by Lim, Candice
“If I should fall to the same fate as Cash, promise you will help me end my pain.” Mandy’s voice suddenly became grim and serious the hairs on my arms stood on ends.
“What?” I mouthed.
Mandy’s head hung low. “I can’t live with myself if I kill so many lives. I’d rather die than live with guilt for the rest of my days.”
I yanked the beer from Mandy and put it aside. “You drank too much, Mandy. We need to stay sober. Why don’t you go wash your face?”
Mandy buried her face in her palms and sighed. “You’re right.” She pulled herself up and dragged herself to the bathroom.
I followed Mandy’s retreating back with my eyes before they fell on the stillness of the dark.
Vaxine propped her head at the corner of the wall with her eyes closed. Tameera buried her face in her arms at the bench. Carlisa curled up on the shabby couch at the other end of the garage, fast asleep. The night grew eerily peaceful and failed to do justice to the national crisis.
My attention diverted to the bench at the gene gun and sanitized probes. An idea was formulating in my head. I glanced around the garage again and pulled myself off the ground. Still no signs of life. The women were knocked out from exhaustion.
I inched towards the bench and pocketed the probes, Dismon’s ID, and Sam’s car keys. I popped open the Genex to check the ammo and shoved it into the back of my jeans. The women didn’t even stir when I opened the door and slipped out through the gap.
Axon and Sam sitting on the hood of Genom, turned in my direction at once. The streetlight cast an amber glow where they sat. A distant dog barked into the hollow night.
Sucking in an icy breath, I walked up to them and hopped next to Sam. “Hope I’m not interrupting you guys in the middle of some boy’s talk.”
Axon chugged his beer and tossed it into the dumpster by the wall. “We were just talking about what a bitch Cash is. Maybe you could weigh in.”
I let out a sheepish laugh and wondered if Axon read my mind and tried to coax me into aborting the plan. “You know her longer than we all do. You tell me.”
“All I can say is I wish I didn’t. It wouldn’t be a loss.” Venom dripped all over his words.
I hugged myself as a gust of chilled air swept over us. “You don’t think she’s under the influence of Cranax? Like Hershey?”
Axon shrugged. “Unless she’s been Infected for over five years. She was a bitch when I met her and still a bitch now so it’s safe to say there’s no relation to the virus. At all.” A grunt ripped from his throat as he hopped off the car, shaking it. “Look, I’m gonna drive this shit up to MAD and beat the crap out of Cash if we keep talking. I’d better go catch some rest now.”
Sam followed suit and turned back to me. “I’m gonna go too. You coming?”
“I’m gonna stay out for a bit to clear my head. You go first.”
Sam’s gaze lingered on my face for a while, as if he knew what was brewing in my mind. “Be safe.”
“Hey, Sam.” I pulled him back by the arm and planted a kiss on his lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Don’t be too late.” I followed him with my eyes until he disappeared behind the door.
The adrenaline shooting through my veins catapulted me into action. Hopping off the car, I scooped up the crowbar next to the door and jammed it. “Sorry guys, I have to do this.” I spun around and got into Sam’s car.
I looked at the InviSpecs and Zappers on the back seat. The idea formulating in my head put a smile on my face.
29
VAXINE
The door creaking snapped Vaxine from the snooze. She opened an eye to Axon Zack and Samuel Maximoff tiptoeing into the garage. The whispering chatters stirred Tameera who peeled from the bench and stretched her arms. Vaxine closed her eyes when the boys padded closer.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” muttered Axon. He and Sam plopped into the chairs at the bench.
“That’s okay. I was only resting my eyes.” Tameera yawned. “Sorry.”
“Why don’t you catch some sleep?”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ve been through grad school. I can survive this.” Axon and Tameera shared a small laugh. “So did you build all of these machines here by yourself?”
“Yeah, I grew up in my folks’ garage where they repaired and remodeled scrap machines.”
“Whoa, that’s impressive. So…how did you end up, you know, in the Community?”
Axon sucked in a breath. “My folks knew the Community is going to get stronger and it’s the only way I could be guaranteed a great future ahead.” He slapped on his lap. “Look at us now. Having a great time, aren’t we?”
“It would’ve been worse if we weren’t. I’d rather receive the firsthand knowledge of what’s happening than to being kept in the dark having to pretend everything is fine,” said Tameera.
“You can say that again,” sighed Axon.
A brief silence.
“So what do you guys do? In grad school or…?”
“Sam’s not actually in the Community. He’s a programmer and he’s made a game called…”
“Floppy Penguin. Yeah, I actually made several games but that’s my golden goose or should I say golden penguin.”
“I like that game!”
“Do you?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it downloaded on my phone.”
“That’s great.”
“So what about you, Axon?”
“I just graduated from my PhD like a week ago.”
“That’s awesome. What’s the grand plan for the future?”
Axon shrugged. “Don’t know. My mentor passed away a couple of days ago. If I want to stay in academia, I’ll have to look for a new lab.”
“Look, Axon. If you want to try something outside of academia, hit me up. Whether you’re looking for a change of view, to gain a fresh perspective, or just want to take a break to find your true calling, I’m here for you. The co-lab could always use someone innovative and proactive like yourself.”
“Will do. What about yourself? Why the co-lab? It’s a rare case for someone in the Community to not climb the academic ladder.”
Tameera laughed. “I don’t agree with the different social classes between the Community and the others.” She sighed. “I don’t even want to use the P-word, it’s degrading. I know, the scientific community had long been repressed and underappreciated during the dark ages in the times of Prof. Zelda Rose but two wrongs don’t make a right. If anything, it makes the others harbor more resentment towards the Community.”
Tameera heaved a deep breath. “That’s why the co-lab was born. I want to make science more open source and more accessible to the public. If we want more people in it, we first have to remove the gate that obstructs them.”
“That’s a brilliant initiative, Tameera,” said Sam.
Vaxine peeled herself from the wall she propped against and rolled her shoulders. “Did I miss anything?”
“Oops, did we wake you? Sorry.” Tameera gave her an apologetic smile.
Vaxine shook her head and stood up. “I was gonna go get some water anyway.”
“Me too.” Axon walked with her to the pantry, next to the bathroom.
Vaxine glanced back at the bench and nudged Axon in the arm. “Looks like you’re not only Hershey’s favorite. All the female scientists seem to take an interest in you.”
“Huh?” Axon frowned.
Another yawn, Tameera shook her head. “I should pack up and call it a night too.” She shut her tablet and groped on the bench where the gene gun and probes had been. Her face dropped. “Did anyone see the gene gun and probes?” Her hollow voice rang with fear.
Sam flicked on his phone light and beamed it under the bench. “Where did you put them?”
Tameera nervously rummaged through the benchtop. “They were always here next to my tablet. I only have one set of them.”
The frown on Sam
’s face deepened as he stared at the bench. “Did you see my car keys when you were throwing things around?”
“What car keys?”
Vaxine and Axon traded a wary look and returned to the bench. “What’s up?” asked Vaxine.
“The probes, gene gun, and Sam’s car keys are gone!” cried Tameera.
A shrill silence fell over the group. The ruckus woke Carlisa, who squinted at the four with her half-shut eyes. “What’s going on?”
Vaxine’s gaze bounced from face to face. A hole burned in her stomach. “Where is Roxy Riley?”
A muffled engine roared from outside.
“Father of Science!” Vaxine bolted towards the door and tugged it hard but it didn’t budge. She muttered a cuss as her fingers curled into tight fists. “Roxy, you stupid rascal.” Her chest heaved and fell erratically in sync with her heartbeat.
Axon grabbed hold of Vaxine. “Vax, calm down. There must be something we can do.”
Vaxine’s eyes almost burst out of her skull. She held onto Axon by the arms and shook him violently as if trying to shake some sense of urgency into him. “Roxy’s taken the probes and the gene gun! She’s going to MAD!”
“What’s going on here, guys?” All heads turned to Mandy, who just got out of the bathroom.
“Roxy just drove off with a Genex and Tameera’s probes. She’s going to take things into her own hands. Do you have any idea what she has got in mind?” Vaxine cried out.
Mandy’s eyes widened as she muttered a cuss. “No. Blot my gel. We were talking just now and she asked me if I thought Cash was behaving this way because of the virus. Roxy used to look up to Cash and said she inspired her to join the Community.”
Tameera’s face twisted in a look of horror disgust. Her hand flew to cover her mouth. “Of all the people she could look up to, why that horrible bitch?”
Vaxine spat a cuss. “Why couldn't she just give us a warning before doing something crazy like this?”
“That’s because she knew we were gonna stop her.” Sam whipped out his phone. “I don’t care what you guys are doing. I'm going after her!”
“You can’t take Genom!” snapped Vaxine. Her voice dropped with a sigh. “It won’t fit all of us in, anyway.”
“I’m not taking it. I’m going to hail a cab.” Sam’s fingers clicked on his phone.
“They ain’t gonna take you to the city. It’s more than 5 km away,” cried Carlisa. “It’s out of the permitted traveling range.”
“Not if I’m driving it. My ride is coming in 10 minutes.”
The rest traded looks before the idea registered in them.
“You mean, our ride?” said Mandy.
Axon clapped once. “Alright, guys. Let’s grab what we need. We’ll go get Roxy back.” He clapped on Sam’s back. “I might have a chainsaw at the back.”
“A chainsaw?” Tameera cried out.
“Impressed?” scoffed Vaxine. “You should see his bazooka.”
30
ROXY
I remembered a quote from the pre-Asia Nova Revolution era. Something about 2 a.m. for the writers, the poets, the musicians, whose minds were alive and loud with dreams while the world was asleep.
But tonight, it was for me. For vengeance, resolution. Perhaps, for the end of me. Either way, something was going to happen at 2 am tonight.
I gripped tightly onto the steering wheel, sweat forming beneath my palms. The synthpop music bobbed in a constant tempo in harmony with me nodding away. My eyes glazed over from tiredness, the white lines became an endless mesmerizing pattern. It was calming and reassuring, knowing one would appear after another and another and so on, unlike the uncertainty of my fate and the unknown awaiting at the destination.
The GPS voice shattered my reverie. I took the left turn into the city. The white lines of certainty ended, the constant broke. Nothing was safe and definite anymore.
Like my life that had turned upside down a few months ago.
The car eased into a soft halt at the side of the MAD building. The black body of the car melded into the night and shadowed from the cameras dotted in every corner of the facility. I pulled the handbrake and killed the music. The silence so deafening and shrill all I could hear was the rapid pounding of my heart.
The intrusive thoughts I’d fought to bury away invaded my solitude and sank their claws into my conscience. My mind went to the time I broke into ORF for Hershey’s rescue mission when I caused the death of two guards. How many more innocent lives had to be sacrificed before this was all over?
Shaking my head to expunge the thoughts out of my head, I reached to the back seat to grab the InviSpec and the Zapper Tameera got me. I made a face at the Zapper and a mental note to purchase another set of the ones I got.
“Okay, Roxy.” I sighed. “This is the moment of truth.”
Activating the InviSpec I hopped off the car and followed along the wall to the front door. The glass building lit up like a silvery monolith against the black sky as if trying to reach for the full moon on its side.
The glass door opening threw me off guard. A gasp escaped my chest as I flattened myself against the wall. It wasn’t a great idea to break into MAD and confront your enemy while being half-asleep after all. I held my breath as the ATP came out whistling as he stared up at the black expanse. I smiled to myself knowing I wasn’t the only one awed by the night’s wonder.
I peeled off the wall and snuck behind him when he pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. My boots squeaked against the immaculate marble floor when I pulled up and turned around. The universe must’ve conspired with me and let the night mesmerize the ATP who didn’t notice me.
A relieved sigh escaped me. I inched towards the elevator, glanced back once, and pushed the elevator button. I reached for the Zapper as the door opened. I stepped in, pushed the button for the 77th floor. The elevator soared.
I tightened my grip on the Zapper as the number on the display jumped up. The intrusive thoughts built up in my head, seeping into the space punched by the holes of my plan. The sudden vibrating in my pocket jolted me. I realized later it was Sam calling me.
The elevator door opened with a ping. I shoved the phone back into my pocket and inched into the sterile hallway. The facility, like Connor U, never slept. The staff worked around the clock, bustling in the labs running experiments.
I walked down the quiet hallway and peered through the window into the pantry where the pizza boxes, minus the pizza, stacked on top of the trash bin. I moved along until I reached another set of ID-secured glass doors.
I whipped out Dismon’s ID and tapped on the scanner. The red light turned green. The door opened with a beep.
With a smile, I slipped through the door and ventured further into the depths of the hallway. More labs. More lab-coat-clad personnel hustling within sterile walls. My eyes bounced from face to face yet none rang a bell.
The battery bar on the InviSpec turned orange, reflecting my wavering will. Doubts whirled in my head, morphing into a tornado of a migraine. I blinked and tried to shake the sleep out of me but my eyes weighed me down. Perhaps, Ronin and Cash weren’t on the night shift.
I was about to turn around when my eyes fell on the door. ‘Dr. Adenine Cash, CEO, Scientific Director’. Her name sent a tingle down my spine. The hairs bristled on my nape. All the flashbacks from the Underlab and everything that happened flashed into me like a broken record. The trauma she’d left in me, like daggers plunging deep into my core. And seeing her name again felt like all my scars were ripped open at once.
The toxic smell of her perfume lingered in my throat, its bristling thorns ripping through my flesh. I heard a click and felt something prod against the back of my head.
“Hello, Roxy.” The familiar voice came from behind me. “Your InviSpec might fool a man’s eyes but it can’t hide your scent. Especially when you’re reek of failure.”
I let out a chuckle. Couldn't decide if I was being nervous or
sleep-deprived. “No rest for the wicked, huh?”
Cash snorted. “You’re glutton for punishment, aren’t you?”
I deactivated the InviSpec. I turned on my heels and tossed the device on the floor. My anger sprang to life as my eyes met with Cash’s face. Her hair still red as fire, raging like the resentment within me. She reminded me of Hershey, Ronin, my parents, and all the lives lost caused by her selfish actions.
“Why did you come back, Roxy? I thought you dropped out. Have you changed your mind and decided to come crawling back to the Community?” smirked Cash.