by S. A. Beck
She grunted softly with each blow. Her feet came off the floor, and she seemed to dance. She floated on air. She kicked with her shins and hit with her elbows. She grabbed the swaying bag and went harder with a punch, punch, spin-kick, four punches in rapid succession, flip, spin-kick, jab—moves that had Otto’s eyebrows lifting higher and higher, his mouth open in amazement.
She spun away from the punching bag and flipped up into the air, then she barreled down to the floor to land in a roll and come back up on her feet before him, not even winded by the effort. He reached for her and pulled her against his chest. “Whatever you are,” he said in awe, “you’re something special.”
Jaxon smiled and pushed out of his embrace. “And you’re breaking the rules, RA. You know we’re not supposed to be down here alone after dark. Come on. Let’s get out of here.” She strolled to the stairs, and he trailed her. Jax glanced over her shoulder and said, “My reason for being here is taken care of now, anyway. Stupid Lizzie Baptiste wrote on the floor in front of my room with a red lipstick pencil, and I had to clean it up. Gah! She has no idea how close she comes to being ripped in half sometimes.”
“To think I wanted to make you a part of the fitness club to give you some pointers on how to defend yourself.” Otto chuckled ruefully. “You really could give her the business, and she’d never know what hit her. But don’t worry about Lizzie anymore. For her sake, I’ll write her up and get points docked so she can learn to leave you alone. How long have you been able to do that kind of stuff?” He dropped his voice as they entered the hallway on the ground floor.
Jaxon shrugged. “All my life, really,” she whispered. “I’ve always been stronger, smarter, faster than others.” She bit her bottom lip uncertainly. “That’s not all, either.”
His eyes were ashy embers in the dark. “What else can you do?”
“I could show you, but Otto, you really can’t tell anyone. You can’t even hint at it. Do you know what they do to people like me? They lock us up in science labs and run experiments on us. Or worse, they don’t believe we’re telling the truth and throw us into loony bins.” She paused at the threshold of the kitchen’s back door, preparing to take him to the backyard. “I just want to live a normal life.”
Otto opened the door and stepped out. He thought Jaxon was anything but normal, but he replied, “Your secret is safe with me. You can trust me, Jaxon.”
The moon was a white sliver in the black sky above. It was a starry night, and so far from the lights of the city, Jaxon could see it clearly for the first time. She hadn’t been outside after dark since she had arrived at the facility. “Look at that,” she breathed in amazement, looking up. She could almost imagine those other life forms that Otto had been talking about earlier really existed. She pointed as a brilliant flash of light shot across the sky.
“A shooting star,” Otto said. “Make a wish.” Jaxon closed her eyes and tried to come up with something to wish for, but she wasn’t made like that. She didn’t believe in making wishes. She worked for what she wanted and hoped for the best. “What did you wish?” he asked.
“If I tell you, it won’t come true,” she replied.
“Oh, is that how it works?” He chuckled.
“That’s what I always heard.” Jax walked across the patio and stepped down from the porch to the green lawn. “Come see.” She touched the slightly damp grass. At the spot she touched, a flash of hazy fluorescence illuminated the darkness. Jax tried a twist to the growth magic she had used in the greenhouse, knowing instinctively it would work. She closed her eyes and envisioned a peace lily.
She felt the tingles in her fingers and under her toes. She felt the earth begin to respond. There was a shifting in the soil beneath the grass, and suddenly the blades parted. A single dark leaf pushed up from the ground, followed by another. A thick stem shot up, capped by a white lily. Jaxon covered her mouth in amazement. “See?” When she looked at Otto, he was staring at the flower as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He kneeled to the ground and touched it to see if it was real. The faint scent wafted to his nose. Jaxon gently pulled up the plant and slung it under the porch. “So, yeah, it gets weirder. Now you know why I don’t want anyone else to find out.”
Chapter 10
APRIL 22, 2016, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
11:00 AM
Although Otto was able to keep Jaxon’s secret, Anthony Hollis was unwittingly exposing her at every turn. He fired off emails to Brady and made phone calls in the night to verify his findings. He had sent a sample of the plants she had grown to a friend who was a botanist to determine the authenticity. Dr. Hollis didn’t know what to do with the results. He could only compile the evidence and ponder what it meant for Forever Welcome that she was a resident.
He had to think of her best interests. He didn’t want to say or do anything that would alert the media. She didn’t need the scrutiny. Instead, he had to focus on how she could utilize her gifts to get into a degree program at a prestigious university. “Imagine what her product could do, Brady. She could virtually cure world hunger.” He spoke into the phone, peering out the window of his office, although he couldn’t see the greenhouse from his vantage point. It had been two weeks since he had seen the initial video surveillance clip, and Anthony was antsy for the girl to get back out there and do some more botany experimenting.
Jaxon was getting along much better with the others at the group home, and he noticed she had sparked a romance with Otto Heike, the resident assistant. He worried her social life might supersede her academics. She was still doing well in her courses, and she had even submitted a list of colleges to which she wanted to apply. Anthony had the paperwork ready for her to take her SAT. But all that seemed trivial in comparison to what she could truly do. He needed Jaxon to stay focused on the science.
Anthony scribbled a reminder to meet with her after class and stuck the note to his computer. Brady was saying, “It’s hard to wrap my mind around, I have to admit. You have a penchant for believing in the craziest things. I wonder, could this be your imagination getting away from you? Have you even talked to the girl about it?”
“No, but I’m going to this evening. But you’ve seen the videos, man. Soon we’ll have the analysis of the first plants she grew.”
“Just don’t go get your hopes too high,” Brady warned.
A knock at the door got Anthony’s attention. “I’ll have to call you back, friend.” A resident ambled into his office and dropped down into the dining chair in front of Anthony’s desk as the psychiatrist gazed at him expectantly. “What can I do for you, Otto?”
“I just came to report that Jaxon is still having problems with another one of the girls, although she didn’t want me to tell you because she didn’t want to seem like she was ratting someone out.”
“Ha! She told me something along those lines when I asked her about it, too.” Anthony smiled.
Otto said, “I’ve taken the time to get to know Jax, sir. She keeps to herself, doesn’t bother anyone. Truth be told, she’s a little shy. The problem is Lizzie. Last night, she used a lipstick to write an ugly message outside Jaxon’s door. She’s also been terrorizing her in the restrooms and anywhere else she can get her alone. I did a formal RA complaint write-up. I also gave Jaxon the RAs’ phone numbers so she could call or text the next time she had an issue with her since she isn’t comfortable talking directly to you about it.”
He handed the doctor the paperwork. Anthony perused the form and nodded, sticking it in the top drawer of his desk. “Of course. I’ll take care of this. Eh, while I have you here, Otto, I noticed you and Jaxon have been getting close. I wonder, has she mentioned anything to you about a plant experiment or a science project? Anything like that?”
The resident assistant’s eyelids flickered at the word plant, but he tried to remain expressionless. Anthony caught the brief response, however. “No, not at all,” Otto lied.
“Are you sure about that? I’m trying to compile a list of u
ndergraduate major programs for her, and I need to know her interests. I will ask her myself, but I thought you might know.”
“Um, she likes flowers and stuff.”
“Has she shown you her gardening skills, by chance?”
Otto clammed up, his lips a tight line. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Anthony considered it confirmation that Jaxon was, in fact, working on a top-secret science experiment. He thanked Otto for stopping by and sent him back to class. When the boy left, Anthony sat back, satisfied with the answers he had gotten. He sent an email to the teachers to have Jaxon stop by his office after class. They had a lot to discuss.
* * *
APRIL 22, 2016, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
5:35 PM
She sat next to Otto on top of the picnic table under the ginkgo tree, watching the other residents engaged in a lively game of volleyball. Because it was Friday, the normal extracurricular activities were exchanged for an evening of group play, but the couple sat off to the side to talk about why Dr. Hollis had called her into his office. Jaxon toyed with the frayed hem of her jean skirt as she spoke, her mind dizzy with worries. “He asked me about the greenhouse. I don’t know what to tell him. He’s convinced I’m hiding some secret chemical formulation that makes plants grow faster,” she said. “I wish he would just leave it alone.”
“I told you at lunch, he was probing me when I dropped in with Lizzie’s write-up. Why don’t you tell him what he wants to hear? Hell, put some water in a bottle and make him believe it’s the formula. That’ll keep him from finding out how you really do it.” Otto chuckled, knowing his suggestion was out of the question but wanting to make her laugh. She giggled briefly, looking away with haunted eyes again after a moment. The psychiatrist had apparently wanted to discuss her future plans. Otto knew from past experience that wasn’t the way Dr. Hollis usually handled things, but then again, Jaxon wasn’t the usual student.
“If I knew why I am the way I am, it would make me feel a lot more comfortable. It’s weird, you know? I’m a mystery even to myself. Anyway, thanks for handling the situation with Lizzie for me. I heard she got, like, thirty points taken away. Hopefully, she got the message.”
He put his hand over hers and squeezed her fingers. “Jax, what are you going to do if anyone does find out?”
She shrugged. “Prepare myself for the worst,” she said. She shivered, a sense of premonition hanging over her. Later, she lay awake thinking about Otto’s question. The truth was, she had hid her special qualities all her life because she knew that people wouldn’t accept someone so strange, so different. They destroyed things they didn’t understand. She worried that nothing positive could happen from others knowing, and she wondered for the first time if—instead of providing her with the tools necessary to get out into the real world once she matriculated out of the foster care system—Forever Welcome would turn out to be her undoing.
* * *
APRIL 25, 2016, UTAH DATA CENTER
9:00 AM
Gerard Terrace, the intelligence analyst, studied the information compiled on case number 6458181b. “She’s young,” he said to General Meade. “Younger than all the other participants. I don’t know if she’ll work for the program.”
“Don’t bother yourself with that, Terrace. Her youth is going to work in our favor. Has the information been verified?”
“We’re still in beta phase, verifying. Once she’s cleared, I’ll have the information compiled in a more cohesive report and released to you. Then, Dr. Yamazaki can start phase delta of preliminary genetic testing.” Gerard gestured to the woman sitting across from his desk. She inclined her head demurely. She hadn’t said a word the whole meeting.
“Actually,” said General Meade, turning away from Gerard’s visual display board where he had been perusing the case file on the teenage subject, “we have to tread lightly here because she’s a minor. We’re not going to be able to use the same ruse we used on the others to get her out to Starke. Fortunately, there aren’t any parents to badger for approval, but she’s a ward of the state.”
“What do you propose?” asked Gerard.
“I’ve already got something in the works,” General Meade said, but he had no intention of ever revealing the full plan to Gerard. The intelligence analyst didn’t have the security clearance to know everything that was going on. He was just a pawn in an elaborate network of pieces powering forward to an end goal none of them understood—except Meade.
A smile slid across the general’s clean-shaven face. His sparse eyebrows joined over his deep-set eyes, and he heaved a relaxed sigh as he faced Gerard. “Just get me everything you know about the girl, from past to current.”
“That, as it turns out, will be the easiest part. The group home utilizes a security surveillance center that uploads to a cloud. In this case, we damn near have full access to her life. We know what time she wakes up, what she eats for dinner. We know her foes and friends, her love interests, her favorite teachers. Hell, we know her diary password. IQ off the charts. History of physical altercations, abnormal strength for size. I have to say, General Meade, she fits the profile.”
“That she does, my friend. Now, I have to get back to the compound. Gerard, keep me posted. Dr. Yamazaki?”
The general and the doctor who had come with him strolled out of the intelligence data collecting building. Meade climbed into his black sedan with a weary grunt. He was wearing civilian clothes and looked like somebody’s grandfather. Hector Meade chuckled to himself. He didn’t have a wife, much less kids or grandkids. He had dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of one thing—keeping his country protected from outside threats.
He had worked closely with nearly every secret department within the government. The titles changed, and the directors changed, but their purposes never changed, and right then, General Meade was in charge of one of the most secretive projects of his career. America faced a new threat. One without borders. One with technology far more advanced than anything on earth.
For over thirty years, he had monitored the sightings, the encounters, the vanishings. Although the official report was that extraterrestrials were the stuff of science fiction, Meade knew “they” were out there. And the particular intergalactic travelers he was currently concerned with presented the greatest danger. He knew what they wanted; they were abducting people with the Atlantis gene. He just didn’t know exactly what they were doing with them once they got them. It was his job to get to the Atlantis descendants first and study them so he could know his enemy.
Meade had explained all that to the inquisitive geneticist on their second trip to the database. He had done so because she was one of few involved who had the security clearance to hear the full plan. Technically, they were equals. “So, you see, Dr. Yamazaki, time is of the essence,” he murmured. “That’s why you’re so integral to this process. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to separate the chaff from the wheat without losing precious decades trying to sift through the mess for genetic matches. Our enemy is on the same mission.”
“We can’t let them get to the people on the list before we do,” Akiko whispered. It was a lot to take in. Everything she had learned in her few days with General Meade left her more confused than satisfied with answers. She knew what the general was implying—that little green men were flitting about the earth gathering up a specific demographic—but could it be real? Akiko lowered her head and kept her thoughts to herself as the black sedan drove back to the airport where they would fly to New Mexico, home of Starke Genetics.
“Why do you think they want the Atlantis descendants?” she asked.
“To use them against us, of course.” General Meade responded like a wise elder speaking to a very young child. “Possibly to build up an army or something like sleeper cells. Why else would they be implanting their DNA into our human genome? They need a race of hybrids who can survive our atmosphere, our earth. I’m almost certain they’re doing this because they’re planning some type of
large-scale attack.”
“But there are so few of them,” Akiko said. “In our search, we’ve only found six real matches out of tens of thousands of potentials. That’s not enough for an army or large-scale attack. What if there’s another reason? Let’s say their species has become depleted, too inbred to produce viable offspring, and they need new genetic material to offset the problems caused by consanguinity—descending from the same ancestor.”
Meade waved away her explanation. “Either way, we’re humans. We’re better off protecting the human half of those creatures. We can’t let them get into alien hands.”
She swallowed and nodded in agreement. “What have we been doing with them once we find them?” That was the real question, the reason she had made it a point to schedule a conference with General Meade and tell him she needed to know what was going on in order to do her job. He chuckled.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that, Dr. Yamazaki. They’re safe, alive, and well.”
She thought about the horrid room with the freezer drawers, the bodies of the patients with the Atlantis gene suspended in a comatose state and kept on ice for… for whatever eventuality General Meade dreamed up. Akiko gritted her teeth and set her jaw. Yes, they were alive, but well was subjective. And Meade and his intelligence analyst were plotting to do the same thing to a child.
Akiko struggled to hide her trembling. How Meade could be so unethical and unfeeling was completely beyond her. He had to be crazy to think she would subject an innocent child to the testing, poking, and prodding she had been a fool to allow herself to take part in from the very beginning. She wouldn’t continue the madness. There had to be some way to get word to the teenager. The geneticist contemplated sending a message, but every electronic, digital, or telephone communication would be intercepted by Gerard and his watchful eyes and ears. She couldn’t have anything traced to her.