Survival Instincts (Book 1): Sacrifice

by Andersen, J. . J.

  She put down Jake's bag and opened the notebook, flicking through the pages. She read of chemical compounds, tests and failures, all relating to a drug; not the usual ones like cocaine or meth but a drug she’d never even heard of.

  “Exalt?” She said aloud, putting a hand over her mouth despite being alone, scared she was going to get caught at any minute.

  She kept reading through the book and looking through the files in the briefcase, hoping to make sense of what she was reading. Test subject E039 and test subject L040 came up constantly, along with other subjects noting ‘FAIL’ next to them all, with a long list of horrific side effects, including sickness and death. What was this drug? Did FAIL mean they’re dead? Were the test subjects, human? And was her husband-who currently had her son in his care-a drug dealer of a new drug that was killing people? Because that’s exactly what the paperwork implied. She had so many questions and his notebook wasn’t answering any of them, only giving her more with every page she read. A piece of paper stuck out from the back of the book, so she pulled it out. It was a map of the building that José worked at. At least his workplace wasn’t a lie, which meant she knew exactly where to find him and her son.

  Confused and scared for Jakey, she set the information down and put it all back in order, so it looked like it hadn't been touched. She needed to go see him, no, she needed to go get her son. Grabbing Jake's bag, she slung it over her shoulder, tucked the notebook into it then grabbed the briefcase and ran out of the house, locking the door behind her. It was then that the conversation she’d had months ago, that she had thought was nothing more than drunken rambling, came to Rae in her scrambled thoughts.

  Dad.

  He had known something was wrong with José and that it was big. Could this have been what he’d meant? Getting in the car, so many thoughts ran through Rae’s head. He had said José had a part in this and that people were going to die. Maybe she was too late? He had called nearly three months ago. Wait, was Dad okay? Raelynn knew in that moment that she had to get back home to Iowa and she needed to get to Jake. Shaking her head from her thoughts, she focused on getting to the lab José worked at, as fast as she could. Raelynn scrambled from the car then slowed her frantic pace as she walked into the building with José’s work briefcase in hand. She made her way up to the front desk as if she was meant to be there. Resting the briefcase on the counter, Rae waited while the receptionist talked into an earpiece. She took the opportunity to tie up her frizzled mess of hair and examined the room around her, realizing that why José found every excuse not to let her visit his work, might have been due to the nature of his work. The room smelled sterile. Like a hospital, fresh and clean but without the antiseptic. Most of the large room was white and clinical with very little furniture. It wasn't a waiting room like most places would have. Not a sofa in sight, so they weren’t inviting people to stay for long periods of time either. Ignoring the less-than- warm welcome, Rae turned back to the desk.

  “How can I help you?” Asked the receptionist, her proper English and formal tone had Rae’s heart racing and her fingers twitching for a loose strand of hair to twirl around them.

  “Uh, I’m looking for my husband, José.” She squeezed out; her breath unusually unsteady. She wasn’t normally so uncomfortable with formality, she took Jakey to the doctor’s all the time but the way she pierced Rae with her cold, grey eyes made her sure something was really wrong.

  “He's busy in the practical testing labs today, you'll have to wait until he finishes.” She stated, no longer making eye contact but staring at her computer, typing non-stop.

  “Yes, but he has my son, and he left some paperwork at home that is probably important” Rae continued but she shook her head, her straight brown bob shaking with it.

  “Sorry, but he is busy today.” Her words were sharp, and Rae got the point, leaving the building swiftly with José’s work, sighing in defeat. That was, until she remembered the map.

  Raelynn walked back into the building and smiled at the irritated receptionist.

  “I hate to be a pain and come back, but I was wondering if you could direct me to the bathroom? It's rather urgent, unless someone would like to clean up an embarrassing mess.” Rae lied through her teeth. The receptionist let out a deliberate sigh, to let Rae know how much of a nuisance she is being.

  “Go down the hall on the left, make a right turn, if you reach the cleaning cupboard you've gone too far” She directed, not looking up once from her computer.

  “Thank you.” Rae smiled running down the hall of the building. She played up her ‘I really need to pee’ run so it looked legitimate and after being pregnant, Rae knew the run well. Completely bypassing the bathroom, she looked behind her and slowed her pace, sneaking into the cleaning closet the receptionist had mentioned.

  The room contained bulk cleaning supplies, all stacked neatly away, but Rae wasn’t looking for cleaning products, she was looking for access to the rest of the building. Access the map had told her, would be in that room. She looked up and found exactly what she was looking for. Her air-vent entry. Opening José’s briefcase, Rae pulled out the map again. It showed air vents throughout the whole laboratory, one even to the ‘practical testing labs’ the receptionist had stated. There was a red circle around what she assumed to be her husband’s office as it had the largest floor space and he was so egotistical, that kind of thing mattered to him. With an almost mischievous grin, Rae tucked the map against her side, between her skin and the fabric of her leggings. As a mother, she should have learned by now, to wear things with pockets. She chuckled at the old part of herself that shone through; she always had to learn the hard way. Grabbing the yellow bucket beside her, she tipped it over to use it as a boost into the air-vent in the ceiling. Wobbling a little, she managed her way up into the vent, hauling José’s briefcase with her. It was a small and cold area in the ceiling, but she needed a whole lot more information and her son so, ignoring the chills over her body and the cramping in her muscles, she pushed through.

  Raelynn crawled through the vents, using the map and her girl-scout knowledge to navigate where she was and where she needed to be. If she was right, the practical testing labs were supposed to be around the next bend. She took the left she hoped was the one the map meant, wincing as her knees protested to the pressure, she put on them with every move. Her hair had come undone sometime around the fifth vent and her body was demanding to be stretched but she couldn’t give in. She was so close. She could see the light at the end of the tunnel, coming up from the vent where her husband was supposedly working. The relief at seeing that had her hanging her head, stopping for a second to process that she had found it. But her relief was short-lived because that’s when she heard the most terrifying sound that had ever pierced her ears; a cry. She would have found the sound music to her ears to hear Jake cry and know he was still able to make any kind of noise, but the tone put her off and her heart skipped a beat. It wasn't a hungry cry or a full diaper. Not even a tired one; but a cry Rae had heard only once before. When José had hurt her for the first time in front of Jake and seeing his mom hurt had left him distraught and scared. It was a cry of fear. As fast as she could, making as little noise as possible she shuffled down to the air-vent, using Jake’s cries as a homing beacon, urging her to get there quicker. She finally reached the vent and looked down to where her son lay strapped to a bed and distraught. His face was red, his voice hoarse as tears and snot streamed down his chubby cheeks. Every wail pierced her heart and the urge to get to him and soothe his cries was almost overwhelming but there was no way to get out of the vent in time. She could see everything happening and knew from the testing dates in the notebook why he was there in her husband’s lab and the truth of it nearly killed her. She had read the facts earlier and despite not wanting to believe it, her questions were answered before her eyes. The drug.

  Subject J001-2.0 which was written next to subject R001 in the notebook, scheduled to be tested today. Was she R001? Is t
hat what made Jake 2.0, because he was her son? Either way, he was their test subject in that moment and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  People flooded the room, including José and a lot of scientists, with distress still on her son’s face. There was one scientist though, that looked familiar. Blonde hair cut short, highlights throughout it. She held a syringe in her hand and tears welled in Rae’s blurring eyes. The blonde woman caressed Jake’s cheek as he looked up at her and somehow it calmed him. She rubbed his stomach exactly as Rae would, to relax him, then without warning she struck him in the neck, emptying the liquid from the syringe into his vein. Rae’s hand clamped over her mouth to stop the screams that begged to escape at the sight of her son being hurt. Jake froze as if stunned, unblinking and unmoving. She needed to get to him, but there was no way out. How could she save him? She was stuck, her breath began coming in short gasps as she realized she couldn’t do anything but watch the horror scene before her. Would he be the next ‘FAIL’? Rae needed to know, so she looked back through the vent, begging to hear Jakey make any kind of noise again.

  The woman looked up from an immobile Jake, examining the monitors and his reaction, to what Rae assumed to be the drug, Exalt that was all through José’s paperwork. That's when she saw the scientist’s bright blue eyes, like Jake’s, like her own. The eyes that she despised, even more so now, the ones that were owned by the woman who disowned her and sold her off. The woman who had told her that she was sick and dying. Her mother.

  Rae didn’t have time to react to seeing her again, because the monitors began to go crazy and Jakey started to fit. His body convulsed and spasmed as if being electrocuted and she couldn't watch. Backing away quickly, she shuddered against the cold metal of the vent. She clenched her eyes shut, her arms wrapping around her. She couldn’t do anything but listen to the erratic monitors and flustered voices of the murderers in the room below. The break down that had been building up over the years, from her mother saying she was dying, to being married off to an abusive, drug dealer and seeing her son die at the hands of them both; only needed one trigger. One sound that Rae never expected to hear. The flatlined monitor that was connected to her son’s heart. A heart that was no longer beating.

  Chapter Two

  Waking up from a dream-like daze that left Raelynn feeling as though she had fainted; maybe she actually had, a figure appeared in front of her. The figure wasn’t clear though, it was fuzzy at the edges and blurry as if she was in a dream or a vision. Whatever it was, it left her dizzy and breathless. The figure had a black mask on and despite how unnerving it looked; Rae couldn’t look away. It had a straight, black fringe hanging over the mask and the deep brown eyes the figure had, shimmered with a fear she couldn’t ignore. Rae reached warily for the figure, she needed to know if it was real, but it coiled back with a slight shake of its head.

  “You need to get out,” Rae heard sharply in her ears and she knew it was from the vision before her.

  “Go now. Before they find you. They'll hurt you, Raelynn. GO!” She screamed before evaporating into thin air.

  Rae gathered herself, blinking to gain her eyesight back, checking the figure was actually gone and that’s when she took in where she actually was. The air vents. The air vent that she was using to find her son. Raelynn’s eyes widened as she covered her mouth, all thoughts on the black masked figure had gone and were replaced by chubby cheeks and bright blue eyes.

  Jake…

  Rae remembered it all; José, her mother and the sight of her baby boy being killed by them both. Gritting her teeth, she pulled the map out.

  I will find out why they did this to him.

  Rae examined the map, to see where José’s office was. Finding the path that she needed, Rae crawled through the vents quickly and silently. She needed to know why. Why her son? How many more had died or are going to die? How many loved ones would she lose? What did José know? And who the hell was that masked figure? Pulling herself from question filled thoughts, Rae found the vent grate she needed. According to the map and the red, vivid-written circle, right beneath her should be José’s office. Peering through the grill’s gaps, Rae looked in to make sure it was clear then breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was. Pulling the grate off, she slipped her slender body through the gap and into the office room below.

  Rae almost tripped on her own feet as she made her way to his desk and glazed over the files. She grabbed what she could and what she read that looked important then looked around the room frantically, trying to find anything else that may be of use. She spotted a file cabinet, her eyes immediately drawn to a certain draw, labelled test subjects. Rae rushed over to open the draw, skimming through the files. She remembered the numbers R001, E039 and L040 from the notebook and took those three as well as another one closer to her own number; M003 reading ‘SUCCESSFUL’ stamped in red on the front. That sounded important.

  Closing the draw, she looked around noticing a calendar that she had missed before, sitting on his desk. One of the dates had a far too familiar red circle around it, along with words. She walked closer to read them. ‘LIVE DAY’ was written in red and like most things within the circle, they fell on yesterday's date. If that meant what she thought it meant, that the drug had gone live yesterday, then she had run out of time and had to get out of there.

  Shoving the files into the briefcase, she had dropped beside her whilst rummaging through the cabinet, she clipped it closed and composed herself. She had just been climbing through an air vent, witnessing the murder of her son and hallucinating of a masked figure, so she probably looked like a mess and that would definitely stand out around here. Tidying her hair and putting it back into a loose ponytail, Rae walked out the front door of José’s office, too focused on getting out, that she didn’t see anyone until it was too late, and she had bumped straight into them. Falling backwards onto her bottom, the briefcase slipped from her hand, landing on the glossed white floors, at the foot of the male dressed in a white lab-coat, standing before her. Looking him over quickly, Rae could tell he was a scientist from his coat and dangling ID badge, but it was not the scientist thing that made her pause, scrutinizing him, it was the fact that he looked so familiar. Had they met before? He hadn’t been in the room with José and her mother, but she was sure she had seen his pale skin and long, lean build before. His hair was a grey and white mixture that wasn’t unusual and yet she remembered seeing the strands. Rae tried to catch a glimpse of his eyes, but he was avoiding eye-contact.

  “Oh, I'm sorry!” He apologized, shielding his face by tilting his head and glancing at the floor. Rae got up and cocked her head slightly in confusion. Why would he be hiding his face?

  “You seem familiar?” She asked but he shook his head quickly. But Rae was sure she knew him. Or she was going crazy-both just as likely options as the other, considering her recent trauma.

  “Why are you here?” His voice hardened, her anxiety setting back in with his tone.

  “I was just leaving, I was trying to find José, my husband. He has my son.” She replied robotically, trying not to hitch her words on Jake’s name as it passed her lips. She picked up the briefcase quickly then slung Jake’s bag back over her shoulder.

  “Go on then” he gestured Rae off with his hand, turning around still refusing to meet her eyes with his and hurrying away.

  Rae took it as an opportunity to run and did exactly that. Run. Straight out the building. She ignored the lady at the reception desk who was yelling for her to wait, leaped into her car, threw all of José’s information from his office into the back seat, then pressed her foot to the floor, swerving from the carpark with a racing heart. She had never driven away so quickly from somewhere in her life.

  Getting onto the main road, she slowed to a legal speed and drove in thought. I need to get a flight home. I need to get hold of dad. I need to find out what he knows.

  Pulling into her driveway, Rae left everything in the back seat of the car, rushing inside. S
he knew José would know she had been in his office soon enough, thanks to the screaming receptionist and didn’t want to risk him getting to her before she could escape. Rae rushed into her room, pulling her duffel bag from the top of the wardrobe, launching it across the room and onto the bed in a rush. Chucking clothes at the duffel, she zipped it shut then rushed to the bathroom for her personal hygiene items. Rae stopped before even getting there and saw Jake's room; the door wide open. Her steps faltered in time with her mind as her heart rate quickened. Tears welled in her eyes, the longer she stood there. She moved forward to lean against the door frame, her hand over her mouth as her chest heaved with a sob. Jake was gone, the only thing in her life she’d had to cling to and in a matter of seconds he had been taken from her. Blinking away the tears and wiping her moistened cheeks, Rae took the little elephant toy he’d held that morning. She brought the toy to her nose breathing in his scent. That was all she had of him now, an empty room and a stuffed toy.

  I will stop at nothing to find out why this happened to you, Jakey.

  Leaving the room, Rae closed the door behind her. He wasn't there anymore but she’d hold on to what she had. Gripping the elephant, she wiped the last of her tears and went back to packing, grabbing a toothbrush and toiletries then stuffed it into her bag. She changed her outfit into something more comfortable for flying and despite that being her excuse in the rational part of her brain, she knew in her heart that she needed to change into clothes that didn’t have Jake’s baby scent all over them. Keeping her white converse on, Rae chucked on some khaki-brown cargo pants and smirked wryly at the thought that now her pants had too many pockets. Pairing them with a tight, white long-sleeved shirt, Rae tidied her hair leaving it out in case she needed to hide her face. The waves of paranoia hit her with every sound the house made, even her own footsteps were getting to her as she crossed her fingers that José wasn’t about to get home.