The Forbidden Trilogy

by Kimberly Kinrade

  Alone in a stark, empty room, her nakedness exposed to any prying eyes, sat a woman with long brown hair and a normal human body. She stroked herself as if scratching at a persistent itch. Then Lucy noticed the thin lines of blood flowing down her arm, and the sharp cat claws that sprang from her fingertips. The woman looked up and locked eyes with Lucy: cat eyes, green and glowing with a preternatural awareness.

  Lucy shivered.

  She wanted to look away, to think of anything else, but the gruesome mutations drew her attention like the proverbial train wreck.

  A small boy, no more than nine years old, ran around his room on all fours, his back facing the group. He turned around and barked—with a snout and face of a dog.

  In the last room, a large man, burly like a gorilla, stood silent in the corner, watching them with a keen intelligence. He could have taken on the Incredible Hulk and Superman together and won, unless it was a beauty contest. Large flaps of skin hung from his tall, bulging body like peeling wallpaper. A bulbous nose sat to the side of his asymmetrical face, creating a Picasso effect that Sam would have loved to capture on paper.

  To the world, he was a monster, but when she looked into his eyes, she did not see a monster.

  Behind that mask lurked a human being full of fear and sadness.

  Dr. Koslov gestured to the patients. "The human victims are the most heartbreaking, especially the ones who must be kept in cells for their, and our, safety. Please beware of this section, with the metal doors. These are no longer humans, but mutated beasts with an instinct to kill."

  Before they reached the meeting room, Lucy noticed a thick, steel door to what looked like a vault. "What's in there?"

  She paid close attention to the answer, alert to any lies, though so far the scientist had spoken only truth.

  "That is the most dangerous room in this entire building—a highly radiated area. It would kill any human being who entered it."

  "Why is it here if no one can go in?"

  "We are able to use it for our research without entering."

  True—as far as it went. Lucy couldn't pin down any specific lie. The scientist wasn't forthcoming with the details, but there was definitely more to this place than an altruistic desire to help the beings broken by an accident.

  Two large doors at the end of the hall revealed a standard-looking conference room with a long table down the center.

  Mr. Black glared at Lucy and Luke. "I'm going to my meeting now. You two will wait out here until I'm done. Then we'll leave."

  Without waiting for their response, he turned and stomped into the room. Dr. Koslov spared a glance at them before he shut the door.

  Time for the real assignment.

  Another scientist, who looked young enough to be a Rent-A-Kid himself, escorted Luke and Lucy to a waiting area. "If you need anything, just let someone know."

  Luke made himself comfortable on one of the chairs.

  Lucy clutched at her bag. "Is there a bathroom anywhere?"

  The young scientist, whom Lucy couldn't help but notice was very tall, blond and sexy—for a lab rat—pointed her down the hall and to the left.

  She smiled, thanked him and started walking. She poked her head into offices until she found one that looked like it would stay empty for a while.

  The door lock clicked behind her, and she settled into the desk chair and turned on the computer. She wished Sam could have helped with the Russian, as human language was never Lucy's strong suit. The zeros and ones of computers made more sense to her.

  No time for walks down memory lane. She worked fast to hack into the surveillance system, feed a streaming loop into the live broadcast, and give Luke the okay to move forward with the assignment. She set up her screen to show three different images: the camera loop the guards would see, the specific camera Luke showed up on, and the real camera feed throughout the grounds.

  "Luke, your ears on?"

  "Loud and clear, Lucy Lou."

  "Don't call me that. Listen, I'm in the system. Time to get moving. Mr. Black is offline right now. We'll hear if he decides to join us, so be ready."

  "You got the scoop on where this super computer is we're supposed to hack?"

  "I'm working on it, but first I need you to slip through the walls and spy on that meeting Mr. Black's in."

  She could hear Luke fidget with his pack, even as she watched him on the camera. "Luce, that's not the game plan. We don't have much time as it is. You really want to waste precious minutes on something that might be nothing?"

  "I hope you can hear my dramatic sigh over here. Nothing is nothing when it comes to these people. Just get in, record some of it, and get out. I need time to find the computer, anyways."

  "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

  "Yeah, yeah. Go! I've got work to do."

  Lucy's fingers flew over the keyboard as the seconds ticked away. Luke had a point. They had precious little time to complete this mission, and it required all their skill and focus. Playing double agent risked everything, but they had to do it. Knowledge equaled power at this stage in the game, and they needed all the power they could get. What business did Rent-A-Kid have here, and what role did the mutated creatures play? With all the genetic experimenting going on, Lucy believed they were somehow connected.

  Images of a whip tearing across Mike's back flashed in her mind.

  The Freedom Fighters depended on them for a plan. She wouldn't fail.

  When she gave the go-ahead that no one was watching, Luke placed himself inside the wall to spy on the meeting. The special microphone on the recorder should pick up all sounds in the room.

  The images on the computer cycled in and out, each a live feed of a different part of the building.

  Come on, baby. Where are you?

  There you are.

  Lucy zoomed in on one live feed—a secure room surrounded by guards and scientists.

  "Luke, we have a problem. The room's surrounded. No way I can get you in without creating a distraction."

  "That goes against orders, Sis."

  "Ask me if I care. I'm not risking your life for some orders."

  Luke slipped out of the wall and went back to his original seat. "Meeting's ending early, Sis. They're about to leave. Get me to the computer."

  "Head left, then right down the corridor. I'll talk you through it."

  Her earpiece buzzed. Mr. Black's frequency stirred to life and his voice boomed in her head, "Have you secured the data?"

  Lucy scanned the cameras to find Mr. Black in the bathroom washing his hands. Proper hygiene is important after all, when you're ruining people's lives.

  "I'm getting Luke to the computer, but it's surrounded. Permission to create a distraction."

  "Denied. They must never know we've been here." Mr. Black's signal shut down. He was gone, for now.

  The cameras showed Luke hiding in an empty office, waiting for Lucy to give him his next set of instructions.

  "Luke, a guard is passing the office you're in. Don't come out."

  "This could be my chance to steal a uniform."

  "No. It's too dangerous." Screw Mr. Black and his orders.

  Lucy pulled up the emergency systems control panel and found the fire alarm. She clicked a button, and a screech sounded in all the rooms. Personnel throughout the building cleared out of the hallways, including those around the room housing the supercomputer.

  Luke wasted no time. He walked through the walls and entered the secure room, then attached a portable wireless server to the computer. "You should be up and running now."

  Lucy's laptop filled with encrypted data. She transferred all the information to a disk, and then created a second disk that she intended to keep for herself.

  Mr. Black buzzed back in. "Did you get it?"

  "Yes, but it's heavily encrypted. I can't even make sense of this mess."

  "Shit. Okay, I have to clear out of here with everyone else. That mistake will cost you. Get Luke and kidnap Dr. Koslov. He'l
l tell us what we need to know. Make your way to the second extraction point past the hill."

  "Are you kidding me? We are so not kidnapping someone for you. You've got to be out of your mind."

  "Listen to me, you little freak. You'll do this or you and your brother will suffer pain you can't even imagine. Those mutations you saw? That'll be you, only worse. Now get the damn scientist and get to the helicopter."

  The signal cut out before Lucy could retort. "Luke, did you catch all that?"

  "Yeah."

  "What do we do?"

  "I'm not letting him hurt you. We find the scientist."

  Lucy felt her stomach heave for the second time that day. When had doing what must be done to save everyone become such a murky line of evil?

  "Dr. Koslov is still in the building. He's by the northwest exit."

  Luke ran through the halls until he reached the group standing in line to evacuate. A guard had to inspect each person before they could leave.

  "Luke, I'm going to make a way for you. Get your night vision goggles on."

  Lucy killed the lights and lost all visual of her brother, but she could still hear him as he grabbed the scientist and pulled him into an empty room.

  "We have to leave here together. Don't try to fight me, because if they don't think they can use you, they will kill you."

  Lucy turned the lights back on, so everyone could evacuate safely. Luke popped his head through the wall to check the hall.

  Dr. Koslov gasped. "You're one of them. From the Organization."

  "Yeah, I'm one of them, and if you have any sense at all you'll do what I say. I wasn't kidding when I said they'd kill you. They'd kill us both. Now you and me are going to get out of here fast, got it?"

  The scientist shook with fear. "I cannot go out there with you. There are snipers trained to shoot any threat to the security of this facility—especially during an evacuation. We cannot allow scientists to leave with sensitive research. They will kill us faster than your people will, sadly."

  Luke looked into the nearest camera. "Can you get us out, Luce? And still get yourself out?"

  "Easy as pie."

  Lucy reviewed all the possible exits and gave them instructions about which one presented the fewest obstacles. Once they were at the door, Lucy instructed them to wait.

  "Guard patrol. Give it a sec. Now, go!"

  They ran.

  Someone knocked on the door of Lucy's office. To answer or hide. Always the question in moments like these. Today, I'm in the mood to answer. No time to hide and wait.

  She unlocked the door, swung it open, and before the guard knew what hit him, she hit him. Hard. And a lot. There was some kicking involved too. Like a ninja, Lucy rendered the guard unconscious and dragged him into the room before anyone noticed a thing.

  At least that's how she imagined it happening. In reality, the guard got in a few lucky hits before she was able to knock him out. Still, same results.

  She limped back over to the computer and found her brother and Dr. Koslov running from cover to cover on the path she'd given them.

  The scientist kept looking behind him in panic. "They are going to catch us. We will never make it. You do not know. You cannot imagine what they are planning. It goes so far beyond what they have done with you kids. So much bigger than that. The virus—"

  The scientist tripped and fell. A beam of light panned over them and stopped. The loud crack of a rifle sounded and the scientist slumped over, a pool of blood spreading in the snow around his head.

  Luke launched himself past the gate and behind a wall. "Lucy, you need to get out of there. I'm looping myself into the cameras with my computer. I'll find my own way out and meet you at the helicopter. Hurry! And be careful."

  "You too, Bro. And just for the record, this assignment sucks sweaty feet."

  Lucy packed up her equipment, secured her pack on her back, and retraced the hallways to where she'd first come in. Dammit! I didn't send Sam the information she needed. Good thing I planned a backup. Her heart pounded with fear and adrenaline. Must make it out alive became her mantra.

  As she passed the caged human mutants, one slammed his hand against the glass wall and sent her flying through her skin.

  "I sorry to scare you. I do not mean to frighten. I can see into you. You are not like the others, with tests and experiments. Your soul is pure and you have power, like me. We are kin, you and I. Will you free me?"

  "Um, yeah, I think I'll pass on that. Aren't you likely to kill me?" Dr. Koslov had said the mutants were dangerous.

  "There are secrets I can get you, secrets only I can find, in the room with the bad lights. It will help you. I will help you. Please."

  "Bad lights? You mean the radiation room?" Lucy pointed down the hall. "That room?"

  "Yes. Bad room. But powerful toy they keep in there."

  "Will you harm me in any way?"

  He stared deep into her eyes. "No. I not harm you ever."

  Lucy knew he spoke the truth, and she couldn't deny her own curiosity. This "toy" could be the key to what the Rent-A-Kid was up to, or it could help the Freedom Fighters in their quest. Either way, she had to know. She pulled out her computer and tapped into the security system, then located his cell and unlocked it remotely.

  She stood back, on the defensive, as the man-beast stepped out of his cage for the first time in who knows how long. He placed each foot in front of the other tentatively, as if testing to see if the floor would hold him.

  "I thank you, Girl, for freeing me."

  She nodded and let him take the lead so she could keep an eye on him. He hadn't lied to her, but that didn't mean she would let her guard down. Still, something about his eyes, his soul, pulled at her. He was more than he seemed, and her heart broke at the life he'd been forced to live.

  They reached the radiation room, and he stood before the door. "Stand back. I open it."

  She stood on the other side of the room. Just as she opened her mouth to protest that the door was too big for him to open alone—it must have weighed a ton, made of solid metal—he pushed the door in and closed it behind him.

  Within minutes, he returned with a small metal sphere in his hand. "I know not how it works, but much power in it. You take it to help you."

  She reached for it, but pulled back. "Is it safe? If it was in a room with radiation, will it hurt me?"

  "It safe. It protected."

  He spoke the truth. She paused, uncertain, and looked into his eyes. "Lie to me," she commanded.

  "I do not understand?" His bushy eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

  "Tell me something that isn't true, that, you know, is a lie."

  "I could not lie to you." Again, he held out the sphere.

  Her body burned to take it, to study it and know its secrets, but she had to be sure her powers were working. She had to be sure she could trust him.

  "I just need to test something. Please?"

  "Okay, if it make you feel better. A lie: I have been free my whole life, and happy."

  The lie washed into her mind like a poison and her head buzzed with it. Her powers worked, and she could trust him.

  She reached out and accepted the sphere from him. "Thank you." The cool metal tickled her skin and sent goosebumps running up her arm. She examined the sphere, but found no opening or button of any kind. Nothing about its appearance indicated its use, but it pulsed with an energy that warmed her.

  "What's your name?"

  "Name?"

  "Yes, what do they call you?"

  "I have no name. They give me number."

  Lucy slipped the device into her jacket pocket. "Well, I have to call you something. How about Adam? Do you like that name?"

  He smiled. "Yes. Adam. I Adam. I like."

  He grabbed a discarded lab coat to hide himself, and they headed through the long, vacant hall toward the nearest exit.

  "Luke, you around?"

  "I made it through and am waiting for you. Did you seriously free a
mutant?"

  "You have to meet him. It's not what you think. Talk later, getting close to exit."

  Lucy pulled Adam behind a vending machine. "Crap. A guard at the exit door. If I fight him, it could alert others to where we are."

  "You not need to fight. You have power to compel. Truth and lies... all slip easily from tongues when you around. Talk to him. Tell him to lie. Tell him hard in your mind and with your lips."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "You see lies, yes? You can also make lies. Shadow power exists in everyone. Use it now."

  Luke shouted in her ear. "Don't do it, Luce! You don't even know this guy. He could get you killed."

  "Yes, but so could fighting the guard, or not leaving the building, or leaving the building. Honestly, my staying alive options are pretty slim. What else can I do?"

  Lucy left the relative safety of the vending machine and walked the last steps of the hall to the guard, nerves rattling around in her stomach like grenades about to go off.

  He saw her and raised his gun.

  Everything inside her screamed Run! But she forced her legs forward.

  Adam moved to fill the space next to her, a calming presence despite the potential danger.

  The sphere in her pocket hummed, and warm energy filled her.

  She held up her hand. "Excuse me, but you need to tell your buddies out there to let me and my friend through. Tell them we are staff who got stuck in a locked office and are just now finding our way out."

  He cocked his gun. "What the hell, lady? I'm radioing you in."

  He pulled out his radio. "Delta Leader, do you read me? I have...."

  Lucy held his eyes and with force of will repeated her instructions.

  His eyes glazed over. "...two staff who didn't make it out in the first sweep. Hold all fire. Repeat, hold all fire."

  Lucy and the mutant walked through the door, just inches from the guard. Lucy's skin crawled but she kept moving.

  Outside, the cold and darkness blanketed the landscape. She shivered, but didn't have time to let her eyes adjust. Instead, she relied on the surveillance lights to guide her way over the large field, toward the outside gate guard and past the snipers.