Return

by Corrie Brundage

  “Mina, look at me,” she commanded. It was unlike her to be so forceful. I felt myself relax slightly, sensing she was in charge here.

  “Eva, please tell me he’s going to be ok. Take me to him, I need to see him …” I trailed off. Another scientist walked into the room, and the door slid closed behind her.

  “We are taking safety precautions, Mina. As I explained, we can’t be sure if they’re going to fully morph again. So far we’re unable to communicate with any of them. But, Mina, they look … well, it’s going to be a shock to see Jack like this. I need to know that you’re not going to become hysterical.”

  I looked at Eva, feeling like I could slap her. Then I saw in her eyes and the set of her face that she was only intent on keeping everyone safe, and my anger abated. I took a deep breath and smoothed my unbound hair back from my forehead.

  “Ok, take me to him. I assure you, I am a scientist first and foremost.” Eva nodded, and we began walking toward the doors. Somehow the hall became even longer. I picked up my pace, if only to reach the end of it sooner. And still, it loomed ahead like a distant oasis. My heart thrummed as if I was on one of my runs, and Eva still had her hand on my elbow as if to make sure I wouldn’t collapse in a dramatic faint. When we arrived at the doors, Eva took out her ID card and told me that they were keeping the room available to only top-clearance Facility workers.

  “We need to keep a lid on this for as long as possible,” she said. I shook my head. “Some of the mothers at Lulu’s school already know. The word will get out fast, and there might be widespread panic.” I could feel the dread building up in me like a crescendo.

  “Don’t worry about any of that right now, Mina. We’ll handle whatever we need to, when we need to. Just go be with Jack.”

  The doors slid open after registering Eva’s identification, and I looked into what appeared to be a warehouse-sized, refrigerated containment center. I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering at the cold.

  “We’re keeping the temperature in here very low because the clones are running fevers. We can’t be sure if their elevated temperatures will harm their internal organs, so we’re being on the safe side.” Her voice echoed slightly, and I thought perhaps this room was half the size of the entire Facility. The walls were thick, impenetrable concrete, as were the floors. All around me were reinforced cages housing the forms of the clones. My mouth opened in shock and fear. I slowly moved away from Eva toward the nearest cage, a researcher standing over the prone body of a clone. What lay there was clearly no longer human, although it was also not an Eater. Things took on a dream-like quality as I appraised the afflicted clone. I knelt beside the steel bars. It lay motionless, and I looked up at Eva, who had followed me over. Next to the cage was a machine that reminded me of my first days in the Facility as a newly awakened clone. A tube ran from the machine to the arm of the creature.

  “We’re trying a serum, to see if that has any effect on their internal temperatures, or even to revert them to human form. But so far, we’re at a loss. We haven’t found a way to treat them, but Mina I swear to you, we’re on this and will be round the clock.”

  I tuned her voice out, focused on the state of this poor clone. The muscles along the spine ridged upward, and the bunching of tendons in his arms and legs were not only impressive but terrifying, clearly possessing amazing power. The jaw had lengthened, but not to Eater proportions. The scaly reptilian hide I’d seen on the Eaters was not apparent on this clone. No horny protuberances erupted from its forehead, but several of the scythe-like teeth had broken through its gums, and had torn its lips. I cringed at the pain that must have caused, and noted the raptor claws that were distinct to Eaters. They had burst forth from the flesh of its hands, and I remembered the night Jack had first morphed, when his body had been overtaken by a force I could not fathom. This clone’s eyes remained half closed, but a slight glow emanated from them. I stood up and looked at Eva, who was holding her hand in front of her mouth as if to keep her own horror and sadness from leaking out.

  “Take me to Jack,” I said stiffly.

  “We’re keeping them sedated, for our safety, but they are semi-alert,” She explained quietly as we walked through the seemingly endless rows of the clones. A few were sitting up, but having difficulty holding their heads upright on the spiny neck they’d sprouted.

  “Ok, he’s here.” I immediately recognized Jack despite his deformities. The relief that I knew my husband, even in this state, was overwhelming. I reached out a hand to grab the steely bars, and flinched at the icy metal. I knelt down once more, wishing the cage wasn’t separating us.

  Jack was curled up in a fetal position, and the odd angles of his body looked excruciating. Here he was, like an indestructible monster, but also the man I had loved over the span of two lifetimes. His eyes were closed, but when I spoke his name, they slowly opened. I immediately saw that they were the same warm brown I’d always drowned in. Recognition dawned across his distorted features, and he tried to open his distended maw. He was unable to vocalize, his frustration apparent. I shushed him and reached my fingers in through the cage bars.

  “Mina, be careful please,” Eva warned.

  “We’re calling them half-morphs. We don’t know what else to call them,” Eva said, her frustration at not being able to resolve this dilemma apparent in her voice.

  Half-morphs. Yes, that’s what they were. Stuck between humanity and the apex predator the Travelers had created.

  “Jack, let me know you can hear me …” I said softly, not wanting to cause him any more distress. He tried to lift his head once more, but the sedation made it difficult. I saw movement in the cage next to his, and turned my gaze toward it.

  Alyssa.

  I recognized her lustrous and coppery hair, and the shape of her now-split lips. My first feeling was one of overwhelming jealousy. She was sharing an unknowable pain and terrifying experience with the man I loved once more. This wasn’t fair … I physically shook myself. I had to stop this. My sanity and level head, not just as a scientist but as a woman, was paramount here. I was about to say something to Eva, about Jack knowing Alyssa, that he had been meeting with her secretly to remember his time as an Eater, when I heard Jack say my name. Stunned, I turned back to his cage.

  “Yes! I’m here! Please talk to me!” But his mouth was still set in its grim misshapen line. Had I imagined it? Then my name came again, very clearly, but in my mind. I was shocked into silence. Eva was staring back and forth between us, her confusion apparent. I was hearing Jack’s thoughts. I was once more reminded of the moment when he’d been on the hunt as an Eater, and his partner, who I now knew was Alyssa, had killed and eaten my neighbor, Adam. I’d linked up with his mind then, and here I was, able to do it once more.

  Sending my thoughts toward him, I replied, “I’m here. I’m not going to leave your side. Please tell me you’re ok.” Eva was befuddled at the expression on my face, but I wasn’t going to stop to explain this to her just yet. She could wait.

  “It hurts, Mina. And I’m so hungry. Please tell them we’re not a threat, not like we were last time. We’re not going to harm anyone. We’re stuck in these bodies. We need your help.” Jack’s voice was weary in my mind, but still held that strength I admired so much.

  “They’re working round the clock to figure this out. Lulu is fine, I’m fine. I don’t want you to worry about anything, ok? We’ll figure this out and you’ll come home.” I made sure my thoughts were as clear as they could possibly be, my heart and soul behind them.

  He was able to nod his head a little in reply, and his eyes closed again. Eva stood by his machine, and I saw she had just administered another dose of sedation. I was furious that she’d knocked him out and ended our conversation, until I realized she had no idea what had just occurred. I needed to tell her. My secret telepathic ability would become known to her now, but I had to take the chance and relay the information Jack had given me. I’d been so careful to make sure only my family knew, bec
ause the Director had made it clear the Originals would treat me as an outcast if they discovered I was even more different than just being a clone. But with this new crisis I couldn’t worry about my standing in society.

  “Eva, I need to tell you what Jack just told me.” I stood up and faced her, and she looked up into my face, searching for some psychotic break that had taken place in my mind over the past several minutes. I looked back down at Jack’s quiet form, and then over at Alyssa. I took another deep breath to steady myself, and told her my long-held secret.

  “I can telepathically communicate with nonhumans. I was like this in my first life, and still am in this one. My ability made me stand out to the Travelers, and by proxy the Director, and she wanted to use it to their benefit. Apparently I can communicate with Eaters, too, because they are essentially animals.”

  Her face didn’t register shock or disbelief but an avid curiosity. Encouraged, I continued, “Think of it like communicating with the technology around Origin. It’s really as simple as that, and Originals are as capable of mind commands as I am. I just can communicate with living creatures, too.”

  I had to hope this explanation would suffice, because I really couldn’t think of any other way to put it. She was nodding slowly, never taking her eyes off me.

  “Ok … well, I’ve encountered stranger things in my career, so this isn’t all that shocking. And you claim you just communicated with Jack?”

  I nodded, waited as she processed this new information.

  “Ok. I think I get it. So, please tell me what he said. You could be a great asset in figuring out what’s wrong with the half-morphs.”

  “He said they aren’t a threat. He swears it, but he says he’s very hungry. So maybe there’s some way we can assuage his appetite in some safe way … and he’s begging us to find a cure.” My voice broke at this, and I gazed back down at my husband, wishing I could take some of his suffering into myself.

  “This is great information, Mina. That’s incredible you got all that from his thoughts. I need to go find the team I’m working with and relay all this to them as quickly as possible.”

  I felt another bump of relief that Jack and the others truly were in the best hands. As reluctant as I was to leave Jack’s side, I had to return to Lulu. I needed to reassure her that her father was going to be ok. I had no idea what people were saying out in the city about the half-morphs, and I had to protect her from any new cruelty or bigotry.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can, Jack.” I whispered to his unconscious form and followed Eva out of the warehouse. She would be rushing off to her fellow researchers, and I had to trust that telling her my secret was the best decision.

  “I think it would be safe to bring Lulu with you next time you come, after what Jack told you. That is, if you think she can handle it. It seems like she would be able to.”

  I felt the same way. Lulu was a mini-adult in many ways. I followed Eva down the hallway to the lobby.

  “I’ll tell my team what’s going on, if they don’t already know. I’ll make sure Lulu is doing ok, but she’ll probably want to see her father as soon as possible. We’ll be back soon.”

  Eva reached out to hug me, and I relaxed into the human contact for a brief moment.

  Back on the train, feeling weary and shell-shocked, I commanded my communicator to contact Caitlin’s parents. Irene’s face appeared and I could tell with one glance that she knew what was going on.

  “Do you think you could bring Lulu back to our condo?” I asked, feeling bad for the imposition.

  Her replying voice was soft and understanding, though. “We’re happy to keep her for as long as you need. She’s a delight, and Caitlin loves her.”

  “She needs to be home with me, but I can’t thank you enough for this favor. I won’t forget it,” I promised, and Irene nodded.

  “We’ll have her back at your place shortly. And please, anything we can do, let us know. We admire you and your husband. Don’t listen to what any of the other parents say.” I thanked her and logged off. I leaned back into my seat, knowing I wouldn’t be able to rest for a long time to come. I hoped I could explain to Lulu what was going on with her father, and that she didn’t need to be afraid of him.

  I arrived at my apartment building and hurried up to our condo, my thoughts a jumble. Several tenants looked at me askance, and I wondered if word was getting out about the half-morphs. I couldn’t stop to worry about what Originals now thought about my family; that would have to wait. On the way up in the elevator, Jack’s disfigured form and face kept appearing before my mind’s eye. The pain of seeing him suffering was a lot to bear, but I’d have to find a way to hold up under the weight of it. In the condo, I turned on the little fountain and commanded the projection screen on, vocally commanding it to find Lulu’s favorite channel, a nature station that showed interviews with other conservation biologists similar to me and their lives and work with animals. I thought perhaps she’d like a comforting snack and quickly whipped up a pan of her favorite brownies. I was nervous, twitching around the entryway and wandering into Lulu’s room, wishing she had more toys and dolls I could arrange in a new way just to keep my hands busy. She found great pleasure in doing puzzles and reading things I wasn’t ready for until my high school years in my first life. I was adjusting a tall palm tree that occupied the hallway when I heard Lulu’s vocal command to open the door. She had come up on her own, leaving Caitlin and her parents down in the lobby. I didn’t reprimand her for coming up the elevators alone, however, and merely swept her up into my arms and held her close. Her black hair smelled of sunshine and rain, and for a moment I didn’t speak. She was too dear to me for words.

  “Mom, you’re so strong. Don’t crush me,” came her high voice, and I smiled and set her down. Her tiny feet padded along next to mine as we went into the living room so I could break the news to her that her father wouldn’t be home tonight. Her face was serious and intent on mine, and I didn’t try to hide my anxiety. I knelt in front of her, my knees sinking into the plush carpeting.

  “Lulu, I’ve been to see your father. He was taken into the Facility because he’s gotten sick. I swear to you, they are doing everything they can to cure him, as fast as possible. But Lulu, he looks different. And I don’t want you to be afraid of him, because he’s still the same daddy you’ve always known. I understand if it’s too frightening to visit him though, but Eva gave you clearance.”

  Her face had remained solemn during this explanation, and she brought a dainty hand up to her forehead in a gesture so adult I almost laughed.

  “Caitlin’s parents were talking to some other adults about what happened to Daddy and the other clones. Caitlin was scared, but I’m not.” She nodded her head sagely, as if a fearful response wasn’t acceptable to her. I hugged her again.

  “We’ll go visit him tomorrow, ok? He needs to rest today. But I know he’ll be so happy to see you.” I hoped I sounded enough like a mother. My fear was always that my conversations with Lulu were too adult.

  “Caitlin said he’s a monster now, and I got mad at her. It isn’t true, is it?” Her eyes had wandered to the screen, where an alligator was being wrestled by a brawny man in a khaki-colored tunic on some other Continent. She seemed entirely unworried, and that was both a relief and a concern. Was she becoming shell-shocked, too? Numb?

  “He’s not a monster,” I assured. “He’s … different. But you’ll recognize him. You might hear some of the other kids at school saying mean things about your Daddy, or me, and I want you to try to ignore them. But you don’t have to go back to school until your Daddy is feeling better.” I didn’t want to subject her to more scrutiny. I knew she’d be able to pick up right where she left off.

  “Instead of school, can I go back to the forests with you while Daddy gets better?” Her small face lit up at this prospect, and I didn’t want to disappoint her with reality. But now that she mentioned my work, I remembered I’d need to call my team and tell them I wouldn’t be
in to work for the foreseeable future.

  “We’ll find something fun for you to do while we wait for Daddy to feel better, ok?” She seemed to be placated by this, and I got up to leave her to watch her show so I could call my team. I was in the kitchen, keeping my voice low so as not to alarm Lulu when I got Nick on the screen.

  “We’ve heard about everything going on, Eva called us. You know your work is right here waiting for you. Please, anything we can do …” Nick trailed off, and Marilyn grabbed the communicator from his hand, her worried face filling the screen.

  “If you need any of us to babysit Lulu while you’re at the Facility, too, let us know. Should we go ahead with working with Charlie though? Without you here, things will go more slowly.”

  I thought back to my conversation with Eva and my revelation about my telepathic ability with animals. She had accepted it well, and I wondered if I should tell my team that my ability to make such fast progress with our animal charges was partially because I could mentally instruct them on what I needed from them. I decided I’d tell them, but after the drama had died down.