“Come in,” I said, hoping it wasn’t Lance with more questions. I admired his enthusiasm, but I just wanted to take a break before the next crisis.
Wesley walked into the room. He didn’t look happy.
“What’s wrong? Is it Jenna?” I asked.
“Yeah, she isn’t happy.”
“Join the club. Things will get better, we’ll find a way to get Jessica back.”
Wesley sighed and took a seat opposite me. “You never stop, do you?”
“Stop what?”
“Your daughter is not happy and I’m not just talking about Jessica or Angela. She doesn’t want to be here.”
I swirled the whiskey in my glass. “I understand. Why don’t you two take a break. A vacation somewhere for a while. Let her recharge before…”
“No. That’s not what I mean. She doesn’t need a break, she’s done, Tom.”
I stared at him. “If you’ve been putting ideas into her head…”
Wesley shook his head. “Always someone else to blame. This year alone she’s had to deal with your suicide, kidnapping, finding out she was experimented on, a sister she never knew about, a mother who was a criminal and oh yeah, being killed multiple times. It’s a wonder she isn’t in a psych ward right now. We’re out.”
I opened my mouth to argue with him but realized that I didn’t have an argument left.
“This isn’t open for debate. It’s an FYI situation.” He stood up to leave.
As he reached the door, I said, “Wesley.”
He turned to look at me.
“Get as far away as you can. And take care of her.”
He nodded. “I will.”
28
Jenna
Six Months Later
“…Recent reports show an increase in the number of zombie sighting. Officials are trying to keep the peace, but many are worried that we could see a return to the past or even face extinction.”
Sitting on the couch, I watched the news report, fearing the worst. It had been six months and it was still going on. There were riots in the city, mass exodus from populated areas.
“Jenna?” Wesley said. I barely heard him. He reached for the remote control and switched off the TV. Sitting down beside me, he took my hand, which was currently gripping my leg. I didn’t even realize I was doing it, but it would definitely leave a mark.
“I thought you weren’t going to watch that anymore? It’s not our problem.”
“Until the zombies reach us,” I said.
“Yeah, but I can barely find this place, I doubt zombies are just going to happen upon us.”
He was probably right. We were living in a state-of-the-art cabin in the middle of nowhere, courtesy of Chaos money. Wesley hacked their accounts and stole several million. I was Mom’s next of kin, so if things had been different it would have gone to me anyway. Me and Jessica. I hadn’t spoken to her since the day she left. She made her choice.
Getting off the couch, I moved to the bay window which overlooked the forest. We had an electric fence in place, a fallout shelter down below. If the world went nuts again, we could survive down here for a long time.
You traded in your old prison for a fancy one. At least it was a prison of my own making. I could walk out the door any time I felt like it.
“We can go back, if that’s what you want,” Wesley said.
“No. I don’t want to.”
“Maybe we can try and contact Jessica again. Let her know where we are…”
“No, I don’t want anyone knowing about this place. She stayed with them; she can’t be trusted.”
Wesley came up behind me and put his arms around me. “Why don’t we do something fun this weekend? We could get out of here, take a hike up to that nice spot on the hill? Have a nice romantic picnic.”
“Is it romantic because you have a ring hidden in your pocket?”
Wesley scoffed. “No…how did you find out about it?”
“Because you keep patting your pocket every five minutes to check it’s still there.”
“Oh. Well now you’ve ruined the surprise.”
I turned to face him. “Why would you want to saddle yourself with me?”
“Because I love you.”
He kissed me. “Should I do this now?”
“No, wait for the romantic picnic. I’ll try and act surprised.”
I wrapped my arms around him. At least I still had him. My life was far from perfect, but I would do everything in my power to make it better for me and Wesley. He was my family now.
***
Jessica
Sitting at the head of the table was a new experience for me, but one I could get used to quite quickly.
Bishop sat to my right; he had been training me for this moment for six months. In my mother’s image, he had said. I doubted I could ever really be like her, but I would do my best to make her proud.
“Jessica, we want to move forward with our plans, now the Gene-Pharm is down, we can work with less scrutiny. If we could move forward with the X01 program, we could take over.”
I nodded. “Good. Do it.”
Bishop smirked at me, which I assumed meant that he approved of my decision. I knew what the X01 trials were, although I didn’t understand the science behind it. All I knew was that it was designed to make humans stronger and better. What was wrong with that? Jenna was stronger because of the X01. Our father experimented on her. If she could be made stronger, then so could I. That’s what I needed now.
When the meeting was over, I left Bishop to deal with the details, heading downstairs to my former bedroom. It was now cleared out, I had moved upstairs. I was surprised to find that I missed it. It was familiar, safe. But it was time to grow up.
Leaving the room behind, I moved further along to the containment cells. To one in particular. I approached the cell, bracing myself for the horrific sight that awaited me. The lights flickered on and she slammed into the glass. Her long auburn hair hung in tattered clumps now. Her skin was gray, sunken looking. I had them adjust the climate controls in the cell to try and preserve her as much as possible, but it had been six months.
Her milky white eyes stared at me, chilling me. Angela – Mom was gone. This thing wasn’t her, but it was all I had left.
“They finally put me in charge. It’s been a long six months, but I’ve learned a lot. I can lead like you did.”
She gnashed her teeth at me.
“I used to hate you. Every time you would tell me stories about Jenna, I got so mad. She was the one who got to live with you, to have a life. But I see the truth now. She was the weak one. Influenced by our father, it’s her fault you are gone.”
I placed my hand on the glass.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll finish what you started.”
THE END
About the Author:
S. K. Gregory writes horror, urban fantasy and young adult fantasy novels. She lives in Northern Ireland where she works as an editor.
You can check out her books through her website:
www.skgregory.com
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