by E S Richards
As he followed the two members of the red band back towards the mountain he saw one of them click a button on a device he held and a whirring noise started up in front of them. It was only then that Asher realised they were going to be re-entering the safe haven through the vehicle bay. The very place where Cain had lost control of his mutation and killed countless members of the red band, probably people who these two men had been friends with.
Asher swallowed, nervous to discover how much their escape and the subsequent deaths of so many people had impacted the inner workings of the safe haven. This was something that ran through his head over and over as he was escorted through the vehicle bay, down a very familiar corridor where Asher himself had hidden behind a door while a shoot-out echoed around him and finally into one of the experimentation labs at the end.
Although before he could glance around the lab another door was pulled open and he was pushed inside of a small office, nothing more than a desk, two chairs and a small bed occupying the space inside.
“Wait here,” one of the men mumbled as he pulled the door closed. Asher let out a sigh and sat down on one of the chairs, choosing the one resting against a wall rather than the chair tucked in under the desk. Twiddling his thumbs he prepared himself to perform his story, making sure he was ready for whenever the door opened again.
“Where is he? Is he alive?”
Asher’s voice cracked with desperation as he spoke, immediately leaping up from his chair as Professor Welbeck herself walked into the room. It was clear she was very taken aback by his outburst, putting her hands out in front of her and indicating for Asher to sit back down.
“Who are you talking about, Asher? And what are you doing back here?”
“My father,” Asher pleaded with the woman. “Is he alive?”
Professor Welbeck sat down in front of the desk and crossed her arms in front of her. “I think you know very well that your father is dead, Asher. It was you three that killed him, I imagine you made sure of that.”
“What? No!” Asher cried out in fake remorse, pleased that the professor seemed to be at least slightly hanging onto his story so far. “I know he was shot but, I tried to save him. Then Cain dragged me away, I didn’t want to go, I...”
Asher let his voice trail off, sniffing loudly. He had briefly discussed with Zahyra a plan for how to get back into the safe haven in one piece and with regret they had agreed it was best to blame everything on Cain, making Asher in particular appear like an innocent victim. Whether Professor Welbeck would believe him or not was something Asher was going to have to make sure happened.
“I think you have some explaining to do,” the professor spoke softly, reaching into one of the desk drawers and pulling out a device. She clicked a button on it and placed it on the desk in front of her, Asher unsure of what it was doing. “Why don’t you tell me everything that happened, starting with how the three of you escaped from our facility, brutally murdering thirty-one of my people as you went.”
Asher swallowed and nodded; quickly starting to tell the story he had rehearsed his whole way there.
He told Professor Welbeck that Cain had orchestrated the whole escape and although Zahyra had been more willing to leave the safe haven than he had been, she was still uncertain about it all. He said that he was happy in the safe haven and had never wanted to leave at all, but with Zahyra going he was worried he would lose her and so followed her for that reason, rather than to escape.
When Asher then reached the part where Emerson had cornered the three of them he made sure to instil more sadness into his tone of voice. He said that Cain and his father had had an argument, both feeling like they were the one who would look after himself and Zahyra the better.
He began tripping over his words as he explained that Cain had shot his father in a fit of rage and then the last thing he had seen was his father’s body falling to the floor before Asher himself had fainted. Zahyra had thought it best he pretended to be unconscious for the rest of their escape story, in order to make him appear more innocent in the other killings.
As Asher spoke of his father being shot he allowed himself to let out a sob, one he realised was only partly fabricated. Although he didn’t feel any remorse about the death of his father, he felt sad to be back in the safe haven, especially as he was being made to tell a story about how he had managed to escape from the place only a week or so earlier. It seemed like such a short time to be away before having to return.
Professor Welbeck sat quietly through Asher’s tale, nodding her head occasionally at his words. Now, as the silence span out between them while Asher cried softly to himself she reached down and withdrew a bottle of water from underneath the desk. Asher looked up at her from beneath his heavy eyelids and watched as she withdrew a smaller bottle of something – a slightly bluish coloured liquid – from one of the desk drawers, unscrewed both lids and then added a few drops of the bluish liquid to the water, before screwing the lids on again and shaking the water bottle slightly.
“Here,” she offered the water bottle to Asher. “It should help calm you down.”
Asher was very reluctant about taking the drink from Professor Welbeck; completely clueless about what the bluish liquid had been that she’d added to it. With her watching him closely though he didn’t have any other choice than to accept the bottle and take a few sips from the water, the professor noting that at least some of it had been drunk.
“Why did you come back here Asher?”
This question caught Asher off guard; he had been sure she was going to question him further about their escape. He was pleased though, with the change of tact, and swallowed again before he began to speak truthfully about why he had returned to the safe haven.
This time a smile almost crept over the professor’s face as Asher spoke, the gleam in her eye impossible to hide as Asher revealed what he had learnt about his mutation. He told her the truth: how he had borrowed Cyrus’ telepathic ability, but that it only worked when he was in range of the man himself. He also explained how the same had happened with the woman who could freeze things and with Cain’s violent breakdowns.
The professor seemed particularly interested in just how close Asher needed to be to another mutant in order to borrow their mutation and whether he could control it at all in any way. Asher explained further that he still didn’t completely understand how it worked and that he had little control over what he borrowed or when he borrowed it. He continued to state that that was why he had returned to the safe haven, because he wanted to learn more about his Gen 6 mutation and he knew that this was the only place where he could do so.
Upon hearing this the almost-smile on Professor Welbeck’s face finally became real and she visibly leant back in her chair, a satisfied look in her eyes. Asher paused and took another drink of water before scolding himself and placing the bottle on the ground. He didn’t feel any different from drinking it, but he certainly didn’t trust the professor again yet – if indeed he ever would.
“This camp you say you have been at,” Professor Welbeck continued to ask her questions. “Are there many mutants there?”
“Yes,” Asher replied honestly. “It’s a warped settlement, so most of the mutants there are deformed, they have weird growths and funny looking mutations. There are a few normal mutants though, mostly Gen 2’s and 3’s I think, but Cyrus who I mentioned – the telepath – he’s a Gen 4 like Cain. And I think there are more Zero’s there too, like Zahyra.”
Asher gasped. He hadn’t meant to reveal all of that to the professor. He knew he shouldn’t have told her there were other Zero’s there, or other strong mutants. What had just come over him? Shaking his head he knew he mustn’t tell the woman anything more, he would only put his sister in danger.
“Very interesting,” the professor smiled again. “And where is this settlement?”
“I had to travel all night to get here,” Asher spoke quickly. “Although, we used a vehicle which made it quicker. I suppose if you
drive the whole way then it’s not that far, perhaps four or five hours at most.”
What are you doing? Asher shouted at himself in his head. Why was he telling her all this, he wasn’t meaning to he just... Oh crap. There was definitely something in the water that was making him answer honestly, he realised. The professor must have drugged him. Cursing himself he twitched his leg to the side and kicked over the rest of the water bottle that he had placed on the ground beside him, hoping the effect would wear off quickly.
“Which direction is this settlement?” Professor Welbeck ignored Asher’s spilling of the water and continued with her questions regardless.
Don’t answer. Don’t answer.
“South I think.”
“Thank you Asher.”
Professor Welbeck smiled again – something that Asher now decided looked unnatural on her face – and rose to her feet, stepping over the puddle of water Asher had created on the ground and towards the door.
He couldn’t believe what he had just done: willingly walked into the safe haven and revealed the location of the warped settlement where Cain and Zahyra were, immediately putting them in danger. As the door closed behind Professor Welbeck Asher heard it being locked from the outside and slowly began to realise what he had truly got himself into. Only then did the tears he shed become real.
Chapter 10 – Cain
It was hard not to think about what was going to happen to Asher as Cain drove back towards the warped settlement where Zahyra was waiting for him. Although the young boy had appeared very determined and also had a pretty good plan for what to do when he arrived there, Cain was still worried about him. What bothered him most was still not knowing exactly what Asher and Zahyra had both gone through during their time within the facility. He knew it had affected them both differently and although Zahyra had told him the facts about her T128 trial, he still believed she was holding back about something.
Thinking about Zahyra made Cain press his foot down firmer on the accelerator and speed back to the settlement. He was hoping to get back before lunch, so he would only have to make an excuse for missing the morning of work, claiming to be ill or to have overslept.
The three of them hadn’t been sure how to explain Asher’s disappearance and had eventually come to the conclusion that it would be least suspicious if they pretended he had ran away. They planned to say they had seen him in the morning and that he told them he was skipping breakfast to hang out with some of his friends before school lessons began. They could then use this same excuse for his absence at lunch, imagining he was still out playing with them. When the evening meal came, that was when they would have to start looking worried.
Cain thought carefully about what Asher had said regarding Cyrus’ mutation. He had been pleased to hear that the old man struggled to hear his own thoughts, believing as Asher had that it must have something to do with the control he always needed to carry over his mutation.
A thought crossed his mind then about stopping the car and giving himself a break from the control for an hour or so, but his desire to get back to Zahyra won out and he continued on his journey. Besides, if he had to focus harder on his mutation that would simply be another deterrent of Cyrus breaking into his head.
Whether Zahyra could be as mentally strong as he was also worried Cain. He had no doubt that she was strong, but it was a strange thing to have to concentrate on: blocking someone out of your mind. Especially if you had to concentrate on it without thinking about it. Cain hoped she could focus her thoughts simply on Asher being missing, rather than him being back at the safe haven.
The young boy would have arrived there by now, Cain calculated and muttered a tiny prayer under his breath for Asher to be safe. It had been much harder than he had imagined, saying goodbye to him. While Cain’s heart belonged to Zahyra, a part of it now belonged to Asher as well, as Zahyra was simply not the same person without her brother. He hoped this wouldn’t cause her too much grief, but the fact that none of them could even guess at when they’d be reunited again was a sobering thought.
The change in Zahyra’s demeanour had been so obvious to Cain when she had been reunited with her brother after he was found at the mutant camp. When he had first met her, she had been so determined and focused, but she had somehow lacked the ability to find joy in her life. As soon as Asher was rescued Cain realised his absence had been why, Zahyra simply lit up when she was around the young boy. Cain desperately hoped she wouldn’t revert back to how she had first been now Asher was gone again. At least, as small a relief as it was, at least this time they knew where he was and that he had willingly gone there of his own accord.
As Cain continued to drive he tried to focus his thoughts on something else. Namely where he could stash the truck he was driving. He knew if he drove it back to the warped settlement that would ruin his cover story of just being ill that morning. It would also be a very useful thing to have in reserve, if himself and Zahyra ever did need to make a quick getaway.
The area where the three of them had hidden their weapons before their arrival had been densely populated with trees Cain remembered and altered his course slightly to drive in that direction. Once the truck was as hidden and out of the way as possible he continued the rest of the journey on foot, the tell tale signs of a nearby settlement quickly coming into sight.
As soon as the main gates came into view Cain altered his course again. He was hoping to avoid them and enter the warped settlement instead through a broken section of the wall out near the farming lands. That was also where Zahyra would be working and he knew she would be keeping an eye out for him.
Sure enough as he poked his head over the broken wall – something that was actually scheduled for repair later that same day – he spotted Zahyra digging at the ground not far from him. She had her back to the wall unfortunately and there were four warped mutants between the two of them. Cain knew he would have to wait until she noticed him before he attempted climbing into the settlement, the other onlookers very likely to notice his entrance.
He watched her working with a smile on his face. Even though he couldn’t see her face he knew she would be grumbling and cursing the work she was doing. While life in the warped settlement wasn’t particularly hard, the labour was tiring and boring. Certainly nothing like how their lives had been since they first met.
Cain didn’t have to watch her for long however before he got an opportunity. Throwing her shovel down Zahyra made her way over to the stream for a drink, her back still facing him. When she pivoted and made her way back to work though Cain stood up straighter, making his face clearly visible over the wall.
Holding his breath he prayed she would look his way and a huge grin broke out over his face when she did. Cain watched her facial features soften in response as well, a beautiful smile setting itself upon her face. She hid her reaction quickly though, aware of everyone else around her. Then, with the small nod she offered in Cain’s direction he knew she would come up with a way to get him back into the settlement without arousing suspicion.
“Arghh!”
Zahyra’s loud cry caught Cain’s attention once more about five minutes later and he quickly looked in her direction. She had fallen to the ground, clutching her foot in pain. For a second Cain felt a pang of need to be by her side, to make sure she was okay. Then he realised this must be the distraction she had planned for him and another smile grew on his face as the warped mutants nearby her put down their work and moved over to see if she was okay.
Cain didn’t hesitate for a second, quickly throwing himself over the wall and sprinting over to behind one of the buildings. Catching his breath he looked back, pleased to see Zahyra getting back to her feet and no one any the wiser about what had just transpired.
Now Cain just had to get back to their hut and wait for her arrival at lunchtime. They had agreed that she was planning to tell the other farm labourers that she wouldn’t eat with them today. Instead she would make the journey back to see if the freak
illness that caught Cain in the night had subsided at all. Cain laughed to himself, impressed that so far they had managed to pull everything off perfectly.
“How did it go? Was he okay?”
Zahyra came tearing into their hut at lunchtime just like Cain had expected and flung her arms around him. Cain returned the hug, holding her tightly and breathing in her smell. Even though he had only been away from her for the night and the morning he had missed her and didn’t intend on leaving her again any time soon.
“He was fine,” Cain replied pulling out of their hug and cupping Zahyra’s face with his hands. “How are you? God you look tired, did you sleep at all last night?”
“Not really,” Zahyra mumbled in reply, “I was too worried.”
“Well it’s over now. He got there safely and now we just have to trust him, trust that this is the right thing. We can’t change it even though we want to and we have to keep up our end of things here. He left so we would be safe, we can’t forget that Zar. We need to act normal.”
“I know,” Zahyra mumbled again, not looking Cain in the eyes. “I just wish we could have stopped him somehow.”
“His mind was made up,” Cain continued, letting go of her face and holding Zahyra’s hands instead so he could lead her to the bed where they sat down. “He’s stronger than you give him credit for you know. He’ll be fine in there.”
Cain didn’t completely believe the words he was saying but knew he had to say them, if only to try and relax Zahyra just a little bit. What was done was done, Asher was gone and there wasn’t anything more they could do about it. Cain held Zahyra for a while longer, enjoying the sensation of her breath against his neck. When his stomach growled she broke away in a giggle, looking at him with a smile.
“I suppose we better go to lunch,” she said rising up from the bed slowly.