Embers & Ice (Rouge) (23 page)

FORTY

The
demonstrations continued with Mosi. It was just as ugly as Benji’s performance.
The scientists tested the strength of his skin by firing heavy machinery at his
unprotected body. They sawed at his bones with razor-sharp blades and dropped
giant blocks of concrete on his head. Mosi grit his teeth and bore through it
all, but eventually the pressure put him into unconsciousness and he woke up a
day later.

Then
it was Will’s turn. Hunter watched them slice and burn and beat and crush his
body over and over and she longed to be sick, but there was nothing in her
stomach to throw up. His screams still echoed in her mind late into the night.
No horror movie she’d ever seen could compare, particularly when it was someone
she cared about. Oh, and she knew she cared about him. Because after what he
went through, Hunter refused to leave his side in the infirmary until she was dragged
away by three of the Men in White.

Her
turn came the day after, and she walked into the Orb shaking from head to toe.
She told herself to be brave for the younger ones, and having the fire swarm
through her skin was blissful enough to give her courage. She wished Will was
near, but his body still hadn’t reformed.

The
Orb was more terrifying when filled with people. In the center of the giant
space was a glass box identical to the one Jack had destroyed in Death Cave 1.
It stood on a raised platform, four silver gas tanks attached to each corner
with tubes running up the glass and into the roof. Hunter swallowed as she was
led up the steps into the glass tank that sealed shut behind her. All of the
sound made by the whispering scientists and buzzing machinery around her
vanished. In a way, it was oddly comforting. The fire blazed inside her and she
lit her hands, forming balls of flames that danced around her like jumping
rabbits. She smiled, enjoying the moment, before Dr. Wolfe’s voice interrupted
it.

“Ladies
and Gentlemen, I give you subject 0997. Hunter Harrison, age 19. Subject has
the ability to withstand impossible heat and – as is clearly demonstrated
before you – she can also produce flames from within her body. Today we are
going to test the limits of her skin and exactly how much heat she can
withstand.”

Hunter
breathed a laugh and crossed her arms.
That’s all he’s got?
the fire
laughed mockingly. It was easier to laugh than be paralyzed with fear.

“Begin,”
Dr. Wolfe commanded.

Four
men in lab coats approached the corners of the cage. They turned valves on the
oxygen tanks and Hunter heard a very faint, high pitched whistle. Then
suddenly, fire burst from the ceiling.

It
was warm and wonderful, like walking into a heated restaurant after spending so
long in the cold. The fire burned through her jumpsuit almost immediately and
Hunter felt sick again, knowing that the guards – Jamison in particular – would
be up in the theatre room watching
. Don’t forget Zac and Jet and Marcus.
Hunter
groaned.

She
soon lost sight of the scientists as the fire swarmed around her, which made it
easier to imagine she was completely alone and no one was watching. Just to
piss them off, Hunter put her hand to her mouth and yawned. She imagined Dr.
Wolfe sneering. The heat began to build.

Joshua
had never done anything like this with her in the lab back in New York, so in a
way she was curious to see how much heat she really could take. After so much
research on the stone – which came from a volcano – she was pretty sure she
could withstand anything, especially something created by chemicals and some
stupid gas tanks. What she couldn’t determine was the strength of her skin
after living in darkness and near-starvation for so long.

Hunter
looked down at her hands. They were slowly turning as bright as the flames
around her. Her veins glowed a luminescent orange again. Her hair whipped
around her face and the roaring of the fire increased, but still she didn’t
burn.

Hunter
would have given anything to see Dr. Wolfe’s face.

After
a few more minutes, the fire ceased and she stood completely naked in the glass
tank. She covered herself as best she could, thinking,
he can’t get me a
towel or something?
 

“Subject
has withstood a temperature of 2000ºC. Impressive, Miss Harrison,” he added.

She
took a bow just for the hell of it and waited for the ‘but’ she knew was
coming.

“But-”
There it is.
“-You must know the three elements of the fire tetrahedron.
Fuel, heat and oxygen. You need oxygen to produce your fire.”

Hunter’s
heart stopped.
Don’t you do it, you bastard.

“Judging
from your pale complexion, I think you know where I’m going with this Hunter.”

Is
anyone listening to him?
She stared around at the scientists who
were scribbling notes, oblivious to her torture.
So it’s true. He’s
brainwashing them.

“Subject
will now be tested in the same way, but without oxygen. I will start with a
very low temperature, just to be safe. Are you ready?”

She
stuck her finger up at him.

“Very
well,” he chuckled.

Hunter
looked up at the valves, waiting, her heart about to leap from her chest.

“Begin,”
he said.

This
time, no flames appeared. The floor quivered and Hunter looked down to see the
ground beneath her feet start to split. Vents were opening and something was
hissing. Hunter wobbled unsteadily on the uneven floor, praying for courage and
strength as a feeling as if someone were pushing down on her lungs hit her
hard.

He’s
taking away my oxygen.

Immediately,
she forced her breathing to slow. There wouldn’t be much left in a matter of
seconds, and it was already burning her lungs. Through blurry vision, she saw
the scientists approach the silver tanks, turn the valves and fire burst from
the roof.

The
heat was immense, and it scared her to death.

I
could try breaking the glass cage,
she thought desperately,
but
then that would put everyone outside at risk. As much as these scientists
deserve some pain, they don’t deserve to die. And then what would Dr. Wolfe do
with me? Put me in a Death Cave? I’d never get to help the others escape.

I
don’t have a choice.
She grit her teeth and thought harder.

A
technique she’d taught herself in a hotel room a long time ago came to mind.
Using her hands, she pushed the fire away from herself, trapping the chemicals
of the flame and forming a protective shield. But the oxygen in the air was
slowly fading. She fell to her knees, gravity caving in on her. Her eyes were
watering and it blinded her. She could no longer see anything but bright light.
The fire inside her roared, protective of her, but it could do nothing. And for
the first time, it felt real fear. The fire was afraid of itself.

Hunter
couldn’t hold the flames back anymore. She never thought she’d see the day when
fire would take her life, but it was only seconds away from happening. She
didn’t get to see the others escape, didn’t get to save them, didn’t get to
tell Will she-

Blackness
came for her, but it wasn’t quick enough. Just as her lungs collapsed, the fire
dove on her and she released the shield.

Then,
Hunter burned.

FORTY-ONE

Dr.
Albert Rosenthal was a gentle man. He had lived through some unspeakable
horrors during his childhood, and after the war he decided to dedicate his life
to becoming a scientist of the mind and the body, a biologist and a doctor. In
his lifetime he studied hard, moved from the very bottom to the top of his
classes and was even offered a job in one of the most prestigious hospitals in
England.

But
Dr. Rosenthal wanted more. He believed he was destined for greater things, for
more challenges, and that was when he met Winston Wolfe.

They
studied the same course for a number of years, and became close friends, both
with a dream to explore human genetics. Dr. Rosenthal often thought Dr. Wolfe
was a little too eccentric – he would join many groups and socialize with a lot
of the professors, whilst Albert stayed in his dorm to study and could often be
found in the library. They were like chalk and cheese, and still they became
good friends.

Then
one day, Winston came to him with an idea, a dream to move to America and start
a revolutionary company that studied human genetics. At the time, Albert was
considering a profession in a similar area, and though he was not very
adventurous, Winston’s enthusiasm had him hooked. He followed the doctor all
the way to Seattle, and that was when it all began.

Dr.
Rosenthal remembered the first few years. It was messy, and he saw another side
to Winston that had never come out. A manic side. He saw his friend go to great
and dangerous lengths to get what he wanted. He often sent Albert to locations
around the world to find people with special genetic gifts. Albert went only to
get away from Winston’s craziness.

He
should have seen the signs earlier, should have backed away before it became
impossible. But the more humans he found with special gifts, the more he wanted
to learn, and working for Winston was just a sacrifice he had to make.

It
wasn’t until thirty or so years ago that Winston started to mistreat the
subjects. It was done behind his back, but of course, Albert knew. He always
knew what was going on. Call it a special gift of his own. He pretended to be
blind to it, and that was his biggest mistake. When his back was turned, it was
easier to ignore it, and that was how it remained.
 

Until
Joshua arrived. Albert saw in that man a love stronger than anything he’d ever
come across. It was a tortured love, a desperation to keep young Hunter safe, a
disappointment in his failure and a grief for Hunter’s mother whom he cared
about so deeply. Albert knew this would be his chance to turn things around. To
change. To start doing
good.
And so he helped Joshua escape.

Fortunately,
Winston never suspected him. They were still friends, much to Albert’s
reluctance, but he could not leave the institution or more horrors would unfold
and Winston would fall off the deep end. The institution needed someone who was
not completely crazy to run things behind the scenes. Albert continued doing
good; finding people with gifts, enhancing their powers, encouraging them. Will
was one of his proudest experiments, and though the child grew up in a terrible
place, he would have died at the hands of his father. Now, he had a chance to
live. 

But
enough was enough. Winston never informed him of these demonstrations, and
putting them through such unspeakable torture simply to gain attention from
other scientists – most of which were not at all horrified – was the last
straw. Something needed to be done.

“Hello
Albert,” said Dr. Wolfe as he knocked on his office door only hours after
Hunter’s demonstration. He was so shaken up that the doctor frowned at is
appearance. “Is something wrong?”

“I
cannot believe what this has come to Winston,” he grumbled. Normally, he could
keep his anger better controlled, but suddenly Dr. Rosenthal was seeing his
long-time friend in a different light. “Do you realize what a terrible man
you’ve become? What evil lies in your heart?”

“I
don’t understand, I thought this was our dream Albert.” The doctor shook his
head and sighed, tidying his papers. “I was afraid this day would come, when we
would reach a crossroads and each go our separate ways.”

“Oh
we’ve been on separate paths for a very long time, Winston. And you can no
longer use the excuse ‘for science’. Science has
ethics,
and what you
are doing is no better than the experiments performed on the Jews.”

At
that, Dr. Wolfe leapt to his feet and slammed his fists down on the desk, his
eyes so menacing that they nearly burned holes in to Albert’s. But he was not
afraid of the doctor. He stood his ground, mirroring his hard, fiery gaze,
ready for what he knew was coming.

“How
dare you be so hypocritical, Albert,” he growled in that low, slippery tone.
“If I recall, you have been by my side from the very day this company existed.
So why, now, are you suddenly pretending to be so moral? So righteous?”

“I
have always been there for you,” he replied, equally fierce but not nearly as
cruel. “I left the country when you requested, I protected your secrets and
your identity. But this has gone too far. I cannot let you treat them any less
than what they are; people. Children. Don’t even get me started on those poor
people you’ve imprisoned in the Death Caves.”

“And
what are you going to do about it, Albert? Help them escape, like you helped
Joshua Harrison escape all those years ago?”

For
a moment, Albert was stunned, and that was not something that happened often.
He had no idea Dr. Wolfe knew about that.

“Yes,
I know about your little midnight getaway. You do realize what the punishment
might have been if you were caught, don’t you?” the doctor sneered at him. “And
shooting Jack Hollaway in the back with a shotgun certainly did not help our
operations.”

“He
was going to kill you,” said Dr. Rosenthal.

“He
wouldn’t have killed me, he doesn’t know how to kill. He’s a child.”

“It
doesn’t matter, some powers outweigh a person’s humanity. Especially someone as
weak as Jack.”

“That’s
not the POINT!” Dr. Wolfe roared and he slammed his hand down on the desk
again. He raised his bony white fingers, wrinkly just like his own, and pointed
it at Dr. Rosenthal’s face. “I kept my mouth shut for you. I went against my
every rule, I protected you. I gave up everything. And now here you are, acting
like you’re the better person. It makes me
sick
.”

Dr.
Rosenthal felt his heart sink in sadness. It was true that things could have
gone a completely different way, but the demonstrations were under his control.
And he was too drunk on power to notice.

“You
need to stop this, Winston. Please, for the sake of this institution and our
dream, stop this. I don’t want to see you go down the path of destruction.”

Dr.
Wolfe turned his back on him and his shoulders sunk in a tired sigh. “It may
already be too late for that, old friend.” In his tone, there was a hint of a
smile, a smile of old memories and a lifelong journey together. “But I will not
back down until my dream is fulfilled. And you are either with me, or against
me.”

Dr.
Rosenthal’s heart broke. This was the moment he had been dreading. He had faith
in his friend, and now that faith was shattered.

“I’m
sorry it has to end like this,” he said softly and walked to the door.

As
he left the office, he was sure he heard his friend mutter a broken, “I’m sorry
too, Albert,” before he turned away.