by T R Tells
Fat tears collected in Helene’s eyes, and she swiftly wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“They told me not to leave, and I did anyway. I blamed myself for their death ever since. It was because I exposed did they come out to get me. If I didn’t sneak out, they would still be alive.”
A lump lodged in my throat as I realized how much Helene had been holding onto. I grabbed her hand, squeezing it. She looked at me with wide red eyes.
“... I don’t think their death wouldn’t have happened, Helene. It sure as hell isn’t your fault,” I said, hardening my tone. “The way Alina even said ‘accident’ was suspicious, like she set the whole thing up.”
“What?” Helene exclaimed.
I nodded.
“I do. It sounds like your parents didn’t want to work for them anymore, and to be blunt, they were probably going to expose this project too. Alina Mulgrave has a lust for power, and the Omega Institute thinks what they’re doing is ‘for the good of humanity.’ What they’re really trying to do is make humanity their bitch.”
The sorrow in Helene’s eyes was replaced by fire. Her cheeks reddened, and her brows furrowed with anger. She squeezed my hand tightly and gritted her teeth.
“...Then they need to be shut down and exposed.”
I frowned.
“And how are we going to do that? There’s no way I’m getting into the Omega Institute’s facilities.”
Helene smirked.
“Remember that friend I told you about when I was in the hospital? And do you still have that Agent’s number? Because we’re about to take Omega down.”
I had no clue what Helene was up to, but the Omega Institute needed to be stopped, once and for all.
***
Helene contacted her friend, and we headed to Northside, Chicago. The skyscrapers of the city loomed over us, and we inched our way through traffic until we made it to the Gold Coast. The area consisted of high-rising apartment buildings and stone mansions. They were aligned in a quiet neighborhood, a quarter of a mile away from the heart of the city.
I gawked at the expansive houses that were as big as my high school, and I couldn’t imagine what one needed to do to afford a mansion so large, or what they even needed all that space for.
“...When we get to the house, be aware that Wally is an Awakener like us,” Helene said. I looked from the window and back to her. “His father works for Nicodemus Mulgrave, and he’s been subjected to the same tests as me, but for much longer than I have. His father refused to let him walk outside, make friends, or go to school.”
Even though Helene didn’t say it, I had a feeling that Wally’s father was a douchebag that didn’t care about his son’s well-being.
We made a right-hand turn onto a silent street and drove up a hill to the first mansion. Helene parked in the driveway and turned off the car. We headed toward the front door.
Helene rang the doorbell.
I could see a blurred image of someone walking down a grand staircase through the fiberglass windows along the wooden door. It was opened by a guy who looked like he could’ve been in his mid-twenties. His shoulders were hunched over, his hands were pressed together, and his eyes darted around nervously.
“Hey, Wally. It is good to see you, how have you been?”
Wally looked up to meet Helene’s face, and a small smile spread on his lips. He pushed his wire-rimmed glasses further on his nose.
“It’s, uh, a pleasure to see you again, Helene.” His gaze went to me, but the look in his eyes didn’t show he was pleased to have a visitor in front of his home. “And this is the friend you mentioned, Hira Night?”
I stepped forward, closing the distance between us and stretched out my hand. He pushed his stringy black hair away from his face and replicated my gesture. I could feel his hand shaking in our grasp.
“We hate to bother you, Wally, but we could really use your help. It is kind of life or death, actually.”
Wally nodded, seemingly understanding the situation and not kicking us to the curb right then and there. He ushered us inside the house and closed the door.
Normally, I would have wanted to take pictures of the grand mansion and the chandelier that hung above us in the foyer. There were modern works of art hanging on the walls that reminded me of a museum.
“You can follow me to my room, I don’t have permission to be in the foyer,” Wally said, pulling me out of my thoughts. We followed him up the winding, grand staircase where there were several dozen wooden doors.
Wally stopped in front of the second-to-last door and pushed it open. He stepped in first, and Helene stepped in afterward.
I had expected Wally’s bedroom to be as extravagant as the rest of the house. When we stepped inside, it was completely normal. It might’ve been the size of two rooms, but there was only a regular king-sized mattress with blue sheets against the right-hand side of the wall. The window in the corner of the room let in light, revealing an assortment of books stacked on the floor and desk.
Helene and I took our seats in the folded chairs near his desk as he sat on his bed.
“Um, I apologize for the mess. I don’t usually have company… I mean, I never have company, so when I saw that Helene was calling, it was quite a shock.”
“And I’m sorry I hadn’t contacted you sooner. I was quite isolated before I met Hira.”
I grinned. “Aw shucks, you’re such a doll. But Helene told me that, well, you’re like us; an Awakener.”
Wally didn’t react at first; he only rubbed his hands together nervously, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. His feet shifted as he looked down at them, continuously pushing up his glasses when they slipped down.
“...So you two have powers?”
I nodded, telling him the things that happened to me three months ago and my cause for fighting the Umbra Shades. I explained Alina Mulgrave’s purpose in this and how the cult caused the bright light nine years ago. Then, again, three months ago, and how the ‘disease’ they created replicated prions that caused everyone to be afflicted with powers that fed from their negativity.
“...The Dark Ordinance,” Wally whispered so quietly I almost didn’t hear him.
“Wait, you know about them?” I asked. Even Helene was surprised, and she leaned forward in her seat eagerly.
Wally gulped and nodded. “Yes, the woman, Alina, was rehired by the head researcher of the Omega Institute, Nicodemus Mulgrave, her ex-husband. She was the lead in the research at the beginning because she had astute knowledge, but she had been let go when she became obsessed with experimentation.”
“That’s an understatement. It started with a girl named ‘Alexandria’, right? That’s where the name ‘Alexandria Genesis Project’ came from,” I said..
Wally nodded.
“They funded the project to save their daughter. The Omega Institute is a famed pharmaceutical company, and its purpose, supposedly, is to find cures to diseases. There had been hundreds of accidents nine years ago, and they were hospitalized. Some of them escaped, like Alexandria, others are still being treated, and then there are people like Helene and me who were experimented on by the government to find a cure.”
I snorted, and Helene rolled her eyes.
“Well, if that doesn't sound messed up at all,” I said. “I don’t know about the rest of Omega, but what I do know is that ‘Alina’ needs to be stopped. She’s power-hungry, mad, and she’s still experimenting on people. She harbors those who lost control of their abilities and turned into ‘Deviants.’ She wants me to find Awakeners who control their prions like I do.”
Wally hummed. “So, what would I need to do to help?”
“How about joining us?” I said and stood. His eyes widened, and his glasses slipped off his nose again. “I don’t want to get into your personal life, but if we don’t do something now, people’s lives will be lost, and I’m afraid there’s something much bigger approaching. We could use all the help we can get.”
Wally darted hi
s eyes between Helene and me and rubbed his hands repeatedly.
“We don’t want to force you, Wally. I know that’s what this seems like, but we’re all just really on edge.”
Wally sighed and nodded. “I know. I can’t say my father is an evil man, but he does things for the benefit of himself. The Omega Institute has their own twisted beliefs about what’s good for society. Still, I have a good feeling about you two. I’ll help you with access into the Omega Institute’s main building. I have… ways to get inside that can bypass security.”
I raised my brow and looked to Helene, who had a knowing smile on her lips.
“It is okay, Wally—show her. She might be freaked out at first, but you can trust Hira.”
Wally licked his lips and looked at me before nodding.
“Okay… I just hope… you aren’t squeamish.”
Nothing happened for a moment, but after a few seconds, the sounds of tiny squeaks and prattling feet could be heard from around me. I looked up at the ceiling and around the room, searching for the origin. Helene sat in her chair perfectly still, and Wally was standing on his feet like a statue.
I was about to ask when I saw something quickly skirt inside of the room.
“What the—” I exclaimed and watched as the ‘something’ was actually an albino rat with beady red eyes. It climbed up Wally’s pants leg.
He took the rat in his hands and petted it behind its ears. I noticed as he did, the nervousness that he previously had evaporated, and he was smiling as the rat sniffed at his finger.
But it wasn’t just one rat that appeared.
Seemingly out of nowhere, two dozen rats scurried into the room. Helene didn’t seem phased by it, and even though I wasn’t ‘scared’ of rats, I pulled my feet onto the chair. The rats surrounded Wally in a circle and looked up at him, waiting obediently.
My words weren’t fully processed in my head, and the only thing I could muster was: “Oh, shit.”
Helene busted out laughing. “And while Hira is in a bit of a shock, she is trustworthy and a good friend.”
Wally sighed. “Rats haven’t ever once stabbed me in the back,, ridiculed, or lied to me. I’ve never been the most comfortable with humans, but... There is something good about you.”
Getting over my shock, I stood up from my seat and walked over to Wally. I didn’t want him to think that I was judging him because of his powers. He was someone else who was afflicted by the constraints of unjust society by an abusive parent. It made me think of Mahogany and how she never had her chance. They both deserved more.
The rats parted ways like the Red Sea as I walked, and I stopped a foot in front of him. I held out my hand and smiled.
“If you want to, welcome to the team, Wally.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Halloween party was in Lincoln Parks, Wrightwood Neighbors, where possibly most of the school (and several dozen other people not even enrolled in high school) would be attending.
Before Alessander, Helene, and I exited the Lyft, we were already able to hear the thumping of the music down the street. Cars were jam-packed on the side of the road, half of which would probably be towed by the morning.
“—And it looks like we won’t be enjoying ourselves for more than an hour before the cops show up,” Helene said. We approached the walkway of the house, and there were already beer bottles and passed out teenagers, and some adults, on the ground.
“I just wish I would’ve thought better about my costume,” I said, pulling my peacoat closer around my body. “I’m freaking freezing!”
Helene chuckled, giving me an ‘I told you so...’ glance.
“No one told you to dress up as Wonder Woman in October, and now you must suffer the consequences. I was smart to choose a costume that had layers. Plus, if we need to spring into action, I already have a mask, and Katsuki Bakugo is a badass, so it was no contest.”
Her costume was composed of a tight black winter vest with a high collar, that had an orange “X” across the middle, forming a v-neck. Makeshift grenades lined her belt, she had baggy pants with knee guards, and knee-high combat boots with orange soles and eyelets. The mask on her face was jagged and black, and as it circled her eyes, a large, orange-rimmed flare protruded from each side.
If there was a costume contest, I would definitely vote for how authentic it looked.
“Well, I’ll have you know I bought this costume for Comic-Con a while back, and I thought it would be the perfect time to wear it. Plus, Gal Gadot was amazing in Wonder Woman. She can fight just as well as Bakugo.”
“And, Miss ‘Badass’,” Alessander piped in, holding up a finger to Helene. “Didn’t I hear you say that you were deciding whether or not to dress up as Elsa?”
I clamped my hand over my mouth to cover my snort. Helene squared her eyes at Alessander and pursed her lips.
“Well played, sir, but what are you supposed to be anyway? Zorro or something?”
Helene gestured up and down at Alessander’s outfit. He was wearing a loose-fitting all-black two-piece outfit. I implored him not to wear the tie-wrap around his head until we reached our destination (we didn’t need a repeat incident).
“What? No, I’m supposed to be Wesley from The Princess Bride. Hira and I love that movie; I could quote the entire thing.”
I nodded. “It’s true, and he has. He did it on a date once, and it was kind of romantic—remember that one time we were running from someone’s dog, and I told you to go get help? And you called out ‘As you wish!’ while running down the street?”
Alessander grinned and hissed, remembering the detail.
“Yeah, it was actually one of the moments that convinced me to be a footballer because I outran that dog for a few miles until I reached a police station.
We giggled together, and for a moment I’d forgotten that we were standing in forty-degree weather. Not even the thought of taking down Alina had crossed my mind.
Things felt normal.
“Wow,” Helene said, her eyes were wide, and she was smiling. “You guys are insanely dorky, but cute, and now I feel like the third wheel. I should have called Zelda to see if she wanted to come.”
I furrowed my brows. “Zelda?” It didn’t occur to me until a second later who she was referring to. “Oh, wait, do you mean Griselda from the Paper Doll we bumped into? Are you seeing her or something?”
Helene’s cheeks burned red and she raised her large sleeves to cover her face, confirming that I was right. “Something like that. Can we head inside, already? I’m sure your ass is cold by now.”
As if reminding me that I was wearing a leotard and only tights, a cold wind brushed across my legs, and my teeth chattered from the sudden contact.
“Agreed,” Alessander said and wrapped his arms around me. His warm embrace melted away the lingering cold.
The three of us strolled down the walkway toward the red brick home that was rather long. There was an odd insignia on the front of the house, and we walked past two columns that held up the scaling roof, where several people in costumes were making out profusely. It reminded somewhat of a Fraternity house.
It wasn’t until we entered the building that the booming sounds of Old Town Road played on the loudspeakers. There were a plethora of people crowded in the foyer before we could even step further inside. Their bodies gyrated together in their various costumes, some I recognized and others I didn’t know what the hell they were trying to be. They drunkenly danced and drank from the contents of their red plastic cups.
Alessander immediately grabbed my hand, and had his other hand protectively on Helene’s shoulder. He pulled her closer to him so he could speak to us over the loud music.
“You two stay together, alright? I’ll get us some drinks that aren’t opened.”
I nodded. “I’ll text you where we are!”
Alessander departed and tried to squeeze his way through the tight crowd. I grabbed Helene’s hand, and we traversed through the sea of drunk and high pe
ople until we found ourselves in the living room. Incidentally, there might not have been a huge crowd, but the couches were filled with people making out, as was each corner.
Helene shook her head. “It is amazing how people choose to come to parties only to drink and have sex. It’s no longer normal to interact and just have fun dancing.”
I snorted back in reply. “You and me both. Apparently, we’re the oddballs, but in 2019, this is social interaction.”
“Yo, Hira! Is that you?”
I flinched. Even over the piping loudspeakers, I could pick out his voice.
I turned around and saw Solomon creep through the crowd with a Solo cup in his hands. He was wearing a long black shirt that hung to his knees, baggy pants that looked like they were coming off of his behind, and two thick chains.
Helene leaned into me and whispered, “Should I blast him?”
I grinned and elbowed her in the side, hoping that she was joking.
“Hey, I thought it was you; even under that wig, I don’t think any chocolate mama could pull off a white Wonder Woman.”
“Wow,” Helene exclaimed, beating me to the punch. “Because that wasn’t being misogynist or racist. Do you not realize that black women get targeted and bullied because they want to dress up as their favorite character from a movie or anime? Still, they cannot because of their skin color. You’re not helping the bigotry with your dumbass statement.”
“And I’m guessing this is supposed to be Helene or something? What the hell are you supposed to be, anyway? Some kind of bomb or something?”
Helene’s jaw dropped, and the look in her eyes was like she wanted to kill him.
“Have you not heard of My Hero Academia? And what the hell are you supposed to be?”
Solomon snorted and took a drink from his cup. “Have you not heard of 50 Cent? Freakin’ mans is my idol.”
I gritted my teeth together. “And yet, I see no resemblance. You just look like what people used to look like in the 80s and 90s.”
Solomon grinned and tapped his head with his finger. “Ah, see? Maybe that’s what I wanted you to think.”