, careful not to touch him. It was her fault he was sick, but she had to leave. She had to.
CHAPTER 26: McBrid
WHEN MCBRID ENTERED THE lab for lunch, Fersia was still on the bed but she was sick—very sick. She moaned as she leaned across Jocko and vomited in the almost full bucket, splashing puke all over the floor. The male Servant whimpered from her weight.
She glanced up at McBrid, her face deathly pale. “The food. The smell.” She threw up again.
“Of course. Sorry.” He was an idiot. He hadn’t wanted to admit that she was changing. He hurried out of the room, tossing the food - tray and all - into the trash. “Louis! Charlie!”
“What’s up?” Charlie came skidding around the corner.
“Get the mop and bucket and come to the lab.” When he went back inside, she tried to sit up. “Don’t. Rest.” He unlocked the cage and grabbed one of the clean containers of water from the floor.