“What are we going to do, Thomas?”
“I don’t think there is anything we can do,” my father hissed. “We’re in for life.”
“This is insane,” my mother breathed. “You heard Dana tonight. The kids are starting to commit crimes against one another and he wants us to turn in children so that he can experiment on them. There has to be something we can do to get out of this. Maybe…maybe we can call the media—”
“Are you out of your mind?” my father growled. “That’s practically treason. Do you have any idea how quickly Dana would stop that from getting out before hauling our asses in as experiments? It’s far too risky. We have to remember that Dana is the most powerful man in America apart from Leader Simon. We have no idea how extensive his network is.”
“So, the only thing to do is submit…” my mother whispered. She was silent for a long moment before she spoke again. “Why do you think he had such an interest in our family?”
“…I don’t know…” my father admitted. “My biggest concern is Lily. We don’t want her to become the victim of any malice from the other children in the Commission.”
I stood and peered around the corner into Mykail’s room only to come face to face with him, startling me so much I had to clamp a hand over my mouth to keep myself from screaming in fright. He held up his hands peacefully.
“I apologize,” he whispered. “It seems all I do is startle you.”
I took a few deep breaths before looking at him seriously.
“What do we need to do to take that son of a bitch down?” I hissed. “Because I am not putting up with Dana’s shit any longer.”
Chapter Twenty
Mykail insisted that we talk after my parents went to sleep. He told me to set an alarm for two-thirty in the morning. I went to my room and showered, washing my face and brushing my teeth as if I was getting ready for bed. Then, for over a half hour, I surprised myself by staring in the mirror, looking at the imperfections on my face and trying to figure out how to get rid of them or hide them. I wanted to look beautiful for Mykail and was annoyed by the realization.
Mykail was nice, but he was an experiment of the Commission of the People that had been given to my family by Dana Christenson, the man who had been abusing and assaulting me.
I could make the argument all day long, but I knew that I was developing a crush on the handsome angel. I took another deep breath as I stared at my hands on the bathroom vanity, trying to slow the swell of feelings within me.
When I was unsuccessful at doing so, I went to bed, being sure to set my alarm. Even though I tried to sleep, every time I closed my eyes I could feel Dana’s cold, golden eyes on me and I would leap upright, looking around my room in terror. Even the one place I could feel safe was threatened by Dana Christenson. I could feel his influence working deep under my skin, making sure I would never feel safe again, no matter where I was.
I did not manage to sleep. I ended up tossing and turning, frightened that Dana was going to come out of the shadows, like he always did at the Commission meetings. I could still feel his breath on my ear, his strong fingers around my shoulders, the talk of domination and power…
When the alarm sounded, I launched across my bed to turn it off, startled. The hallway outside my room was illuminated by the light shining through the bars of Mykail’s room. I moved forward hesitantly. He was sitting on the other side of the door, his wings resting on the floor behind him as he waited for me.
He smiled and I could not help but grin goofily back.
“What brought on this sudden revolutionary spirit?” he asked as I positioned myself on the other side of his door.
“I cannot put up with Dana anymore.”
“Did he attack you again?”
“It’s not just me he’s attacking. He’s also attacking Clark.”
“Who’s Clark?”
“Another kid in the Commission, like me. And also like me, Dana likes to…” I trailed off, not wanting to continue.
“Likes to what?”
“Um…” I tried to think of a delicate way to explain. “T-test our limits?”
“You mean molest and mentally abuse you?” Mykail corrected. I nodded, looking at my lap, embarrassed. “I see…so, it’s not only you?”
“No.” I shook my head. “It’s the two of us. But Dana also likes to sleep with everyone in the Commission, apparently.”
“I already knew that.”
I cleared my throat and leaned forward. “Clark wants to help us.”
“You told him?” Mykail gasped, his eyes shooting wide.
“He knows more about Dana than I do, and probably even more than you do,” I defended. “He can help us form a plan.”
“That’s good that he has inside knowledge,” Mykail admitted. “But I bet even he doesn’t know what we need to know to pull this off.”
“What are you thinking about doing, then?”
“Bringing Dana down is going to be more difficult than you realize,” he said. “Even if we did, by some miracle, manage to kill Dana, we would then still have the problem of the Commission of the People. His death would be seen as an act of terrorism, not revolution.”
“Then we need to expose the Commission,” I deduced. He nodded, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. “How the hell do we do that?”
“We have to do it in one shot, because that is all we will have,” he said. “It will have to be big and bring a lot of attention. We will have to flood the media with the truth about what the Commission does with those they capture. So we are going to need a lot more people and many more experiments to show the true horrors of the Commission.”
“Experiments? You mean the ones that Dana gives to members of the Commission?” I gasped. “I think we might be able to find some people, but I don’t think we can get any of the other gifts or experiments to participate.”
“No, not the gifts,” Mykail said quickly. “The gifts are given because they are brainless, and they don’t have any ideas about bringing down the Commission once they are out of it. They’re obedient.”
“Well…wait…” I got suspicious. “What about you?”
“I’m quiet,” he said with a shrug. “And Dana knows I hate him, but…” He looked away, his eyes troubled as he looked back at his wings. “He knows that I can’t do anything on my own.”
I sighed. “That’s why I’m going to help you, and Clark wants to, also.”
“You must be careful about talking to others about our plans,” Mykail warned. “You never know who might try to get in just to expose us to Dana before we have our chance to expose him. It’s going to be the same with the experiments.”
“How are we going to get experiments from the Commission?”
“We’re going to break them out.”
I blinked at him stupidly, unable to wrap my mind around the idea.
“How?!” I snapped incredulously.
“That’s something that we’re going to need to figure out,” Mykail admitted with a sheepish bow of his head. “I was only in one part of the Commission wards. There are many other sections that hold more powerful and far more dangerous experiments.”
“Do you know any of them?” I asked, unable to ignore my curiosity.
“A few…I know of Eyna,” he said. “He’s considered to be the strongest of all of us.”
“Eyna?!” I gasped, remembering the young man strapped to the table during our tour.
“You know of him?”
“Yes.” I nodded quickly. “He’s the strongest?”
“Yes, and he gets stronger every day. I don’t know what they’re doing to him, but when I was there, he was definitely one that you did not want to mess with.”
“So, the ultimate weapon they’re trying to make is actually…” I said, trailing off.
“The Machine of Neutralization?” he asked. “You certainly know a lot about the inner workings of the Commission lab already.”
“We got an in-depth tour our first nig
ht,” I said weakly, trying not to recall the horrible night.
“Eyna is definitely the first one they’ve had this much success on, and who knows how much further they will go with him. They just keep yanking him into the lab.”
“Can we get him to help expose the Commission?”
“I don’t know,” he said slowly. “I know that he wants to take down the Commission as well, and he hates Dana more than anyone else on the planet. However it’s all the security around him that causes the problems. He is Dana’s pride and joy, so he is protected extensively.” Mykail thought, his eyes cast to the floor. “I don’t know where they keep him in the Commission. But I think that Ward Seven and Ward Eight would be the best place to start looking for experiments to help us.”
“Wards?”
“The Commission experiments are divided up into ten wards, depending on the success of their testing and how dangerous they are. Wards One and Two are the ones that did not have great success, and are going through final tests before the Commission kills them. Wards Three, Four, and Five are where the gifts come from. They were successful tests, but they are docile and some look at Dana like he’s some kind of god that gave them superpowers.”
“Some of the experiments actually like Dana?”
“Not just like, they worship the ground he walks on,” he said coldly. “That is why we cannot use any of the gift experiments.”
“Were you in one of those wards?” I asked meekly, saddened by the thought of Mykail in one of those glass cells in the back of the Commission.
“I was in Ward Five.” He nodded. “Because I am a little stronger than the other experiments in the gift wards. Originally, I was in Ward Seven, which is how I know that that is a good place to start.”
“Why did Dana give you up as a gift?” I asked nervously. “He seemed attached to you.”
“I’m not sure,” he admitted, shaking his head. “If I had to take a guess, I would say that he wanted to give you a gift that would show his immense favor toward your family.” Mykail smiled and wrapped one hand around the bar of his door, his smile touching his eyes and making my heart leap. “But I’m glad that he did,” he said. “It’s been a while since I have felt so comfortable with anyone.” He offered his hand to me. “Thank you, Lily.”
My heart knocked against my ribs in giddy happiness. I reached forward, taking his hand. We were silent as we held the other’s hand for several long moments, the bars between us, but Mykail finally released my hand.
“You’re a good person, Lily,” he said. “I feel very lucky that I’ve been able to talk to you. I want to get to know you more…”
I smiled shyly, looking at my hands, feeling nervous heat rise to my cheeks.
“Even though…” I started. “Even though I hate what the Commission has done to you, and I want nothing more than to be able to give you your normal life back…I am glad to have met you, and that you were strong enough to keep your sense of self even after everything you went through.”
Mykail’s eyes went wide and he blinked at me a few times before leaning forward, reaching his hand through the bars once more and placing it against my cheek. I flushed, unable to move, awkward and happy at the same time. I stared at him stupidly, not sure how to react.
“That was very kind of you to say, Lily,” he murmured. “Thank you.”
I turned my head away, embarrassed and flattered to the point of being flustered. Seeing how uncomfortable I was, he backed away.
“Lily?” he asked. “Are you really sure that you want to do this? You want to consider going against Dana?”
“Of course. Don’t you?” I was worried by the tone in his voice, but I shook it off when I saw the radiant smile return as he chuckled.
“Of course.”
“So, how do you propose we get other experiments out? And what about keeping them hidden until we need them to expose the Commission? And how do we make sure that the people who want to help us are not working for Dana? How—”
“Slow down,” Mykail chuckled. “Clark should be able to help us with some of that. How close is he to Dana?”
“He’s the son of one of Dana’s personal advisors,” I explained. “And Dana is interested in him enough to attack him constantly.”
“Wow, he is close to Dana.” Mykail blinked, surprised. “I don’t recall ever seeing him around the Commission…Well, maybe he knows who in the Commission would have thoughts of overthrowing Dana and we can use that knowledge to help us gain supporters from within.”
He looked me over, his eyes sparkling with an idea, but he sighed heavily, shaking his head, his expression falling.
“What?”
“Never mind, it’s too risky.”
“What is?”
“I was just trying to think of a way for us to find a means of breaking out experiments,” he explained.
“What were you thinking?”
“It’s too dangerous.”
“Tell me.” I was willing to take any measures I could to take Dana down, and if that meant I had to do something a little dangerous, then I would—after all, we were already talking about treason.
He hesitated.
“I was going to say that you could work your way into Dana’s inner circle and then get him to lead you around the different areas of the Commission. Once there, you can look for a means to get the experiments out.”
“That could work,” I said with a strong nod.
“It would work if Dana was predictable,” Mykail corrected. “But if you show an interest in getting closer to him, who knows what he’ll do.”
I tried to think of a course of action. If I asked Dana to give me a tour, it might set off alarms for him. I had to have him suggest that he show me around, and that meant expressing interest in the experiments. I was not as good at playing people as Dana, but maybe I could work carefully enough to get him to let me into the back.
“I’ll do it.”
“No, it’s way too risky. Dana will just keep attacking you,” Mykail protested.
“I’ll take the chance as long as we can get some information out of it,” I assured. “I’ll just keep reminding myself of what we’re trying to accomplish and it will help me get through it.”
“Lily, there is no need to put yourself at such risk. We will think of another way.”
“We’re putting ourselves at risk anyway. If this doesn’t work out and we get caught, we are all dead. Either way, the risk is huge. So let me see if I can get anything out of Dana.”
Mykail smiled, shaking his head.
“You are very strong…Alright, but if there is any sign that things are getting worse, you stop immediately.”
“Deal.”
“Don’t take it too quickly,” he advised. “Dana is very smart. He will know something is going on if you are too forward.”
“I know,” I assured. “I’ll wait for him to suggest the tour before I do anything.”
“Perfect. We will need to find a place to put the experiments as well. Do you know of any abandoned areas in the city where we could hide them? Maybe even use one of the abandoned buildings as a base?”
“No.” I shook my head. “But we can ask Clark. He’s coming here tomorrow.”
“He is?” Mykail blinked. “Does he know I’m involved?”
“Um…no,” I said sheepishly. “We were in the Commission room, we had to be quiet. I didn’t know who might be listening.”
“Try not to do that again,” Mykail hissed, his eyes wide with horror. “That’s like entering a tank full of sharks with an open wound.”
“I know,” I defended strongly. “I don’t need to be lectured.”
His eyes softened.
“I apologize,” he said. “I did not mean to lecture…I just…I don’t want to see you being taken into the Commission and tested on, that’s all.”
“I know. I’m being careful.”
“We will have to find a way to weed out the people who are loyal to Dana when you start
looking for other supporters. The club you go to on Fridays, that’s where everyone gets together, right?”
“Yes, the Commish Kids, at least.”
“Maybe there is a way to use the club as a means to understand who is loyal and who isn’t.”
“I don’t know…” I shook my head, cringing. “People listen in on everyone’s conversation and then gossip to their friends. There has to be another way…I haven’t been in Central long enough to know. That might be something we’ll have to ask Clark.”
“Okay, and like I said, maybe he knows of some people who have thought about taking the Commission down before, or some others who would be willing to help.”
“How do you think we should expose the Commission?” I inquired. “Once we have the support and the experiments, what do you think we should do?”
“I think we need to walk the experiments on the streets and show people exactly what the Commission does,” Mykail explained. “The problem will be getting exposure by the media networks. The Commission will stop any report unless it is live. We have to take Dana by surprise.”
“So, we organize another event and then, when we are sure that people are watching and that we have some live coverage, we expose the experiments. Maybe a parade?”
“That’s what I was thinking,” he agreed. “It will have to be delicately planned, and even then, there is no guarantee that the news will reach a lot of people. We will have to have some of our own secretly filming to post on the internet and give copies of the video so as many people as possible see the Commission experiments. The more people know, the better chance we stand.”
I yawned into my hand.
“We can ask Clark what he thinks.”
“You should get some sleep,” Mykail noted with a small laugh. “We can talk more when Clark’s here.”
“It’s alright.” I did not want to go back to my room and face the traumatic hallucinations and dreams of Dana standing at my bedside. “I haven’t been able to really sleep lately, that’s all…”
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