by Trey Deibel
“ERGH-AAGH!”
I screamed as the first bolt zapped through my body. It hit me like a truck and was so powerful, it was visible; a bolt launched out of my arm to my chest. Third degree burns were left in its wake. A light show brightened the room as I thrust my body in every direction and tried to break my constraints. The next ten minutes dragged on slower than a dead snail.
“No markers, ma’am.”
“Damnit! Just have the next test ready for next week,” Jean’ma sighed.
“Wait, should we take James to the infirmary?”
“No. James will heal. Do as I instructed.”
She had some of the scientists remove my constraints and carry me back to my room. No fifteen-year-old should have to endure the hell I experienced.
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
Two days later, I couldn’t contain my excitement as I awaited the arrival of my mother. I hopped up and down on my bed until she arrived.
“James.”
My mother ran around the corner and threw herself around me. She sat there, on my bed, hugging me for minutes before saying anything. Finally, after my face finished turning blue, she looked directly into my eyes.
“What did they do to you this week?”
“Shock therapy.”
“Therapy, my ass,” she cursed toward the door as if she wanted them to hear her. “Do you know what they're planning for you next week?”
“N-nope.” I teared up thinking about it. “Mom. I don’t know how much more of this glorified torture I can take. Test after test! My body feels like it's crumbling apart!”
She put her arms around me. “I know, sweetheart. I’m here for you now. The case is moving all the way up to the global judicial court. I’m so close to getting you released from this cruel place.”
“I would say I hope so, but hope feels out of reach.” I still had tears in my eyes.
“Let me tell you something, James. When I get you out of here, we're going to move as far away from here as possible. Once we're gone, I want you to do one thing for me. James, look at me.”
I looked up at her face. “What?”
“I want you to set a goal for yourself, and I don’t want you to ever let others take it away from you. After what this world has put you through, you don’t owe it a damn thing. Whatever you decide to do, I'll always be there for you. Remember that, James.”
“When we leave, can Grandma and Grandpa come, too?”
“Of course.”
We continued our conversation through the hour, up until the projected clock above the doorway rang as the minute hand topped off at the twelve.
“Alright, honey, I have to go. I need to get ready for work tomorrow and the case next week.”
“Take care.” I wiped off a tear, and she gave me one last hug before leaving.
After she was gone, Kalvin ambled through the door, still sporting his flat top hairstyle and wearing class as clothes. Ever since I was forcefully tossed in this torment they call a project, I was removed from the school system. Kalvin had taken it upon himself to teach me instead. To be honest, his courses have been some of the highlights of my week; however, I always have that feeling when I see his face. The urge to whack him right in the jaw for putting me here. But each week, I somehow manage to hold my fist to my side.
I expected Kalvin to gentleman-walk his way to the front of my room with a random scientist behind him, wheeling in a holographic projector. That wasn’t the case. He had this funny expression on his face; guarded with hints of interest, all while showing less confidence than usual. He swung the seat of my desk chair around so the backrest faced me. He sat, arms resting at the top of the backrest and legs spread between it.
“My intentions today were to lecture you on the ARW’s transportation system; however, given recent happenings in current galactic affairs, I considered it indispensable to enlighten you on your situation.”
His statement sent my mind steering for more information unlike any of Kalvin’s lessons ever had. “Err… I’m not sure I follow.”
I left the comfort of my bed and took refuge in a reclining chair just next to it in an effort to distance myself from Kalvin.
Running his hand through his flat top, Kalvin began, “You remember the lectures on the history of human war?”
“One of your more engaging lessons… so, short answer: Yes. Why?”
“That in mind, what do you envision a war to be like?”
I smiled. “Better than this special section of hell.” Kalvin smirked. I played that line off like a joke, but nothing could be truer in my mind.
Kalvin’s eyebrows twitched. “Funny. But on topic, allow me to enlighten you on what goes into a war. War has sides… and each respective side wants to establish supremacy over the other while minimalizing casualties on their respective ends.”
I interrupted, “Come on, I know this. Let’s get this gear in rotation.”
“As you wish. Leaders, the ones who control the fates of their side, they are the ones with the true burdens. Leaders, such as myself, are forced to decide early on whether freedom or the safety of many is of more importance. James, you are a result of that decision.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Me? Excuse me, but… what are you on about?”
“James, we are at war.” His words dropped stones of shock over my face. “Next to nobody knows this at this moment, especially the civilian population of the ARW. They cannot know, at least not at this current time.”
“Okay, okay. We're at war. What beans does that get me? How do I fit into your sly puzzle?”
“The ARW’s enemy is vast, like nothing we have ever seen. Unless I can find something, I foresee the ARW on its knees, bowing before our enemies. It may be ten years, twenty, even thirty before that would come to pass, but time is now of the essence.”
“And I’m your… something you need? Or rather what I am, that's what you seek. In reality, I’m nothing more than a science project to you.”
“That is more untrue than you can comprehend. And you are correct, your abilities may give the ARW an advantage we desperately need against these foes… if, and only if, we can duplicate them in others. Imagine an army of aces fighting the war for us.”
“I’m a galaxy away from invincible. Your tests showed that. And do you really want to give others my strength, healing, reflexes--”
Kalvin stopped me, holding up his palm. “You really grasp so little about what aces are.”
“Maybe it’s because you keep me in the dark.”
“Then consider this bringing you into the light: We found another like you. And his gifts are… well, let us just say his power level exceeds that of your own. This revelation leads me to a theory: Ace abilities are unique to the individual and all without repetition. And if galactic rumors are to be believed, aces are not limited to humans.”
“Does that include the enemy you were talking about?”
“Chances show a high probability. So, you can see the importance of creating more aces using what we learn from studying you.” The ego and absurdity behind that last statement flipped a switch. After all he's put me through, he doesn’t even have the guts to call it what it is: Torture.
I gave a wry laugh. “Is that what you call it?”
“Enlighten me: How would you define it?” Kalvin’s confidence was back, and I could see his guard lift right before my eyes.
“How would I define it? You took a kid away from his mother, held me against my will, sent me up and down hell’s roller coaster of pain, and I’m sure that’s not the only wrong done under your name! How do you live with yourself?” That last remark might have been too big of a cherry on top, but he did deserve it.
Kalvin’s nose twitched, and his calm demeanor disappeared. “And I presume you are an expert on what is right and what is wrong! You cannot comprehend an utter syllable of what I sacrifice! I forfeit morals for the well-being of the ARW! Nothing else. Now, if you are finished belittling me, I will take my leave.
”
Before I said anything, he gentleman-walked out of the room filled with tension, cutting through it as if it weren’t there.
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
“James, time for another test.”
Jean’ma appeared at my door. Her face reminded me that another week of my life died away in this place. Taking my sweet time to get up, I couldn’t even bring myself to imagine what torture they had in store for me this week.
“What is it today?” I asked per routine.
“We'll be blasting you with energy from space. This week, the energy will be consistent with the energy released throughout space by the 2nd Big Bang from 2036.” She led me to a new room. “You’ll be pleased to know the next few weeks of testing will be pain-free. We're going to try different energy waves duplicated from space.”
Nothing she said after that mattered. I couldn’t be any more relieved.
Curious, I asked, “Why that specific energy?”
“Because of how strange it was to our society at the time. It was some sort of anomaly, a blast of energy shot out from... well, who really knows where? Yet it seemingly had no effect. Whoosh…just like that, the wave passed through the Milky Way, never to be seen again. It’s nothing like the original Big Bang, but just as mysterious.”
In the new room, there was only a steel, shiny machine. If a giant was sick and needed a pill, he may swallow this pill-shaped machine by mistake. Surrounding the room was see-through glass in every direction. Through it, I could make out many hologram monitors managed by the usual researchers.
“Climb in the machine,” Jean’ma instructed.
I slipped in, and the door closed behind me. Seconds later, Jean’ma’s footsteps stomped away, and soon after, the machine activated to a hum. Something inside the machine began to rotate, increasing in speed with each second. Its noise grew in volume and rattled around like an empty spray can. After a few minutes, the spinning slowed down and the machine switched off. It released me, and I climbed out. Jean’ma was standing there, waiting for me, happier than I’ve ever seen her.
“We found it!” She shook in place, flailing her hands in joy.
“Found what?” I indulged her.
“Your markers. They lit up like a nightlight as soon as the energy flowed through your body. We now know exactly where in your DNA your ace abilities are linked to.”
She was now jumping up and down. I took a step back, uncomfortable with her strange happiness.
“So, ah… you’re done with me?” I hesitantly asked.
“Not quite yet. We’re going to try and duplicate your DNA change into others; humans, dor’o, qwayks, and maelkii alike. So, we want you to just sit tight while we run tests on others.”
When will this torment be over?
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
Sitting in my room, I waited for my mom to appear around the corner. It was that time in the week for another pleasant visit from her.
She’s really stretching the clock, I thought as I glanced at the clock on the wall to see that she was already fifteen minutes late.
Instead of my mother, Kalvin Keefe appeared around the corner. As he entered my room, he grabbed my desk chair and pulled it to the right side of my bed, sitting in the same position as his last visit. He wasn’t supposed to be here for another hour.
Facing me, he started off by asking a question far less enthusiastically than usual. “How is my star discovery today?”
“We aren’t supposed to have another session until I’m done talking with my mom. Where is she?” I didn’t bother answering his question.
Dodging the question, he proceeded. “My researchers have been struggling with replicating your DNA markers in every host we have tested up to this current moment; young and old, human and non-hu--”
I cut him off and slammed my fist on my mattress. “Where is my mom? She’s supposed to be here by now.”
“James. There is no painless way to express what I am about to reveal to you. Mere days ago, somebody lit your grandparents’ residence on fire. The fire triggered an explosion, killing your grandparents and your mother instantaneously,” he said as calmly as he could, though each word seemed to stab deeper and deeper into my mind.
“W-wh-wh… what?” I stuttered, not fully processing what had just dropped from his mouth.
“They perished. A mere few days before official trial, too,” he repeated.
Feeling my heart crumble down to my toes, I leaped out of my bed and threw it across the room, howling and screaming from emotional pain. Running over to my dresser, I started punching holes through it, ignoring the physical pain of the sharp wood tearing my skin. Kalvin watched in amazement as I destroyed everything in the room, only leaving after I fell to my knees in tears and agony.
“They were all I had!” I screamed, with tears streaming down my face.
In front of the destroyed dresser, my mother’s cross fell out. I scooped it up and held it to my chest. Unable to bear the heartache, I fell down against the cold floor. For hours, I lay there with dried tears on my cheeks and a hollow soul before falling into slumber from emotional exhaustion.
⁕⁕⁕⁕⁕
I woke up in the medical room with bandages wrapped around my hands. For a few minutes, I sat up and looked around. Pushing yesterday’s disastrous reveal to the back of my mind, I got up – and that’s when I noticed something interesting: there were no personnel in the room. I walked past the doctor’s desk in the corner and passed some locked cabinets full of medicine before walking up to the door to another room. Unlike the entrance door I’d passed, this door didn’t lead to a hallway; instead, it led to a large medical equipment storage room. Through the door’s thick window, I could see a vent blocked by a bolted steel barrier at the top of the storage room. By the looks of it, they hadn’t replaced those bolts in decades; rust covered the heads of them.
I bet I could pull that steel barrier right off, the thought occurred to me.
At that moment, I knew what I wanted to do: I was going to finish what my mom started and get myself out of this prison. I was going to be strong, like she always wanted me to be. No more tears, no more waiting. The only problem was, like all doors in this building, the door to the storage room required a card to open. And the doors couldn’t be forced open, not even by me.
If I can get the doctor’s card, I can leave this unending abyss of pain, I thought. Maybe I could sweet talk the doctor to distract her while I reach into her back pocket for the card.
Looking at the clock, it dawned on me why the room was empty: It was lunchtime. Not wanting to get caught snooping, I lay back in bed and pretended to be asleep. Only a few minutes passed before the door opened and the doctor stepped in. Now I pretended to be waking up and unwrapped the bandages from my arm to reveal healed wounds.
“No, no. Don’t get up.” The doctor rushed over to me. “You had a rough night. When you didn’t wake the following morning, they brought you to me.”
“Christ, how long was I out?” I pushed myself up.
“You were in a coma for four days,” she comforted me.
“Whoa!” I didn’t really know what to say.
“Hang on, let me get your heart rate and blood pressure.” She wrapped a cuff around my arm and placed the end of the stethoscope on my chest. “Your heart is beating a little fast for someone who’s been lying down.”
“Err… I was thinking about my mom,” I lied, at the same time holding back tears. No more tears.
Eyes drowning in empathy, she said, “I’ll get you some anti-depressants. It’ll be off the books, so don’t tell anyone.” She walked toward one of the cabinets. Seeing the opportunity, I wiggled off the bed. As my foot caught the handle, the bed slid. “What are you doing back there, James?”
“Err… scratching my neck.” I pulled the first thought I could from my top of my head. The last thing I needed was for her to see me.
I tiptoed up behind her as she shuffled through the cabinet. Suddenly, she grabbed a ja
r and began to turn.
“James, what are you--”
I dashed forward and latched my hand over her mouth and nose, keeping her from breathing. Struggling, she looked straight into my eyes with a blend of terror and surprise.
“Don’t worry. It’s all puppy toes and rainbows. Just go to sleep,” I whispered, trying to calm her. In a few seconds, she passed out and I released my hands. “I’m sorry.”
I reached my hand in her back pocket and discovered her card. Without hesitation, I slid it out, being careful not to hurt her. As soon as I slid the card through the key lock, the door unlocked with a click. Upon entering the room, I placed the closest cargo box underneath the vent.
I can reach!
Pulling with all my might, the metal bars began to cave an inch or two. It wasn’t enough, so I scanned the room and saw a long steel tube on one of the shelves. I trotted over, picked it up, and stuck it in-between the barrier and vent. The rusted bolts snapped after a good tug and some leverage on my side.
Holy lord, this may work!
Once the vent was off, I forced my way up, pressing my hands and feet against each side to hold my weight. I became a ghost, vanishing without anyone’s knowledge. Shimmying my way up the vent, I came upon a distant light source down one side. As I followed the light like a guide, each passing moment raised my heart rate.
After two minutes of crawling, an ear piercing alarm went off! Catching me off guard, I rammed my head into the aluminum ceiling.
“Ergh!” I covered my head, but it seemed the vent took the blunt of the blow. “So here I am, escaping three years of my life without a teardrop of remorse,” I whispered to myself, continuing on my mission.
Underneath me, I heard someone yell, “I hear him!” From behind, a qwayk male poked his head into one of the vent entrances far behind me. “I see him, and he’s heading outside.” The qwayk lowered his head out of the vent.
I chuckled to myself. “Thanks, dummy, for straight up telling me I was on the right path.”
Only moments later, the light shined in my eyes as I punched open the outside vent. As luck would have it, the vent was only about three stories up. With one pull, I threw myself out of the vent and braced myself for the landing.