Embers & Ice (Rouge) (19 page)

THRITY-TWO

“Welcome
to Livingston,” said Joshua aloud and both Jenny and Eli jumped upright in
their seats and stared at their surroundings.

Day
five into their travels, and things were starting to get a little chilly.
Normally, Jenny would have happily sat in a car and driven across the country.
It felt unreal that she was suddenly there, halfway across America, with two
complete strangers on a mission to find a crazy scientist smart enough to
return someone’s memory, a memory lost while frozen at minus 180ºC.

Hey,
it beats being dead.

Jenny
stared at the raging winds, hoping Joshua was as good a driver as he boasted
and could get them to the hotel quick. There was a queasy feeling in her
stomach.

“I’m
starving, can we stop somewhere?” Eli moaned from the back. “I hear there’s a
really good rib and chop house?”

“We
can eat at the hotel,” Joshua replied.

Eli
leaned forward and peered through the window. “God it’s like a cyclone out
there,” he said. “You’d think it would be at least a little mild, being the
beginning of September.”

“Livingston
is one of the windiest places in America,” said Joshua as though he were
reading out of a textbook. He turned to Eli and added, “it just feels cold, but
really it isn’t.”

“Not
sure I believe that,” said Eli, and he stuck his mouth in his scarf. It was
attached to a beanie with a bear face and two ears. It looked absolutely
ridiculous, but kind of cute. They’d stopped for lunch at a restaurant with a
gift shop, and Eli bought it, if not for the chilly weather but to annoy and embarrass
Joshua. “And anyway, where are we staying?”

“The
Murray hotel.”

“I’ve
heard about that place,” said Eli. “My dad says it’s rowdy.”

“I’ve
called ahead and booked a room as far from the bar as possible. We’ll get a
good night sleep and then tomorrow it’s on to Spokane early morning.”

“Awesome,”
said Eli sarcastically. “Just gotta say, guys, this road trip hasn’t exactly
been the most thrilling of adventures.”

“Would
you rather be at school?” asked Jenny.

“Yeah,
but we’re driving across 3000 miles of quality American country and all we see
are the insides of hotel rooms and rest stops.”

“If
you didn’t sleep so much, you’d see a hell of a lot more,” Joshua snapped at
him. “Oh, but if you’d rather be back in New York in the hands of the Agents,
that’s fine with me.”

“You’re
just grumpy because you won’t let anyone else drive and now your eyes are
melting out of your skull.”

Joshua
sighed deeply. Jenny noted that, had he not been concentrating so hard, he
would have pinched the bridge of his nose or wiped his hand over his jaw.
Oh
God, I’m picking up on his mannerisms now? What are we, a couple?

The
uneasiness in her stomach increased and she curled her arm around it.
Maybe
I’m sick because I ate too many of those philly burgers back at the café near
Laurel.
But Jenny knew herself better. It wasn’t the food. It was something
far worse. The pain started off in her stomach, but it always ended up near her
heart.

Joshua
was staring at her, his eyes darting back to the road. “You okay there?”

She
nodded, not wanting to distract him from the road.

The
storm started clearing as they drove deeper into the main part of town. Most of
the shops were closed off and the street lights guided their way to the motel
on the corner. Jenny gathered her things and stuffed them into the bag as he
pulled the car into park. Eli wrapped his bear scarf tighter around his neck
and gave her the thumbs up, then bravely opened his door.

Screaming
winds hit them hard in the chest like a punch from a boxer. Joshua shouted at
them to go inside and he would get the bags, but Jenny refused. The three of
them threw open the boot, hauled their backpacks over their shoulders and
sprinted through the heavy front doors into the Murray hotel lobby.

A
tribute to western history, the Murray hotel was a cozy, elegant building with
as much charm as the Hilton and even more charisma. Loud country music played
in the bar and the lobby was filled with people coming and going from the
restaurant and upstairs floors.

Joshua
– who would normally storm straight to the receptionist desk to sign them in
without caring what the hotel looked like – did a double take himself. Jenny
watched him lower his bags slowly and then march over to the nearest fireplace
where an array of snow globes were perched on the mantelpiece. Even Eli stopped
gaping to frown with her as Joshua picked up each snow globe, examined them
closely, and then shook them. A group of people rugged up in coats sitting
around the fire were gazing at him, dumbfounded, murmuring and laughing to each
other. Joshua returned to them with a smile on his face.

“What
was that all about?” asked Eli. “Are you retarded?”

Joshua’s
grin faded instantly and he huffed. “I prefer the term
obsessive
, if you
don’t mind. I’m going to check us in.” And with that, he headed straight to the
front desk before Jenny and Eli could burst out laughing.

“Ooo-kay
then,” Eli snorted. “I guess we learn more about that freak as we go along.”

Jenny
laughed and suggested they move to a few empty chairs to release the burden of
their heavy bags. Eli continued to stare open-mouthed at the lobby of the
hotel.

When
Joshua returned, he wasn’t happy. “I specifically requested a room on the
opposite side, but I’m too tired to care right now,” he said. “Come on, let’s
go.”

The
moment Jenny stood up, she was hit with a searing pain in her chest, a pain so
familiar that she looked at Joshua with wide, fearful eyes and her legs gave
way beneath her. Joshua shouted her name and grabbed her shoulders. The look on
his face was of pure panic.

“Joshua,”
she whispered. “Take me… to hospital.”

THIRTY-THREE

In
his sixteen years imprisoned in ICE institution, Will couldn’t remember ever
being more furious. There was a time when he saw one of the Men in White beat down
a young girl who told him he was ugly, and she was locked in the infirmary for
a week to heal. That made him pretty angry, but it hardly compared to his
exploding rage at that moment as Benji – sweet, silent Benji – was chained to a
treadmill and forced to run.

‘Run’
was actually a very tame word for what Benji was doing at that moment. Even if
he did trip up or stop sprinting, the speed of the treadmill would send him
zooming back five feet into the wall of spikes, killing him instantly. There
was no way of stopping it. No panic button, no safe word, no
hand-up-if-it-hurts. If he made one slip, Benji would be dead.

That’s
why Will found himself so livid with rage that his grip on Hunter’s hand caused
her to gasp and tear it away. He turned to her and saw the same look in her
eyes. The same agonizing fury. It was easier to stare into the golden, warm
depths of her eyes than it was to watch the horror below. So he took her hand
back again and held it a little more gently, and when she turned to watch the demonstration,
he simply stared at her hair instead.

He
could tell by the expression on her face – and the hisses and gasps from the
others – that Benji was tiring. He’d been sprinting at an impossible speed for
at least five minutes now. Will forced himself to turn his gaze to the race
below where Benji had become a blur of white and the scientists were chatting
to each other and recording every second. On the glass, there were giant red
numbers displaying the speed of the treadmill. Will almost lost his breath.

“I
believe we’ve reached a new record Benji!” came Dr. Wolfe’s voice over the
intercom and the moment Benji started to come into focus again and the
treadmill slowed down, each of them let out a long breath of air. The
scientists became jittery, like ants that were afraid of being squished, and
when Benji finally slowed to walking speed, his legs were quivering and
twitching and his body was drenched in sweat. All of the color was drained from
his face, giving him more of a skeleton look than any of them. He collapsed on
the treadmill and his body rolled back as far as the chains would allow, and
then he was simply being grazed by the conveyor belt until it stopped and he
was unchained and dragged out of the Orb.

As
Dr. Wolfe spoke up over the announcement – something about the company’s goal
to test limits and further increase abilities – Will could feel darkness
twisting and brewing inside of him. He’d always been a quiet, tortured soul.
But seeing this and fearing what was to come made him that much more desperate
for freedom, and to free the others as well.

“I
can’t believe how
sick
that was,” said Chantal through her teeth. “I
honestly feel like I might vomit.”

“Who
else has to do that?” asked Zac, genuine fear in his tone as he pointed to the
scene down below. “They can’t put me on a treadmill, I can’t run at all!”

“They’re
probably going to test all of our powers in different ways,” said Marcus. He
wiped a hand over his mouth and shook his head. “There’s no way they’re testing
me.”

“Or
me,” said Chantal. “And who would
watch
that? Where do all these awful
scientists come from, is there some other institution like this in the world?
Has
everyone
turned evil?”

Will
listened to them argue, sensing the fear that underlined their anger. Hunter
remained silent by his side, and after a few more minutes, he could feel her
shaking. He knew she was about to explode. If she didn’t have her power
restraint, he presumed they’d all be burnt to a crisp.

“Are
you okay?” he whispered to her.

Her
teeth were clenched so tightly that she didn’t answer him. But she said it with
her eyes.

Then,
Hunter got up and stormed to the door, disappearing behind it.

Will
gazed down at the Orb, the others following Hunter’s lead and clearing out of
the theatre room, but he felt as if his butt were glued to the bench. He was so
afraid for the others, dreading the next few days and who would be up next.
Most of all, Will wondered if he’d ever get to see anything good in his life.
What if he died there? Suddenly, Will wanted more than anything to find
happiness. To know that there was something more in his life, something to look
forward to. A happily ever after.

Enough
of this misery and torture,
he decided
. We need to get
out of this place.

THIRTY-FOUR

“You
sick son of a
bitch
!”

Had
the fire not been trapped inside her, Hunter was sure she would have torched
Dr. Wolfe to a crisp and happily danced over his ashes. But all she could do
was charge at him and be satisfied with the momentary panic in his eyes as he
backed up into the corner of the surgery room where he’d been cowering after
the demonstration, ducking away from Hunter’s raised fist.

Two
Men in White grabbed each of her arms and pinned them hard behind her. One of
them was Steel. She was angry enough not to be afraid of him, nor did she
notice the pain as he stretched her arms almost out of their sockets. Hunter
shrugged hair out of her face and growled at the old man who straightened his
coat and reformed that trademark wicked smile of his.

“How
could you do that to Benji, huh?” she hissed, wrenching her arms from their
grip only to be pulled back harder. “What was the purpose of your little death
game?”

Dr.
Wolfe undid the cuffs of his coat and started rolling up his sleeves. “The
purpose, Miss Harrison, was and always is for research. As I said in the
announcement, the subject was tested to his limits. And as you saw in the
demonstration, he exceeded any test we’ve ever subjected him to. Benjamin did
an outstanding job, and because of his efforts, this company has gathered more
scientific minds committed to our operations. Those scientists from The
Advanced Genetics Institution were largely impressed.”

“So
it’s about recruiting new staff then, because you’re so lacking at the moment.”
She glared at the two Men in White, but as always, they remained completely
obtuse.

“As
a matter of fact, we are presently in dire need of staff, Miss Harrison, but it
isn’t your business to know why. Now I have a lot of work to do in preparing
for tomorrows demonstration, if you wouldn’t mind-”

“You’re
having another demonstration
tomorrow
?” Suddenly she didn’t feel so
brave and relaxed her clenched fists.

Dr.
Wolfe switched on a computer monitor and picked up the mouse. “Yes, that was
what I meant when I said that Benji was the
first
test subject. The
scientists want to see more of what you can do.”

“More
of… of us?”
Okay… I might just be sick again.
Hunter didn’t want to
appear weak in front of the man – if he was even human and not the spawn of the
devil – so she lured rage from deep inside her and yanked her right hand from
the grip of the other guard. He fumbled with her, but not before Hunter was
able to twist around and knee him in the groin. The man gasped out a puff of
air and bent over. Hunter started scratching at Steel’s face, but he snatched
her other wrist and brought it around across her chest. She now had one arm
behind her and one bent around her front. Steel breathed heavily on her neck
and Hunter felt sicker still.

Dr.
Wolfe stepped forward, his expression deadly, his eyes as black as his soul.
“Might I remind you,” he sneered, “that this is
not
vacation camp. This
is an institution of
science
, Miss Harrison, and I will do everything in
my power to better our knowledge of the limits of mutants like yourself,
whether it’s testing Benji, or you, or any of the other subjects here. It’s not
only my job, but it’s my life. My passion. It’s who I am.”

Hunter
wanted to insult him, hell – she was even tempted to lean forward and bite his
crooked nose off if she wasn’t so afraid of being poisoned or acquiring some
sort of disease, but she refrained herself. If she didn’t know any better,
she’d say he was trying to provoke her. To make her miserable. And so far, he
was succeeding.

Dr.
Wolfe nodded slowly and straightened up. “I’m not going to lock you in Solitary
if that’s what you’re worried about. Circumstances are different now. Things
have been somewhat… tranquil around here these past couple of weeks. In fact,
it’s been rather like vacation camp, if you ask me. But those days are over.
Ends have been met-” Hunter swallowed at the tone he implied, making her fear
for Alfie and his absence, “-and I’m very pleased to inform you that, as of
today… you and the others will experience exactly what it feels like to be a
beautiful freak of nature, on a whole new level.”

Her
blood ran cold and Dr. Wolfe nodded at the guards to take her back upstairs.
Hunter was whirled around and shoved to the door.

“Wait!”
he called back. “Do me a favor, Miss Harrison, take this to the common room and
find a place to tack it up, would you?”

He
shoved a piece of paper in Hunter’s hand and ushered them out the door. The
moment she was alone with Steel and the other guard, she wrenched her hands
away.

“I
can walk,” she snapped. Steel’s eyes glinted. They followed close behind her
and Hunter flipped the page around and read the list of names under the title
‘DEMONSTRATION SCHEDULE: SEPTEMBER 3
^RD
– SEPTEMBER 9
^TH
’.

Day
1 – Benjamin Given (1900hrs)

Day
2 – Mosi Sofana (0800hrs)

Day
3 – William Evans (0800hrs)

Day
4 – Hunter Harrison (1900hrs)

Day
5 – Marcus Slater (0800hrs)

Day
6 – Jet Slater (1900hrs)

Day
7 – Fearne Matherson (0800hrs)

Holy
shit.

Hunter
turned to the guards. “Is this for real?”

They
pretended as though she hadn’t spoken.

If
Hunter ever thought this place couldn’t get any worse, she was clearly wrong.
How in hell did Dr. Wolfe find all these people who would willingly sit and
watch children be tortured and not do a
thing
about it? Were they all
brainwashed?

Hunter
immediately considered something she never thought could be possible. Was that
what Dr. Wolfe had Fearne doing? Brainwashing all of the new scientists into
believing as he did; that this was all some sort of greater-good project and
they were just guinea pigs, just cells walking around in a body of skin and
bones?

Hunter
was hit with a powerful urge to escape. As she was marched back through the
long corridor along the laboratory window, she ran through possible plans and
came up with exactly zero. With the power restraints hidden even better than
before after Alfie’s attack in the breakfast hall, their chances would be near
impossible.

Hunter’s
thoughts were so far away that she almost didn’t notice a ruckus in the
laboratories until an alarm was suddenly blaring.

The
guards froze.

“What’s
happening?” she shouted at them. They exchanged glances and grabbed both her
arms, hurrying to the elevator. “Wait, what’s-”

A
mechanical woman’s voice spoke through a speaker system over the alarm.
“Warning,” she said neutrally, “Terminal One disarmed. All personal please
report to DC. Warning. Terminal One disarmed. All personal please report to
DC.” She continued to repeat the message, and once again the guards were
stunned. Scientists in the laboratory were all pouring in from the offices,
running in the same direction; to the exit at the back.

“Steel,”
said the shorter guard. “We need to get down there.”

“Shut
up Eddie,” hissed Steel. “Just get her upstairs, and don’t say anything. I’m
heading down to-” he stopped himself, shot Hunter a hard look and took off
running back to the other end of the corridor.

Hunter
was led away from the chaos to the elevator. They waited, and waited, until
finally the door opened and six guards spilled out, jogging straight past them
to the other end. Hunter’s mind was racing. Something bad was happening if an
alarm had to be raised, and what did the woman’s warning mean? What was
Terminal One? And was DC code for something other than the name Zac had used to
describe this institution?

The
moment the door opened, Eddie shoved her into the corridor and stabbed the down
button. Two more guards pushed past her into the lift. Zac and a few of the
younger kids were peering out of the common room door. Then, the door slid shut
on the guards and the alarm was ceased.

“What
the hell is going on?” Zac asked.

“Did
you hear the announcement?” Hunter snapped at him.

“Nope,
just saw a bunch of guards sprint to the elevator from the breakfast hall.
There’s, like, no one here. It’s empty.”

Hunter
had no idea what the hell was going on, but it had to be a sign. There were no
guards. No security. Despite Dr. Wolfe’s warning and his big ‘things will be
different now’ speech, everything had turned around. Wherever the guards were
heading, it was obviously going to occupy them, hopefully giving Hunter and the
others time to talk about an escape.

Her
prayers were being answered.

“Where
is everyone?”

Zac
shrugged. “I dunno, the breakfast hall, the common room, I think Chantal and
some of the other girls are in the shower. Benji is asleep, poor guy, I just-”

“Round
up as many people as you can and tell them all to meet in the common room,” she
ordered. Her blood was pounding in her ears, her mind working like a speeding
train. She had to treat this time like precious diamonds. There would likely
never be another chance.

Zac
opened his mouth to ask questions, but her expression must have been enough to
silence him, because he spun and ran to the stairs immediately.

“What’s
going on?” Imogen, a young girl with auburn curls, pouted up at Hunter.

“I’m
not sure Immi, but let’s go in here and wait for the others.” She ushered the
three kids through the door to the common room and found Ryo sitting with
Marcus and Mosi on the couches, looking grim.

“Hey,
what happened to you?” asked Marcus. They all sat up quickly, sensing something
was wrong. “After the demonstration you just took off-”

“I
had some rage to vent,” she snapped.

“Yeah,”
he scoffed, “I know what that’s like. We were just in the fitness room boxing
out a little rage of our own when all the Men in White started disappearing.”

“They’re
all gone, down to the labs,” said Hunter. She threw him the piece of paper.
“And I hate to bring you more disturbing news, but Dr. Wolfe gave me this.”  

Ryo,
Marcus and Mosi gathered around to read the list. The children scrambled on the
couches, waiting like rats for food, having no idea what kind of terror awaited
them.

After
reading the list, Marcus went to tear it up, but Hunter shouted “stop!” and
snatched it from his hand.

“This
is complete bullshit, now
we’re
going to be tested too?”

“If
that wasn’t obvious, you’re more stupid than I thought,” said Ryo, crossing her
arms.

Marcus
glared at her.

Footsteps
sounded outside and Zac entered, followed by Chantal and Mikayla with wet hair,
Jet and a sleepy Benji. He leaned against the door frame, his legs shaking with
each step he took. He looked worse than Will on Hunter’s first day.

“This
is all I can find,” Zac heaved and collapsed on the single armchair. “I looked
everywhere.”

“What
about Will?” Fearne burst through the door. She stared around at all the faces.
“Where is he?”

Hunter
wasn’t about to give away Will’s secret hideout, which was where she presumed
he would be, especially after what happened to Benji in the Orb.

“I’ll
find him,” said Hunter. She turned to Marcus. “Explain that list. I’ll be right
back.”

“Wait,
what’s going on Hunter?” asked Fearne. Her eyes widened as she caught the vibes
of panic within her thoughts. “Something downstairs?”

“In
the labs?” asked Zac.

“No,”
said Hunter. “Down further. When I was in the labs, a voice came over the
speakers saying something was disabled in Terminal One, and all personal needed
to report to DC.”

“What?”
Jet stared around the room. “But… we’re
in
DC.”

“Zac,
where did you hear that name?”

He
shrugged, looking around at all the faces. “I dunno, some guy who was here
before me.”

“We’ve
always called it Death Cave,” said Mosi solemnly.

“It’s
just a nickname,” said Jet, “it’s supposed to be funny.”

“Well
apparently it’s a name for something else,” said Hunter. “Now stay here, I’m
getting Will.”

“Why?”
asked Chantal. “Why are we all here?”

Hunter
sighed, time ticking away, and looked around at each of the worried, anxious,
trusting faces all gazing at her. How she – the new girl – had become a
figurative leader, she couldn’t explain. But she was sure that once she told
them of her idea, there would be an uprising.

But
then she remembered. Mosi and Marcus wanted the same thing.

She
turned to them. “Now’s your chance.”

Marcus
frowned and looked at Mosi, who always knew exactly what to do. He nodded.