Embers & Ice (Rouge) (24 page)

FORTY-TWO

She
dreamed it was raining. The water was crystal clean and perfectly cooled and it
hammered down upon her hard and heavy. But, like everything good in life, it
never lasted. As soon as the rain was done and the blackness cleared and Hunter
woke up in a dimly lit room, she felt the pain as though she was being burnt
all over again.

Hunter
didn’t know where she was. It was white and cold like the institution, but she
wasn’t in a cell or a surgery room. Then suddenly, she remembered: This was the
infirmary where she visited Will a day ago. Her bed had a plastic mattress and
metal bars on the side. Thin curtains were pulled across both ends and directly
opposite her was an identical empty bed. She could hear soft voices from
somewhere in the room, and they echoed.

As
soon as she tried to move, she let out a shriek of pain. Her entire body was
heavy and thickly coated in bandages. Someone heard her cries and a moment
later, a nurse was fussing over her, telling her to relax and take deep breaths
and try not to move. Hunter was so confused and she tried to speak, but the
woman inserted a tube into her mouth and trickled cold water down her throat.
Hunter swallowed it greedily and almost choked.

“There
there dear,” said the woman. Her face was becoming clearer now. She was old
with saggy skin and frizzy gray hair twisted in a bun on top of her head. Her
eyes were kind but blank, like a ghost.
Perhaps she is a ghost
, Hunter
thought. “Everything will be alright. You’ve been unconscious for a day and a
half now, but your skin is patching up quite nicely. I’m pleased to tell you
that it won’t be a matter of days until you’re up and healthy again.”

Hunter
didn’t care about that; all she wanted was more water. “Please…” she breathed.

The
nurse smiled and fed her more. As she did, she kept talking, telling her it would
be alright and the world was all sunshine and lollypops. The whole charade was
far too forced for Hunter to believe. She expected Dr. Wolfe to arrive any
second now to gloat of his successes.

But
it wasn’t Dr. Wolfe who arrived. It was Dr. Rosenthal.

That
night, he came to visit her. She was drifting in and out of sleep. The
infirmary had grown darker and someone down the way was snoring. She heard his
footsteps and saw him appear at the end of the bed. He looked almost as worse
as she imagined herself to be.

After
a moment in which he leaned on the post at the end of her bed and stared in the
dim light from the back of the room, Dr. Rosenthal shook his head and wiped a
finger under his eye.

“Joshua
would kill me… if he saw I’d let this happen to you,” he muttered. She could
have sworn his old voice broke in a sob.

Hunter
wished she could see him clearer, even sit up and comfort him if that’s what he
needed, but she literally could not move on the bed.

“Dr.
Rosenthal, it’s not your fault,” she croaked. “It’s that bastard Dr. Wolfe who
did this.”

“I
know,” he replied. “I’ve tried to put an end to it, but it’s like provoking a
serpent; I’ve only made him angrier and more reckless. These demonstrations,
they’re not for our benefit. They’re for his. He wants to feel in control, to
show off. And those new scientists, they’re… they’re afraid of him.”

“So
the recruitment isn’t going so well then?”

Dr.
Rosenthal removed his glasses and wiped them on his coat as he took a seat in
the chair beside her bed. Painfully, Hunter turned her head to face him.

“Not
at all. That scare in Death Cave 1 had most of them running for the hills.”

Hunter’s
heart started pounding. “Wh… what scare?”

He
fixed her with a knowing look. “You’re not as sneaky as you think, you and
William. I know you were there when Jack broke free. I know William was
listening in on mine and Dr. Wolfe’s conversation about destroying him.”

“How-”

“It
doesn’t matter. What’s important right now is getting you away from here.
Things are becoming far too dangerous. I should never have let him go this far.
When you are well, Hunter, I need you to lead the others out of this place.”

Hunter
sighed. “Dr. Rosenthal, I’m with you one hundred percent on the escaping part,
but… I just don’t see how.”

“That’s
where I’m going to help you,” he whispered. “The nurse has given you a lotion I
made with some of William’s DNA in it. You should be completely healed within a
matter of days. And then the demonstrations will be over, Dr. Wolfe will be
busy with the new recruitments – or what’s left of them – and I will provide a
suitable distraction for you and the others to scurry out of here. You have the
map, you have the key to your restraints should you run into any trouble. I
need you to step up and get them out of here,
all
of them, before it’s
too late.”

Her
mind was throbbing from so many ‘but’s and ‘how’s. Dr. Rosenthal didn’t seem to
be in the arguing mood, however, because he reached out and gently ran his
finger down her cheek. The touch made her flinch, but she felt no pain. It was
just a memory, and it faded quicker than the tingling sensation that ran
through her.

“I
want to tell you Hunter,” he said and again his voice was wavering. Seeing this
wonderfully gentle old man on the brink of tears was enough to bring them to
her own eyes. The salt ran into her burns and it stung. “I’m proud of the woman
you’ve become. We don’t know each other as well as I wish, but the day I said
goodbye to you all those years ago was the day I realized that I had made too
many mistakes in my life. I couldn’t change the past, but I could work towards
a better future. And when you returned here, I knew this madness with Dr. Wolfe
had to stop. Even if…” he took a shaky deep breath, “even if it’s the last
thing I do, Hunter, I will set you free. But you need to be a hero. For the
others, understand me? You will start a
revolution
. And with revolution
comes war. But you are already prepared, my dear. You are strong and you have
courage, I have seen it numerous times already. You are prepared to fight the
evil in this world, because you have
love
flowing in your veins. Not an
evil flame, Hunter, but love.” Ever so gently, Dr. Rosenthal rested a hand over
her heart and dropped tears on her bandages.

Hunter
sniffed, wishing she could sit up and hug him tightly. His words bound firmly
to her heart and she knew, with dreadful sorrow, that they would be the last
she ever heard from this man.

“It
seems I’m not the only one who believes so,” he sniffed and reached for
something on the bedside table. When he sat back, Hunter saw it was a
leather-bound book. Will’s Bible. “Dear William was here several times, when
the guards weren’t watching. He so badly wants to believe in love, but I don’t
know if he’s ever truly experienced it. It is a sad thing, to live without
love. But when you have it,” Dr. Rosenthal raised one eyebrow at her, “it needs
to be shared with another.”

Hunter
couldn’t take her eyes off the Bible, feeling warm inside again knowing that
Will had not only woken up, but visited her even when it was forbidden.

Dr.
Rosenthal opened the Bible. His eyes sparkled as he read the words, “‘Greater
love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ That does
sound very much like William, doesn’t it?”

Hunter
responded only with a small nod. It sounded exactly like Will.

The
doctor smiled and placed the book back beside the nurses’ salves and fixed her
again with his shimmering blue gaze.

“Promise
me, Hunter, that you will leave this place as soon as the opportunity presents
itself and never look back.”

“When?”

“The
day you’re released from this infirmary,” he said.

“But
where do we go? I have no idea what continent we’re on.”

“You’ll
know once you’re outside. Go to this address–” He slipped a piece of paper into
her bandaged fingers “–and go nowhere else. It is safe, I can assure you.”

“But…
then what?”

He
blinked through the darkness at her. “That, my dear, is up to you. You’ll find
anything you need at this address and instructions as to what I
advise
you do next, but you are free from then on. Now do you swear you’ll do as I
ask?”

Hunter
nodded, her breath coming out in sobs that made her chest ache. “Yes sir.”

“Good.”
Dr. Rosenthal stood slowly on his feet, wiping a hand over his beard and
smiling down at her, his eyes like twinkling stars. “Good girl.”

“Dr.
Rosenthal, wait. What about the others down in the Death Caves? What about
Jack?”

A
sadness settled over the old man’s face. “I’m so very sorry Hunter. I’m afraid
Jack can’t leave with you. Or Alfie, or any of the others. They are too
unstable, too dangerous. It’s too risky.”

“Why?”
she said through her teeth, angry but at no one in particular. “I thought you
were going to work towards a better future. Jack is not a killer, you just need
to give him a chance.”

“No,
dear, I can’t. Because Jack cannot be helped.”

“But
I can’t just leave-”

“You
must.
” His voice pleaded with her.
“I am sorry, I know how you
cared about him.”

Once
again, Hunter opened her mouth to ask how in hell he did know, but Dr.
Rosenthal whipped up a hand.

“There’s
one more thing I’d like you to do for me Hunter.”

She
bit back a sob. “I’ll do anything.”

Dr.
Rosenthal smiled, dipped his head and whispered, “Forgive him,” before slowly
blending back into the shadows.

FORTY-THREE

“So
let me get this straight,” said Barry through a mouthful of the burger clamped
in his hand, “You brought both Jennifer Smart and Eli Akerman back to life from
a cryonics state, and now you’re travelling across the country to find a man
who can help you get Eli’s memory back when it was
your
fault he lost it
in the first place, is that right?”

Joshua
sighed.
I’d kill for a time machine right now.
“That’s pretty much the
gist of it.”

“And
how in God’s good name did you get your hands on the technology to actually
revive someone from the dead, or at least from a coma in sub-zero temperatures?
None of this shit has even been invented yet Joshua.”

“I
have connections, okay?” Joshua lifted his cuffed hands onto the table and
rested his head on his palms. “Look, are you going to wrap this up or not? And
also, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Well
you’re just gonna have to hold it,” he picked up his jacket, took another bite
of his burger and opened the door. “I’ll be back.”

“Wait!
Where’s Eli and Jenny?”

Barry
grinned at him, and Joshua winced at the sight of the food squeezing through
his teeth. “They’re in exactly the same tricky situation you are, only they’re
supposed to be dead. Hang tight.”

With
that, he was gone and the door locked behind him.

You
should just tell him,
the Iceman coaxed inside him.
It will
make your life easier.

“How?”
he said aloud, not realizing that he was probably being watched from the other
side of the glass. But the people behind the glass wouldn’t be able to see the
blue Iceman sitting in the chair opposite him. “It goes against every fiber of
my being to make my powers known, and to this guy? This man of law and logic?
No way.”

He’s
human,
said the Iceman
. I’m sure if you laid out the basics
he’d probably believe you. Hey, make him a popsicle. That ought to sweeten
things up.

Joshua
snorted. “What good would it do?”

Think
about it. If Barry knows the truth, he’ll go the FBI.
He
flicked his thumb in the direction of the door.
The FBI will find ICE,
probably arrest all the scientists there – including Dr. Wolfe – and Hunter and
all the other kids trapped inside will be free. Now tell me that’s not a good
plan, huh?

“But
he’s not going to believe me, even if he knows about my powers. First of all,
showing him my abilities is basically a confession because Eli and Jennifer
were killed by ice. Second of all, he’ll laugh at me if I tell him an evil
scientist has kids locked up in a secret lab somewhere, including Hunter.” He
sunk down on the table, the cool steel numb against his cheek. “It’s completely
pointless.”

You
just need to prove it to him. And I have a plan for that.

“What
is it?” he asked, sitting up fast.

The
blue Joshua smiled.
Take him there.

“You’re
crazy! Can you imagine what could happen to those kids if I brought the FBI to
ICE? What Dr. Wolfe might do?”

But
if Dr. Rosenthal has done his job, the kids won’t even be there. Look, this
Barry guy has been searching for the missing kids for half his life. If you
lead him to them, this whole investigation will be over. It’ll probably open up
another box so big, Barry will completely forget about your little ‘crimes’.
You will save lives.

Joshua
frowned. “Okay, since when do you care about the greater good? You’re
completely evil.”

He
chuckled.
Just think – you’ll find Hunter, reunite her with Eli after
restoring his memories, the FBI will take care of ICE and you’ll never have to
worry about the Agents hunting you down again. Life can go back to normal, for
you and for those poor kids under Dr. Wolfe’s knife at this very moment.
He
leaned back on the chair and put his hands behind his head.
I’m telling you,
this plan will solve everything.

Staring
at the Iceman, Joshua was feeling very convinced. So far, he couldn’t see a
loophole in the plan dangling before him. If Barry didn’t believe him, there’d
be worlds of proof if he took them directly to ICE. He could save lives, be a
hero, get Hunter back, reunite her with Eli and sweep this entire mess up under
the rug and pretend like it never happened. He could turn his back on ICE
forever and start a brand new life.

But
what if the world found out about them? Could he live with the guilt, knowing
that he was the one who blabbed to the FBI?

That’s
just a sacrifice you have to make. Think of Hunter.

Joshua
nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”

The
Iceman smiled wickedly, giving Joshua an uneasy feeling as though he had some
hidden agenda, but Joshua had a mind of his own. And so far, this plan was
looking pretty damn good.

The
only problem, however, was whether or not Dr. Rosenthal had managed to get them
out.

Joshua’s
Iceman vanished and almost immediately he was taken back into his memories.
Normally, any memory of that cold prison was not allowed to enter into Joshua’s
mind, but tonight he was so consumed with anxiety over the terrible turn of
events in his present that almost any memory of the past was a relief.

And
this particular memory was one of his most treasured.

He
was sitting in Dr. Rosenthal’s office in ICE Incorporated. It was late at night
and Joshua had been woken by the scientist who told him to dress hurriedly. He
was to go down to the labs, collect Hunter from the nursery and wait in the
doctor’s office. Joshua worried that the guards would discover him walking
around at night, but there was a look in the kind doctor’s eyes that made
Joshua trust him without question.

He
was all too happy to collect Hunter, and raced quietly down to the labs through
the dark corridors to the nursery at the opposite end of the surgery rooms. His
heart pounded in his chest, expecting to be tasered in the back at any second,
but the place was deserted. It was almost as if everyone had vanished.

Hunter
was sleeping in her crib beside a small bed in which a young boy lay curled and
breathing deeply. Joshua knew the boy as William, the Immortal Child. He never
spoke, but he enjoyed Hunter’s company, and every once in a while, Joshua thought
he saw joy in the boy’s eyes.

Joshua
crept to Hunter’s crib and gently lifted her into his arms. She was warm and
uncomfortable against his skin, but that didn’t matter to Joshua. At only two
years old, she was big enough for him to carry her without feeling as though
she might break and young and sleepy enough not to make too much noise. She
yawned when he gently smoothed down her silky tufts of red hair and looked up
at him with those beautiful eyes just like Leo’s.

“Hello,
Hunter,” he whispered. “Sorry to wake you, but I think we might be going home.”

Hunter
fell straight to sleep again, not making a sound. Joshua wrapped her rug
tighter around her and lifted her so her head rested on his shoulder.

“You’re
going?” came a small, empty voice behind him and Joshua stopped.

William
was sitting up with his legs dangling over the bed, his small blanket wrapped
tight around him, his brown eyes glimmering with tears. Joshua didn’t have the
heart to lie to him, but leaving the boy behind was possibly one of the hardest
things he’d ever had to do in all his life. William’s sad face was still taped
to the back of his mind years after escaping.

“I’m
so sorry William,” Joshua whispered. “I don’t have a choice.”

The
boy, of course, said nothing. But he did not take his eyes off Joshua as he
took Hunter and left.

Tears
dripped from Joshua’s eyes as he hurried to Dr. Rosenthal’s office. There, he
waited for what felt like hours. He rocked a sleeping Hunter back and forth,
tapping his foot on the linoleum floor, staring at the doctor’s things but
feeling so sick to his stomach that he had no desire to pry.

And
then, the door swung open and Dr. Rosenthal hurried inside. He carried a
briefcase in one arm and a thicker blanket in the other. He practically threw
it at Joshua and started packing the briefcase with papers.

“We
must go now, we don’t have much time.”

“We’re
really leaving?” Joshua gasped. “How?”

“I
will explain everything later. She’ll need that; it’s freezing outside.”

Joshua
didn’t argue and wrapped Hunter in the blankets. Dr. Rosenthal put a hand on
his back and guided him to the door. They made their way cautiously through the
corridor to the back entrance of the lab, through two double doors and towards
another marked ‘STAFF EXIT’. Dr. Rosenthal scanned an ID card in the slot and
entered in a seven digit code. Joshua almost laughed at how easy it was to get
out, but they weren’t clear of the battlefield just yet. They had a long flight
of stairs to climb, and then they came to a heavy bunker door with another
coded lock. Joshua felt the cold air before the door swung inward and he clung
tighter to Hunter, praying she kept herself warm, as Dr. Rosenthal urged him
into a giant dark space. He couldn’t even make out the walls, it was so large.
A high-pitched whistle came from the wind outside. Fear and excitement filled
Joshua’s stomach like a meal he couldn’t digest. But Dr. Rosenthal strode
confidently to the other side of the room, Joshua trotting after him, and
climbed a short flight of stairs where he yanked on a giant red lever and a
loud grinding sound broke the deathly silence.

The
entire front wall was opening like a bunker hatch. An icy wind blasted into the
room. Fresh, freezing, snowy wind. Joshua couldn’t believe it. Dr. Rosenthal
had opened the gate to freedom.

The
kind doctor waddled over to him and yelled over the howling, “There’s a bit of
a hike ahead of you, but you should reach the main road if you follow the
trail! There’s a van waiting in the shrubs with the keys in the glove
compartment! Drive until you run out of petrol, then fill up with this money!”
He shoved the briefcase in Joshua’s other hand. “Go to the address I’ve marked
on the map in the front seat of the car! Wait for me there. I’ll be with you in
a few days.”

“Dr.
Rosenthal, I can’t begin to-”

“No
time for thank you’s, my boy! I will see you again soon. Oh, and here-” the
doctor grabbed Joshua’s wrist and scanned the chunky bracelet with a small
remote that flashed blue. He then pulled a pair of pliers from a pocket in his
coat and pinched the metal until it snapped. Joshua felt it slip off his wrist.
Dr. Rosenthal did the same for Hunter’s power restraint and she started crying.
“You won’t be needing these anymore.”

“Wait!”
Joshua gripped the man’s arm. For the first time in a long time, a pang of
happiness went through him, and he owed it all to the kind doctor who was most
likely risking his career and his life for him. “Tell me why! Why are you
helping us?”

Dr.
Rosenthal touched a cold hand to his cheek. “Because I have faith in you
Joshua. You need to take care of this special child you hold.” He gently patted
Hunter on her head and smiled. “Your actions will one day save lives. And I
believe in that.”

“Really?”
Joshua murmured.

“Really,”
said the doctor. “Now go! And good luck! I will see you again soon.”

Joshua
nodded and turned to the storm, clutching young Hunter tightly in his arms.