Survival Instincts (Book 1): Sacrifice

by Andersen, J. . J.

  “Log entry 13. 30 weeks along. Progress, normal. Healthy female. Blood indicates a presence of drug Exalt, though no signs of enhancement to the foetus’s development as hoped.” Whilst talking she didn’t show off her belly. Didn’t even look at it. Even when she had to be clinical and professional, a gentle hand on the stomach rubbing it would have shown some sort of emotion or affection to the child inside. But her mother had none, not even a twinkle of excitement in her eyes. Tears welled in Raelynn’s eyes as she waited for the beginning of the next video in the tape to start. She paused it before it could and gathered herself, wiping away her tears. I have no time to cry. Raelynn’s mother had no love for her, Rae was nothing but a subject for drug testing to her and a part of Raelynn always knew she wasn't that special in her mother's eyes, she had just been in denial, not wanting to believe that her mother could have been so callous. She knew the truth now though. She picked up her file and looked at the paperwork, the file had her name but so far, the videos had nothing about her in particular, just her mother with Rae in her stomach. On the front it had a stamp in black saying ‘IN PROGRESS’ which made no sense to Raelynn. How was she still a subject in progress? Determined to find out, she pressed play on the VHS letting the next clip play through.

  She saw herself flash up on the screen, making her gasp in shock and sit up straighter. Why the hell am I in these videos whilst pregnant? She was wearing maternity jeans and the grey long sleeve she had worn just the other day. The room was clinical, but it reminded Rae of the local doctor’s office back in New Mexico. Her stomach was big, and she remembered going to the doctor for blood work at 33 weeks, wearing that exact outfit in the video. Why was it recorded? And why didn’t I know about it? José stood next to Raelynn as she sat in a chair, a loving hand of her own rubbed her stomach in awe and excitement. She remembered being excited to find out more information about the growing gift inside her. A doctor walked in and handed her a cup of pills. She questioned him about them.

  “They’re just some multivitamins for your nutrition levels. With the wee-one taking all of yours, we need to make sure we keep up with them.” He said, his voice implying he cared about the child she carried. What had she done to Jake by taking those pills? Was it more of the drug? Did he already have it in his system because of her having been so naive? She wished she had been more like her father in those moments.

  She watched herself take them with a cup of water the doctor handed her.

  “Now if you don't mind me asking you to leave the room, I'd like to speak to your husband for a moment.” The doctor asked and she nodded, leaving the room. How did I not even question such a strange request? José was obviously in on this whole thing for a lot longer than Raelynn had initially thought.

  The camera continued to record with just José and the doctor in the room, they both took a seat and Raelynn saw the doctors face. He wasn’t a doctor, but a scientist. It hit her quickly, the recognition.

  I do know his face.

  He was the scientist Rae had accidentally bumped into while running out of José’s office back at the lab. No wonder he had sent her away so quickly and kept hiding his face from her. He had recognized her from this and didn't want to be caught out. What a monster. He began speaking to José in hushed tones on the screen.

  “That was the drug Exalt put into a pill form, it should dissolve as a natural painkiller would. But it will work its way into your child's bloodstream just as the prototype Katherine put into Raelynn did, only she did that through injections. This version should be a lot more concentrated and have faster effects on the foetus. Come back as you normally would for pregnancy scans, and I'll update you on the progress of the drug and the reaction your child has had to it. Hopefully positive results will come back and we’ll see the brain function improve drastically.” He told José. He nodded once.

  “And what about Raelynn? How was her blood work from our last visit?” He asked the scientist. The scientists face cracked a triumphant smile.

  “She has shown promising results. The drug is still present in her system, the improved version and Katherine’s. She hasn’t developed the enhancement levels we were hoping for but that is to be expected after the last versions failure. Have you noticed any side effects of both in her system?” He questioned José further who nodded, leaning forward.

  “She’s insatiable. I’ve heard pregnancy can make women hungry, but Raelynn is beyond that. She eats constantly. And according to Katherine, she had quite the temperament as a child-I hadn’t noticed it as much but sometimes she argues, and I don't know what to do with her” He rambled. Raelynn’s fist clenched in response. Her temper? Asshole. The scientist wrote his observations down.

  “Hunger and anger have been a recurring symptom of the drug but this new one should improve it somewhat. Well, that’s all we can get from today. Take her back home and keep monitoring her behaviour” He ordered and with that the tape ended with nothing but static following after.

  What have I done?

  Maybe the results weren't enough from her, so they had to take them from Jake and now he was dead. Did that make it her fault? No. It wasn't, it was Raelynn’s mother, and that Scientist. Never Rae. She never knew. Even José was in on it. They were the ones to blame. I'm going to take them all down.

  Pushing the storm of anger coiling through her, to the side, Raelynn knew she couldn't let the guilt eat at her, she had to push forward and find out enough to get to them, the way they got her. Give Jake and herself closure. Reaching into the briefcase she pulled out the next file. Maria. Her file, unlike Raelynn's had ‘SUCCESSFUL’ stamped in red on the front. What made her successful? Taking out her videotape replacing it with Maria's, she played the video.

  It showed a little girl, dark skin and similar facial features to José’s. A sister Rae had never met, maybe? She looked about nine years old, with long black hair down past her shoulders and straight bangs across her forehead.

  Those bangs. They look familiar. Even those dark brown eyes. I know I’ve seen them before. Raelynn couldn’t pinpoint where from though and continued to watch the girl.

  Raelynn's mother was in the video, on her knees at the girl’s height, her smile was sweet and almost showed a sense of caring. A smile Rae had never received in her life from Katherine. Raelynn's mother began talking as she held a similar cup of pills to the one shown in Rae’s video, in her hand.

  “Hello Maria, these are some pills. They'll make you better and your brain faster.” Raelynn's mother lied. Her words worked though, and the little girl jumped in excitement. Rae didn't know much about learning difficulties but her actions in those few moments seemed a lot younger than the age of a nine-year-old, her giddy chuckle reminding Rae more of a toddler. She couldn’t tell for sure though until her sweet voice came out.

  “I be smartah? Make daddy happy?” She asked innocently, her voice soft and hopeful. Rae's mother nodded. Maria consumed the two pills easily with water and her eagerness to make her father happy, pulled at Rae's heart, especially since Maria obviously believed the only way to do that was to get rid of her disability. Maria grinned when she finished, then looked directly at the camera. Dark brown eyes. Black hair with bangs. It was so familiar, even the voice triggered some parts of Raelynn's conscious. She'd heard it and yet couldn’t get her mind to fix it to anything. Almost like she'd heard it from a distance, or a dream before. A dream! Raelynn gasped, staring at the screen, pausing it on the girl’s face. It was her! From her dreams, or visions-whatever they were; the little girl was the one in the black mask. Rae knew it through every bone in her body. And she was alive, which meant her experiment was successful. Raelynn would have to watch more to know her story, so she pressed play again, concentrating more intently on the screen.

  “From now on, I'll be your doctor, okay? I'll give you medicine to help you get better and make your father happy.” Raelynn's mother told her. Rae gritted her teeth at the lies Katherine fed Maria, the way her mother manipulated her so eas
ily and without remorse. She hugged her and Maria trotted off, a skip in her naive step. Raelynn's mother turned to the computer and talked closer to the mic.

  “Test trial one, subject M003. Results to be confirmed.” And with that, the clip finished and the next one rolled.

  “Test subject M003 14th trial, one week after consumption results.” Her mother began, wearing her typical black top paired with her familiar lab coat and sitting at her generic desk.

  “Test subject’s brain trauma has diminished to nothing. Exalt has repaired the cells at incredible speeds, with the subject now at a higher level of IQ than any previous subject. The subject has been able to absorb, comprehend and process information at remarkable speeds. Brain function has increased to 65 percent with the levels still climbing. The subjects side effects continue to be a non-issue with a slight rash across skin, relieved with a general moisturizing cream and there has been a definite increase in appetite. She also shows signs of increased emotional vulnerability, but this is to be expected with an increase in brain function. Due to the results of this trial, my team and I are happy to announce the Exalt drug successful and ready for release. Julián, our founder and creator of this revolutionary product will start mass production immediately. We go LIVE in three weeks” She finished the tape there and it ended in static just as Rae's had done. Removing the videotape from the VCR machine, she stared at the black brick.

  What the heck was that!? One trial that goes well and suddenly they want to mass produce? And if the drug was successful then what the hell did they give Jake and why hadn’t he survived it?

  Raelynn still didn’t even know why Maria was part of these trials. Why her? Was that the point of the drug, to help fix brain conditions? Or just to enhance humans and screw with nature? And since the first video of her was years ago, what affect did it have on her now she’s older? Either way Rae had so many questions that she didn’t have any answers for but before she could even try piecing things together to get answers, she heard loud banging noises from upstairs. Getting up in a flustered hurry, dad’s paranoia gene ran through her and her mind flashed to the gun that he hid in the top draw of his desk. The same gun he had used to teach Rae how to shoot when they had been hunting in Colorado. She rushed to the office bunker for it, she almost pulled the draw right out from the desk and with quick hands, grasped the gun. Holding it tight, she went to investigate upstairs. She walked up the stairs with strategically placed footsteps and unlocked the door very quietly, leaving it open so she could escape quickly if she needed to. She surveyed the room she stood in. The kitchen. She heard nothing but a single creak in the room beside Rae. Holding the gun up ready to shoot, she spun herself around the corner pointing in the direction of the creak, her aim accurately pointing at the chest of the intruder. An intruder she knew.

  “Phoenix” She breathed, loosening the grip on the gun she held, images of Avoca High School, a huge laughing grin and shoulder-length hair that had always been silkier than hers, flashed through her mind. He was still the same. Same dark blonde hair in his favourite style, man bun at the top of his head, same rugged handsome she had always favoured and same impressive height that had always made him look older than the rest of their senior year of high school.

  “You wouldn’t shoot me with that now, would you?” He questioned with a lopsided smile, his voice playful as he put his hands into the pockets of his denim jeans. She cocked the gun and smirked at him.

  “Wouldn’t I?” She teased, not sure of the answer herself after all the betrayals and too much of her father’s influence over the last 24 hours. His eyes widened in realisation that she could shoot him right then if she wanted, his hands left his pockets to hold them up by his face. Rae aimed the gun just off from his shoulder, where his familiar flannel shirt was draped over them. She prepped to shoot. She wouldn't hit him, but it would be close enough to scare him and know what side he was on. She clicked off the safety and stared into his green eyes that began to shimmer with uncertainty. Phoenix’s full body shook with that single sound. She squeezed the trigger slowly and it clicked, nothing shot out. There were no bullets. Damn Dad and his safety, what use was a gun with no bullets?

  “You were actually going to shoot me Rae?!” He nearly shouted with his voice deep, loud and genuinely petrified. He knew she could wield a gun if she needed to and a scar on his left thigh, served as her personal reminder to him how well she could aim. That one had been an accident, but he had stepped into her shot during training with her dad and she would have hit the bullseye, had he not gotten in her way. A wave of guilt pierced her, he was a little gun shy because of that incident so she lowered the barrel, earning her a sigh of relief from him.

  “C’mon Nix, I aimed slightly above your shoulder. I just needed to see if being your best friend in high school, would mean you were trustworthy or not. A lot has been going on.” She apologized, not sorry for almost shooting him but sorry for scaring him.

  “I know, that’s why I’m here.” He stated, confusing Rae. She tilted her head at him in question but before she could say anything, he walked towards her and pulled her into his chest. Strong and masculine, she felt safe in his arms, melting into his chest. He wore a tight white shirt with a pug on the chest pocket, beneath the red flannel that had his same Lynx scent all over it and it was that familiarity and his hug that brought tears to her eyes. He was her comfort, her much-needed shoulder to lean on.

  “I’ve missed you so much.” She said, her voice breaking. Still wrapped in him, she could feel his smile, his warmth, his care. She buried herself deeper in his arms, with a heavy sigh and for those brief moments that his strong arms were around her, the drug, the trials and even José faded into nothing. They didn’t exist where Phoenix was. But it couldn’t last, he was there for a reason and so was Raelynn. He reluctantly let go of her, his height towering her, he kissed Rae's forehead before stepping back.

  “And I have missed you but I’m here with a message, Rae. From your father. He told me that I need to get you to Colorado.” He told her. The fact that her dad had chosen to contact Nix instead of her during everything, meant something was wrong and he couldn’t risk the contact with Rae directly. He trusted Nix to help her though, so she would too, which meant he had to know what they were dealing with. She wasn't ready to tell him about José and Jake though, her cover story when she had been sold off to marry José, was that she had gone to university. If she told Nix she had been lying to him all these years, got married and had a baby that she didn’t let him play ‘favourite Uncle’ to, he would never speak to her again. And she couldn’t risk that happening. Not if her father had sent him to her to help. That was a conversation for after they got her mother, José and whoever Julian was. Nix held his phone out to Raelynn to read the message herself.

  Nix, Raelynn is back, she's finally home. Go find her at the house, take her to Colorado. She will know where.

  Rae thought for a moment, the message repeated over and over in her head. She looked around the room for any clues to what Dad may have meant. He said I’d know where. Still looking around, her eyes caught a glimpse of the photo frame of Rae's father and her, the one where they were in Colorado with John. It clicked in her head like switching a flip to turn on a light and she looked down at the gun she held.

  “I know where.”

  Chapter Four

  “We can’t leave yet.” She told Nix, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the bunker “You need to see this first.” She pulled him down the stairs and his eyes went wide as he took in everything around him. She had forgotten this was the part of her childhood that he had never seen. A room of concrete, with dark, wooden rafting on the ceiling, thick concrete pillars and a huge, dusty thin rug that hid the whitewashed bricks of the floor. She was used to it, especially the dim lighting and the worn leather couch that her father had spent many nights snoring on. The basement room had been turned into his bunker/den for years and although it was a side of her father that she had learned
to live with, it was a side to him that Nix had rarely seen. Her father’s paranoid side. Raelynn sat him down in front of the TV and VCR, preparing to explain.

  “I have a lot to tell you. Just shush, let me ramble then tell me your thoughts after.” She ordered then started her explanation “So, my mother has turned out to be rather interesting. She's not dead for one and two, she decided to create this human enhancement drug that actually kills people and despite her insisting that it is successful, it’s not because one of her test subjects was recently killed after receiving it.” Raelynn explained, forcing her voice through the tremors that shook it as she recalled Jake and his reaction to the drug. At Nix’s continued silence and wide eyes, she carried on “I only found out about all this through a bunch of files I found in the lab where she works and where it was created, when I was doing a paper on it for class but as far as I can tell, this drug is going live whether people are going to die or not.” Raelynn began, lying through her teeth to cover up her and José’s involvement. Rae looked up at Nix’s expression and he was clearly stricken for words, because his jaw gaped, his eyes blinking slowly to take in her information that made her sound just as much of a basket-case as her father but at the moment, the thought that she took after her father had never made her more proud. She would have thought he’d ask questions or even comment on the fact that her mother was never actually sick like they had both been told when they were younger, but he said nothing, so Raelynn grabbed out Maria's file and showed him the video-tape.